Boston bows out (plus a look at the AFL Orioles)

As Orioles fans know all too well, playoff endings can be abrupt, painful, hard to take.

In "Fever Pitch," Uncle Carl told the 7-year-old Ben, "They'll break your heart, kid." He was talking about the Red Sox, but the thought applies to any fan base.

Lest O's fans think only Orioles bats come up short in October, the Red Sox just got swept by Cleveland in the American League Division Series and scored seven runs in three games. During the regular season, they went 4-2 against Cleveland and outscored them 31-18. During the regular season, Boston averaged 5.4 runs per game and won 93 games. But they lost two one-run games in the postseason and they're done.

Late in the year, Boston won 11 in a row, including a four-game sweep in Baltimore. But they ended the ALDS going 3-for-21 with runners in scoring position and 31 strikeouts. In the end, they won as many playoff games as the Orioles - zero.

Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers, the AL's winningest team with 95 victories, got swept by the Blue Jays. Anyone remember now that the Blue Jays started September going 3-9? Didn't think so.

The Blue Jays pulled it out in 11 innings against the Orioles a week ago today and took that momentum to Texas and then back to Toronto. They are 4-0 in the postseason with three close wins. They've out-homered their opponents 10-3 in the playoffs.

So a couple of narratives held by many O's fans got blown up in the last few days: that you can't win with homers in the postseason and that you need variety on offense to win in the playoffs. It didn't help Boston. Maybe the narrative that pitching wins is really the important one.

So it's Toronto at Cleveland on Friday in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. Anyone rooting for the AL East team to represent the AL in the World Series?

Opening day in the AFL: The 25th season of the Arizona Fall League begins today. Seven players from the O's organization will play for the Peoria Javelinas in the six-team league. The AFL season runs through the championship game on Nov. 19.

The Orioles players on Peoria are right-handed pitchers Jesus Liranzo, Jimmy Yacabonis and Stefan Crichton and left-handed pitcher Tanner Scott along with catcher Austin Wynns, infielder Adrian Marin and outfielder DJ Stewart. All four hurlers are relievers, although Scott will start in the AFL so he can get more work in with two- and three-inning outings.

The O's players will be joined by players from Cincinnati, San Diego, Seattle and Tampa Bay on a club managed by Jared Sandberg. One of Peoria's two pitching coaches will be Justin Lord of the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds.

The 21-year-old Liranzo, from the Dominican Republic, began the season with Single-A Delmarva and then was moved to Double-A Bowie, skipping Single-A Frederick. The hard-throwing Liranzo, who can touch 96 and 97 mph with a solid slider, went 1-1 with a 1.87 ERA for the two teams over 27 games. In 53 innings, he has allowed just 20 hits (for a .116 average against) with 27 walks and 66 strikeouts. He's become a notable prospect this year, to say the least, pretty much rising from not on the radar to now on it with a bullet. It will be interesting to see how he fares against some top hitters in Arizona.

Yacabonis, a 13th-round draft pick by the Orioles in 2013, had his best year in 2016. Between Frederick and Bowie, he is 2-4 with a 2.64 ERA over 50 games. In 64 2/3 innings, he has allowed 51 hits with 20 walks and 67 strikeouts.

Crichton, 24, a 23rd-round pick in 2013, went 2-6 with a 3.73 ERA in 48 game with Bowie. Over 72 1/3 innings, he walked 26 with 61 strikeouts and a .262 average against.

Scott, the hard-throwing lefty who has touched 100 mph and even a bit more per some scouts, has pitched for Frederick and Bowie. He is 5-4 with a 4.76 ERA. In 64 1/3 innings, he has walked 57 and fanned 81. He was in the AFL last year and made the league's top prospects team, posting an ERA of 2.00 in eight games.

A 10th-round pick in 2013, Wynns, 25, played at Frederick, Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk this year. In 80 games, the strong defensive catcher has hit .287 with six homers, 34 RBIs and a .751 OPS.

The 22-year-old Marin played 119 games this year as Bowie's shortstop. He hit .232 with four homers, 33 RBIs and a .592 OPS. Marin, a third-round pick out of Gulliver Prep (Fla.) in 2012, played in the AFL last year. He hit .278 in 20 games for Peoria.

Stewart, the Orioles' first-round pick in June 2015 out of Florida State, played at Delmarva and Frederick this year. Between the teams over 121 games, he has hit .254 with 10 homers, 55 RBIs and an OPS of .776. He was batting just .230 for Delmarva when he was moved up to Frederick in late June. In 59 games with the Keys, he hit .279 with six homers, 30 RBIs and an .837 OPS. Stewart changed from an open to a closed stance when he went to Frederick and produced better results after making that change.

In 24 previous seasons, 247 major league All-Stars and 15 MVPs played in the AFL. Of its 4,300 players, nearly 2,600 or about 60 percent, have played in the majors.