After being swept in New York City, the Baltimore Orioles will head west to visit the Minnesota Twins’ new stadium for the first time.
The scheduled pitching match-ups for this 4 game series at Target Field are:
5/6 Bergesen vs. Pavano
5/7 Millwood vs. Liriano
5/8 Guthrie vs. Baker
5/9 Matusz vs. Blackburn
The Twins are leading the AL Central with a 19-9 mark overall, and 9-3 at home.
After this series, the O’s are off Monday prior to starting an 8 game home-stand at Oriole Park.
5/11 – 5/13 vs. Seattle
5/14 – 5/16 vs. Cleveland
5/17 – 5/18 vs. Kansas City
5/19 – 5/20 @ Texas
5/21 – 5/23 @ Washington
5/24 Off
5/25 – 5/27 vs. Oakland
5/28 – 5/30 @ Toronto
Goals, Thoughts, and Questions for the Month:
1) There would be no excuse for being overwhelmed against this level of competition. The O’s are 2-3 in May, and have split their first two series. With 11 home-games, and 3 games in DC – there is an opportunity for the Orioles to show some marked improvement during the remainder of May. A 13-10 stretch should be the goal, which would have the O’s ending May at 20-31. I get to 13 wins with 2 in Minnesota, 2 vs. Seattle, 2 vs. Cleveland, 1 vs. KC, 1 @ Texas, 2 @ DC, 2 vs. Oakland, and 1 @ Toronto.
2) The Baltimore Sun reported yesterday that Roberts would not need back-surgery but was still likely 3 weeks away from returning. The Sun reported over the weekend that Gonzalez had begun a throwing program and was also likely 3-4 weeks from returning. Hopefully there are no further set-backs to either player and they remain on target for a June 1st return.
3) Matt Wieters has homered in 3 of the last 5 games, and seems poised to go on a run.
4) Nolan Reimold had 2 hits today, including his 2nd homer of the year, and raised his average to .200. He also had a walk, giving him 10 walks vs. 17 k’s for the season. In a reminder of how quickly the numbers can jump at this stage, Reimold gained 81 points in his OPS with his out-put today. I say he catches fire, and ends May with his OPS in the .775 range.
5) Adam Jones 2009 numbers were carried by his insane April and May production (1.062 OPS April 2009, .960 OPS May 2009). Still, even after his numbers vastly decreased in June and July last-year, Jones still had a .841 OPS, and .296 batting average on July 31st. He might never have the plate-discipline you desire, but Jones is due for a run of sustained production. My goals for him would be to improve his lousy K to walk-ratio (27 to 3), and to show an increasing willingness to go back to using all fields. He has true opposite-field power and becomes a much more dangerous hitter when he goes to RF. He should expect to end the month close to his career OPS of .723.
6) Despite my previous post, I do not see Tillman or Arrieta joining the O’s prior to the end of May. That means that Hernandez and Bergesen will remain in the rotation. Bergesen has allowed 6 homers in just 15.2 innings, after allowing only 11 in 123.1 innings last-season. He does not have the stuff to leave pitches over the plate. We have to see some some improved control, and a dedication to leaving the ball lower in the zone.
While I want Hernandez in the bullpen, I think the O’s want to see him receive some additional starts. 9 walks in his last 9 innings is just unacceptable.
7) I want to see Berken used more often. As a former starter, he certainly has the arm-strength necessary to pitch extended innings, or on successive nights. There is no reason he has to be only thought of as a ‘long-man.’ Use him in higher-leverage situations.
8) With 8 hits in his last 18 at-bats, Atkins has raised his batting average to .273. While he has 5 doubles, he has zero homers in 73 at-bats on the year, and has just 3 walks to 15 k’s. It is an empty batting average. Atkins has basically until the end of May to show some power, or he is going to be on the verge of being released by the start of June.
9) Trembley figures to be sweating things out a bit on May 10th, and May 24th.
10) Will the O’s replace Montanez with Patterson to give the roster a true back-up CF?
11) Uehara pitched in a combined 4 games, with 4 innings for Bowie, and Norfolk. How will he be utilized with the O’s? Will the Orioles be willing to use him in back-to-back games? Uehara had success as a Closer in Japan, will he be given that opportunity here?
12) If Johnson gets going, and shows he is ready to return to the bigs – who does he displace?
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.