Starting Pitching

On the Orioles The Orioles really haven't been outplayed through 12 [games], and almost no one in the offense has hit his stride. The starting pitching has been good or better. There are too many base runners, which can eventually come back to get you, but they've survived pretty well. The bullpen has generally looked good. Once the Orioles get Ramon Hernandez and Jay Payton back, that will be a good thing. This is a different team than in the past few years. It's always nice to watch them win, but these victories don't hold as much weight as a win against Minnesota would have.

SEATTLE -- The Orioles exited May on Monday night much as they had left April, sitting in last place within the runaway American League East awaiting a mesh of consistent pitching and opportunistic hitting.While the past month offered more reason for hope than the previous month, it still imparted a heavier dosage of frustration than satisfaction. Cal Ripken's sore back got well; Scott Erickson's won-lost record didn't. Harold Baines became the league's most productive player based on plate appearances; Albert Belle became the invisible cleanup hitter.

SEATTLE -- The Orioles exited May on Monday night much as they had left April, sitting in last place within the runaway American League East awaiting a mesh of consistent pitching and opportunistic hitting.While the past month offered more reason for hope than the previous month, it still imparted a heavier dosage of frustration than satisfaction. Cal Ripken's sore back got well; Scott Erickson's won-lost record didn't. Harold Baines became the league's most productive player based on plate appearances; Albert Belle became the invisible cleanup hitter.

The Orioles started their micro-homestand last night as they had ended an eventful six-game road trip on Sunday, by punishing an opponent with equal parts starting pitching and offense. The result was a 7-1 win over the Kansas City Royals behind Scott Erickson (3-8) before 37,501 at Camden Yards.Erickson came within one inning of the Orioles' third complete game in four games but instead settled for his first home win since Sept. 11. He previously had struggled for an 0-4 record and 6.41 ERA at home, largely because of his inability to recapture the heavy assortment that allowed him to lead the American League in innings pitched last year.

So much for Tuesday's momentum. The Orioles instead left Camden Yards last night with mo' misery.Juan Guzman left the clubhouse holding two tapes, one from last season and another from 1996. Perhaps in his next Blockbuster moment he will rediscover the mechanics that he left behind in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last month when he produced the most compelling spring training of any American League starter. After last night's 8-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals, those days seem eons ago.Guzman (0-3)

MONTREAL -- There have been longer losing streaks this season, more distorted losses and less competent starting pitching. But the combination of all three that befell the Orioles yesterday against a team with less than 15 percent its own payroll represented an unchallenged low to a season running out of hope.Completing a winless five-game road trip, the Orioles fell, 8-4, to the Montreal Expos before 16,145 at Olympic Stadium. They now ride a six-game losing streak and are a season-worst eight games below .500 (37-45)

Starting pitchingFinally sound, Jimmy Key has won 20 games since last July while his ERA is more than 2.00 lower than last season. Give Mike Mussina eight more outs and he owns two no-hitters; instead, he's had a nine-game win streak and carries his lowest ERA since 1994. Scott Erickson has 19 wins since last year's All-Star break. Scott Kamieniecki was supposed to start the season in the bullpen, but is instead tracking toward a career year. As for the No. 5 starter, nobody's perfect.Grade: ABullpenArthur Rhodes, Armando Benitez and Terry Mathews might close elsewhere.

His coach has fittingly tagged him a pitching Schwarzenegger. Expressionless, Scott Erickson showed again yesterday that he can toss the major leagues' heaviest ball.Crushing the improved Detroit Tigers beneath the weight of his pitches, Erickson (8-1) pushed the Orioles to a 2-0 win before 47,877 at Camden Yards.Don't tug on his cape. The man once feared as The Terminator is back. He now pitches under control instead of enveloped by rage. And because of it, the Orioles leave tomorrow riding a five-game winning streak with eight wins in their past 10 games.

SEATTLE -- What is the Orioles' best chance of beating the Mariners in their American League Division Series that begins tonight at the Kingdome?It's not their hitting; the Mariners have a clear advantage there, having hit 12 points higher than the Orioles during the season and also slugging 68 more homers and scoring 113 more runs.It's not their starting pitching, either; the Mariners also have a slight edge there, given the inconsistency since mid-June of the Orioles' Big Three of Jimmy Key, Mike Mussina and Scott Erickson.

They are a confusing bunch, the Orioles. They have the major leagues' home run leader, three All-Stars, an ace on his way to 20 wins, five or six players en route to 100 RBIs, a closer who should get 30 to 35 saves, and a strong rookie pitcher.But they are losing ground. Little by little, bit by bit, the New York Yankees are pulling away and the Orioles are not responding, tangled in their web of inconsistent play and clubhouse unhappiness.Tied for first place on May 29, the Orioles were two games out June 9, four games behind two weeks later, and now stand six games back.

Here's the most depressing thing the Orioles take into the All-Star break: Ravens training camp opens in 14 days. And you know what that means. That means in a little more than two weeks, the Orioles become an afterthought to lots of sports fans in this town. Suddenly talk radio will be filled with riveting discussions about the Ravens' backup tight end and whether the sixth-round draft choice can stick as a special teams guy. You'll open this sports section every day and find three or four stories on such pressing topics as who did well in the morning passing drills and what's the extent of the injury to Todd Heap's shoulder, elbow, hamstring, etc. And at that point, there will be people all over town turning to each other and saying: "Hey, are the Orioles still playing?

The only thing to do at this point is to channel Dennis Green, the former NFL coach who is remembered as much for one post-game tirade as just about anything his teams did on the football field. Watch this Orioles team for any length of time and you can't help but hear Green in your head, reminding you that "they are who we thought they were," a rebuilding team in the midst of a transitional season that isn't going to be very pretty. The Orioles teased you for a couple of weeks. They won three straight series against some pretty good competition.

Nothing exemplifies the Orioles' dire starting pitching situation more than a breakdown of their 40-man roster, which includes 28 pitchers, yet only one who is penciled into next year's rotation. The inventory behind staff ace Jeremy Guthrie is there; it's just flawed and damaged. Daniel Cabrera is a candidate to be nontendered, and Brian Burres and Brian Bass are viewed more as long relievers. Chris Waters, Hayden Penn, Garrett Olson and Radhames Liz have mostly looked overmatched in their big league stints, while Troy Patton, Danys Baez and Matt Albers are trying to rebound from serious injuries.

The opportunities keep coming this season for Orioles pitchers. Radhames Liz is trying to make good on another chance. Garrett Olson made 21 starts, and few of them were quality. Chris Waters was plucked out of near anonymity and Dennis Sarfate out of the bullpen. The Orioles aren't asking for much, and they're getting far less than that. Brian Burres became the latest Oriole to be granted another shot last night and do little with it. Five pitches into Burres' outing, the Orioles were already facing a two-run deficit, and things never really got much better in a listless 8-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox before an announced 15,398 at Camden Yards.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - As he stood on the top step of the dugout Tuesday night, the Orioles' Garrett Olson was given a tutorial on how a left-handed pitcher can succeed against the Los Angeles Angels. Apparently, Olson didn't take good enough notes from fellow rookie Chris Waters' one-hit, eight-inning gem. Failing to build off Waters' performance and two straight solid starts, Olson was knocked around for six earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings in the Orioles' 9-4 defeat yesterday before an announced 40,130 at sun-splashed Angel Stadium.

One after another, like line drives up the middle, reminders keep coming of what the Orioles' starting rotation could have been and what it has turned out to be. Saturday afternoon: Adam Loewen's pitching career comes to an abrupt, painful and heartbreaking end. Saturday evening: Daniel Cabrera falls behind the Detroit Tigers 6-0 in the first inning. Yesterday afternoon: Brian Burres struggles through 5 1/3 innings against the Tigers, throwing 108 pitches and giving up three runs - relatively speaking for this staff lately, a gem. Of course, the Orioles managed to win despite Cabrera's reversion to form - and lost yesterday when the offense managed all of three hits.

When the second half of the 2008 baseball season starts tomorrow, the Orioles will be where most baseball pundits expected them to be - in last place in the American League East. However, for much of the first 3 1/2 months, they didn't play down to their low expectations. The Orioles played winning baseball until closing the first half with seven losses in their last eight games, dropping them to 45-48, 10 games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox. Will the slide continue, resulting in another difficult late season in Baltimore?

Observations, opinions and musings from this week in Major League Baseball. Mike Piazza, one of the greatest underdog stories in baseball history, announced his retirement last week after 16 seasons in the major leagues. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in the 62nd round in 1988, partially as a favor to then-Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda, who was a close family friend. Now, Piazza is being referred to as a "future Hall of Famer." Piazza is a 12-time All-Star who amassed 2,127 hits, 427 home runs, 1,335 RBIs and a career average of .308.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- There have been few good days for the Orioles' projected starting rotation recently, so when they occur, they are certainly worth celebrating. Adam Loewen, who has struggled all spring, had a solid outing yesterday, holding the New York Mets to one run in five innings in the Orioles' 1-0 loss at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Loewen allowed two hits and walked three batters and has allowed 29 base runners in 12 1/3 innings this spring. But for one day, concerns about his surgically repaired elbow and balky shoulder were eased.

On the Orioles' bullpen Hitters don't hit, so the games are always close. This causes [Sam] Perlozzo to overreact to the slightest sign of fatigue in the starter, which causes him to go to the bullpen earlier than he should. Then the process repeats with each reliever and the tired bullpen is now very hittable. At this point, I would expect them to finish dead last because they have virtually no starting pitching and a bullpen that is pretty worn out. Is the bullpen tired, or did they just decide to mail this one in?