The Orioles are clearly a team in incubation and last night's 3-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox was pretty representative of the what the O's need to achieve contender status.

For starters, they need starters to be consistent. I'm thinking primarily of last night's loser Adam Loewen and Daniel Cabrera.  Loewen is still on the comeback trail from elbow surgery.  Last night he had the Orioles behind 3-0 before he got the first out and made it through six full without any further scoring somewhat through luck.  A couple of outfield throwing assists at third and home kept the game from getting out of hand.  Take away those throws and Loewen would be looking at three straight lousy outings.  Cabrera is on his typical pace of one good start for every three although the Orioles have managed to win all three games he has pitched this season.

And secondly, the thin offense on this team is beginning to show, even this early.  In going 2-6 over the last eight games, Baltimore is averaging about 2.9 runs a game.  The O's have lost two by 3-1 scores.  They need to win games where they hold the other guys to three or fewer. I'm not sure to be effective offensively, this team just needs to wait on some players within the organization to mature -- Adam Jones, for one -- or whether a cornerstone hitter will have to be pursued in free agency or a trade.  Probably both.