Baltimore Orioles Approach End of 2015 on High Note
By Nate Wardle
Oct 3, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones (10) pies Baltimore Orioles shortstop Paul Janish (15) during a post game interview on the field after defeating New York Yankees 4-3 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
For the Baltimore Orioles, game 162 will mean absolutely nothing as far as playoff positioning, playoff seeding, etc. Unfortunately, the Baltimore Orioles’ season will end tomorrow around 7 p.m.
However, the New York Yankees are still trying to get a home playoff game in the wild card game. The O’s are determined to not let that happen, and have done a good job so far.
After a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, the teams are tied at 9 games a piece head-to-head in 2015. Whoever wins on Sunday will win the season series between the two teams.
Before we look back on the season as a whole in the upcoming days, it is worth looking at some of the recent O’s performances and what they mean.
Let’s start with Manny Machado. Manny now has five home runs in his last four games, giving him a nice total of 35 for the season. But, his entire season has been fantastic. Defensively, it started slow and he probably won’t win a Gold Glove this year, but Manny has made those difficult plays look routine, as usual.
Manny has a slash line of .288/.360/.502, with 35 HRs, 30 2Bs and 20 SBs. He is ranked in the top 20 in average (second among 3B, to likely MVP Donaldson), top 12 in SBs, and top 10 in HRs.
He has had a fantastic year, and let’s remember some people didn’t know how he would do this year after the offseason surgery.
Chris Davis had another monster year, with 45 HRs, 113 RBIs and a very good for Davis average of .259. The Orioles will not be able to replace him in the offseason if they choose not to bring back Davis. Which means, they need to bring him back.
Zach Britton is 36 out of 40 in saves this year, with an ERA of 1.95. Britton has continued to be successful in Baltimore as the closer, and is a key piece of the team moving forward.
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But, another player I wanted to discuss was Nolan Reimold. Reimold led off the scoring in the second game with a home run off Luis Severino. But in game one, Reimold reached base three times and scored all three times. Reimold is a guy who can be an on-base guy, if he can stay healthy.
The O’s should give him another contract to be in the majors next year, and consider having him as a fourth outfielder in 2016. Hopefully this offseason the team will make actual upgrades to improving the corner outfield positions.
Another person I think should be part of the team’s 2016 plans is Paul Janish. Janish has shown he can play shortstop at a very high level, much like J.J. Hardy.
However, Janish, in his limited opportunities, has hit .286. That was MUCH better than what J.J. Hardy did this year, injury not withstanding.
The quickly-approaching offseason will be here in less than 24 hours. It is a frustrating, early end to a season that had so much promise.
You will notice I didn’t mention any of the starting pitching. Talk about what went well, or didn’t go well there will come in the upcoming days. But there is no doubt that if the pitching would have matched last year’s, this team would likely be going back to the playoffs.
No matter how good the offense is, it is still all about the starting pitching.