The Tampa Bay Rays have been on a run, to say in the least. Over the past month or so, they’ve put a big scare into Red Sox Nation and suddenly made the pennant chase in the American League East interesting.
However, the Orioles made life difficult for the Rays last night as Matt Wieters hit a two-run homer – that was an absolute bomb – in the eighth inning to help them defeat the Rays, 4-2.
That being said, does everyone think Matt Wieters is still a bust — or not?
Yes, he’s not become the savior for the Orioles and has not seen his minor league numbers translate to the big leagues. Then again, can anyone not discount that he’s becoming a complete player? Wieters has been able to hit with some power, play amazing defense and become a leader on the Orioles.
So, Wieters is not going to become the next Johnny Bench at the plate, but he may cross the 20+ homer plateau at some point and has been healthy. Really, I would venture to say that he’s one of the top ten catchers in the game today….
Moving on…
David Price pitched fairly well for the Rays, going into the seventh inning; however, Alfredo Simon for the Orioles – who had gotten beat up in his last several starts – had a strong outing on the mound, striking out nine.
He didn’t get the win, but against the Rays, he looked like a top of the rotation guy. Yes, he gave up a long homer to Evan Longoria – no shame in that – but, he was amazingly effective.
Who knows if Simon will be part of the rotation next year or not? In a crazy year for him, he’s had some peaks and valleys; however, based on what I have seen, he can be a valuable part of this team.
Not sure if Simon is a long guy at the moment, a starter, or a pitcher who can do both; however, what I saw last night from him was very impressive.
There’s not much else for the Orioles to play through in the last few weeks of the season aside for some pride along with some guys vying for jobs in the majors next year.
Despite losing three in a row, they have shown some fight and maybe this current crop right now can gain some momentum heading into next season. They’ve got a gauntlet of a schedule with games against the Angels, Red Sox (two series) and Tigers; therefore, the remaining games in September will be tough.
It was a wonderful night to be out at the Yard, and while there seemed to be few fans there, it was a good game overall by Baltimore.
