Despite a middling, 12-12 start to the 2014 season, the Orioles have managed to stay in tight contention in the AL East, but all-too-familiar problems could threaten to set them back without important changes.
Last year’s Orioles were in the playoff mirror for much of the season, buoyed by the spectacular season of Chris Davis in which the first baseman led the Major Leagues in home runs and RBI.
Yet that team couldn’t get over the proverbial hump when consistent problems of poor starting pitching, overuse and tiring of the bullpen, and disappearing bats late in the season, caused them to narrowly miss out on the playoffs.
In the offseason, general manager Dan Duquette made some important moves to fix those problem areas in adding reliable #2 starter Ubaldo Jimenez and the slugging bat of former All-Star Nelson Cruz, both at relative bargains.
The Cruz addition has already paid off with the DH/OF driving in a team high 25 RBI and mashing seven home runs. Jimenez, notoriously a slow starter, has struggled through his first month of starts with strong innings followed by disastrous innings with seemingly no predictability or consistency.
But even if the O’s can be given a pass on Jimenez, who may yet turn a corner and turn in a fine season, the Orioles have consistently struggled to get starting pitchers through the 7th inning, even the 6th inning, and the bullpen, so critically important to the 2012 Orioles’ playoff run, is already showing signs of tiring out.
This can’t be good news to manager Buck Showalter when previously-reliable Evan Meek entered a 3-3 game against the Toronto Blue Jays and proceeded to serve up a game-deciding three-run homer after being used regularly in games before the Toronto contest.
Showalter also cannot be happy to see certain starters appearing to regress – such as Miguel Gonzalez who has struggled mightily this season, and whose stuff was described by one league GM as “back of the rotation” stuff.
Add to this the fact that Davis has hit only two home runs this year with 13 RBI before being forced onto the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique.
While it is only fair to point out that teams have been readily pitching around Davis, the slugger hasn’t seemed himself just yet, not as comfortable at the plate, and when Davis has been thrown the ball, his strike out numbers have been increasing.
Add to this J.J. Hardy’s on-again, off-again back problems and Manny Machado’s continued absence and the problems of starters like Gonzalez not being able to get into the 7th inning are even more magnified.
The Orioles also continue to stumble against teams they need to blow away. The Royals, for example, aren’t a bad team, but are like a lesser version of the Tampa Bay Rays – excellent pitching, moderate hitting. In the case of the Royals, it is perhaps better described as “barely adequate” hitting with some of the worst stats in the AL in power numbers in hitting.
Yet, at home, where teams need to be able to win, the Orioles somehow managed to lose two of three. It would have been understandable to lose to superstar pitcher James Shields, but the O’s also were mystified in Friday’s game when they constantly threatened the Royals but simply couldn’t put anything together against rookie Yordano Ventura.
If the Orioles want to make this year a playoff year, some of these areas have to improve – especially when playing teams at home. So far, Baltimore lost two of three to the Red Sox at home, then two of three to Toronto at home, and now two of three to the Royals. That’s not a good trend.
We’ve seen this last year when the O’s simply couldn’t get things done against teams they needed to beat, like the San Diego Padres or Chicago White Sox, who struggled against most playoff-caliber squads.
The Orioles may need to find a replacement for Gonzalez who just isn’t winning games or pitching well – perhaps Johan Santana or another pitcher from the minors can be called up. But the O’s can’t let the same troubles from last year derail them once again.
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photo: Craig Landefeld
