It’s not been a very good week for the Baltimore Orioles.
On Saturday, they lost their sixth straight game as the Cleveland Indians won 8-3. Well, right now, the Orioles are in an ugly losing stretch and in all seriousness – are we seeing the real team, or just one in a skid?
Whatever is going on, the elements that helped the Orioles get off to a wonderful 6-1 start have gone away, and we are left watching a reminder of what last decade brought us.
Jeremy Guthrie took the loss as he gave up six earned runs in five innings. The pitching was ugly, the defense as well, and the team can’t get the offense going. When the Orioles got runners on base, they could not score. So far, the new offensive acquisitions have not done much. Yes, it is early; however, each one — Derrek Lee, Vladmir Guerrero and Mark Reynolds — have issues. Right now, I am not seeing much out of them.
They have to improve.
The Baltimore offense got ten hits on the day, but left nine men on base. Not good.
The Indians scored two runs in the second and four in the fourth inning. That was enough to put away the game.
Jake Fox homered, as did Luke Scott, but their efforts could not help the team.
Well, as much as we all love Jake Fox’s bat, I don’t think he’s a viable catcher for the team right now. I’d like to see someone like Tatum behind home plate as a backup and not him. There could be a role for him on the team – secondary DH, outfielder – but from what I am seeing, Buck made a very good point about Fox’s catching ability during Spring Training. He’s been the primary catcher in two blowouts so far this season. I don’t think he calls games that well, plus you cannot discount the passed balls today.
And Mike Gonzalez, oh boy.
The Orioles are no longer .500 and the feelings after the hot start have dissipated.
Let’s see if they can turn it around with Bergesen on the mound.
