Nick Markakis is healthy. (Getty Images)

In the introduction to last week's power rankings, I noted that the Orioles had a bad run differential and that in the past decade only two teams made the playoffs with a negative run differential.

This remains the case. The Orioles have scored 47 runs less than they've allowed. Without using any other variables, it's unequivocally true that if the O's made the playoffs like this, they'd be a historical outlier. The main reason is their unbelievable success in close games, as Danny Knobler pointed out last week.

Still, after a fun exchange with very smart emailer "Bulldog," I delved deeper into the numbers and it appears Nick Markakis makes a big statistical difference.

After having wrist surgery, Markakis was absent from the Orioles lineup from May 30 through the All-Star break. Without Markakis, the Orioles went 16-18 and were outscored 169-122. That's a negative 47 run differential. 

With Markakis on the active roster the Orioles are 51-38. Their run differential is completely even. They've scored 388 and allowed 388. Without Markakis, the Orioles hit .224/.282/.345. Before his injury, the Orioles hit .251/.315/.440. Since his return, they're hitting .251/.316/.416.

Obviously, with Markakis' 1.0 bWAR and 1.2 fWAR, any suggestion that Markakis is solely making a gigantic difference would be roundly mocked in sabermetric circles. It's because he's only one player and not a superstar, plus, there are other variables to consider, like personnel improvement throughout the roster in recent weeks (Omar Quintanilla, Manny Machado, Chris Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez as a starter, etc.).

It's also still true that making the playoffs with a negative run differential almost never happens and that having an even differential isn't exactly the path to the postseason. This was merely a fun way to play with the numbers and give some credit to Markakis on a thus-far slow news day.

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