Uncustomed Heroes of 2018: Orioles

[exhausted sigh]

The 2018 Baltimore Orioles...even WITH Manny Machado, were truly awful. The rookies did not work. The veterans sagged like hell. The pitching was atrocious, both starting and relief. And the trade deadline only made it more evident.

Andrew Cashner, like he did in Texas, had an alright year, with less than 100 strikeouts...and subsequently less than 5 wins. He gave up 25 home runs this year, which would be frightening if he didn't already share a rotation with Dylan Bundy.

 Tim Beckham shed any probability that his first full season in Baltimore would be anything like his first month with the team, by going back to his old self immediately, with a .230 average, only 12 home runs, and a ton of strikeouts. The O's have subsequently non tendered him.

 Towards the end of the year, Alex Cobb's numbers did begin to dip back down, and he got his ERA under 5 thanks to some solid starts in September, but...having seen Cobb's stuff in person this year, know that it wasn't much to write home about overall.

Renato Nunez, a stowaway from Oakland, does seem like one of the few players that may lead the O's out of last in 2019, as he had a .275 average in 60 games as Machado's replacement at third, with 55 hits to boot. He's not much, but he's one of the few things Baltimore has to hope for.

Coming Tomorrow- Slightly less pathetic than the O's, a Southern Californian team in desperate need of life.

End it Like Beckham

...So maaaayyyybe I was wrong not to include Tim Beckham on my list of trade deadline deals. Because while this seemed inconsequential at first, giving another infielder to a fourth place team with next-to-no pitching, Tim Beckham has become the sole reason why the Orioles are still in the conversation. In his first few weeks as an Oriole, he's been batting .485 with 5 home runs and 12 RBI. Most players who've been on the team since April would kill for those numbers, and a suddenly-hot Manny Machado is beginning to get there himself.

Don't get me wrong, this is still a middle of the road team. The Yankees and Red Sox are still strong-holding the division. The Rays even have a shot, now bobbing back and forth between fourth and third. The O's, sad to say, don't have the pitching, or the sufficient roster depth, for the postseason, and are going to have to settle for the middle of the decision. But Beckham's exploits have extended the team's shelf life by another month. With out him, people would have counted the Orioles out by now.

It's definitely good for the team, seeing as their other high-profile acquisition, Jeremy Hellickson, is essentially just doing what he was doing for the Phillies (strikeouts with little-to-no run support and bloated ERA), just in an orange uniform. There's been injuries, and a ton of inadequacy from the guys putting the team on top in 2016 (looking at you, Trumbo). But with Jonathan Schoop, Trey Mancini and Adam Jones absolutely killing it alongside Beckham, there's a smidge of hope baked into the worry.

Again, not thinking much of this O's team, but it'd be nice to see a late push for the wild card.

Coming Tomorrow- Pitcher for a second place team that may seriously need to work in order to make the Wild Card themselves.

Over-Extend it Like Beckham

Yeah, that's a Daily Show-worthy title. I'm kinda proud of that one.

The Rays had me worried for a second. Yes, they're a great team, but...no, that's exactly it. They're a great team this year. For a little while, they were ahead of the Yankees in the standings. As if we needed anymore things to worry about as Yankee fans, besides the Red Sox' lead, now the Rays jump into high gear and decide to challenge us. Greeeeat.

The Rays actually have a nicely-assembled gang. The core is hard-hitters like Evan Longoria, Corey Dickerson, Logan Morrison and Steven Souza. The outskirts are filled with speedy devils like Kevin Kiermaier, Tim Beckham and Maliex Smith. Plus, people like Wilson Ramos, Adeiny Hechavarria and Trevor Plouffe are coming out of the woodwork and performing in smaller roles. The pitching staff is small but mighty. Alex Colome's pretty intimidating. This is a surprisingly great team, that's making big things come from small places.

And yes, their problem is that they have to be a good team in the AL East when two GREAT teams, the Yankees and Red Sox, are trying to establish dominance against each other. It's like Rocky vs. Drago being interrupted by a third challenge, that being Paulie. You just don't wanna see that.

Again, you can only hope for good things from the Rays, but with those big two teams on the horizon, it's hard to be too sure.

Coming Tomorrow- Hard-hitting catcher for a weak, but still fighting, NL East team.

Custom Card of the Day: Beckham Edition

(First of all, I adore this shot)

Well, glad to finally see this guy in an MLB uniform. I was worried for a second back there, that he'd be a bust, but turns out he's finally getting some MLB play, thanks to the departure of Ben Zobrist, who I kind of thought would never leave.

For anyone who doesn't know Tim Beckham's deal, he was drafted #1 overall in 2008, and promptly stayed in the minors for the next six years. He just never had the right amount of stuff to make it, and toiled around in single-A or whatever, until he suddenly had a nice hitting streak a few years ago. Since then he's been on a mission to make it to the show, and now he's finally there, albeit in a bit of a down season for the Rays, without Zobrist or Price, or possibly Longoria (thanks for an injury).

I feel like Beckham has enough talent, now, to make a real impact this season. I dunno if he'll be the absolute best rookie this year, but he's gonna have some nice stuff, I think, even if the Rays end up in last.

Coming Tonight (?)- I dislike this team, but I can respect their catcher. Who doesn't?