Andrew Stetka: No excuse for Machado's baserunning blunders

There's no question that I am an unabashed member of the Manny Machado fan club. Since the day he was called up to the major leagues in 2012, I've watched along with all of the other amazed Orioles fans at Machado's brilliance. There's a reason he's one of the top candidates to win the American League MVP award this season - it's because of his supreme talent and sudden ability to put it together.

But there is one part of Machado's game that has come under scrutiny this season, and there's good reason for it. Getting thrown out on the base paths has become commonplace for the third baseman, and it's something that needs to change.

It's not that Machado is incapable of being a good baserunner. He's shown the ability in the past to make smart decisions, and even some advanced metrics show him as an average or slightly above average baserunner this season. But the eye test tells a much different story. Machado has been thrown out in virtually every way possible this season on the bases, and the mental errors are the most frustrating part to watch. We've seen him get picked off of first base. That happens occasionally on a great play by the pitcher or if a player happens to be leaning for a steal. We've also seen him thrown out attempting to steal third base. It's happened on multiple occasions, sometimes with two outs. It's also happened with Chris Davis at the plate. Not ideal. We've also seen him get thrown out because he attempted to stretch a hit into extra bases, after staring down a long fly ball he thought would be a homer. These are things that MASN's Jim Palmer spoke about during a recent broadcast. It's even been addressed by Buck Showalter. There comes a time when these types of blunders become taxing, even from a player of Machado's capability.

Late last month, I had the discussion with a friend as I guest co-hosted his radio show. He was firmly of the mindset that he can deal with Machado's occasional baserunning mistakes because he's confident that the third baseman will do something to make up for them. That's a very positive mindset to have, and one that I can subscribe to in a way. But some of these baserunning mishaps are becoming even more than occasional. For a team that has enough warts, every run is crucial. The Orioles may be enjoying division lead even after a rough weekend in Seattle, but make no mistake that Boston and Toronto are lingering. The whole "lt's a long season" argument works only for so long. After all, these games in July count as much as the ones in April and September.

It's also important to realize that no one single thing makes a player a good baserunner. I've heard the argument from many that because Machado was able to steal 20 bases last year, there's clear proof that he is just fine in that department. But stolen bases don't tell the whole story. That's an element to baserunning that requires patience and good decision-making, but there's so much more to it.

There's also another argument to be made when it comes to Machado's baserunning. Maybe the expectations are simply too high. Perhaps, because Machado is so talented in other parts of the game, people just think the baserunning element will be there as well. I catch myself all the time when watching games, trying to remind myself that these baseball players we watch are humans. Even the great ones fail the overwhelming majority of the time.

It'd be really nice to see Machado stop staring down those long, majestic fly balls he hits into the outfield. Perhaps he'd end up on second base, or even third, when they don't leave the park. I'm not someone who is opposed to fun. I don't mind bat flips or staring down a homer, but it has to actually be a homer, not just a ball you think is a homer. Machado has the ability to fix this problem, which I fully recognize that some don't even view as much of an issue. Perhaps he'll do enough to make it not even matter in the long run. Maybe baserunning is simply Machado's kryptonite. We all have them, some more than others.

Andrew Stetka blogs about the Orioles for Eutaw Street Report. Follow him on Twitter: @AStetka. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.