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Home plate umpire Jerry Meals and catcher Matt Wieters #32 of the Baltimore Orioles look on as Curtis Granderson #14 of the New York Yankees hits a two RBI double during the eighth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 9, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. (September 8, 2012 – Source: Rob Carr/Getty Images [...]
Wednesday night the Baltimore Orioles brass announced Manny Machado would be called up. Drafted 3rd overall by Baltimore in 2010, Machado has been impressing in the minors since his debut.
With a skill set that has drawn comparisons to Alex Rodriguez, there is a definite excitement surrounding Machado. But as is expected, this decision has its naysayers.
Heading into the trade deadline it was made clear by the Orioles that they would not be moving Machado or pitcher Dylan Bundy. These two prospects were deemed too important to trade, possibly ruining big name acquisition for Baltimore.
With this in mind it does seem a bit odd that Machado is being called up. At only 20 years old he is the youngest player to be called up by the Orioles since Hayden Penn in 2005. Typically at this young age players are left to develop in the minors and not rushed into the big leagues.
This season though it seems like that trend may be failing by the way side. With the call up, and success, of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout it has become more acceptable to promote prospects early.
Is Manny Machado going to have the success of those two players? Probably not, but this is a smart move that could help the Orioles into the postseason.
The most inconsistent position on defense so far this season has been 3rd base. Wilson Betemit has the most starts at the position, but hasn’t proven himself capable of holding it down long term.
That’s where Manny comes in. Although he is a shortstop, he can step in and fill a void at 3rd base. He should instantly improve the defense on the field, a definite sore spot for Baltimore this year.
He also adds an elite bat to the weak Baltimore lineup. Having already hit for the cycle in the minors he will come in and help Adam Jones almost instantly.
It’s a smart move for the Orioles. The risks are there but the potential upside is so great that they would be foolish not to give it a try.
Manny Machado will be hopefully starting a long and successful career tonight against the Kansas City Royals.
Be sure to check out other great articles at isportsweb.
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After the Baltimore Orioles dropped the first two games of a four game series with the Minnesota Twins this week, many fans were wondering how much long this team was going to miraculously stay above the .500 mark. With back to back wins to earn a series split, the answer looks like its going to be at least the through the weekend.
The Orioles used late inning heroics from much maligned first baseman Mark Reynolds to capture the come from behind win. In the top of the 8th inning, Reynolds came up with men on second and third with two outs and delivered a two RBI flare single to center field scoring Matt Wieters and Wilson Betemit who both walked giving the Orioles a 4-3 lead. Reynolds came up with the big hit for the first time in recent memory and propelled the Orioles to their 48th win of the season. The Birds didn’t earn their 48th win of the season last year until August 22, coincidentally also against the Minnesota Twins. So with all the struggles the Birds are having, it is important to note the drastic improvement in win production this season.
Wei-Yin Chen picked up the win yesterday moving to 8-5 on the season. Chen went seven innings giving up just six hits and three earned runs. He is now tied with Jason Hammel for the team lead in wins. Â Chen got off to a rocky start giving up two runs in the bottom of the first inning on 28 pitches. Chris Davis responded in the top of the second with a towering home run to right field. Davis continues to flash the freakish power that he was delivering on a regular basis during the first half of the season.
An interesting stat of note about the past two wins for the Birds is that it is the first time since June 16 and 17 against Atlanta that Orioles starters have posted back-to- back wins. If you are searching for the reason why this team is struggling so mightily recently, I think that is a good place to start.
After Reynolds gave the Orioles the lead in the 8th, Orioles relievers Darren O’Day and Troy Patton managed to allow the first two hitters of the bottom half of the frame to reach base on a walk and a single giving the Twins men on first and second wit nobody out. Orioles set-up man Pedro Strop was called in to get out of the jam. Strop got two pop outs to shallow left sandwiched around a fielder’s choice to get out of the predicament. Jim Johnson worked a perfect 9th for his Major League leading 28th save of the season. Back-to-back saves for Johnson after a rough start to the second half of the year in non save situations will help put Orioles fans minds at ease about their All-Star Closer.
The Orioles now travel to Cleveland for four games to take on an Indians team that took three of four from the Birds at the end of June outscoring them 31-18. The Tribe are a game behind the Birds in the chase for the second wild card spot in the American League race. The Orioles are .5 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the last spot. Cleveland is coming off of a series split with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Birds will look to take a series from the Tribe as the road to the playoffs continues in the Mistake by the Lake.
Be sure to check out other great articles at Sports Media 101.
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Albert Pujols #5 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim runs to third base against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fifth inning of the interleague game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 24, 2012 in Anaheim, California. (June 23, 2012 – Source: Jeff Golden/Getty Images North America) BALTIMORE (AP) — Albert Pujols homered [...]
R.A. Dickey #43 of the New York Mets pitches in the first-inning against the Baltimore Orioles at CitiField on June 18, 2012 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (June 17, 2012 – Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America) NEW YORK (AP) — R.A. Dickey became the first major league [...]
Chris Davis #19 and Steve Tolleson #6 of the Baltimore Orioles celebrate after Tolleson hit a two RBI home run during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 22, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. (May 21, 2012 – Source: Rob Carr/Getty Images North America) BALTIMORE (AP) — [...]
Jacoby Ellsbury #2 of the Boston Red Sox runs past third baseman Chris Davis #19 of the Baltimore Orioles after hitting a two RBI home run during the third inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 27, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland. (September 26, 2011 – Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images North America) Red [...]
Brandon Inge of the Detroit Tigers dives into the photographers box after a foul ball in the seventh inning. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) Tigers 3, Athletics 1 (PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — OAKLAND — Newcomer Doug Fister pitched the Detroit Tigers to the AL Central title on Friday night, beating the Oakland Athletics 3-1 to [...]
Canadian Jeff Francis gave up a season-high six runs over 3.1 innings on Thursday. (Eric Risberg/Associated Press) (PhatzRadio/ CBC Sports) – OAKLAND — Jemile Weeks had two hits and drove in three runs, and Hideki Matsui homered to lead the Oakland Athletics to an 8-4 win over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday. Matsui’s solo [...]
David Price #14 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches against the Cleveland Indians during the game on May 11, 2011 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. (May 10, 2011 – Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images North America) Rays 8, Indians 2 (PhatzRadio/ TGM) – CLEVELAND — David Price shut down baseball’s hottest team without much [...]
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