Well...to be honest, this is pretty much what we were expecting from the Orioles right off the bat. Nothing too earth-shattering, nothing too terrible. I feel like this season is gonna consist of the O's trying out different parts and people, to replace older, aging parts that don't work anymore.
It's going to need to start at the back end of the rotation, because once again the Orioles fell for Chris Tillman's 'no, I swear my arm's back to normal this year' gag. It always works. For the umpteenth time, Tillman's ERA has already inflated past 5, and he's not seeming to give up quite yet. And yes, it's nice that Dylan Bundy and Andrew Cashner (!) are pitching really well at the front of the rotation, but none of the young arms the O's thought would populate their pitching staff this year have come through, with Mike Wright and Nestor Cortes giving disappointing performances, and Kevin Gausman once again giving up too many runs.
Yes, the lineup's doing better, solely because there's a strong anchor in Manny Machado, back to his old self this year, and with nice pieces like Trey Mancini, Jonathan Schoop, Adam Jones and Chance Sisco really coming through. The main problem are the old standards of people like Chris Davis, Tim Beckham and Mark Trumbo, all guys kept around to hit home runs that haven't really been doing so as of late. Yes, Trumbo's on the DL, but we're all beginning to wonder if his 2016 season was a convenient fluke or not.
A lot is in disarray, and as much as little things are working, bigger things aren't. Plus, the Red Sox are building a stronghold on the division, the Yankees are trying to follow, and the Blue Jays are once again trying to compete despite better judgment. This may not be the year for Baltimore, but I expect gradual improvement, though.
Coming Tomorrow- First baseman for a surprisingly potent NL East team
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