Orioles in Big Trouble

The Baltimore Orioles have been struggling lately, they are still contending, but everyday looking more and more like pretenders. If you had told me before the year, that the Orioles would start like this, I would not have believed you. This team came out guns blazing and actually looked like a playoff team for the first time in a long time. However, now we are in trouble. Unless something is done we will fall off now just like every year since 1997, it will just be later this time.

So how bad is it?

The Orioles lost to the Twins last night 19-7. Chris Tillman (who pitched 8+ in his last outing and looked brilliant) gave up 7 runs in 2/3 of an inning. He didn't even get out of the 1st. Just when you think Tillman put it together, he didn't. Same old Tillman, I mean the guy still hasn't won back to back big league start. That fact alone is utterly insane. It gets worse...

We all know we have been without our leadoff hitter Nolan Reimold for the majority of the year. Reimold was actually our second leadoff hitter after Brian Roberts was hurt. Brian Roberts makes an amazing comeback and then...he gets hurt again. Roberts appears done, in all fairness though Roberts wasn't doing much since he came back other than the 1st game. This is where it gets really ugly though, Roberts backup at 2nd base, Robert Andino, also got hurt recently and is on the DL. So we are now left with Tolleson and Flaherty at 2nd. It still hasn't reached the worst part, Jason Hammel is on the DL and we don't know for how long. Hammel has been our most reliable starter and has been lights out. His injury now marks us having 4 guys from our opening day starting rotation now out of that rotation.

How do we fix it?
The X-Man commeth
Xavier Avery needs to be back in Baltimore. For whatever reason he gives the team a spark. They play with more energy when he is on the team. He should be here. If you are worried about their splits, have no fear. I have another solution. Bring up LJ Hoes. Hoes and Avery should platoon in left for Baltimore for the rest of the year. It is by far our best option and the two are rather close.

Trade the calvary

I am not saying trade the farm, I am saying trade the "calvary" guys. I most often hear the calvary referred to as Tillman, Matusz, and Arrieta. These are the 3 guys to trade. Their value has soured over time, but I am done with this group. The only one I have any hope that he will regain his former self is Arrieta. Even with him I say get rid of him.

Make the Grienke trade and bring Rickie Weeks with Him

Sure Weeks is struggling, but he is a heck of a lot better than what we have at 2nd base. Grienke is sorely needed at this time, we need an ace. Trade for him and extend him. He already said he doesn't want to play in a major market, so maybe just maybe that gives us the edge. We are said to have the inside track at least.

Trade for Jason Vargas and Offer to take Chone Figgins

It can't be said enough that we need pitching. One way to get pitching is to offer to take bad other teams bad contract. Figgins is a bad contract, and he can help us. He is a solid glove at 3b and a decent leadoff hitter. I know he has underperformed, but he can help. Offering to take back Figgins will also limit what we have to give up. There is a chance that by offering to take Figgins and offering to give up a prospect, that we can actually get King Felix. Imagine that guy in Baltimore.

Who do we trade?

Try to limit the prospects. In 1997 in order to make a playoff run, we gutted our farm system. Due to that and extremely poor drafting/development since then we have struggled to recover. We don't want to get into that situation again to try to make a run. So trade the guys we deem losers that we think failed.

Trade Matusz

Trade Tillman

Trade Arrieta

Trade Gregg

Trade Chavez

Trade Pearce

Trade Reynolds

Trade Adams

Trade Mahoney

Trade Flaherty

Trade Betemit

Trade Exposito

Trade Bergessen

Start with that group and see what we can get. If they want Davis in a deal and it nets us a part of our future then go for it. No matter what though, I say trade all of that group either now or in the offseason and see what we can get. They offer us little at the moment. Those three arms hold a lot of value in Milwaukee if we want to offer some up for Grienke. Kranitz actually had some success with the calvary back in 2010. All I know is I want pitchers and guys that want to win. Mark Reynolds doesn't say I want to win to me. The best move we have internally though is Hoes/Avery. Don't forget either that Zach Britton pitches tonight. Britton is the 2nd best pitcher in the organization behind Bundy. So it may be alright for one night.

-Noland

Orioles Update

Yesterday, was one of the Orioles best games of the season. Luckily, I was there to see a great game. Matt Wieters stole the show for the Orioles. Wieters had a huge home run in the 8th to bail out the pathetic Oriole offense. Well, they aren't pathetic, but they have been lately. That home run was a pretty impressive sight as the baseball was absolutely crushed. Not only that, but Wieters called a great game behind the plate. Additionally, he ended the game in impressive fashion. The game ended on a strike 'em out, throw 'em out. I have never seen a game end like that, so it was impressive for me.

The pitching was tremendous. Arrieta was awesome and only gave up one run in earning a quality start. Hopefully, Arrieta can duplicate his success in this start with all the rest of his starts. Pedro Strop went in for just 1/3 of an inning and managed to pick up the win. Strop is now (4-2) after the victory. The dude is dirty. After Strop comes Jim Johnson. The closer managed to pick up his 22nd save of the season. I'd take Johnson over any relief pitcher in baseball. All-Star.

Nolan Reimold underwent successful surgery today, so that is good. Reimold is a possibility to return this year, but it is very doubtful. Still, it is good news that there was no setback with the surgery.

Finally, Miguel Tejada asked for and was granted his release. No more worrying if Tejada will return to Baltimore.

-Noland

Orioles Beat Pirates

Before I get into the Orioles beating the Pirates in back to back games, I want to say that I will get to Matt Cain's perfect game at some point today. It may be part of the all-star post, if Cain makes my NL Squad for pitchers. However, as always the Orioles come first here at RAN.

Brian Matusz was injured from the batting cage incident the other day, so he had to have his start moved back a day. That change called for a new starter last night. Therefore, Jake Arrieta who was working on normal rest was re-inserted into the starting rotation after being moved to the bullpen following his last start. Based on how he was pitching lately, we should have expected disaster. We actually got brilliance for Arrieta though. Arrieta got a quality start as he went 7 innings and only gave up one run. The performance also got Arrieta a win and raised his record to (3-8). His ERA is still an awful 5.89, but he did earn another start. Hopefully, this is the start of a big change for Jake.

Pedro Strop also pitched well in this one. Strop pitched a scoreless ninth for the birds. That lowered Strop's ERA to 1.44. You might see Strop on my list of all-stars later today as well.

Brian Roberts went hitless in the 7-1 victory, but his average is still .333. JJ Hardy was 3-4 with 3 runs scored. Chris Davis was 3-4 with 3 RBIs. Davis also hit his 12th home run of the season and is now hitting .305. If 1st base in the AL wasn't so stacked, Davis would have a real shot at the all-star game. He may make it still. New OF Steve Pearce was 2-4 with an RBI. Pearce is hitting .286 since joining the Orioles. Not to shabby, Steve. Finally, the star of the night offensively was Wilson Betemit. He was 3-3 with 3 RBIs. Betemit also had his 8th home run of the season. Some may not like what Wilson provides and may liken him to Vlad, but Wilson has provided solid production for the Orioles. Are there other players I would rather have? Of course, but Wilson gets the job done.

-Noland

Orioles Beat Nationals

The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Washington Nationals last night in game one of the beltway series. The Orioles were lead by a tremendous pitching effort as they gave up only one run in 11 innings. Jake Arrieta had his best start in a while as he only gave up 1 run over 7. Arrieta keeps the quality start streak going for the O's. If they can have quality starts every game, they will win the overwhelming majority of them.

The bullpen was absolutely flawless. Darren O'Day went 1 1/3 innings and was perfect as he didn't allow a baserunner. O'Day now has an ERA of 1.37. Troy Patton finished an inning going 2/3 of an inning and was also perfect. Then came Kevin Gregg...Gregg pitched a perfect inning as well. He lowered his ERA to 3.46 and has been perfect for several outings in a row now. What happened here? Kevin Gregg also won the game and now has 2 victories on the year. You know what they say, "every game there's a different star that's the magic of Orioles baseball." Finally, Pedro Strop came in for the final inning and picked up his 3rd save of the season. Strop did give up a hit, but it didn't matter as he preserved the 2-1 victory.

The offense came through for the birds also. Nick Markakis had one of his best games of the year as he had two extra base hits. Markakis had his 9th double of the season and his 7th home run. His power numbers have definitely come up, although his average has dipped. He now is hitting .258 for the season when he is usually around .300. This guy still has plenty of time to bring it up though. The other Oriole outfielders both had 2 hits. Xavier Avery went 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, and a run scored. This guy continues to impress. Avery is now hitting .280. Adam Jones went 2 for 5 with an RBI. Game 2 will feature

-Noland

Arrieta & Wieters Help O's Defeat the Evil Empire

Jake Arrieta could not have pitched any better against the Yankees tonight. The young starter pitched 8 innings and completely shut down New York. Arrieta had 9 strikeouts and did not give up a single run. He was the biggest reason that the Orioles beat New York 5-0 tonight.

Arrieta did not do it alone though. After all you do have to have somebody call the game and you do have to score runs. Cue Matt Wieters. Wieters was 3 for 4 including a home run and a double. The Orioles catcher is clearly the best in the league and it is about time the rest of baseball took notice. Wieters is as good as it gets in a backstop.

Robert Andino also continued his amazing season tonight. Andino was 3 for 3 with an RBI. The second baseman also walked and is just a gamer. Markakis, Hardy, and Nick Johnson also had multiple hits. You read that correctly, Nick Johnson had multiple hits. Johnson had his first multi hit game of the season tonight. The Orioles were able to take 2 of 3 from the Yankees.

-Noland

Orioles Lose, Drop From 1st to 3rd

Is this where the slide begins? The Orioles were riding high early this season and now they look like the typical Orioles teams with no life. They also have the key injuries that fit all Oriole teams. Brian Roberts is still hurt for the what seems like the 5th straight season. I believe it is the 3rd straight season though with Roberts' injuries. Robert Andino has been having a solid year though so that one hasn't hurt the O's too bad. Nolan Reimold has been an animal with the bat this season, but he was out of the lineup last night due to neck spasms. Reimold is our replacement leadoff hitter, he was hitting .370 with 5 home runs. If Reimold is out for any serious length of time, it is big time trouble. Speaking of neck problems, Tsuyoshi Wada was shut down yesterday for neck spasms. Guess we will not see him anytime soon.

Now for the actual game. Jake Arrieta has been outstanding this season and started outstanding again last night. Unfortunately, for Jake he got rocked in the 5th inning. I for one am not gonna hang this one on Jake because of one bad inning. If we hadn't been playing the Angels we still may have pulled it out.

Hard to pull it out though when your offense has no life. Nick Johnson once again went hitless and is still at .000. How long do we remain patient with Johnson? Reimold's replacement Endy Chavez led off and went 0 for 4. He will get a longer rope than Johnson, but hitting .125 just doesn't cut it. JJ Hardy was also 0 for 4. My least favorite Oriole besides Kevin Gregg (Mark Reynolds) went 0 for 3. Just a punchless night from the offense.

There are some positives from last night though.
1) The Orioles found a taker for Josh Bell, more on that trade later
2) Matt Wieters hit his 5th home run
3) Adam Jones was 2 for 4 and is now hitting .311
4) Matt Lindstrom had another scoreless outing

That's it though. Maybe next time.

-Noland

Orioles Bobble Head Vote

The Baltimore Orioles on September 29th will be having a bobble head giveaway and they are letting you choose who is the bobblehead chosen.
Here are the options.
You can vote from your phone as often as you want.
Text 31826 to submit your choice:

• "1" or "Reynolds" for Mark Reynolds
• "2" or "Hardy" for JJ Hardy
• "3" or "Hunter" for Tommy Hunter
• "4" or "Arrieta" for Jake Arrieta
• "5" or "Andino" for Robert Andino

I chose Andino, I mean how can you not, just look at the guy. Although I will not be going to the game most likely, I will certainly send someone to get me an Andino bobblehead here if he wins. To me he is the clear choice although I am a big JJ fan as well. There is no chance Hunter or Reynolds win so who you got between JJ, Jake, and Andino.

-Noland