Photo Credit: LM Otero/Associated Press
The Baltimore Orioles are in a rut and it looks like they aren’t getting out of it anytime soon. A postseason appearance seems to be a far away dream for a team that was dominating the AL East last season, but the Orioles aren’t giving up. The O’s could certainly make a comeback, stranger things have happened, but the playoffs look like a dream for the O’s right now.
Some might cite a lack of effort on behalf of the Orioles which centerfielder Adam Jones was quick to dismiss. Jones was very candid in his response to questions about if they’re putting in an effort, “For some people to say that our effort level isn’t there just because we struck out 11 times. We could strike out 20 times. But to say our effort level wasn’t there, that’s a slap in the face. And I want to slap somebody in the face who says that.” If a lack of effort isn’t the reasoning for this losing streak, then a few other reasons come to mind like their players, roster cuts and, unfortunately, numerous errors.
The O’s have a pretty decent roster, including some big names like Jones and Chris Davis. However, as of recently, 23-year old third baseman, Manny Machado has been getting most of the press and it’s not all good. Machado is an excellent baseball player but is still relatively young and it sometimes works to his disadvantage. A perfect example of this happened on Saturday when the Orioles played the Rangers and Machado went to swing at one of Shawn Tolleson’s pitches before he stopped. Unfortunately, the umpire David Rackley didn’t believe that Machado stopped in time and called him out which caused the fire that is Manny Machado to reach his breaking point. Even though it was the last inning, Machado threw his helmet down and got in the face of Rackley before Buck Showalter came out and broke it up. It is clear that Machado has the chops to play in the MLB but if he has another outburst like that, he could be looking at a serious suspension.
Roster cuts are a necessity and part of the business side of baseball. However, sometimes the wrong roster cuts happen which is exactly what happened to the Orioles. After a dynamic season last year, the Orioles let go of Nick Markakis, Nelson Cruz and in 2013, they let go of Jake Arrieta. Fans were certainly angry about the loss of Nick Markakis because he had a strong following in Baltimore playing there for eight years. In his time with Baltimore, Markakis accomplished 1,500 career hits, years without an error and two Golden Glove awards before he was traded to the Atlanta Braves in 2014. Nelson Cruz signed a 1-year contract with the Orioles in 2014 and no one knew that he would end up with 40 home runs, 140 strikeouts and leave Baltimore in the dust. Last but certainly not least, the Orioles let go of Jake Arrieta and I’m sure they’re regretting it now. On Saturday, Arrieta threw a no-hitter, making it the first one in seven years for the Cubs while the Orioles are just struggling to score.
No one’s perfect and that’s certainly true in sports. However, the Orioles have been riddled with errors lately and teams are starting to take advantage of it. Manny Machado has played in 132 games so far this season as a third baseman and the last 2 games as the shortstop. As good as Machado is, his number of errors is highest on the team, clocking in at 16. Jonathan Schoop has committed five errors and multiples players have 3 which is still relatively small compared to Machado. Just a disclaimer here, I love Manny Machado but these errors are not helping their losing streak.
The O’s losing streak has not seized, but tonight could be different. Anything can happen, but the Orioles aren’t looking like they’ll be making a playoff appearance this year. Unless the Orioles can remain error-free for the rest of the season and start a winning streak, it looks like 2016 will be their next chance.
