After taking 2 of 3 from the Toronto Blue Jays, the 5-4 Baltimore Orioles head to the Windy City for four games against the 5-2 Chicago White Sox (down 3-0 in the 8th).
1) As we mentioned prior to the Toronto series, the Orioles were 21 games under .500 on the road in 2011. Despite the loss Sunday, taking 2 of 3 in Toronto, was certainly a positive way for the O’s to begin the road schedule here in ’12. There are 7 games left on this season-long 10 game road trip, including these 4 in Chicago. Going into the trip, you would have felt great about coming home with 5 wins. Splitting the White Sox series would be satisfactory. Winning 3 of 4, and capturing a third series win would be outstanding.
2) Arrieta will get his 3rd start of the year tomorrow. He has gone 7, and 6.2 innings in his first 2 starts. With Monday the 23rd being the next off-day for the O’s, it is important that the starters continue to give consistent innings. It has been a nice beginning of the year for Arrieta, you want to see his emergence continue.
3) Chen will be making his 2nd MLB start Tuesday. I liked what we saw in his debut. To me, he showed a repeatable delivery, with good off-speed offerings. When he was down in the zone, he looked really good. He finished having pitched 5.2 innings, allowing 7 hits, 2 er, 1 bb, with 6 k’s. He threw 101 pitches, giving up too many fly balls (11). Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his debut, was that after being greeted with the HR, and double to start the game; he made adjustments and found a way out of that initial trouble. The more confident you get in Chen’s ability to provide stability at the back of the rotation, the better you will feel overall about the staff.
4) Reimold, Davis, and Betemit all got going in Toronto, showing some increased depth to the lineup. As the DH Friday, and Saturday; Reynolds was 1 for 8 with 4 k’s. Clearly Reynolds is one of the more accomplished bats in the O’s lineup. Only a matter of time until his bat comes alive, but it would be good to see it happen in Chicago before he digs a deeper hole. Going back to a grass field, does Showalter put Reynolds back at 3rd? Or does Showalter keep Reynolds at DH, at-least until the bat comes around?
5) The bench was heavily used Sunday in Toronto. Will we see the bench emptied on Thursday (a day game after a night game)?
6) With respect to the bullpen, I think the key to their performance has been getting innings from the starters. Still, the relievers (outside of Gregg) deserve some credit of their own.
Johnson: 4.2 ip, 4 hits, 0 er, 1 bb, 3 k’s
Strop: 5 ip, 3 hits, 1 er, 3 bb’s, 3 k’s
Lindstrom: 3.1 ip, 5 hits, 0 er, 1 bb, 3 k’s
O’Day: 3.1 ip, 2 hits, 1 er, 1 hr, 2 bb’s, 1 k
Ayala: 4.1 ip, 4 hits, 0 er, 2 bb’s, 5 k’s
Patton: 4.2 ip, 6 hits, 4 er, 1 hr, 1 bb, 3 k’s
= 25.1 ip, 22 hits, 6 er, 2 hr’s, 10 bb’s, 18 k’s
Do they keep up their early success in Chicago? Does Strop take the next-step in nailing down the 8th inning role? Wada is likely to start for AAA Norfolk on Thursday. With a positive outing that night, will the O’s be ready to activate him? If so, will they consider replacing Gregg with Wada in the bullpen? This would give the ‘pen a 2nd lefty, and another arm that should be capable of going multiple innings.
7) Despite hits in 5 of the first 8 games, Hardy has started the year just 6 for 34. He has 2 homers, but has yet to double. The good news, is that the sore shoulder that bothered him during the Spring, does not appear to be bothering him in the field. Like Reynolds, his bat is due to heat up.
8) After ending an 0-14 with a 2 for 3 Friday, Markakis went 0 for 4 Saturday, and 0-4 Sunday. I want to see Markakis avoid falling into a prolonged slump, and provide the O’s with the consistent production they need from him.
9) After crushing a homer Sunday, Jones has started the season with hits in each of the O’s first 9 games. However, he only has 1 bb vs. 7 k’s. If he can start to close that ratio, you can begin to buy into Jones being in for a big year.
10) Hunter was pitch efficient in his Friday start in Toronto, but allowed 4 solo homers. Hunter is going to pitch to contact, avoid walks, and have minimal k rates. Solo shots won’t usually beat you, but he is going to have show he can keep the ball in the park. Hammel was up in the zone more than he wanted to be yesterday, but found a way to survive. Against the Sox, you’d like to see a return of his power sinker, allowing him to rack up the grounders.
4/16: Arrieta vs. Humber (RHP)
4/17: Chen vs. Danks (LHP)
4/18: Hunter vs. Peavy (RHP)
4/19: Hammel vs. Floyd (RHP)
Humber 2011: 9-9, 3.75 era, 163 ip, 151 hits, 14 hr’s, 41 bb’s, 116 k’s, .651 OPS against, 0.94 G/F
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/458950/?batters=A&count=AA&pitches=AA&from=4%2F1%2F2011&to=10%2F14%2F2011
Danks 2011: 8-12, 4.33 era, 170.1 ip, 182 hits, 19 hr’s, 46 bb’s, 135 k’s, .752 OPS against, 0.86 G/F
Danks 2012: 1-1, 5.40 era, 11.2 ip, 13 hits, 2 hr’s, 5 bb’s, 9 k’s
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/433579/
Peavy 2011: 7-7, 4.92 era, 111.2 ip, 117 hits, 10 hr’s, 24 bb’s, 95 k’s, .701 OPS against, 0.68 G/F
Peavy 2012: 1-0, 3.55 era, 12.2 ip, 10 hits, 1 hr, 2 bb’s, 13 k’s
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/408241/
Floyd 2011: 12-13, 4.37 era, 193.2 ip, 180 hits, 22 hr’s, 45 bb’s, 151 k’s, .685 OPS Against, 0.84 G/F
Floyd 2012: 1-1, 3.09 era, 11.2 ip, 8 hits, 3 hr’s, 5 bb’s, 9 k’s
Pitch F/X: http://pitchfx.texasleaguers.com/pitcher/425856/
Depth Chart:
C: Pierzynski .728 OPS in ’11, 38 xbh’s
1st: Konerko .905 OPS in ’11, 28+ homers in 7 of last 8 years
2nd: Beckham .633 OPS in ’11, 33 xbh’s, 35 bb’s, 111 k’s
SS: Ramirez .727 OPS in ’11, 48 xbh’s
3rd: Morel .653 OPS in ’11, 10 homers
RF: Viciedo .641 OPS in ’11 (102 ab’s)
CF: Rios .613 OPS in ’11, 37 xbh’s
LF: De Aza .920 OPS in ’11 (152 ab’s)
DH: Dunn .569 OPS in ’11 (11 homers, after 6 straight seasons of 38+)
Bench: Flowers, Lillibridge, Fukudome, Escobar
Rotation: Danks, Floyd, Peavy, Humber, Sale
Bullpen: Santiago, Thornton, Crain, Reed, Ohman, Stewart, Jones
Current Ranks (going into Sunday):
Chicago
Runs: 23rd
Batting Average: 18th
On Base: 20th
Slugging: 6th
ERA: 9th
Quality Starts: 7th
WHIP: 6th
BAA: 5th
Baltimore
Runs: 10th
Batting Average: 7th
On Base: 11th
Slugging: 3rd
ERA: 6th
Quality Starts: 21st
WHIP: 13th
BAA: 11th
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.