Another sweep before the supposed firing squad in Beantown
So the Orioles close out their homestand at 5-2 on the heels of a three-game sweep of the Devil Rays. That's their third sweep of the season (all against different teams) after two all of last year. The Orioles have begun to really enjoy playing the Rays. I suppose that started with Jorge Julio leaving town and continued with Aubrey Huff coming to Baltimore. Speaking of which, if it wasn't going to be Markakis getting the walk-off hit on Tuesday, wasn't it fitting that it be Huff? How many times did he hit the late HR for the Devil Rays against the Orioles. Ah, sweet poetic justice. Now he just needs to do that a dozen more times and we'll be even.
The highlight of the series had to be Erik Bedard. He's coming back to the Erik of old, perhaps. 7 shutout innings with 10 Ks is something I'll take any day. Meanwhile, Huff wasn't the only one torturing his ex-mates. Danys Baez had three scoreless apprearances. In fact, the bullpen pretty much had it going on, with the exception of Chad Bradford in the first game. The O's hit and when they didn't hit, they pitched lights out until they finally hit. Gibbons and Patterson started showing offensive signs of life. B-Rob with some great hitting and Markakis with a mammouth HR. They don't come more gratifying than this.
Actually, they do, but it's a bit more of a stretch. For all the good and bad that has happened this season, they still manage to sit at one game under 500. The Orioles head to Boston to take on the Red Sox in what has the makings of a very painful weekend. But in situations like these, teams can take one of two approaches. They can roll over and play dead (and make no mistake--the Orioles have done that in past years) or they can play like they've got nothing to lose. If this locker room truly is the best they've had in years with the right attitudes, then the latter can happen. That's where underdog stories are built. The Orioles are taking on Schilling and Beckett--just like they did when the Red Sox came to Baltimore. But the Orioles were tied late in Game 1 and leading in Game 2. They weren't blowouts and the Orioles were a Chris Ray fastball from a series split. And who knows what happens if that Walker-Ortiz battle didn't end with a bloop base hit. They are not invincible, though they'd like to think they are. Or at least Red Sox Nation does. Have you seen the article in the Globe about their supposed divisional domination? It's amazing to boast like that about a team that has gone longer without winning a divisional title than the Orioles (yes, that's true and you could look it up). Look, I'm not saying the Orioles are going to challenge or win the division. But do they really think they are going to leave the Yankees in the dust. The logic is brilliant: everyone who is hot will stay hot and the slow starters will heat up. If only that were the case for all of us. If Steve Trachsel keeps pitching the way he does and so does Jeremy Guthrie (we're done with the Indians, so he should be safe) and Bedard picks up his 2006 form and Brian Burres pitches like he did out of the pen and D-Cab hits his potential, WOW! Yes, WOW, but that's a lot of if's and the Red Sox have plenty of them as well. Look, I don't know what is going to happen this weekend and the Orioles seem to struggle to handle this hex that the Red Sox have on them dating back to late 2005. But it would be really nice to see this overpriced team with an overaged rotation put in its place. Of course, regardless of what happens this weekend, I'll be curious to watch how the Red Sox Nation will react if Schilling and Wakefield start showing their age (Timlin is already doing it) and the Yankees make their usual August move. I'm not rooting for the Yankees, but it certainly takes the sting out when they do it to the Sox sometimes. I'm just sayin...
Anyway, rather than waiting for the Yankees to take aim, I'd rather see the Orioles step up. The oddsmakers think it is pretty unlikely, but that would only make it sweeter. Let's see what you got, Birds...
The highlight of the series had to be Erik Bedard. He's coming back to the Erik of old, perhaps. 7 shutout innings with 10 Ks is something I'll take any day. Meanwhile, Huff wasn't the only one torturing his ex-mates. Danys Baez had three scoreless apprearances. In fact, the bullpen pretty much had it going on, with the exception of Chad Bradford in the first game. The O's hit and when they didn't hit, they pitched lights out until they finally hit. Gibbons and Patterson started showing offensive signs of life. B-Rob with some great hitting and Markakis with a mammouth HR. They don't come more gratifying than this.
Actually, they do, but it's a bit more of a stretch. For all the good and bad that has happened this season, they still manage to sit at one game under 500. The Orioles head to Boston to take on the Red Sox in what has the makings of a very painful weekend. But in situations like these, teams can take one of two approaches. They can roll over and play dead (and make no mistake--the Orioles have done that in past years) or they can play like they've got nothing to lose. If this locker room truly is the best they've had in years with the right attitudes, then the latter can happen. That's where underdog stories are built. The Orioles are taking on Schilling and Beckett--just like they did when the Red Sox came to Baltimore. But the Orioles were tied late in Game 1 and leading in Game 2. They weren't blowouts and the Orioles were a Chris Ray fastball from a series split. And who knows what happens if that Walker-Ortiz battle didn't end with a bloop base hit. They are not invincible, though they'd like to think they are. Or at least Red Sox Nation does. Have you seen the article in the Globe about their supposed divisional domination? It's amazing to boast like that about a team that has gone longer without winning a divisional title than the Orioles (yes, that's true and you could look it up). Look, I'm not saying the Orioles are going to challenge or win the division. But do they really think they are going to leave the Yankees in the dust. The logic is brilliant: everyone who is hot will stay hot and the slow starters will heat up. If only that were the case for all of us. If Steve Trachsel keeps pitching the way he does and so does Jeremy Guthrie (we're done with the Indians, so he should be safe) and Bedard picks up his 2006 form and Brian Burres pitches like he did out of the pen and D-Cab hits his potential, WOW! Yes, WOW, but that's a lot of if's and the Red Sox have plenty of them as well. Look, I don't know what is going to happen this weekend and the Orioles seem to struggle to handle this hex that the Red Sox have on them dating back to late 2005. But it would be really nice to see this overpriced team with an overaged rotation put in its place. Of course, regardless of what happens this weekend, I'll be curious to watch how the Red Sox Nation will react if Schilling and Wakefield start showing their age (Timlin is already doing it) and the Yankees make their usual August move. I'm not rooting for the Yankees, but it certainly takes the sting out when they do it to the Sox sometimes. I'm just sayin...
Anyway, rather than waiting for the Yankees to take aim, I'd rather see the Orioles step up. The oddsmakers think it is pretty unlikely, but that would only make it sweeter. Let's see what you got, Birds...
posted by sandyk at
1:52 PM
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