Can the Orioles Maintain Success?

The Baltimore Orioles are now 14-8 (Editor's Note: Since beginning this article, they lost to the Yankees and have a record of 14-9. Back in their wheelhouse)—the first time they’ve been more than five games over .500 at any point in the season since 2005. And yet, rather than get excited about the prospect of having a winning season for the first time in 15 years, we’re all just anticipating the collapse. Whether it happens during this next stretch of brutal series or after the All-Star break, Baltimore fans are just bracing for impact with reality.

Take a picture. It will most certainly last longer.

Here’s a quick look at some of our team stats, many of which we have very little chance to maintain throughout 162 games.

Right now, we lead the league in team ERA, giving up just shy of two earned runs per game. Our starting pitching has taken us deep into games and our bullpen has been the embodiment of “lights out.” Boasting journeymen starters Tommy Hunter and Jason Hammel, Japanese newcomer Wei-Yin Chen, recently budding prospect Jake Arrieta and “still-struggling but somehow in the rotation” Brian Matusz, the starting pitching staff is far from a reassuring bunch.

Through the first weeks of the season, though, we’ve climbed to the top of the AL East due to starting pitching statistics that look like they were pulled from an Oriole fan’s MLB 2K12 video game season. It would be unrealistic to expect the starting rotation to maintain these numbers throughout the next three weeks much less the entire season.

The pitching staff has been so dominant that they have distracted Orioles fans from the abysmal numbers being produced by the offense. Remember last season? I’m not referring to anything in particular, but rather to that sense of irrelevancy we’ve grown accustomed to. Our offensive numbers are down—significantly­—­from last year’s. The usual suspects have shown flashes—Matt Weiters and Adam Jones continue to show progress—and some newcomers have been a pleasant surprise—I’m still not sure where Chris Davis came from—but that’s all I can even think to mention. Don't get me wrong, I loved having a productive Brian Roberts on this team, but is he even still interested in baseball?

Brian Roberts looking out for people who might ask him to do stuff.

The team seems to cower at the prospect of putting the ball in play with men on base, hitting in the neighborhood of .200 with runners in scoring position. The Orioles are ranked fourth in the league for home runs, but 13^th in the league in runs scored. The majority of the time a ball leaves the park, the batter’s trip around the bases is a lonely one.

The bottom line is that, within this season and over recent years, the Orioles are far from developing consistency. I have no basis for predicting what the Orioles' record will be when the season closes. They’ve shown the ability to win 100 games and the incompetency to lose 100.

Over the next few weeks, we play the Yankees twice, the Rangers, the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. By the end of May, we’re going to have a better idea about what kind of team we are. I think.