The Fighting Showalters -- or the Orioles as they are listed atop the AL East standings -- started the season with a challenging opening stretch against the Rays, the Tigers and the Rangers. They responded favorably, winning six of nine games, but we will learn a lot more about these Orioles based on how they fare against the Bronx Bombers this week.
No, the Yankees aren't a better team than the Rangers, who are the hottest team in baseball right now. But the Yankees have tormented the Orioles over the past decade or so. That's why Baltimore manager Buck Showalter has made it a point to put the Yankees up on a pedestal -- and the Red Sox, too -- while telling everyone with a voice recorder and a notepad how his Orioles plan on knocking the big boys off of it.
The Orioles had the AL East's best record after Showalter got the gig in August (the Orioles split their six games against the Yankees), and that momentum carried through a busy offseason and a productive spring training camp into the first two weeks of 2011. They are tired of "maybe next year" and are eager to prove that they can be contenders now. Taking this series at Yankees Stadium would be quite the statement.
When I was growing up, my older sister used to beat the snot out of me on a routine basis. But I'll never forget the day when I was finally able to stand up to her and we both realized the days of me being her punching bag was over. The Orioles can be that husky adolescent standing on top of a snowy hill looking down at their sister.
That was an awful analogy, but you get my point.
It can be an early turning point for the Orioles if they beat up the Bronx bullies on their home turf. At the very least, it would extend their lead in the standings and expand their window of contention later this summer.
But if the O's get slapped around by the Yankees, they might be looking up at them the rest of 2011.