MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
Considering the injuries that have swarmed them and considering they had losing months in July and August, the Baltimore Orioles are in pretty good shape today when you look at the American League standings.
With 21 games to go in the regular season, the Birds open play tonight against Tampa Bay with an 81-60 record, astoundingly the best in the American League, one-half game ahead of the New York Yankees, who, despite troubles of their own, open play this afternoon against the Chicago Cubs at 80-60, tied for second-best record in the AL with the Cleveland Guardians.
To repeat: Anyone who says, “It’s only April” or “It’s only May,” really doesn’t follow the game because all of those early wins by the O’s and the Yanks in April and May have kept them both at the top of the AL chase. They all count the same, whether they come in March or in September.
It should also be noted that for a manager who the dopes on social media say is dumber than a bag of rocks, Orioles skipper Brandon Hyde may well become the dumbest manager in baseball history to win back-to-back AL Manager of the Year awards.
Yes, injuries are part of the game, but consider for most of the season, the Orioles have been without what would be considered a top-five starting rotation for extended periods of time – Kyle Bradish (season), Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, John Means (season) and Tyler Wells (season).
Among the missing behind those starters is a starting infield of Ryan Mountcastle, Ramon Urias, Jorge Mateo (season) and Jordan Westburg, as well as outfielder Heston Kjerstad.
The bullpen hasn’t been overlooked either, as the club has been without its two most important set-up men in left-hander Danny Coulombe and right-hander Jacob Webb. And, oh yes, Felix Bautista, the most dominant closer in baseball has and will miss the entire season.
The news seems to be better, though, as Coulombe and Webb are throwing again and are expected back relatively soon. Eflin, of course, came back earlier in the week and pitched seven shutout innings, while Rodriguez is hopeful to be back in a week or two.
There is no timetable yet for Mountcastle (wrist), Urias (ankle) or Kjerstad (concussion protocol, thanks to the Yankees, who have hit more batters and whine more than any team in baseball), but Westburg, who had been doing baseball activities one-handed, began to throw with his broken right hand at the beginning of the week and the Orioles are hopeful to have him back by the end of the season.
Besides Bautista, Bradish, Means and Wells, all out for the season with Tommy John, Westburg is the guy the Orioles need most to have active again. The versatile All-Star infielder is a glue guy. He’s a gamer, an outstanding defender at third or second, as well as a clutch run-producer at the plate who keeps the lineup moving.
In just his second year in the bigs, Westburg plays like a 10-year guy, and his absence has been glaring, as it is no coincidence the Orioles’ miseries at the plate began shortly after he joined the injured list.
Still, despite their inconsistent play since just before the All-Star break, the Orioles keep grinding along because somehow their pitching, led by miracle find Albert Suarez, Corbin Burnes and the trade for Eflin, has been keeping them in games.
Offensively, it has been a grind for most of the season: Adley Rutschman has struggled, Gunnar Henderson experienced a spell (but seems to be coming out of it), and Mountcastle before he was injured and rookie Colton Cowser have struggled, particularly with runners in scoring position.
In fact, the Orioles, who were the best-hitting team with RISP last year, have struggled as a team in that capacity this year. Aside from Anthony Santander’s power numbers, the most consistent offensive player after Westburg went down had been Urias before he went down with a sprained ankle.
And don’t sell Mateo’s absence short on the offensive side either. He may be a low-average hitter, but when he gets on base he usually seems to score because he can create so much on his own on the bases.
Still, things could be worse; things could be far worse, as there finally seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel, and that includes what seems to be rookie Jackson Holliday’s ascending comfort level playing in the big leagues. His play at second base improves daily, and don’t be surprised when he delivers some big hits in the final few weeks.
It’s September 6 and the Magic Number to win the division/be eliminated altogether is 22/23 for the Orioles and 23/22 for the Yankees.
It’s on; it’s been on. It’s a pennant race, or at least a divisional race. The O’s are grinding and the Yanks are still grinding despite the many stubbed toes by both. So who has the most grind left?
The three-game series at Mini-Yankee Stadium September 24-26 will go a long way to determine that. If the O’s get some of their guys back, I like their chances.
And then there will be the playoffs.
As Sarah Langs says, “Baseball is the best.”
End ALS.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @MikeBurkeMDT