The Cavalry, the nickname former manager Dave Trembley gave to the organization's group of starting pitching prospects, has pretty much arrived, though not all its members have moved forward during the Orioles' brutal 2010 season.
Brad Bergesen, a 24-year-old right-hander who was the Orioles' best pitcher last year, was sent back to Triple-A Norfolk with a 6.50 ERA. Chris Tillman, a 22-year-old considered one of baseball's top pitching prospects not long ago, could be joining the Tides shortly after he produced an 8.40 ERA in four starts with the Orioles.
One-time Rookie of the Year candidate Brian Matusz is winless in his past 11 outings, though he has seven quality starts in that span, while Jake Arrieta lost some momentum from his 2-0 start when he was torched by the San Diego Padres for six runs in three innings Sunday and couldn't hold a four-run lead.
It has been that kind of up-and-down year for the Orioles' young arms, who are undergoing the trials and tribulations of being inexperienced big league pitchers in the American League East.
"I think people need to understand, and I certainly feel like this, you need to let them grow at their own pace," Orioles pitching coach Rick Kranitz said. "They're not ready to be Cy Young Award winners right now. It's all about learning on the job. Not everybody is ready at the same time or at the same age."
Less than an hour south of Camden Yards, Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg has grabbed the attention of the baseball world, compiling a 2-0 record and 1.86 ERA over his first three outings while striking out 32 batters and walking only five in 191/3 innings.
Of course, none of the Orioles' young starters has been called a once-in-a-generation talent like Strasburg, nor has any dealt with such expectations. But with the team having the worst record in the sport and a fan base desperate for something to feel good about, the progress of the young arms has been under the microscope even more.
While there have been plenty of positive signs -- David Hernandez and Jason Berken have become mainstays in the bullpen, Matusz has a 3.37 ERA in seven starts this season against the AL East and Tillman threw a no-hitter in Triple-A -- there have also been discouraging ones that raise the question of whether this group will eventually be good enough to make up the bulk of the rotation of a contender in baseball's toughest division.
"A lot of us were top prospects who were supposed to turn this organization around, but look at other guys who have pitched in the AL East, like [Clay] Buchholz, Phil Hughes and even David Price. They didn't get out to great starts," said Matusz, a left-hander who at age 23 is 2-7 with a 4.67 ERA and has made half his 14 starts against the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays.
"This isn't easy. It's not just about having great stuff; it's getting used to being in the AL East and facing big league hitters every five days. It's not just going to all click right away. I still feel confident as I can be in these guys just because I know how much I've learned and how much better that I've gotten. You learn from failure, and failure is going to happen."
Overall, the Orioles' team ERA is an AL-worst 4.98, and the ERA of the starters is 5.12, better than only the Kansas City Royals' rotation.
Despite those numbers, which aren't entirely the result of the young pitchers' struggles, Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said he has not been displeased with the progress of the organization's promising arms, especially with the circumstances -- poor run support, lousy infield defense, a tough schedule -- they've had to pitch under.
"I don't think it's reasonable to expect that a young pitching staff wouldn't have their ups and downs, and they have," MacPhail said.
"The pitching has been along the lines of what one can reasonably anticipate. I just was counting on more offense than we've gotten. The alarming thing is it seems like if we have a chance to win the game, we have to keep our opponents to two or three runs."
Kranitz was the pitching coach of the Florida Marlins in 2006 and 2007. The 2006 squad became the first in major league history to have at least four rookies win at least 10 games each. Three of those 2006 rookies -- Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez -- are in the Marlins' solid 2010 rotation, which will be on display this week at Camden Yards in a three-game series with the Orioles.
All three had their struggles after their rookie years, because of either injuries or inconsistency, and have persevered, something team officials are waiting for the Orioles' youngsters to do.
"They all came on with vengeance early," Kranitz recalled of the Marlins' pitchers. "Then, they all had similar things, injuries here or there, that set them back. You have to work through all of those things, and they did.
"But it's a little different having to face the lineups in our division, like the Yankees and the Red Sox, than it is against some of those clubs over there. Guys could relax a little more, and they were able to get away with some mistakes. Obviously, here, that can be a little more challenging."
Orioles long reliever Mark Hendrickson pitched for the Marlins in 2008 and said there were similarities between the two groups of pitchers. However, Florida has had much more team success, which has made life easier on the young pitchers.
"The talent is there, but for us, you got to win," Hendrickson said. "Anybody is going to get confidence with results. It's hard to stay positive when, sometimes, the results aren't there. It's just a matter of starting to get some wins where we can feel good about ourselves.
"Jason [Berken] is a prime example. Everyone who saw him last year to this year, it's a complete 180, and it has a lot to do with success. You can just tell his presence on the mound. He's feeding off that success."
Other Orioles youngsters have clearly battled confidence issues for much of the season. Tillman, who is 2-8 with a 5.96 ERA in 16 career big league starts spanning the past two seasons and was recently demoted to the bullpen, acknowledged he has been thinking too much rather than being himself and having fun.
"You struggle the one time, and then you start to hear everyone talking, 'You have to work on this and work on that,'" he said.
"You have a million things going in your head at one time when you're out there trying to get the best hitters in the game out. It's not a good formula for success. You just have to take a step back, go to ground zero and start over."
Kranitz acknowledged that Tillman might do better pitching every five days in the minor leagues.
"Certainly, we'd like to have Tillman come up and be the guy we know he's going to be," Kranitz said. "We see flashes, and as long as you see the flashes and some innings that you kind of shake your head and say, 'Wow, there it is.' It's more regular in Triple-A, but he needs to close the gap on it.
"Maybe he does need a little more seasoning in the minor leagues, but he's got to come up and really take over and pitch the way he's capable of pitching. He's not pitching the way he's capable of pitching right now, but he's only 22 years old. That's OK."
Bergesen, whose offseason preparation was affected by shin and shoulder injuries, said his confidence waned earlier this year when he couldn't duplicate the success of his rookie season.
Even Matusz, who has seemingly unlimited confidence, said he got a little nervous last month when he lost his delivery and promptly had a stretch of bad outings. He has since responded with four solid starts, but his seven losses this year are one shy of the number of games he dropped in his three-year career at the University of San Diego.
"A lot of us have never really been put in situations where we've struggled before and had starts like this," he said. "It's just a matter of being able to stay within yourself and learn from it. You can't get beat down about it. You're going to have bad games. That's just how the game works. Everyone has bad starts, bad games, regardless of your age or how many starts you have in the big leagues. You just have to be able to work hard and get through it."
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