Roberts said he had no idea that this team's record was as poor as that 2001 club's - and worse than that of any other he has been on at this juncture of the season.
"I would have never guessed that. I haven't really looked at our record in a while," Roberts said. "It's probably because of the excitement I am sure the fans feel. Even us as players, it is good for us to have that youth come in here, and not just any youth, but hopefully youth that will take us where we want to go eventually. I guess that's the only reason it doesn't feel that way."
After losing three of four in Detroit despite being outscored only 19-18, the Orioles head to Toronto for three games starting tonight and then come home to host the Oakland Athletics for three more. They then begin a 35-game stretch in which 29 are against teams that are over .500.
"When you are getting beat, they are all tough stretches," Trembley said. "It doesn't matter who you are playing. It doesn't matter where you are playing. There is none any easier than another one."
What keeps Trembley and his players going, he said, is knowing how much talent this team possesses despite its youth.
In the Toronto series, the Orioles will use three starters who are a combined 2-9 in 13 major league starts.
In the minors this year, that same trio - Jason Berken, 25, Chris Tillman, 21, and Brian Matusz, 22 - combined for a 22-9 record.
"You do take some solace in the knowledge of knowing that you are running a lot of new guys out there that this is their first time," Trembley said. "For a lot of these guys, this is the first time anybody has really failed. They have all been very successful."
The Tigers series showed the good and bad of these new-look Orioles.
Matusz, the club's first-round pick last year, won his big league debut with 2007 first-round pick Matt Wieters behind the plate.
Tillman pitched well enough to garner rave reviews from the Detroit manager Jim Leyland. And the Orioles, until Hernandez's rough start Thursday, were in every game with the American League Central-leading Tigers.
"Everybody learns from this experience. There's nothing like playing at the highest level. That's what these guys are doing," Trembley said. "They're not getting beat by American Legion teams. They're facing the best that there is, and that's how you get better."
Box score
for Thursday's game PG 4
ORIOLES @BLUE JAYS
Tonight, 7:07
TV: MASN2
Radio: 105.7 FM
Inside
Hernandez falls in another rematch PG 5
