With one wild card game finished, we have one to go. This time it’s the Pittsburgh Pirates hosting the San Francisco Giants for the right to move on to the Divisional Series and face the NL best Washington Nationals. I’ve already stated my love for the wild card games, and while we don’t quite have the marquis pitching matchup featured in the AL game yesterday, we should be in store for another exciting game. Continue reading
Archive for 2014 Playoffs
2014 National League Wild Card Preview
Posted in Playoffs with tags 2014 Playoffs on October 1, 2014 by oriolesprovingground2014 American League Wild Card Preview
Posted in Playoffs with tags 2014 Playoffs on September 30, 2014 by oriolesprovinggroundI may be in the minority, but I think the “one and done” wild card games are the best. It basically guarantees two games a year that are essentially “Game 163”, and who doesn’t like a game 163? It’s 9 innings of desperation from both sides that keeps fans on the edge of their seats. Yeah, it sucks that there’s the chance that you’re bounced out of the playoffs after one game, especially after a long season, but that’s why it’s so important to win the division.
Both teams involved in the AL Wild Card game had their opportunities to win their respective divisions, but failed to do so. On one hand, the A’s collapsed so badly in August and September that they almost missed the playoffs (they were tied for the division lead on August 25 and ended up finishing behind the Angels by 10 games), while on the other hand, the Royals couldn’t put away the Tigers at the end of the season, losing 4 of their last 6 games against them, and going 6-13 against Detroit over the course of the season. Continue reading
2014 Playoff Predictions
Posted in Playoffs with tags 2014 Playoffs, Playoff Predictions on September 30, 2014 by oriolesprovinggroundLast year when I made playoff predictions, I did so while including a blurb explaining why I thought that particular team would go on to be victorious. This year, I’m planning on doing things a little bit differently. I’ll give my picks here (so you can look at it and make fun of me for being wrong later), then I’ll (hopefully) provide a series preview in separate posts that do a little more explaining. So, here are my picks, but who the hell knows what will happen! Continue reading
Orioles Win the American League East, Now What?
Posted in Playoffs, Prospects, Trades with tags 2014 Playoffs, Alejandro De Aza, Christian Walker, Jimmy Paredes, Nick Hundley, Steve Pearce, Ubaldo Jimenez on September 18, 2014 by oriolesprovinggroundOn Tuesday night, the Orioles secured the top spot in the American League East for the first time since 1997, ensuring their place in the 2014 playoffs. They did so by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 in front of a raucous (if not quite sell-out) crowd in Baltimore. Ubaldo Jimenez (he of the 4.90 ERA and 14.0% BB rate) picked up the win, throwing 5 innings, giving up only 2 hits and 2 runs, while striking out 6 batters. Of course he also walked 4 batters, which Orioles fans have come to expect when Jimenez takes the mound. The night itself seemed to sum up the 2014 Orioles well, as not only did they get an unexpectedly good (ok, not good, but decent) performance from Jimenez, but all 8 runs were driven in by players who weren’t expected to make a significant impact this year, and some who have only been on the team for a couple of weeks. Jimmy Paredes and Nick Hundley each drove in a run, while Alejandro De Aza and un-sung hero Steve Pearce drove in 3 a piece. Here’s a fun fact, De Aza has produced more fWAR with the Orioles in 12 games (0.7) than he did in 122 games with the White Sox (0.6). The late August trades Orioles GM Dan Duquette made for De Aza and Kelly Johnson may have flown under the radar at the time, but could prove to be very valuable to the team, especially in light of the Chris Davis suspension.
So what happens now? Continue reading
Orioles Proving Ground 