So today I am officially ending my O's blogging strike. I made it known after a four game losing streak and a sweep by the Yankees that I would refuse blogging about the Orioles until I saw at least a three game winning streak. Well guess what....as of yesterday, Baltimore completed their first three game sweep of the season, and consequently their first three game winning streak as well. So blogs away...hope you enjoy.
The timing of this winning streak could not have come at a better time or in better fashion as it did yesterday afternoon. In one of the wackiest games this season, the Orioles (21-26) pulled off the come-from-behind victory in extra innings against the free falling Toronto Blue Jays. Falling behind 7-2 early after a six run 4th inning from the Jays, the O's were able to produce a five run inning of their own in the bottom of the 7th to tie the game and eventually force extra innings. All five runs were given up by Blue Jays reliever Jesse Carlson (what you would call a real hitter's pitcher), the most given up by Carlson in one inning in his career. So everything was looking good for the O's heading into the bottom of the 9th as they saw themselves with two men on base and only one out with the top of the order waiting to strike. Unfortunately, Carlson was able to save face a little bit and got out of the jam to keep the game going for another inning. After trading outs through the 10th, apparent disaster stuck in the top of the 11th. With one out and one man on base, Arron Hill blasted one into right field and put the Jays up 10-8.
At this point, as I am watching the gamecast on my computer at work I am thinking "great, just great, another one of many shortcomings that I have seen from this team all season...". It was time for me to go home, so I shut down the computer expecting to read a bottom-line score of 10-8 when I got home and turned on sportscenter. However, when that moment came I threw my arms up in celebration as I saw the O's had pulled off the unthinkable and actually won the game by topping the Jays in the bottom of the same inning. After Luke Scott drove in Nick Markakis to cut the lead to a run, rookie left fielder Nolan Reimold blasted a shot of his own into center for the three run walk-off HR making him the first rookie in the past 18 years to hit a walk-off homer for the Birds (Leo Gomez did it on August 12, 1991 against Donn Pall of the White Sox). Final score: 12-10 Orioles. It was great to see some clutch performance on the offensive end finally. The O's recorded a season high 18 hits to score 12 runs. They rallied from behind twice, scoring five runs in the 7th and four runs in the 11th to record their 5th win in the last six games. The Orioles begin a three game series with the Detroit Tigers tonight (7:05 EST).
Can I talk about Nolan Reimold for a second? Where did this guy come from (actually...Bowling Green)?? One minute, we are relying on the scattered play of Felix Pie, and the next minute we have a bona-fide slugger who has really come into own over the past few weeks. During his 13-game stint for the O's, Reimold is batting .265 with 4 homers and 9 RBI. Not the most impressive numbers perhaps, but for a rookie who was thrown into the big leagues, I'll say he's holding his own pretty well. Capped with his three-run walk off last night, Reimold has set out a warning to opposing pitchers: You don't want to pitch to me when the game is on the line. Oh man! I am loving how these youngsters are stepping up....only a matter of time, just hang in there O's fans.
But wait, there's more!!....
Friday marks a significant moment for the Baltimore Orioles this season as their hopes for that "magical" .500 season may still be alive. About a quarter of the way into the regular season, the O's have finally decided to bring up their "Ace in the Hole" prized prospect catcher Matt Wieters as they embark on the second of three games against the Tigers (7:05 EST). Wieters has been the most talked about baseball prospect in the last few years and is already being hailed as the best prospect in all of baseball this season. In fact, one sportswriter whose name I forgot said Wieters could very well be the best catcher in the Majors by the end of this season. So my question as he steps up to the plate for the first time on Friday is can this kid live up to all the hype? Most signs point to yes, but I think it is still much to early to be certain. Here's a look at some of Wieters' accomplishments to date:
Drafted out of Georgia Tech in 2007, Wieters batted a combined .355 with 27 homers and 91 RBI last season with A Frederick and AA Bowie to earn the Brooks Robinson Award as the Orioles' minor league player of the year. This season, Wieters is batting .305 with five homers and 26 RBI wit
h AAA Norfolk through Tuesday. He is a switch-hitter, which confuses pitchers about what to use against him. He also has formidable arm strength, making him a nightmarish match up for speedy base runners. Adding a guy like Wieters to the line-up gives the Orioles on of the most complete offenses in the Majors. They now have 8 guys who can hit the long ball and are threatening an any point in the line-up. You are looking at 1.Brian Roberts, 2.Adam Jones, 3.Nick Markakis, 4.Aubrey Huff, 5.Mevlin Mora, 6.Luke Scott, 7.Nolan Reimold (another rookie that has had a huge impact on the team already....just ask the Blue Jays and the Nationals), and 8.Matt Wieters. What pitcher would want to face that lineup?? I hate to jinx it, but if we can get some of these young pitchers to step up (Hill is 2-0, Bergesen and Berken both recorded wins in their 1st careers starts, and Tillman and Hernandez are still waiting in the wings) we may be able to get hot down the stretch. This is potentially going to be great to see as the summer begins, and good thing too because there isn't going to be much else going on during the "dog days" of summer. Cross your fingers Orioles faithful (but not you Nationals redcoats!), I think I can see something in the distance. I have to squint really hard, but I think it says .500....That being said, this could just be another case of deja vu for O's fans. Haven't we heard this before? How long have the Oriole's sucked for, and how many "top" prospects have we landed only to see them fade away when the hit the Majors. I feel like every year we are supposed to have some baller kid come up and "save" the team, but guess what it? It NEVER happens. I think O's fan's just trick themselves into believing this to be true every year to soften the blow and mask the realization that we just suck. Although this remains a possibility with the Wieter's situation, I think he has been praised by too many throughout the baseball world for it to be a fluke. Maybe he wont start off as hot as everyone thinks he will, but by the end of the season he should be making his mark on the team no problem, besides, he cant be worse then Chad Moeller right?
That's it for today folks, stay tuned for an NBA Finals preview as I break down the remaining games of the Conference Finals. Can the Lebron's avoid a historic upset? Can the Nuggets bounce back and close out on a hostile road environment?? The NBA Playoffs continue to heat up and I don't think anyone knows who's going to be playing in the finals.
some statistics courtesy of espn.com
Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment