Okay, now that you've vented all your frustration over the way the Orioles have floundered the past ten days, it's time to look ahead. We'll find out a couple of things tonight that likely will affect your opinion of the team going forward.
Of course, first and foremost, we'll find out if the current slump was a road thing. The Orioles get another crack at the Seattle Mariners starting tonight and they'll catch a break, since Erik Bedard is not scheduled to pitch in the series. I'm guessing they snap out of it against Jason Vargas tonight, even though he has been pitching very well (2-0, 1.93 ERA).
The other thing we'll find out at about 6:30 tonight is who the club will take with the fifth pick in the draft. Will the O's go for the best player available, who almost certainly be a pitcher, or draft for need. I think they've already telegraphed that decision, so I'd have to guess -- and I'm not alone -- they will choose Zack Wheeler if he's still there at No. 5.
The reason I think that is because they have so many young pitchers in various stages of development, they'll favor the high school guy in this case because -- if all goes well -- there might not be room for him at the major league level for a few years.
