As the Baltimore Orioles continue their slide into oblivion, I decided that this crack investigative reporter needed to do some onsite detective work. So I headed out to the ballpark Wednesday night to try to figure out the cause for this latest string of losses. The answer was so obvious I can’t understand why the beat sports writers have not been raising a stink.

- Some would say the fault lies with the starting pitching. With Lopez and Chen having a combined record of 1-9, there certainly is some validity to that observation. This time Rodrigo sailed along until disaster struck in the seventh inning. Certainly Cabrera has been wild all season leading to some up and down outings.- The multitude of injuries certainly haven’t helped. After Gomez got drilled in the hand (while filling in for the injured Mora), it appears that we do not have a healthy third baseman on the roster. We miss Brian Roberts at second and our record went south when David Newhan got scratched.

- Some would say the weak lineup doesn’t allow for much offensive firepower. As I looked around last night I saw 1 legitimate star (Tejada) and a collection of aging vets and unproved youngsters . . . with a couple of utility players thrown in for good measure – not the type of lineup that is going to challenge in this division. When have you seen so many batting averages of a starting lineup hovering around the .200 mark?

- Certainly the middle relievers have been a disaster. I don’t even recognize most of their names. The Orioles need their starters to get them to the eighth inning or they are doomed. At least their new closer has been a shining star – we just can’t give him enough opportunities.

All of the above may be factors, but this crack reporter discovered last night the real cause for the Orioles demise = poor quality baseball bats! I counted six bats broken last night – and those were the obvious ones that broke in pieces. Hernandez especially seems to have been victimized by a poor batch from the factory. Maybe this is a conspiracy. Maybe some mole has been planted in Louisville to steer bad lumber to the Orioles. I realize that players these days prefer that slender handle on the bat so they can generate bat speed . . . but last night it was ridiculous. The Tigers spent most of their time in the field dodging errant projectiles. There were enough splinters gathered up by the bat boys to start a big bonfire. Now that the problem has been identified, something needs to be done!