Yankees.com: ‘They’re legit’: Yanks tip cap after bats cooled by formidable O’s

From Bryan Hoch:

It was not long ago that some of the Yankees’ hitters would eagerly count the days until a fresh opportunity to visit the offensive paradise known as Camden Yards, where they savored many visits feasting on the inferior pitching of an also-ran Orioles club.

Those days are officially over. After spending most of last season looking up at Baltimore in the American League East standings, the Yankees know how formidable their neighbors to the south have become. Their first meeting of the year did nothing to contradict that.

“They’re legit,” Yankees starter Clarke Schmidt said after his club’s 2-0 loss on Monday evening. “When you face them and then you face other teams, you really kind of feel it. They really hit mistakes. Their 7-8-9 guys are high-end hitters. … It’s definitely a credit to them and what they’ve built over there.”

It’s such a weird angle, because the Orioles won over 100 games LAST YEAR, they entered the game, what, 1.5 games behind the Yankees, and they then only scored one unearned run themselves. It’s just a weird, weird angle.

The real angle should just be how pathetic the Yankee offense was with runners on base. THAT’S the story.

Plus, of course, the featured image, which is Stanton being thrown out at second on a single by Wells (it’s not quite as pathetic as it sounds, but it’s still pretty pathetic).