BALTIMORE–It’s probably fair to assume that most Oriole fans have tried to put last year’s shocking Division Series playoff loss to the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers as far out of mind as possible.
That’s not possible for the players who saw their 101-win season go up in smoke, but All-Star infielder Jordan Westburg doesn’t think that’s such a bad thing, which is probably a good thing since everybody keeps reminding them of it during the run-up to Tuesday’s playoff opener against the Kansas City Royals at Oriole Park.
“I think a lot of us, as much as we want to forget, remember that series last year and I certainly remember making the last out of it,” Westburg said during a pregame interview session. “So I don’t want to do that again, so I’m going carry that, kind of as a little bit of fire … a little sense of urgency maybe.”
Not that the Orioles need any extra motivation as they embark on another – hopefully successful – playoff run, but even bad postseason experience can be valuable experience.
“I hope a lot of guys do that,’’ Westburg added. “This team has a lot of tough guys, a lot of gritty guys, guys who play with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder even if it’s unnecessary. I think it’s good. I think it’s good to play with passion and fire. So, hopefully, we remember that. Hopefully, we can kind of draw back on what that feels like and try to avoid that as best as we can.”