McFarmhand

[Evil Yoda]

Loyalty is great, Buck, but it's gotta stop when it's clear the guy can't pitch. And that's the case with McFarmhand the AAAA pitcher. The best he can possibly be is an innings eater you use to save better pitchers when you have a double-digit lead. Bring him in with men on base and they WILL score. And sometimes, he'll let a bunch more guys score, like he did today. Maybe he saved Buck's kid from a burning building, gave Dan a hot stock tip or he's got a safety deposit box of evidence. There's got to be some reason why he's still here, unrelated to talent, of which he has too little.

[Deleted]

Showalter has always managed the bullpen with an eye down the road; he isn't going to keep running the same guys out there on a daily basis and burn them out.

For Saturday, both Givens and Bundy were unavailable, and although Brach could have pitched, the sixth inning isn't the most propitious time for him. Showalter was also trying to save Worley for Sunday (Ubaldo was pitching, after all) in anticipation of needing him early on. In baseball, sometimes you have to sacrifice a game or two a times in order to get the pitching straightened out. A starter who could go into, say, the seventh inning on a consistent basis would be the best remedy, but the Orioles have precious few of those right now.

[Evil Yoda]

So, in essence, Ubaldo lost Saturday's game AND Sunday's game.

They cannot continue like that, and contend.

During the offseason, almost every fan knew they needed help at starting pitching. Duquette was the only person who missed that.

[Deleted]

Jun 13, 2016 11:03:24 GMT -5 Evil Yoda said:

So, in essence, Ubaldo lost Saturday's game AND Sunday's game.

They cannot continue like that, and contend.

During the offseason, almost every fan knew they needed help at starting pitching. Duquette was the only person who missed that.

I think we've seen the last of Ubaldo for a while, at least in the starting rotation. When Gallardo gets back, he should be relegated to the bullpen or put on the DL with an injury to be determined later. Then when O'Day is activated, McFarland should be sent to Triple A. Outside of that, there really isn't a wealth of options available to the Orioles right now.

Fortunately, the two other major contenders in the AL East, Toronto and Boston, also have pitching issues. Toronto's bullpen--as demonstrated over the weekend--is a problem spot and their starting pitching isn't as strong as expected. Marcus Stroman was expected to an ace, but he certainly hasn't pitched like one. David Price has been better lately for Boston, and knuckleballer Steven Wright has been a pleasant surprise, but Clay Buccholz has been an absolute train wreck. The advantage for the Red Sox is that they have the resources (and Dave Dombrowski loves spending ownership's money) and the farm system to get what they need down the stretch.

It's risky business to try and build a starting staff through free agency. You overpay for mediocrity and grossly overpay for good. The Orioles certainly weren't going to spend $217 million for David Price, and there really weren't many other solid options out there. A lot of people were clamoring for Mat Latos, who took a very team-friendly one-year, $3 million deal with the White Sox. He got off to a great start, but even the Chicago media who cover the team on a daily basis weren't impressed. The general feeling in Chicago was that he was winning because he was getting guys out on pitches they should have been hitting. Latos started getting hit hard and is now unemployed. The Dodgers signed Scott Kazmir to a three-year deal worth some $48 million, and he's currently sporting a 4.52 ERA in pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium. That left the Orioles with Gallardo almost by default, who did at least have a track record against the American League. Trouble is, he's been hurt and he also cost them a draft pick.

I'd expect the Orioles to try and pick up some pitching by the deadline (and Duquette has made some clunkers, although in fairness, he's made some good ones as well). A couple of possibilities could be Rich Hill of the A's, who pitched well before landing on the DL (not arm-related), and shouldn't command that high of a price. Another possibility is Jeremy Hellickson of the Phillies, who has back-tracked of late, but could be available should the Phillies decide not to make a run at the wild card. Doug Fister of the under-achieving Astros may also be made available. He was horrid in April, but has righted the ship somewhat of late.

Not much to pick from, but anything would be an improvement if the price was right.

[Evil Yoda]

Despaigne (sp?) has joined the team in Boston. He will replace Jo Anne Worley (!) who is going on the DL with a groin strain.

Putting Ubaldo in the bullpen is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. He needs to take a demotion, and maybe figure out what's wrong. If he doesn't they need to say goodbye and eat the salary. It's spent and he can't help the team until he fixes what's wrong. Signing him was a mistake, although saying that now is just hindsight.

The Orioles' problem is that they can't seem to develop pitching and they can't seem to figure out why. Matusz just signed a minor league deal with the Cubs. I await the outcome of that with some interest.

[Evil Yoda]

McFarland has been sent south.