Leading Off

We’re a couple of days late so that Jake could slack off on Monday, but the time off has not dampened the enthusiasm! The guys celebrate actual content for The Brian Roberts Watch (2:40), and some of it may even be good news! Dylan Bundy’s upcoming Tommy John surgery puts a dark cloud over the Medical Wing (10:15).

 

The BEVys

Thanks to all the folks how have helped with the BEVys thus far (15:30). Remember to check out categories from:

* Baltimorons

* Section 336

* Eutaw Street Report

 

For ourselves, we’ll post polls shortly for our two BEVy categories:

Biggest Regression to the Norm

Best Call (Announcer)

 

Return of the AL Beast

The Blue Jays just completed a 3-game sweep of the Orioles, as part of their 11-game winning streak (23:45). This is notable, because it brings them within 6 games of first, and makes the AL East an open, 5-way heat. The other divisions in baseball average a 13.5 game lead from first to last, whereas all 5 teams in the AL East are above .500.

This will have a significant effect on the AL Wild Card (27:00), but it’s still likely that the AL East will send two teams to the post season. Many thanks to the AL Central for being terrible.

 

Kudos to O’s for BOGO Tickets

The guys take a rare moment to tip their caps to the Orioles organization for making affordable tickets available (31:00). It gives the fans few excuses to stay at home. The Birds are offering BOGO ticket deals to pack the yard during the Indians series. After making “questionable” decisions (think day-of-game charge), it’s about time they get something right.

The Birds are ranked 18th in MLB attendacnce, up from 20th in 2012. Average attendance is about 28,ooo – both at home, and on the road.

 

The Curious Case of Chris Davis

Chris Davis’ 2013 success has brought whispers (OK, shouts) about PEDs (35:40). Domenic Vadala put the issue in perspective pretty well in his blog on masnsports.com. You can’t deny that the realities of MLB’s rocky history with PEDs makes it easy to suspect the worst when players put on an unusual power display. No one can say with certainty that ANY player is clean. That being said, Chris Davis is probably not on steroids. Consider:

* He’s passed tests this season

* At 27, he’s hitting his prime

* The power is not new. He’s alwatys been strong as an ox, and hit 33 HRs in 2012

* Davis has improved in non-power categories. He’s walking more, timing offspeed pitches better, and selecting better pitches to swing at. Are these necessarily PED indicators?

* Davis gets good pitches to hit this year because he’s in the middle of a very powerful lineup

 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a terrible week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly (43:00).

 

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