Not a fluke. Not a fairy-tale. Not a dream. Second year in a row where the Orioles have managed to start on top of the AL East. Are they lucky, or are they just that good?
The answer to that question...is yes.
The Orioles, in the last few years, have accumulated more talent than they've had any right to. Some people have come from the farm system, like Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Zach Britton. Some came from random acquisitions that shouldn't have worked out as well as they did, like Seth Smith, JJ Hardy...and Adam Jones...and Mark Trumbo...screw it, MOST OF THE TEAM, to be honest. The fact that a great deal of these guys are performing to the best of their ability right now...in BALTIMORE of all places, is truly a great sign.
It's kind of obvious that the team revolves around Machado, but Seth Smith is honestly doing a pretty great job, after having an alright year in Seattle. He's obviously not a perfect, well-rounded player, but he's having a great start, and he's become an unsung hero of a squad full of them. Not sure if the rest of the season will be as good as this week, but hopefully he'll keep the momentum going, along with the rest of the team.
The AL East, by the way could be pretty tricky. I'm not really ruling any of the teams out right now. The Rays are off to a nice start. The Sox are going to be pretty great even if this week doesn't show it. The Yankees could be dangerous down the stretch. As much as I'd like to write off the Blue Jays right now, they always seem to get really dangerous at the exact wrong time, so I honestly can't. Not legally.
What I'm saying is that it's a tough time for the Orioles to be a legitimately good team, because there are a ton of teams in this division that tend to get lucky. The O's need to REMAIN lucky, instead of having breaks.
Coming Tonight: The rotation used to be his. He used to look down at them all with power. Now, a year after an injury, he's got to have the comeback that his city deserves.
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