The Baltimore Orioles opened their 2010 season tonight in Tampa, and until the bottom of the 9th; there was a lot to like for fans of the Orange & Black.
While it was disappointing that the O’s could not close the door with their new closer Mike Gonzalez, let us try not to bury him for one performance. If anything, Oriole fans should be enthusiastic of the pure stuff Gonzalez showed. Jim Palmer was right, if Gonzalez fell off the mound any more, he would have looked like a Mitch Williams clone.
With one inning of work, it was very evident to see why Gonzalez averaged more than a K per IP in 2009 (90 in 74.1 innings) while allowing just 56 hits.
I am sure he will have his struggles at-times, but more often than not is going to prove effective. Just hurts that tonight in his O’s debut, that this was a game where he struggled. On the other-hand, Gonzalez only saved 10 games in 17 opportunities last-year, so there may indeed be a learning curve.
Getting past Gonzalez, and the pain of losing this game, there were things to like.
The bombs by Jones, Scott, and Wieters. Doubles for Markakis, Pie, and Atkins.
Tejada made a number of solid to strong plays at 3rd, and had a quality at-bat against Soriano in the 9th.
Millwood changed speeds effectively, and attacked the Rays lineup. He was very enjoyable to watch. Albers, and Johnson both looked strong; with Johnson showing good velocity and movement.
While Gonzalez gets the lost in the score-book, the O’s lineup has to take responsibility for leaving 10 runners on-base, and failing to get a clutch hit.
There was a graphic showed during the game that New York, Boston, and Tampa were 1,2, and 3 among all of Major League Baseball in home-wins during the previous two-seasons. Tonight was just a reminder of how hard it is to finish on the road in this division.
Would be great to see Guthrie give the O’s a chance to get even in the series tomorrow, before asking Matusz to salvage something from the series in Game 3.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.