Thursday, July 9, 2015

Orioles - Week 7 (2015)

Sweep of Jay's give O's winning week

Despite the rash of injuries that the O's have had over the past couple weeks, coupled with their lack of hitting production, the O's managed to go 4-2 this past week. Including a sweep over the bottom dwelling Toronto Blue Jays.

Matt Wieters on his first week back was being put into action sparingly. He had 9 at bats with 4 hits including 2 HR's. Caleb Joseph also assisted with 5 hits over the course of 14 AB's. 

Adam Jones is still having one of his worst seasons as an Oriole and went 4 for 24, dropping his season hitting average to .205. Another black hole in the lineup is Chris Davis who is leading the MLB in strike outs with an astounding 56 K's in 176 plate appearances. He had 1 hit this past week in 19 plate appearances. When Chris Davis was asked about his slump this season, he stated "My swing is just not coming through like it normally does, I generally do have a high strikout rate, but I usually can drive balls to the opposite field and that is not happening this year."



There has been rumors that the O's GM is looking to shop both Chris Davis and Matt Wieters as a potential package deal to find a hitter. Both of their deals are up this year and have a slim chance of returning to the O's.

The O's begin next week playing the Houston Astros. Also, the 2015 All-Star voting begins on Monday, May 25th. It is unlikely any of the O's hitters make the team (Machado is injured), however there is a slim chance that 1 or 2 pitchers can make the reserves. STAY TUNED!


Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Orioles - Week 6 (2015)

Cabrera Trade Providing Dividends

On May 11th, the Baltimore Orioles made a trade to provide their outfield with another bat that they so desperately needed since Nick Markakis left in the off-season. That was for the former hitting (*) champion, Melky Cabrera. Many fans were not happy with the trade, one fan stated "We do not want a cheater on our team, we already had one of those". That fan was talking about Rafael Palmeiro, who was also caught lieing to congress stating "I have never used steroids. PERIOD."











However, fans may likely forget that Cabrera was a "cheater" if he keeps hitting like he did in his first week. He batted .308 with an astounding 11 RBI's in his first week as an Oriole.

The hitting began to come around as the Orioles won 4 of 6 this past week. It was almost a 5 of 6 week until the Angels' Mike Trout exploded for a 4 hit, 2HR (1 grand slam), 6 RBI performance in which the Angel's came back from a 6 run deficit to defeat the Baltimore Orioles. 

Manny Machado down with injury (Yes, again)

For the 3rd straight year, the young phenom Manny Machado had another injury. Granted, this one is not season ending but it will keep him out until around the All-Star break. On May 17th, Manny Machado had a forearm injury that is believed to be a sprain. He has since been placed on the DL. Buck Showwalter and the General Manager are still discussing options to fill this huge void.




Orioles - Week 5 (2015)

Orioles Stay Stagnant 

The Baltimore Orioles have yet to go on a big streak and take advantage of the AL East. During this week, the O's went 2-4 against both New York teams. The Orioles began their interleague play against the New York Mets who are 20-11. The Met's starting pitching is what holds them together as they are 1st in all categories. The O's fell to the Met's in both games.

The O's then took the subway to their bitter rivals, the New York Yankees. The Yank's were in 1st place, so this 4 game set came at the perfect time. Could the O's take advantage? In the first game, Miguel Gonzalez pitched a gem allowing 1 hit in 7 innings pitched. His bid for a no-no was broken up by a Brett Gardner HR in the 7th. Yes, Brett Gardner broke up the no-hitter with a homerun.The O's won that game 4-3. After the game, Gonzalez was interviewed by Baltimore Sun reporters stating "For some reason, I seem to come up with my best pitching against the Yankees, it is almost as I thrive against them."














Following that game, Wei-Yen Chen gave a great 8.2 innings pitched allowing 3 runs. The O's bats came alive against the young pitcher, Nathan Eovaldi, with 8 hits and 5 ER's over 5.2 innings. The O's won that game 7-3. As the series looked as one that could get the O's back in the AL East fight, they lost the final 2 games 1-4 and 6-7.



The black-hole for the O's still remains with their hitting as they are batting an overall .249 with a league low OBP of .694. However, the O's are looking to increase their hitting as they recall both Matt Weiters and Steve Pearce. They are both coming off of the DL and will be added to the roster this Monday to play against Toronto.

Trade - O's deal Everth Cabrera and Travis Snider to White Sox for Cabrera

In an effort to cut costs, the Chicago White Sox made a deal with Baltimore to send Melky Cabrera and his $8 million contract to the O's for two players who have small salaries. Melky Cabrera is currently batting .309.