Back in the AL East
Finally, back in the American League.
Personally, I don't really like Interleague baseball as I think it takes away from the postseason and the World Series.
But since I cover the Orioles, I am glad they 're back in their own division for the sake of the manager and the players.
American League teams are built around the DH, and when AL clubs have to play in National League cities, they generally lose one of their most potent bats except for maybe a singular PH appearance per game. Not fair.
The Orioles and the Red Sox meet up tonight at Camden Yards and finally everyone gets to play.
For the Orioles, it means Nolan Reimold, Luke Scott, and Ty Wigginton can look forward to more consistent ABs. For the Red Sox, it means David Ortiz doesn't have to play in the field and Youk can move back to first - well, maybe not just yet as Mike Lowell who is dealing with some soreness in his surgically repaired hip may have an injection in Baltimore and miss a few days; so they might have to wait to take full advantage of the DH again.
The Orioles had a good run through the National League though, finishing up with 2 of 3 from the Nats.
There are now 13 games to go before the All-Star Break. The Orioles have Boston at home for three before the second swing to the west coast for seven against the red hot Angels and the surging Mariners, then back for the final 3 of the first half against the Jays.
The Red Sox are coming off of 2 of 3 from Atlanta, but they scored the fewest runs in a three-game series all year at six. The pitching was good with Beckett, Wakefield and Penny all throwing well, but the hitters were held in check by the Braves.
In order to reverse the latest trend against the Red Sox, losing 13 of the last 15, the O's will have to continue to pitch aggressively and stay away from deep hitter counts to this veteran lineup.
Big Papi has had a good June hitting seven home runs in the month, after hitting just one in April and May. He looks "hitterish," but if you can pitch ahead consistently and get them to chase borderline pitches, you might be able to turn things around.
The pitching match ups look to favor the Red Sox as Lester, Smoltz and Beckett get the call against Berken, Hill and Bergesen. But, hey, you never know. The Orioles' hitters are showing signs of coming around and they are at home.
Keep your eye on Ty Wigginton as he has been swinging a hot bat lately - .467 over his last 8 games.
And just for grins, focus on the two centerfielders in this series. Adam Jones and Jacoby Ellsbury are fun to watch play in the field, and they both bring excitement to the plate with their own special styles.
It should be a good three games and a chance for the Orioles to get back into the swing of things against some familiar faces.
Enjoy.
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Categories (click for archive)Buck Martinez | MASNblogs |
Buck,
Although the Red Sox are looking pretty good right now, don't you think the Orioles are a severely altered team since the last time they played (in Fenway nonetheless!)? Reimold is a huge plug in the lineup that wasn't there last time, and even though Wieters is struggling (a bit), he is still a potentially scary bat that has been added to the lineup.
It's also kind of (actually really) amusing that the three pitchers we have going this series weren't even WITH THE TEAM last time we played the Sox! They have added much needed security and stability. Combine that with the vastly improved play of our all of the sudden shutdown bullpen, and things are looking a bit more rosy!
I would appreciate your perspective on this Buck... Thanks for the work you do for the Orioles; I enjoy listening to you on TV almost every day!
- Chris
I wouldn't go as far as to say "severely altered". The lineup is certainly more potent, but scoring runs never was the problem for this team... stopping the other team from scoring more is, and we still haven't remedied that problem.
When Tillman, Arrieta and Matusz join Bergesen in that rotation, THEN you will see a "severely altered" team. They say that in baseball momentum is only as good as your starting pitching the next day. If this old adage is true, then it's no wonder this team can't get any.