Schmuck - concur. I think this team is progressing nicely. Finally, it seems that management has a plan in place going forward. Pitching obviously is the biggest concern so I am not going to broach the subject. Aside from pitching the base running mistakes aggravate me the most. This teams seems to lack discipline once they reach base.

Talk about bad contracts. What were the Phillies smoking when they signed Eaton to a 3-year, $24 million deal?

Eaton mixes his pitches well but he doesn't have an out pitch. They just time the pitches and slap them around.The Crawford triple was ugly as was Nick misplaying a ball but that's the way the ball bounces. They need 2 starters so they can dump Eaton and Bass and put Simon in the bullpen.

Pete, do you think the management has enough patience to let Eaton burn the bullpen every five days? I mean, I know that we are preaching the "take it slow" approach with the prospects, but a guy like Bergesen isn't exactly projected to be a front of the rotation starter. What's the real danger with giving the guy the chance that he earned last year? Not all young pitchers are ruined by a few bad outings in the bigs.
Paul from Portland, OR

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Pete's reply: I think it will come to that in the next month or so, but let's not get carried away after six games. It's not like the front office has taken a division winner and sabotaged it.

Well, we wanted pitchers to throw strikes and pitch to contact. Just wish Eaton and Bass could miss a bat every once in a while.

I think it would be a good move to let Eaton pitch against the Red Sox in Boston. Wouldn't want Bergeson to start his career in that situation.

Seems to me last year the Orioles had trouble winning on Sunday's. Looks like they picked up where they left off. I hope I am wrong on this. Eaton threw 100 pitches in 4 innings, not what you want from a starter. Bass threw ok except for one inning. Gotta give Shields credit for pitching 7 masterful innings against a hot hitting team.

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Pete's reply: Don't think it had anything to do with it being Sunday.

I don't think Eaton deserves another start after 4 innings 4 runs and 100 pitches, especially when he thinks he was doing OK. I'd hate to see what doing bad would look like. A case can be made for Simon and Hendrickson, so far, to get some more chances. But Mickey Mouse could do better than Eaton. It's been 4 years since he had even a halfway decent year. I'd like to see what a healthy Hill or Hennessey would look like. Has to be better than this.

oh no eaton vs boston?? although they haven't actually hit their offensive stride, for now...

Peter. I'm with you on the whole big picture/one homestand at a time. I guess we are all so success-starved that we want to win every game.
I think we give Eaton another few starts and see what happens. I think Bass is on a short leash and Sarfrate needs more time to sort out his control issues. Waters should end here sooner than later but all in all, a pretty decent homestand. We face a pretty hot-hitting Texas team but they also lack hurling so look for some sluggfests...
Hope you had a great Easter!

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Pete's reply: Thanks. I did. Hope you did, too.

It's too bad that things don't all come together at the same time. The Orioles have a pretty potent offense; as Jones continues to grow and Weiters comes along, the offense will be good enough for a playoff caliber team. But obviously the pitching just isn't there. Regardless of when Bergeson comes up, there almost certainly isn't enough in the tank to compete into August and beyond. But, although we won't need to watch the standings too closely, there will be a lot to cheer for at the Yards this summer. And maybe by next season, the Birds will compete in the pennant race.

Pete,

Glad you agree with us bloggers who are already want Bass and Eaton stoned. I am anxious for Hill to get healthy, and claim a rotation spot. The most pathetic part about all of this is, WE ALL KNEW Eaton would stink up the joint. He has NEVER been a decent pitcher. He flat out sucks! So why did we not just get rid of him and have Penn stink up the joint? I would have honestly preferred Penn be in the bullpen, and Bergs be the 5th guy. I just do not see what the point of keeping Bass and Eaton on the roster was. I mean, did we really have to make sure they stunk it up in regular season games before letting logic and common sense sink in? Last I checked Penn's ERA in Florida was 0.00

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Pete's reply: Well, you might want to check closer on Penn, who has appeared once for the Marlins and allowed five baserunners in two innings. He gave up three runs, but they ended up being unearned. Yes, that would be an 0.00 ERA, but not exactly an argument against trading him...And, you misunderstood me on Eaton. I don't want him stoned. I thought he pitched like he was stoned.

Pete......I think this game shows how important it is for the Orioles to pick up a few early runs to give the starter some confidence. Eaton was pretty bad. It appeared today that he has no "out" pitch to finish off a batter.

Maybe on Sundays in place of "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" for seventh inning stretch the team should play U-2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday," because it looks like they're picking up right where they left off last season--massacred on Sunday.

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Pete's reply: Don't think it had much to do with what day it was. Eaton probably will pitch in Boston on Saturday, so U2 may have to change the lyrics on that song.

I am not endorsing Eaton as a SP for this team all year, but no way fans can call for someone's head this early, as if you look around baseball, you'll seem some bowling shoe ugly #s from some good pitchers.

Pete, what's your rule of thumb on how long you give a pitcher to perform before the concern light comes on?

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Pete's reply: I don't think there's a rule of thumb. Depens on how they look while they're pitching bad. Eaton hasn't exactly lit it up the past couple of years. I don't think they'll accept a performance like Sunday's more than one or two more times.

bass has A LOT of work to do. hopefully he settles down after a few more outings. he seems to be easily shaken, and when it rains it pours for him. hes got to learn how to take his time and keep his composure. hes cost us our only two losses of the year.

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Pete's reply: Let's be fair here. The Orioles were getting dominated by James Shields and Eaton gave up four runs. Bass didn't cost the Orioles anything yesterday. Ugly as it was, he did his job, which was to pitch into the eighth inning.

Brain Bass is so bad I spelled his name wrong.

He is bordering on "Rob Bell-esque". Or that guy Cory Doyne and his 94 mph pitching machine straight-ball

Agreed. If Eaton is as consistent in his next start (4in/5er) as he has been since putting on the O's uniform, then we should release him. Why wait? Unless Bergesen is not ready....

You'd figure with all that Phillies' money coming his way that Mr. Eaton would cash in his chips and let younger, fresher arms give it a shot. The lure of the game must be overwhelming for these guys. Eaton's not doing this for the money, obviously. You say to yourself that another outing like this last one will surely convince this veteran pitcher that he should not embarrass himself any longer. Apparently, it just doesn't work that way with some guys. The one guy I clearly remember walking away on top was Ted Williams. My father (a lifetime Phila. A's fan) got tickets from a business partner and we went all the way to Boston for that game. When Williams hit that homerun in his last at bat and ran off the field into the clubhouse, I thought, "Man, that's class." My father and I stood up and left the ballpark without saying a word to each other. Eaton should of been at the game. He might of gotten a life lesson that sometime you just have to face reality and call it quits.

As I was listening to the game, I said to my wife, "What drives me nuts is these pitchers that stink up the stadium, then after the game will say things like "I thought I had good location today" or "My arm felt good". Sure enough, right after the game, Eaton says "I wasn't laboring. Laboring is when you're kind of struggling with stuff. For the most part, I had everything going. I'd get them to two strikes, but [had trouble] having them put it in play. ... If I have that stuff every time out, I'd feel good about our chances."

Then Tremley say "Eaton was better today, from the standpoint [of] his velocity,"

Trembley goes on to say about Bass "With Bass, it's more of a confidence thing that I see with him."

Perhaps they should focus on what they did wrong if they want to get better and not dwell on what went right. These are big boys that maybe don't need the coddling.

Pete-
Sorry for not reading this piece before posting on the last. Nice to hear you're in agreement about the Eaton situation. Even nicer that you think Bergesson might be called up within the month. Also glad to hear how you get the impression that it's not lost on McPhail and Trembley either (how the fans feel about Eaton, that is). Now you just have to post about how terrible Pie is and how we're going to see Montanez called up this month too and we can all stop complaining!!!
But seriously, thanks for the insight about the situation and giving us a bit of your "personal opinion".

I don't use the first week of the season as a predictive measure. It's great to see that they're up in the win colum. But you also have to remember that Rich Hill will be coming back as well, who will probably take the place of the least effective starter.

Hey!

What is the status of Rich Hill? Is he injured and no longer in the plans?

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Pete's reply: He is on the DL and throwing a couple of innings at a time at extended spring training. He will go on a minor league rehab soon and then might come up if he's healthy.

Living beyond Birdland, I'm just happy the Orioles are playing better thaN decent baseball. Winners of the first two series is well beyond my expectations as they began the year. Tough though to see them play great, and then fall to sweep. But I'm patient, and always hopeful. As I look at the American each series, home or away will be tough.
Richard C. Lindsey

Rick: I am just thankful the Orioles are more than competitive. A least they have a plan and great hitting. Let's be patient and remember eleven years of disappointment and frustration,so now we see hints of greatness and the team coming together.