Voigt leaves, but O's iffy attack won't

It just isn't true that all the news coming out of Camden Yards is bad news these days.

The Yankees lost to the Tigers yesterday, so the Orioles' Incredible Shrinking Lead held firm for a day at 4 1/2 games.

And, in a particularly positive development, "Hammerin' " Jack Voigt left town last night after hitting another home run to help the Brewers complete a three-game sweep of the Orioles with a 6-4 victory yesterday.

That's right, fans, it's safe to come out again: Voigt, a utility player whom the Orioles traded in 1995, finally is gone after hitting twice as many homers as his former club during the weekend series.

His dominance is all you need to know about the current state of the Orioles' offense, which is hovering somewhere between lame and pathetic.

Orioles hitters eked out all of seven runs in 27 innings against the Brewers while stretching their losing streak to six games.

"You left a lot of guys on base," someone said to manager Davey Johnson after yesterday's loss.

"At least we had some guys on base," Johnson said.

The offense isn't going to remain that inept, but don't expect it to come back and start blowing too many opponents away, either.

The Orioles are what they are, folks, a team that wins more with pitching and defense than hitting.

They're ranked ninth in the league in batting average, dead last in doubles and in the lower half of the league in almost every major offensive category.

Their current slump is exaggerated, but it didn't exactly come out of nowhere; the club average was .295 in April, .266 in May and .251 in June.

That kind of free fall on the New York Stock Exchange would cause a national panic.

The Orioles won't panic, or shouldn't, because they still have the league's top-ranked pitching staff, even though the big three of Mike Mussina, Scott Erickson and Jimmy Key all lost over the weekend.

They're in a slump, too, but it isn't nearly as profound as what the hitters are experiencing.

And the bad news for the Orioles is that their slump has only accelerated since they made their big move to bolster the offense by trading for Geronimo Berroa, who is a bust so far with just seven singles, one homer and 12 strikeouts in 48 at-bats as an Oriole.

He's better than that and everyone knows it, but he's pressing and the club can only hope he doesn't get so nervous and discouraged that he becomes ruined.

Another deal may well be forthcoming, but the front office probably will look to help another area, having already struck once for the sake of the offense.

The bench, in particular, needs help; Johnson is so reluctant to use backup catcher Tim Laker that he wrote Lenny Webster back into the lineup yesterday even though it was a 95-degree afternoon and Webster had caught Saturday night's game.

Then, Johnson had to bat Webster (.246) in a key situation in the eighth inning -- bases loaded, one out, Brewers up a run -- because there were no alternatives, and Webster hit into a double play.

The hitters are going so poorly that the return of injured catcher Chris Hoiles is almost taking on a messianic quality.

But other than Hoiles, who should be back later this week if his rehab assignment goes well, the main offensive cornerstones are already in place.

In other words, for better or worse, it appears this is the Orioles' offense for the rest of the season.

It was the gamble general manager Pat Gillick and assistant general manager Kevin Malone took, of course, when they elected to sacrifice power in the off-season to enhance the club's pitching, defense and chemistry.

The make over has been a stunning success, but the first half of the season was almost a best-case scenario.

Key, Mussina and Erickson maxed out, as did several hitters, such as Brady Anderson, Cal Ripken, B. J. Surhoff and Hoiles, all of whom hit well above their career averages well into June.

What is happening now is what stockbrokers refer to as a "correction," a return to reality.

"All you can do is smile about it, because it'll bring you down if you don't," Webster said. "But we still have a good team."

No doubt about it; you just can't ring up a 50-23 start on a fluke.

But now comes the real test, trying to stay ahead of a Yankees team that is gathering momentum in a hurry.

The Orioles looked asleep all weekend, as if they couldn't quite believe what was happening.

That slumber won't last, but, in the end, the Orioles are going to have to rely mostly on their pitching and defense as they try to hold off the Yankees.

Their offense isn't nearly as bad as it looked over the weekend, but it looks more and more as if it is the element in their mix that is going to have to be carried.

Pub Date: 7/14/97