MLB: Baltimore Orioles Have Progressed More Than the Pittsburgh Pirates

At least that was the message of the last three games, in which the Orioles not only swept the Pirates, but did so by convincing margins.

At the end of 2010, these were two atrocious teams, one in each league, the Baltimore Orioles and the Pittsburgh Pirates. They have both rebuilt since then, and both of them are now better and at least respectable. But in the match of supposed near equals, Baltimore ended up dominant.

In the last game, a Pirate "reject" named Steve Pearce got sweet revenge by pairing with Matt Wieters (an early round draft choice that Pittsburgh passed by in 2007 in favor or reliever Danny Moskos) for five RBI apiece, only the second time that's happened in an Orioles game since they moved to Baltimore in 1954.

One thing that has already distinguished the Orioles from the Pirates is "strength of schedule." The former plays the most games in the American League East, a tough division with the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, and the Boston Red Sox. The latter's home division is the National League Central, arguably the weakest in baseball.

With regard to pitching, the Orioles are 10th in ERA, and their peripherals (batting average against and WHIP) seem to support this ranking. Until this series, Pirate pitching has been even better, putting them fourth in ERA. But the above peripheral statistics of their hurlers suggest that Pirate pitching is only as good as, but not better than, the Orioles' after removing the effect of short-term luck factors.

Batting is where the Orioles have a clear advantage. Their run production is 10th in the majors, although they are outperforming their peripherals (batting average and on-base percentage). Pirate hitting, however, is dead last in the majors, leading to the fewest number of runs scored.

Both teams have "managed out" a number of wins, which is to say that they are higher in the standings than the relationship of runs scored to runs allowed would have suggested.

On run differentials, the Orioles figure to be just above .500, not in a neck-and-neck race with the New York Yankees for first place and the wild card leader.  By the same measure, the Pirates are more likely to be a few games below, rather than above, .500.

Both teams have come a long way from the cellar. But one of them is a solid candidate for the postseason while the other will do well to beat .500. However, the Pirates are in a division where "beating .500" might just allow them to play October ball. (The 2006 St. Louis Cardinals got to and won the World Series with only 83 regular-season wins.)