First off, I realize I haven't written a blog entry for a while, so I'm sorry to all five of you who have read it (which is more than my prediction of zero people reading it). But I decided to write now because I have a complaint.
The Baltimore Orioles. I have followed this team ever since I was born, growing up on Cal, Brady, Moose (before he went to the yankees), and others. The O's haven't made it to the postseason since 1997, and are in their second, and hopefully successful this time, rebuilding stage since then. The Orioles major league pitching has not gotten any better since 1998, but the offense this year is great. With one of the best lineups in baseball, featuring Brian Roberts, Adam Jones, and Nick Markakis, there is nothing to dislike about their lineup. The pitching, however, has always been a concern. This year is no different. Jeremy Guthrie is a solid pitcher, but wouldn't be an ace on most teams. Koji Uehara is an excellent pickup, but he's already 34 years old. The rest of the rotation is mediocre or worse. Alfredo Simon is already injured, bringing Brad Bergesen into the rotation. Mark Hendrickson is an aging veteran, who has had two starts, one of which was quality, the other not so good due to a multitude of unearned runs. Adam Eaton has been terrible, giving up six runs in four innings in his latest outing. The bullpen, which everyone has been boasting about, has not been as good as advertised. Part of this is due to the fact that the starting pitching can't get through five innings on any given day.
Now if you're a baseball fan, you're wondering why i'm complaining. This is to be expected, right? The Orioles have a nice group of pitchers in the minors, who should be ready to pitch next season or the season after next (Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz). We knew the pitching would struggle this season. Why is it bugging me early on that the pitching is one of the worst in the majors through twelve games (6-6 record)? Because the poor pitching has at least held up for the Orioles in past seasons for a couple of months. We are already witnessing the collapse of the Orioles rotation, something that usually doesn't happen until at least the end of May. In Guthrie's last start against the Red Sox, he couldn't hold an early 7-0 lead, and the Orioles lost 10-8. Eaton has had two rough starts. And the bullpen has pitched plenty of innings, which is part of the reason why they have allowed a seemingly high number of runs through 12 games.
The Orioles offense is stellar, only recently having a bit of a slump (losing 6-4 yesterday, and then 2-1 today, which is annoying because Uehara had such a good start today, arguably the best start of any Orioles pitcher this season). The O's got off to a good start, 6-2, winning their first three series. However, in the third game of each of these series, they lost by a large margin. In fact the Orioles two days ago were 6-0 in games where they allowed single-digit runs, and 0-4 in games they allowed double-digits (11-2, 11-3, 19-6, 10-8). How is our offense supposed to win us games if every other game our pitching is giving up 10+ runs?
The Orioles need a pitcher who can eat up innings. Guthrie hasn't been able to do that so far, despite going 2-1. Finally, Uehara did that today, going seven strong innings, but the Orioles lost. The O's are on a four-game losing streak at 6-6, heading into the final game of a four-game series at Fenway. The Orioles can finish the series off well tomorrow by avoiding the four-game sweep. That will put them in a good spot after the first four series of the year: 7-6 and coming back home to play a three game series against the White Sox. OR they will get swept by the red sox, embarrassed on the road with a five game losing streak, and come back home under .500 for the first time this season. 7-6 and 6-7 may not seem like a big difference, but it is a big difference for a team who is trying to stay in the AL East race for as long as they can before their pitching gets even worse (believe it or not, that is possible).
Sorry to sound so bitter in my second blog, however this is the first O's season in a while that I have actually been upset with the O's pitching. Usually the problems are to be expected. It's too early in the season, however, for our pitching to be blowing games. Let's hope that they can turn it around. If not, can't wait to see Arrieta, Tillman, and Matusz in 2010 or 2011!
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I catch your drift and understand your frustration. I will not buy into the Tillman- Matusz-Arrieta hype just yet. I'm going to wait before they have some major league starts under their belt before I make judgments about the O's future. I am not foolish and will not be tricked into believing the Orioles will be good in 2010 or 2011 before I see some results. As much as I want to believe that the O's will be good in a couple years, but I"ve been too optimistic in the past. I specifically remember one night about 6 years ago when I was convinced that the Orioles would be really good in about 3 or 4 years. I was listening to 'O's Talk' after a ballgame on the radio and the host was explaining how the Orioles had serious potential. They were wrong then, who's to say they're right now?
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