Orioles Update: [Distant Angry Grumbling] Edition

 

HOW THE HELL DO YOU GET NO-HIT BY THE ORIOLES FOR SIX DAMNED INNINGS? How do you let some guy named Chris Ellis, who is NOT, as I previously assumed, the guy who played the head of NASA in Apollo 13, stifle the powerful Yankee offense for 5? This is the series we were supposed to not have any problems with! Four easy games! And here we are, shrugging our shoulders in the bottom of the ninth while PEDRO SEVERINO of all people plunks an RBI single to break the tie.

Add it to last night's game, which was a walk-off in extras. We shouldn't be walking off in extras against the frigging Orioles. In September. This isn't hard. I know, we'll probably keep the wild card spot, but the Red Sox are getting hot again. When we have the inevitable fall from glory next month, the sportswriters are gonna point to this damned series as a sign of our eternal shortcomings. In fact, be thankful this series wasn't on FOX, or else you wouldn't have been able to faintly hear the sounds of Joe Buck getting off to seeing the Yankees lose to Baltimore in September.

I mean here the Rays are hitting enough home runs to infuriate Rob Manfred tonight in his bubble bath, and what do the Yankees have? THREE HITS. THREE HITS AGAINST THE ORIOLES.

Okay...okay...

The infuriating bit here...and there are several...is that the winning run came from Pedro Severino, who has been a perfectly adequate catcher for the Orioles this year. Severino is only barely above replacement level, is nowhere near his last few seasons of solid work, and is really just filling the spot until Adley Rutschman comes up next year. And for this to happen with Severino delivering the blow...hurts. We're underestimating him, and he's still capable of a lot. 

Meanwhile, the highlights of this team are still high. Mullins is still a star, Mancini can still rake, Mountcastle is gonna get some ROY votes, Means is still an ace, and now Jorge Mateo is a great bench peace. All Ms. Strange. The majority of this team is forgettable and hopefully a great deal of them will figure things out in 2022, but...yeah, this was another depressing Orioles season for the books, Yanks upset notwithstanding.

It'll be interesting to see how the O's move forward with Severino. Do they cut him? Do they keep him and slide him to backup once Rutchman comes in? None of the above? We'll have to see.

Coming Tomorrow- A sturdy rookie starter for Miami. 

The Other Severino in the AL East

 Everyone's talking about the Toronto youth movement, for obvious reasons, but the Baltimore youth movement is extremely underrated. Right now, this team is coming to prominence without doing the 'huge playoff contending come-up' bit. The last place finishes have worked, and now the kids are beginning to show up for the Orioles. And...while it's not really amounting to something with this stacked AL East climate, it's definitely a promising start for a team that could be huge going forward.

First of all, Ryan Mountcastle is for real. He's hitting .364 after 22 games, has shot up to the top of the WAR leaders chart in Baltimore, and has the status and lineup presence of someone with more experience.  You also finally have production from Cedric Mullins and DJ Stewart, both of whom are hitting very well, and some recent clutch moments from Austin Hays and Chance Sisco. Dean Kremer and Keegan Akin are making the best of some early starts, and Kremer definitely has a future. And Tanner Scott and Hunter Harvey are, admittedly, the future of the bullpen.

But what happens when the guys who are sitting on roster spots to wait for prospects to come up start doing well as well? It happened when Jose Iglesias started hitting over .300 while sitting on DJ Stewart's position, but now that Iglesias has been moved to DH, it's not as bad. Pedro Severino, on the other hand, is adding to his strong 2019 by hitting .296 with 37 hits and 21 RBIs, and a 1.0 WAR. He's 26, and is technically signed until 2024. And...with Adley Rutschman maybe a year or so away, is now the best time for the Orioles to bank on a young starting catcher? What happens in 2021 or 2022 when Rutschman is ready but Severino is still playing beautifully? 

Regardless, these sort of questions and issues are better than the last few years of this team's struggles. These are productive ways for this team to improve, and it's paving the way for some Toronto-esque come-up power over the next few years. 

Coming Tonight: Five years ago around this time, this guy was coming up to play for a World Series contender. This year, he's one of the few links to that team remaining, and one of the few players keeping the team in the playoff race.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2019: Orioles

 Well, at least the Orioles were a little better than they were in 2018. Of course, they still wound up in last in the AL East, and are still progressing their slow rebuild. They've already gotten rid of Dylan Bundy and Jonathan Villar, and are looking to bank on another youth movement that hasn't entirely showed up yet.

This year they at least had a steady presence at catcher, with Pedro Severino coming over to start for the first time since the 2016 playoffs. Severino's 44 RBIs and .249 average look great when compared to the rest of the roster.
Why Him in 2019?: Represents Baltimore's move away from homegrown catching talent after Matt Wieters and Caleb Joseph
2020 Prediction: Will eventually lose time to Chance Sisco. Eventually.

 Apart from Dylan Bundy, John Means and Andrew Cashner, the rest of the Baltimore rotation wasn't especially noteworthy, but Asher Wojciechowski came in late and started 16 strong games, finishing with a 4.92 ERA and 80 strikeouts, which is progressive in Baltimore.
Why Him in 2019?: One of the few Orioles rotation auditioners who didn't leave in shame.
2020 Prediction: A modest improvement, but might have to relieve some games late.

And in the absence of Zach Britton, Mychal Givens was again in charge of closing games. Givens finished the season with 11 saves and 8 blown saves, as well as a 4.57 ERA. And yet this guy was still hounded by trade rumors all throughout the year. With those numbers, I'm still curious as to why.
Why Him in 2019?: Still the Orioles' best option in the ninth
2020 Prediction: More than 11 saves, but not all of them will be for Baltimore.

Coming Tomorrow- A better team. Well...it's the Padres, so a SLIGHTLY better team. Naw, they're a lot better, and they definitely will be a lot better in 2020.