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Birds Up, O's Down: 21-27 June 2010

By Stacey
Nick Markakis is a mainstay in the Birds Up section, and he had another fine week with 8 hits and 5 walks over the past six games. (© Andrew Markowitz Photography)
Nick Markakis is a mainstay in the Birds Up section, and he had another fine week with 8 hits and 5 walks over the past six games. (© Andrew Markowitz Photography)

Here’s a weekly look at players making an impact, for good and bad, for the Orioles this week. And in a week when the O's went 4-2 and scored 37 runs (that's over 6 per game), it's a lot easier to find the ups. Not a bad week for the Birds. 

Birds Up

Adam Jones (CF) - Don't look now, but Adam Jones is hitting the ball the way we all imagined he would when he got to the Orioles. In the past week, Jonesy has gone 10-for-25 with two doubles and three home runs. He's in the midst of an eight game hit streak in which he's hitting .424. The bad news is he's taken zero walks in the past week, but he's also only struck out four times. He's still having his troubles in center field, but the more trouble he has the easier it'll be to eventually move him to left field in favor of Felix Pie. 
   Matt Wieters (C) - As bad as Matt was last week, that's as good as he's been this week. He's shown patience at the plate with four walks, and that combined with seven hits on the week and Matt had an OBP of .550. And he hit a home run! Not bad for our young catcher, and hopefully it's the start of something good. 
Nick Markakis (RF) - Nicky is the gift that keeps on giving. Five more walks this week, bringing him to 44 on the season and he's now on a pace for 95 on the year (he only had 56 in all of 2009). Add to that eight hits (including one double) and he's gotten his OBP up to .398 on the year. 
David Hernandez (RHP) - Hernandez blew one save and lost the closer job, but if he keeps pitching like this he'll be back there in no time. He's hitting up to 98 mph on the radar gun and mowing batters down the way he did in the minors. Hernandez made three appearances this week totaling 3.1 innings, allowing one hit and striking out 7. He didn't walk any, and none of the his three inherited base runners crossed the plate. 
Jason Berken (RHP) - Four games, 6.1 IP, no earned runs, six strike outs, two walks. Just another week for Jason Berken.
Honorable Mentions: Mark Hendrickson (LHP) - Thirteen batters faced, two reached base. Not bad for old Hendo. Miguel Tejada (3B) - He had thirteen hits this week, but I just can't give a spot to a guy whose batting average was higher than his on base percentage. Cesar Izturis (SS) - Izzy had six hits, including two doubles, but a guy who can't take a walk is going to have to do a little better than that to make the list. Can't argue with his defense, though. 

O's down

Garrett Atkins (DFA) - I was "fortunate" enough to witness Garrett Atkins' final appearance as an Oriole, in which he went hitless, including a bases loaded GIDP and getting pulled for pinch hitter Scott Moore. Our prayers were finally answered Sunday morning when Atkins was given his walking papers. His final Orioles line is .214/.276/.286 with a WAR of -1.1 (only one player in the AL is worth less)
Matt Albers (RHP) - Overall the bullpen had a good week, but Matt Albers had nothing to do with that. Two appearances on the week that totaled one inning, five hits, four earned runs. 
Luke Scott (DH) - Mr. Streaky has looked bad this week despite hitting a home run and two doubles. Luke had just four hits and two walks on the week, and he struck out eight times. That's....not good. 
 Ty Wigginton (1B) - Wiggy missed a few games with a sore back, but when he was in the game it wasn't pretty. Just three hits and one walk, good for an OBP of .211. For almost two months Wiggy was near the top of the league in home runs, but he hasn't hit one since 22 May. 
 Jake Arrieta (RHP) - Jake is this week's sad panda, as he had his second consecutive rough outing. He lasted just 4.1 innings against the Nationals, giving up 8 hits and 3 walks. I'm still excited when it's his turn to pitch but a few more rough outings and it'll be hard to look forward to. 
 Brad Bergesen (RHP) - It's starting to look like 3E1N just doesn't have what it takes to stick in the majors. He might get another turn or two, but when the Orioles decide it's time for Chris Tillman to get yo-yo'd back to the majors, odds are it'll be Bergy on the bus back to Norfolk. 

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