Baltimore Orioles: Fifth inning costs Kevin Gausman, Birds

Conditions were about as poor as they could be for the Baltimore Orioles and Kevin Gausman last night as they opened a three-game series with Boston. However keep in mind that the conditions are the same for both teams in games like this. In the NFL they say that the weather is “the great equalizer.” Gausman’s line: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

The teams ended up sitting through two short rain delays. They were both so short that both teams kept their starters in the game. But none the less the game featured two rain delays and was played under a perpetual threat of rain. At best it was a steady drizzle all night.

Boston took a 1-0 lead in the second on Moreland’s solo homer. However as we know, solo home runs aren’t going to beat you for the most part. And all things being the same, that homer wouldn’t have beaten the Orioles last night. What did beat them was the fifth inning, in which Gausman seemed to lose his command.

Gausman loaded the bases, and then promptly walked in a run by issuing a walk to Bradley. That was followed by an RBI-double by Benintendi, followed up by an infield RBI-single by Martinez. When the smoke cleared Gausman was out of the game and the Orioles trailed 5-0. Afterwards Gausman addressed his command in that fifth inning (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Just kind of lost the feel for my split. That was the biggest thing, especially to all those lefties. That was the situation. I had so many opportunities to get a ground ball double play, walking three guys at the bottom of the lineup to get to the top. Obviously, not what I’m trying to do there.

Command, or feel for a pitch as Gausman put it, can be a fickle thing. Especially in conditions as such. One moment you have it, and the next moment it’s gone.

But as I said, solo homers aren’t going to beat you. Had the Orioles not given up those five runs in the fifth inning, they might have had a shot at winning. Jonathan Schoop smacked a two-run homer in the last of the eighth to cut the lead to 5-2. The Birds also put a run on the board in the ninth on an RBI-single by Caleb Joseph.

The series continues this evening at Camden Yards (weather permitting). Yefry Ramirez gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Drew Pomeranz. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Big trouble on the horizon?

Are the Baltimore Orioles in big trouble? And no, I’m not talking on the field. Wins and losses has very little relevance in this discussion. Well, maybe just a little. But not much.

The Orioles have been in and out of court fighting with the Washington Nationals on the MASN television deal since 2011. I’m not going to get into the specifics of the deal or the case, short of saying that one could argue that there’s at least an appearance of a wink-and-a-nod deal between MLB and Washington. Basically the league saying that they’ll never have to live up to the deal.

MASN owns the television rights for both teams in perpetuity. However if MASN were to cease to exist, it’s unclear what would happen. Odds are the teams would each retain their own rights, and sell them to the highest bidder. But even that’s not the main issue.

Peter Angelos is not a popular owner in the league office. He hasn’t been since 1994 when he publicly stood with the players against the owners. Then came all of the litigation and threats thereof when MLB wanted to put a team in Washington. And now this.

Peter Angelos is in ill health, according to multiple reports. We know that his sons, Lou and John, have in essence been running the team. So the Orioles’ ownership status is in somewhat of a state of flux. In fact, I suspect that the Angelos family would like to do what Washington just did (in an unrelated matter), where owner Ted Lerner in essence handed the team off to his son Mark.

However the league has very publicly made it clear that they can make the Orioles’ lives miserable – unless the Orioles play ball (meaning on the MASN deal). This could include future schedules, hosting an all-star game, or even ownership issues. The implication there is that the commissioner might not approve a “sale” (or more likely a hand off) of the team from Peter Angelos to his sons.

Say what you want about Peter Angelos, but he made a commitment to keep the team in Baltimore. And given that his sons are Baltimore-area residents and natives, there’s no reason to believe that they aren’t just as invested in keeping the team here. That wasn’t always guaranteed with other potential ownership groups. What if Peter Angelos passes away at some point and the league refuses to approve his sons as the new owners?

At that point they basically force them to sell the team. But what about MASN? Regardless of whether the network still exists and is operated by the Angelos family or not, that’s where it could get hairy for the Orioles. If you uncouple the Birds from MASN, they aren’t worth anywhere near as much. So that said, is a new owner going to have the same incentives to keep the team here as the Angelos’ did?

If the team were purchased by a local guy such as Steve Bisciotti (the Ravens’ owner), I think that things would be fine. But do Orioles’ fans really want to run that risk? Once Washington got a team, MLB didn’t have a city to dangle out there to convince teams to play their game – otherwise the team could move there. Now suddenly we hear that the league would like to return a team to Montreal, or even go to Charlotte, NC.

I’m not suggesting that the Orioles should play the game MLB wants them to play. To do so in essence would be to collude against themselves. This all the while when attendance and ratings are down. I always say that cities only really need to consider that the team could move if it gets sold to an out-of-town businessman. (In essence, people don’t move teams out of their hometowns.) But again, regardless of what they might think of the Angelos’, do O’s fans want to run that risk?

Baltimore Orioles: Did Buck Showalter over-manage the Birds out of a win?

Baltimore Orioles’ starter Andrew Cashner pitched a strong start this afternoon at Rogers Centre. Cashner’s line: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K. When Cashner was lifted he was visibly angry. He seemed to challenge manager Buck Showalter in terms of making the change.

The O’s fell behind 1-0 in the fourth on Solarte’s RBI-single, which scored a runner from first base. However it seemed that the Orioles are forever going to be haunted by the absence of Manny, as the cut off man wasn’t in position to receive the ball from Jace Peterson in left (who made a diving attempt to catch it). That alone probably allowed the run to score.

However Peterson himself would tie the game an inning later with an RBI-single, and Jonathan Schoop‘s sixth inning solo homer put them in the lead at 2-1. It was shaping up to be the Orioles’ day – or so it seemed. It was later in that sixth inning that Showalter went out to get Cashner. Now while Cashner was pitching well, just recorded his second out in the inning, and was only 79 pitches in, he had also just come off the DL to make the start. And Showalter confirmed after the game that he only wanted Cashner to throw 70-80 pitches for that exact reason.

Regardless of the reason, I can’t defend Cashner’s outward response to being pulled. Pitchers should never show up a manager in that situation, especially one of Showalter’s stature. Showalter shrugged that point off after the game in saying that he wants guys to want to stay in. But while that’s a valid point, it’s also incredibly unprofessional to yap at the manager like that when you’re being pulled.

Newbie Renato Nunez smacked an RBI-double in the eighth which gave the Orioles some breathing room in the top of the eighth. To top it off, breaks that normally work against the Orioles went in their favor. The Toronto infield fumbled what appeared to be a routine ground ball out off the bat of Trey Mancini – on a collision. That allowed a fourth run to score, giving the Orioles an additional insurance run and a 4-1 lead.

But the strange and bizarre plays are supposed to break against the Orioles, not for them. In case anyone had forgotten that, the Birds played an infield shift against Gurriel to lead off the last of the eighth. With the left side of the infield wide open, he sent a swinging bunt down the third base line and over the bag. He had no intention of doing that, as it appeared to be a defensive swing more than anything else. But it got him on base.

And following the Orioles’ inability to turn two due to a softly-hit ball in the infield, Grichuk haunted the Orioles for the upteenth time this weekend with a two-run homer. Later in the inning with two outs and a runner on second, Showalter opted to go to the bullpen once again to bring in Tanner Scott. However he promptly gave up a two-run homer to Solarte, which ended up equaling a 5-4 win for Toronto.

Brad Brach had given up the two-run shot to Grichuk (following the hard-luck single by Gurriel), but he had worked to get the two outs in the inning. Scott ended up hanging a fastball middle in, which wound up in the seats. Now keep in mind that the manager can’t execute the plays, he can only decide who’s going to be in there to make them. But did Showalter over-think things today? And if so, did it cost the Orioles a win?

There are people reading this (perhaps you!) who’ll say that part of the issue is that Showalter had all but scripted Cashner’s start in that “the plan” was for him to only throw a certain number of pitches. And in general that might not be an invalid point. But you can’t discount the fact that the guy, while pitching fairly well, had just come off the DL. The last thing you want to do is overuse him, and risk further injury.

Then you have the situation with Brach and Tanner Scott. I can’t say for sure what the logic was in bringing in Scott in that situation, however Showalter had his reasons. I think it’s incredibly easy to suggest that a manager overthought things so much that he managed himself out of a win. Maybe he did for all I know. We can’t reverse time and see what would have happened had Brach stayed in the game. Needless to say, had anything other than a home run occurred on the next at-bat, the Birds wouldn’t have lost the lead at that moment.

Whether or not Buck himself is to blame in either the Cashner or Brach situations is really up to the beholder. However we know his reasons for pulling Cashner – and they’re fairly legitimate. And I think you have to give the benefit of the doubt to a guy like Buck who’s been in ALL of these situations as a manager over the course of his career. Point being, he had his reasons for pulling Brach also. And I suspect that they’re sound baseball reasons.

The Orioles now head home to open a three-game set with Boston. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Rock Porcello. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Mistakes lead to another loss

The Baltimore Orioles gave starter Alex Cobb the lead before he even stepped on the field. However even before that, the Birds made a mistake that potentially kept them out of a big inning. They got back into last night’s game with a big inning, and they looked poised to keep the pressure on right away. And that surely would have helped Cobb out a bit. Cobb’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R (1 earned), 3 BB, 4 K.

With a runner already on, Jonathan Schoop stroked a ball to left field which allowed the runner to go to third. Inexplicably, Schoop tried to extend a single into a double. The play was right in front of him, and he was thrown out by a country mile. It’s a mistake of aggression and one that occurred because he was trying to make something happen. But seeing that Adam Jones immediately followed with an opposite-way RBI-single, the Birds all but ran themselves out of a big inning with that play.

But the Orioles did have the lead – until the fourth inning. With a runner on first and nobody out, Solarte grounded back to Cobb at the mound. Cobb started what appeared to be a 1-4-3 double-play. However Cobb made what appeared to be an errant throw to second, pulling Tim Beckham off the bag. Toronto challenged the call, and the runner was ruled safe. That was ruled as an error against Beckham, and in fact he may not have been as equipped to make that play as someone who had played shortstop all season. But from my perspective it was an errant throw from Cobb.

Following that play, Grichuk’s RBI-double tied the game at one. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, Diaz gave his team the lead by grounding into a run-scoring double-play. The ironic thing about that is that the Orioles are a team that really can’t seem to catch a break. Whether it’s dumb luck or problems they cause, there’s no margin for error whatsoever. So they induce a hot hitter to ground into a double-play, and it still nets the opponent a run.

Toronto would extend their lead to 3-1 later in that fourth inning on Maile’s RBI-single. One inning later Toronto would score a fourth run on a balk called against Cobb to run the score to 4-1 – which was the final. After the game Cobb admitted that he did in fact balk, although here’s an interesting point; the runner was almost halfway between third and home plate. The balk was called when Cobb stopped his windup as he noticed the runner. So…did the runner there in essence not deceive the pitcher, which in turn made him stop – which according to the letter of the law constitutes an attempt to deceive the runner?

After the game Buck Showalter said that he pulled Cobb after five innings due in part to the fact that a blister was popping up on his throwing hand. Cobb told the media that it’s something that’s happened before. Neither Showalter nor Cobb appeared to be concerned about this in the long term, however the Birds will have to make a roster move before tomorrow’s game when Andrew Cashner will come off the DL to make the start. Might Cobb be DL-bound?

The series concludes tomorrow at Rogers Centre. The aforementioned Andrew Cashner will get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s J.A. Happ. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Tim Beckham error spoils comeback

I’m not going to lie; I feel somewhat badly for the Baltimore Orioles’ Tim Beckham. While Manny Machado only spent half a season as the Orioles’ shortstop, Beckham’s going to now be under the microscope for the rest of the season as the guy who took over for Machado. While Beckham’s natural position is short, there does have to be a bit of a learning curve after playing third base for the first half of the season. We saw that curve play out last night.

Dylan Bundy struggled the second time through the lineup last night, and eventually Toronto ended up getting out to a big lead. Bundy’s line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 3 K. And one issue that Oriole pitching has had all year is that they’ve been fairly good the first time through the order – and in some cases the second time. However the second or third time through the order opposing teams seem to figure them out. There were times where it almost looked as if Toronto hitters knew exactly what was coming – and where.

Toronto took a 1-0 lead on Diaz’s solo homer in the third. However Tim Beckham, learning curve at short and all, gave the O’s the lead in the fifth with a two-run homer. But that coincided with Toronto figuring Bundy out. In the bottom of the inning their back-to-back homers immediately gave them the lead back. A sac fly and an RBI-double later, and Toronto led 5-2. Two innings later they extended their lead to 7-2 on an RBI-triple and an RBI-single.

At 7-2 in the seventh inning, you figure that the competitive portion of the game was over. However we did see a lot of fight in these Birds, perhaps trying to prove that they can still be a force in games, even without Manny Machado. Detractors will look at it from the perspective that they got back into the game via the long ball. However the fact is that Oriole bats simply came alive. That hasn’t always happened this year.

Chris Davis smacked a two-run homer in the eighth, bringing the O’s to within 7-4. The Birds would head to the ninth down by three, and Toronto allowed a run to score on a wild pitch, cutting it to 7-5. The O’s then took Toronto’s fifth inning back-to-back homers and decided to match them, with Joseph and Schoop doing the same. Both were solo shots, but combined they tied the game. While this story doesn’t have the greatest of endings for Orioles fans, the Birds were nothing if not clutch when they needed to be at the plate last night.

Martin got aboard with a single in the tenth. I would submit however that it shouldn’t have been a single – it should have been an error. It looked to be a fairly routine play as he grounded to Beckham at short. It was only due to Beckham’s errant throw to first base that Martin reached safely. Whether that’s a hit or an error, it looked to be a fairly routine play. Again, there has to be a learning curve for Beckham, who was playing shortstop for the first time this year.

To his credit, Beckham said after the game that it was a play that needed to be made every time. He had more time than he though, which is why he rushed the throw. However that led to a walk, and Diaz then smacked a single through the infield which was also misplayed somewhat by Beckham, ending the game and giving Toronto an 8-7 walk off win.

It’s unfair to beat up on Tim Beckham too much, as again he hasn’t played shortstop this year. Furthermore he spent all of spring training preparing to be the team’s starting third baseman. So while that throw on the Martin single was a fairly routine play (apparently in the eye of everyone but the official scorer), those things are in fact going to happen in a scenario like this. Tough pill to swallow, especially given the comeback, however you have to be patient when someone moves postions mid-season.

The series continues this afternoon at Rogers Centre. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Marcus Stroman. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles have to move on from Manny Machado

The Manny Machado-less Baltimore Orioles are in Toronto this evening to open up the second half of the season with a three-game set on the road against their AL East rivals. I do find it interesting that we still call the post-All Star break the second half. The Birds have already played 97 games, which is 16 more than halfway through the season. But I digress.

This has been a tough week for the Orioles, and I’m not talking personally per se. Machado had a lot of friends in the clubhouse, all of whom are sad to see him go. But the very public departure and the lead up to said departure of a player wears on a team. The trade discussions were already hot as it was, but the fire really got hot when Machado was lifted from Sunday’s game against Texas. While the official reason was a wet field in the wake of a rain delay (which in theory was true), we obviously knew something was up.

However all of that needs to be in the past now. It goes without saying that the Orioles aren’t in contention, nor could they potentially play their way back into contention. But the season’s still on. There in fact does appear to be a new direction in which the franchise is heading, and that has to begin tonight. Granted, the roster might well look different in a week. However the players that remain now, tomorrow, and onward need to put this out of their minds and just play ball.

In effect, I’m saying that the term I used in the first sentence (the Manny Machado-less Orioles) isn’t one that should really be used. They aren’t the Machado-less Orioles, nor will they be the Britton-less Orioles or the Jones-less Orioles. They’re the Orioles. If players keep in their minds that this player or that one is now gone and question how they’re going to go on as a team (in the manner that some fans do), things will go from bad to worse.

The Orioles will have to make a roster move prior to this evening’s game, for the mere reason that they’ll need to fill Machado’s slot on the roster. It’s unclear who will be coming up, but the Orioles will announce something before the game. Incidentally, while the Birds do open the second half on the road, it’s really just a one-series trip. Monday they’ll be back at Camden Yards for a homestand that includes Boston and Tampa.

The series at Rogers Center opens this evening. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Sam Gaviglio. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado heads off into the sunset

As I was heading into a movie theater yesterday evening official word came that the Baltimore Orioles had traded Manny Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’ll be their starting shortstop tomorrow evening when they resume their season with a three-game set in Milwaukee. For what it’s worth, Los Angeles will then head to the east coast for a three-game set starting Monday in Philadelphia. So Orioles fans could make the trek up there if they wanted to see Manny one final time. Somehow I suspect that the reception from the phans up there won’t be quite as rosy as it was when he visited as an Oriole and they thought he might be traded there.

However that aside, I do think that Orioles fans have a reason for some optimism on a day where one might feel apt to feel sorrowful. First off, everyone wishes that they could have kept Machado. Speaking for myself, I feel that I grew up as a writer during the time when he was with the Orioles. And certainly there’s a connection with fans, seeing that Baltimore tends to embrace it’s athletes as it’s own.

But my hope is that fans won’t look so much as the not running out ground balls, the infamous bat toss against Oakland, or the act of forcing the team to move him to shortstop. Consequently, I also hope that fans don’t remember his departure simply because he couldn’t re-sign here and the team needed to deconstruct and rebuild. My hope is that fans never forget the fact that his time in an Orioles’ uniform coincided with a surprise return to glory for the Birds. It’s the same as ending any other relationship in life, be it due to breakup, divorce, or death; remember the good times.

The real reason however that fans should be optimistic is due to the fact that the Orioles got five prospects in return for Machado: Yusniel Diaz (OF), Breyvic Valera (IF), Rylan Bannon (IF), Dean Kremer (RHP), and Zach Pop (RHP). As I wrote yesterday, Diaz is the centerpiece of the trade from the Orioles’ perspective, and he very well could slide into the right field role in the future. He was assigned to double-A Bowie, along with Bannon, Kremer, and Pop. Valera was optioned to triple-A Norfolk. There was no money or international signing bonus slots that changed hands. It was a straight up 5-for-1 swap.

Keep in mind folks, these guys are all prospects. It’s tough to say how any of them turns out. It sounds like Diaz, who hit two homers in the future’s game on Sunday, could very well end up in the big leagues at some point in the future. He’s been called “a stud” by several scouts. But if one or two of the other guys ends up in the big leagues somehow, at the end of the day it’ll look like a good trade. Needless to say however, the Orioles got great value for Machado. At one point fans were writing into this site and tweeting at me saying that if all they could get was a low A prospect, they should take that. They got a lot more than that.

Dan Duquette also addressed the local media yesterday after the trade became official, saying all of the pertinent things such as it was hard to part with Manny and so forth. However he also committed the franchise to a rebuild in a sense (all quotes courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

We’re going to take a look at trading the veteran players. Our veteran players have done a nice job for us, but the ones that are nearing free agency, I think we need to evaluate our club going forward and at this time of year, the competitors are looking for the veteran players who have been seasoned in pennant races, as have our players. And we’re going to look to maximize that opportunity on the market and try to find as many good, young players as we can to deepen our farm system.

In conjunction with that, we’re also going to be making significant investments this offseason in technology and analytics. We’re going to become more active on the international market and invest in our facilities and strengthen our overall baseball operation. That’s part of a plan that we have to have to get the Orioles back to competitiveness. But this is just the first step in a new direction.

Duquette was also asked if there was a chance that the rebuilding process might get shorter based on the moves the Orioles could potentially make in the coming weeks:

Well, we hope so. It’s a growing process, but the clubs that have done it recently have given us an instructive road map in what to follow and I think we have a good idea of what it takes to be consistently good. The thing about the American League East is it identifies your strength and it also identifies your weakness. We have identified a number of weaknesses we need to shore up as we move forward to have a competitive club. Certainly to compete against the really strong clubs in the American League East.

Duquette also talks like a guy who’s going to be around longer than just this year. That’s very much up in the air, as is the Orioles’ ownership situation. But Duquette went on to say that he wants to remain here:

Well, I think everybody understands the changes that we need to make and Orioles fans should know how deeply committed we are to that plan of making these important adjustments. And like I said before, my heart is in Baltimore and I’d like to make the Orioles into a top contending organization again. Like I said, today’s a new direction for the organization. I’m glad to be helping the club go in that direction.

Maybe he has a handshake agreement with John and Lou Angelos to stay with the club. Maybe he’s just being coy or saying the right thing. Who knows? All we can say for sure is that regardless of who manages the team and/or acts as the GM after this year, the organization appears committed to a rebuild along with a commitment to analytics among other things. This is a good start, and it sounds like more changes are coming down the pike. And again, that should give fans a reason for optimism.

Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado potentially to head west today

Let the official record show that Manny Machado started and played in last night’s MLB All-Star Game as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. This of course amid speculation that Machado is on his way out of Baltimore, the suitor du jour being the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yesterday I wrote that he appeared earmarked for Philadelphia – because that’s what the tea leaves were saying at the time. But when people have asked me since the beginning of the season, I’ve always said I thought he’d end up in Dodger Blue. Call it a hunch.

Machado went 0-for-2 in the game at the plate before being lifted. The American League ended up winning 8-6, in an All-Star Game that set a record with ten homers. There were also 25 strikeouts in the game. Both of those numbers are largely indicative of where the game is and where it’s continually going right now. Incidentally, the game also went extra innings, finishing just before midnight after ten innings.

It’s been reported that Los Angeles Dodger prospects Yusniel Diaz, Errol Robinson, and possibly others are in play to be coming back to the Orioles. Diaz specifically has been referred to as an absolute stud by numerous people. He was in D.C. on Sunday playing in the future’s game, and he smacked two home runs.

Diaz is also a right fielder, which is a position that the Orioles have struggled to fill since Markakis departed. Robinson is an infielder who’s currently in single-A, but is showing some promise. Not that it matters, but he’s also a Maryland native. Maybe that vouches for something.

The fan reaction on twitter among other media is one of sorrow. And I suppose I understand that to a certain degree. Nobody wants to part with a talent like Manny Machado. But fans should also keep in mind that it sounds like the Orioles are having the opportunity to hand-pick from Los Angeles’ farm system. This trade could very easily work out well for the Orioles down the road.

I think that the way you have to look at it is that Baltimore (perhaps more so than any other city) really embraces it’s athletes. That’s why it’s so tough to see Machado go, because he has rapport with the fans and the city. But he’s not “walking,” per se. The Birds are getting something – a lot, actually – back for him. The next generation of Baltimore stars to be embraced may well come in this deal.

Diaz appears to be the centerpiece of the deal from the Orioles’ perspective, but I’ve heard that as many as five prospects total may head to the Orioles. If that’s true, they will have all but gutted Los Angeles’ farm system. But we’ll just have to wait and see.

What’s also unclear is whether or not any of the players would make an impact at the big league level right away. Diaz might have a shot at being brought up immediately, but odds are the rest of the players will need more seasoning – perhaps even Diaz. But ultimately time will tell.

Baltimore Orioles: Is Manny Machado as good as gone?

Manny Machado will be the starting shortstop for the American League in tonight’s All-Star game, representing the Baltimore Orioles. However as everyone knows, that’s far from the big story line right now involving Machado. It appears that come Friday night, Manny Machado will be wearing a different uniform than the orange and black.

It was reported yesterday that the Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies had a “handshake deal” to send Machado to Philadelphia. Some reporters (mainly Philadelphia reporters) even said that the deal would become official on Wednesday. The Orioles have refuted that claim, saying that they were close to a deal (not naming any team specifically with whom they were close), but that nothing had been agreed upon.

I’m willing to believe that there probably is a handshake agreement in place. I’m also willing to believe that someone on the Philadelphia side leaked it out. And if that’s true, it’s probably to the detriment of that team. Because it would stand to reason that other suitors would then have the option of upping their offer. Are we to believe that the Orioles wouldn’t go back on said handshake agreement if they could better their team even more?

But ultimately this is just posturing. Many fans are frustrated because of the risk for injury and so forth. It goes without saying that if Machado were to rip up his ACL in the all-star game tonight, any potential deal would be off. Would that be the Orioles’ luck? Probably. But think about it…how many players sustain serious injuries in the all-star game?

Baltimore Orioles, Manny Machado finish lackluster first half strong

The usual question hung over the Baltimore Orioles going into yesterday afternoon’s game; was it Manny Machado‘s last game with the team? Ultimately we have no way of knowing. But one of these days it actually will be.

This series finale with Texas was a bullpen game for the Orioles. While Miguel Castro got the start, the plan was never for him to pitch long enough to qualify for the win. Especially seeing that he loaded the bases in the top of the first inning with nobody out, and then gave up a grand slam to Guzman. Castro’s line: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

But the O’s began the battle to come back almost immediately. Machado smacked a solo homer in the last of the first to cut the lead to 4-1. It’s tough to come back from a first inning grand slam, but the Orioles found a way. They cut the lead to 4-2 two innings later on Caleb Joseph‘s RBI-double.

But that third inning was the key one for the Orioles. Perhaps it’ll go on to represent the moment when things changed for the team this year for all we know. Probably not in terms of being in contention, however more so for respectability. The O’s have picked up one run here and there over the course of the season throughout games. Finally, it seems they found a way to achieve a big inning.

In the wake of that Joseph RBI-double, the O’s loaded the bases  for Adam Jones. And he delivered as he has for most of his career with the Birds, swinging at the first pitch and smacking a bases-clearing double down the left field line. That gave the Orioles a 5-4 lead, and it was extended to 6-4 when Jones scored later in the inning due to a throwing error.

Texas’ Choo would hit a solo homer in the eighth, cutting the lead to 6-5. They would also have the tying run on first base in the ninth inning, when Andrus hit a double into the right field corner. It was the type of thing that’s happened to the O’s all season long; an opponent placed the ball just perfectly on the field whereby the tying run was going to be able to come into score with two outs in the ninth inning. It was about to be yet another disappointment for the Orioles late in the game…

…before it wasn’t. Schoop relayed the ball home after Trumbo dug it out of the corner, and nailed the runner at the plate. And it wasn’t even close. And the Orioles won the game, closing out a disappointing first half with a two-game winning streak and by taking two-of-three from Texas.

The real interesting part of the day however came in the middle of the fourth inning when the game was halted by a passing rain shower. The teams sat through a short 26-minute rain delay. When play resumed, Jace Peterson was in the on-deck circle to bat for Manny Machado. While there were no shots of Machado bidding farewell to his teammates or anything along those lines (he sat in the dugout wearing an Orioles sweatshirt), questions circulated around the ballpark.

To their credit, the Orioles dispelled rumors almost immediately by alerting the media that Machado had been lifted as a precautionary measure due to a messy infield. They also said that he would be representing the Orioles at Tuesday’s all-star game in Washington D.C. So he won’t be traded before then, in other words.

I tweeted at the time that it’s pointless to speculate, as the Orioles will release a statement whenever he’s traded. However I will say this; I see it as very possible that the finishing touches on a deal are being made with a suitor. Now that’s only my personal opinion, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s playing elsewhere on Friday when the season resumes. And his own comments after the game sounded somewhat like a guy who knew he was on his way out (quote courtesy of Brittany Ghiroli, mlb.com):

Just looking back at everything that’s happened this year, trade rumors, everything, just overall playing with this team has always been incredible. Whether we’ve had our ups and downs this year, it is what it is. Me putting up the numbers I did at shortstop, where people didn’t think I should have made the move in my walk year, but I did. I’m going to the All-Star Game as an Oriole and as a shortstop. It’s just always a blessing. I thank God, I thank my family for always supporting me, my teammates, the fans, the organization, I mean, it’s just been very incredible.

The bit about shortstop was interesting there as well. Almost as if he was reminding his future team that he’s a shortstop. Nevertheless, this was a good team win for the Orioles, and exactly what they needed going into the break. So that’s that – until Friday night.