Designated hitter Nelson Cruz triples to right, driving in three top-of-the-ninth runs Sunday against Tampa Bay, and later hit a two-run homer in the 11th — his second of the game, for a league-leading total of 39 — as the Orioles de- feated the Rays, 7-5, in extra innings.  Cruz single-handedly drove in all seven of the Birds’ runs as the O’s continued their drive toward the 2014 playoffs.

THE UPS AND DOWNS
OF THE 2014 BIRDS

Defying odds, overcoming injuries,
finding a way to excel all-around

COLT GREATS, NOT JUST UNITAS,
DESERVE STATUES WITH LEWIS
 
By David Maril
 
As the Orioles close in on wrapping up an Eastern Division regular-season crown, it’s interesting to note the following sports topics related to Baltimore and the Land of Pleasant Living:

  No objections here to a sculpture dedicated to former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis going up in front of the team’s stadium with John Unitas.

But what about one for Hall of Famer Lenny Moore, who has spent his life in Baltimore? And how about former greats Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry and Jim Parker, who all contributed to NFL Championships here with the Colts?

While some Lewis boosters are insisting he’s the greatest linebacker in the history of the NFL, you can also make rock-solid arguments that Moore, Marchetti, Berry and Parker were among the best to ever play their respective positions as well and are responsible for putting pro football on the map in Baltimore.

  If the Orioles reach the World Series, wouldn’t it be a classy, and well-deserved move, to invite former General Manager Andy MacPhail to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at one of the home games?

We shouldn’t forget that MacPhail was the one who hired Buck Showalter, the man most responsible for the team’s resurrecting the successful “Oriole Way,” as manager.

Along with refurbishing the farm system, MacPhail engineered two of the best trades in the franchise’s history: acquiring Adam Jones and Chris Tillman, for the fading Érik Bédard, from the Mariners, and Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter from Texas for reliever Koji Uehara.

  Tillman hasn’t had a lot of luck with run support the last two seasons. Last year, with a few breaks, he could have been a 20-game winner.

This season he continues to pitch well, helping the Orioles win, but not being credited with the victories himself as often as he should.

Chris Davis, who has struggled offensively all season, surprised everyone with his third-base skills since filling in for the injured Manny Machado last month.

  No question that Davis has struggled offensively this season.

Even with his low batting average and high strikeout totals, he remains such a feared power threat that teams continue to pitch around him, allowing J.J. Hardy, who usually follows him in the batting order, opportunities to successfully drive in key runs.

Davis has too much raw talent to not rebound with a decent season next year.

To me, two of the biggest surprises, increasing his value to the team, are his overall athletic skills and ability to play a very respectable third base, where he’s been since Manny Machado was first put on the disabled list last month.

  Jonathan Schoop, with his recent home-run power outburst, has been earning praise for his offensive potential. Hopefully, this will not prevent him from focusing, as he gains experience, on also developing into a more consistent contact hitter.

It’s a plus having a second baseman who can approach 20 homers a season. However, it’s just as important to have middle infielders who hit for average, get on base and move runners along.

  Whenever I see Darren O’Day, who this season has been one of the most effective set-up relievers in Orioles history, I think of Dick Hall.

The 6-foot-6 former Baltimore reliever (1961-66, 1969-71) didn’t drop down as low to the side as O’Day does but also had an unorthodox motion and release point, and, like O’Day, threw strikes.

  Attention has recently been drawn to the fact that Showalter has been using Nick Hundley to catch Tillman. It’s not, however, as unusual as some seem to think, about certain catchers getting paired with particular pitchers.

Even an All-Star catcher is not going to play seven days a week and it makes sense to pair one of the other catchers with a starting pitcher when the two work well together.

Going pretty far back in Orioles history, veteran reserve catcher Charley Lau ended up catching many of 19-year-old Wally Bunker’s starts the second half of the 1964 season, when Bunker won 19 games.

Charley Lau (variously spelled “Charlie”) was a catcher for the Orioles during the 1960s.

  Former Orioles pitcher Dave Johnson — whose son Steve now pitches in the Birds’ minor league system — did a terrific job when he recently served as color man on MASN’s weekend telecasts against the Twins.

Johnson offered interesting personal insights from the vantage point of a former player and didn’t get bogged down with tedious terminology that adds nothing to the broadcasts.

His comments over A’s Manager Bob Melvin’s inflammatory remarks during the team’s losing streak, were very interesting: Johnson referenced how out of character this was for Melvin, who he knew as a quiet, calm, steadying influence when he pitched to him as a catcher with the Orioles.

  Personal recollections that give viewers insight into baseball players as people have been missing when Mike Bordick is doing the TV color. In fact, if you didn’t know that Bordick had spent 13 seasons with Oakland, Baltimore, Toronto and the New York Mets, it wouldn’t even be apparent he’s a former quality Major League Baseball player.

He seldom draws on his experiences to bring out the more human and interesting aspects of the people who are in the game. Instead, he concentrates too much on overstating the obvious when it comes to the technical and strategic side of baseball.

If I had a dollar for every time he uses the word “zone” on a telecast, I’d be a millionaire.

Bordick is intelligent, personable, was a smart player and definitely knows the game. He could, with some instruction, be a first-rate baseball color man.

MASN, however, deserves criticism for throwing him into the booth without providing relevant training.

  While we are grading the TV announcers, let’s express gratitude for the team’s having a professional voice the caliber of Gary Thorne. He earns the greatest compliment you can give a television play-by-play announcer in baseball, of enhancing the viewing experience and not distracting from the game.

  We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the Orioles are making a mistake if they don’t re-sign shortstop J.J. Hardy before the off-season when his contract runs out and he becomes a free agent.

Hardy is the key to the team’s airtight infield defense, drives in key runs, and is a poised team leader.

  Veteran outfielder Nick Markakis also merits strong consideration to receive a contract extension. He’s having a solid, injury-free season.

The only thing he doesn’t do consistently is hit the ball out of the park. And the team already has plenty of free-swingers.

Why are the Orioles waiting to re-sign shortstop J.J. Hardy to a multi-year contract?

  No matter how far the Orioles go this season, they will have their hands full making decisions — when it is all over — on contracts for Hardy, Markakis and Nelson Cruz, plus what sort of role the high-salaried Ubaldo Jiménez will fill next year on the pitching staff.

  Give the Orioles plenty of credit for knowing in the off-season, it was time to deal Jim Johnson, last year’s bullpen closer.

Some critics accused the team of not wanting to spend money, and simply dumping his contract. It was pretty obvious, however, when the A’s released him Aug. 1st that Johnson needs extensive rehabilitation to resurrect his pitching effectiveness.

However the Tigers have apparently decided to take a chance on him, moving him up to their main roster in mid-August after initially signing him to a minor-league contract Aug. 5th.

  Zach Britton’s emergence as an extremely effective major league pitcher isn’t as big a surprise as his becoming one of the game’s top closers.

Although hampered by injuries last year and frustrating some observers with his lack of consistency, it’s been obvious throughout his career he has great natural talent. And with the added bonus of being a left-hander — which teams always covet — the Orioles were wise to show plenty of patience.

But who would have figured he’d dominate in the specialized, pressured role of bullpen closer instead of as a starter?

  It’s nice to stop hearing people insist the Orioles need to trade for a No. 1 ace-type pitcher to boost their starting rotation. The complaints of not having enough pitching depth have subsided in synch with the increase of the Orioles’ first-place lead.

Tillman has emerged into a big-time stopper. Kevin Gausman has the talent to become a consistent winner for many years. Wei-Yin Chen is starting to look like the Second Coming of Scott McGregor.

The more Miguel González trusts his stuff, the better he gets. Bud Norris has become a reliable bulldog who never gives in on the mound. The addition of pitching coach Dave Wallace and the improvement of the pitching staff isn’t coincidental.

  Who would have expected the Orioles to win a division title with All-Star catcher Matt Wieters out for most of the season, Gold Glove third-baseman Manny Machado sidelined with a second knee injury, Chris Davis hitting under .200, and Ubaldo Jiminez pitching his way out of the starting rotation?

That’s why they play the games.
 
davidmaril@voiceofbaltimore.org
 
“Inside Pitch” is a weekly opinion column written for Voice of Baltimore by David Maril.
 
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