The Orioles have been pretty much dismissed all season. No one expected them to be very good before the season began -- they were a trendy "regression" pick -- and their rise to the top of the AL East has been couched as much as a failure of the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees as it has been about the Orioles' success. The team simply keeps finding ways to win despite its lackluster starting rotation. And come playoff time, according to my findings, that "lackluster rotation" might not be much of a hindrance to the team's success then, either.
In the seminal book "Baseball Between the Numbers," it was found that the most important factors for postseason success were a power pitching staff (aka, the ability to get strikeouts), a good closer and a strong defense. The Orioles have two of the three in spades, and the other one has been coming along nicely.
I'll explain.
In the first half of the season, the Orioles as a pitching staff weren't exactly intimidating.