By Ross Gore, on May 14th, 2012 
What’s up with Jake Arrieta? He began the year with improved velocity and through May 2nd he had two outings where he gave up 0 runs and only one disastrous outing (a 4 inning, 5 run outing in LA against the Angels). However, since May 2nd Arrieta appears to have turned into a pumpkin. On May 8th against the Rangers Arrieta gave up 6 runs in 6 and 1/3 innings and yesterday as the O’s appeared poised for a sweep of a hobbled Tampa Bay team, Arrieta was chased in 3 and 2/3 innings after giving up 7 earned runs.
It’s undebatable, right? Arrieta was good, then something happened and now he isn’t good anymore. However, Arrieta’s skills (strikeout rate and walk rate) in his two bad starts appear strong. The factors that are causing Arrieta to look inept (high batting average on balls in play, a high home run to fly ball rate and a low strand rate) are typically considered “random” or “luck-based”. Here we’ll look at Arrieta’s skills (strikeout rate and walk rate) in more detail and explain why Arrieta doesn’t have as much control as you may think he does over the three factors that have doomed his last two starts. Analysis after the jump, all graphs in the posts are courtesy of our friends at Fangraphs.
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By Avi Miller, on May 3rd, 2012  Pitching coach Rick Adair walking along side catcher Matt Wieters Yes, THE Baltimore Orioles. The same Orioles who couldn’t string together much of any pitching last season are currently atop the American League in Team ERA with a 2.83 mark. Before last night, the Texas Rangers held the lead in this category in the AL, but after Toronto scored a whopping 11 runs off of them at the Rogers Centre, the Orioles have taken over.
The only two teams in all of baseball pitching better than the Orioles (in terms of ERA) are the Cardinals and the Nationals, both of which have stacked rotations full of star quality names like Stephen Strasburg, Edwin Jackson, Adam Wainwright, and Chris Carpenter.
The Orioles rotation made it through the month of April without any changes, and includes Jake Arrieta, Tommy Hunter, Wei-Yin Chen, Jason Hammel, and Brian Matusz. The worst of those guys in the ERA category is Matusz at 4.67, which isn’t terrible right now considering the 10.69 he posted in 2011 along with the fact that he has shown major progress in each start over the last month. Hammel leads the group with a 1.97 ERA. READ MORE >>>
By Patrick Guthrie, on May 1st, 2012  I keep telling her "stop calling me at work". A west coast trip for the Nationals, and a car accident: What are the reasons this article is up a day late. Now that I have a rental car (almost) and my brain is slowly starting to re-fire after a good night’s sleep, let’s stare at the Scarlett Johansson picture for a few seconds and then dig in.
Preorder your World Series tickets:
My benchmark for the home stand was 4-2, and the O’s went ahead and upped it to 5-1. Now the real test starts with the brutal schedule I alluded to last week. For the next 6 games, the Orioles will be sampling the various chowders of the Northeast. They then return home to face Texas (currently at their Chuck Norris best), and the Rays (currently atop the division unbeknownst to the people of Tampa).
In numbers you already knew without me telling you, those are the top 4 teams in RBI’s in the American League. I’m not saying temper your expectations, because the Orioles are playing well and you should ride the wave until it flattens out. What I AM saying is, be realistic. There are going to nights that starting pitchers get lambasted because the margin for error will be miniscule and the degree of difficulty will be gigantic. Texas and Boston don’t DO pitching duels just like Earnie Shavers didn’t DO decisions.
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By Ross Gore, on April 30th, 2012
Jason Hammel is one of the largest reasons for the Orioles hot start to the 2012 Season. The 6’6 right hander who was acquired in the offseason for former opening day starter and perennial fan favorite Jeremy Guthrie, has posted a 1.73 ERA in 26 innings while accumulating 3 wins.
As the attentive reader knows, statistics like ERA and wins are often not celebrated in By The Numbers. Instead, we focus on metrics that are predictive of what will happen in the future. However, even under the predictive metric microscope Jason Hammel shines. In short, Hammel is demonstrating several new skills making him a different pitcher than he has shown previously in his career. After the jump, we’ll look at Hammel’s new skills and discuss why we believe that he will continue go ham in 2012.
 Jason Hammel is going ham in 2012. READ MORE >>>
By BSR Staff, on April 5th, 2012  There is finally a flying car! RussianMachineNeverBreaks.com‘s Peter Hassett joins the program to talk Capitals hockey, the guys predict the Orioles 2012 season and discuss Joe Flacco’s bold comments.
The Boss, Matt Sadler, joins the show to give his take and intimidate the other panel members. Dave Gilmore also pops by to discuss the Caps and Flacco.
Join Zach, Patrick and Matt for this week’s edition of the best sports podcast in Baltimore, the BSR Podcast.
Here are some of the topics discussed on this week’s show:
Joe Flacco Thinks He’s The NFL’s Best Quarterback
- In a recent radio interview, Ravens QB Joe Flacco said that he doesn’t consider himself a top-five quarterback, he thinks he’s the best in the NFL.
- The guys examine how much the media is to blame for blowing Flacco’s comments out of proportion.
- Patrick compares Flacco’s comments to some of Rex Ryan’s.
Interview With Peter Hassett Of Russian Machine Never Breaks
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Podcast: Play in new window
By Avi Miller, on April 2nd, 2012  Jake Arrieta throwing his final ST bullpen before his Opening Day start (photo: Roch Kubatko @masnroch) Entering Spring Training, the Orioles claimed to have 10-15 guys as rotation candidates for the 2012 season. While ST is coming to a close, and the roster spots are slowly being locked up, one thing is for sure: RHP Jake Arrieta has been given the nod for the Opening Day start at Oriole Park.
Arrieta, who has pitched just over 100 innings in each of the last two seasons in Baltimore, had an on and off spring but worked hard on his command, spotting a 12:4 K:BB ratio in 14 innings of work. Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com hinted at this coming to fruition last week, and so the 26 year old drafted in 2007 will get the ball come this Friday, April 6th. READ MORE >>>
By Mark Brown, on March 28th, 2012  Pitching is deep. How many times have you heard me say that this year? I could probably draft in a 30 team 40 round draft and still find starters that I want on my team.
1. Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
2. Roy Halladay (PHI)
3. Tim Lincecum (SF)
4. Justin Verlander (DET)
5. Felix Hernandez (SEA)
6. CC Sabathia (NYY)
7. Jered Weaver (LAA)
8. David Price (TB)
9. Cliff Lee (PHI)
10. Jon Lester (BOS) READ MORE >>>
By Zach Wilt, on March 23rd, 2012  While the Orioles search for an Opening Day starter continues, out in Scottsdale, Colorado Rockies skipper Jim Tracy named former Bird Jeremy Guthrie his team’s starter on their season opener April 6.
He’ll face the Astros in Houston to begin the season.
Guthrie was traded from Baltimore to Colorado on February 6 for Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom. In three starts this Spring he’s earned a 2.31 ERA with five strikeouts and two walks. Guthrie pitched Thursday night against the D-Backs’ Triple-A affiliate and laid down two sacrifice bunts.
In Interleague play with the Orioles, Guthrie racked up two extra base-hits in his 22 at bats. They were his only two hits.
You’ve got to be happy for Guthrie. He was the Orioles top of the rotation guy and was plagued by poor run support during his five seasons in Baltimore. He lost 17 games in 2009 with a 4.33 ERA. That’s unreal.
Though the Rockies face an up hill battle in the NL West, he’s certainly surrounded by more talent in Colorado than he was in Baltimore. Good luck Jeremy.
By Zach Wilt, on March 23rd, 2012  According to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, the Orioles are shopping reliever Kevin Gregg and first/third baseman Mark Reynolds.
Both players are signed with the O’s through this season and have club options for 2013 according to MLBTradeRumors.com.
Gregg struggled with the O’s last season, falling out of the closers role with a 4.37 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched. He did throw down with David Ortiz though, which I have to admit, was pretty cool. He’ll make $5.8 million this season with a $6 million option for 2013. I can’t imagine many teams are lining up to take on that contract on
Reynolds is always criticized for his batting average (.221 last season), but he dropped 37 bombs in 2011. He’ll make $6.5 million this season with an $11 million option for 2013.
The return for Reynolds has to be high in my opinion. No more Jeremy Guthrie deals. Reynolds is the Orioles only true power hitter, replacing 37 home runs won’t be easy and the Orioles can’t afford to lose a deal like that.
By Zach Wilt, on March 13th, 2012  With Jeremy Guthrie gone, the Orioles Opening Day starter is completely up for grabs. Buck Showalter told Brittany Ghiroli that the topic hasn’t been the team’s top priority this Spring as they examine the many options available.
Ghiroli tweeted that Showalter said the Orioles have two or three candidates with a wild card for the spot. So let’s speculate.
Obviously Tommy Hunter and Jason Hammel are in the mix for the gig, but what about Jake Arrieta? He impressed the Orioles with a strong start in April, going 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA over his last four starts that month and got the nod to start the O’s home opener in 2011. Arrieta underwent season ending elbow surgery in August and this spring has pitched two shutout innings.
Could Showalter give the nod to a Brian Matusz or be hinting at him as the “wild card?”
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By Zach Wilt, on March 6th, 2012  If you watched Brian Matusz’s performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday you may not be feeling so optimistic about his return to form in 2012. Matusz put three of the first four batters he faced on base and his fastball was “consistently in the high 80s-low 90s,” according to MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli.
Roch Kubatko at MASNSports.com was a little more encouraged by what he saw from the young lefty. ”Only one ball was hit hard – an RBI rope double by Josh Harrison that followed a bloop single by leadoff hitter Alex Presley,” Kubatko wrote. He added that Matusz recorded all three of his strikeouts looking, issued no walks and threw 19 of his 27 pitches for strikes.
Relievers Kevin Gregg and Matt Lindstrom were charged with another five runs as the Pirates sunk the Orioles 10-3.
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By Zach Wilt, on February 20th, 2012  The Orioles will be heavily relying on their talent from the pacific rim this season. With their 200 inning work horse, Jeremy Guthrie, pitching in Colorado and their brightest young star, Zach Britton, dealing with a shoulder injury, the Orioles could be depending on new faces on the pitching staff.
Japanese lefty Tsuyoshi Wada will be competing for a starting spot in Baltimore’s rotation and he’s already begun making the transition to the U.S.
“I haven’t heard anything officially about that yet, but I want to be a starter, so I’m going to do what I have to do to fill that role,” Wada said according to Roch Kubatko at MASNSports.com.
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By Zach Wilt, on February 7th, 2012  And so the search begins for an Opening Day starter in Baltimore. With Jeremy Guthrie’s departure comes a slew of questions about who will pick up the slack, throw 200+ innings and take the hill at the top of the Orioles rotation.
On paper, 24-year old Zach Britton appears to be the Orioles starter on April 6 at Camden Yards against the Minnesota Twins. ”I want to be that guy,” Britton told MLB Network Radio on Monday.
“I definitely am not scared to get that ball.”
Britton’s 2011 season was a roller coaster ride, but he finished the year feeling good about his future. I still believe that he has the most upside of anyone in that rotation, but he certainly faced some adversity last season.
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By Zach Wilt, on February 7th, 2012  Not only did the Orioles lose their top of the rotation starter and a guy that eats up 200 innings a year, but in Jeremy Guthrie they lost one of the smartest and best personalities in that locker room.
On his way out the door, Guthrie thanked the Orioles organization for giving him an opportunity to play at the big league level and thanked the fans for supporting him over the past five seasons.
“You know I consider my career starting there,” Guthrie told Jim Duquette and Kevin Kennedy on MLB Network Radio. ”My first Opening Day roster and running down that orange carpet at Camden Yards was one of the thrills of my baseball career.”
Guthrie went on to say the he admired the way the organization respected its tradition and heritage.
“I loved every moment I had there and the fans were phenomenal,” Guthrie added. ”They deserve so much better than what we were able to give them on the field.”
By Dave Gilmore, on February 7th, 2012 
The loss is a tricky statistic. It rarely tells the whole story, and in Guthrie’s case, doesn’t even come close. Jeremy Guthrie, it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.
In the past five seasons, Jeremy Guthrie has absorbed 65 Oriole losses. In other words, 17% of the time they played “Hard Day’s Night” as the stadium cleared out, an L was going next to Guthrie’s name on the score sheet. In those five seasons, there have been well over 100 pitchers-of-record in Baltimore. For perspective, loss-machine Daniel Cabrera did not account for as many defeats (59) in his five-year reign as Oriole whipping boy. Nobody has taken the brunt of this era of Baltimore baseball harder than Jeremy Guthrie.
This is not to say that Jeremy Guthrie is blameless in every one of his losses. Lack of run support has long plagued Baltimore’s top pitchers, but Guthrie had his share of throws he’d like back. In 2009, he surrendered a league-leading 35 home runs to opposing batters. In 2010, presumably to reel opponents’ power numbers in, Guthrie hit the second-most batsemn in the AL (16).
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