Orioles Drop Below 500

The Orioles are in grave danger of diving into a second half swoon after their surprisingly competitive first half of the season.  Their suspect infield defense has cost them in these last two losses to the cellar dwelling Blue Jays.  We need a shortstop that can make all of the routine plays consistently.  They also have been unable to match their good hitting streaks with strong enough pitching so that a couple of bad breaks here and there prove costly.

Last night there were two calls by the umpires that could have gone either way . . .  but ended up costing the Orioles a number of runs.  But in both cases better play on the part of the Orioles would have made the difference.  Mora had trouble getting the grip on a slow roller which cost him the out call at first base in the disastrous seven run fourth inning.  Huff should have slid into home instead of trying to score standing up . . . but still it looked like the catcher missed the tag late in the game — a crucial difference in what turned out to be a one run loss.  The injuries to the pitching staff continue to deplete the options for Manager Dave Twembley.  The bullpen started out as a major plus for the team, but has become less and less reliable as the roster has adjusted to the injury situation.  The starters lack the ability to go deep into games and will soon be a patchwork assortment of last ditch options.  With the trading deadline approaching it will be interesting to see which players are moved to accumulate more prospects for the future.  Give the players credit for battling to the finish each game, but this season seems to be headed now in the expected direction.  Where is the pitching depth that has been so widely touted?

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