It’s hard to believe that this is the same Orioles team that swept the Boston Red Sox. I know the Sox are bad, but Baltimore put together three solid wins and were able to get the bats going with 12 runs on Saturday night.

Orioles President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail chimed in on the topic to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. “There is going to come a time where we’re going to be obligated to keep making changes in terms of offensive personnel and they’re going to get the opportunity to head to Norfolk and hone their swings because they’re not doing anything to help us now,” he said.

Three of the Orioles five starting pitchers have pitched to an ERA under five despite posting a 2-9 record.

“We have some guys who are just, to put a kind word to it, underperforming and we’ve ended up having to push some people toward some roles that they are probably not ready for,” MacPhail said. “While you can give them some allowance for the quality of pitching that we’ve faced, our patience isn’t inexhaustible.”

Is it time to shake up the O’s roster? Baltimore has a number of guys on their roster with minor league options, but some of the names may surprise you. Can this club really send down All Star and Gold Glove winner Adam Jones, he’s only hitting .225. What about Nolan Reimold, Lou Montanez who is 0 for his last 19, Luke Scott who is down to .177, or Rhnye Hughes.

Their other alternative would be taking a risk with Garrett Atkins, who has played well as of late, but failed to run out out a fair ball hit down the third base line yesterday. They could attempt to send down Julio Lugo who, despite having three hits yesterday, has been disappointing both in the field and at the plate with his .194 average.

Maybe the players need this kind of wake up call from the club’s GM. Would Adam Jones or Luke Scott find patience if they spend a few games in Norfolk?

It’s up to MacPhail to decide, but everyone agrees that Baltimore is dropping winnable games by their starting pitching due to a major lack of run support.