Baltimore Orioles: Enough Offense for a Playoffs Team?

Sep 13, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Steve Pearce (28) celebrates with J.J. Hardy (2) after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Yankees won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

It may seem like an absolutely ridiculous question to ask if the Baltimore Orioles have enough offense to be a seriously competitive playoffs team. After all, this is the American League team with close to 30 more home runs on the season than the nearest competitor.

However, it is not an infrequent occurrence that the Orioles struggle to score many runs and are shut down rather effectively by quality pitching – the category of pitching sure to be seen in the playoffs. The last three games against the Yankees are an example. It was nice to have scored five runs in the nightcap of the doubleheader, but only two runs could be mustered in each of the other two games. The O’s were fortunate to get the timely hit by Paredes (after Yankees pitching loaded the bases) and escape the 11^th inning Friday afternoon with a win.

Adding to this question is the recent loss of Chris Davis due to his suspension. Though .196 is a sickly-looking batting average, and though the Orioles are 16-5 in his absence this year, he did account for 26 home runs and 72 RBIs. He remained a fearsome figure in the O’s lineup that could haunt a pitcher’s psyche about what could happen with one swing of the bat.

There is nothing quite like trying to win a world championship with three All-Stars out for the season!

And beyond Davis is the continuing cumulative loss of Manny Machado and Matt Wieters. Nothing quite like trying to win a championship with a team that is missing three All-Stars! Without doubt, it would make for a great storyline … which is my great hope as a writer.

So what about the question that I pose? I recently have put a couple of articles on a site called “Reddit.” I’m still not quite sure I understand the site, but it is an open forum to be highly criticized if it is anything. I entitled a recent article “Has Nelson Cruz Carried the Orioles in 2014?” And a commenter there went off on an academic discussion about how questions asked in titles of articles are known to anticipate answers in the negative.

I am truly asking the question without a definitive answer in mind. I am not suggesting that the Orioles do not have sufficient scoring punch, even in light of the personnel losses. But it is true that the good O’s pitching since early June has likely done most to boost the Orioles to a current sum of 88 wins with 14 games to play.

Within the American League, it would probably be accurate to rate the overall Orioles offence as about #5 or #6. While they have the most home runs, the O’s are lowest in team speed and triples. They are 10^th in doubles and 13^th in walks. In a number of categories the Orioles rank fifth overall – such as in average runs per game, total runs, hits, and batting average. Again, it altogether sums up as about fifth, or maybe sixth in the league.

There is certainly enough talent on this roster to take 13-14 quality hitters into the rounds of the playoffs. However, the primary players are going to be needing to perform at a high level, and the “filler” players will be called upon to contribute sufficiently to keep the lineup turning over.

I think we could identify five primary players who will need to be the backbone to carry this offence: Nelson Cruz, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Steve Pearce and Nick Markakis. The Baltimore Orioles will need most of these five to be hitting well going into the playoffs. So how are they doing over the past 20 games?