The Orioles are white-hot a quarter of the way through 2005.
MLB Quarterly Report
It's one thing to get in a groove. It's another thing to get in a groove at just the right time. That's what the three teams that DeROK.Net is following have proved through the first quarter of this young 2005 season. I'll start off with the O's since they are the team most near and dear to my heart. The Orioles are the perfect example of good timing. Had the Orioles put on this same display a year ago, it wouldn't have mattered one bit. The Sox and Yankees were just too dominant. But following the lead of break-out star, Brian Roberts, the Orioles have turned on the jets at the perfect time and have held the top spot in the AL East for almost the entire season. While they're currently suffering through a brutal string of injuries, they've shown no signs of slowing down, and are going to be an intimidating force once they regain their health.
The Sox on the other hand, haven't been off to their best start. But again, if there was a time to slump a little bit, this is it. The Yankees are playing terribly right now, so even though Boston has been less than stellar, they're still hanging on to second place quite convincingly. And just when it appeared the Yanks might make a comeback, Boston came up hot at just the right time. They took two of three from New York, and George's crew of mercenaries haven't recovered yet.
The Mets are right in the thick of the NL East race at the moment. Without a dominant team to contend with, it will only take a perfectly timed winning streak to catapult the Mets into first place. The Mets picked a perfect time to revamp their roster, and the additions of Pedro and Carlos Beltran have paid off big time. Their free agent additions have far surpassed what their cross-town rivals managed to pick up. The tide may be turning in New York and spots are starting to fill up on the Mets bandwagon.
