13th in AL in Pitching

[GoldGlove21]

I don't think you are. Seems like you are using the one game where Saunders

beat the O's. But ignore what his ERA is.

The Orioles have better defense, but the Safeco defense is the huge field where it is harder to hit it out than Camden Yards. I do not miss Saunders, but I do miss Chen.

[ShaneDawg85]

Freddy Garcia 2013 stats: 5.47 innings per start, ERA of 4.7, 38.1 total innings.

Joe Saunders 2013 stats: 5.92 innings per start, ERA of 5.2, 71 total innings.

Saunders is younger, in better shape, and has more left in the tank than Garcia.

And he makes $6 million a year to be a mediocre starter whose only saving grace is pitching in an extreme pitchers park, without which his numbers would make Freddy Garcia look like Cy Young.

[dtk9119]

Bottom line, our SP sucks right now and the BP is overused and worn out as a result. It was inexcusable to give up all those HRs to a AA ball club last night. DD MUST acquire something to bolster this rotation or we are finished. Joe Saunders would not be the answer, we need a #1/2 starter, period.

[Crazysilver03]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/pitching/year/2013/seasontype/2/league/al

I just can't see us putting together a long winning streak or going to the playoffs, let alone winning in the playoffs, until our pitching improves.

What cards does DD have left in his hand? He played Gausman. What's left? Wada? We will make a trade by the middle of July if the pitching stays this inconsistent.

Wada is no answer. He has shower nothing positive since going on his rehab appearances.

[Crazysilver03]

Bottom line, our SP sucks right now and the BP is overused and worn out as a result. It was inexcusable to give up all those HRs to a AA ball club last night. DD MUST acquire something to bolster this rotation or we are finished. Joe Saunders would not be the answer, we need a #1/2 starter, period.

I agree that the pitching needs improvement but it is silly to say it was inexcusable to give up home runs to AA hitters. All the players that hit home runs would be on a major league team somewhere.

[jtschrei]

Dude, that is just ignorant.

Saunders is not a savior. The fact of the matter is yes the Orioles starters are struggling right now. Gonzo is coming off a blister problem, those happen, Chen got injured, again it happens. Arrieta and Britton crapped the bed big time, that hurts. Gausman is probably up here too soon, but it is too soon to tell on him. Hammel has had issues and Tillman has at least been holding the fort.

Hopefully Chen can get back soon-ish, Hammel can rebound from a crappy outing and Gausman can settle in.

The talent is there, but it has been struggling this year - no doubt.

You want to talk about that, fine - but don't come in here lamenting the loss of a pitcher who has an ERA over nine outside of that canyon of a ball park in Seattle. Saunders is not the difference here, the difference has been injuries to Chen and Gonzo.

Nailed it. Saunders is no savior. The question is: don't we still need another guy? What if Gausman does not settle in? What if Hammel continues to struggle? Those are legitimate fears. Then I think you're looking at a team that will be slightly above .500 all year (IF the hitting holds up) and looking up at the Red Sox and Yankees.

I think it's wishful thinking to believe this pitching staff is going to turn it around without an infusion of one or two guys. It's June. I don't see the answer in the minors.

[SilentJames]

Nailed it. Saunders is no savior. The question is: don't we still need another guy? What if Gausman does not settle in? What if Hammel continues to struggle? Those are legitimate fears. Then I think you're looking at a team that will be slightly above .500 all year (IF the hitting holds up) and looking up at the Red Sox and Yankees.

I think it's wishful thinking to believe this pitching staff is going to turn it around without an infusion of one or two guys. It's June. I don't see the answer in the minors.

Well there is no real answer. And once again the Orioles are in a position where trading people is a difficult option because they really don't have any valuable chips. Now, if you want to take a REAL chance, a guy like McLouth (as much as I love him) may become expendable if Urrutia [sic] really turns it on in the minors and forces the issue.

Hell could Urrutia be trade bait to a rebuilding squad like KC or the Cubs? I know we would love to have our own defector, but...

That being said the Orioles pitching staff will likely only get significantly better if the pieces that are already here settle down. Hammel is better than what he has shown, maybe not as good as last year but certainly better than what he has been so far. Tillman seems to be settling in, Gausman had one great game - lets see him have another. Gonzo has been fine most of the year and I will give him one bad start coming off a blister injury. We need Chen back and Wada to get better.

[SilentJames]

I agree that the pitching needs improvement but it is silly to say it was inexcusable to give up home runs to AA hitters. All the players that hit home runs would be on a major league team somewhere.

I'm really not to butthurt over last night's game. I mean the Astros DID just come off a six game winning streak last week and they ARE an MLB team. Games like last night's do happen, just think this is how other teams used to feel about us when we did it to them.

Consider last night's game one of the mathematically guaranteed 54 losses. We didn't stand a chance.

[Mizerooskie]

New guy can't be serious, can he?

There are probably dozens of minor league pitchers DD could acquire that would put up comparable numbers to Saunders. I'm not worried about the #5 SP slot. They'll put together some hodge-ppodge and make it work. I worry about the #1 SP, and how he's been terrible.

[CryinSloberts]

Gausman pitched pretty well in his last start.... no? Seems like he isn't being mentioned whatsoever, and im sorry but ill take Gausman over Saunders any day.

[Malike]

We're probably going to surrender more HR in a season than any team ever, lol. The pitching has been brutal. It's a shame, even with decent pitching we'd probably be running away with the division.

[Going Underground]

Has any team won a pennant with an ERA in the bottom five in baseball? I know the Rangers used to have great hitting and no pitching and never won . Rockies and Cubs also had some hitting teams and very little pitching. They say pitching win games.

[SilentJames]

We're probably going to surrender more HR in a season than any team ever, lol. The pitching has been brutal. It's a shame, even with decent pitching we'd probably be running away with the division.

We are on pace right now to give up 233 HR for the year, that is close to the record of 241 set by the 1996 Tigers. Odds are I don't think that will happen.

[dtk9119]

I agree that the pitching needs improvement but it is silly to say it was inexcusable to give up home runs to AA hitters. All the players that hit home runs would be on a major league team somewhere.

I have no empirical evidence or hard stats to back this up, but IMO Pena and Altuve are the only players in that line up last night that would have a legitimate shot at starting on the majority of other MLB teams. Carter is the only other one and he didn't even play last night.

[larrytt]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/pitching/year/2013/seasontype/2/league/al

I just can't see us putting together a long winning streak or going to the playoffs, let alone winning in the playoffs, until our pitching improves.

What cards does DD have left in his hand? He played Gausman. What's left? Wada? We will make a trade by the middle of July if the pitching stays this inconsistent.

Some people look at a glass and say it's half full. Some people look at it and say it's half empty. Some look at a glass that's 80% full and say the sky is falling, the sun is exploding, and the universe will implode. With our current pitching, we're in a pennant race. When you say you "just can't see us putting together a long winning streak or going to the playoffs," that's a failure on your part. What would be more rational to say is that it's going to be a very tough battle if the pitching doesn't get better. Why do some people assume that pitchers with track records and young up-and-coming pitchers will continue to pitch poorly just because they haven't pitched well so far? Perhaps some of us have a short memory about how much our pitching improved the last two months last year. Last year it was June and July when the pitching fell apart (ERA's of 4.66 and 4.61), then in Aug and Sept they were at 3.69 and 3.35. This year we were at 3.81 in April; it fell apart in May with a 5.06, and yet we're still in the race due to our hitting, and could be in first if not for a few freak closer implosions. The odds are overwhelming that the pitching will get better than it was in May.