Terry Ford: It's Not Over 'Til We Say It's Over
So the Orioles are down 2-0 to the Royals in the American League Championship Series. And every national pundit and a lot of fans locally here in Baltimore are saying that the series is over.
Well, in the words of Bluto from Animal House… "Over, did you say it's over? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the German's bombed Pearl Harbor?????? Hell no! Cause when the goin' gets tough, the tough get goin'!"
Look, I get it. No team has ever won a seven game League Championship Series after losing the first two games at home. And the… "There's a first time for everything" chant is kind of desperate and weak. Sort of like me at last call. But 13 teams have come back from a 2-0 deficit in the World Series and three teams did so after losing the first two at home. The last two you may have heard of, the 1996 Yankees came back on the Braves to win the World Series and the 1986 Mets lost the first two home against the Red Sox but won the series. Too bad the Royals don't have Mark Wohlers or Bill Buckner. Does the chant… "Hell, it hasn't happened in a while but it has happened before so we're due" sound desperate and weak?
Why can't the O's still come back? So far in the play-offs the Royals have been fantastic. They are 6-0 and they deserve props for how well they've played. Kansas City has gotten every big hit, made every big pitch and have been spectacular on defense. Even when they screw up the Royals don't let it come back to bite them. Lady Luck has also smiled upon KC in this series with broken bat hits, bloopers and 30 foot infield singles.
But let's be real here, Kansas City has been hitting like they're 1998 Yankees. They are working counts, fouling off two strike pitches, hitting the ball where it's pitched, playing small ball when needed and banging home runs. If you haven't seen the Royals play this year you wouldn't have any idea that the Royals finished 14th in Major League Baseball in runs scored. And guess how many teams hit less home runs than KC this season? No one. They finished 30th in baseball in smacking the long ball. And Kansas City was also 30th in drawing walks. So what have they done in this series? Scored seven runs a game, hit homers and walked!
So my reason for optimism is that the Royals can't keep hitting like this, can they? We all knew Kansas City could pitch, especially their bullpen, but what has carried KC on this run is its offense. There have been times this year that KC couldn't score a run if you gave them five outs an inning. This offense had a .690 combined on-base and slugging percentage. So, when does Mike Moustakus go back to being the .236 career hitter who smacked a home run every 35 at bats? When do Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain come back to reality?
Maybe these dudes who have spun their wheels in the majors all of a sudden have figured it out or maybe they will continue their hot streak all the way through the World Series and resort to their career numbers next year, but I'm holding out hope they go back to who they are starting in Game Three of the ALCS Tuesday night.
If not, the Orioles season is over… no matter what Bluto says.
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