Yeah, but as I look out my back door, the Danny Baez bandwagon just drove bye and there was no one on it! Guthrie pitched better than his fate. Jones and Huff didn't help him much! Your right about Guthrie, in the big 2nd or 3rd with a 7 run lead he was throwing for the corners. The Baez bandwagon driver just jumped off as well!

This is going to be a long year, our pitching is horrible. This game was gift-wrapped for Guthrie and he choked it away

I am so sick of horrible pitching.

11 years now.

Do the Orioles people even know what an mlb pitcher looks like?

Adam Jones can talk and the hitters can average 7 runs a game and we will still lose 100 games this season.

Can you get more starters for any of the minor league outfielders we seem to have alot of? This team can score some runs but just not as quickly as they give em up.

Pete,
I agree with you totally. I don't know why AM did not go and sign Pedro to a incentive laden contract. That would take the heat off of Guthrie because people would view Pedro as the Savior knowing full well he is a stop-gap. AM knows something we don't about Pedro or else I think he would be in Orange and Black. We know his health is an issue, but does he have the clubhouse chemistry of a Manny Ramirez?

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I don't think he's a problem in the clubhouse, but it seems like 30 GMs know something we don't know.

Peter,
Long time reader of the blog and enjoy looking at your reports and everyone's comments. I know our pitching staff is in a wait and see approach, but do you think there are any grumblings about the job that Kranitz is doing?

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: No, I don't think so. Not sure what more he could be doing right now.

This I agree with you 100%

This just in : the Orioles suck.

Is it not time to question Kranitz's ability? Ever since he has been with the team, almost every pitcher with ML experience has performed for him much worse than he did for previous ML teams. Moreover, pitcher after pitcher whose AAA performance suggests they should be at least mediocre in the majors wind up with ERAs above 7. I would be surprised if the Orioles's ERA is not dead last among all 30 teams at this point. Is Flanagan still on the payroll? Or how about promoting whoever is Norfolk's pitching coach? With results this bad, no one else could do any worse.

I need to defend Guthrie here. He didn't pitch his best but he deserved a much better fate. This was not his fault - at all. Huff's error ruined the game. The score should have been 8-5 O's at the end of the 5th... not to mention Adam Jones couldn't catch 2 balls that hit him in the glove.

Guthrie is a bonafide ace and he should be 3-0.

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: You know I'm a big Guthrie fan, but four walks with a seven-run lead is not defendable.

i predict that by the end of the trading period next year one or none of the current starters will be on the orioles. by the middle of next year arrieta, tillman, matasz, hill or patton will be starters and a good chance koji and or guthrie will be traded to contenders for a couple of top prospects. also by next year and maybe sometime this year baez, hendrickson, eaton and sherrill will be gone. you must wait till two thousand and ten for the losing to end

Sorry Pete,
I can't agree with you that Guthrie being the de facto ace with only 2 years MLB experience had anything to do with blowing a 7-run lead. Walks, bad defense and the Boston red Sox in that ballpark were the culprits. I do agree that it looks like a long weekend.

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I'm not blaming Guthrie for not being a legit ace with two or three years of ML experience. I think he's a very good pitcher, just forced into a role slightly above his station.

If anybody is surprised by the O's pitching performance, they haven't been paying attention.

The rotation is horrible. It's not getting better until some of the kids are ready. I commend MacPhail for not yielding to the pressure to rush these kids. Bergesen might be ready (and Hernandez before long), but the rest clearly need more time. Good young pitchers are like fine wine - they need time to season properly!

My advice is to be patient for a little while longer, and try to focus on the exciting development of Markakis and Jones instead of the mounting L's in the standing.

Steve,

Thanks for your brillant, well thought out, insightful and uplifting comment.

If things go bad I want you on my side of the line (sarcastic of course).

Pete,

I'm from Missouri (well not really) but I the Warehouse to "Show ME" if you follow the thought process. Most everyone here has Andy Mcphail on this pedestool and he made two great trades last year, he resigned key players, but as the old joke goes, other than that shooting Mr. Lincoln how did you like the play? What has been down about pitching NOW! You know if the Warehouse was giving away admission until we put a respectable rotation out there that would be one thing, but the horrid pitching that we have, KNOWING Andy had a plan not to rush the baby birds, is a MAJOR FAILURE on his part! Lets quit sugar coating it and judge what we have for what its worth, a Terrible staff because we wanted to be CHEAP! And for that, the judgement of the Warehouse should be questioned and what the owner is doing is NOTHING short of Bernie Maddoff and stealing from a very loyal fan base!