On Tuesday, the Orioles finally broke out in a big way, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays, 12-4. They are now 41-58 on the season, and 21 games out of first place.
For a change, instead of the Orioles being whipped, they got to inflict pain to a pitching staff.
J.J. Hardy hit a pair of home runs, and Derrek Lee – who also drove in five runs – along with Nolan Reimold went deep during Tuesday’s game.
The offense helped Jake Arrieta – who gave up four runs in five innings – win his tenth game of the season, despite not having his best stuff on the mound.
Jason Berken – who has looked shaky as of late – pitched three scoreless innings of relief to help finish off the game for Baltimore. That is a promising sign, considering he has not been used much as of late.
It is funny the amount of run support that Arrieta gets in comparison to Jeremy Guthrie – I’m just saying.
Speaking of Guthrie, this Sunday marks the trade deadline and as we all know, the Orioles (frankly), do not have much to deal away aside from the aforementioned de-facto ace/starter and reliever Koji Uehara.
As much as I appreciate the eccentric Guthrie, a change may do him some wonders. Considering the lack of run support and the continual losing in Baltimore, I would not be surprised if he flourishes somewhere else. Guthrie is not an ace, but has extremely good stuff and may be energized pitching for a contender.
Who knows if he wants to stay in Baltimore, but the team has to see what’s out there and deal him if they can get some young talent in the system. The Orioles will lose 90 games with or without him, so they need to take a risk and keep rebuilding.
The problem that the Orioles will face is that who do you replace him with?
Will Arrieta be the man now in the rotation if Guthrie is traded? Do fans want that? Then again, it does not matter what we want, as the team has to look to the future, not the present.
As for Koji, one could say the same.
If he goes, who do you replace him with? Koji’s age and durability are concerns to anyone who acquires him; however, he is having an unbelievable season, and will his value ever be this high?
Then again, Uehara probably the best reliever in Baltimore’s bullpen, wanted to stay with the organization in the off-season and is extremely affordable.
In a perfect world, he would not be traded. As it is, these guys are commodities, and if you can deal them for something viable, sometimes you have to take the risk.
