Orioles Need a Wake Up Call

A little more than a week ago, the Baltimore Orioles held a 5.5 game lead over the Boston Red Sox. Today, they are hanging on to a 1 game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays. With every day that goes by, it’s as if every baseball “expert” is waiting to see the Orioles collapse to say “I told you so.” While the Orioles are happy to be in first place in July, which is a shock to many, they’re in need of a wake up call.

In the last week, the Red Sox have acquired infielder Aaron Hill and closer Brad Ziegler to improve their needs. Also in the last week, the Blue Jays have won seven in a row to come within a game of first place. Meanwhile, the Orioles continue to send Ubaldo Jimenez to the mound, ignorant of how bad he’s been. Jimenez has an ERA of 7.38, and has no control whatsoever on the mound, yet he continues to pitch. Buck Showalter argues that he starts due to there being no better options to choose from. Yes, the Orioles aren’t exactly overflowing with starting pitching. But someone, anyone, is better than Ubaldo Jimenez. Regardless of the money he’s owed, it’s embarrassing that a first place team continues to roll Jimenez out every fifth day.

The boos were clearly heard at Camden yards on Friday night as they watched another terrible Jimenez outing. The only thing louder than the boos was the ovation Showalter received when he finally stepped out of the dugout to remove Jimenez after he allowed five runs while recording only four outs.

While they’re still in first place, something has to change for the Orioles, and the first logical and necessary step is never allowing Ubaldo Jimenez to start another game. It’s gone on long enough.