Now that the Orioles have turned the run differential positive… people have no idea what to say, and still want to completely ignore that while there are no “superstars” that teams would be scared enough to “pitch around” or intentionally walk… they’ve got a bunch of above average guys, and plenty of depth defensively. The starting pitching is a little shallow, but winning brings confidence… which is new to this team. I imagine them only getting better in that department and in big moments.

And with winning…. free agents and no-trade clauses suddenly don’t mind coming to Baltimore. Especially to play for Showalter.

I’d say the only real way Baltimore got “lucky” this year is the majority of talent stayed healthy most of the season.

And if you want to see a college football gameday atmosphere… just wait for the first playoff game in Camden Yards. The nest will be rocking’!

O’s fans will recall The Cavalry, the Young Arms that MacPhail spent years growing, only to watch them flame out as starters (Matusz, Arrieta, Tillman). Tillman stuck as a starter, but Duq sent Matusz and Arrieta to the pen this year.

OPSa as starter/reliever:
Arrieta (.770/.649)
Matusz (.874/.368)

Also, who found Miguel Gonzalez toiling in obscurity in the Mexican Leagues? Great find!

Wow RT @dastudes 2012 Orioles bullpen WPA may be the highest in MLB history, by a big margin..two wins. is.gd/Qt6ofd—
Ben Badler (@BenBadler) October 01, 2012

the link points to this fangraphs page:

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=rel&lg=all&qual=0&type=3&season=2012&month=0&season1=1970&ind=1&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0

Seems like that gamble paid off well for one team. The other……….not so much.

Another thing that’s being brushed under the rug in these “lucky” conversations: the coaching. How many times in many different sports have we heard “He just needs the right coach to get him in line?” Could it possibly be a bit of “right place, right coach, right time” combination that’s making this work? Perhaps the coaching staff in place now has the ability to get the best out of these players where they were lacking in the past (ie- McLouth’s bat or Reynold’s glove at first which is suddenly remarkable). Unlikely it all clicks at once? Sure, but it’s not inconceivable…

I’d also like to point out the Buck stat: I wish I could remember the exact numbers here but it’s something like “in Buck Showalter’s last 3 teams, he’s come in to a team with a sub-.500 record and by his second FULL year as bench boss has taken them to the playoffs.” Or something along those lines. It was mildly discussed in spring training in Baltimore, but nobody took it seriously. And yet here we are…

Also, I’d like to note the current roster, since August 3rd, has a 37-16 record and +73 run differential. These guys are good!

The one thing people can’t seem to understand, especially when referencing the pythag, is that in the beginning of the year the Orioles starting pitching wasn’t good (it isn’t the best now either, but I digress). However, the bullpen has been outstanding which is why they are winning a ton of close games. Now, going into next year it’s possible they’ll all face a bit of regression, but who knows what other aspects of the game might step up? Maybe Jones takes another step forward? Maybe Machado starts the year in the bigs instead of in MiLB? Maybe Bundy comes up earlier than Sept?

Lots of upside on this team for the future.

Roberts 17 Games played
Reimold 16 Games played
Markakis had his hand broken twice

ect, ect, ect

Also, I’d like to note the current roster, since August 3rd, has a 37-16 record and +73 run differential. These guys are good!

But to carry your thesis forward: Randy Wolf must be the equation that Einstein divided by zero to make all the other stuff work. Therein lie black holes. Let’s hope the Orioles don’t fall into one.