The Dynamic Duo

Well, any series with the Yankees counts as big, but this round was bound to be extra-special. On the one hand, it was the Orioles first trip home since Perlozzo was, ahem, dismissed. And with Oriole-killer Andy Pettite, living-legend Roger Clemens, and budding Oriole-killer Ching-Mien Wang on the mound, things didn't look good for the Orioles. Then, you remember that Miguel Tejada was on the DL and this did not promise to be a lot of fun.

But then along came Guthrie and Bedard...

If you ever need to understand why teams should start building from starting pitching, look at this series. The Orioles lineup was severely outmanned against the expensive Yankees. But Jeremy Guthrie was extremely tough and, other than the Damon HR, Guthrie rarely flinched. He induced double-plays and strikeouts when necessary. He got ahead in the count and showed the world that he is a having a legitimate season. Even with his 95+ MPH stuff, Guthrie looks like a pitcher, not a thrower. That bodes well for the future and if he continues his success, it will be one step closer to the Hall of Fame for Leo Mazzone.

But as good as Guthrie was, he was nothing comapred to Erik Bedard. Ladies and Gentlemen, for the first time since Moose left, we have an ace. On a night where Roger Clemens failed to strike out a batter, Bedard struck out eight and extended his ML leading total to 129. Only two hits and one walk--despite all the 3-2 counts. He was fearless with his pitch selection and it's as if he didn't realize what team he was pitching to or what pitcher he was matched against. One word to describe Bedard: Unflappable. He is the anti-Ponson and if he's not an All-Star, something is wrong.

The third game opened an opportunity for a sweep and, instead, the game is on hold due to rain. And when I say rain, I mean I thought it was an ad for "Evan Almighty". It was a bad idea to start playing again (and I don't just say that because the Orioles would've won if they just shut the game down the first time) and it was impossible to watch the game on TV with that rain, so I can't even imagine what it was like to PLAY in it.But given the game isn't even over, I'm not gonna bother with going into that game.

As good as the starting pitching was in the first two games, it's important to see the offensive catalysts in each game and what that could mean. Patterson had three hits in Game 1, Huff with a 3-run HR in Game 2, and Jay Gibbons with a huge opposite-field double in Game 3. If those guys start doing what is expected of them, this offense becomes much better (dare I say major-league worthy). This team isn't far from playing truly competitive baseball. Of course, it doesn't hurt when Brian Roberts is ripping the cover off the ball and Melvin Mora is starting to look like the guy in which the O's invested $30M. Yes, while all is not perfect, things have definitely been worse in the Inner Harbor.

As June comes to a close, the Orioles may be on the path to righting the ship that went so awry in the first two weeks of the month. It's only fitting they play the Angels since it was in Anaheim that this whole collapse started. The struggling Trachsel and inconsisten Burres start it off. If they can split those two, I like my chances with Guthrie in the finale. That's the beauty of quality starting pitching--especially when the offense starts showing signs.

Miggy the Cheerleader

Losing two of three to the first place D-Backs on the road isn't horrible, though a better fate was certainly witin reach. You can't help but feel a little nervous about Trachsel's diminished performance over the last few starts. He responded pretty angrily to that suggestion after the game this weekend, but you can't help but wonder. Hopefully, he can stay strong until the trade deadline and find his way to another team to open a slot for Garrett Olson (though the Orioles should consider whether Brian Burres should head to the pen at some point).

But while the starting pitching has been a source of strength that just hit a speed bump, the hitting has been weak and it just got weaker. With Miggy going on the DL with no clear timetable for return, the Orioles are playing severely short-handed. Losing the heart and soul of the team is tough and knowing it's Gomez and Bynum behind him doesn't help (not that Gomez isn't great, but he's a role player, not Miggy). That said, there are two reasons why I don't completely mind the injury:

• people can finally forget about the streak
• I think the 162-game grind wears on a player like Tejada and the break could spur the right behavior.

When Tejada is in the zone, he is as good a player as there is in the majors. Unfortunately, he hits these funks where he's not as chipper, not running out grounders, lazy on throws, etc. Now we can all shriek in horror at how offputting it is to see a $13M player half-ass it. But losing is tough and who knows how things evolve. Watching from the sidelines is tough for anyone, but it's also a great reminder of how much the game is to be appreciated. Dave Trembley had suggested that some players were taking the game for granted and I fear Tejada was one of them. But you can already see how much he is anxious to be out of the field with his cheerleading and encouragement. I am betting he'll be ready and chomping at the bit right until he gets medical clearance. In the meantime, the Orioles will need to be a little more resourceful and step up in the absence of their heart & soul.

June and the O's win a series? Maybe they just needed a Summer Solstice

Well, the post-Sammy era is three days old and the Orioles have scored at least six runs in each game. And they said the hitting wasn't Sammy's fault.

After another bullpen meltdown on Tuesday, the Orioles stepped up and won their first series since May. The excruciating month of June that had started at 2-14 (hurts just to say it) now has double the victory total. See guys--it's amazing what Guthrie and Bedard can do with a decent offense. Bedard's hamstring has me concerned as does Tejada's wrist, but we'll have to wait and see. On the other hand, when I didn't hear why he came out, I thought Dave Trembley was playing the "to hell with this, I'm interim manager and out of here anyway--let's let the bullpen blow it sooner!" Actually, the bullpen was very good--almost what the Orioles expected to get for $42M. Chad Bradford with a perfect 7th. Jamie Walker recovered from a Corey Patterson error to strand a leadoff runner at 3rd. And while Ray gave up a run, Patterson should've caught that ball--he slowed up for some reason. Still, 3 IP and 1 run--that's fine by me. Beginning of a new bullpen? Let's hope.

Of course, today's victory couldn't be enjoyed without a little drama. Seems like Joe G. (I won't write his name because everyone has been really discreet about it) doesn't want the Oriole job. Maybe he watched the pen on Tuesday. Maybe he watched John Kruk or the millions of other guys keep ripping the Orioles. Maybe he's heard all the Angelos stories. But given he turned down the Nationals with their impending new ballpark, strong fan base, and future All-Star Ryan Zimmerman, I am not completely surprised. Plus, he brought up his family and Washington and Baltimore aren't exactly on opposite coasts. If they didn't want Washington, I don't see how they'd differ on Baltimore.

The question is: is this really such a bad thing. Mr. G.--oh heck, I'll break the story, it's Joe Girardi--did indeed win Manager of the Year. He did do it with zero payroll and a bunch of kids. But those kids are legit big leaguers and who knows how much credit goes to Girardi. And at the end of the day, he butted heads with the owner and finished under 500. I'll admit that he overachieved--Oriole managers usually do one or the other (with Johnny Oates and Davey Johnson being the only winning managers and the only ones who Angelos didn't seem to like). So would Girardi have been good here? Miguel Tejada is a long way from Hanley Ramirez and managing them is a huge difference. Even Dave Trembley pointed out that the Orioles need to be grateful for the opportunity to play major league baseball. A young hungry team like the 2006 Marlins don't have that problem. They've been riding busses to no-name towns in the deep south for years. They're in the Show. Motivation is not an issue. No, Girardi needs to tell Jay Gibbons to quit swinging at the first pitch and not be laughed at when Gibbons reminds him that he has 4 years left on his contract at $5M/per. Is that a Girardi thing? I don't know. Personally, I smell a Lee Mazzili.

Who should take this job? Someone with experience. Someone not afraid of being unpopular. Someone who'll anger the ace or the star player and not lose the clubhouse for it. Someone who has won in the past, but won't stick it in anyone's face (like Mazzili did with the "Yankee Way", which rubbed the people the wrong way). Dusty Baker had a good run in San Francisco and nearly took the Cubs to the Series. I'd consider him. Davey Johnson. How can you not consider him? He shouldn't have left in the first place. I know there are a lot of ex-O's who want it, but no one is worthy (except maybe Jim Palmer, the smartest broadcaster I've ever heard, who has no interest in going into the dugout). Sorry Rick Dempsey--you don't have what this team needs. Eddie Murray, you can't even stick as a hitting coach.

So the drama will continue. I don't think it's a mistake to let Trembley go for a little while. Better that than rushing in the wrong guy. Besides, he's on a two-game win streak. Let's see if the Orioles can't exact a little revenge on the D-Backs. Bring on the summer.

So Long Sammy

Wow. I had this great post ready about the movie Groundhog Day and how the Orioles last month has resembled that storyline (Bill Murray's goes through the same exact day over and over). Starter goes 7. Offense scores just enough to make it a game. Then the bullpen blows it. The D-back series captured that all in a nutshell. I'd have tossed in some vitriol about lack of clutch hitting and more power droughts, while lauding the gutsy performances of Bedard, Cabrera, and Burres.

But then came Monday's news. Sammy is out.

Shocking? I guess not. Unfortunate? Hard to say. I've certainly had my vitriol against his performance. I saw John Kruk do a Baseball Tonight commentary on the Orioles decision and said that the manager isn't at fault and that the Orioles are simply a mess and that the offense was to blame. Umm. OK John. I don't disagree with sending blame to the offense, but it might help if you actually watched a couple of games. Yes, the orioles are a mess. Yes, they are have underachieved. Yes, I don't know where the power has gone. But whenever we talk about a manager being fired, we always say "they're not the ones that pitch the ball or hit the ball." Thanks for the insight. In the history of baseball, there are rarely times when manager have hit the ball (they usually call themselves "player-managers" and I can'r remember one since Pete Rose). But managers do get fired and some of them desreve it. In this case, if you isolate the manager's performance, Sammy has made a LOT of questionable moves. In an interview, he said he never felt a move he made cost the team the game. Apparently that includes pulling Guthrie in the 9th inning of the Mother's Day massacre. Or letting Baez pitch to Giambi at Yankee Stadium when Walker was ready. Or letting Gibbons hit against Embree even though Gibbons was struggling and right-handed Melvin Mora was sitting on the bench. Bradford and Walker were being used and abused while Scott Williamson was checking into the witness relocation program. Players defended Perlozzo on Sunday, but their defense almost seemed to be a by-product of the media constantly reminding everyone that no one was defending him.

So, Perlozzo-haters, are we saved? No, probably not. Personally, I do still think this team can have a successful season. Of course, I am a bit of an optimist (let's call me the "frustrated optimist"). The offense and bullpen can't continue this way and if ONE of them plays to their capaibility, this is a 500 team if the starting pitching continues. Kruk points out the anemic offense, but the A's and Braves have been winning for years with so-so offense. They just have had untouchable starting pitching. With Bedard and Guthrie (assuming he can maintain momentum), there's no reason this team can't finish 500. Can Joe Girardi do it? I don't know. I do know this--the last two Oriole manager were first time major-league managers and it showed. Grover wasn't great, but given the talent he was given , he may have been the best of the not-so-fab four that have managed since Davey Johnson left (when do we start calling this schneid "The Curse of the Davey" the way Boston lamented over "the curse of the Babe" for years?). The orioles needs someone with experience. Someone new to the org. Maybe Girardi, but I wouldn't say no to Davey Johnson or Dusty Baker (wiht all that has happened in Baltimore in 10 years, Davey might as well be new). I'm sure Dave Tremblay would be a legitimate candidate, but I don't know if he is what the team needs now.

So, the post-Perlozzo era begins tonight in San Diego with the Orioles taking on arguably the National League's best pitcher while on an 8-game losing streak. Great. How long before we start calling for Tremblay's head.

Beyond Logic

OK, let's see if I got this straight.

The Orioles got swept.

At home.

By the Nationals.

Who started guys named Bowie, Chico, and Simontacci.

Wow, it's hard to know what to say. The Orioles led 3-1 in game 1 and Cabrera just gave it away, but at least the bullpen was good. In game 2, Trachsel gutted out 7 innings and left with the lead, only to see the bullpen give it away. And when the Orioles finally showed some heart with a fine ninth inning comeback, they couldn't close it out (leaving the winning run on third) and Chris Ray self-destructed with two out and none on in the 11th. And then Jeremy Guthrie threw another gem last night, but the wiffleball bats came out again on his behalf and the league's best rookie is stuck at 3-1 as the overworked Bradford and Walker each gave up a run while the Nationals bullpen shut the Orioles down. Oh, did I mention the FIFTEEN baserunners that resulted in one run?

It's amazing to watch this. The Orioles aren't the Yankees or Red Sox, but they are much better than this. This is a team that could rattle off eight wins in a row and it shouldn't shock anyone. And yet, with runners on 1st & 2nd and Tejada at bat and the hot-hitting Huff in the hole, Melvin Mora gets picked off. Why, Melvin, why? Then, in the 8th, down by one with runners on 1st and 2nd, Jay Payton tries to bunt. OK, I guess you can do that. Wait, with two strikes? After you missed the first two times? And trying to get a base hit? The stupidity is overwhelming. Payton has been as clutch as any Oriole (not saying much, but still) and this team needed him to stick one in the gap--especially with the struggling Jay Gibbons coming up and Paul Bako a couple of batters later. Gibbons is the hitting version of Danys Baez. Why are we setting up the offense for him?

Well, in a five game losing streak where the best pitcher was Rodrigo Lopez, the Orioles have a stretch where they will face Randy Johnson (many Cy Youngs), Brandon Webb (last year's Cy Young), and Jake Peavy (on his way to this year's Cy Young). Either the Orioles have to beware of three straight shutouts or they will continue some bizarre reverse logic, only this time to their advantage by hitting the good pitchers. Given a pre-season indicator on success for 2007 was solid interleague play, the Orioles are failing miserably after a reasonable 3-1 start. Oh, and if all this wasn't bad enough, the Yankees have awakened from the dead and the Orioles take them on in 10 days.

Feeling better?

The Baltimore Tin Birds (if they only had heart)

Well, at least the Orioles didn't blow a lead on Sunday. OK, they were up 1-0, but let's face it--that game was a clunker. But that's OK. That happens to teams and even ace pitchers like Bedard. I think I am more disturbed by Saturday's game where they had good old Rod Lopez on the ropes early and couldn't put in the knockout punch. Then, after a bad hop double, the Rockies got the two runs back. And then silence on both sides. It's one thing for the bats to go dead as I think it's clear that the Orioles have underachieved severely in the early going and you can only hope that they "regress to the mean" at some point and start hitting like they should. But there are two painful elements of the Oriole offense that are bringing this team down. The first is obvious--the birds are playing with wifflebats. That's the only way to explain the utter lack of power in this lineup. One HR in the last six games and it's not like they are playing the Red Sox or A's. It was the Mariners and Rockies--teams that specialize in giving up runs. I've called Miguel Tejada a glorified Placido Polanco this season, but isn't that what the ENTIRE lineup is? In fact, that would be a compliment given the gaudy average Polanco is touting.

But there's something that bothers me more than the power. The Orioles have no heart. 6-15 in one-run games is bad enough, but that is a reflection of two things: your bullpen and your ability to come back late. We've been ripping the bullpen for weeks now, but the Orioles are incapable of coming back against a closer in the last inning. Even when it looks like they're about to do it, they fall over themselves (anyone remember the game against Huston Street where Patterson didn't score on the single to the outfield?). Against Brian Fuentes, it was more of the same. With Millar, Roberts, Markakis, and Tejada coming up, the Rockies should've been quaking in their boots. But did anyone in Camden Yards sense a comeback? In Fenway, no one leaves till the 27th out is recorded because they've seen comebacks happen over and over. Why can't the Orioles muster that kind of never-say-die attitude. I don't blame Millar as he tried to work the count and I personally thought he walked. Heck, Markakis was given a gift by getting hit with two strikes. But Miggy whiffed and that was it. For a guy who once asked for a trade because the team wasn't strong enough, I don't know what more he can ask for now. The last time the starting pitching was this good, he was in Oakland. What makes it more frustrating is that Tejada's 2002 MVP season was filled with moments where he engineered late inning comebacks and single-handedly put the offense on his back while Zito, Mulder, and Hudson kept them in the game. We can rip on the bullpen all we want, but seven runs in one weekend against one of the worst pitching staffs in the league isn't going to cut it.

Next up are the Nationals followed by the very impressive Diamondbacks. At the beginning of the season, we mentioned how the Orioles needed to hold their own against the NL. You can't do that unless you actually hit the ball. Time wake up Miggy and, while you're at it, why don't you give Melvin & Aubrey a nudge (don't bother with Jay or Corey--they're each in a coma). The season is salvageable, but you need to survive June.

Rolling The Dice With Wieters

With the Orioles long streak of sub-500 teams and fourth places finishes, they've afforded themselves some prime real estate for baseball's amateur draft. They have had top 10 picks in five of the last six drafts and were set to have another one this year. Now, baseball drafts are bigger crapshoots than basketball and football because they are rarely ready to play in the big leagues right away and the time needed for development could either uncover deficiencies in the original scouting report or incur injuries that derail a once-promising career. There are countless stories of the guy who couldn't make the transition from aluminum to wood bats (another wrinkle that the other drafts don't see--the equipment is fundamentally different) or the pitcher who was overused in college and never recovered. The Orioles litany of failed #1 picks is frustrating, to say the least. Since Jeff Hammonds in 1992 (who never really achieved his potential due to injuries, though he did have a decent career), the Orioles have had some doozies. If it weren't for Adam Loewen, Nick Markakis, and Brian Roberts (a low sandwich pick), it would be even more depressing. Can you recognize any of these names: Alvie Shepard, Rick Elder, Mike Paradis, Richard Stahl, Beau Hale, Chris Smith, or Wade Townshend? None of them ever saw the majors (though Hale still has an outside shot and Towshend, who didn't sign with the O's and went to Tampa Bay the year after, is working his way back after injuries). In the case of Darnell McDonald and Keith Reed, it was little more than cups of coffees in the majors. Yeah, I'd say the draft hasn't done nearly as much to help the Orioles as they (or anyone) would like. Not a worthy follow-up to a three-year stretch where they drafted Gregg Olson, Ben McDonald, and Mike Mussina. Now THERE'S a set of franchise-changers.


With this year's class, there has been more attention paid to it than ever. ESPN decided to broadcast it to give it similar treatment to the other sport's drafts. Meanwhile, Scott Boras (who made his name when he dueled with the Orioles over Ben McDonald 18 years ago) had a ton of prospects in his fold and with the high price tags on his players, the draft order would have as much to do with economics as talent. Everyone assumed the Orioles had some sort of bias against Boras and wouldn't pick a Boras client, which would've been unfortunate. You see, the Orioles clearly need more high-ceiling position players in the farm system (quick quiz--name a position player in AA or higher that anyone should be really excited. With the possible exception of an injured Nolan Reimold, the cupboard is bare). Finding a college position player that could rise quickly would make all the difference in the world. According to many experts, the top player in the draft was a college catcher named Matt Wieters from Georgia Tech. And, as luck would have it, he would probably still be around when the Orioles picked at #5. But as a Boras client, no one thought the O's would take the financial gamble.

Well, this afternoon, the Orioles threw the dice.


Days after Jim Duquette sat down with Scott Boras at the Angels-Orioles game, the Orioles picked Boras-client Matt Wieters and the Orioles have anointed their catcher of the future. Rocket arm, switch-hitter, hits for power, hits for average, good baseball acumen, good pedigree (previous Georgia Tech first round picks include Jason Varitek, Mark Texiera, and Jay Payton), and he is probably ready for the bigs in 2009 (the last year of Ramon Hernandez's contract). I had an audible reaction similar to when the Titans drafted Vince Young (I'm a big Titan fan). This was the right pick. The Orioles have already drafted high school players in the last two drafts and drafting a college pitcher would've been nice, but then they might as well have drafted Tim Lincecum last year. Bottom line is that there is plenty of pitching in the Orioles farm system and, while you can never have too much pitching, you also can't win if you don't score any runs. While Billy Roweel and Brandon Snyder will hopefully come along and produce in a couple of years themselves, it's really to pick someone a little closer and hope for something similar to what Nick Markakis brings to the current team: a young talent that could be a cornerstone of the Oriole offense. I feel pretty good about the rotation for the next few years. There are too many options to not believe 3-4 will pan out (from Cabrera, Bedard, Guthrie, Loewen, Penn, Olson, and eventually Erbe and Beato). Augment that with some veteran help (Kris Benson-type) and there's no room for anyone else. Meanwhile, Chris Ray WILL find his stuff and Jim Hoey is showing all the signs of being a potential legit set-up man. Add Brian Burres to the mix once he isn't needed in the starting rotation and the pitching talent is there for a winner. But positionally? I love B-Rob & Tejada and Nick is the real deal, but this pales in comparison to the Yankee & Red Sox lineup. OK, they spend a lot more, but it's possible to make yourself an inimidating lineup through the draft (look at the Blue Jays--Wells and Rios are awfully good and the Blue Jays got them throughthe draft). So, I am really happy with the Wieters pick, though ideally, he signs early to play a little this year and gets his feet wet with pro ball. Will Wieters sign early enough or at all? I don't know. That part, we'll have to wait and see. And the compensation, in case he doesn't sign, is better than it has been in years past, so it really feels like a gamble worth taking. It shows a commitment to win that is far cheaper than Carlos Lee would've been last year and could reap greater rewards.

Welcome aboard Matt. Hope to see you soon. Heck, sign fast enough and maybe I'll visit you in Aberdeen--that'd convince me to visit Ripken Stadium...

Sleepless in Seattle

The Orioles made their first trip to Seattle and, as always, I managed to catch two of the games in person. I usually try to hit the first and last games of the series to spread things out and, in this case, it gave me a chance to see Bedard and Cabrera. Unfortunately, I had to watch the bullpen as well. I have to admit that I would've been insane if the Orioles were swept in this series. Living in Seattle, I hear about the "M's" all the time and their fans can be a little, well, annoying at times. It ruins my days when I have to see this the night before (thus making me, yes, "Sleepless in Seattle"). Each of the comebacks this week was painful, especially given the Orioles would be playing the better baseball for most of the game. They hit the ball well throughout, jumped on early leads, and got solid starting pitching. Well, at least until the first two innings of Wednesday's game. But maybe that's what they needed. Instead of jumping out to the lead and then wondering what ills will befall them at game's end, they could focus on battling back. It's tough when you lead after six innings in all but one of the five games in a five-game losing streak. In fact, it's downright demoralizing. On the other hand, they had trailed by as many as four runs during a game only twice in almost the last four weeks (and never lost by more than three). So maybe they just needed the change of pace. Hey, whatever floats your boat, guys. I'm just happy I didn't have to see three blown leads. Who am I kidding? I was on pins & needles in the 9th, even with the five-run lead and Ray on the mound. And that was before Ramon took the foul tip to the place where no man should ever take a foul tip.

Of course, no entry is complete without a little Sammy critique. I think Perlozzo opened himself up to more second-guessing when he pulled Bradford for Parrish (who has been struggling a la Baez) in the 8th of Game 1. I think it got worse when he used Baez in the 7th and waiting until he threw eight straight balls before pulling him in Game 2. All I kept asking myself was "where is Todd Williams or Scott Williamson?" Did Perlozzo really trust Baez more than the two of them. Blowouts, Sammy, blowouts! That's when you use Baez. Instead, the tying runs got on board, and the rest is history. The whole world knows Baez is down. Sammy, make him earn his way back or else you'll earn your way out the door.

Anyway, I believe Baez's stuff (and the stuff of the rest of the bullpen) is too good to not bounce back and we can look back on April blog posts to remember how great things once were. But right now, it ugly. There's no other way to describe it. Almost makes you re-think the wisdom of the Wright-Britton deal (Oriole brass: "Anytime you get a starter for a reliever, you take it"). On the bright side, Cabrera was clearly the hero today. Where his last start was great until the end, in this one, Cabrera saved the best for last. The fact that Cabrera went 8 gutty innings and was throwing harder in the 8th than the 1st was a thing of beauty. If the 9th inning wasn't so long, I bet he would've been given a possible chance to close it out. That would've been nice to see. But Ray needed the work and everyone gets a day off tomorrow.

So what do we have to look forward to in the next few days? An off-day tomorrow. The MLB Draft (I'll be watching for at least the first five picks as it's on TV for the first time). Interleague baseball, with the Rockies in town. Possible bullpen changes (Hoey? Bell? How about Cory Doyne--a name you never hear, but a guy with great AAA #s of late). And one more thing this weekend. Are you ready for this? The return of R-Lo. Rodrigo Lopez makes his Camden Yards return against Jeremy Guthrie (you could argue R-Lo's replacement). Fun times ahead.

Sunday Bloody Sundays

"Tell me why I don't like Mondays." - Boomtown Rats

The Orioles have had some boring teams over the years. This isn't one of them. Unfortunately, that's not such a good thing. For the third time in the last four weeks, the Orioles wake up on a Monday morning with a hangover that stings like you wouldn't imagine. It's not so much that the Orioles keep losing on Mondays--it's really more about the style in which they lose. Losing like the Orioles did in Game 2 (Cabrera gives up the hit in the 7th and the Orioles can't come back) is tough. Losing like they did in Game 3 (bad starting pitching, a stuttered offense resulting in a poor showing overall) is annoying, but those clunkers happen to all teams. But Sunday. Ahh, Sunday. The Orioles have turned losing on Sundays into an art form. The day where a win would be make the weekend a success. The day where the Orioles do everything right for most of the game. And a day when the back-end of the bullpen melts down and leaves a sour taste in your mouth. The Mother's Day massacre was a combo of Baez and Ray. The week after was Baez. After a week where the lead was too big to blow, it was Ray's turn to blow it.

Ray is an easy scapegoat (as is any struggling closer). The funny part is, if you look at Ray's numbers, he's been outstanding. Opponents hit under 200 against him. His walks have cut down. Even with today, the home runs have gone down since last year. But the blown saves are such collosal failures that it's easy to lose confidence in him. No closer is perfect (witness Papelbon surrendering A-Rod's game-winner tonight), but Ray's failures have come against major teams in key games. The first blown save against the Yankees prevented what could've been a sweep at Yankee Stadium. The second one (against the Red Sox) foiled a split and the third prevented a weekend series win at Fenway where no one gave the Orioles a chance. This one would've salvaged the split, showcased Jeremy Guthrie as a stopper, guaranteed a split on the road trip, and given them momentum going up to Seattle (who are playing very well right now). And don't blame Perlozzo for this one. Guthrie did his job. You have a closer in the pen and this is his job. Francona would do it with Curt Schilling. Joe Torre would do it with Mike Mussina. Heck, Davey Johnson would've done it with Mike Mussina back in the day. Then again, they've had Papelbon, Rivera, and Randy Myers circa 1997 behind them. The Orioles have traditionally had confidence in Ray, but each of these outings hurts that confidence.

I don't think anyone believes that Chris Ray taking the stopper role last year was ideal. Ideal would've been BJ Ryan for at least 1-2 more seasons and then Ray stepping in when Ryan. The Orioles wouldn't have needed to sign Baez in that situation and even if Ryan suffered his injury this year, Ray would've had that extra year to learn. How will he handle this adversity? So far, he claims his confidence is up. But four blown saves a year after he had five all year is concerning. Plus, the pitch he threw Guerrero looks a lot like the one to A-Rod. He's gotta learn that the most important thing, especially with Vlad Guerrero, was to KEEP THE BALL IN THE PARK!!! That's situational pitching. That is paramount to a closer more than any other person in the park. It's the entire job description.

Of course, the Orioles have little choice but to let him work it out. The irony is that the major off-season signings should've afforded them the opportunity to let Ray get out of his funk, but the natural successor would be Baez and he can't even handle the setup role. Plus, unlike Baez, Ray actually had been pitching pretty well. Before this series, he had only given up 1 hit in his previous 5 innings--but none of them were pressure situations as there were only 2 saves and both were of the three-run variety. With Baez, you take the innings wherever you get them and try new things. With Ray, the problem is the clutch pitching. How do you solve that.

Anyway, it's off to Seattle. I'll be at two of the games in person. Erik Bedard will be back on the hill after a phenomenal May. A few years ago, he got his first career win in Seattle (I was there for it), but last year, he was shelled by the Mariners, incluing a Richie Sexson Grand Slam (I was there for that too). Bedard, Burres, and Cabrera before the Orioles head home for a much needed nine-game homestand. Of course, that'll be against the dreaded NL, against who the Orioles have struggled for years. Taking two out of three would mean a winning roadtrip and that would be some great momentum. But they'll need the bullpen to come through. I believe in both Ray and Baez. I just hope the team does as well...