Missing in action: Zach britton
Orioles dominant closer, Zach Britton, who didn't even get to throw a pitch in the most important inning of the season.
The 2016 Postseason started off with a highly intense showdown between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles. These 2 teams are part of the incredibly tight AL East division and at the end of tonight's AL Wild card game it was the Jays who came out victorious. The game started out with a home run from Jose Bautista early on putting the Jays up 1-0. After a season that included low HR/RBI numbers and getting falcon punched by Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor back in May, Joey Bats showed some life early on in this game even though there was no bat flip this time (he was probably afraid someone would kick the shit out of him if he did). Blue jays starter Marcus Stroman lost the lead in the 4th following a 2 run blast from Mark Trumbo but Toronto tied it back up the following inning. Stroman pitched well keeping his team in the game but came up just a little short from earning the win (no pun intended). The game remained tied at 2 and spilled over into extra innings. The Blue jays were threatening in the bottom of the 11th but there was no sign of Orioles lights out closer, Zach Britton. Britton was without a doubt the best closer in baseball this year and boasted 47 saves with a mere 0.54 ERA. If there was any opportune time for Orioles manager Buck Showalter to give the signal to put Zach Britton in the game in order to prevent the opposition from scoring a run, it was at this time. instead, Buck brings O's starter Ubaldo Jimenez into this high pressure, crucial situation in the bottom of the 11th with 2 runners on. It seemed like before Buck even got back into the dugout after heading to the bump to make the change, Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion absolutely crushed the baseball into another area code, thus ending the game in a walkoff, 5-2 Blue jays victory. Now I have not an ounce of knowledge as to what the fuck was going through the Orioles skipper's mind when he made the decision to NOT bring in his lights out closer in this situation, but you can bet your ass he will face some backlash for the decision. Now if you want to blame this Orioles loss on any one thing, you can either blame it on Encarnacion's ability to hit dingers with ease or, you can blame it on Buck Showalter. We all know the folks in Baltimore love to riot so if they don't burn Camden Yards down to the ground and turn the entire city of Baltimore into a replica of Hiroshima in 1945 tonight I will be shocked, because that is just terrible management, or maybe they're all too busy doing drive bys and holding up liquor stores to even give a shit. The ALDS between the Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers will kick off thursday, let's just hope it doesn't turn into a fuckin' UFC match between the two ball clubs. As for the Orioles, thanks for coming but it's time to go back to Maryland because the 6 ain't friendly, but hey, atleast Zach Britton will be extra fresh in April.
