Thursday Thoughts: O’s Bats Sleeping, but Pitching Still Biggest Issue

This is a weekly column that dives into eight random thoughts about the Orioles/MLB. Why eight? It’s a nod to Cal Ripken Jr. of course. That, and doing 2,632 of these would be a little overboard. – A.S.

1. It would appear the dog days of summer are here for the Orioles bats. The offense has gone stale over the past few weeks, much like some of the food the team must’ve eaten. I feel like everyone knew that as long as this team could hit the way it is capable, they’d be in the hunt. When that doesn’t happen like it’s supposed to, you get ugly games like we’ve seen in recent days.

In the long run, I’m not too worried about the bats. There is enough of a track record to show that they will come around. Sometimes, you end up with multiple players struggling at the same time. Right now, Jonathan Schoop is just about the only player really hitting the cover off the ball. That won’t cut it for the long haul, but I think the O’s are just hitting a speed bump offensively.

2. The Orioles are all of a sudden getting hit with the injury (and flu) bug. Hyun Soo Kim is on the disabled list and Chris Davis has been ill, but not in the way that you want him to be. Matt Wieters is perhaps the most concerning of all, after having taken a pitch off the foot the other night. Caleb Joseph has not proven to be great with the bat as a backup to Wieters this season.

This weird illness hitting the team is not a big concern, more of just a nuisance. Darren O’Day might be on his way back soon, but the depth is getting tested. If the Orioles are going to hang on for dear life in the AL East, they can’t afford to start having guys go down.

3. It still feels weird to me that Dylan Bundy and Vance Worley are making starts for this team in July. I wrote a piece over at MASNSports.com earlier this week about my feelings on Bundy starting, and I’ll emphasize that it just doesn’t feel right. This goes back to the offseason, when the Orioles failed to acquire any real starting pitchers. That’s been the biggest issue with this team, and will continue to be for the long-term future. I don’t see an easy fix. Worley surely isn’t a fix, and while Bundy may help down the road, getting a few innings out of him as a starter (and in the process removing him from a role in which he was excelling) hurts the club.

4. The Orioles had enjoyed a division lead since early last month, but they’ve now kissed it goodbye. A few weeks back, I pointed out that the O’s would be battling the Red Sox and Blue Jays for the AL East. That’s all this is. The Orioles have played their worst baseball of the season over the last few days, and for their efforts, they’ve lost the lead in the division.

It was nice sitting on top for a while, but now they are the hunters again. Scoring ten runs in the first six games out of the All-Star break will see you drop a few games in the standings. The Orioles never really pulled away over the last month or so that they had the lead, so it’s not surprising that they’ve now lost it.

5. I’m not going to panic about the latest stretch of baseball for the Orioles. It’s just not worth it to me. It’s a bit concerning that the Orioles have fallen off a cliff offensively, but it’s not going to break them. The offense will return without a doubt. The team isn’t going to hit like this until September.

For a few days, the Orioles can get away with failing to hit their way out of a paper bag. In the long run, it’s short starts from the pitching and a strain on the bullpen that I still worry about more than anything.

6. This will serve as your annual reminder to take all trade rumors you hear with a grain of salt. The Orioles are going to be linked to a ton of players in the coming weeks, and it’s likely that they’ll only make one or two deals. They will also likely be minor deals.

Remember, the Orioles don’t have a lot to offer teams. This is the time of year where teams always overpay for players, and the O’s simply don’t have the bullets in the chamber. I’ve said all along, if the Birds can add one arm, maybe two, to the bullpen, I’d be happy. They don’t have the horses to go out and get a starter, so shortening the game in the opposite direction would work for me.

GulfBird Sports/Craig Landefeld

7. The Orioles’ decision to remove Henry Urrutia from the 40-man roster this week wasn’t a surprise, but it doesn’t make it any less tough. The 29-year-old was designated for assignment but may remain in the organization. Urrutia was never going to be an All-Star, but there was briefly some hope that he could come up and be a big league contributor. He got a cup of coffee in 2013 and again last year. Urrutia’s story is more of a feel-good one, and it’s been well-documented.

There’s no real need to re-hash his biography here, as it can be found easily. You’d be hard-pressed to find an Orioles fan, or a baseball fan, who wouldn’t root for a guy like that. I’m included in that group.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Bowie Baysox to become Bowie Baysox to honor rock-star David Bowie Fri. 7/22 https://t.co/UWF0Mf4dmN pic.twitter.com/qiZ5ZnDAWf

— Bowie Baysox (@BowieBaysox) July 18, 2016

8. The Bowie Baysox are doing one of those whacky minor league team promotions tomorrow night. They’re ch-ch-ch-changing their name to honor the late Davie Bowie. Instead of the Bowie (BOO-ee) Baysox, they’ll be called the Bowie (BOH-ee) Baysox for a night. Virtually no one outside of Maryland knows how to properly pronounce Bowie (the city) anyhow, so they might as well embrace it.

The Baysox are even wearing special uniforms that they’ll auction off for charity. Good on the Baysox, because not only are minor league promotions like this one crazy and fun, but they present good opportunities to help a worthy cause.