Like watching the movie 'Groundhog Day' in Toronto

Sunday afternoon's nightmare seemed to have a lingering effect as the Orioles went up north to face the Jays. In a series where the Orioles got some great starting pitching, the bats went silent. Whether it was a mediocre performance against Tomo Ohka or a non-existent performance against Jesse Litsch and AJ Burnett, it's hard to believe the offense can be that weak. After a series in Boston where the offense was solid against arguably the AL's top staff, the Orioles only mustered 5 runs in the three games, which opens yourself up for a sweep even when you only give up 9. The amazing thing is that the storyline was the same every game. The Orioles take the lead, the Jays tie it, then take the lead on a Troy Glaus hit, and then close it out. That was the difference in this series--Troy Glaus. The pitching was great on both sides. Good defense, solid baseball. But Troy came up with the clutch hits while the Orioles simply did not. The Orioles haven't gotten a hit with a runner in scoring position since the Sunday meltdown. They even had the tying run on third on Tuesday and on first on Wednesday, but Aubrey Huff failed to deliver each time. I'm not singling Huff out here--the entire team is just playing too rigid. Are they trying too hard? Perhaps. But they need a hot bat. And Tejada needs to find that power stroke or else we've got nothing more than an expensive Placido Polanco.

That said, let's take a moment to applaud the pitching. With the exception of Dany Baez and Chris Ray, this has been the best pitching I think I have ever seen the O's provide in four straight losses. The end of the pen and the sputtering offense made this a freefall, but the long-term question is: can the pitching hold up? The bullpen is better than what we've seen (even though Baltimore seems to be the curse for any late-inning reliever that is acquired--DeJean, Kline/Reed, Hawkins, Baez) and the offense WILL heat up far more than it has done now (not one person is overachieving to this point). If DCab and Bedard find their grooves (which it looks like they are doing), while Guthrie and Burres can maintain the glimpses that we've seen so far, this summer will be MUCH more enjoyable. You can pretty much write off Benson and Wright for the year, so there's a major dependence on this stuff happening. Loewen and Penn need to get healthy for some starts in August. Olson should be ready by then as well. So, the Orioles have options longer term (in fact, I am not sure Trachsel makes it past the trading deadline as an Oriole). This will be the ultimate test for Mazzone. If they all regress, he'll be called a fraud. If the Orioles stay competitive, even if it's with series like the one in Toronto where they lose but the pitching was there, people will have to give Mazzone his due. Only time will tell. I can't say I'm happy with a losing streak, but you have to look for things and I see a team in a slump, but still managing to play competitive ball. That's what good pitching will do. Let's see if they can keep it up.