These Guys Just Might Be Good

I’ll be the first to raise my hand to admit I never thought that the Orioles, the 2008 Baltimore Orioles, would be over or even near the .500 mark in mid-May. And yes, though they have won five of their last six, including two straight over the Boston Red Sox, this is a team with a small margin for error. They will struggle to hit when big hits are needed, they will have trouble scoring runs, sometimes the pitching may fail. But the one thing these Orioles won’t do is give up. After 40 games, the Orioles are a surprising 21-19, just 2.5 games behind the first place Tampa Bay Rays (I never thought I would write that sentence, either).

I guess I felt a sigh of relief that even though they lost on Mother’s Day, it wasn’t like the meltdown of last season. Just look at today’s win for example. First of all, Daniel Cabrera is finally looking like he gets it. So far, there have been nothing but quality starts for the better part of a month. And while he wasn’t as dominant today as he was in his last start in Kansas City, he battled and held a very good offensive team to three runs in seven strong innings of work.  Best of all, he did not walk anyone. His walks have decreased considerably from what O’s fans are used to in the past.  Before, you could count on Cabrera unraveling once a few baserunners got on. Now he seems to be rewarding those who believed in him and his electric stuff.

Another good sign is that the Orioles came from behind against one of the better bullpens in the American League. Jay Payton’s grand slam is the big blow everyone will remember, but without Freddie Bynum’s infield hit, and Guillermo Quiroz’s (who?) single, maybe Brian Roberts doesn’t draw a walk to fill the bases to get to Payton.

Now, I’m not predicting a World Series for the Orioles like a certain friend of mine who is full of optimism and enthusiasm, but I like the way these Orioles play.  Way better than last year’s bunch, who couldn’t wait to get off the field and out of the clubhouse. I still say a .500 record will be looked upon as a sign of progress; I certainly would be happy with it. We will really see what these Orioles are made of with games on the road against the Yankees and Rays after a three game series with the Nationals at home.