Orioles Winning

The O's had a rough 3-7 stretch coming out of the All Star break which sent them plummeting towards into the cellar of the AL East. Well, thats where everybody thought they would be this season, and despite where they are in the standings they have had a pleasantly surprising year so far. They've rebounded well since that initial post-break free fall, going 5-1 with their lone loss being Dennis Sarfate's first career start against Joba Chamberlain. Thats an understandable loss. Its been great to see the O's offense playing great lately. Aubrey Huff is finally earning the money he signed for before last season, Melvin Mora doesn't look dead in the water, and Adam Jones seems to be developing as the year goes along like Nick Markakis did back in 2006. There are definitely some highlights lately.

The pitching has been weak this season, but its nice that they have had some good outings since the Sunday monkey was lifted. Cabrera had a great start before his BS toss-out against the Yanks. He looked to be going all the way in that game, and then in the last two games Garrett Olson went into the ninth, and Jeremy Guthrie managed his first career complete game last night. The O's have had a string of great starts as good as they have had all year. Its disappointing that Rhadames Liz and Brian Burres didn't work out in the rotation, but nobody could really expect long term success from Burres, and Liz still has a lot to do to ensure he is a steady Major League starter. It will be interesting to see who gets the start for the O's on Tuesday. Hayden Penn would probably be the popular choice among the fans since he his name has held so much promise for several years. I wouldn't mind seeing him, but he is another guy who has a whole lot to prove.

Overall the Orioles have made progress in their first year under Andy McPhail. The standings might not improve, but they are playing better baseball at most spots than they have in previous years. Adam Jones and Nick Markakis are two huge stars for the future, and I'm happy Brian Roberts is still getting things done at the top of the order. Shortstop is obviously an issue with 5 guys who have gotten extended looks their this year. Juan Castro is nothing but a short term solution, and none of Bynum, Fahey, Hernandez, and Cintron appear to be the answer either. I would love to see what the plan is for the O's to acquire a good shortstop for the future. I think that is the main target of McPhail and co. right now, and is probably the main reason why George Sherrill wasn't traded. I think they would rather hold on to him to get what they really need, than to have traded him last week for what may or may not fill a hole on this team. Another interesting development is Mark Teixeira heading to the Angels. He seems to be a guy who wants to play in the AL, but will he fall in love in Anaheim. Arte Moreno is an aggressive owner who will probably want to sign Tex after giving up Kotchman. I can only hope that the hometown urge is their for Tex, and that the O's come up with a great deal for him. The Orioles have had to deal with Kevin Millar-type numbers for too long at first, and another legit power hitter needs to be infused into this lineup.