Baltimore Orioles Soundoff

Rodrigo Lopez has been the Orioles most consistent starter this year. At 13-7, his record is as respectable as the way he has pitched in big games.

Look at the statistics against teams like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Boston Red Sox. He has sparkled against these clubs, however, there have been low points.

Lopez's ERA is an unsightly 4.61. This is simply because he has had a few games that were less than spectacular. Take away the few games where he didn't last 3 innings giving up no less than seven runs, and his ERA would be in the 2.oo's.

While Bruce Chen and Erik Bedard have pitched well at times, Lopez has clearly been the anchor of a beleaguered staff.

When Rodrigo takes the hill, the Orioles know they have a chance to win, and that is very important to a team that is down in the dumps.

In fact, behind Lopez, the O's staff next season could finally be coming into some good ways.

Let's take a look at the possibilities:

Rotation:
1) Rodrigo Lopez
2) Erik Bedard
3) Daniel Cabrera
4) John Maine
5) Bruce Chen

Assuming the O's don't add any high-quality pitchers this offseason, the O's will most likely go with a rotation that looks like that.

Daniel Cabrera needs to become the dominant and consistent pitcher that all the scouts see in him. He can dominate a ballgame, however, he struggles with bouts of wildness that rivals that of early Nolan Ryan.

If he can harness his pitches and gain some control, Cabrera could become the ace of the staff.

Bedard also has ace quality stuff, but he needs to stay healthy and work on his out pitches.

John Maine has also showed bouts of brilliance.

The problem with the Orioles is depth and experience. The Orioles will field a staff next year that is extremely young, without the addition of a front-line starter.

There are too many questions involved. If Bedard stays healthy; If Cabrera finds control; If Maine gains experience. The Orioles need another front-line guy. They need a top of the rotation type guy so that they can guarantee they will be in more games.

All of this year's pitchers have shown flashes of great pitching, but alas, too many times have struggled and failed, giving up run after run and only lasting 3 innings at most.

The Orioles will have to answer this question, and loads others, if they hope to contend next year.


Hurricane Katrina Hits Where I Am

As many of you might be aware, Hurricane Katrina has hit South Florida. Now I realize that I have listed my location as Hoboken, New Jersey, but until September 5th I will still be living in South Florida.

That means, you guessed it, I got slapped around by Katrina. Not too bad really, some flooding, lots of rain and wind, but no real permanent damage.

While many around my community spent Thursday night in the dark with no power or lights, I spent it in front of the television watching the Orioles shut out the Angels. It was a good night.