26-year old righty reliever Jason Berken doesn’t look anything like the rookie starter he was in 2009. Last season Berken pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the O’s in which he was 6-12 with a 6.54 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. He walked 44 batters and gave up 164 hits in only 119 2/3 innings last season which is awful. He seemed nervous on the mound often trying to nibble at the corners. But this season he is attacking hitters and they results have been outstanding so far. Berken has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) this season for the Orioles and he is 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He has only walked 4 batters in 24 innings this season for the Orioles. He is challenging hitters and letting the defense help him as he has only whiffed 11 batters this year. It looks like the Orioles have fould the right role for Berken to excel in and they hope he keeps up the good work.

The Orioles have placed 35-year old righty reliever Koji Uehara on the 15-day disabled list due to a right elbow strain. Uehara has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the O’s this year and he is 0-0 with a 1.80 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. 25-year old righty David Hernandez will be shifting to the pen to replace Uehara. He has started 8 games for the Orioles this year and he is 1-5 with a 5.31 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. He might be better off as a reliever anyway as long as he can throw strikes. He has walked 28 batters this season in 42 1/3 innings while only giving up 39 hits. Maybe shorter stints will help him be more aggressive with his stuff which would tighten up his control. 22-year old righty Chris Tillman will likely replace David Hernandez in the starting rotation come Saturday against the Blue Jays. Tillman has started 10 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 5-4 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He has only walked 12 batters while whiffing 47 in 57 2/3 innings so he has improved his game a bit. Tillman pitched in 12 games (all starts) in his first taste of the majors last season for the O’s and he was 2-5 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. I expect him to be much better this time around.

The Orioles have placed 29-year old righty reliever Alfredo Simon on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain. Simon has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he was 1-1 with 6 saves, a 2.92 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Simon will be replaced as the closer by 32-year old lefty Will Ohman. Ohman has pitched in 24 games (0 starts) for the O’s this year and he is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has whiffed 15 batters while only allowing 10 hits in 14 2/3 innings this season showing that his stuff is probably good enough to handle the job if he can get righty hitters out. But he has walked 8 batters this year and he will need to tighten his control if he is to have success as a closer. The O’s have recalled 26-year old righty reliever Frank Mata to replace Simon in the bullpen. Mata has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 2-1 with 8 saves, a 1.86 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He has now pitched in 216 games (6 starts) in his six years in the minors and he is 15-16 with 33 saves, a 4.08 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.

The Baltimore Orioles are likely to have a firesale of epic proportions in the next couple of months if they don’t starting turning things around soon. The first shoe to drop will be the firing of Dave Trembley with him getting replaced likely by bench coach Jeff Datz which would be a very positive move in the right direction. Datz has the right temperment to oversee a rebuilding project. But if the O’s keep losing I see them trading Garrett Atkins (or releasing him), Ty Wigginton, Cesar Izturis, Corey Patterson, Julio Lugo, Miguel Tejada, Luke Scott, Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Guthrie, Mark Hendrickson, Alberto Castillo and Will Ohman. I think the Orioles could get a nice return for Tejada, Scott, Wigginton, Guthrie and Luke Scott. There are a lot of teams that would be interested in those five guys. The other seven guys on the list would probably bring back a C-level prospect unless a couple of them were packaged together or added in a trade with one of the Big Five. Owner Peter Angelos has to be very disappointed with how the team is playing right now as he spent some real money on players over the winter in a bold attempt to improve his team.

32-year old lefty swinging OF/DH Luke Scott has added 1B to his array of positions that he can play this weekend. One thing is for certain is that Scott should be playing everyday somewhere for the Orioles due to his big bat from the left side. Scott has played in 36 games this season for the Orioles and he is 35 of 124 (.282 avg, .915 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 9 homers and 20 RBIs. Scott has the most pure power of all of the Orioles hitters and I think he could hit 30+ homers and drive in 100+ runs if the O’s just played him every single day.