I Guess We're The Patsies

Did you ever see that scene from Hoosiers when Dennis Hopper's characeter, who has reformed himself throughout the movie, suddenly relapses into an alchoholic stupor and disappoints everyone that put their hopes into him. Well, that's how I felt about the Oriole bullpen after this week's series against the Mariners. As discussed in the last post, the Mariners only had one advantage over the Orioles--the bullpen. Their starting lineup wasn't much better and the Orioles were better, starting pitcher for starting pitcher. In this case, the Mariners struggled on the road and aginst righties. Given the O's were at home and throwing three righties in the mix, this had the makings of a great series. But then the pen had its relapse.

It seemed like it all started with Jamie Walker in Game 1. Walker had been great for two months and it looked like a perfect set-up when he came into that game. He was facing a struggling Raul Ibanez, who had not only been going through a power outage but also struggled in his career against Walker. So when Ibanez hit the 2-run shot, that was an omen for things to come. The Mariners may have a lot of mediocre talent, but they looked like the 1927 Yankees this week. In addition, the Orioles were sloppy in the field and didn't get their clutch hits (how do you score 3 runs on 15 hits, like the O's did in Game 1). They looked like the team that Sam Perlozzo led for months. This isn't Trembley-ball and we won't be seeing Trembley-ball in 2008 if this kinda play keeps up.

It's hard to imagine coming out this series and then realizing the Orioles have to face Dice-K, Beckett, and Schilling this weekend and then head to Yankee Stadium. This is where scary losing streaks start. But that's why you have an ace and that's why the Orioles are going to appreciate having not traded Erik Bedard. If they've got a prayer, it's Friday night. They're a playoff team when Bedard is on the mound (nine straight wins when he starts) and they'll need him to be the stopper.