So, the big bad NL East, huh? I've been saying since the beginning of the season: Put the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Central, the NL Central or the NL West, and they're a .500 team. Maybe we can add the NL East to that list. Coming into today's game with a chance to sweep the Defending World Series Champions Philadelphia Phillies, the O's are 6-2 against the NL East in its last 8 games against the division. Yes, I purposefully left out the Nats' series. So sue me.
Point is, the O's, it can be argued, are a better team than their record would suggest. But maybe they're not. Maybe they are who they are, but who they are may be better than a substantial chunk of the NL.
Or maybe we've just gotten lucky in 3 series, and we hope it continues today. Whatever. Give give me a win, and I won't ask how. I am encouraged to see Nick Markakis finally get a day off (and coming before a day off, so that's a mini-vacation in MLB terms), and not thrilled that Aubrey Huff is getting a day off on the SAME day, and guess who's batting fifth? One hint, it ain't Nolan Reimold, since he's batting behind Brian Roberts today. And your second logical guess, Luke Scott, is batting cleanup. The O's lineup can be found here. It's not quite a forfeit lineup, since zaun isn't catching, but it's not optimal, either. Here's hoping Adam Jones breaks out of his slump and Robert Andino keeps giving Cesar Izturis something to worry about concerning job security.
And yes, I also avoided mentioning how bad Jeremy Guthrie has looked lately and the fact he's matched against Cole Hamels, who can be really, really good. Work with me, people.
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