Orioles News - 10/8/07 - Looking At The O's Pitching In 2008

Now that the Baltimore Orioles season is over, some of the many questions on every one's mind are these: What will the Orioles' pitching rotation look like in 2008? What changes do the O's need to make to compete? Should Miguel Tejada leave or at least move to 3rd base? Should Daniel Cabrera leave or at least head to the bullpen? Today I will answer the first question, What will the Orioles' pitching rotation look like in 2008? The rest will be answered in the coming days.

What Will the Baltimore Orioles Pitching Rotation Look Like in 2008?

The O's pitching staff is one of the worst in the league, a fact that's not likely to change this year. But, with some key off season moves, the Orioles could have a chance at a mediocre pitching staff. Don't believe me? I'm not surprised considering the fact the Orioles pitching was ranked 2nd to last in ERA last year. But, the foundation has been laid. With left hander Erik Bedard as our ace of the present and future, the number one spot in the rotation is securely held down. Now comes number two. This will be close, as right hander Jeremy Guthrie and left hander Adam Loewen are likely to be duking it out for the number two spot. The runner up will likely take the third spot. Then there's the fourth and fifth spots up for grabs. It is unclear whether Daniel Cabrera will get a spot in the rotation after 4 frustrating seasons in Baltimore. If he does, it's likely that he does because of a lack of other good pitchers. There's also Kris Benson, the pitcher who was on the Disabled List all season. He could get a spot in the rotation once he comes back from injury. Throw in Radhames Liz, Garrett Olson, and Brian Burres and there is a 5 man battle for two spots in the rotation. It should be interesting during spring training...

Coming tomorrow: What Changes Do the O's Need to Make to Compete? - John T.

Orioles News - 9/30/07 - Season ends in loss

It was a long, bumpy ride but now it's over. It ended on a sour note, but then again, the Orioles' season wasn't exactly sweet. The Baltimore Orioles lost yesterday, 10-4 to the New York Yankees to end their season. It was a bad season, as the Orioles didn't even hit 70 wins. Baltimore extended their streak of 10 straight losing seasons. Not a good streak, but a streak that could be turned around... But I'll have more about that in the coming days...

This game was a typical example of how the O's season has gone. Bad pitching, combined with poor hitting, and it's another loss. Want to see how bad the pitching was yesterday? Starter Brian Burres went 3 1/3 innings, giving up 9 hits, and allowing 6 earned runs. And it's not like reliever Victor Zambrano provided much relief as he gave up 3 earned runs and walked 4 in 1 inning. Looks like the bullpen will be a top concern this offseason...Again. But, I'll have more about that in the coming days...

The Orioles hitting was poor too, as the Orioles loaded the bases with no outs in the 4th inning, yet came away with only 1 run. Kevin Millar, Scott Moore, and J.R. House also drove in runs, but it wasn't nearly enough.

In other news, Right fielder Nick Markakis was named Most Valuable Oriole. Congratulations to him, but we need many more players like him to ever compete.

Coming tomorrow: The Baltimore Orioles 2007 Season in Review. - John T.

Orioles News - 9/25/07 - O's fall to Toronto - Baez out all of next year?

The Baltimore Orioles lost last night, 11-4. The winner of this game was the Toronto Blue Jays. This game was ugly. As a matter of fact, kid's should shield their eyes from this: The O's left 11 men on base in this game. That's terrible. A little league team could do better then that. Well, not really but you get the point. More facts to read with caution: This was the 17th game this year in which the Orioles have given up 10 runs or more. It was also their 25th loss in 34 games. Look here, another ugly fact. (The world is just filled with ugly facts, isn't it?) Starter Brian Burres went 3 1/3 innings, giving up 7 runs. All 7 of those runs were earned.

The Blue Jay's runs came in bunches as the scored 3 runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 7th innings. The Orioles did get some runs as they scored 3 runs in the 5th inning on 5 hits and 1 error. They also scored again in the 7th inning, but it was too little, too late as this game was already decided.

In more news, reliever Dany Baez will likely miss all of next season with an elbow injury. Baez will have Tommy John surgery. My take on this: He won't be missed much by me. Baez is 0-6 with a 6.44 ERA in 53 appearances. Now you tell me, is he really worth a 3 year, 19 million dollar contract? - John T.

Orioles News - 9/19/07 - O's swept

Swept. The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles last night, 2-1 to sweep the O's. The O's wasted a great pitching performance by Brian Burres. Burres went 7 1/3 strong innings, allowing only 2 runs on 5 hits. But, Burres' effort didn't matter because the Orioles only scored 1 run, on Melvin Mora's single to bring in Brian Roberts. It's tough to win when you only score 1 run. It's not like the Orioles didn't have chances to score. They had plenty, leaving 7 men on base. The Yankees scored only twice, once in the 2nd inning on a home run by Hideki Matsui and on a wild pitch by Burres in the 5th. If you have any kind of good run support at all, you can expect to win a game when holding your opponet to 2 runs.

Also in the game, Jay Payton was ejected in the 5th inning after striking out on a 3-2 pitch, a called third strike. Payton said something to the umpire, and as he walked away he tosed his helmet in the general direction of home plate. The umpire didn't like that, ejecting Payton from the game.

The O's play a 4 game road series with the Texas Rangers, the O's last road series of the year. Remember one of the last times the O's and Rangers faced off? If not, the final score was 30-3. Hopefully that won't happen again... - John T.

Orioles News - 9/14/07 - O's win 2nd straight

Two in a row! Yes, 2 straight wins for the Baltimore Orioles. It has been almost a month since the O's won back-to-back games. They won last night, 6-2 over the Toronto Blue Jays. There was a great pitching performance by Brian Burres, which led them to a win. The Orioles nearly shut out the Blue Jays, but reliever Jamie Walker gave up solo home runs to Aaron Hill and Hector Luna in the 9th inning. Those were the Jay's only runs of the night. Burres was awesome last night, pitching 7 scoreless innings, giving up 8 hits and walking none. He stayed focused and did a great job of getting out of jams. He threw 105 total pitches, and 72 of those were strikes. The team was certainly fired up as Tike Redman had 3 hits, and drive in a run. The Orioles scored early, providing Burres with a 2 run cushion before he even took the mound. The O's got another run in the 2nd inning when Brian Roberts homered to make it a 3-0 game. Aubrey Huff had a two-out triple in the 3rd inning, followed by Ramon Hernandez's single that scored Huff. Baltimore also tacked on 2 more runs in the 9th. It was a great game for the Baltimore Orioles, as they needed this win. - John T.

Orioles News - 9/10/07 - Off-season needs

The O's didn't play last night, so here is a look at what the O's need this offseason.

What do the Orioles really need this offseason? They have several young pitchers, (Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Burres, Garret Olson, Radhames Liz) that could be great starters for the rotation in a year or two. So what do they need? Run support. Right now, the O’s aren’t driving in many runs. They are terrible. We need the run support for the pitchers, so we can win games. Also, a power hitting left fielder. Our left field now is Jay Payton, who is good but we need some more runs. If we got a power hitting left fielder, then we would be in a much better spot right now. Also, we need a first baseman. Aubrey Huff is good, but if we had a power hitting first baseman, we would be in much better shape. Preferably Mark Teixara, a free agent soon and a Baltimore native. And a better bullpen. We need a better bullpen, one that doesn’t blow games all the time. Those are our main needs, and the O’s really need to address them this offseason. - John T.

Orioles News - 9/3/07 - O's lose again

The Orioles lost again last night, 9-7 to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Orioles have now lost 12 of their last 13 games. Kurt Birkins made his 1st career start last night and got a no-decision even though he blew a big lead. The O's provided him with a 4-0 lead in the 3rd inning on a collection of basehits, stolen bases, and errors. Birkins however, couldn't hold onto this lead. The Devil Rays made it close with a 3 run 3rd inning, and then tied up the game with a run in the 4th. In the 7th inning, Carlos Pena hit a 2 run homer off Jim Hoey as the D-Rays took the lead. This "home run" however, was debateable. It was hit off of the catwalk and outfielder Nick Markakis played it and threw the ball into the infield. The umpire called it a home run however. Tampa Bay got another run in the inning too. Then in the 8th inning, Brian Burres gave up a 2 run shot as the Rays extended their lead. Ramon Hernandez hit a 3 run homer in the 9th to make the score more respectable. It was an ugly loss as Tampa Bay moved within 3 games of 4th place in the AL East. - John T.

Orioles News - 8/29/07 - O's drop 8th straight

Another game slipped away from the Baltimore Orioles last night, 5-4 to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 12 innings. This was the Orioles 8th straight loss. The O's had a 3 run lead going into the 8th inning, but the bullpen blew another game. (Surprise, surprise.) The D-Rays scored twice in the 8th, with both runs coming off Chad Bradford. Then in the 9th inning, with a 1 run lead, 2 men out, 0-2 count, and 1 pitch away from ending the Orioles losing streak....and pitcher Dany Baez gives up a single to B.J. Upton. A walk to Delmon Young and now there's 2 men on with 2 men out. Brendan Harris then hit a single to left field to tie the game. Fast forward to the 12th inning, and Rob Bell wasn't able to keep Tampa from scoring, as they take the lead. Aubrey Huff had hit a home run against his old team, but it didn't matter anyway. Now for a look at starter Steve Trachsel, who was great in yesterday's game, allowing only 1 earned run. He should have gotten the win if not for a terrible bullpen. But, more on that later.Anyway, Trachsel might be on his way out. Teams must have their final roster set by Friday, and several teams have been interested in possibly trading for him. I can't blame other teams for being interested. Look at some of his stats. He hasn't allowed more then 3 runs in a start since July 26. And yesterday he threw his 2nd straight game in which he allowed only 1 earned run. But the bullpen always ends up blowing it anyway. Here's a look at how the bullpen was before the O's lost 8 straight and how it is now.

Reliever ERA Before ERA Now
Chad Bradford 3.47 3.76
Brian Burres 4.45 5.48
Dany Baez 5.74 6.20
Rob Bell 4.18 6.49
Paul Shuey 6.75 9.82
Jim Hoey 3.38 12.10

Pretty sad huh? I'll leave you with that. - John T.

Orioles News - 8/28/07 - O's give up 11 runs in 8th in loss

The Orioles lost last night to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 15-8. This is their 7th straight loss. Baltimore gave up 11 runs in the 8th inning! 11 runs! The O's hit 6 home runs in the game but that was still not enough to get a win. The Orioles had a 3 run lead in the 8th inning. Surely our shaky bullpen can hang on to this 3 run lead with only 2 innings to play right? Nope. The Rays sent 15 men to the plate, and 11 of them ended up scoring. Reliever Jim Hoey gave up 5 earned runs, reliever Brian Burres gave up 3 earned runs, and Chad Bradford gave up 3 earned runs all on a grand total of....2/3 of an inning. Miguel Tejada had 2 of the 6 home runs for Baltimore, but it was all for nothing. The O's also hit back-to-back home runs twice yesterday. Nick Markakis hit a 2 run shot in the first inning, which was followed by Miguel Tejada's solo shot. Then in the 8th inning, Tejada hit another home run, followed by Kevin Millar who also hit one out. Before last night, the Orioles hadn't had back-to-back homers all year. Thats 130 games without back-to-back homers. And the worst part of giving up 11 runs in the 8th inning, is that the D-Rays did so without hitting 1 home run. They scored the 11 runs on base hits. But, look at it this way. If the game ended after 6 innings, the Orioles would be one awesome team. So, 11 runs in one inning, 3 pitchers, 2/3 of an inning, and one more blown game. - John T.

Orioles News - 8/22/07 - O's lose in doubleheader 30-3

Last night was a terrible night for the Orioles. They lost the first game of the doubleheader 30-3, which was the most runs scored in a game since 1897. They lost the 2nd game too, 9-7. But there will be more on that later. Heres how game 1 was.

Game 1.

This was the worst game in Orioles history. They were absolutely crushed, 30-3. It was ugly. Just to show you how ugly it was, here are some stats from it:

The Rangers set a record for most runs ever in a doubleheader-BEFORE GAME 2 EVEN STARTED!!!

This is the most runs the Orioles ever allowed in a game.

The 29 hits the Rangers had were the most the O's have ever given up in a game.

The 27 run margin was the largest that the Orioles ever lost by.

Erik Bedard, an O's pitcher, has given up 30 earned runs in his last 18 starts....The O's bullpen and Daniel Cabrera gave that up in 1 night.

The bullpen allowed 24 earned runs.

Brian Burres' ERA went from 4.45 to 5.24 in one game.

Rob Bell's ERA went from 4.18 to 6.14 in one game.

Paul Shuey's ERA went from 6.75 to 9.49 in one game.

The 8 and 9 hitters for the Rangers each had 7 RBI's.

So, all this leaves me with a question. What happened to that 40 million dollars that the Orioles management spent this offseason to "revamp" the bullpen?

Game 2.
This game was a little more respectable, but the O's still lost to the Rangers, 9-7. The O's had the lead but lost it in the 8th inning. Chalk another loss up the bullpen. The O's fought the Rangers early in the 2nd game, a homer by Jay Payton, and a 2 run shot by Nick Markakis, to tie the score at 3-3 in the 3rd inning. Down by 1, Miguel Tejada and Kevin Millar got on base for the O's. A few batters later, with the bases loaded and 2 outs, Jay Payton hit a 2 run single to give the O's the lead. Unfortanetly, the Rangers came back in the 8th to get the lead. They hung on to win the game though. Also, Kevin Millar tied the O's record for consecutive games reaching base with a single inthe 2nd game. So, all in all, a terrible day for the Orioles. - John T.