masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles have withstood injuries to Matt Wieters and Manny Machado. They dealt with Machado’s suspension. Now how will they survive today’s gut punch?

Chris Davis has been suspended 25 games without pay, effective immediately, after testing positive for an amphetamine, a violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

“Like always in my situation, you have to learn to deal with the problems and the challenges along the way. If they are self-inflicted,…The Orioles have withstood injuries to Matt Wieters and Manny Machado. They dealt with Machado’s suspension. Now how will they survive today’s gut punch?

Chris Davis has been suspended 25 games without pay, effective immediately, after testing positive for an amphetamine, a violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

“Like always in my situation, you have to learn to deal with the problems and the challenges along the way. If they are self-inflicted, there is no woe is me, and this is self inflicted,” manager Buck Showalter said.

Showalter described Davis as apologetic and said Davis called him around 8 p.m. last night to tell his about the suspension. Showalter said Davis called some of the players, too.

In one sense, this timing is terrible. And in another, not so much.

The terrible part is that Davis will be forced to miss the first eight Orioles playoff games if they advance and play that many. That means Davis would miss all of the American League Division Series and part of the American League Championship Series should the O’s get that far.

The better part of this timing is that the Orioles have such a large lead atop the AL East. They don’t need Davis to put the finishing touches on clinching the division, and they can surely get by without him the remaining 17 games of the regular season.

I would expect the players to handle this well, but surely the news has to hit the clubhouse hard. He is a well-liked and respected teammate.

Davis is sure to take a hit with the fans. He let them down today and it comes during a year when his struggles on offense have been a focal point for criticism.

I asked Showalter if the team will handle this like they did losing Wieters and Machado or if this is different since it’s not an injury.

“I don’t know,” Showalter said. “I’m still getting my arms around it. We have an advance meeting and we’ll talk a little about it. Some of the players came in today knowing. But I just want them to hear… because there will be a lot of, not rumors, but things out there that probably are not true.

“Just want them to hear exactly what is going on. Feel like I have a pretty good grip on what happened because I feel confident Chris was being frank with me.”

So all those good feelings about magic numbers and how the Orioles were rolling toward a division title have been derailed for a bit.

The Orioles have overcome injuries this year and been able to keep winning. How will this news about Davis impact the team?