Kuzul

It’s no secret that under Buck Showalter’s reign, the Baltimore Orioles might as well be a different team. They are 26-15 since he came on board and the biggest reasoning has been the team’s pitching.

Coming into the season, the rotation was supposed to be this young group of guys that were the future.

However, that image went out the window in the heat of summer when not a single one of them had an even mediocre ERA.

Well, under Showaler, the starting rotation has finally molded into what we expected…and even more. In the 41 starts, the staff is 19-11 with a 2.93 ERA.

Considering the fact that these numbers have been put up against some of the best teams in baseball, Orioles fans have got to be excited going into next year.

That being said, here is a list of the O’s starters and how they have done under the new regime.

Begin Slideshow

2010 has blessed Major League Baseball with a memorable rookie class.

Fantasy owners in Dynasty and Keeper leagues were quite familiar with this cast of characters long before they arrived in the show.

In commemoration of their foresight, let’s take a gander at the top 10 pitching keepers for 2011.

Check out our Positional Rookie List too!

Begin Slideshow

Here’s a look at the unheralded players who played well yesterday.

Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles (pictured)
Matusz got a no-decision despite allowing one run on three hits in six innings. He has allowed two runs in 12 innings in his last two starts to lower his ERA to 5.08.

Edwin Jackson, Chicago White Sox
Jackson gave up a run with 7 Ks in a six-inning no-decision. He has allowed two runs with 13 Ks in 13 innings in two starts since being dealt to Chicago, and is 7-10 with a 4.83 ERA on the year.

Skip Schumaker, St. Louis Cardinals
Schumaker went 2-4 with a Grand Slam to raise his average to .260.

Yuniesky Betancourt, Kansas City Royals
Betancourt went 3 for 3 with a HR (9) and two RBIs (48) to raise his average to .263.

Doug Fister, Seattle Mariners
Fister gave up one run with five strikeouts in six innings to improve to 4-8 with a 3.86 ERA. He has lost some of his luster, but is still a solid WHIP & ERA option in deep leagues.

Potent Middle Relievers
Matt Thornton, CHW  1 IP, 0 Runs, 3 Ks (60 Ks, 44 IP)
Carlos Fisher, CIN   3-1/3 IP, 0 Runs, 5 Ks
Bill Bray, CIN   1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (14 Ks, 12-2/3 IP)
Phil Coke, DET   1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (38 Ks, 45 IP)
Esmerling Vasquez, ARI   1 IP, 0 Runs, 3 Ks (44 Ks, 41 IP)
D.J. Carrasco, ARI   1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (48 Ks, 59-2/3 IP) 
Guillermo, SF   1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (29 Ks, 42-2/3 IP)
Javier Lopez, SF  2/3 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (26 Ks, 43 IP)

Originally published at LestersLegends.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Angels Series

We know.

It’s only been three games since Buck Showalter took the reigns as the Orioles skipper. But can you really blame O’s fans for the excitement flowing through the Baltimore harbor?

Having just completed their first three-game sweep of the Angels since 1999, the Orioles seem to have a new get-up in their step following the hiring of Showalter, a no-nonsense manager who has twice built teams into the upper-echelon only to be replaced in the offseason before that team won the World Series (see: 1996 Yankees, 2001 Diamondbacks). Without a doubt, Showalter is the best Orioles manager since Davey Johnson, who took the team to the ALCS in 1996 and 1997.

In a season that started with very modest goals (get back to .500), it has been very disheartening to see the O’s sink to the cellar: Of the AL East; of the American League; and of all of baseball. But when you’ve been at least twenty games out of first place since June 2nd, fans start looking for the silver-lining in the rustiest of situations (i.e. At least Garrett Atkins got a hit tonight!).

But in Showalter’s three game debut, even the silver-linings are lined with silver.

The starting pitching over the course of the three-game series was perhaps the best the staff has seen all season, with each starter recording a quality outing. Jeremy Guthrie gave up three earned runs over seven innings in the opener, while rookie Brian Matusz only surrendered one run in his six innings of the second game. The best start, however, likely belongs to fellow rookie Jake Arrieta, who gave up two earned runs over seven and 2/3 innings in a no-decision in which he deserved a Win.

Meanwhile, the Orioles bats came to life to the tune of 20 runs over the course of the Angels series. While scoring runs has proved enigmatic for the O’s throughout 2010, barring a fluky home run here or there, these three games featured timely hitting that has been amiss as of late.

Under Showalter’s watchful eye versus the Angels, the Orioles batted .454 with runners in scoring position (I can’t find the exact stat of what their season average is, but rest assured it is about half this number), while nine of the 20 runs were driven in with two outs. In a season where runners have been stranded on base longer than Desmond Hume on the Island, fans can’t help be be excited that perhaps Showalter has figured out how to get these runners home.

This Author’s Perspective

As a fan of a team that has had a losing record and missed the playoffs every season since 1997, there have been very few things to be excited about over the past decade-plus.

Off the top of my head, my most-favorite recent baseball moments have been: The O’s coming back from down nine runs to beat the Red Sox in 2009, seeing Matt Weiters on the cover of Sports Illustrated (thanks for the jinx), and Dave Roberts’ steal against the Yankees in game four of the 2004 ALCS. Three great moments, only two of which involved the Orioles. That’s how hard it has been to be a fan of the Orioles, who I wholeheartedly believe have the most incompetent owner in all of sports.

Based on the astute moves made in recent seasons, I’m going to guess that Showalter’s arrival in Baltimore had much more to do with General Manager Andy MacPhail’s efforts than whatever fat-cat owner Peter Angelos was doing to replace interim manager Juan Samuel. MacPhail has built the Orioles farm system into one of the best in the league, mostly through his mantra of “Grow the arms, Buy the bats.”

While Baltimore has yet to sign a marquee bat, a line-up featuring Matt Weiters, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones, Josh Bell and other up-and-comers should be appealing for an experienced big-time bat. If these players produce as they have in the minors and at times in the bigs, they could offer some protection in the line-up for a big bat to be bought in the offseason.

If Showalter can continue pushing his young team towards the potential we all want to think is in there, then the Orioles should at least be in contention for the playoffs as early as 2011. Sure, we’ve been saying that for years, but isn’t the scent of success tickling your olfactory for the first time since we thought the first Tejada experiment would make the O’s contenders?

Maybe. Only this time, its a bit more pungent.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

If defense wins championships, then having a good pitching staff is the key to World Series titles.

With that idea in mind, Andy MacPhail has spent his time as the general manager of the Orioles by stockpiling talented pitchers in the Baltimore farm system and slowly cultivating a rotation (as well as a bullpen) that can win pennants, much like the Tampa Bay Rays have.

That being said, let us take a look at some of those arms that Baltimore thinks will eventually turn the organization around and review their progress so far.

Begin Slideshow

When I predicted Baltimore Orioles’ LHP Brian Matusz would win the American League Rookie of the Year award, I was envisioning starts like he had on Sunday against the Boston Red Sox.

Pitching on the worst team in baseball, Matusz’s successes have been few and far between in 2010, but on Sunday, he might have pitched his best game yet in the bigs.

Matusz gave up just two hits, while allowing no runs, walking three and striking out eight in seven solid innings of work.

The key to beating the Red Sox these days is to control the stars that they have left in the lineup. With Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, and Jacoby Ellsbury on the DL, and with Mike Cameron day-to-day, the Red Sox have only so many guys who can beat you.

Matusz dominated the hitters who could have beaten him on Sunday. David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, Adrian Beltre, and JD Drew were a combined 1-for-10 with two walks and five strikeouts against Matusz. He made Drew look especially foolish a couple of times.

And that brings me to another point as to why Matusz was able to dominate on Sunday—his ability to change speeds. I can’t tell you how many times Boston hitters were caught waving at an offspeed pitch down in the zone.

Matusz’s average fastball was around 91 mph yesterday, while his changeup and slider were thrown around 82 mph. That is some awesome speed differential. To give you a better idea of how well Matusz was changing speeds on his pitches, take a look at his pitch speed chart courtesy of PitchFX…

As you can see, there was a huge gap in speeds between his fastball and offspeed stuff. Nothing he threw was in the upper-80s. Either the pitch was in the low-90s or the low-80s. When a pitcher keeps hitters that off-balance throughout the game, he is going to be successful.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s been a rough year for Matusz. However, on Sunday he was at his very best.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

YANKEES (31-20)

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Marcus Thames DH
Francisco Cervelli C
Curtis Granderson CF
Kevin Russo LF

Pitching: RHP Javier Vazquez (3-5, 6.86 ERA)

ORIOLES (15-36)

Corey Patterson LF
Miguel Tejada 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Luke Scott DH
Matt Wieters C
Adam Jones CF
Julio Lugo 2B
Cesar Izturis SS

Pitching: LHP Brian Matusz ( 2-5, 5.76 ERA)

Orioles vs. Vazquez

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Admit it: you don’t know if J.A. Happ’s name is “Jay” or “J.A.” Despite the fact that his name is clearly listed in every scorecard, box score, and recap as “J.A.’, announcers uniformly refer to him as “Jay Happ.”

Happ is hardly the first baseball player in major league history to have a name that befuddles fans and sportscasters alike. Part of the fun of America’s most international sport is a wide array of easily mis-pronounced names.

For a lot of these guys, baseball being an international sport is only technically an excuse.

Begin Slideshow

Earlier this week, I asked a question on my twitter account: “Is there a better young pitcher/hitter combination in baseball than Tommy Hanson and Jason Heyward?”

Jordan from OriolesProspects.com, and @oriolesprospects on twitter, responded with Matt Wieters and Brian Matusz. The question and answer sparked both of our interests, so we decided to construct an article in which Jordan would make the argument for his Orioles, and I would make the argument for the Braves.

We both made our arguments a bit differently. Jordan went with an actual rating system whereas I just posted their numbers. You be the judge, comment below and gives us your thoughts or hit us up on twitter and voice your opinion. I’m @Ben_Duronio and Jordan is @oriolesprospects, as previously mentioned

Here is what we both had to say:

Begin Slideshow