O's Heating Up In Week Three...

The weather must be heating up, because the Birds are finally starting to make some noise with their bats. The O's have won their last three contests, scoring a combined 29 runs in those three games. Here's a quick recap of the highlights...

• 03/18- O's 2, Braves 2- Tsuyoshi Wada made his first appearance and allowed one run on one hit over two innings. Five O's pitchers combined to strike out 12 while walking just one
• O's 6, Yankees 3- Adam Jones stroked a three-run bomb and Matt Wieters followed with a solo shot in the first inning
• 03/20- Phillies 4, O's 1- Brian Matusz allowed one run on seven hits and a walk over five innings, fanning three
• 03/21- Jays 6, O's 3- Tommy Hunter made his spring debut, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over five innings, fanning two; Adam Jones homered
• 03/22- O's 11, Twins 1- Wei-Yin Chen allowed just one run on four hits through five innings; the offense slapped 14 hits, including 5 doubles, a triple and 3 round-trippers
• 03/23- O's 6, Red Sox 5- Adam Jones crushed his third homer of the Spring (and of the week); Nick Markakis went deep for the first time
• 03/24- O's 12, Nationals 3- Jake Arrieta allowed one run on four hits and a walk over five innings; Matt Wieters went 4-for-4 with a home run and six RBIs

With just eight games remaining, the Birds are getting closer and closer to Opening Day. Nothing has been made official as of yet, but from what I hear, Jake Arrieta is the front-runner to take the mound at Camden Yards on April 6th...

Week Two Results...

Since my last post, the O's have won just one of eight games, but I have been impressed for the most part with the starting pitching. Here's a quick recap from the second week of Spring Training:

• 03/11- Red Sox 6, O's 1- Chris Tillman fired three scoreless innings in relief, allowing just one hit while fanning three, and topped out at 95 mph on the radar gun
• 03/12- Jays 4, O's 1- Wei-Yin Chen allowed one run on two hits and a walk over three innings
• 03/13- O's 7, Rays 7- Jai Miller went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer; Jason Hammel allowed just one run (a solo homer) over three innings
• 03/14- Pirates 11, O's 5- Nick Markakis made his debut, going 0-for-2 with a walk as the DH; J.J. Hardy and Mark Reynolds both launched their first homers
• 03/15- Tigers 4, O's 2- Brian Matusz struck out six and allowed just two hits over four scoreless innings, walking none
• 03/16- O's 3, Twins 1-Tillman went 3 1/3 innings in his first start, allowing one run on four hits and two walks; Robert Andino homered
• 03/17- O's 3, Red Sox 3- Chen went five innings, allowing three runs on six hits, one walk and three strikeouts; Markakis doubled
• Red Sox 7, O's 4- Armando Galarraga allowed four runs on six hits and a walk over four innings; Brad Bergesen surrendered three runs on three hits over two innings

The Birds have just 15 Spring Training games remaining before the season starts, and the starting rotation has yet to be set. As of today, Buck Showalter has yet to name the Opening Day starter...

One Week In...

With a week of Spring Training under their belts, the O's are a respectable 4-2-1, although wins and losses mean nothing at this point. Still, I'll take a meaningless win over a loss any day, and if the young players need to learn one thing, it's how to win consistently.

Here are a few highlights from the first seven games:

• 03/05- O's 3,Rays 1- Alfredo Simon allowed just one hit in two innings while fanning two
• - Pirates 10, O's 3 - Brian Matusz gives up three runs on six hits over two innings
• 03/06- Red Sox 5, O's 4 - Dylan Bundy pitched a scoreless fifth inning
• 03/07- O's 6, Twins 0 - Wei-Yin Chen threw two scoreless innings, striking out three
• 03/08- O's 2, Braves 1 - Jason Hammel tossed two scoreless innings, walking one and fanning one
• 03/09- O's 3, Rays 3 - Jake Arrieta pitches two scoreless innings, Nolan Reimold hit in face by pitch
• 03/10- O's 1, Phillies 0 - Matusz goes four scoreless frames, allowing three hits while fanning four, Chris Davis launches O's first homer of the season

Overall, the Birds have outscored opponents 22-20, with 10 of the 20 runs allowed coming in a single game. The offense has been quiet for the most part, but it's still a little chilly this time of the year, even in Florida. There's no reason to think the bats won't heat up along with the weather, and if the O's pitchers can somehow manage to maintain a 3.00 ERA during the regular season...well; we can always hope!

A New Season Is Finally Upon Us...

The O's kick off Spring Training with two games tomorrow, and I can't wait to see how this team shapes up over the next 30 pre-season games.

If you haven't been following the club over the off-season, the 2012 Orioles will look a bit different than last year. The Birds traded Jeremy Guthrie, their Opening Day starter the past few seasons. The starting rotation is up in the air at this point, with a dozen pitchers vying for one of five starting spots.

Pitching is the one area that the O's have consistently struggled with, but the Birds are hoping that there is strength in numbers and that a few of these pitchers step up and secure a role on this young staff.

The bullpen also looks to have improved, at least on paper. Buck Showalter will have his hands full over the next four weeks trying to determine the Opening Day roster, but all of the competition should be a good thing. No one is guaranteed a spot this year, which should make for an interesting pre-season. If the starting and relief pitching hold up this year, the Orioles should be able to at least contend in the AL East.