Baltimore Orioles: Playing to Win, not Fearing a Loss

Apr 25, 2016; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman (39) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

In sending down Ryan Flaherty, the Baltimore Orioles have exposed a weakness by not having a backup at second base.

This move opened the roster space for Kevin Gausman, giving the Orioles the unusual composition of 13 pitchers and 12 position players. There are only three bench players beyond the starting lineup, completely void of anyone on the roster who has ever played second base beyond Jonathan Schoop.

The Orioles have been averse to making such moves in recent years, ever fearful of what might happen. But “what might happen” usually does not happen, and being paralyzed by the need for insurance seems to me to be more like playing to not lose rather than boldly playing to win. Who could ever forget the game in Boston a couple years ago when in extra innings the Orioles ran out of pitching? Chris Davis had to do it, and what happened?… an Orioles victory.

Clearly the O’s wanted to retain their full pitching staff without sending down anyone with options or releasing anyone simply to make room for a utility player. I like this. The strength of this team is the bullpen, and if the current rotation is not able to take them deeper into games, the immediate need is to carry an extra pitcher or two. It likely won’t always be this way.

The Orioles currently have the second-best relief corps ERA in the American League at 1.72 (behind the 1.46 of the White Sox who happen to have the best record in the AL). Why not maximize that strength and plan to use them more than is textbook typical? Why not seize the opportunity that is there rather than fret about the concern that is far less likely to eventuate?

J.J. Hardy can slide over to second base in a pinch. He already plays on that side half the time (it seems) in over-shifts. Alvarez can play first (or Trumbo with Reimold going to right field), with Davis at third base and Machado at shortstop. Is that the best defense in the game? Likely not, but it would not be the worst either.

The past couple of games have shown that the Orioles are going to need to keep opponents from scoring in order to win at a high level, doing so by also winning close, low-scoring contests. If the starters can’t do it, the relievers will have to (though the starters are not hurting the O’s particularly in recent games).

There is a sad baseball maxim that is filled with a high percentage of truth: good pitching stops good hitting. And oh, if only it was just that bad; but there’s more. Good pitching particularly stops free-swinging home-run hitting lineups. The pain inflicted in the past two games by Yordano Ventura and Chris Archer is going to happen to the Orioles more than just occasionally this year.

It is nice to hit a lot of home runs. But if a team has two consecutive lopsided wins with four-homer games, but next loses three straight by scores of 2-1, 1-0, etc., all of the cumulative offensive stats from blowouts don’t cover for a mere 40% win rate.