1. The Orioles are who we thought they were. As we expected, their young offense is potent and capable of matching up with any offense in the majors. On the other hand, the pitching staff struggles to give their team a chance to win. With the exception of Koji Uehara, none of the Orioles starters have proved themselves. In the bullpen, Jim Johnson, Chris Ray, and George Sherrill are just a few of the terribly inconsistent relievers.
2. Adam Jones is the real deal. The middle piece of the strongest first third of any lineup in the majors is developing at a rate faster than many expected. As of Sunday May 10th, AJ is batting .358 with 6 homers and 21 RBI's not to mention an on-base percentage of .418. He's on pace to hit over 30 home runs and 110 RBI's this season. Along with future All-Star Nick Markakis, this young duo will be insturmental to the team's future successes.
3. The future looks bright. The minor league talent that will be key to the Orioles future success is performing well. Matt Wieters has a batting average of .301 and slugging percentage of .422 at AAA. Through five starts, Chris Tillman, acquired in the soon-to-be-historic Bedard trade, has a 2.52 ERA with 27 K's for the AAA Norfolk Tides. Jake Arrieta (2-1, 3.80 ERA) and Troy Patton (3-0 0.95 ERA) are developing as planned for the AA Bowie Baysox.
4. Orioles fans are losing their patience quickly. Camden Yards is emptier than usual as attendance for non-prime (not Yankees or Red Sox games) continues to dip. Perhaps it's the economy, but the O's are consistently struggling to surpass 12,000 fans for games in the middle of the week, games that used to sell out during the mid-90's. It should come as no surprise that the organization is having trouble filling up The Yard. It is, however, an indication that the Orioles must bring top-notch baseball back to Baltimore before everyone's attention shifts entirely to the superbowl contending Ravens.
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