Sunday, May 20, 2007

Baez hurting the O's

I thought Danys Baez's signing was a good one by the O's this offseason. While he isn't a great pitcher, he is very capable of helping a bullpen out. However, he is severely struggling right now, and its really hurt the Orioles lately.

Since last Sunday when he gave up 2 runs without getting an out against the Red Sox, Baez has only had one solid outing. He has pitched 4 more times, and given up 2 runs in 3 of those 4 outings. Baez has two losses over the last week, and all 3 of his losses have come in May. When this month started he had a 2.92 ERA, but now he is sporting one of 6.10. He isn't just blowing things in meaningless situations though. His pitching has directly led to 3 losses in the last week. That is way too much damage for a setup man to cause a team. The O's have deserved better lately, and its a shame their bullpen has let them down.

The good news for the O's is that the rotation has remained solid despite several injuries. Erik Bedard has lowered his ERA over his last 5 starts, and his team has won his games 3 times, despite Erik now getting the W's. Jeremy Guthrie backed up his Red Sox gem with a great game this weekend. 7 innings and 10 k's was surely impressive, and it looks like Wright's spot has been adequately filled.
Hopefully the team uses their day off tommorow to get things on track before the Jays come to town. It would be great to see the O's redeem themselves after getting swept by Toronto last week.

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