The Orioles take on the Mariners in a game I'm trying really, really hard to care about. Erik Bedard returns from the disabled list on a 60 pitch limit tonight, and yes, George Sherrill, Adam Jones, and Kam Mickolio, plus Chris Tillman and Tony Butler, were all traded for him. I do believe we've beaten that particular post-mortal equine into the ground.
Look, last night sucked. There's no way around that. But the Orioles, as Peter Schmuck pointed out today, are actually hitting fairly well this year.
Now, for that perspective check I promised. If you want to look at the Orioles offense over the short term, the club averaged 5.43 runs per game in the 21 games leading up to Washburn's performance last night. That's actually pretty good when you consider that the top four scoring teams in baseball -- the Yankees, Rays, Phillies and Red Sox -- score a combined average of 5.39 runs per game.
Tonight brings a matchup of the Baltimore media's favorite whipping boy, Monsieur Bedard, against Jeremy Guthrie. If it's any relief, Jeremy knows he sucks now, too, and he is trying to fix it:
"Execution was where we wanted it to be. It just wasn't good enough," Guthrie told the Orioles' official Web site.
For those of us on the East Coast, it's the last time this season we'll will have to endure at 10 p.m. start time, as this is the last trip west of Minnesota this season. Thank the deity of your choice, Matt Wieters included.
A few quick notes: Dave Trembley said today Rich Hill will be skipped after the All-Star Break, and one gets the feeling it's a matter of days before Hill's told to clean out his locker. Also, Brian Roberts is not in tonight's lineup, leading me to speculate tomorrow will be a full-blown forfeit lineup and one vet had to take the night off today and play tomorrow, or the league office would have stepped in, given the lineup we're likely to field Wednesday afternoon. I really, really hope we win tonight.
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| W-L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | BS | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | |
| 2009 - Erik Bedard | 5-2 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65.2 | 54 | 20 | 18 | 6 | 22 | 65 | 2.47 | 1.16 |
| ORIOLES Adam Jones - CF | MARINERS Ichiro Suzuki - RF |