Why the O's don't have to overpay for a first baseman

Let's take a look at three players' career stats:

Player A: .271/.339/.488, .351 wOBA
Player B: .282/.367/.498, .371 wOBA
Player C: .268/.354/.503, .365 wOBA

Player A doesn't get on base as much as the other two and also hits for slightly less power. Player B and Player C are pretty close, with B getting on base more and C hitting for a bit more power. Again, this comparison is just based on hitting and doesn't bring in other factors like age, fielding, etc., but if you had to choose, it would likely be in this order: B, then C, then A.

Player A is Adam LaRoche, Player B is Derrek Lee, and Player C is Luke Scott. In terms of overall production (not just hitting), they're not all on equal footing. Scott hasn't played much first base in his career and has played more left field and DH. Lee and LaRoche, meanwhile, are both exclusively first basemen. Also, Scott is 32, LaRoche is 31, and Lee is 35.

Now, obviously, the reasons why the Orioles are in the running for a first baseman are: 1) the Garrett Atkins experiment worked out horribly last season; 2) they don't really have any young first base prospects (outside of maybe Nolan Reimold, though he's never played the position at the major league level) who can fill the role; and 3) they're looking for an upgrade at the position, even if it's just for a year or two. And, really, if the O's end up signing Lee or LaRoche to a one-year deal, that's fine. But if they really did extend a three-year deal to LaRoche or are even considering it, I do have a problem with that. Lee is apparently seeking a one-year deal, which seems reasonable even if that deal ends up costing $7-$8 million -- something in that range. But what puts LaRoche in the three-year range? He's definitely an improvement over who the O's have had at first base the last few seasons, but that doesn't mean the O's should overpay for a non-elite first baseman who's already in his 30s. It would be hard to classify that type of signing as anything other than a desperate move.

Last season, Lee (2.1) and LaRoche (2.0) ranked 15th and 16th, respectively, out of all first basemen in WAR. (Ty Wigginton (0.3) ranked 22nd.) Picking either one up would make the O's better, sure, but it's not like it would greatly transform the team. Is it really worth it to sign someone like LaRoche to a multi-year deal just to gain possibly a couple of wins? Maybe, maybe not, though I'd vote no.

Buck Showalter has apparently made it known that he'd like to have a proven first baseman manning that position this year. That would mean that he'd welcome Lee or LaRoche to Baltimore -- as most fans would -- with open arms. I'm for that move, too, as long as the price is right. Why should the O's overpay when the only other two teams that seemingly are in the running are the Nationals and Padres? Baltimore and Washington seem like the two likely landing spots for Lee and LaRoche, not just because they may have the biggest needs at the position, but because they can probably spend a little more than San Diego.

At the trade deadline last year, the O's made the curious decision to not trade either Wigginton or Scott. Scott is still in Baltimore, but Wigginton bolted for Colorado. With Scott still around, the O's do have someone who can fill in at the position, if necessary. In his career, Scott has only played a total of 29 games at first, so it's not like he's completely comfortable playing the position. However, his hitting would likely make up for some subpar fielding, if he's able to improve enough to get to that level in the field.

Playing Scott at first isn't an ideal fall-back plan, but it does give the O's at least an option to go with if Lee or LaRoche decide to sign elsewhere. Signing a DH like Jim Thome or Vladimir Guerrero may even be better for the team offensively, though playing Scott at first would be a defensive risk.

So, basically, if the O's don't sign Lee or LaRoche, it may hurt the team a little, but probably not a whole lot. Remember, we're talking about a 35-year-old Derrek Lee and Adam LaRoche. It's not the end of the world if the O's don't meet either player's contract demands.

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.

Arrieta outduels Sabathia in O's win

Jake Arrieta and CC Sabathia both pitched 6.1 innings last night, but Sabathia allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits while Arrieta allowed just two runs on eight hits. Arrieta also walked only one batter while striking out three.

Matt Albers relieved Arrieta in the bottom of the seventh and entered the game in a tough situation -- the Yankees had runners on first and third, one out, and Alex Rodriguez at bat, pinch-hitting for Ramiro Pena. But Albers got two ground balls -- one by Rodriguez and another by Brett Gardner -- to get out of the inning unscathed. Albers, who also pitched a scoreless eighth, lowered his ERA to 4.09. He also hasn't allowed a run since August 14 -- a span of nine appearances. And with a four-run cushion, Mark Hendrickson pitched a scoreless ninth.

So, yes, the three-headed monster of Arrieta, Albers, and Hendrickson held the Yankees to two runs in September. Not a bad performance.

On the season, Arrieta has more walks (46) than strikeouts (44), but he's getting close to changing that and has walked only one batter in his last two starts.

On offense, Brian Roberts, Nick Markakis, and Ty Wigginton each had two hits. One of Wigginton's hits was a double. Nolan Reimold hit a two-run home run in the third, giving the O's a 5-1 lead at the time. Felix Pie drew the lone walk for the O's.

The O's have now won four games in a row -- two against the Rays, and two against the Yankees -- and are 4-3 in September. They'll go for the sweep in a day game today as Brad Bergesen faces 23-year-old Ivan Nova. And according to the game preview on ESPN, the O's will try for their first road sweep of the Yankees in more than 24 years.

ROY Watch: Brian Matusz won the first game of the series on Monday, pitching six innings and allowing three runs while striking out four and walking two. The outing didn't do much to lower his ERA (4.71), but he did win his fourth start in a row -- and winning in Yankee Stadium is always a good thing.

Roberts picks up Simon with walk-off HR in the 10th

Brian Roberts led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a home run to give the Orioles a 3-2 win -- their sixth win in seven games under manager Buck Showalter. Going into the ninth and clinging to a 2-1 lead, closer Alfredo Simon allowed a solo shot to Paul Konerko to tie the game.

Besides Simon, the rest of the O's pitchers were solid. Brian Matusz gave up one run on three hits in six innings, lowering his ERA to 5.08. He also struck out four and walked two. Because of Simon's blown save, Matusz didn't get the win, but his performance was good enough to win on most nights. Koji Uehara relieved Matusz and pitched two scoreless innings. He didn't allow a hit and only needed 16 pitches to retire six consecutive batters. Michael Gonzalez did an effective job of relieving Simon and escaping the ninth inning without giving up the go-ahead run. Matt Albers also retired two batters in the top of the 10th and eventually earned the win.

Back to Uehara for a minute: He's been on a bit of a roll lately. Since giving up two runs in an appearance against Detroit on July 5, Uehara has allowed just one run -- against Toronto on July 28 -- and has struck out 14 batters and walked just one in 12.2 innings. During that span, he's lowered his ERA from 4.50 to 2.18. My beef with Uehara has never been that he isn't effective -- just that, at least earlier in the season, he seemed to tire when having to throw more than a few pitches in humid weather. Whether or not it's because he's in improved shape or just feeling better now that he's healthy, he's been outstanding lately and is looking like the best reliever in the O's bullpen.

The offense was held in check by White Sox starter Edwin Jackson through the first five innings, though they did put up two runs (one earned) against him in six innings. The O's finally got to him in the sixth with a Ty Wigginton solo home run. Then, aided by a Dayan Viciedo error, the O's loaded the bases with one out and took a 2-1 lead on a Matt Wieters RBI fielder's choice to first base. Instead of immediately throwing home, first baseman Konerko fielded the ball, touched first base, and then threw home too late to nail a sliding Luke Scott at the plate.

Besides the home runs by Wigginton and Roberts, the O's had six other hits, all singles, by Wigginton (2-4), Scott (2-4), Adam Jones (1-3, walk), and Felix Pie (2-4). Roberts also walked.

One other note: There's no question that Josh Bell is struggling mightily at the plate. In 52 at-bats, Bell has just eight hits (one double). He's also struck out 21 times while failing to draw a walk -- a dangerous sign. It's not a positive sign either that he batted ninth behind Cesar Izturis last night. He's simply been overmatched, and I'm just not sure this can be good for his development -- and I was one of the people clamoring for him to get more playing time when Miguel Tejada was still on the roster. And yet, that isn't the only problem. On a few plays in the field last night, Bell was too tentative. He was called off on a routine (though very high) pop up to third base by Izturis, and on another play, Bell failed to take charge on a pop up near the third base line, which forced Wieters to make a difficult, and awkward, catch. It was good to see Bell take charge on a tough fly ball in foul ground not more than an inning or two later after the Wieters play -- Bell made the catch -- but he has to be more sure of himself. There's no reason for Bell to get called off by the catcher on just about any pop up around third base; it's one thing for him to struggle at the plate, but he can't bring that with him out onto the field.

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.

MacPhail says O's might be done dealing

On Thursday, the Orioles traded Miguel Tejada to the Padres for pitching prospect Wynn Pelzer. Most fans viewed the trade favorably, not only because it made sense to try to get something in return before Tejada's one-year deal expired, but because he's been mediocre this season.

Tejada hit .267/.308/.359 in Baltimore with seven homers. Primarily batting second, Tejada didn't strike out much (9.9 K%), but he basically didn't walk either (3.7 BB%) -- as it's been established, Tejada isn't a fan of taking many pitches. Also, playing third base for the first time in his career, Tejada showcased a strong arm and a decent amount of range -- and he made several solid plays charging the ball and whipping the ball to first on difficult attempts -- but his UZR for the O's was -4.6. According to FanGraphs, Tejada was the definition of a replacement level player, accumulating 0.0 WAR (which can't be easy to do) and a value of $0.2 million. Still, he filled in at third when the team didn't have a whole lot of options and allowed for Josh Bell to get a little more seasoning in the minors.

Now that Tejada is gone, the question is: Now what? Here what Andy MacPhail had to say recently in a Jeff Zrebiec article:

"We've had a lot of conversations. I have no idea where they are going or if anything will come from them. It's not like the phone is dead, but I wouldn't see anything that I characterize as likely at this point."

As expected, MacPhail would love the chance to move Ty Wigginton and Will Ohman, but he's not simply willing to give those players away just for nothing, especially when it comes to the possibility of trading Luke Scott and Jeremy Guthrie, who have much more value than Wigginton or Ohman. MacPhail:

"There is going to be plenty of criticism and rightfully so based on our record [if the O's are done trading], but that doesn't mean you should do something for the sake of doing something. That would fall into the category of being stupid."

I happen to agree with MacPhail, at least when it comes to Scott and Guthrie. Wigginton, on the other hand, who has played third base the last two games, is basically blocking Bell from playing everyday, which seems to be the opportunity that opened up with the Tejada trade. Wigginton and Ohman are having solid seasons, but let's not go overboard. Wigginton has been worth 0.5 WAR, with his combined -9.2 UZR at first, second, and third overshadowing many of his .256/.329/.452 line and 16 home runs at the plate. Ohman (3.30 ERA, 29 K, 18 BB) has also pitched pretty well, with his strikeouts up and walks slightly down. But, overall, he still walks too many batters and has pitched over his head a bit, suggesting that his ERA will go up before the season is over. He should be viewed as a decent lefty who can match up against other lefties in late-game situations, and not much more than that. And teams are likely viewing Wigginton as a platoon-type infield option.

Seeing what happened in the Dan Haren and Roy Oswalt trades, etc., it doesn't seem like teams are willing to just give away top prospects. MacPhail is correct in not wanting to just give away players to opposing teams. When it comes to Scott and Guthrie, that makes a lot more sense than protecting trade chips like Wigginton and Ohman. Wigginton's and Ohman's deals both expire after this season, and if they want to return to Baltimore, they'll likely want raises -- not exactly something that makes much sense for the O's to do. So if teams are willing to throw in a few decent prospects for those two, MacPhail should pull the trigger. Then again, that's easier said that done.

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.

Eaton steps up in O's win

Adam Eaton, who had managed to pitch only four innings in each of his first two starts, tossed seven and a third innings tonight against the White Sox in a 6-2 Orioles win. The win improved the Orioles' record to 8-8 on the season -- which includes an 0-4 record against the Red Sox and an 8-4 record (and four series wins) against the Yankees, Rays, Rangers, and White Sox.

On offense, the O's were able to get to Bartolo Colon quickly, knocking him out of the game after three innings with eight hits and five runs. Aubrey Huff, Ty Wigginton, and Felix Pie all had two hits apiece; Pie's multi-hit effort raised his batting average to a robust .171. And one of Wigginton's hits, an RBI-double, was his first extra-base hit of the season.

The season is young, but Eaton's performance was definitely impressive. And when an Orioles starter pitches well, it's definitely worth noting. In those seven-plus innings, Eaton gave up six hits and two runs (Jim Johnson allowed two inherited runners to score), and he struck out nine batters while walking none. In 102 pitches, he threw 74 for strikes, relentlessly attacking the strike zone and repeatedly getting ahead of opposing batters.

The solid outing lowered Eaton's ERA to 7.04 -- but could be something to build on. A pitcher like Eaton is certainly expendable for the Orioles if he struggles in some of his starts down the road, but more efforts like this one could be very useful/helpful to a thin staff that has already lost Alfredo Simon for the year. Eaton doesn't have to be an ace, but if he can eat some innings and give the Orioles' younger pitchers in the farm system more time to develop, his presence on the team will be relatively positive.

Then again, it was just one outing. Hopefully he can duplicate it in his next start.

AP Photo/Rob Carr