It’s about time for the Orioles to give up on using Daniel Cabrera as a starting pitcher and make him the closer for 2008.  With Chris Ray and Danys Baez out most, if not all of 2008, the Orioles have a need.  Cabrera has unhittable stuff and he might be able to handle coming in for 1 inning and throwing 100 mph gas.  Cabrera is having another rough season as a starter and he is 9-17 with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.  In 194.1 innings, Cabrera has allowed 191 hits, walked 104 batters and whiffed 160.  For his career now, Cabrera has pitched in 115 games (114 starts) and he is 40-48 with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.  Cabrera has now worked 651.1 innings in his career and he has allowed 610 hits, walked 384 batters and whiffed 550.  If the Orioles look at recent history they will see a few pitchers who were awful starting pitchers that turned into excellent stoppers when they could just let it all go for 1 inning at a time.  Jose Mesa was awful as a starter with the Orioles and Indians as he was 27-40 with a 5.03 ERA in that role.  The Indians converted him into a closer and he is 53-69 with 321 saves and a 3.97 ERA as a reliever.  LaTroy Hawkins was really stinky as a starting pitcher with the Twins as he was 26-44 with a 6.17 ERA.  Out of the bullpen however, Hawkins has been good as he is 30-32 with 75 saves and a 3.28 ERA.  Eric Gagne also wasn’t a great starter as he was 11-14 with a 4.61 ERA for the Dodgers.  Out of the bullpen, Gagne is 17-9 with 177 saves and a 2.47 ERA.  For Cabrera to be able to join these standout relievers he would have to throw strikes which has been a problem for him his whole career.  The Orioles are now 64-86 which has them in 4th place in the American League East only 2 games ahead of the Devil Rays for the basement.

The Baltimore Orioles need to start earning their hefty paychecks.  Owner Peter Angelos is not cheap and he should be very upset with the product on the field of play because he has spent a lot of money on players.  Yet, the Orioles are stumbling this season with a 61-82 record which has them 25.5 games out of first place.  In fact, the Orioles are only 1 game ahead of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and that is a joke.  Memo to Peter Angelos…..get a GM that has a clue.

If the Orioles don’t start playing better baseball soon they will wind up in last place in the American League East.  They have only won 1 of their last 10 games.  The O’s are now 59-76 with has them in 4th place in the American League East, 22 games behind the Red Sox.  The Orioles offense has been nothing to write home about this season as they have scored 620 runs this season.  But, you can’t blame that on Nick Markakis or Brian Roberts.  Markakis has followed up a strong rookie season with another good year.  He is hitting .292 with 78 runs scored, 16 homers, 89 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.  Brian Roberts has been a pest for opposing teams at the top of the Orioles’ batting order.  He is hitting .302 with 90 runs scored, 10 homers, 49 RBIs and 39 stolen bases this season.  Leo Mazzone is proving that he can’t make pitchers’ with little talent into dominators.  Lefty Erik Bedard is having a breakout season for the Orioles as he is 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and he has also whiffed 221 batters in 182 innings.  Mazzone has done a good job with young starter Jeremy Guthrie who the O’s appeared to have stolen from the Cleveland Indians.  Guthrie is 7-5 with a 3.62 ERA so far this season.

The Orioles are only 6-7 the last two weeks despite outscoring their opponents 57-47.  The Orioles need to be more consistent on offense because they wasted a lot of good pitching as of late.  The Orioles enter this week with a 29-34 record which has them tied for 4th place in the American League East with the Devil Rays, 11.5 games behind the Red Sox.

The Orioles went 3-3 last week as they outscored their opponents 31-23.  The Orioles combined good hitting with solid pitching last week and they probably should have won more games.  The Orioles entered this week with a 23-27 record which had them in 2nd place in the American League East, 11.5 games behind the Red Sox.