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Baltimore Orioles: Waiting For It To Come Together

By Nate Wardle

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May 15, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) slides under Baltimore Orioles second baseman Rey Navarro (43) breaking up a double play during the sixth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles sit at three games under .500, just waiting for it all to come together.

On Friday night, a good outing by Wei-Yin Chen was spoiled by the lack of offense from the O’s bats.

So far this year, the team has scored 18 runs, put up several shutouts, played some terrible defense, messed up on the basepaths, and also looked like an All-Star cast in the field.

Very inconsistent, right? Yep.

The good news in all that is that the Orioles lie only three games under .500, and probably only four games out of first place.

The rest of the AL East isn’t faring any better.

The New York Yankees are currently in first, but the team’s pitching is surviving on smoke and mirrors. Masahiro Tanaka is on the DL, and if he comes back, there is no guarantee he will be able to stay healthy. Chase Whiteley might need Tommy John surgery. Michael Pineda got shelled last night. C.C. Sabathia is a shell of his former self. Adam Warren and Nathan Eovaldi are not going to do well for an entire year in the AL East.

The Tampa Bay Rays are in second, but it isn’t pretty. The team can’t score many runs, being only built to pitch well. Drew Smyly is done for the year, as is Alex Cobb.  Alex Colome and Nathan Karns are pitching well, but can it last all year? Plus, no matter how good their pitching is, the O’s match up really well against Tampa.

Third, somehow, is the Boston Red Sox. Their pitching is in shambles.  They fired their pitching coach already. They have the worst team ERA in the American League. Justin Masterson has looked awful and is now on the DL. Their starters all have ERAs at or over 4.50. Porcello is at 4.50, everyone else is over 5.00. Wade Miley isn’t working out. And several of their older stars have started to show signs of age.

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The Toronto Blue Jays have the second-worst ERA in the AL. Mark Buerhle is 5-2, with an ERA over 5. That is largely because of the number of runs scored.  The team put up over 10 runs in his first three starts. R.A. Dickey has looked like he might be washed up. Jose Bautista is hurt, thanks to his antics trying to throw out Delmon Young at first base. Edwin Encarnacion has the home runs, but the rest of his stats are down.

So, while the Orioles are last, their problems look minor compared to those in the division. The Orioles have started slowly for several years now. Last year they were around .500 at the end of May. The division is more competitive this year for sure. It doesn’t look like anyone is running away with the division.

But, so far the Orioles just need to put a few things together. They keep getting good pitching, but no hitting. Or maybe it is the other way around. The team just needs to put it all together.

For Oriole fans, it has been frustrating so far.  But I think better days are ahead, especially with all the carnage in the AL East.

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