Orioles Mid-season Update (FINALLY!)

Hey Orioles fans! As you can see, I haven't been quite updating this at all. To be frankly honest, I had such high hopes coming into this season. We had a well-respected manager, some key veteran acquisitions, and one more year of upcoming experience for our young starters.

Things looked great, as we started off well. Soon to follow, the wheels fell off. The pitching staff has been decimated by both injury and ineffectiveness. Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, and more recently, Zach Britton have all been inconsistent and have split time between the minor and major leagues. As for the rest of the rotation, Jeremy Guthrie and Jake Arrieta have been the two fairly dependable starters. That number is now down to one as Jake Arrieta will be having season-ending surgery.

The non-waiver trade deadline passed on July 31st and the Orioles made a few trades. We lost both reliever Koji Uehara and 1B Derrek Lee. Uehara was shipped off to the Texas Rangers in exchange for 1B/3B/DH Chris Davis and SP Tommy Hunter. I think the Orioles got some great pieces in that trade. Davis can plug right in at 1B (for the departed Lee) and Tommy Hunter slots right into the starting rotation behind de facto ace Jeremy Guthrie. In more of a minor move, Derrek Lee was sent to the at the time potentially playoff bound Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for minor leaguer, Aaron Baker. At the very least, this creates more 1B depth for Baltimore.

Some other moves including releasing pitcher, Justin Duchscherer and adding pitcher, Jo-Jo Reyes.

Some highlights so far this season have been the play of J.J. Hardy and the power numbers put up by new arrival Mark Reynolds. Adam Jones is also having a breakout season, recently surpassing his previous career high of 19 HR's.

There are still lingering question marks for Baltimore. Can they get through the season with this makeshift rotation, including the likes of Chris Jakubauskas and Alfredo Simon? Will Jim Johnson make the move to the rotation? The biggest question...what is in the future for Brian Matusz?

We will just have to wait and see as this season carries on. While the Orioles may not be in playoff contention, they can at least play spoiler for some teams. Stay tuned everybody!