Time to give another starter a chance

[Redskins Rick]

Britton was a failure as a starter. He isn't going to go from pitching an inning a night to pitching 7 innings. Gausman is seriously ill and wasn't even pitching 5 innings in triple A. There aren't better alternatives than what we have in the rotation now. I don't know why everyone is so anti Norris. He has been effective this year. Actually he is barely behind Tillman in War this year for the team lead from pitchers.

I got beat up when I mentioned I saw one of those baseball projection publications list Bud as the team's #3 SP, of course, this was in ST and before the season start.

[oriole]

What about Joe Saunders? He is coming back from an injury and Texas' rotation is full. He was awful last year but he has been pretty consistent in his career otherwise and he looked great for us in 2012. Put Gonzo in the pen as a long guy.

[webbrick2010]

Stay the course..

There isn't any options in the minors that are a clear upgrade of the present rotation, and we are still in first place.

[crawjo]

The innings problem (and it is a serious problem at this point) is not going to go away. I'm not convinced it's a problem with approach. I think it's a problem with the fact that our pitchers just don't have the stuff to put hitters away early in counts. They aren't bad starters, per se, but they are all starters who will struggle to consistently get into the later innings, and I don't think that's changing.

I also think, because of this, we need Britton in the bullpen to absorb some of these innings. I don't think he'd be great at getting through the sixth inning either. So I'd rather have what is essentially a sixth starter in the bullpen to take some pressure off the other relievers.

But yeah, I think the chances are good our bullpen collapses in the second half of the season.

[wildcard]

Gausman is probably only about two weeks away from being in the majors. He would have been called up instead of McFarland if he would not have gotten sick.

Gausman has been held to a 75 pitch count in his starts so far this year. Roughly 5 innings at best. At some point in the near future that goes away.

Who does he replace? Well, who gets hurt or underperforms in the next two weeks? Could be a starter or a reliever but Gausman's time is coming soon.

[MurphDogg]

The innings problem (and it is a serious problem at this point) is not going to go away. I'm not convinced it's a problem with approach. I think it's a problem with the fact that our pitchers just don't have the stuff to put hitters away early in counts. They aren't bad starters, per se, but they are all starters who will struggle to consistently get into the later innings, and I don't think that's changing.

I also think, because of this, we need Britton in the bullpen to absorb some of these innings. I don't think he'd be great at getting through the sixth inning either. So I'd rather have what is essentially a sixth starter in the bullpen to take some pressure off the other relievers.

But yeah, I think the chances are good our bullpen collapses in the second half of the season.

Reading this made me think the Orioles must be last or near last in the league in innings pitched per start. Turns out they are 18th in the Majors, 7th in the AL, and 2nd in the AL East. Tampa Bay and Toronto are the worst two teams in the league by this stat. They are average in the AL in innings pitched per start. I'm not sure the Orioles situation is as bad as you think it is.

[El Gordo]

The time to give another SP a chance will be when one of the current SP is injured, or they are still not getting into the 6th inning consistently by the end of May. It takes time for pitchers to settle into a rhythm, both in a game, and in a season. Most don't hit their stride until mid/late May.

[Frobby]

The innings problem (and it is a serious problem at this point) is not going to go away.

Explain why it is a "serious problem at this point." We are 8th in a 15-team league in IP per start. I definitely would like to see improvement, but "average" doesn't scream "serious problem."

I also question the assumption that the "serious problem...is not going to go away." Gonzalez is far below his IP/start average from the two previous seasons. Others are capable of doing a little better than they are doing right now. I'm not saying the "problem" (if it is one) will go away, but there are reasons why our IP/start could improve a bit.

[sfosfan]

Britton was a failure as a starter. He isn't going to go from pitching an inning a night to pitching 7 innings. Gausman is seriously ill and wasn't even pitching 5 innings in triple A. There aren't better alternatives than what we have in the rotation now. I don't know why everyone is so anti Norris. He has been effective this year. Actually he is barely behind Tillman in War this year for the team lead from pitchers.

All your points make perfect sense, except for Britton- he may not go from being a bullpen pitcher to a 7 inning starter overnight, but I wouldn't rule him out so quickly. Britton is most likely not going to be a starter this year because he's by far the most effective bullpen pitcher right now Guasman certainly would be a candidate once he's recovered, and Norris most likely isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The O's are in or near first place, and nobody is going to shake up the rotation. We all know the starters are much better as a whole, than what they've been doing so far and hopefully they get back to normal soon. BUT if not, then definitely shake it up- unless things change, it's more of a question of when the shakeup happens, not if. My point is it's better to shake things up earlier rather than later, and I'd even consider starting someone new this month. The rest of the East isn't playing better than the O's, so if the birds can get some improvement in their starters asap, they could put some distance between everyone else. Losing 2 of 3 to KC isn't a sign things are getting better, and sometime in May would be a good time to shake things up if this continues. Not today, or this weekend.

[Redskins Rick]

Im really anxious to see if Jimenez can pitch into the 7th or later in back to back

starts. He was really good in Minnesota, make no mistake, but he had a lot of

hitters swinging at pitches out of the strike zone.Some of that is by design of

course, but if disciplined hitters lay off some of those pitches and he gets behind

in counts, I want to see how Ubaldo bounces back. Also, with a runner at 3rd,

Jimenez had a pitch drilled at Schoop at second and he made a fine play. If that

ball goes through, maybe Ubaldo isn't quite as effective because he doesn't get

a rhythm.I am really anxious to see how he pitches against Tampa. And Tillman

too.

Roy, I respect your love of the Orioles and the strong drive you have for this team to win.

But, sometimes, you over analysis.

You can play the what-if card on multiple points during every single game played.

We live on the edge and squeak by at times and of course the other team is hoping for those breaks to go their way too.

[Roll Tide]

Britton was a failure as a starter. He isn't going to go from pitching an inning a night to pitching 7 innings. Gausman is seriously ill and wasn't even pitching 5 innings in triple A. There aren't better alternatives than what we have in the rotation now. I don't know why everyone is so anti Norris. He has been effective this year. Actually he is barely behind Tillman in War this year for the team lead from pitchers.

Britton had a shoulder injury that derailed him. That doesn't mean he can't be a starter or can't be successful starting in the future. He would need to be stretched out over a couple of starts as any other guy we have in the pen.

[LA2]

Im really anxious to see if Jimenez can pitch into the 7th or later in back to back

starts. He was really good in Minnesota, make no mistake, but he had a lot of

hitters swinging at pitches out of the strike zone.Some of that is by design of

course, but if disciplined hitters lay off some of those pitches and he gets behind

in counts, I want to see how Ubaldo bounces back. Also, with a runner at 3rd,

Jimenez had a pitch drilled at Schoop at second and he made a fine play. If that

ball goes through, maybe Ubaldo isn't quite as effective because he doesn't get

a rhythm.I am really anxious to see how he pitches against Tampa. And Tillman

too.

The Twins were leading the league in walks at the beginning of the series and are still second. (Compare their current 143 walks vs. the O's 66!) So they were about as good a test of Ubaldo's artistry in this regard (swinging at pitches out of the strike zone) as you could wish for.

Just accept the fact that he pitched a great game and has the skills to pitch a lot more of them.

[crawjo]

Reading this made me think the Orioles must be last or near last in the league in innings pitched per start. Turns out they are 18th in the Majors, 7th in the AL, and 2nd in the AL East. Tampa Bay and Toronto are the worst two teams in the league by this stat. They are average in the AL in innings pitched per start. I'm not sure the Orioles situation is as bad as you think it is.

I don't think this team can get to the playoffs being average in innings per start. You are right, if your goal is to finish .500, then being seventh is fine.

[crawjo]

Also, here are the AL league leaders in pitches per inning.

1. Ubaldo Jimenez 18.2

2. Miguel Gonzalez 18.1

3. John Danks 18.0

4. Hector Santiago 17.8

5. Wei-Yin Chen 17.7

6. Chris Tillman 17.6

So four or our pitchers are in the top six. This is not a sustainable pattern for having a successful season. Because it's not like the extra work the bullpen is doing is saving our starters. Our starters are being pushed to the limit just to get through five innings. If the Orioles have four starters in the top six in the league in pitches per inning at the end of the season, we're not playing in October.

We're just not getting value per pitch thrown.

[weams]

I don't think this team can get to the playoffs being average in innings per start. You are right, if your goal is to finish .500, then being seventh is fine.

I can promise you that is not the team goal. I also know that the Orioles did not go out and get the starting pitching improvement to go deeper in games than they have during the off season. I guess we should have kept Hammel. In fact, I am surprised that the Orioles are in the middle of the pack here. Especially with Ubaldo pitching so poorly in April. We have no way in season to eliminate the high pitch counts unless we wish to make an edict to medicore starters that they throw fastballs over the plate and hope they are caught. The foul balls are a sign that our pitchers are not grooving those pitches. The answer is never to do that. Ubaldo will always walk quite a few. I suspect Tillman and Norris will be able to get deeper into games. Chen is a 90 pitch pitcher, before he gets hammered. There is a place for a guy like that in a rotation, but not at the top of the rotation. Gonzalez is great when his forkball works. To try to sustain that for seven innings is quite the feat.