24 More to Go!

Trade him. We need an ace, and he fits the bill for the piece that they're looking for. 

Miguel Gonzalez.

The fact of the matter is, 6 of his last 9 starts have been quality. He's 4-2 during that span, while the team is 5-4, including a 3-2 loss where he gave up 2 ER in 8 innings, and a 2-1 loss with 2 given up in 6 2/3.

In his last 3 games, he's lasted at least 7 2/3 innings. 

This is what the O's need in the second half from their starters to alleviate the pressure on Hunter, O'Day, and Britton. Promise a 6-9 out deficit from a win on a daily basis and I'm sure those three would be buying dinner regularly for their starters.

So Baltimore, please stop trying to overthink your trade deadline moves.

No Ian Kennedy. He and Gonzalez are the same player, aside from the fact that Kennedy has been doing it longer with the same consistency. Does that matter?

Absolutely.

But psychology is a fickle thing.

Strategically, the best possible course of action is to inflate the ego of your talented current pitching staff. With a team ERA hovering below 4.0 and enormous room for improvement, the cards have been dealt and you're a river away from a full house -- an optimist's perspective.

Gonzalez has also been able to keep his pitch count down as of late, theoretically improving the O's offense. Standing in the outfield while the ace throws 15-20 an inning is monotonous and has an impact on the bats of the other 8, whether they'll admit to it or not.

Hector Santiago, the Angel's pitcher last night, threw 69 through 3 innings. It's no wonder he lasted only 5 with a pitch count ending in 99, and received 0 runs in coordination with his effort.

In fact, it may even be a bright spot that the next face of MLB, Mike Trout, was the one to knock Gonzalez out with 2 outs in the 7th on his 2-run homer. Gonzalez hadn't allowed Trout a hit all game, including 2 strikeouts.

The fact of the matter is, the O's are 3-2 coming out of the break against two of the top 5 teams in baseball in the A's and Angels. It should be 4-1 if not for a blown Game 1 in the Oakland series.

Baltimore need to become accustomed to winning these tight games against successful teams, with the next 11 games are against the Angels and Mariners.

Heck, the next 24 games come against teams that currently have winning records (Angels, Mariners, Nationals, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Yankees, Indians [yes I'm being PC by calling they Indians], and White Sox).

Three years ago, O's fans would be calling it quits with a post-Break stretch like this.

Now, we're looking at 11 games above .500 and a bonafide chance to solidify ourselves as a powerhouse, a true contender in the AL, and a host to some incredible home-field October baseball in Baltimore.

The phrase, "Orioles Magic," was coined on June 22, 1979, when a walk-off homer by Doug DeCines gave the O's an improbable win after trailing 5-3 for almost 6 innings.

Here is the call and the box score.

For many younger O's fans (born late '80s to the present), though, Orioles Magic has a negative stigma of a losing team scraping comeback wins from its season like bugs off a dashboard. Magic that gave us a 4-6 or 5-5 record in that "Last 10 Games" column.

A new term is needed for Baltimore baseball's now-expected success.

In the meantime, chalk another W up for the Birds.