Viv's O's Road Notes
As much as O's fans have had to suffer this season, I'm rather fortunate that when up-close with the ball club on the road working for MASN as Amber Theoharis' replacement- I've witnessed some of the team's best work. I was on hand for the O's 4-game sweep at Texas and the 3-game victory run over this past weekend in Anaheim. Overall in road games in MASN, I've seen the O's win 9 and lose 6. Here are some notes, observations and opinions from the sweep of the Angels.
It's all about the pitching, especially the starters. In the 3 games, Brad Bergesen threw 8 innings and allowed 1 run (on a balk), Kevin Millwood 8 shutout innings and Jeremie Guthrie 8 1/3 shutout. That's 24 1/3 starter innings allowing one run on the road- one of the best 3-game series of starting pitching in O's history. The bullpen was unscathed with Koji Uehara earning 2 saves, Jim Johnson finishing off Millwood's gem with Johnson making his first appearance since April 30, and Mike Gonzalez getting the strike out of Bobby Abreu with 2 on and 1 out in the 9th inning on Sunday before Koji closed it. Has manager Buck Showalter made these guys better pitchers? How about pitching coach Rick Kranitz? I realize there's a tendency to seek cause-and-effect reasons for improvement, but don't forget to give those pitchers credit for making their own adjustments and orchestrating their own improvements. Buck and Kranitz can't do much for them when those pitchers are on the mound staring in at big league hitters. What is worth noting is what Gonzalez reiterated to me after the win on Sunday: with the arrival of Showalter has come an overall sense of urgency, accountability and attention to competitive detail. Some early success under the new manager has lifted confidence which in turn has lifted performance and victories have come more frequently. Cause-and-effect? Impossible to say for sure, but as a theory- it works for now.
Speaking of Buck- did you know….he had a side career as a basketball official? While playing junior college baseball, his coach asked him to officiate a rec league game, and Showalter did it, launching an off-season job that he did for about 14 years (he did it to pay the bills, he says). Buck the Ref worked all the way up to officiating junior college games and was on the brink of a promotion to calling division one games in the Sun Belt Conference when his baseball commitments as a coach with the Yankees became too time consuming. Buck's basketball background is worth noting as you see him regularly conferencing with umpires during games. He has an eye and mind for officiating/umpiring and is constantly asking questions and seeking an edge for his team. He reads biographies of all the umpires who work Orioles games and encourages his players to do the same.
Jim Johnson is not an all-star or a household baseball name, but he has a deep appreciation for being a Major League Baseball player- an appreciation that was heightened by his recent rehab from elbow tightness. He's in his 5th big league season, but 4 months working his way back with stops in the Gulf Coast League, Frederick, Bowie and Norfolk reminded Johnson of the value of a big league roster spot. After putting on the uniform in Anaheim Friday, he said a player has to earn everything he gets in the game- nothing is given, and you never know when it might be taken away. Johnson unleashed his mid-90's array of pitches with particular vigor on Friday night.
It wasn't pretty, but Jake Fox's unlikely infield single in the middle game of the series ranks as one of my favorite plays of the year. Ty Wigginton led off the 6th inning with a double. Fox batted with one out and Wigginton on 2nd base. Fox hit a slow roller between the pitchers mound and first base. Angels pitcher Scott Kazmir came off the mound to field the ball, and since first baseman Mike Napoli had moved toward the ball, there was no one covering the base- so Fox charged down the line in a foot race with Kazmir. Fox slid feet first into the bagt ahead of Kazmir whose momentum carried him into Fox's path, and Kazmir was upended. Wigginton rounded third, and seeing Kazmir go down, Wigginton motored toward home plate. Kazmir made an off-balance throw that short-hopped catcher Bobby Wilson as Wigginton slid in safely. The sequence had equal parts baseball, football, hockey and soccer elements- and lots of effort from all involved. Can't say I've seen one like that- and I liked it!
There's a deep kinship between Koji Uehara and Angels DH Hidecki Matsui. They were teammates in Japan and as adversaries in the U.S., Matsui is hitless in 6 at-bats against Uehara. Koji told me (through interpreter Giwan Bang) that he looked forward to a chance to face Matsui in Anaheim, but that matchup never materialized. Followers of Japanese baseball contend that Matsui is the most popular of all players who've played in the U.S. (yes, even more so than Ichiro). Matsui was a 3-time MVP in Japan and played on 3 championship teams in a 10-year Japanese career. He's in his 8th season in MLB, and I asked Koji if Matsui is more known for his accomplishments in Japan or in the U.S? Koji paused and said- more famous for Japan, but Koji admits he's biased because they were teammates there. Koji added that Matsui is one of the few that he played with in Japan that he has deep respect for. I had a chance meeting with Matsui as he arrived at the ballpark on Saturday. His English is good enough that we were able to have a conversation. He smiled at the mention of Koji and Matsui touched his chest and said, "Teammate, he's my teammate." Much respect.
