I'm glad we got KC

[FlipTheBird]

If the starting pitching in on the mark, the O's should be able to command this series. You can't steal first.

Adam has hit James Shields well, and Aaron Crow very well in a very small sample size... but otherwise, has been largely ineffective against any KC pitcher in his career.

That said, I don't think we can read much into that. Adam's either going to finally wake up in the playoffs, or he isn't. Hard to say.

[backwardsk]

Adam has hit James Shields well, and Aaron Crow very well in a very small sample size... but otherwise, has been largely ineffective against any KC pitcher in his career.

That said, I don't think we can read much into that. Adam's either going to finally wake up in the playoffs, or he isn't. Hard to say.

Was Aaron Crow on the roster? Or maybe it was just the Oakland game he was left off.

[centralpaosfan]

Physically KC matches up well with us. However, I question where they are mentally. I watched both post game celebrations and the actions and words spoken by both the O's and KC were very different, and in my opinion telling.

The O's celebrated but it was fairly low key compared to other celebrations. Every interview you heard "this is only one step. We have two more steps to accomplish."

Meanwhile, KC players were dancing on the dugout, throwing beer into the crowd and celebrating like they won the World Series. Most of the interviews you heard players say "we will worry about Baltimore tomorrow, tonight we will celebrate this."

Granted, I may be putting too much stock into this but I just feel like the O's have a better perspective on things. They know the journey has just started and KC feels like they're playing with house money.

[callahan09]

He looked good last night.

Sorry, saw that was already addressed.

Hosmer and Moustakis are showing some pop recently, so we need to be careful with those guys.

In the post-season so far, those two guys are so ridiculously outplaying their career and 2014 regular season numbers that you just have to expect them to crash back to earth, right? If they do, then the Royals won't present much of a challenge. If they keep up their torrid pace, which after 5 days pass before the next game, hopefully they cool off in that time and don't come back with the same pop for whatever reason, but if they do come back with that same pop it could be a tough series. Those 2 guys really are the only reason the Royals are in the ALCS in the first place.

[centralpaosfan]

In the post-season so far, those two guys are so ridiculously outplaying their career and 2014 regular season numbers that you just have to expect them to crash back to earth, right? If they do, then the Royals won't present much of a challenge. If they keep up their torrid pace, which after 5 days pass before the next game, hopefully they cool off in that time and don't come back with the same pop for whatever reason, but if they do come back with that same pop it could be a tough series. Those 2 guys really are the only reason the Royals are in the ALCS in the first place.

Technically you could say the same about the O's hitting .429 with RISP.

[Babypowder]

Physically KC matches up well with us. However, I question where they are mentally. I watched both post game celebrations and the actions and words spoken by both the O's and KC were very different, and in my opinion telling.

The O's celebrated but it was fairly low key compared to other celebrations. Every interview you heard "this is only one step. We have two more steps to accomplish."

Meanwhile, KC players were dancing on the dugout, throwing beer into the crowd and celebrating like they won the World Series. Most of the interviews you heard players say "we will worry about Baltimore tomorrow, tonight we will celebrate this."

Granted, I may be putting too much stock into this but I just feel like the O's have a better perspective on things. They know the journey has just started and KC feels like they're playing with house money.

The O's celebration would not have been low key at Camden Yards. That's a huge difference.

[StottyByNature]

The baseball playoffs are all about getting hot at the right time. Having said that, great pitching can cool off a hot team. Cruz is the key for us - if he stays hot he can carry us offensively. Jones will give us a little more this series, he's too consistent not to.

The Royals are on fire. If they are hitting the HR like they did against the Angels this will be very, very tough. However, I do not fear their starting rotation in the least. Their bullpen on the other hand...

I am excited for this series. Two great fanbases and two teams who are trying to wake up some echoes. Each game should have a raucous crowd and that will be fun. Set the tone, Tillman!

[callahan09]

Technically you could say the same about the O's hitting .429 with RISP.

Fair point, I guess.

I thought it was interesting that Royals averaged less than 1 stolen base per game in the regular season, and are averaging 3 per game in the post-season. O's are playing over their heads with RISP, Royals are playing over their head with the stolen bases. I think if we both regress to the mean, I like our chances better than I like theirs. And if neither regresses, I like our RISP better than their stolen bases. (Maybe... that assumes we get runners in scoring position to begin with, and I personally fear their lineup a lot more than I feared the Cy Youngs of Detroit).

[ShaneDawg85]

One thing that the Orioles had a massive advantage on in the ALDS that they won't have in the ALCS is the bullpen. Whereas they could exploit Detroit's bullpen, they can't do that with KC. Doesn't mean they can't be successful, but it's not a glaring weakness like the last series. The Royals pitching is tough, especially Shields, but the same principles apply. They have to make them work, extend at bats, and work to get them out of there. The Royals don't give up a lot of home runs as a staff, but they've given up more on the road. The Orioles have to take advantage of that a Camden Yards.

[Guest]

[Malike]

While the Royals didn't hit HR's during the regular season that much, they have been hitting them in the playoffs and OPACY will only help their power. They outscored us 26-18 in the season series, and they have 109 more steals than we do. I think we matched up better with LAA, and was hoping we could have gotten them in the ALCS. This is like a trap series, we'll most likely have the pressure to be expected to win for the first time this season.

[Crabby9]

One thing that the Orioles had a massive advantage on in the ALDS that they won't have in the ALCS is the bullpen. Whereas they could exploit Detroit's bullpen, they can't do that with KC. Doesn't mean they can't be successful, but it's not a glaring weakness like the last series. The Royals pitching is tough, especially Shields, but the same principles apply. They have to make them work, extend at bats, and work to get them out of there. The Royals don't give up a lot of home runs as a staff, but they've given up more on the road. The Orioles have to take advantage of that a Camden Yards.

The O's can still reach their bullpen and wear them out in a 7-game series no matter how good they are. Those starters don't scare me a bit. Not after Detroit.

[Palmoripken]

Not going to be easy but then again it never was.

[Bosibus]

Fangraphs has the current odds of winning ALCS at:

KC 60.2%

BAL 39.8%

http://www.fangraphs.com/coolstandings.aspx?type=2&lg=lg&date=current

[Crabby9]

Fangraphs has the current odds of winning ALCS at:

KC 60.2%

BAL 39.8%

http://www.fangraphs.com/coolstandings.aspx?type=2&lg=lg&date=current

Wasn't that about the same vs Detroit? No respect.

I know this, KC could never have swept Detroit. Not that this really means anything but what criteria are they using? I'd like to know.