Steve Davis: Orioles Exactly 100 Games To Go
I know there has been a lot of frustration with the Orioles this year, particularly with the lack of offense until very recently, and with Nelson Cruz and Andrew Miller having phenomenal years.
We are 62 games in right now. The Orioles are 31-31. A .500 record probably won't get them to the playoffs, but they are in perfectly fine condition. Think about it.
If someone told you the Orioles would be just 3 games out of first place on June 15, you probably would have taken if all of the following happened:
Schoop hurt almost the entire year so far, and Hardy for a large portion of it, so your double play combo has never played a game together.
Their back-up, Flaherty has been on the DL twice.
Wieters missed the first 2 months when they thought he'd be ready much earlier.
Your best young pitcher, Gausman, hasn't started a single game and is injured.
Norris and Gonzales had to go to the DL for short periods.
Your lefty specialist, Wesley Wright, has only pitched in 2 games.
You played a man short for 8 games (and won 7 of them without Matusz).
You had riots and basically lost homefield for 6 games.
That's a lot of stuff they've had to deal with, and they're still just one game off of last year's pace at this time. Does the team have some flaws? Yes, but they are still in a very good position.
