On the front page of Wednesday’s Baltimore Sun, underneath a photo of President Bush speaking to Georgians who were not Atlanta Braves fans, a story carped about the concerns the Orioles had over the fledgling Washington Nationals cutting into their fan base.
In other words, Sammy Sosa has not had the Barack Obama effect the Orioles needed to offset the reintroduction of major-league baseball in the nation’s capital.
The Nationals have outdrawn the American League East-leading Orioles by an average of about 1,500 fans per game and generally generated a buzz that has spread beyond the Beltway.
“It has taken a big chunk out of [our following],” Orioles executive director of communications Spiro Alafassos told the paper.
A first-place team worried about falling into second-banana oblivion behind a National League neighbor in its own market?
Sounds a little like the team on the South Side the Orioles will play Thursday to start a four-game series considered one of the biggest so far this year. But the two American League front-runners have more than an inferiority complex in common.
Here are five other traits the White Sox and Orioles share.
Managing the game
1. Both have second-year managers in their first jobs, who are winning in the American League using a National League approach.
Every game at Camden Yards, Orioles manager Lee Mazzilli sits next to an engraved No. 4 in the dugout honoring Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver, who loved to wait for the three-run homer. And Mazzilli probably could get away with that in Baltimore, given Weaver’s legacy and his team’s major-league-leading total of 48 long balls heading into Wednesday’s games.
But, like Ozzie Guillen with the Sox, Mazzilli has managed as if his roster were stocked with Punch-and-Judy hitters clawing for every run. The Orioles were ranked third in the American League in stolen bases behind the Sox and Devil Rays, showing the type of versatility in the lineup that will make it hard for the Red Sox and Yankees to run away from them in the division.
Winning without superstars
2. Both have vaulted into first place without much help from ailing superstars.
Neither Sosa nor Frank Thomas has made a major imprint. They have made bigger headlines for the length of their rehabilitation stints than the length of their home runs. Asked how Sosa might fit into the lineup when he returns from a staph infection, Mazzilli sounded a lot like Guillen answering questions about Thomas–unfazed. Sosa has four homers and 13 RBIs, but the Orioles becoming contenders after his arrival has more to do with coincidence than his clutch hitting. Just as Guillen has done with Thomas, Mazzilli has melded Sosa neatly into an Orioles clubhouse that believes chemistry has played a role in their winning.
Second thoughts
3. Both have second basemen who were relatively unknown before the season who have solidified an unstable position.
If the American League handed out a most valuable player award after 30 games, it would be hard to beat Baltimore’s Brian Roberts. Playing full time since Jerry Hairston was traded in the Sosa deal, Roberts has 10 home runs and 29 RBIs with 12 stolen bases. Similarly, an early favorite for rookie of the year might be Sox second basemen Tadahito Iguchi, hitting .324 with two home runs and 15 RBIs and making all the plays in the field. People who were afraid general manager Ken Williams could not tell how good Iguchi was off Japanese League videotape were right. So far, he is better.
Catching stability
4. Both rely on catchers to provide stability in the lineup and locker room.
The Orioles have steady Javy Lopez, off to another solid season hitting .310 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs. He mentioned the other day how his second season in town has allowed him to assert more leadership that goes a long way in a locker room heavily influenced by Latin players.
In the same way, the Sox have benefited from A.J. Pierzynski’s toughness and grit. Pierzynski has hit only .247 with two homers and six RBIs through Wednesday, but has handled the pitching staff ably and looks like another off-season coup for Williams.
Starting pitching
5. Both teams have received starting pitching that has exceeded everyone’s expectations but their own.
The trio of Bruce Chen, Sidney Ponson and Erik Bedard will not elicit any comparisons to Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine but it has gone deep enough into games to help protect a suspect Baltimore bullpen. The eventual ace of the staff might be Daniel Cabrera, a right-hander who reminds Mazzilli of great National League power pitchers from his playing days. Meanwhile, the Sox’s staff surprises have been so well-documented and well-respected that when shortstop Miguel Tejada was asked about this series earlier this week, he said, “Their pitching against our hitting–it’s going to be a great matchup.”
Enjoy.
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dhaugh@tribune.com
