2. The juxtaposition of Manny and Schoop

The Orioles have a mid-20s infielder and middle-of-the-order hitter with 30-homer pop, a near-.300-average bat and the ability to play shortstop in an emergency. His name? Jonathan Schoop. OK, up until the last week or so, the easy identifier to those hints was third baseman Manny Machado. Schoop’s emergence, both as a middle of the lineup force and a shortstop in a pinch, has been one of the club’s biggest revelations in 2017. It’s been important, too, because Machado has hit just .230 – roughly 50 points below his career average – with an on-base percentage of .296. Yet, for all hand-wringing about Machado’s offense, he’s tied with Schoop for the team lead in homers with 18. And Machado has turned it up lately, hitting .333 (13-for-39) in nine July games. Really, it was a matter of time for the uber-talented Machado to re-establish himself offensively. He’s the best player on this team, but his best buddy Schoop is trying to make it a contest. They are like two brothers, pushing each other, trying to one-up each other and yet supportive at the same time. I guess the question here – with the thoughts that the Orioles could be sellers – is how long will they be teammates? Well, I don’t see management punting on this season and dealing either during the season.

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