We have our #3: Guthrie

[Pruke]

I'm on board the bandwagon, but I'd like to see him do it two times in a row.

I almost feel like beggers can't be choosers and the O's are begging for some spark in the rotation behind Bedard - something MORE than Trax. No Loewen, a mediocre DCab, no Penn, a learning on the fly Burres.

It could also be said that the rotation is not the reason the O's have lost 70% of their last 20 games or so.

[TinCup]

We have another "starter" is what I would say...

Again, IMO, this whole "#3", or "#4" stuff is so overused, so concocted, artificial.

A starter is a starter is a starter.

[RustyMcNail]

And, on top of that, he is not striking anyone out.

I would feel alot better about Guthrie is he was striking out hitters. A guy with his stuff, especially his fastball, should be striking out hitters at a much better rate.

I'd rather have a guy like Guthrie pitching to contact successfully, keeping his pitches per plate appearence and his walks down to a minimum, and holding his 97mph fastball in reserve to get a strike out when he really needs it. Frankly, I'm getting a little tired of strikout pitchers who who throw 95+, pile up over 100 pitches in less than six innings, show promise for 3-4 years and keep underachieving despite their unquestionable tools.

Guthrie knows how to pitch better than anyone in the starting rotation, excepting possible Trachsel, and Guthrie has far better stuff than Trachsel.

[RustyMcNail]

Now, i am liking what i have seen from Guthrie but to call him a #3 is way too premature...Hell, based on his MiL stats, to call him a #5 is premature.

Based on his 2007 stats so far he's been pitching like a number one. (yes, i know its only been two starts and a couple of BP appearences) Bedard, Cabrera, Loewen, and Trachsel have all struggled with command. Guthrie should stay in the rotation. At least we'll have someone that can give the BP a blow once in awhile. By the end of the season, we may all be calling for the FO to dump the million dollar underachieving starter rotation and look for more Guthries.

[RustyMcNail]

Right, there have been more balls hit hard off of him today than you will see off of Bedard or DCab in 2 or 3 starts.

This is part of the reason i want to see more K's from him.

What game were you watching??? The only game that was as well pitched as this one was the game that Bedard pitched against Tampa Bay, and as usual he was gassed after the 7th. Of course that one ended with the overtaxed bullpen losing it.

[Rockbird]

Sure, I'd be thrilled if Guthrie goes and rattles off 9 quality starts in ten tries even if he never strikes out a batter again for the rest of his life.

I'm just saying that we need to measure our expectations, because the oft-maligned Oriole Defense is not going to continue to afford him this awesome kind of play(.787 DER as a starter), so either the K's go up or the success likely goes down.

Any new thoughts?

[geschinger]

Any new thoughts?

Let's see if he can replicate this kind of K performance against a major league lineup.

It's huge for this team if he can continue to pitch at a high level. Guthrie could be the first (of hopefully many) case of Mazzone magic.

[boogidownoriole]

No one ever predicted Wong on the Yanks to pitch like this. Or Maine to pitch like this.

We are way too pessimistic on this board. This kid may be the real deal.....you never know

[NittanyOsFan]

Guthrie just brought his K rate up to 6.38 with his performance tonight.