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Bob Haynie: First Week Orioles Observations

The first week of the Major League Baseball season is in the books and I have some thoughts I'd like to share about the Baltimore Orioles.

Minnesota Twins v Baltimore Orioles
(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Through six games, the Orioles stand at 3-3. Unfortunately, all three losses have been by one-run. Baltimore was an incredible 29-9 in one-run games in 2012. Duplicating that feat was going to be hard to do in 2013. I think we all knew that. But this isn't the kind of start that manager Buck Showalter was hoping for, I would assume.

There is no denying that first baseman Chris Davis has been on fire with the bat. After hitting 33 bombs in '12, Davis was expected to be the big bopper in the Baltimore lineup. The questions about him concerned his defense. This past Saturday, Davis made a crucial error in the Birds' 6-5 loss to the Twins. It's way to early to start pushing panic buttons, but let's hope Davis continues to improve with the glove.

Two players that we deemed as injury risks heading into the season were second baseman Brian Roberts and left fielder/DH Nolan Reimold. Well, Roberts is already on the DL with a ruptured tendon in the back of his right knee. He will be out 2-4 weeks. I said Roberts would play over 100 games for Baltimore this season. Hopefully, this is just a minor setback.

Reimold left Sunday's loss to the Twins with a tight hamstring. He is considered to be day-to-day. Reimold brings a lot to the table when he's healthy. He just needs to stay on the field.

I'm not as concerned about the Orioles bullpen as others may be at this time. There is quality out there. They will get their groove going soon enough.

Same with the rotation. Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chen and Miguel Gonzalez are legit, in my opinion. We still have to wait and see on Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta. If any of these pitchers fail, Baltimore has plenty of options down on the farm.

All in all, not a bad first week. Let's see how week two plays out starting on Monday at Fenway Park against the improved Red Sox.

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