Hi everybody. I’m really sorry that
I have not updated this in the past two days, but I had prom stuff. But now
that that is over, it’s time to look at baseball! Let’s pretend that today is
Thursday, so let’s look at this week’s Thursday Team: The Baltimore Orioles.
The best hitter for the O’s right now though is Chris Davis.
Davis is a 27 year old who has
spent his years in Texas and Baltimore. He was unaware to the public eye until
this year, even though he belted 33 homers and had a .501 slugging percentage.
But why was he unaware? Because last year he only walked 37 times, struck out
169 times, and has had a .326 OBP (which turns out to be his career OBP too).
Things have changed for him a little this year. His slugging percentage is an
astounding .749, and is the league leader in homers with 19. He has already
walked 29 times, which is an improvement from last year, but strikes out just
as much.
Davis is their leader in hitting,
but they still have some other weapons, such as Jones, Matt Wieters, Manny
Machado, Nick Markakis, and Nate McLouth. Davis, however, is probably the only
one up for an MVP candidacy.
They have these weapons, but what’s
keeping them out of first place is their pitching. Yes, they have Jim Johnson,
who as we saw last year can be deadly, but he still posts a 4.85 ERA. Other
relievers like Pedro Strop and Troy Patton should be doing much better, but
luckily they have Tommy Hunter and Darren O’Day.
Their starting pitching needs some
work. Their best starter posts a 4.26 ERA. They recently added Jair Jurrjens, who
has only had one outing thus far. He went 5 innings, giving up 6 runs. Jair has
not been as good as he has been, but can still be helpful.
Historically, the O’s usually have
relied on their hitting rather than pitching. It all started when they traded
pitcher Milt Pappas to the Reds (who eventually went to the Cubs and threw a no
hitter), in exchange for outfielder Frank Robinson. Robinson went on to win the
MVP the next year, as well as the Triple Crown. He is still the only player to
win MVP in both leagues. They went on to sweep the Dodgers in 1966 World
Series. The end of the sixties was amazing for the Orioles, winning 109 games
in 1969 and having Mike Cuellar share the Cy Young Award. They would win it
again in 1970 and 1983.
Then, of course, Cal Ripken came to
Baltimore, who may be the most famous Oriole of all time. “Iron Man” could do
everything – he could hit, he could homer, he could defend. He also was an all-star
19 times. In 1995, he broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games streak of 2,130, in
one of the best baseball moments of the 20th century. He would go on
playing 2,632 straight games, finally resting on September 20, 1998 against the
Yankees.
Ever since Ripken retired, the O’s
started to fall, posting some of the worst years in their organization.
However, just last year, Baltimore pulled off what seemed to be a surprise in
taking the wild card berth, then beating the Rangers in the play-in game.
This team is good, but not as good
as last year. Statistically and sabermetrically (I might have just made up that
word), the Orioles will go 74-88 this year. That was a preseason pick, however,
and are proving that wrong with their record. Let’s just hope they don’t pull
another ’05 season when they went 32-60 in the last half (and ironically
finished 74-88 too).
A great fan base, a great team, and
an amazing history. You can’t go wrong with rooting for the O’s. That’s my team
for today, check out my Who’s Hot/ Not either today or tomorrow, depending on
how much time I have. Don’t worry, I will be back on track soon.
Have any
questions/comments/concerns? Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com.
-Evan Boyd
The Oriole Way: “Perfect Practice
Makes Perfect!” – Cal Ripken, Sr.
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