O's Awaiting Reinforcements, Beat Phils with Walk-off

Running on fumes and staying within striking distance of first place, the Orioles have gotten by with a masterful juggling of AAA talent and a refusal to collapse that exemplifies the personality of their manager, Buck Showalter.

A number of possibilities wait in the wings like the grizzled veterans emerging from the cornfields in the movie, "Field of Dreams."

The 49-year old Jamie Moyer, Miguel Tejada, Chris Tillman, and Brian Roberts could be in uniform for the Orioles in the next three weeks. Nick Markakis will return soon from a broken bone in his hand and Brian Roberts will play on Tuesday night against the Pirates. Nolan Reimold and Zach Britton are also on the road to recovery.

The Orioles beat the Red Sox twice in three games at Fenway last week and have split the first of two against the Phillies in dramatic fashion with an Adam Jones walk-off home run yesterday.  A team that strikes out a lot and makes more than its share of errors is somehow holding its own.

Starting pitching has been inconsistent of late with another Arrieta meltdown leading to a Phillies win on Friday. Jake's issues appear to be mental with a lot of fidgeting and nervousness on the mound as he faces hitters. Chen and Hammel have delivered but they have also had bad outings of late.

Guys like Miguel Gonzalez, Steve Pearce, Steve Tolleson, Ryan Flaherty, Xavier Avery, and Bill Hall have made contributions. 

I saw my first Baltimore Oriole today perched on a telephone wire at the intersection of Lake and Charles. My daughter sighted the bird from the back seat. It turned out to be a good omen.