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Orioles Returning To Winning Ways + Common Sense on September Rosters

The only way to stay relatively sane in a tense pennant race is to invoke the mantra again and again: “If we win every series, we will make the playoffs.” Though like most Oriole fans I have been disconsolate at the O’s fade since they were a season-high 18 games over .500 in early August, they just won two big series on the road.

They head to Boston two games behind the first-place Red Sox and tied with Toronto for the two wild card positions. The Tigers and the sizzling Yankees are two games back and Houston, Seattle, and Kansas City are still alive in the tight race. (There is less drama in the NL but there is a tight race for the two wild cards in progress between the Cardinals, Giants, and Mets.)

To beat the Tigers two out of three at Comerica Park gave the Birds a big boost. ‘Twas especially nice after they lost the Friday night opener 4-3 despite a solid effort
from Kevin Gausman. Reliever Brad Brach lost the game on an 8th inning solo home run by Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez who may not be able to run any more but he still can hit, especially from the left side.

On Saturday the Birds jumped on obviously still-rusty Jordan Zimmermann for two HRs in the first inning and they were never headed in an 11-3 win. Adam Jones homered on the first pitch of the game and Chris Davis followed with a two-run dinger.

It was a rare laugher for an Orioles team that has been struggling in close contests because of a homer-or-bust offense. Reborn Ubaldo Jimenez came through with seven solid innings and catcher Matt Wieters iced the game with two homers accounting for 5 RBI.

Sunday’s rubber game was a taut classic from the first pitch to the last. In the 3-1 Baltimore victory 15-game winner Chris Tillman pitched six strong innings in his first start in three weeks, sidelined because of shoulder bursitis.

Newcomer Michael Bourn showed he was born again by hitting a two-run homer off Detroit ace Justin Verlander and Jonathan Schoop’s solo homer added an important insurance run. Schoop is striking out too much these days and perhaps his swinging for the fences is hurting his all-around proficiency at the plate.

Yet the Orioles are an ultra-aggressive team at the plate and they continue to play solid defense. Adam Jones made two outstanding catches mid-game that maintained the Orioles lead. And back on the horse in the 7th inning, Brach pitched a solid inning.

Mychal Givens – he of the 95 mph sidearm fastball – got Miguel Cabrera to hit into an inning-ending DP in the 8th. Zach Britton got his 41st consecutive 2016 save in the 9th not before yielding two base runners. But he was in control, keeping the ball on the ground when it was hit.

Holding Cabrera hitless in the three games was a key to the series win. It was playoff baseball of great intensity with Cabrera in the middle of a good deal of testiness. Gausman on Friday stared down Miguel on more than one occasion.

Sunday’s game saw both Adam Jones and Mark Trumbo complain in the first two innings that Cabrera’s awkwardness with his feet around first base left them vulnerable to being tripped and seriously injured. Fortunately, no further incidents occurred in the game.

I don’t predict outcomes, and it is amusing how the proliferating pundits' websites are filled with percentages of what will happen for the rest of the season. Baseball is a game of inches and penalties, as Branch Rickey as usual wisely said, and the only way to watch it successfully is pitch-by-pitch without preconceived notions.

One thing that MUST be corrected by next year is the over-expansion of September rosters. Teams play from April through August with a 25-man roster but come September 1, the full 40-man roster is eligible to play. Teams have been using as many as 12 pitchers in a single game.

It’s just not right and must be modified. Orioles skipper Buck Showalter and others have called for a taxi squad for September games. Before a series, a team must list no more than 30 people eligible for the games, they argue correctly.

Another issue that has marred games all season is the incessant meetings on the mound, especially between pitchers and catchers. That number must be reduced by
rule to only a handful.

In spite of these irritating flaws, it is great to be alive in September, isn’t it?
Let the games continue in all their beauty and yes agony.
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Reflections on The Orioles Shaky Series at Yankee Stadium

MLB's baseball schedule is unfathomable and unfair but it seems it is here to stay (until there is a major realignment that I am not sure I would favor.) I realize that two 15-team major leagues now require an inter-league game every day, but divisional play should still take precedence at regular intervals.

Not so for the Orioles who paid their first visit of 2016 to Yankee Stadium from July 18-21. The Birds had already hosted the Bronx Bombers twice this year and won each series two games to one. Sadly, in a post-All-Star Game batting slump, they provided little opposition as the Yankees mowed them down easily in the first three games, 2-1, 7-1, and 5-0.

Though not convinced that the Orioles are a bona fide championship contender, especially because of a shaky starting pitching rotation, I attended every game. The Birds were undermanned because a stomach virus engulfed the Oriole roster keeping Chris Davis out of the lineup in the first three games and also forcing Manny Machado to the sidelines for game three.

Fortunately, both played in the Thursday day game that saw Chris Tillman perform like a true ace. His seven solid innings preserved the lead that shortstop JJ Hardy gave him with a bases-loaded single in the first inning. It was a ball that handcuffed normally reliable Yankee shortstop Didi Gregorius. It was hit hard enough to be a legitimate single though it was a play that Gregorius usually makes.

Later in the game Didi made amends with some brilliant plays. His double play partner Starlin Caatro also flashed plenty of range and leather. They are the likely future of the Yankees as they aim to get younger and better.

Jonathan Schoop, like Gregorius from the tiny land of Curacao not far from Venezuela, delivered a key two-run insurance double in the seventh inning.

Remember the names of Schoop and Gregorius. Neither made the 2016 All-Star team but beginning next season they should likely add that laurel of recognition.

The Red Sox have moved into first place in the AL East, one lost game ahead of Baltimore with Toronto close behind. The trade deadline looms on August 1 and all teams will strive to improve for either this year or future years like perhaps the Yankees.

I am fascinated that so many Yankee fans are convinced that the current squad needs revamping. Yet the Steinbrenner family and close associates still evidently cling to the belief that this year can still lead to a playoff.

One word of advice to all teams (that of course won't be heeded) - Don't make deals just because of the clamoring of the media. I personally prefer the older deadline of mid-June.

It says here that teams should rely primarily on what their own organizations have developed. But since building a championship roster is such a difficult process, there will always be trades and wise acquisitions by other means.

There should be plenty of drama ahead and I for one am grateful for that. It is a precious time of year when pennant race baseball should have the main attention of real fans.
When the football season begins in late August/early September that focus will change.

That's all for now. I'm off to teach at Chautauqua in western New York during the first week of August. Will be back with reports on that later in the summer.
In the meantime, always remember: Take it easy but take it!
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