Hearing from Showalter after division-clinching win

I've got plenty of quotes to pass along from my champagne-soaked recorder. Here's a sampling from manager Buck Showalter, who truly loved every minute of the time he spent on the field - exchanging hugs with players, coaches and family members, and waving to fans as they kept chanting his name. "You get older, you want to get a good angle and a good seat and see good people get a return for what they put into it and what they're trying to achieve," Showalter said. "And this is a huge step, to get a chance now. We've got to figure out a way to win 11 games" Told that players said they got goosebumps at the end of the game, Showalter replied, "The end of the game? How about the sixth inning? I guess that means I'm an old fuddy-duddy. What's it like? I wish I had better language to tell everybody what that's like. Me, I'm not paranoid, I'm alert. You just don't want anything ... 8-2, 7-2, 5-2, 4-2, you're trying to make sure you're staying ahead of what might be coming your way. "Ubaldo (Jimenez), we were going to pitch him about 80 pitches, tops. I went down there with all intentions of taking him out of the game, and I made the mistake of looking in his eyes. He wasn't pleading, it was like, 'Let me take a shot at one more inning. I feel OK.' And that's one of those times I thought with my heart and not my head. I was real happy for him. And his mom and dad were here. That was big. That was big for him. I thought that was bigger for him than for us. Who knows what it may mean down the road in the next 3 1/2 years." The announced attendance was 35,297, but it sounded like twice that many. "It seemed to get bigger as the game went on," Showalter said. "Was it my imagination? Or maybe just louder. "I was telling Dave (Wallace) during the national anthem, I said, 'Dave, just wait until the playoffs.' He said, 'This place is special.' Of course, I'm biased. I've been in a lot, and I don't think there's any more electric place than this ballpark when something's on the line for the city of Baltimore." Right fielder Nick Markakis will undergo X-rays after taking a fastball behind his right shoulder in the seventh inning. Everyone had flashbacks to the CC Sabathia pitch that shattered his thumb in September of 2012. "It's not intentional," Showalter said. "It had so muck, it reeked of the last time about this time of year. I'm not going to say anything until he gets X-rays. He got smoked pretty good underneath the shoulder blade on his right shoulder. He's still sore. I don't want to assume anything until we get through the night and see how he feels tomorrow. "I'm sure you could read my mind what was going on right there. When Nick was having a tough time catching his breath there ... it took the breath out of him, too. Wasn't happy, wasn't happy." Is a hungry team a dangerous team? "Everybody's going to be hungry and dangerous," Showalter said. "The best of the best start playing in how many days? The best of the best. It's an honor to be one of those right now, and our guys have earned it. And now, down the road, every team's got a great story, so to speak. Now the competition, it's just good to be one of the best and we get a chance to roll the dice in October. "There are some great moments in your life. This ranks right up there. That ninth inning, I went over and rested on Earl (Weaver's) number. I wanted to get a good seat and I was trying to find a good angle. At my height, I can't see always see right over it. That's why they put Earl's number there. I sat there and thought he could see this too from here." When did Showalter sense that this team was special? "I think part of it is that you don't ever say, 'We've got this all figured out,'" Showalter replied. "I knew we had a chance, we had a really good chance because of the people we had, and I knew that there wasn't a lot of lip service. They were focused and they weren't going to let anything get in the way. "I guarantee you the last team standing will have some weaknesses. The teams that get eliminated are going to have some strengths and you're going to have to fight through it. We get to make another step. Regardless of what happens, it's not going to change how I feel about these guys. I really want them. I'm glad they're going to get the opportunity to hopefully show the rest of the country what they're about and what our city is about." What comes next, now that the Orioles have clinched their division? "I've thought a little bit about how we're going to do it, first of all the pitching after the off day," Showalter said. "I've already looked at backing things up, how you want to rest guys and have them ready. "We're still going to try and win every game we play and we're going to try to situate ourselves for every advantage we can get without jeopardizing the long-term goal. There will be some things, things that I want to see and find out. There will probably be another player from Sarasota in the next day or two to continue to try and make good decisions this season and in the off-season." Showalter didn't reveal which player, but first baseman Christian Walker figures to be a strong candidate. May as well take a look at him now and provide Steve Pearce with some rest. We'll see.