O, Really.

Well...that was unexpected.

The Orioles were expected to go for the 4 or 5 spot this year, as the other four teams in the AL East had managed to keep their rosters together or pick up new bats. The Orioles sort of...stayed put, re-signed some players, got a few smaller bats. And everybody thought 'yeah, okay, good luck with that'.

Eight wins and zero losses later...looks like the Orioles are gonna be awesome in 2016. And I couldn't be happier.

It's not the new guys. It's not the guys they re-upped. Oh, no. The guys they've had for YEARS are the guys playing beautifully this year. Manny Machado, JJ Hardy, Matt Wieters. The guys they weren't especially in danger of losing- those are the guys leading the charge. Sure, every once in a while someone like Chris Davis or Mark Trumbo will throw a homer their way, but they's not exactly the core. Baltimore has, like we all predicted, become the Manny Machado Show...and oh what a show it is.

I want this whole 'O's in power' thing to keep going for as long as possible. Sure, this might end up being at the expense of a team that was gonna be in the lead, but that team might be the Blue Jays, and anything that aims to deflate the Blue Jays' bubble need to continue to exist.

Coming Tomorrow- Fourth place is not as bad as fifth. Fourth place means there's still a tiny chance. And this outfield prospect is a part of that tiny chance.