So here we are seven games into the season and we have taken two of three on the road from Tampa Bay and lost three straight, two to a Minnesota team that won 67 games last year (although they did take two of three from the Detroit Tigers in their first series.)
We have seen Brian Roberts start off well and get hurt again. We have seen Chris Davis do his best impression of Babe Ruth. We have seen Jake Arrietta up to his usual stuff and we have endured three one-run losses. Its been an eventful first seven games for the Os and those of us fans who have ridden a very short distance of a 162 game rollercoaster that always has it’s ups and downs.
PO’s Take so Far:
-The starting pitching has been pretty much what I expected. The top three have been solid, not great, but all have left in having given the Os a chance to win the game. We knew Arrietta had to prove himself but I am not sold on Tillman either, he has to give us a full season of success. Last year he showed us a lot but again it was in one half of a season although clearly his strongest showing in any stretch. Tillman did not pitch to many major leaguers during spring training nor did he get a lot of work but Buck says he got enough innings and that similar pitchers like Chen did not face a lot of major leaguers in spring training either but have been just fine.
-The relief pitching to me has not been as shaky as everyone says it has been. Ayala did have a bad outing, and Strop was a hard luck pitcher with the way the defense was positioned in that second game as well. He and Ayala bounced back well against Minnesota and for Ayala against Boston as well. O’Day and McFarland have looked good early on and remember Jim Johnson had some shaky saves last year too. He did seem to lose focus after the Davis error against Minnesota on Saturday night. He can’t go south when that stuff happens. Brian Matusz has picked up where he left off late last year. Tommy Hunter bounced back as well after Game 2 in Tampa Bay although he is the one guy that scares me. Sure the pen will cool some from last year but where is the problem so far???
-Chris Davis was considered an above average first baseman before he got here and has recommitted himself to first after admitting he did not put in enough time there last year. Despite Saturday night’s error which hurt, I expect he will be solid at first – not looking for a Gold Glover just a solid guy. Although there is no doubt when Mark Reynolds went to 1st last year he played near or at Gold Glove level defense.
-I am hoping Reimold gets his timing back and hitting #9 tonight should relieve him of any pressure. The talent is there and we saw a glimpse at the beginning of last year before he got hurt. This kid can hit he just has to stay healthy.
-Ryan Flaherty won’t see any fastballs until he hits the breaking pitches but you cannot do that looking at third strikes.
-Good to see JJ Hardy popping a few homers. Hopefully he brings the average back up but even if he ends up at say .245, hopefully he can revert to 2011 form and get 30 HRs again after just 23 last year.
-I am glad to see Nick Markakis hitting well and with some success at leadoff. He can hit #1, 2 or 3 which gives Buck a lot of options.
Finally…look I said it on my program on 105-7 The Fan: I thought the Red Sox were going to start off hot because they are rejuvinated with Bobby Valentine out of the picture and some malcontents gone. There is still some talent there and Napoli adds power to the lineup. Along with Victorino, the two FA adds have played well so far.
With Lester and Buckholtz pitching well, if they can get something between Dempster and Doubrant, you couple that with a heck of a bullpen and the Red Sox will do just fine this year. That is not to say they will win it all but they are a better team so if the Os can take two of three that would be huge but first thing first and that is end the three game losing streak tonight. As if Arrietta did not have enough pressure, he needs to do well tonight for himself and the team.
BTW-on the Orioles’ trade of Luis Ayala earlier today:
I am not thrilled in the short term with trading away a savvy vet who has a lot of AL East experiance and did very well for the Os last year. However we knew with two lefties, TJ McFarland and Brian Matusz, in the pen that increased the pen to eight and cutting short the bench to three that something was going to happen. Ayala has more value I think than Tommy Hunter simply because of track record.
In the long term the Os got a left handed reliever from a well respected organization that always seems to have a lot of minor league talent. We will find out which Ayala we dealt away, the one that gave up the homerun in Tampa Bay in Game 2 or the Ayala that bounced back and had a solid outing against Minnesota.
Maybe we traded him away at the right time but I am sorry to see him go.
