News Archives: August 2001

After a week which saw the Orioles win almost as many games (four) as they won in all of July (six), winning consecutive games for the first time since June 27-29, the Orioles have moved way up in the standings, from 27th place to a three way tie for 24th:

  AL EAST         WON  LOST  PCT  GB
  Orioles          49   69  .415  --
  Expos            49   69  .415  --
  Tigers           48   68  .414  --
  Reds             48   69  .414   .5
  Royals           48   70  .407   1
  Pirates          45   72  .388   3.5
  Devil Rays       42   77  .347   7.5  

Scarily enough, though, the Orioles have played the easy part of their schedule. Of their 44 remaining games, 15 are against sub-.500 teams (3 vs. KC, 3 vs. Tampa, 9 vs. Toronto), and 29 against playoff contenders (11 vs. Boston, and 6 each vs. New York, Oakland, and Seattle.) Not that this really matters for anything, but it would be nice not to finish as the worst team in baseball.

• Baseball America released their annual Tools Survey, where they question minor league managers about the players who have the top tools in 18 different categories. Despite the propaganda from Syd Thrift about rebuilding the farm system, the Orioles actually had very few mentions. Not a single Baysock (AA) or Shorebird (A) was mentioned. At Rochester, Brian Roberts was listed as the best baserunner in the International League, and Wady Almonte was listed as having the best outfield arm. Almonte, of course, has since been released, since the only tool he has is an outfield arm. (Specifically, he was released to make room for Damon Buford on the roster; Buford has since asked for, and been granted, his own release. Even nepotism couldn't get him to the majors.) And at Frederick, Ray Cabrera was listed as the best power prospect in the Carolina League. Huh? Cabrera must look really great at the plate, because he doesn't actually hit for power (.417 SLG, 10 HRs in 400 PAs.)
• The Orioles, in yet another of their endless bullpen switches, have re-demoted RHP Ryan Kohlmeier and re-called up LHP John Bale. For our comments, you know where to look: Transactions Breakdown....
• Really good pitching prospect John Stephens has finally been moved up to Rochester after tearing up Bowie for months. He's only 21, and has dominated hitters at A and AA, despite the lack of a good fastball. The Orioles don't trust him because he doesn't throw hard -- because they'd rather have a guy who looks good than a guy who performs. And that sums up all their problems over the past four years. Stephens had a successful start, too; he pitched 7 innings of 3-hit, 2-run ball, giving up 2 walks and striking out eight. Go, John!
• Willis Roberts is now the de facto closer for the Orioles. So far, so good. He's been pounded as a starter, but has a 0.69 ERA in relief, showing control (5 BB in 13 IP) and power (17 K in 13 IP). And he's a perfect 2-for-2 in save opportunities.
• Cal Ripken had a 16-game hitting streak snapped in the Orioles' loss to Kansas City on Thursday. That's his second long hitting streak since he announced his retirement. Maybe he should have tried that years ago.
• Former #1 draft pick Keith Reed was called up to Rochester -- not because he was playing so well at Bowie or Frederick, but because Tim Raines Jr. hurt himself and isn't at full speed.

On Sunday, the Orioles scored twice as many runs against the Blue Jays as they had the previous two days combined. Unfortunately, some quick math will tell you that it still wasn't a very impressive showing. Okay, in case Syd Thrift is reading, we'll help you out: that's four runs. Four runs might be a remarkable accomplishment for the Orioles, but it's not something to be proud of. Baltimore actually managed 11 hits -- but 8 of them were singles, and none were home runs. (Contrast that with Toronto's nine hits -- only four singles, and 3 home runs.) Starter Josh Towers dug the Orioles a hole they couldn't get out of. A normal team could have; Towers only allowed 5 runs. But the Orioles fell short, and lost 5-4, resulting in a three game sweep by the Blue Jays.

• The good: Multihit games from Chris Richard, Cal Ripken, Melvin Mora, and Jerry Hairston. Ripken and Hairston even h
• Sadly, the fact that there were no errors by the Orioles is something to remark upon.
  
  
• The bad: the lack of home runs, again. The Orioles have hit 2 all month. You can't win games without scoring runs, and it's difficult to score runs when your team has no power at all. And now it seems as if their top HR hitter may be lost for the year.
• Josh Towers. He wasn't terrible; he lasted into the eighth inning, walking none. But he gave up 3 gopherballs -- something he's shown a dangerous trend towards -- and thus 5 runs. Jose Cruz Jr. hit two homers against Towers.
• David Segui was 0-5, and is 1-9 since his return.
  
  
• The ugly: the Orioles like to tease us. They put two runners on in the ninth, scored a run, but couldn't get the last run needed to tie the game. Why do they do things like that?

Four in a row and 25 of their last 31. That's the current losing streak. The last time that they won as many as two in a row was June 28-29.

Standings     W    L     GB

Baltimore    45   67    ---

Kansas City  44   67      1/2

Pittsburgh   43   67    1

Tampa Bay    37   74    7 1/2

• As we noted yesterday, it appears that 1B/out-of-position OF Jay Gibbons has seriously hurt himself, tearing (not spraining) cartilege in his wrist on Saturday. Larry Bigbie, who was just demoted to clear room for David Segui, has been recalled to the team to take Gibbons' place. Bigbie would have been with the team in Canada, but he wasn't allowed across the border because of a lack of documents. Boy, those Orioles always plan ahead, don't they?
• Cal Ripken's 2-4 day extended his current hitting streak to 14 games. His batting average is now up to .262, though he still has a putrid .293 OBP and .383 SLG. Still, that's a vast improvement on his pre-All-Star-Break numbers.
• The Orioles face the Kansas City Royals now; one of three teams in MLB with a record worse than the Orioles'. The Orioles need to at least split the series to stay ahead of the Royals.
• It appears that Mike Bordick, on a minor-league rehab assignment, may have suffered a setback and may not be back as quickly as expected. Oh well. Yawn.
• Bowie starter John Stephens, who pitched a no-hitter in his previous outing, pitched almost as well this time out, throwing 8 innings of 4-hit, 1-BB, 1-run ball. The first inning run he allowed snapped his scoreless inning streak at 32 2/3 innings.
• Harold Baines still wants to play, but his career is nearing an end.
• Ex-O note: Colorado Rockies designated OF Kimera Bartee for assignment. Even 5,000 feet couldn't save his career. (He went 0-15 with 2 walks in 12 games.)

For many years, the Orioles' glory years of roughly 1960-1984, the Orioles were a strong offensive and defensive team. When they fell apart in the mid-late 1980s, they had strong offenses but their pitching stunk. It was frustrating to see bunches of runs wasted by pitchers who couldn't throw strikes or keep the ball in the park. But now, it's just as frustrating to see the opposite. The Orioles have been getting great pitching, but it has been wasted by a completely inept offense. Still, there's a difference between inept and nonexistent -- and the Orioles have been moving more and more towards that last characterization in the past month. Oh, don't mistake us, they don't always get great pitching. There's always Jose Mercedes. But even when they do, they tend to squander it. Take Saturday's game. (Please.) On Saturday, Sidney Ponson pitched a complete game, allowing just two runs on five hits and one walk. Unfortunately, for the second day in a row, the Orioles' "offense" managed just four hits and one run. Yes, one run is less than two runs, so the Orioles lost. The game started on a good note, as Brady Anderson tripled and Melvin Mora sacrifice-flied him in. And then the Orioles got two more hits (but no runs). But that was it. Just one more hit all game. And so Toronto won, 2-1.

• The good: Sidney Ponson. 8 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Maybe the Orioles see why they shouldn't have been trying to trade him?
• Melvin Mora was 1-3 with a double and RBI.
  
  
• The bad: everything else. The "offense" is just pathetic. It's bad enough getting shut down, but who the hell is Brandon Lyon? A guy making his major league debut? And the Orioles get 4 hits and a walk?
• Jay Gibbons' injury. Gibbons hasn't been incredibly effective this year, with a .300 OBP, but he's the only power in the entire lineup. And to sprain his wrist while swinging?
  
  
• The ugly: yes, we've said this before. The defense. Tony Batista's fielding error led to Toronto's unearned run, and Chris Richard misplayed several balls in the outfield, though he wasn't charged with an error.
• Did we mention the offense? What offense?
• And once again, we'll point out that the defensive problems come in large part from players playing out of position. Why isn't Chris Richard at first base?

The losing is beyond ludicruous now. This team was obviously not as good as the team that played near .500 for the first couple of months of the season -- but they're not this bad, either. Nobody is. Now, they've lost 3 in a row and 24 of their last 30. They haven't had so much as a two game winning streak in over a month. Only three teams -- Tampa, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh -- have worse records. They're 22 1/2 games out of first and 21 games under .500. And the Orioles did nothing at the trading deadline, as we explore in our Bricks From The Warehouse entry, Is that all there is? Are you depressed yet? Look on the bright side: at least you still have your health.

• 1B David Segui is finally back from the DL, although he says that he isn't fully healthy; to make room for him on the roster, the Orioles optioned Larry Bigbie to Rochester. For our comments, you know where to look: Transactions Breakdown....
• 1B/out-of-position OF Jay Gibbons appears to have seriously hurt himself, spraining his already-sore wrist swinging at a pitch, and may need surgery; Bigbie will probably come right back to Baltimore. Ordinarily, a demoted player must spend 10 days in the minors before being recalled, but if he's an injury replacement, he can return immediately.
• Mike Hargrove has announced that Calvin Maduro will take Willis Roberts' spot in the rotation. This is allegedly a prelude to making Roberts a closer -- though not immediately -- which begs the question of why a pitcher with a 5+ ERA deserves to be given a shot at closer.
• Mike Hargrove yelled at the team after the game -- as if that's going to help. Maybe he should go yell at Syd Thrift and Peter Angelos, instead. The Orioles faced rookie Brandon Lyon because the Blue Jays had the guts to release Joey Hamilton, even though he was a highly paid veteran. When will the Orioles do the same with their useless veteran-laden roster?
• RHP Kris Foster made his major league debut for the Orioles on Friday. it was a successful, scoreless inning. But is that really going to help when the team can't score runs?
• SS Mike Bordick has begun a rehab assignment at Bowie, and should be back in Baltimore in a few days. Whoopee. Since the Orioles have to start playing well soon -- because, as we said, nobody is this bad -- he'll probably get all the credit. Meanwhile, Brian Roberts will probably be demoted to get the average age of the roster back up to where it "belongs."