“4 player’s set to depart from our team today…
Tonight we start a 3 game series with the Baltimore Orioles, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The O’s have a 51-42 record, putting them 3rd in the AL East, 5.5 games back from the Red Sox and 6.0 games in front of us. They are 27-19 at home. They are 4-6 in July.
I sent off some questions to Stacey, manager of Camden Chat, SB’s Orioles blog.
So how should we go about pitching to Chris Davis? Or would we be better off not to? How is he dealing with the idiot PED questions?
Not long ago I would have said that it didn’t really matter what opposing pitchers did because Davis was so hot that he’d just go with whatever the pitcher gave him and take the pitch over any wall for a home run, down either line for a double, etc. And if a pitcher tried to pitch around him, well then he’d just walk. But since the calendar turned to July, Davis has turned back into a pumpkin. It’s only been nine games, but in them he’s hitting just .097/.222/.323. I don’t expect it to last too long, it’s mostly just a function of the fact that people don’t actually play baseball as well as he’s been playing most of the year, so he’s normalizing. But it could last through the weekend, in which case I’d suggest to the Blue Jays pitchers that they mostly stick to pitches outside the zone because he’s chasing.
As for PEDs, he of course has heard the whispers but has handled them with grace. From answering a kid on Twitter with a simple “No” when asked to telling reporters straight away that he’s never taken them and that he hates that he has to answer that question because of what people in the past did. But those of us who have actually looked at Davis’s career understand that power has never been his problem and it’s only now that he’s learned to be a better hitter that people notice that he looks like the Incredible Hulk.
Who has been your biggest surprise (other than Davis)?
It has to be Manny Machado. I expected him to be good, of course. But a 20-year-old big kid in his second season in the majors seems likely to have a regression period where he’s still learning and trying to make adjustments against all of the veterans in the game. But not Manny. He has been stronger offensively than anyone could have predicted. He’s walking less than 4% of the time but when you’re on pace for nearly 70 doubles that’s easy enough to overlook. And his power seems to be going up a tick of late as well, as he’s hit two home runs in the last ten games after going over a month without one. And that’s not even taking into account his defense. We all knew he’d be good at defense, but I don’t know that anyone could have predicted what he could do at third base. He’s at 21 defensive runs saved for the year, which is 10 more than the #2 guy in the American League. If you prefer Ultimate Zone Rating, he’s also tops in the American League in that. Or, if you’re the traditional sort that prefer the eye test, just watch him play for a bit. You will swoon.
