Can Anything Be Done About the Rotation?

What we all believed would be the problem with the Orioles in the beginning of the season has come front and center. The starting rotation has been very bad lately, and there is no solution in sight.

Here is what the Opening Day rotation was, and where they are now:
--Jeremy Guthrie: still a starter, 6-8 record, 5.02 ERA (6.86 on the road)
--Koji Uehara: has not been bad when healthy, but often could not go longer than 6 innings a game and is always hurt
--Alfredo Simon: needed elbow surgery after two bad starts, out for the year
--Mark Hendrickson: relegated to the bullpen after many bad outings, but has become a decent long reliever
--Adam Eaton: released after posting an 8.56 ERA in eight starts, now playing for Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Rockies Triple-A club

And the rotation now:
--Jeremy Guthrie: 6-8 record, 5.02 ERA
--Brad Bergesen: a solid starter this season, 5-2 record with a 3.53 ERA, 4-0 in last eight starts
--Rich Hill: mostly bad outings with a few exceptions, 3-2 record with a 7.43 ERA, only twice going over 5.2 innings
--Jason Berken: may not be ready, 1-5 record with 6.25 ERA
--David Hernandez: only five starts but ok right now, 2-2 record with 4.15 ERA

It is no doubt that the rotation has been real problematic. Without Bergesen and solid work from the bullpen, the whole pitching staff could be lost. Certainly it was thought the rotation would struggle, but the difficulties with Guthrie and Uehara made things much worse.

But can anything really be done about it right now? As we often tell ourselves, the Orioles are not in contention right now. Not matter what deals can be done, the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays will likely be better. Signing a number of free agents likely will not help matters plus will cost millions of dollars. Trading also won't work, as you will not get anyone good and ready to go without giving up one of the big three, which is not an option, and Andy MacPhail will not do that.

The Orioles can keep tapping into Norfolk all they want, and that is what they will do. Already from the Tides came Bergesen, Berken, Hernandez, Radhames Liz, and Alberto Castillo from the pitching end plus Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold, Lou Montanez, and Oscar Salazar in the lineup. The Tides pitching staff has been real helpful to the Orioles, and they still have some people left, but eventually the Birds will need to stop bringing people up, if only because they will run out of them. Left that could help now are David Pauley and Chris Waters, but after that, the rotation will need to function on their own.

This whole situation is difficult for the Orioles, but it is one they will need to get through. Mainly because nothing really can be done about it unless the current pitchers can do better. Let's hope they do.

(Photo credit: AP)

Rotation Issues Already Forming in Baltimore

It has been a great start for the Birds, winning their first three series, considering the bullpen and rotation issues. However, the Orioles were hoping the "stopgap rotation" would hold a little longer than this, but the injury to Alfredo Simon has already forced the O's to dip into the Tides for some help. While Simon has not yet gone to the DL, recent moves make it seem that he'll be out a little while.

According to the Baltimore Sun and MASN, the Orioles have bringing up Matt Albers and Radhames Liz after Melvin Mora was sent to the DL and Simon will have his shoulder checked. It would not be surprising if Brad Bergeson was brought up as well from the Tides. Bergeson has done a great job in his first two contests in Norfolk, striking out nine and just allowing three earned in 11 innings, but these are his only two starts in triple-A play, and there is no telling if he'll be ready to come up to Baltimore.

We all expected the Orioles rotation to be an issue this season. Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara were seen as the only reliable starters, so the rest of the rotation was up for grabs, which was won by Simon and Mark Hendrickson with Adam Eaton filling the last spot when needed. The Orioles, though feeling it would eventually happen, were hoping to avoid using Norfolk players to fill gaps already. The bullpen has been very scary to the O's, but they have at least been able to hold large leads. The starters have done a good job for now, especially Guthrie.

The overall key to all of this is to protect the potential stars of the rotation. Under no circumstances can the Orioles bring up Chris Tillman because they need to wait until he is ready, and since he is not on the 40-man roster this probably will not be an issue. Players like Bergeson, Liz, Chris Waters, and David Hernandez could be called up sometime this season as stopgaps. This is just the beginning of the season and the Orioles can't risk their big players just because of a nice start. First they need to ready their big pitchers and Matt Wieters. They'll compete as best they can, but don't get too excited about the start. The might of this rotation is about to be tested. But for now and for all the issues, the O's have won their first three series.

(Photo credit: AP)

Orioles Moving Closer to a Defined Rotation

After it was announced today that Danys Baez will not be in contention for the starting rotation, the Orioles have now focused the competition on five pitchers searching for the remaining three starting spots. Danys Baez was eliminated from contention for most likely two reasons: 1) He was relatively ineffective this spring in pitching to an underwhelming 5.54 ERA, and 2) Baez was unable to utilize his offspeed pitches due to either injury or lack of confidence (or both). It was admirable that Baez has made such a strong attempt to come back, but it simply makes more sense from the team's perspective to have him earn his spot out of the bullpen rather than putting him in a role that he doesn't belong in.

So now the final three rotation spots will be filled by some combination of: Hayden Penn, Adam Eaton, Mark Hendrickson, Alfredo Simon, and Brian Bass. In my opinion, none of these five qualify as a solid major league starter, but as of right now they are the best options the Orioles have without risking their young prospects. Of these five only Hendrickson seems to be a lock for the rotation in that the Orioles front office went out of their way to sign him and at the very least he is a veteran who knows how to pitch (even if he is better suited as a swingman). The next name I would guess would be Adam Eaton for the same reason as Hendrickson, in that while Eaton has pitched poorly in recent years, he is a veteran who has been around and is more likely to be a stable presence. Alfredo Simon, a relative unknown, is likely to claim the last spot if only for his somewhat impressive spring over some of the other pitchers in camp. Both Brian Bass and Hayden Penn have been given ample opportunity to succeed (particularly Penn, who has one more chance to make a statement as he takes over Baez's scheduled start on Thursday), but they simply haven't produced as others have. Furthermore, Brian Bass would have had to show a good deal this spring to change minds in the organization after he struggled mightily late last season. Hayden Penn was once a top prospect but is now out of minor league options, so it's most likely that the team will put him as the long reliever and hope that he comes around at the major league level.

So what does this all add up to? A very very frightening year for Orioles pitching. The pitching depth in this organization is excellent, but right now the Orioles are in a very "wait, wait, not yet" mode with their pitchers. Top prospects like Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, and others are simply too young to come up. Others like Troy Patton, Rich Hill and Matt Albers are still waiting to get over the hump coming off of injury. Thankfully arms like Patton, Hill, Albers, and Bergesen should be ready to come up at some point this year, but Orioles fans need to be understanding of this situation. The major league pitching will be bad this year, possibly historically bad at the start of the season. But patience is key, because the future is coming; it's just not here yet.