Have the Baltimore Orioles Played All of Their Cards?
By Nate Wardle
Could the Baltimore Orioles have reached a point where they are as good as they are going to be?
Let’s face it, the team has had issues with inconsistency all season long. When the team hits, the pitching often struggles.
When the pitching is shutting down the other team, the team has to squeak out a few runs just to get in the win column.
All season long, the team has struggled with starting pitching. Miguel Gonzalez has been bad for much of the year, and has gone less than 5 and 1/3 innings in eight of his last 10 starts.
Wei-Yin Chen has been inconsistent. Ubaldo Jimenez has been consistent for much of the year, and it appears may have put his post All-Star break woes behind him.
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And then there is Kevin Gausman, whose career has been defined as inconsistent so far. Good starts have been intermixed with bad ones once again.
Then there is the bullpen. Zach Britton and Darren O’Day are rock stars. Brad Brach has been great as well. But, the rest of the pen is a question mark, as shown in the Orioles’ loss on Sunday. Chaz Roe looks like the rest of the league may have figured him out.
Brian Matusz has too many issues throwing strikes. Jason Garcia is still not ready for high pressure situations, despite being on the major league roster. And T.J. McFarland is a decent long man, but he also allows a lot of base runners.
The O’s lineup for the most part is the star of the show. Matt Wieters and Caleb Joseph have been good both offensively and defensively. Chris Davis is playing his way into a huge pay day.
Jonathan Schoop and Manny Machado are two future stars, and pair them with Adam Jones, and the O’s have the cornerstones of their future.
J.J. Hardy is one of the best fielders in the game and is a clutch hitter.
That leaves the corner outfielders. Gerardo Parra has been able to solidify one position, but the rotating list at the other corner outfielder continues to be the biggest overall weakness on the team.
The Baltimore Orioles are only 5 games out of first place in the AL East, 3.5 games out of the top Wild Card spot, and two games out of the second wild card. I’m just worried as to whether the Orioles have enough to catch any of these teams.