True Believer

That’s it. I can’t deny it anymore.

The Orioles are real; to deny it at this point is to deny math, logic and reality.

The Birds did get beaten up by the Rangers a bit, but who hasn’t. The Orioles still have the second-best record in the American League, lead the league in homers, are getting solid starting pitching and shut down bullpen work.

This is not a fluke. Repeat, this is not a fluke.

I am completely comfortable making this declaration, I am not worried about jinxing anything or anyone. The Orioles are just good.

Fact: The Orioles have won 13 of their last 14 games. That includes series wins against New York, Oakland, Chicago and Toronto. It includes a series sweep in Boston, despite Boston’s woes the Orioles made a real statement that weekend.

Fact: The Orioles went on the road through New York and Boston and won five of six. In addition, the one game they lost the Birds lost by a score of 2-1.

Fact: This is not a function of a weak schedule. The Orioles have the second-highest RPI in baseball behind only the Texas Rangers. Not good enough? The Orioles have played the third toughest schedule in the American League, behind the Mariners and White Sox.

The current Orioles renaissance is not due to a weak schedule, even if the Red Sox have collapsed early-on.
Opinion: The Orioles aren’t doing anything that seems drastically unsustainable.

The Orioles are simply playing very solid baseball. The bullpen is starting to give up a couple runs, but they are still playing very well. The Orioles have hit a hiccup with some rotation issues, but Dana Eveland was more than serviceable and the Birds have played some roster roulette the past week but it all seems to be working.

Take the Washington Nationals, their pitching is out of its mind right now, but it is ultimately unsustainable. Their offense isn’t scoring runs reliably and currently have scored the fourth fewest runs in the National League. Their pitching staff will continue to be good, but unless they stat getting their offense in line they will be vulnerable as the year rolls on. The Orioles are scoring runs, but not at an eye-popping rate, the rotation and bullpen have been great, but not historically great.

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