Baltimore Orioles Soundoff

Is it just me?

What happened to the Baltimore Orioles' relief pitching? Wasn't it supposed to be one of the best in baseball before the year began?

Well, then why is every reliever the O's shuttle in and out of the game the worst pitcher I have ever seen? Anytime the starter leaves it goes from bad to worse for the O's, no matter what reliever they put in.

The Orioles do not have one single reliable relief pitcher. Not one guy you can count on to get outs when they need it most. Yeah, I hear you, B.J. Ryan, but Ryan is a closer. He only comes in to pitch when the Orioles are winning in the ninth inning.

In fact, most of the guys brought in to do the job this year aren't even playing at this point in the season.

Here is a look at the O's relievers to start the 2005 season:

Rick Bauer
Jorge Julio
Steve Kline
John Parrish
Rick Reed
Todd Williams
BJ Ryan

Let's play how many of those guys aren't with the big club anymore! Rick Bauer, John Parrish and Rick Reed are all in the minors or on another team right now. That is some strong bullpen.

Let's look at Orioles relief pitching as it stands right now.

James Baldwin
Tim Byrdak
Jorge Julio
Steve Kline
Chris Ray
Todd Williams
BJ Ryan

Tim Byrdak and Chris Ray were in the minors and brought up mid year. The saddest part of that is they happen to be the Orioles two most successful relievers. However, look at the stats, none of the O's relievers have very good stats.

James Baldwin started the year in the minors, was brought up as the long relief man, did very well for the O's. I guess he did too well for the O's, who promptly let him fall into waivers and be picked up by the Texas Rangers. While with the Rangers, Baldwin fell apart. When Baldwin was at his lowest, the O's thought it an excellent time to get him back, so when the Rangers released him, the O's scooped him up. He did not return to form for Baltimore. His stats:
0-2, 3.65 ERA, 24 Ks, 42 H, 44 innings, 11 walks



Jorge Julio is by far the most inconsistent reliever for the Orioles. He has such a high trade value because, at times, he can dominate hitters with his wicked slider and hard fastball. However, for the Orioles, he is horrible. When he comes into games you almost surely know that something bad is going to happen. Usually, that something bad turns out to be two singles and then a home run. Don't believe me? See last night's 10-5 loss to the A's in 12 innings. Julio should have been traded at the trade deadline to get good value for him, but instead the O's kept the struggling reliever. He will be increasingly harder to get rid of, the more he pitches. He walks too many people and he leaves too many balls right in the middle of the zone when he struggles. His stats:
3-4, 5.55 ERA, 62 H, 60 innings, 46 Ks, 21 walks, 10 home runs allowed

Steve Kline is not another story, he is a horror movie. Kline was brought over to the Orioles from the 2004 NL champion St. Louis Cardinals where he dominated last year. In all regards, it looked like an excellent move by the O's to bring him in. Boy were they wrong. From the very beginning of the season Kline has been a problem in the clubhouse. Early on in the season he told reporters that he didn't like Baltimore and that he wished he were still in St. Louis. Well, now, the Orioles wish he were still in St. Louis also. Kline never got it going this year. He looks overweight, his jokes aren't funny, he talks to much and he doesn't pitch well. Every time he comes in games he gives up hits. He can too often be seen entering a game only to leave three batters later after surrendering a walk and two hits. Kline doesn't even belong in the majors, the way he is pitching, and the O's tried to send him down. But, the cranky old veteran would not agree to going down to the minors and the Orioles had to drop James Baldwin instead. So, effectively, Steve Kline managed to ruin two pitchers seasons, his own and James Baldwin's. His stats:
2-4, 4.58 ERA, 54 H, 53 innings, 33 Ks, 28 walks, 11 home runs allowed


Todd Williams started the year brilliantly. Since, he has been anything but brilliant. You see, Todd Williams is a funny type of relief pitcher. He is the kind who has a gimmick. He has a funny delivery and an excellent sinker ball. If it were not for the sinker and the delivery, Williams would have never made it to the pros. He isn't a very good pitcher, but when his sinker is on, he can get anyone to ground into a double play. However, too often, Williams will miss with his sinker or the hitters will lay off it. His sinker is almost always a ball, however, it is tough for hitters to not swing at it. When they don't swing the count mounts in their favor and Williams is forced to throw a fastball over the plate. When this happens, bye bye baseball. Too many times I've watched him get into a 3 and 1 count and give up a home run. That isn't a good reliever. His stats:
4-4, 3.48 ERA, 61 H, 64.2 innings, 32 Ks, 5 home runs allowed, 23 walks

When Chris Ray was brought up to the majors the first time, he pitched extremely solidly in the beginning. He hit some hard times, however, and began to walk batters. He was sent down again. Recently he has been called back up and has done well again. The Orioles might possibly be grooming him as the closer of the future when BJ Ryan leaves via free agency. His 31 strikeouts in only 28 innings is extremely impressive, however his 14 walks and 4 home runs allowed are not. Ray will be an excellent reliever in the future and maybe a dominant closer, and right now, he is one of the only reliable guys the O's have.



Tim Byrdak has bounced around the majors like a red rubber ball. A red rubber ball with a slippery surface because he has never stuck anywhere. Maybe he has found a home with the Orioles. Since being called up to the majors, Byrdak has been the O's most successful relief pitcher, however, recently has struggled and is getting some rest due to fatigue and shoulder strain. Lately, his stats don't look impressive either.



The moral of this broke down story is the O's need to do some soul searching in the offseason. Get rid of Julio, Kline and Williams. Keep Ray, possibly Byrdak and Ryan if they can. However, if only the O's knew they would be this out of it by the All-Star break. They could have traded Ryan to a contender for some good players, instead of letting Ryan leave via free agency in the offseason. Hopefully the O's can at least get some compensation for him.

The O's need a front-line starter badly, but maybe more so they need some reliable relief pitching. Because anyone who has watched the O's this year knows, no lead is safe.

No lead is safe.