Birds Up, O's Down for Sept 7-13

Brian Roberts (2B) - Sure, he's probably playing hurt, but you'd never know it from his offense. A .393 OBP and a .500 SLG was marred only by five strikeouts. He may be the O's 2B for another half decade if he can stay some semblance of healthy.

Adam Jones (CF) - His defense may still need some discipline and work, but you can't deny the bat.  A .445 AVG and 1.084 OPS was impressive, but a .526 BAbip (batting average on balls in play) is insane. More than half the time he made contact he ended up safely on base. That's crazy.

Nick Markakis (RF) - Ho hum, another .407 OBP week for Nick. Although the SLG of .360 is a bit of a concern. You'd ideally have some more pop out of a outfielder getting on base 40% of the time.

Jake Arrieta (RHP) - 6.1 IP, just two runs, and a walk against three strikeouts. I think this kid's gonna work out, I tell ya.

Brad Bergesen (RHP) - Yes, he's never going to be the ace. He's never going to lead the league in strikeouts, and most of his highlights will include ground balls to the shortstop. I don't care, dude pitched 6.1 IP, gave up just one run on four hits and shut down the defending World Series champs in their place. I'll take it.

Jeremy Guthrie (RHP) - Overpowering performance against the Tigers, as he threw 7.0 IP with no runs, just five hits.

Ty Wigginton (1B/3B) - A 5-for-23 week for Ty, and the longer we get from May, the more it looks like an illusion. The O's are going to be looking for a 1B and 3B again this off-season for what seems like a 73rd straight year.

Felix Pie (LF) - He may not have lost any of his adoreableness, but his bat sucks right now. A .182/.250/.227/.477 slash line for the week is just bad, bad, bad. And he's still making catches in LF look like adventures too often.  

Luke Scott (DH) - Hear me out. Yes, we all loved the 11th inning hit last night. But Luke was turrible last week. A.176 AVG, a SLG that was the same and a .476 OPS. Ugh.

David Hernandez (RHP) - Not the return DH wanted, I'm sure. In three appearances, he has an ERA over 7.00 and and OPS against of over .900 and threw just 53% strikes. That's not going to be good enough, David.

Chris Tillman's Luck (RHP) - Chris Tillman deserved better than he got against Detroit on Sunday. He went 6.2 IP, matched Justin Verlander inning for inning for the first six. Then the bullpen happened. .

Josh Bell (3B) - Ugly, ugly week for Josh. He still needs a field hockey goal to play 1B for him, and a .267 OPS tells you all you need to know about his bat. And he got both hands hurt over the course of the week. Ty Wiggington is playing 3B now. What's that tell you?