Jeremy Conn: Orioles Fans, Don't Panic Just Yet
I've had fans call, text and email that this team stinks. Get rid of this player or how can Buck bring in this player to face that guy? A lot of negativity being spewed out from Oriole fans. I get it. I really do. You expect better from a ball club that won the AL East last year, but all is not doom and gloom. Yes they are 3 games below five hundred and they are also five and half games out of first place. If you look at the landscape of the entire American League, Who is playing good baseball?
There are only 6 teams with a winning record and 3 of those teams are the Twins, Rays and Astros. Those are 3 teams that were expected to finish at the bottom of their divisions. I expect the Twins to fall back and with the loss of 2 of their top starters, I think the Rays will slow down as well. I think most people expected to the Tigers and Royals to be good this year. Also most experts said if the Yankees could stay healthy they can be a competitive team. It's still very early, but so far so good for them.
Now, onto the Orioles. I have heard people say look at what Nelson Cruz is doing, we should have kept him. It's a fair point, but I don't believe his first 6 weeks of play make that a good contract. To be honest, I don't think the bats are the Orioles problem right now. Oddly enough, it's pitching and defense that have let the Birds down. I'm not as concerned about the defense. That will be fine before the end of the season. It is kind of odd that the pitcher most people wanted to get rid of has been their most consistent starter. Tillman had a decent start last night, but a bad throw on a double play kept the inning alive and then the flood gates opened up.
Right now Jimenez and Chen are pitching well, but everyone else has been inconsistent.
Can Bud Norris return to his form that we saw last year?
Will Kevin Gausman get healthy and stretched out in the minors so he can join the rotation?
Can we see a little more consistency out of Miguel Gonzalez?
Will Tillman be our Ace by the end of the season?
Those are a lot of questions to be answered, but I believe they will be fine. The Red Sox and Blue Jays pitching is struggling just like the Orioles. I still believe, by the end of the year, the AL East will be won by the Orioles.
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