Worried about the Orioles in the second half

I didn't expect the Orioles to win many games this season. In fact, I thought they were going to lose at least 100 and be one of the worst overall teams. Instead, the O's have gotten some very strong first-half performances, and they've put together a 45-40 record at the all-star break.

Unfortunately, a division like the AL East in unrelenting, meaning there are still plenty of games left against the Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, and Blue Jays, who all have records of at least .500 or better. Also, with a -36 run differential -- the third-worst mark in the American League -- the O's have more wins than they probably should have, meaning they've been lucky. There's no guarantee that luck continues in their 77 remaining games.

Though his numbers have come down somewhat over the last few weeks, Adam Jones is hitting .289/.330/.534, which would be the best offensive season of his career if he continues to hit for that much power. The O's also locked Jones up with a long-term deal of six years, $85.5 million, which means he'll be in Baltimore through 2018 unless he's traded. Some were worried about owner Peter Angelos's recent unwillingness to spend money, but Jones's contract is the largest contract handed out in O's history. The deal was mostly lauded by fans and baseball analysts alike.

Besides Jones, Matt Wieters is having a nice year, hitting .247/.327/.431 and offering his typically strong defense behind the plate. Many expect better offensive numbers from Wieters, though it's fair to point to his .267 BABIP and note that he's been somewhat unlucky and may be due for a few more hits to drop in.

After Jones and Wieters, though, there isn't much to get excited about. J.J. Hardy is playing solid defense at shortstop, but he's struggling mightily at the plate, posting an on-base percentage of .262. I'm not sure that's being discussed enough. And he's doing that while hitting second in the lineup, which is far from ideal. Even more so than Wieters, Hardy has been unlucky (.233 BABIP), but the O's are going to need much more production from him if they're going to continue to win games. Nick Markakis was recently activated from the disabled list, and he should help the lineup. Still, he was hitting .256/.333/.452 in the first half, which is decent but certainly not great. And obviously the team's other regular hitters -- Wilson Betemit, Chris Davis, Mark Reynolds, Jim Thome, Robert Andino, etc. -- don't strike that much fear into opposing pitchers. It also doesn't help that Nolan Reimold's lost for the season, and Brian Roberts might be as well.

Maybe that's why Dan Duquette has said that the O's need "to address the on-base percentage at the top of [the] lineup." There's no question that he's right. But it's important to note that Duquette is also exploring the possibility of dealing for another starting pitcher and has already traded two lower-level prospects for Thome. Since the O's most likely are not as good as their record indicates, trading any decent-to-great prospects away to win right now might not be a very good idea. Obviously no O's fans want to see the team trade Dylan Bundy or Manny Machado away, though the odds of that happening are slim to none. But would it even make sense to trade someone like Jake Arrieta or Xavier Avery for a rental starter or outfielder? I guess that simply depends on who that player would be, how he performs in Baltimore, and whether the O's keep winning games. Duquette is in a difficult position, particularly since the O's haven't finished with a winning record since 1997. They haven't even won more than 70 games since 2005. And if the O's do somehow finish with a winning record, it'll be a minor miracle since most people figured they'd be absolutely horrible.

And, as noted above, since the hitting isn't likely to improve all that much, it's going to come down to pitching -- something to also be concerned about. According to FanGraphs' wins above replacement numbers, the three best pitchers for the O's have been Jason Hammel (2.6), Jake Arrieta (1.6), and Wei-Yin Chen (1.1). Arrieta's inclusion is surprising, but his peripheral stats suggest he's been better than his 6.13 ERA indicates. (For more on Arrieta and not giving up on him yet, see this FanGraphs article from yesterday.) But besides Hammel and Chen, there isn't much to get excited about -- and there's also no guarantee that Hammel and Chen continue to pitch this well. Can a collection of starters, including Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz, Miguel Gonzalez, Dana Eveland, Tommy Hunter, and maybe Zach Britton or someone else, pitch well enough to get the job done? The depth of that list seems deeper than in seasons past, but if they aren't effective, it doesn't matter that much.

The bullpen also seems like it's due to regress a little bit, even with its AL-leading ERA of 2.75. Pedro Strop, Darren O'Day, Troy Patton, Jim Johnson, and Luis Ayala have all been very good. Collectively, they don't walk many batters (2.78 BB/9), but they don't strike out a ton either (7.2 K/9). They also have the third-highest left-on base percentage (80.3%) in the majors. Still, they get a ton of ground balls (49%) and don't give up many home runs (0.87 HR/9), which are both very good things. So even if the bullpen isn't quite as good, it should still be the best part of the team in the second half.

Team fWAR ranks:

Batting: 5.7 (last)
Starters: 5.8 (21st)
Relievers: 2.6 (9th)
All pitching: 8.4 (17th)
Fielding: -13.1 UZR (24th)

So, yeah, not overly positive numbers. Some O's fans are optimistic -- and good, I'm glad they are, because I like that. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about how this team will finish the season. They have a few key weaknesses, and a couple of mid-season trades won't rectify that.

O's notes: Angelos, Kim, Jones

Yesterday, an Orioles official shot down any rumors that Peter Angelos is planning to sell the team. Here's The Baltimore Sun's Childs Walker:

Eric Bickel, a radio host on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, said Tuesday that he had heard Angelos was quietly discussing a sale of the Orioles. Bickel said Angelos was looking to sell the team but not his majority share in the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which broadcasts Orioles and Washington Nationals games.

MASN is probably worth more than the team, and the Orioles would be a significantly less appealing purchase if the network was not included, according to investment bankers familiar with the baseball industry.

Many fans were excited by the mere notion of Angelos wanting to sell the team, showing just how fed up they are with Angelos's stranglehold on the franchise. The O's 14 consecutive losing seasons are not just Angelos's fault, of course, but his unwillingness to make more personnel and front office changes or to try anything other than the status quo has been damaging. And for now, at least, he's keeping the team.

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It's not official yet, but according to Roch Kubatko of MASN, Major League Baseball will void the contract of 17-year-old pitcher Seong-Min Kim. Basically, the O's failed to follow standard protocol in signing Kim, which led to complaints by the Korean Baseball Organization and then O's scouts being banned by the Korean Baseball Association. Kubatko also notes that the O's "could be facing some sort of punishment, and they will have to restart the negotiating process at a later date if they still want to bring Kim into the organization."

Some, most notably Keith Law, have stated that Kim isn't exactly a prized prospect, so the O's inability to follow protocol in this case is puzzling. It's possible that the O's are able to sign Kim at a later date, but hopefully they're able to improve their baseball relations in Korea. Simply signing Kim would be nice, but it's not worth breaking the rules and causing even more negative publicity. I respect that Dan Duquette is so focused on pursuing players internationally, which is something the O's haven't focused much on, but they still must, you know, follow the rules.

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On Tuesday, the O's avoided arbitration with Adam Jones with a one-year, $6.15 million contract. He has one arbitration-eligible year left and then he's a free agent. Apparently Jones is seeking a contract extension, but according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, "the Orioles would need to offer him at least five years, according to major-league sources."

Does anyone think that's going to happen? Jones is an impressive talent, and at 26, he could very well have his best season this year. But he would have to improve in nearly all phases of the game to become a star player, and even so, the O's are not close to contending with him. Obviously that's not all his fault, but he may be a bit overrated by O's fans.

The O's could very well deal Jones this summer, when he'll still have one year of team control left. If he's putting together a fantastic season, he would be even more valuable, and that would only improve what he would command in a possible trade. The good news is that Duquette seems to recognize trading Jones only makes sense for young, high-upside prospects. He wasn't willing to part with Jones in a potential deal with the Braves that reportedly didn't include prospects.

Watching Jones is a lot of fun, and I've said before that he's probably my favorite player on the team. But paying Jones a chunk of money to be a decent player probably isn't in the team's best interest -- just take a look at Nick Markakis's deal. Jones may end up being more valuable as a trade piece.

Trading Adam Jones makes sense, at the right price

The Orioles may be trying to trade Adam Jones. Their asking price is apparently pretty high, though according to FanGraphs' Dave Cameron, that's exactly as it should be:

Unfortunately for the Braves, Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado aren’t exactly upside plays. They’re both useful pieces who could help a contender by filling in a gap here or there, but neither offer the hope of becoming much more than what they already are. They’re finished products, or something close to it at least. Jones is an untapped well whose performances up to this point show a glimmer of what he could become if he continues to develop.

Given the Orioles present circumstances, that’s exactly the kind of player they need. Two useful players with limited potential aren’t going to make them winners. They need stars to build around, and while Jones isn’t one yet, he very well could become one. If the Orioles are going to part with not only his present value but the hope of what he could become, a potential buyer will need to compensate them for surrendering that unrealized potential.

You can’t judge Adam Jones’ value to the Orioles by what he’s been to date. His value is based on what he could be, and what he could be is worth a lot more than Martin Prado and Jair Jurrjens.

Rob Neyer of SB Nation also weighed in on the topic yesterday:

There's been a great deal of talk this winter about Adam Jones becoming an Atlanta Brave. Names have been floated and everything. Jair Jurrjens. Martín Prado. Pretty good players, already. For his part, Prado's just two years older than Jones, has better career statistics, and is more versatile.

Still, the Orioles -- and new general manager Dan Duquette -- have reportedly spurned such a package. . . . I like Jurrjens, but he's managed only 43 starts in the last two seasons. I like Prado, but he's two years older than Jones. I think if the Orioles are going to trade the guy, they should get someone like ... well, someone like Adam Jones was, four years ago.

I'm not sure if all O's fans feel the same way; some have become rather attached to Jones and would be upset to see him go. I enjoy watching Jones play, but if the O's aren't asking for the moon and get offered the right package of players, there's nothing wrong with moving him. Most fans didn't want the O's to part with Brian Roberts or Luke Scott either, and look how both of those decisions turned out.

The bubble-blowing, the knack for making web gems, his humorous Twitter account -- all of these things make it exciting to have Jones on the O's. But no player is untradable -- especially for an organization that desperately needs as many high-ceiling young players as possible. At 26, Jones may still transform into a star. Unfortunately, he was supposed to be that guy by now.

Adam Jones has some value, but will the O's trade him?

Gio Gonzalez is a solid, young starting pitcher. At 26, he's put up back-to-back strong seasons pitching for the A's. Now, though, he's been traded to the Nationals in exchange for four well-thought-of prospects. This is not an analysis of that trade, though; the Nationals got what they wanted in a left-handed, middle of the rotation starter, and the A's got a boatload of prospects for a pretty good young player, which is something they routinely do. Still, assuming Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and Gonzalez all stay healthy, that's a formidable troika of starters.

One big bonus for the Nationals is that Gonzalez has just over two years of major league service time, meaning he's still under team control for four more seasons. Unfortunately for the Orioles, who are at least mildly interested in shopping a younger player like Adam Jones, he only has two years of service time left. Also 26 years old, Jones isn't quite the haul that Gonzalez is, but depending on how properly his defensive abilities have been rated, he may be more valuable than some think. And even though there's no way the O's can get three (or four) top 10 prospects from some team for Jones, there's no reason why they can't at least get one or two (which is what the O's should really be targeting).

Jones is in no way a fantastic hitter. He hasn't posted an on-base percentage above .335 in any of his four seasons with the Orioles, and his OBP has actually dipped the last two seasons (from .335 in 2009 to .325 in 2010 and .319 in 2011). That's mostly because he doesn't walk very much -- his career walk percentage is only 4.8 percent. Jones's value comes from his power; last season he posted a .466 slugging percentage, the highest of his career. If his OBP ever jumped 30 or 40 points while he also continued to hit for that level of power, Jones would be viewed much differently. But he really hasn't shown the plate discipline for a jump like that to occur.

Back to his defense, briefly: Jones won a gold glove in 2009, which is a pretty great honor. But FanGraphs' defensive numbers and other advanced fielding metrics have never really rated his defense highly. He still has a tendency to play too shallow at times, and occasionally a ball will get over his head that would be caught by an outfielder who gets a better jump. He's also a lock to airmail a few throws every season. I don't know if Jones is quite as bad as his UZR numbers indicate, but I also don't think he's a gold glove-caliber defender either. He's probably more of a middle-of-the-pack center fielder who also happens to make plays like this every once in a while.

Anyway, here's the point: Jones is a pretty good player, but he's not a star. He's a nice piece for the O's to have, and it's fun to watch him play. But the O's as an organization are a mess right now. After Dylan Bundy and Manny Machado, the club's farm system is mostly a disaster. There isn't much depth at all there, and the O's should be exploring any and all possibilities to improve the current crop of young players in the system.

Would O's fans miss Jones? Of course. But they would all agree that they'd much rather eventually watch a winning team, and there's no guarantee that Jones would be part of that team. He could walk in a couple of seasons and command a multiyear contract as a free agent, which may leave the O's without much compensation at all considering the elimination of some free agent compensation in the MLB's new collective bargaining agreement. Regardless, the O's should never reach that point with Jones. He may not command a ton in a trade, but he may not be worth a lucrative contract that he'll mostly likely be seeking. But, considering that the O's usually aren't proactive and wait too long to deal many players when they have value, I don't expect Jones to get dealt now or anytime soon.

Braves offered Jurrjens, Prado, and a prospect for Jones

Earlier this month, there was some speculation that the Braves had offered Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado to the Orioles for Adam Jones. If the O's were dangling Jones in a potential trade, that's hardly the type of package they should be seeking. Anyway, it seemed like just a rumor, or at least just an offer to gauge how highly the O's valued Jones.

But buried at the bottom of his latest piece, The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly casually adds this note:

Adam Jones is the team’s best trade chip. But unless the Orioles get a front-line pitcher in return, I don’t see them dealing Jones. The Atlanta Braves made a run this month, offering second baseman-outfielder Martin Prado, starter Jair Jurrjens and, eventually, a pitching prospect, and the Orioles didn’t bite. So that tells you just how much they value their center fielder.

Connolly doesn't mention which pitching prospect was offered, but unless it was one of the Braves' top guys, I don't think it changes much. Jones has his flaws and isn't nearly as good as many O's fans believe, but he certainly has room to improve. And if the O's eventually do trade Jones, the package of players they receive for him needs to center around young players with lots of upside, not an (almost) 26-year-old pitcher with injury concerns and a 28-year-old infielder/left-fielder who may have peaked a couple seasons ago. There has to be a team out there that values him more than that.

The O's still aren't developing younger players

The Orioles lost again last night, but that's not surprising considering how they've been playing lately. The loss included bad starting pitching, terrible relief pitching, and mediocre hitting -- all things that the O's excel at right now. (For what it's worth, Matt Wieters did steal a base [the first of his career], which is something that should never happen.)

It's hard to watch the O's at the moment for obvious reasons; it's never fun to tune in to watch your team lose night in and night out. But something that's even more troubling is an issue that has been plaguing the O's for more than a decade: They still aren't developing their young talent.

Let's take a look at O's players 27 years old and younger and how they're doing. Sure, 27 seems like an arbitrary number and isn't necessarily "young," but it's my list. Here they are, with hitters listed first, then pitchers.

Adam Jones: .283/.326/.457. Jones, who turns 26 on August 1, was having a very good season a few weeks ago before he started to slump a bit and his numbers took a tumble. Still, his numbers are still up slightly and he's on pace to have his best season in Baltimore. It's somewhat concerning that FanGraphs doesn't rate his defense very highly, and the same is true this season. I've wondered why Jones seems to make several fantastic, flashy plays but tends to have a few defensive lapses here and there and not always make the routine plays. I still think he's a pretty good center fielder, but he just may not be an elite one. The same can be said of his skills at the plate; he's not necessarily going to be an elite hitter, but he can be a productive hitter who isn't batting at the top of the lineup. Jones hasn't developed (yet) into a star, per se, but he's still one of the best young players the O's have.

Matt Wieters: .269/.319/.413. The 25-year-old Wieters, the lone O's All-Star this season, still seems to make many people angry because he's not hitting like Joe Mauer. Because of his pre-O's hype, many expected him to completely alter the entire franchise with his amazing abilities. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened, but he's still an intriguing piece. Thanks to his .288/.340/.412 batting line in 385 plate appearances in his rookie year (2009), Wieters probably set the bar a little too high, too early. He hasn't been able to hit for that average or get on base that often since then, but he is hitting for as much power this season and has shown signs that he may be able to hit for even more. It is surprising that with his eye at the plate he doesn't walk more (6.7 BB% this season) -- though he did walk three times last night. While he still has work to do at the plate, Wieters has developed into one of the best defensive catchers in all of baseball. He's caught 24 of 54 runners (44.4 percent stolen base percentage), far and away the best among all qualified MLB catchers. (The next closest is Alex Avila, at 36.9 percent.) FanGraphs rates his defense the highest among all catchers as well, which is also a top reason why he's leading the O's with a WAR of 2.3.

Nick Markakis: .293/.339/.385. Markakis, 27, has been on fire over the last few weeks and has turned his season around. He's still not walking a ton or hitting for a whole lot of power, but he's been much better lately. Check out my recent post on Markakis for more analysis.

Nolan Reimold: .271/.362/.492. Reimold turns 28 in October, and the O's still have no idea if he's an everyday player or not. Buck Showalter obviously doesn't think too highly of him or else he wouldn't be mostly benching Reimold when a lefty isn't on the mound or pinch-hitting Felix Pie for him. I've written about Reimold plenty lately, so I don't have much more to say. But I will add this: I don't have much faith in the O's playing well in the second half of the season, but I do hope they give Reimold, and maybe some other younger players in Triple-A, some playing time that's being wasted on guys like Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee.

Mark Reynolds: .230/.350/.504. Like Markakis, Reynolds, who turns 28 in August, has turned it on lately and has been hitting the cover off the ball. Unlike Markakis, many of those hits have been home runs. I'm not sure if he's quite this good or not, but he's hitting for a lot of power and is getting on base. He also walks much more than anyone on the team, another valuable skill. Under Reynolds's current contract, he's due to make $7.5 million next season and has a club option for $11 million (with a $0.5 million buyout). Compared with someone like J.J. Hardy, who will likely be looking to cash in as a free agent, Reynolds is still under team control for at least one more season. There's value in that, especially if the O's want to deal him before the trade deadline. Unfortunately, Reynolds has been an absolutely terrible defender at third base this year, and he'll probably need to be moved to either 1B or DH. If the O's had a better option at third, it's possible that Reynolds would have already been moved across the infield to play first. But they don't, and that may play a part in the O's holding onto Reynolds instead of dealing him.

Felix Pie: .231/.244/.282. Pie, 26, probably isn't anything better than a fourth outfielder (if that). Sure, he doesn't receive consistent playing time, but he's never really showed the ability to hit or get on base. He has some value as a defensive replacement and a runner, but that's about it. Sorry, Felix.

Zach Britton: 3.47 ERA, 3.82 xFIP. At 23, Britton has taken over the role as the most promising pitcher on the O's roster. Britton has already thrown over 100 innings, so it's probable that the O's will limit the rookie's workload in the second half of the season. With the way the other young starters have pitched, Britton and Jeremy Guthrie are basically carrying the load right now. Britton (1.7) is second in WAR among all rookie pitchers behind Michael Pineda of the Mariners (2.5). Not bad at all.

Brian Matusz: 8.77 ERA, 5.06 xFIP. Matusz (24) is supposed to be in the O's rotation right now, providing another reliable starting option. Instead, he's back in Triple-A Norfolk after a frustrating, awful return from the disabled list. Much has been written about Matusz's reduced velocity, and it's possible that he's still hurt. But if he never recovers that velocity, he'll have to learn to pitch a new way. It won't be easy, but Matusz still has the secondary stuff to be an effective starter even without that low-90s fastball.

Jake Arrieta: 4.90 ERA, 4.33 xFIP. Like Matusz, the 25-year-old Arrieta has disappointed (though not as much). The frustrating thing about Arrieta is that he has the stuff to be effective, but he can't seem to find the strike zone consistently. He's walking 4.44 batters per nine, which is way too many. He walked four again last night in an ineffective outing against the Red Sox. And there's also a concern that Arrieta may have some kind of elbow injury. I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this soon.

Chris Tillman: 4.69 ERA, 4.86 xFIP. There's not a whole lot to say about Tillman (23) right now. Tillman received 10 starts at the beginning of the season, and he pitched OK at times. His big issue, though, was his inability to stock around past the fifth inning, because he tends to throw lots of pitches each inning. When he was demoted, instead of returning to Norfolk and dominating Triple-A hitters in an effort to get back to Baltimore, he's still struggling, walking too many batters and not striking out enough either. I'll be surprised if he doesn't return to the O's at some point later in the season, but he has plenty left to prove. It's also worth mentioning that he's about four months younger than Britton.

Brason Berkensen: 5.90 ERA, 4.06 xFIP; 5.92 ERA, 4.39 xFIP. Jason Berken (27) and Brad Bergesen (turns 26 in September) aren't quite the same -- Bergesen is younger and probably a little better -- but I'm lumping them together because they're both pitching out of the bullpen and haven't been very good. Both have pitched well at times this year, but they're essentially the mop-up crew now (you could add Alfredo Simon to that group, too). Whenever the O's are down by more than a few runs, one of them is usually the guy the O's turn to to get through the next few innings. Sure, there's value in that if it's done properly, but I have a hard time believing that either guy will ever be effective over an entire season (especially in the AL East).

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There's also a few guys in Norfolk -- Brandon Snyder, Josh Bell, Ryan Adams, Troy Patton, Matt Angle -- who have some promise, but that's not much to choose from. The goal all along was for the guys above to take the next step (or several steps) forward, but only a few have really done that.

Embeddable MLB videos? Nice

I'm sure this is old news, but MLB.com has made it possible to embed some videos. From what I can tell, they only allow clips that are more than a few days old to be embedded, but that's still much better than no videos at all. So, with that in mind, it shouldn't be all that surprising that the first video from MLB.com that I decided to embed was Adam Jones's amazing catch in Seattle at the beginning of June.

Check it out:



Much better, right? And I'm sure that won't be the last time I include that video in a post.

O's avoid arbitration with four; two remain

During the last few days, the Orioles agreed to terms (and avoided arbitration) with four of their six arbitration-eligible players. Here are those players, the salary they were paid last year, and the salary they will make in 2011, via Orioles Insider:

Adam Jones: $465,000, $3.25 million
Jim Johnson: $440,000, $975,000
Felix Pie: $420,000, $985,000
J.J. Hardy: $5.1 million, $5.85 million

Jeremy Guthrie and Luke Scott have yet to reach an agreement with the O's, but each will likely sign shortly.

O's beat Red Sox again

Trailing 1-0 going into the top of the sixth, the Orioles scored nine unanswered runs in four innings and defeated the Red Sox, 9-1. Brad Bergesen got his eighth win on the season, and while he wasn't spectacular by any stretch of the imagination -- 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K -- he still got through six innings and only gave up one run. He then handed the ball off to the O's bullpen, who pitched three scoreless innings.

Ty Wigginton and Adam Jones, both with three hits, led the way on offense. Wigginton hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning, and Jones had a double. Wigginton also drew a walk. Nick Markakis added two hits, both singles, and Brian Roberts, Luke Scott, Matt Wieters (double), Felix Pie (triple), and Cesar Izturis each had one hit apiece. Roberts also walked twice. Altogether, the O's accumulated 13 hits and three walks.

To make matters worse (for Red Sox fans) and better (for O's fans), the O's tacked on four runs to their 5-1 lead in the ninth off of Jonathan Papelbon. Here's how that inning started, courtesy of ESPN's play-by-play:

B Roberts singled to center.
N Markakis singled to left center, B Roberts to second.
T Wigginton reached on infield single to third, B Roberts to third, N Markakis to second, B Roberts scored, N Markakis to third, T Wigginton to second on throwing error by third baseman A Beltre.
L Scott singled to left, N Markakis scored, T Wigginton to third.
T Wigginton scored, L Scott to second on wild pitch by J Papelbon.

The O's also added their ninth run in that inning on a ground out by Pie.

The O's go for the sweep tonight with Kevin Millwood on the mound; the Red Sox will counter with John Lackey. A win would give the O's a 10-8 record against the Red Sox this season.

O's win again

Jake Arrieta pitched six scoreless innings, and the O's offense finally broke through for a bunch of runs in an 11-3 win over the Blue Jays. Leading 3-0, the O's tacked on six runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth to put the game away for good. Overall, the O's pounded out 16 hits, including three doubles and two homers, and five walks. Nick Markakis and Adam Jones had the home runs, and Robert Andino, Markakis, Ty Wigginton, Felix Pie, Matt Wieters, and Jones all had multi-hit games. Also, every Orioles starter recorded a hit.

Arrieta was more than solid enough to earn the win, allowing just four hits. He also walked only one batter while striking out five. He hasn't walked more than one batter in a start since August 26, which spans only three starts, but that's still some progress considering he has 52 strikeouts and 48 walks on the season.

The O's are now 8-5 in September and 25-15 overall under Buck Showalter. They're also 8-2 in their last 10 games and could have won all 10 if not for the bullpen blowing two leads late in games. And for whatever the reason, the O's have won a lot more and been much more enjoyable to watch under Showalter. Hopefully that doesn't end and provides a nice lead-in for next season.

A few other notes:

- Since the All-Star break, Wieters is hitting .286/.357/.474 with five home runs. He's also walked 17 times and struck out only 21 times.

- Also, since the All-Star break, Jones is hitting .301/.376/.446 with four home runs. In those 45 games, he's also three walked more times (13) than he did in 87 games before the break (10).

- Here is the O's pitching staff ERA by month:

March/April: 4.62
May: 4.68
June: 5.72
July: 5.60
August: 3.38
September (so far): 4.07

Have they gotten a little lucky? Probably. But starters are throwing more innings and giving the bullpen leads to protect -- and fewer innings to throw.

- Brian Matusz, who had to leave the game on Monday after just one inning because of a line drive that struck his left triceps, may have been robbed of a chance to improve his Rookie of the Year chances. Matusz has more than held his own in his rookie season and has thrown a lot of innings, but there's a strong chance that the O's will hold Matusz out of his next start if he's not 100 percent healthy -- as they should. Unfortunately for Matusz, Austin Jackson continues to hit and still seems like the top ROY choice in the American League.

O's drop White Sox in 10 as win streak hits four

The Orioles haven't had much to get excited about this season, but their recent four-game win streak has been one of those times. Brad Bergesen (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 5 K, 1 BB) matched the outing by the more-accomplished John Danks (7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 5 K, 0 BB) and gave the O's their fourth strong starting pitching performance in a row (and, more importantly, the chance for an eventual 2-1 win). In those four games, O's starters (Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, and Bergesen) pitched a combined 27.2 innings and allowed just seven runs. Timely hitting has also been a factor, but getting starting pitching like that has been a relief.

Back to the game: Danks may have pitched seven innings, but the O's made him work (he threw 120 pitches). The O's only drew two walks -- none off of Danks -- but every Oriole who started the game saw more than 14 pitches at the plate. Only three White Sox hitters saw more than 13.

Still, that didn't lead to many runs. The O's had 10 hits, but they were all singles. Just about all of the damage in this game was done by the top of the lineup. Brian Roberts went 2-4 with a walk, Nick Markakis had four hits in 5 at-bats, and Luke Scott had two hits and a walk. Ty Wigginton accounted for the first O's run with an RBI single in the first inning, and Adam Jones knocked in Markakis in the 10th with a game-winning single. That gives the O's two wins in a row on walk-off singles (Cesar Izturis had the game-winning hit on Thursday).

After subpar outings the last two nights, the bullpen was much better. Koji Uehara pitched the eighth inning and looked fantastic, striking out two batters and needing just 13 pitches. When Uehara's healthy and not looking exhausted on the mound, there's no denying that he's a solid option in the bullpen. Alfredo Simon relieved Uehara and pitched two scoreless innings, also striking out two.

Other notes:

• This current win streak is the team's third four-game win streak of the season. The first came on June 24-27 when the O's beat the Marlins and then swept a three-game series against the Nationals. The second came in that shocking four-game sweep in Texas against the Rangers right before the All-Star break.
• On the other hand, the O's have four(-plus)-game losing streaks six times, including stretches of nine losses, five losses, 10 losses, and five losses. I like winning better too.
• In the last three games, the O's have faced three pretty good starting pitchers (Ervin Santana, Dan Haren, and John Danks) and still won. And today, the O's face off against Gavin Floyd, who hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in an outing since June 2. His amazing run has lowered his ERA from 6.64 to 3.54. The O's will counter with Kevin Millwood. Yeah, something has to give tonight.

Buck moves to 2-0; O's have a win streak!

What seemed like a laugher in the fourth inning didn't end as one. After a five-run fourth that gave the Orioles a commanding 9-1 lead, the Angels battled back with a five-run seventh that brought them within striking distance. Still, those nine runs ended up being enough as the O's bullpen bended but didn't break, allowing the O's to escape with a 9-7 win.

First, the positives: Brian Matusz had a great rebound outing, allowing one run on seven hits in six innings. He struck out three and didn't walk a batter -- something that he's done too much this season. He got the win, his first since July 4.

The O's offense was also fantastic, accumulating 14 hits (12 against starter Ervin Santana) and nine runs. Santana wasn't fooling O's hitters last night, and they knocked him out after just 3.2 innings. Adam Jones and Felix Pie each had three hits, and Ty Wigginton and Luke Scott each had two. Pie tripled in a run in the second, and Scott belted a two-run homer in the fourth. Brian Roberts had a hit and a walk, and Nick Markakis doubled. Josh Bell also singled in a run.

Unfortunately, after a 24-minute rain delay in the bottom of the sixth inning, the O's momentum was gone and the Angels started to chip away at the lead. Matt Albers relieved Matusz, and here's what happened: single, fly out, single, double, double. David Hernandez then relieved Albers after three runs had scored, but the Angels weren't done: double, single, foul out, wild pitch (run scored). With two more runs tacked on, Hernandez left the game with an ankle injury, and Koji Uehara entered the game. He allowed a walk and an infield single before finally getting a ground ball to second to end the threat.

The O's failed to tack on any runs in the bottom of the seventh, so they led 9-6 going into the eighth. Uehara must have felt more better out there, because he struck out the side. Still, the Angels weren't done. Alfredo Simon entered the game in the ninth inning, and things got interesting. Simon allowed two straight doubles, which cut the lead to two. Then for some reason, Torii Hunter, who hit the second double, tried to steal third and was thrown out by Matt Wieters. Hunter is a great player and has made many phenomenal plays in his career, but to me, this is a benchable offense. The Angels weren't down by just one run in that situation (not that a steal is justified in that situation either); they were still down by two. And there still weren't any outs! What was Hunter thinking? He was already in scoring position, and his run didn't even mean that much. His decision just didn't make sense, but I'm glad he tried to steal and gave the O's an easy out. With the pressure slightly off, Simon got two fly outs -- while giving up a single in between -- to earn the save. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

Two other notes: First, Roberts left the game after the rain delay with a left shin contusion. He was hit with the ball when diving back to second base early in the game, but he remained in the game. My guess is that he's fine, even if he gets the day off today just as a precaution. Second, the loss moved the Angels to one game under .500 (54-55), which is rather significant because, according to Joe Angel on O's radio last night, this is the latest in the season the Angels have been under .500 in about a decade. Must be nice, Angels fans.

Guthrie's strong start earns Showalter a win in O's debut

Jeremy Guthrie gave up three runs in seven innings and the O's offense woke up in the sixth inning to score four runs in a 6-3 win over the Angels in Buck Showalter's first game as the team's new manager.

Guthrie served up a two-run homer to Howie Kendrick in the fifth, but he allowed just five hits while striking out two and walking none. Since giving up four runs in 4.2 innings against the Rangers on July 8, Guthrie has been on a roll, allowing just seven combined runs in his last four starts -- a span of 27.2 innings. During that stretch, Guthrie has walked only two batters while striking out 17. His recent improved pitching has also lowered his ERA from 4.77 to 4.21.

On offense, Luke Scott hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning; he also had a double. Matt Wieters, though, may have had the best offensive performance of the night for the O's, finishing 3-3 with a double, two runs batted in, and a run scored. He also walked, allowing him to reach base four times. Felix Pie went 2-3 with two singles; Adam Jones singled and walked; and Josh Bell added a two-run double. Ty Wigginton went 0-2 but did walk twice. At the top of the lineup, Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis combined to go 0-8, yet the offense still scored six runs -- not bad, I guess.

As for the Showalter factor, the lineup was pretty much the same, and most things were done by the book. However, he did use the bullpen a little differently and showed some outside-the-box thinking. Here's Dan Connolly explaining the situation:

What interested me most was watching Showalter manage. During the past month, I’ve talked to a bunch of people who have worked under Showalter, and they have all spoken about his preparedness and how he puts his players in a situation to win.

And so I was intrigued by his first real piece of managing: in the ninth inning Tuesday with the Orioles up 6-3. Lefty Michael Gonzalez had already pitched one scoreless inning, and Showalter summoned him to pitch again in the ninth – even though it was a save situation and closer Alfredo Simon was warming up.

Go by the book, and bring in your closer. That’s what every manager I have ever covered would have done. But Showalter left Gonzalez in to face lefty Hideki Matsui, who struck out. Then Showalter stuck with Gonzalez to turn around switch-hitter Alberto Callaspo, and he grounded out.

With one out needed, Showalter called for Simon, even though it was no longer a save situation for the O’s closer. And Simon struck out Howie Kendrick.

Asked about the moves after the game, Showalter said: “The matchup was a lot better. Gonzo, I’ve been watching him throw the ball and talking to [pitching coach Rick Kranitz] and some of the guys. And I liked the switch-hitters turned around. The tough call was Hunter [in the eighth with one on and two outs]. That’s a tie ballgame at worst, though, and we like our chances at home with the last at-bat. Take our chances.”

That’s a guy who is not managing scared.

He followed that up with his best line of the day: “Believe me, I know the save rule and, quite frankly, it doesn’t carry much weight with me. I like the win rule a little bit better.”

Apologies for the long quote, but that's some intriguing stuff right there. I'm all for managers going against the typical bullpen philosophy of simply bringing in the closer in the ninth for a potential save. Now, I'm not a fan of leaving relievers such as Mike Gonzalez in for more than one inning, but Showalter recognized that Gonzalez has been throwing well lately and stuck with the hot hand rather than simply summoning Alfredo Simon in the ninth.

Could the move have backfired? Sure, anything's possible against the Orioles. But the move worked, and that's something that has been hard enough for the O's to find for a long time. I'm not ready to pronounce Showalter the greatest manager ever or anything because of the move, but I am ready to see what he has in store for this team.

O's links: Roberts, Gonzalez, Jones's bubbles

After a 5-4 loss to the Rays yesterday, the Orioles are 30-64. But it's an exciting 30-64! OK, maybe not, but here are some links to keep you occupied:

• Brian Roberts could be back in an O's uniform as early as this weekend. [Orioles.com]
• Michael Gonzalez has been activated from the 60-day DL and will probably be eased back into the closer's role. [Baltimore Sun]
• Something about defending Adam Jones for chewing lots of gum and blowing bubbles during the game. Cowherd's right, it's not really a big deal. Granted, I don't listen to Baltimore sports radio talk or read many O's message boards, but I've never heard anyone complain about Jones's bubble blowing before. I've never even heard Jim Palmer criticize Jones for it. It's more of a, "Hey, Jones caught that ball and blew a bubble at the same time. That was pretty cool." [Kevin Cowherd]
• When Chris Tillman returns from Norfolk, he needs to attack the zone. [Dempsey's Army]
• It wouldn't make much sense to send Brian Matusz to the minors. [Camden Crazies]
• In Dave Cameron's annual Top 50 Trade Value series, two O's made the list: Matt Wieters at No. 33 and Brian Matusz at No. 44. No Julio Lugo for some reason. [FanGraphs]

Showalter expected to be named O's manager

According to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via HardballTalk), Buck Showalter will likely begin his tenure as the next O's manager this weekend.

Not knowing a whole lot about Showalter, I went to Baseball-Reference to hopefully get an idea about his previous coaching results. In head coaching stints with three teams -- the Yankees, Diamondbacks, and the Rangers -- Showalter has a career record of 882-833. He's also been named AL manager of the year twice: in 1994 with the Yankees and 2004 with the Rangers.

One of the strangest things about Showalter's managerial career -- and this is also mentioned on his Wikipedia page -- is that the Yankees (in 1996) and the Diamondbacks (in 2001) both won the World Series the year after he was fired. Showalter also very nearly was fired three times while still having winning records: 79-65 (1994), 85-77 (2000), and 80-82 (2006). Close, but no cigar.

Showalter is an interesting choice for the Orioles, and arguably his most important task will be to get more production out of the team's younger players. Highly regarded prospects like Brian Matusz, Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, and others have shown promise and seemingly have the talent to produce at the Major League level, but they haven't been able to put all of the pieces together yet. Maybe Showalter, who himself moved up the coaching ranks in the minor leagues before becoming the head coach of the Yankees, will do a better job of helping them get to the next level.

By the way, in case you're wondering, Showalter is definitely an old-school type manager. Just check out this 1994 article in The New York Times about Showalter's criticism of that young hotshot Ken Griffey Jr.:

It's not Mariners versus Yankees in Seattle this weekend so much as Griffey versus Showalter, perhaps the game's premier player against one of its brightest young managers in a lively discourse on the merits of respecting the game.

"I shouldn't say this publicly," Showalter was quoted as saying in the magazine story, "but a guy like Ken Griffey Jr., the game's boring to him. He comes on the field, and his hat's on backward, and his shirttail's hanging out."

He also made pointed comments about San Francisco's Barry Bonds, saying that at last year's All-Star Game Bonds failed to tuck in his shirt until game time.

"To me, that's a lack of respect for the game," Showalter said. "Maybe I'm being too picky on these guys. I'm starting to say things like, 'Back when I played.' I thought I'd never say those words."

So even if Showalter can't get the O's to improve much on the field, at least fans won't have to worry about any untucked shirts or caps being worn backwards.

Jones's phenomenal June: turning point or aberration?

If you've heard anything about Adam Jones this year, besides a few random non-baseball things, it's probably that he's not having a very good season at the plate. Jones struggled mightily in April and May, failing to post on-base percentages over .303 while also hitting a combined five home runs in the two months.

Then June came and Jones surprisingly started to crush the ball. In 26 games and 100 at bats in the month, Jones hit .320/.352/.600 with eight homers and 21 runs batted in. To go along with that impressive home run total, Jones hit 20 singles and four doubles. He also added two stolen bases and wasn't caught stealing. Still, despite the hot streak, Jones walked just four times and struck out 24 times.

Because of his June hitting, Jones is currently batting .274/.300/.453 with 13 home runs. Unfortunately, unless he starts to walk more, that may just be the kind of hitter Jones is: a guy who won't get on base a ton because he doesn't walk but does have some power. That seems a little insulting considering the month Jones just had, but it's just not possible to say that he's turned the corner yet. His awesome month can basically be attributed to two things: a high BABIP (.353) and improved power (.280 ISO). Jones has a career .316 BABIP and .157 ISO, so he's likely to return to the norm in both areas.

One of the interesting things about Jones's hitting this past month is that not only did he actually hit the ball harder in May (23.3% line-drive percentage) than in June (17.3%), but he actually struck out more too (24.0% in June to 16.3% in May). He walked slightly more in June (3.8% to 2.8%), and by slightly more I mean one more walk. Still, considering that Jones has only walked nine times this season, that's an accomplishment.

It would be ideal if Jones rounded into a complete hitter, possibly one who could hit in the middle of the lineup. He possesses a ton of power, but he just doesn't seem to be able to get on base more often by working the count and drawing walks. Right now, his BB% is lower than Miguel Tejada's (2.8% to 3.1%), which isn't very good unless you're racking up a ton of hits like Jones did in June.

So it's unlikely that Jones will be able to sustain his hot streak much longer. Unless he stops chasing pitches outside the zone and starts to walk more, he'll never be much more than a sixth or seventh hitter who doesn't get on base much but will still swing for the fences no matter the count. If that sounds harsh, it's only because Jones has the talent to be an offensive force for years to come. Here's to hoping that he reaches that potential.

Another poor offensive performance, another loss

The Orioles (1-6) wasted another decent start by Jeremy Guthrie -- seven innings pitched, eight hits, three earned runs -- and dropped their fourth game in a row (all at home) after a 5-1 loss to the Rays. Matt Garza threw eight strong innings, giving up only one run, and earned his second victory over the Orioles in this young season.

Garza allowed just six hits, with the O's lone run coming on a leadoff home run by Felix Pie. The Orioles had a couple of chances to score -- in the second and seventh innings -- but again couldn't put together another hit or two to put more runs on the scoreboard.

With the O's ahead 1-0 in the second, Matt Wieters led off with an infield single, and Luke Scott followed with a single of his own to right field. Unfortunately, Garrett Atkins came up next and hit a ground ball right to the shortstop for a double play. And in a sentence that will probably be repeated numerous times this season, Julio Lugo then struck out to end the threat.

In the seventh (the Orioles are trailing 3-1 at this point), with one out and Scott on first after a walk, Atkins hit a shot into the left center field gap, but the ball was caught on an outstanding running play by Carl Crawford. So with two outs, Ty Wigginton, pinch-hitting for Lugo, hit a flare to short right field that fell in for a single. With runners on first and second with two outs, Nolan Reimold was sent to the plate to pinch-hit for Cesar Izturis -- makes sense, right? Reimold, though, never got a chance to swing the bat -- on a ball in the dirt that got away from the catcher for a moment, Wigginton took off for second. There was just one problem: Scott stayed put. Wigginton was easily caught in a rundown, ending yet another scoring opportunity. Who does Wigginton think he is? Melvin Mora?

Pie, as stated before, led the O's offense attack with his solo home run. He also singled and walked. Jones, Wieters, Scott, and Wigginton each had a hit, and Scott and Wieters both drew walks. Nick Markakis went 0-3 and is now hitting .143, but he did walk again. And Miguel Tejada went 0-4 and saw just nine pitches in those at bats -- not exactly the kind of performance the O's are looking for from their cleanup hitter.

The Orioles have now scored just 20 runs in seven games. Get well soon, Brian Roberts.

By the way, if the team's recent play isn't bad enough, the 9,129 fans in attendance at Camden Yards tonight broke the "record" for the smallest crowd in the stadium's 19 seasons. Awesome.

O's get swept by Toronto, drop to 1-5 on the season

(Quick note: I went to Orioles games on Friday and Saturday, and both times during the O's ninth-inning comeback attempts, several fans were more interested in trying to start the wave than cheering on the team. Seriously, who tries to do the wave in the ninth inning?)

Well, that was unexpected. After a tough 7-6 loss in their home opener, the Orioles continued to struggle and their bats remained quiet on Saturday and Sunday as the Blue Jays completed a three-game sweep of the O's. On Saturday, the Blue Jays and starter Dana Eveland shut the O's out 3-0, and on Sunday, despite trailing most of the game 2-1, the Blue Jays scored four runs in the eighth and ninth innings in a 5-2 comeback victory.

Although Mike Gonzalez was the scapegoat for the first few games of the season (not that he's off the hook yet, by any means), the real culprit for the O's disappointing start is probably the team's offense, or lack thereof. Granted, that doesn't excuse Gonzalez's poor performance, and of course, barely a week has past in the MLB season, but the Orioles have not looked particularly good at the plate.

In six games, the O's are tied for the third-fewest runs scored with only 19. The O's also have the worst batting average with runners in scoring position (.167) and have scored just 14 runs in 54 at bats in those situations. I doubt that the offense will continue to struggle so much, but it doesn't help that Brian Roberts is possibly headed to the disabled list with an abdominal strain.

On the bright side, Matt Wieters is hitting .409/.458/.545. Eight of his nine hits have been singles (the other a homer), but he's been the best O's hitter so far. Garrett Atkins (.350/.350/.500) has had a decent start to the season, though he hasn't yet drawn a walk. Nick Markakis is hitting just .167 at the moment, but he has the team's second-highest on-base percentage (.444) mainly because he's been patient at the plate and has drawn a team-high nine walks (tied with Adam Dunn for the most in the majors).

Miguel Tejada (.240/.296/.400), Nolan Reimold (.200/.294/.467), Adam Jones (.231/.259/.462), and Luke Scott (.167/.250/.389) have all struggled and are not getting on base enough. Those four have each hit a home run, but they've drawn only four combined walks. With Roberts out, those guys need to step up and play better.

I'd ramble a little more and complain about the team's 1-5 record, but again, they've only played six games and hopefully will turn things around. If the O's continue to receive decent starting pitcher performances, they should start to win more games as the offense scores more runs and takes advantage of scoring opportunities.

Next game: An early season rematch tonight at 7:05 against the Rays as Jeremy Guthrie faces Matt Garza again. Last time, Garza pitched a phenomenal game, throwing eight strong innings and allowing only one earned run.

Gonzalez blows another save as O's fall to 1-3

Mike Gonzalez is struggling right now, but you probably know that already. Before yesterday's O's home opener even started -- during pre-game ceremonies and player introductions -- Gonzalez was booed mightily and was the only player who received a vicious response from the crowd.

Keep in mind, it was April 9, the first home game, and many, if not most, fans have already turned on Gonzalez. If that doesn't tell you that fans are expecting more of this team than in previous years, then nothing will.

Granted, fans were/are booing Gonzalez for mainly two reasons: 1) In three appearances, he's blown two of three saves and in that span has given up five hits, four walks, and four earned runs in only two innings pitched; and 2) the O's signed him to a two-year, $12 million dollar deal in the offseason to solidify the closer's role.

The worst thing about Gonzalez's struggles isn't that he's simply pitching poorly, but also that he seems to have lost confidence in his pitching abilities so early into the season. Matt Wieters went to the mound at least twice to talk to Gonzalez, and Miguel Tejada and Julio Lugo each tried to give Gonzalez some encouraging words while he was in the middle of a difficult inning.

Right now, Gonzalez deserves a few more opportunities to right the ship. And it would probably be nice if the O's could get him into the game with more than a one-run lead at this point to give him a little leeway. However, if he can't straighten things out soon, Jim Johnson should take control of the closer's role. Every team blows save opportunities once in a while, but one of the main reasons Gonzalez was signed by Andy MacPhail in the first place was to prevent this type of thing from consistently happening. If Gonzalez can't get the job done, someone else should be given the chance.

OK, enough about Gonzalez. Honestly, the worst part of the game yesterday -- besides the heart-breaking 7-6 loss, obviously -- was that Brian Roberts suffered an abdominal strain after sliding into second base in the first inning after a stolen base. Watching Lugo inadequately fill Roberts's shoes by going 0-4 made me realize how much Roberts means to this team and how they can ill-afford to lose him for an extended period of time. It's also not a good sign that Roberts, already dealing with back problems, now has another injury concern to worry about.

Also, Gonzalez's blown save made a lot of fans forget how awful Brad Bergesen looked. Bergesen, who lasted just 4.2 innings and threw only 71 pitches before Dave Trembley had seen enough -- allowed five earned runs on eight hits. He also only struck out two Blue Jays, though he did just walk one. He was consistently around the plate but was hit hard more than a few times. I'm willing to give Bergesen the benefit of the doubt, not just because this was his first start of the season, but because his 2009 season ended abruptly with an injury and he hasn't faced Major League hitters in a regular season situation for a while now. Also, two runs scored in the first inning on a long fly ball by John Buck to center field that Adam Jones normally would have caught (the ball bounced off his glove). So if those two runs didn't score, Bergesen may have pitched a little longer and his outing may have looked a little better -- for what it's worth.

By the way, it's a little strange that the O's have played four one-run games to start the season. So they're 1-3, but they've been in each game and could easily be 3-1.

As for hitting numbers, the O's collected seven hits and seven walks. Tejada was the team's offensive star yesterday, going 3-5 with a two-run home run and knocking in four runs. Nick Markakis had a hit and two walks, and Garrett Atkins went 2-4. Cesar Izturis had a walk and a big hit -- an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth that briefly gave the O's the lead. Nolan Reimold and Wieters each went 0-2 but walked twice.

Next game: The O's face the Blue Jays tonight in game two of the series at 7:05. David Hernandez takes the hill against Dana Eveland.

Orioles hold on to get first win of 2010

First off, great win for the O's last night. I didn't have the chance to watch the entire game, but I did make it home in time to watch the end of the game. It looked like Mike Gonzalez might blow another ninth inning lead, but to his credit, he got the job done. But more on the win in a minute.

Man, what an eventful three-game series for Carl Crawford. In the first game, he hit a walkoff double (even though it was really a single) to win the game for the Rays. In the second game of the series, Crawford was involved in a controversial strike-three/check swing call at home plate that led to a double play for the Orioles. The play ended up not mattering much as the Rays still won, but both Crawford and the crowd were not pleased with the home plate umpire.

And if that wasn't enough, Crawford was again right in the middle of another blown call last night (though it again didn't effect the outcome of the game). In the top of the eighth with one out, Matt Wieters hit a sinking line drive to left field. Crawford got a great jump on the ball and lunged forward, snagging the ball right before it hit the ground (view the play here). Watching the play quickly, it's easy to see why the second base umpire (Dana Demuth) thought Crawford trapped the ball against the turf. I'm not going to start rambling on about the use of instant replay only for home run calls, but eventually the use of instant replay needs to be expanded. Seriously, how long would it have taken to watch that video a few times to determine that Crawford did indeed catch the ball? One minute? Maybe two? Again, it was only a single, and the O's didn't score that inning. But isn't it important to get the call right?

Anyway, back to the game. Making his season debut, Brian Matusz had an up-and-down performance. In five innings, he allowed only two earned runs and two hits. But he walked five batters and threw 97 pitches. Then again, he also struck out seven. So, I guess you could say he was effectively wild, though it's never a good idea to average a walk per inning. Still, he admitted that he was a little nervous and noted that his mechanics were off because of it. Matusz did finish strong, striking out four of the last five batters he faced, including striking out the side in the bottom of the fifth.

After Matusz left the game trailing 2-1, the O's went on the attack and pieced together a four-run inning. Nick Markakis led off the inning with a single, and Miguel Tejada followed by getting hit by a pitch on an 0-2 count. Luke Scott then walked to load the bases. Next, Wieters hit a single to center, scoring Markakis, and Tejada scored after that on a wild pitch by reliever Grant Balfour. With runners on second and third, Nolan Reimold struck out swinging, but Garrett Atkins singled to hit, which allowed Scott and Wieters to score. Not a bad rally, and as it turns out, the O's would need all four of those runs.

With Matusz out, the bullpen did an adequate job -- Matt Albers gave up one run in two innings, Will Ohman retired the only batter he faced, Jim Johnson allowed one run in two-thirds of an inning, and Gonzalez pitched a scoreless ninth for the save even though he walked two batters and gave up a hit. It was a George Sherrill-type save for Gonzalez -- a roller-coaster ride to the very end -- but it worked. The only thing missing was a bunch of Orioles flipping up the brim of their hats after it was over.

On offense, the Orioles combined for nine hits and three walks. Brian Roberts, Wieters, and Atkins each went 2-4, with Roberts drawing a walk, Wieters driving in a run, and Atkins driving in two. Reimold scored the game's first run in the top of the third when he homered to left field (watch here). Markakis and Scott each had a hit and a walk. Adam Jones went 0-5 and was somewhat impatient, only seeing 13 pitches. Tejada (11 pitches) and Julio Lugo (13 pitches) were both 0-4, though, as mentioned before, Tejada did reach on a HBP.

For the third straight game, the Orioles didn't commit an error, but since I didn't watch the game, it's hard to tell if there were a few balls that O's fielders didn't get to that maybe they should have. Listening to the radio on the way home, I do remember a play from the bottom of the eighth on a Carlos Pena ground ball to second that could have been turned for a double play but wasn't because of a bobble or something. But B.J. Upton fouled out in the next at bat for the third out, so it didn't hurt the O's.

Overall, O's pitchers walked too many Rays batters (eight times), but they pitched out of jams and got the win. Hopefully they get the walks out of their system, and hopefully Wieters keeps going 2-4 every game. Not likely -- but hey, if anyone can do it, Wieters can.

Next game: O's home opener today against the Blue Jays, 3:05 p.m. Brad Bergesen vs. Brandon Morrow.