The Orioles – and the fan base – cannot be more excited to see the calendar turn to June. It was a very frustrating month of May that saw the team continuously make mental mistakes and produce an offense that finished 27th in runs and dead last in OPS in all of baseball. Consider that they also played three “home games” on the road to start the month and it is certainly a relief to bid May a fond Gary Thorne “adieu, adieu.”

Luckily, the American League East is a joke this season so the O’s find themselves just two games out of first place. On this day last year, the Orioles were one game over .500 and 4.5 games out of first place. I can barely remember what I did last week, but I think we can all agree that the 2014 Orioles didn’t look as bad as they have this year through the first two months of the year.

TILLMAN CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE

Did Chris Tillman and Ubaldo Jimenez change bodies? Tillman averaged 2.9 walks last season per nine innings while Jimenez averaged 5.5. This year Tillman is averaging 4.8 walks per nine and Jimenez is averaging 2.4. Crazy. That is the number one reason while Tillman is having the terrible season that he is. Tillman has been known to have his struggles and it takes him a couple innings to hit his stride, but this year he hasn’t been able to get things back on track.

The Orioles need Tillman to get right, and it starts with his fastball command. We can analyze Tillman all day, but it comes down to him being able to throw strikes more consistently. When that happens, the Chris Tillman we have grown accustomed to seeing will return.

WILL THE OFFENSE SNAP OUT OF THEIR MAY FUNK?

Look at the O’s lineup the last couple of days without Adam Jones and you can see why the team has struggled to score runs. I have been on record that you can’t compete all season with Delmon Young batting in the middle of the order so of course he hits two home runs on Sunday!

I still stand behind my earlier statement. Young is a great part-time player and a late inning weapon off the bench, but his defense along with his lack of power limits him to being a guy who shouldn’t be in the lineup everyday.

Jimmy Paredes has hit his first slump, but without the track record, you wonder if this is just a slump or if he is regressing to the player who has bounced around from team-to-team throughout his career.

I wonder if the plan to bench Matt Wieters every other day will remain. The Orioles desperately need his bat and Caleb Joseph’s average is now down to .254. Buck Showalter left open the possibility of Wieters coming back a day earlier and being used as the DH. If swinging the bat doesn’t affect his elbow and is still considered a rest day, I don’t see why this can’t be the plan. This will also force Paredes into a platoon role which could be exactly what he needs to get his swing back.

[Related: Potential O’s Trade Targets to Bolster the Offense]

The corner outfield continues to be the black hole of the Orioles offense so it’s only a matter of time before Dan Duquette digs into the minor leagues to find a replacement. Chris Parmelee appears to be the favorite, but we can’t discount Nolan Reimold either. Other names to consider are Henry Urrutia and Dariel Alvarez with a dark horse being Mike Yastrzemski.

The bottom line: The Orioles have candidates who can be recalled and fill a position that is in desperate need of a boost. The team has given these guys two months, so it’s time to make a move. Some will say it is well past the time to make a move.