Hardy's impact goes way beyond statistics: It would be an oversimplification to say that the absence of J.J. Hardy is the reason the Orioles went from being a top-five defensive team to one that entered the weekend in the bottom 10 in the majors in fielding percentage. But it wasn't hard to see what the club has been missing.
Everth Cabrera filled in admirably at times, but Hardy is the captain of the infield and his presence transcends mere statistics. Buck Showalter said as much on Thursday, but he didn't really have to.
The Orioles have been playing with plug-ins at both middle infield positions for several weeks and it has had a clear impact on the team's defensive chemistry. How could it not? The return of Hardy and Ryan Flaherty should tighten things up considerably and take pressure off the pitching staff.
Yankees aging gracefully: Obviously, reports of the Yankees' geriatric limitations were somewhat exaggerated. They have a bunch of guys in the middle of their lineup who are supposed to be past their prime, but they entered the weekend ranked sixth in the major leagues in runs and fourth in home runs.
Who would have imagined that Alex Rodriguez would still be Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira would already have 10 home runs? Everyone knew the Yankees would have a shutdown bullpen after they signed Andrew Miller to be their new closer, but who knew they would be able to hand him enough leads to save 12 games in little more than a month.
O's plate discipline improved, but…: It's clear that the Orioles are exercising better plate discipline under new hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh, but they still have room to improve, particularly when it comes to forcing opposing pitchers to give in when they're well behind on the count.
The fact that the count is 2-0 or 3-1 doesn't mean that you automatically have to swing at the next pitch, but opposing advance scouts have to be telling their pitchers that they can still get swings out of the strike zone. That's OK with someone like Adam Jones, who makes a lot of good contact on borderline pitches, but doesn't usually represent productive aggressiveness.
twitter.com/SchmuckStop