Can the Orioles win the division without acquiring a starting pitcher?

[FlipTheBird]

I am not ready to give up on Gallardo as a #4 or #5 starter.

Oh I'm counting him among the Top 3. Tillman-Gausman-Gallardo. There's nothing else doing, after that.

[El Gordo]

I think we need a SP who can go 6 and 4 or less. We usually win when that happens. I think we can count on Tillman, Gausman, and Gallardo, to do so most of the time. We need another guy to do that as well. We can make to rolling the dice with the #5 SP.

[Redskins Rick]

Oh I'm counting him among the Top 3. Tillman-Gausman-Gallardo. There's nothing else doing, after that.

Sounds like Tillman, Gausman, Bundy & Gallardo, doesn't it?

[FlipTheBird]

Sounds like Tillman, Gausman, Bundy & Gallardo, doesn't it?

Bundy, I'm counting for literally nothing. I don't think he'll have the arm strength to get through more than 3-4 innings effectively yet... and, even if he does, they'll almost assuredly still have an innings cap on him that will shut him down. A Band-Aid, best case.

[Machado13]

Make the playoffs, maybe. Win division? That's more tough.

If they really want to compete for WS title, going to need another top 3 SP.

[Ori-Al]

I think we still have some starters on the farm we can try. I really think we're going to need Mancini (he can DH) and Sisco (Wieters replacement) as early as next season. We don't have the minor league trade chips to get a top starter, IMO, and a lesser starter is a gamble.

[TouchemAll]

My heart says yes, but my gut says NO WAY they will fade like last year.

[weams]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Poor Jorge De La Rosa just wanted to escape his at-bat without fouling one off his helmet: <a href="https://t.co/haMEwF4qCC">https://t.co/haMEwF4qCC</a><a href="https://t.co/olKiFsqIzM">https://t.co/olKiFsqIzM</a></p>— Cut4 (@Cut4) <a href="

">July 16, 2016</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[fdepascual]

Odrisamer is a SP, give him the ball, and bring hand to the bp.

Enviado desde mi SM-G900V mediante Tapatalk

[Fan4Life]

While I, like most, would like to add something of value, I'm not really sure I'd be happy with the cost of it. So, I'm good staying the course and using internal options. If there is a salary dump available, that might be our best option.

[pastorfan]

I would have answered "yes," if the other clubs stood pat. But I think Boston just got themselves at least 3-4 extra wins with their trades, albeit at a potentially high future price. I think if we get a salary dump guy (Santana) who can eat innings, then we have a shot. Our Bullpen is still lights out.

[OFFNY]

o

Orioles Open Second Half with a Win that Looked Familiar

(By Steve Melewski)

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2016/07/os-open-second-half-with-a-win-that-looked-familiar.html

[OFFNY]

Simple question. Evidence that they can do it:

1. They're in first place now, on pace to win 94 games, with the rotation they have.

2. The competition is not that overwhelming. Boston and Toronto has their own glaring flaws.

3. Despite its one weakness, this team has a lot of other strengths: great power lineup, great bullpen, great manager, and players who know how to win and pull together.

4. Plenty of room for the existing starters to improve.

5. The Royals won with poor starting pitching just last year.

Evidence that they can't:

1. The offense is performing beyond expectations and will have its slumps along the way.

2. Constant short starts will eat away at the bullpen and it will lose effectiveness as the season progresses.

3. Boston and Toronto won't sit still. They're in easy striking distance and will take steps to upgrade their teams before the deadline, as Toronto did last year.

4. We have no depth and one injury to a starter could sink us.

So, what say you? Are we doomed to slide if we don't find another starter, or are we strong enough to live with our deficiencies?

At the 98-game mark of the season, the Orioles are still holding their own in the A.L. East.

[NickM21]

We can win without adding another starter, but that will almost certainly mean Bundy would have to be in the rotation from here on out (and pitch well). I thought he was on an innings cap?

[LookitsPuck]

I'm still going with no. Toronto and Boston will make some moves. They're just a few games out of 1st. And while our rotation looks good once through the order...I have to question how it'll look a few more times through.

Here's the crux of our rotation:

#1: Tillman

Workhorse...has been solid and our stopper more often than not.

#2: Gausman

Been solid, still learning at the ML level. Think if he stops being infatuated with his fastball (cough Wieters), he'll be ok.

#3: Gallardo

He's the tricky one. Since he's been back in the rotation after the DL:

First 6 starts: 5.07 ERA, .297/.399/.475 - .873 OPS. And that is a very lucky 5.07 ERA. He walked 20 guys in ~30 IP. 5 homers. Solid defensive gems that bailed him out nearly every game.

Last 2 starts: 3.95 ERA, .222/.315/.444 - .759 OPS. 2 homers. Still walked 6 men, but went 13 2/3 IP. Nearly 7 IP both starts when he's been averaging 5 all season.

So, Gallardo...if his command is getting better, the O's can get by. But we've seen that the O's offense is nowhere to be found in July, so this team can't get by just bashing the ball. They'll need to pitch. Especially if they don't win the division.

#4: Bundy

Obviously he looks very promising. But Buck is really pushing him already. He's logged 46 innings. Supposedly there was an 80 IP cap...but it's been talked about that they might go 100. So with Bundy it all hedges on health...and let's not forget that this is his first year starting. How effective can he continue to be?

#5: Worley, Despaigne, Wright, Wilson...Ubaldo

This is the mystery dish. Worley pitched extremely well against the Indians. But we've also seen this when he started at the beginning of the season: 5.06 ERA .268/.326/.415 - .741 OPS in 2 starts.

Wright has been awful. Wilson started off solid, but has fallen apart.

Ubaldo was having one of the worst seasons I've ever seen...and we had to endure Bud Norris last year.

That said, I like any of the options before Ubaldo. Unfortunately 1 of them has to piggyback w/ Bundy. So it makes the #5 spot interesting.

All of that said, I think it's Bundy and Despaigne in piggyback mode. And Worley for the #5 spot. Guessing they'll have another long arm if/when we can get rid of Ubaldo.

Now, that rotation has some fragility there. Bundy on an innings cap AND has had a myriad of health issues in the past. Gallardo was on the DL this year and has had command issues.

If ANY of them gets hurt, the O's are toast. So for that and that alone, I'd like to see them pick up a Hellickson type. Especially considering how poorly this team has played on the road.