Baltimore Orioles: 20 Outs is all You Get with the Yankees

Jul 21, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Rain clouds move in during the second inning between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

When pitching coach Leo Mazzone was with the Baltimore Orioles some years ago, he would speak of attempting to get starters to think in terms of getting 20 outs – going 6 and 2/3 innings. If done with some consistency, this saves the bullpen from overuse and allows for a couple of dominant relievers to essentially shut down the opposition from that point forward.

Particularly in the 2014 season, we saw where teams with two, or even three, highly effective relievers were able to contribute mightily toward a team’s success. We might particularly point to the Royals in this regard, and it is fair to include the Orioles in that discussion. I believe this line of thinking and team construction is more than a current fad, rather it is a timeless way of constructing a roster – weighing heavily also upon the distribution of available dollars.

And as I’ve written a handful of times since the end of last season, I would have rather seen the Orioles spend whatever it took to keep Andrew Miller than Nelson Cruz or Nick Markakis – especially if we are talking about four-year deals and not just 2015.

OK, yes, I can hear some of you screaming one of two things, or maybe even both! “But the Orioles did not spend to keep even one of those three!” Or, “It doesn’t matter that the Orioles don’t have Miller, because if you can’t score any more than two runs in your first 20 outs of the game, it is irrelevant as to who you have in the bullpen most nights.”

These things are true. But my point is not to say that the Orioles would be five games ahead of the Yankees instead of five games behind if only they had kept Miller. The back end of the Orioles’ relief corps is arguably nearly as good as what the Yankees have going on with Dellin Betances and Miller. And frankly, this Orioles roster should be scoring more runs than they are, even without whatever Cruz and Markakis would have brought to it. They should be good enough to be among the best in the league. They are not getting it done. Duquette and Angeles can’t hit the ball for them.

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The point here today is simply to reflect on what the Yankees have as a great strength in the final arms out of the bullpen. Add to this this that their offense has produced better than could have been reasonably expected when analyzed in March, and boom – they’re five games ahead of the O’s.

Here are the amazing numbers … the Yankees, who managed to have a lead going into the eighth inning, are 49-0 this year in those scenarios. At the same time, the Orioles are 42-0 in the same situation. The difference, obviously, is that the NY offense has given their back end of the pen that situation seven more times. Andrew Miller is 21-for-21 in save situations.

I’ve also written before and often said that I think the very best arm in all of baseball is Dellin Betances. It is almost unfair what he can do with his varied pitches. He can throw a moving fastball at 99 and follow it with a tight breaking pitch at 82 … and everything in between.

Add in the Orioles relievers of Darren O’Day and Zach Britton, and you are talking about four terrific bullpen arms. For the fun of it, let me close by laying their basic stats on a graph together …

	ERA	BAA	WHIP	K/9	Saves
Betances	1.43	.124	.834	14.5	7-9
Miller	1.39	.097	.680	9.3	21-21
O’Day	1.04	.159	.837	11.9	2-4
Britton	1.67	.212	.982	10.9	24-25

So, to the Orioles: Score early and score often.

Next: This is a big series with the Yankees

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