Postseason

NEW YORK -- Orioles manager Buck Showalter plans to give the team off Monday and likely will hold workouts Tuesday and Wednesday. He held a team meeting before Thursday's game to begin discussing the postseason protocol. “We talked today,” Showalter said. “I think it's the unknown this time of year that drives players crazy. I want them to know exactly what I know. “We're going to meet on Monday [to discuss the postseason roster], and I want everybody to know what's going on with them before Tuesday, so when go into that workout on Tuesday, we have our 25-plus [players]

For Nancy and Bob Reigle, the call came down to America's Colonial showplace versus the Orioles in the playoffs. "We have wanted to go to Williamsburg for some time," said Nancy Reigle, a retired teacher in the Baltimore County public schools who had scheduled a trip to begin Oct. 20 - the day before the start of the World Series. "I was keeping an eye on the schedules, and then I noticed that the American League has home field advantage [for the World Series], and that they could be playing in Baltimore that Tuesday and Wednesday.

Nov. 18, 2012 will not be remembered fondly by Rob Ambrose. That was the day the Towson football coach's worst fears were confirmed when the NCAA selection committee did not invite the program to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs despite the Tigers finishing with a 7-4 record and a share of the Colonial Athletic Association title. "Professionally, it was the worst day of my life," Ambrose recalled. "I know I didn't handle it well. I was an emotional disaster. We dumped our hearts and souls to give these kids the best opportunity to win the national championship.

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones admitted before Saturday's Game 2 of the American League Championship Series that he might need to be a little more patient at the plate for his team to get back into the series against the Kansas City Royals. Jones doesn't make any apologies for his aggressiveness at the plate, but he noted that the playoffs offer a different game, inherently smaller strike zones and more opportunity for batters to wait on their pitch to hit. And Jones has struggled in the postseason, entering the day just 5-for-42 with 11 strikeouts in 10 career playoff games.

Miguel Gonzalez isn't going to say it. In fact, the Orioles right-hander was asked point blank Monday night whether he felt he is making a statement that he should be one of the club's starters in the postseason. And he called an audible, talking about well things are going in general. “I got to keep doing what I've been doing and stay focused,” Gonzalez said. “And we're in a good spot right now. Pretty happy about it. We are doing good.” OK, so he isn't addressing it -- smartly, on his part, by the way -- so we'll say it for him. With his tremendous run in his last 10 starts -- he has allowed two runs or fewer in nine of them -- Gonzalez has put himself squarely on the postseason starter map. He's probably still behind Chris Tillman, which is only fair.

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones admitted before Saturday's Game 2 of the American League Championship Series that he might need to be a little more patient at the plate for his team to get back into the series against the Kansas City Royals. Jones doesn't make any apologies for his aggressiveness at the plate, but he noted that the playoffs offer a different game, inherently smaller strike zones and more opportunity for batters to wait on their pitch to hit. And Jones has struggled in the postseason, entering the day just 5-for-42 with 11 strikeouts in 10 career playoff games.

The Orioles (52-42) may hold a four-game lead in the American League East and be a season-high 10 games over .500 entering the All-Star break, but recent history indicates that it's not safe to make postseason plans quite yet. Last year, the Orioles were also 10 games above .500 (53-43) at the Midsummer Classic. Despite that record, they were in third place in a strong AL East, behind the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. Following a lackluster second half (33-34), the Orioles finished 85-77, 12 games back of the eventual World Series champion Red Sox. At the All-Star break for the postseason-bound club in 2012, the Orioles were just five games above .500 (45-40)

It seems like Delmon Young has been in the major leagues for more than nine years. Maybe that's because he came to the majors so young, or maybe because he's in the postseason every year. His bat has always earned him a job. Throughout years ragged by injuries, off-the-field issues and even weight clauses in his contract, hitting has always been the easy part. After his three-run, pinch-hit double Friday afternoon led the Orioles to a 7-6 comeback win over the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the American League Division Series, Young was asked whether he had ice in his veins.

Frank Fried was born a few months before the Orioles won their last World Series, so the 31-year-old mechanical engineer's memories of his favorite baseball team are mostly painful. Like many fans, Fried believes that the drought will end this month, a result that would not only thrill the city but also boost the local economy. A partial season-ticket holder, Fried will be at Camden Yards for Thursday's Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, as he was nearly three dozen times during a regular season when the Orioles were one of the best teams in baseball.

NEW YORK - October dawned yesterday with its customary simplicity: The World Series is the New York Yankees' to lose. Why else did TV schedule the Yankees for prime time, again, forcing the reigning World Series champion Diamondbacks to an 11 p.m. East Coast start time? What else, then, was the point of that first-inning homer by Derek Jeter to post the Yankees an instant lead in Game 1 of this American League Division Series against the Anaheim Angels? And, of course, why else did Jason Giambi - brought here specifically to put the Yankees back on top in a big way - crush the kind of two-run homer that could make him heir to that beloved Yankees phrase: Mr. October?

The Orioles starting rotation had a 3.61 ERA in the regular season, the fifth-best mark in the American League. But in the postseason, the club's starters have struggled. Right-hander Bud Norris lasted just 4 1/3 innings in Saturday's Game 2 of the American League Championship Series, allowing four runs and nine hits. Norris struck out three batters and walked none. In five postseason games, four of the five Orioles starters have failed to go more than five innings. The exception was Norris' ALDS Game 3 outing, in which he tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings against the Detroit Tigers, allowing just two hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

Amid mounting fan frenzy, the Orioles began cashing in this summer on the team's runaway success. Capitalizing on the expected demand for postseason tickets this year, the team pitched 2015 season ticket plans with the opportunity to buy seats for October baseball at Camden Yards. The pitch proved successful. And as the Orioles continued to win, sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series, team officials expanded the program, offering more guaranteed games for buyers of larger season ticket packages.

DETROIT - After his team completed a tense, 2-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday to advance to the American League Championship Series, Orioles manager Buck Showalter was congratulated at the beginning of his postgame news conference for winning his first playoff series as a manager. “Really? I got one in Albany,” Showalter quipped, referring to an Eastern League crown in 1989. When the reporter specified he was talking about the majors, Showalter replied: “They're all relevant.” Fair enough.

DETROIT -- The Orioles struck first in Game 3 of the American League Division Series -- and they did it in a familiar fashion. Designated hitter Nelson Cruz went deep in October. He has done that a bit. In the sixth inning, Cruz planted an 84-mph changeup from Tigers left-hander David Price just over the wall next to the foul pole in right field for a two-run homer to break a scoreless tie. A frustrated Tigers fan caught the ball and then placed it on the edge of the wall.

Comebacks and eighth innings aside, one of the most pleasing sights in the first two games of the American League Division Series has to be that the Orioles' stellar defense is back. Orioles manager Buck Showalter makes it clear that it's your glove that moves you up through the minor league system and it's defense that keeps you in the majors. He uses Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Ryan Flaherty as examples that the Orioles are willing to let players work through their offensive struggles as long as they are sound defensively.

The Orioles packed their bags and headed to Detroit late Friday afternoon, but it was clear that they were in no hurry to leave the orange embrace of the fans in Baltimore or the surreal environment that enveloped Camden Yards during the first two games of their American League Division Series. "I've been in World Series … I've been in the World Baseball Classic … I've been in the All-Star Game, and I never heard nothing like this," said Game 1 hero Nelson Cruz. "It was so loud, my ears were ringing.

The postseason tournament is supposed to feature all that is good about baseball. The competition. The history. The tradition. This is supposed to be pure baseball enjoyment, but something has gone awry.Perhaps it is the competition. The Oakland Athletics are looking for some, and they didn't find it in the American League Championship Series. The National League playoffs were more evenly matched, but pity the Cincinnati Reds, conquering NL heroes, for they shall inherit the A's.Some history was made in the AL playoffs, but in a manner that only a network executive could love.

The selection of Dirk Nowitzki as the NBA's Most Valuable Player is not official, announced or even confirmed. What is confirmed, though, is that if the honor goes to him, a heavy dose of dishonor will come with it. It's not his fault. Seriously. The stipulations for the NBA MVP voting are the same as they were when the first was awarded in 1956. It's a regular-season award. Nowitzki had a worthy regular season. However, this is the only league that could justify awarding this prize after the playoffs are done.

It seems like Delmon Young has been in the major leagues for more than nine years. Maybe that's because he came to the majors so young, or maybe because he's in the postseason every year. His bat has always earned him a job. Throughout years ragged by injuries, off-the-field issues and even weight clauses in his contract, hitting has always been the easy part. After his three-run, pinch-hit double Friday afternoon led the Orioles to a 7-6 comeback win over the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the American League Division Series, Young was asked whether he had ice in his veins.

When the Orioles signed Nelson Cruz to a club-friendly one-year, $8 million deal in February, executive vice president Dan Duquette was quick to point out Cruz's postseason accomplishments. And while the Orioles have reaped a huge payoff from their investment in Cruz - he led the majors with 40 homers and at times, carried the club on his broad shoulders - the 34-year-old slugger brings huge playoff credentials into the Orioles' American League Division Series matchup against the Detroit Tigers.