Baby Steps: The Orioles Just Clinched Their First Winning Month Since AUGUST OF 2017!

I've been preaching it for a while, I've been telling people to pay attention. The 2022 Orioles aren't the Orioles of old, they aren't the team that strolls into your park and you sweep them and don't even give it a second thought. They aren't the team that you wake up, roll out of bed and pound 13-1. This is a team that will absolutely sock you in the face with some dingers and before you know it you're down 4-0 in the third. The tide is turning with this team and you can see the plan of the rebuild is working. Another way you can see the rebuild is working 4 years later? With the 9-2 beat down of the Mariners last night the Orioles clinched their first winning month since August of 2017. AUGUST OF 2017! That's almost 5 years of losing every month. They're 14-10 this month with 2 games left to go, it's the first month that Brandon Hyde has won since he's been in Baltimore. They're 35-40 which is pretty damn good considering the division they play in. And when you consider the fact that they've played the Yankees 13 times already, it's nuts. Last year it took the Birds 100 games to win their 35th, this year they cut that down by 25 games. Again, baby steps but this rebuild is working folks and this team is good. 10-4 in their last 14 is just behind the Sox for the best record in baseball over their last 14 games, incredible baseball this team is playing.

Why are they good? The young stars we've been focusing on for years. After his slow start Adley Rutschman has shown that he's a stud, he's going to be a very, very good player. Played his first game in Seattle last night, a mini homecoming in front of a ton of family and friends including his legendary Grandpa, no doubt he was hitting a bomb. 2 hits with 2 RBI, Cedric Mullins had 2 hits, Anthony Santander had a bomb, Austin Hays continued to murder baseballs with 2 hits and a homer, Ryan Mountcastle hit a bomb, Tyler Wells had a perfect game into the 5th. The bullpen is legit lights out, they're unbelievable. The rotation has taken a hit but they're still pitching damn good. The defense has been amazing as well. It's a full team turnaround. This is progress, these are the guys you draft and develop and pick up in the Rule-5 draft and let them grow, this is how you build a team. I'm not saying they're going to make a wild card run, they aren't going to make a mad dash to the ALCS, but they are going to finish right around .500, maybe a few games under and that is a HUGE step in the right direction. They have been so bad for so long but it looks like those days are over. There was a plan, the plan worked, and now we're seeing the results. 

This team is also just insanely fun to watch. They CLOWNED LaRussa and the White Sox this weekend, they put that mental midget Michael Kopech into a bodybag and that was awesome to watch. They take 3/4 from them, a few weeks back they took 3/5 in Boston, they have beaten the Rays 2 straight series, they had a cycle last week, they had a perfect game into the 5th, every young prospect is hitting the cover off of the ball. This is fun baseball. There is no more chirping from Jon Heyman or Buster Olney saying they are bad for baseball, that all has stopped. Now they're kicking the shit out of teams and those haters aren't anywhere to be found. They're 3-0-3 in their last 6 series and they've played some good teams in there. 

There's a legit chance they're at or above .500 on 4th of July which again, is a huge step forward for this team. Elias knows what he is doing, just wait until they start spending money on free agents, adding those guys to this young core of Rutschman, Hays, Mullins, Mountcastle, Wells, man I can't wait. They've got more wins than 12 other teams right now and guess what, they have the #1 pick in the draft this year. And they've also got a TON more prospects waiting to come up and make their debut. This team is going to be good and we're just seeing the tip right now. Just wait until the final thing comes together, buckle up baby. First winning month in 5 years has me all jacked up and ready to run through a wall with Brandon Hyde. These guys are good. Start paying attention to them, I'm telling you.