Don't Go Soft, Play Hardball!

2011 American Division Champion Orioles Season Highlights

2011 American Champion Orioles Team Photo!
(Front Row) Steve Chase, Chris Conroy, Elisa Newman (team hitting coach), Chris Rains, Sebastian Cordero (ball boy), Adrian Cordero (ball boy), Matt O'Brien, Brian Brouse, Nathaniel Brouse (bat boy), Michelle (O's General Manager), John Siefert, Kiki (O's Marketing Manager) (Back Row) Mark Brouse, Andrew Sheehan, Joseph Newman, Angelo Cordero, Brian Siefert, Chris Cooper (Photo submitted by Angelo Cordero).

Regular Season Summary

After winning their first championship in 2010, it didn't take long for the Orioles to realize that repeating in 2011 was not going to be easy. Before they could even start the defense of their title the Orioles realized that they needed to do some major recruiting to fill in some key holes in their roster. A total of seven starters weren't returning and needed to be replaced. The O's were only able to replace four of the departing players. The newcomers to the 2011 version of Orioles were: Andrew Sheehan (C, P, 3B), Matt O'Brien (C, SS, 3B), Joseph Newman (OF), and Brian Brouse (IF, OF). Demetrius Hunter (OF) joined to O's shortly after the start of the season, however, job commitments limited him to only three games. Even with a smaller roster, the Orioles set out to defend their title in 2011.

The Orioles opened the 2011 season in a huge way with a 9-7 win against the Braves, the eventual Champions of the Pacific Division. After a couple of rainouts and the early-season holidays, the O's were still undefeated and found themselves in first place. However, at the time the O's had played the fewest games due to the rain-outs, and they had not played a single doubleheader. Looking ahead, four straight doubleheaders against division rivals were looming large on their schedule. The Orioles faced their division challengers by winning their next ten games, effectively running away with the American Division. In the end the Orioles went undefeated in the American Division, with a tie to the Mariners as their only division blemish.

All the winning did not come easily. As the season wore on, and the temperatures started to rise, the players on the smaller O's roster began to feel the heat. Even so, the O's maintained a refuse-to-lose attitude throughout the season. This attitude and championship character fueled late-inning heroic comebacks the Orioles were able to mount against the Yankees, Pirates, and Mariners.

Playoff Summary

The Orioles traveled to Gilroy to face off against Mariners in the first round of the 2011 playoffs. Both games against the Mariners proved to be hard-fought battles.

Semi-Finals Game One

In the morning game the Orioles scored all their runs in the first four innings. Starting pitcher Andrew Sheehan pitched eight solid innings striking out 8 Mariners. Steve Chase came in for the save and managed to contain a furious Mariner rally and helped secure a Game One 9-8 win.

Semi-Finals Game Two

Game Two saw the Orioles send Mark Brouse to the mound. Brouse worked hard in the off-season on his pitching, and continued to refine his stuff taking extra bullpen sessions during and after games despite limited pitching opportunities during the regular season. All the hard work paid off handsomely for Brouse in the playoffs, as he pitched five solid innings. As the Mariners started to mount a comeback, Steve Chase was once again called upon to put out the fire. Just like he did in the first game, Steve Chase was able to suppress the M's offense and earn his second save of the day.

With the 10-6 win in the afternoon, the O's advanced to their third straight Championship series.

Finals

If the Orioles were going to repeat as Champions in 2011, they would have to do so by going through the Yankees. While the O's won their two battles against Mariners to advance, the Yankees powered their way to the Championship by flattening the Pirates to the tune of 30-8 over their two games.

Finals Game One

In the series' opener, a determined Yankees team jumped ahead and never looked back. The Yankee runs came early and often, and this time there would be no miracle comeback for the O's, as the Yankees went on to stun the Orioles and win Game One 13-5.

Finals Game Two

With their backs against the wall, and facing elimination, the Orioles needed a win to keep their hopes of repeating alive. Brian Siefert took the mound and managed to keep the Yankee offense contained. This time it was the Yankees that struggled to get key hits, with runners in scoring position. The Orioles were able to come out with a 12-5 win to force Game Three.

Finals Game Three

Game Three was played a week later and turned out to be a true slugfest. The Orioles managed to open an early 10-3 lead. However, by the third inning, O's starter Brian Siefert hit his third batter and needed to be relieved on the mound. Like they have all season long, the Orioles turned to their steady reliever Steve Chase to keep the Yankees' offense under control; but the Yankee hitters were not having any of it. Over the next two innings, the Yankees came all the way back and tied the game at 10.

With the score tied at 10-10 and the Yankees threatening to take the lead, the Orioles turned to Chris Rains to take over the mound duties. Rains would not only pitch the O's out of the sixth inning, but he was also able to strand runners in the seventh and eighth innings. The O's offense finally exploded in the bottom of the eighth inning scoring a total of six runs to take a commanding 16-10 lead. The inning was highlighted by two massive home runs by Joe Newman and Andrew Sheehan. Rains pitched a scoreless ninth to secure the win and the O's second Championship.

The 2011 Season was without doubt the most successful season the O's have enjoyed. This was a true team effort; everyone in the O's roster made major contributions to the team's success. Steve Chase, Andrew Sheehan, Chris Cooper, Mark Brouse, Chris Rains , and Brian Siefert all pitched vital innings. A total of 7 different players combined to hit 22 home runs. The Orioles also got major contributions from the rest of their roster: Chris Conroy, John Siefert, Sal Sanchez, Brian Brouse, Joe Newman, Matt O'Brien. Angelo Cordero continued to provide the good looks.

When the Orioles first joined the San José MSBL as an expansion team in 2004, they had a miserable season losing all twenty games. In contrast, the 2011 version of the Orioles won a total of 20 games in 2011 (including the post-season). The Orioles have traveled a long road since their early 0-20 days. Over the past four years the Orioles have finished first three times; made three straight Championship Series appearances; and won the last two American Division Championships. The O's are looking forward to bringing everyone back, and making another Championship run in 2012.