After his fifth loss in a row on Sunday (and being booed as he exited the game), Brian Matusz was sent down to AAA Norfolk.  It’s been an up and down season for the still very young left hander and the demotion was past due.  After his horrendous season in 2011 and little improvement this year the Orioles really had no choice in the matter.  The once promising savior of the Orioles has now officially hit rock bottom.  It seems like it’s been a long time since this picture captured the future of the Orioles.

Through all this doom and gloom though, I still don’t believe it’s the end for Brian.  He has shown glimmers of potential however short lived they are.  I think that being sent down could be the best thing for him.  He needs time to figure things out and the major leagues aren’t the place to do that.  Clearly it’s just a mental thing with Brian.  He needs to gain his confidence back and have a change in mentality.  He needs to adopt a bull dog like approach where he just doesn’t let things get inside his head.

Quite frankly, I think he should be sent all the way back down to Frederick and be made to work his way back up through the rotation.  This would give him some added confidence that he sorely needs at this point.  He has the skills and the proverbial “stuff”.  He just needs to learn how to avoid imploding on himself when things go wrong. He has said himself: “Right now, my confidence isn’t there because I haven’t been winning ballgames. I know I have the stuff, but I just have to put it all together.”

It’s not the end for Matusz.  He has the ingredients he just needs some tweaking.  This kind of comeback has been witnessed before.  I bet you’ll never guess who it was.  If you guessed Roy Halladay then you are correct!  Oh…you didn’t guess him?  Well I don’t blame you.  It’s hard to believe that probably the best pitcher in baseball struggled just as bad as Brian Matusz has.

After a promising first year for Halladay (3.92 ERA in 149 innings) he found himself struggling in his second year.  He posted a 10.64 ERA in 67 innings and then found himself sent down to single A in the middle of the season to work his way back to the majors.  Over the next year he jumped back up through the minors and rejoined the Blue Jays in the middle of the 2001 season.  I guess you can say the rest was history after that.

In Matusz’s first full year, he posted a 4.30 ERA in 175 innings and was tied for 5^th in A.L. Rookie of the Year voting.  The following year he melted down; posting a 10.69 ERA and going 1-9.

While Brian Matusz’s struggles might be a little more severe than Halladay’s, I believe that Matusz could make a similar type of comeback.  Obviously, he won’t ever be at the level Halladay is at but I believe he could eventually turn into a quality middle of the rotation type of starter.

Whether Brian has the where with all to come back from his struggles remains to be seen.  He hasn’t shown he has the mental fortitude to do so yet.  It would be a sad story if he never came back from such a disappointment but at least I could say I got to see his last start at the big leagues in person.  Although there is no indication that he can overcome this, I still believe he can for some reason.  I hope he proves me right.

Yesterday saw once promising Baltimore Orioles prospect Brian Matusz sent back down to AAA Norfolk after a disastrous four inning start, where he gave up four earned runs to the Cleveland Indians enroute to a 6-2 loss.

The outing marks yet another puzzling start for a pitcher who at point was regarded as a potential top of the rotation candidante. In 2012, he has failed to maintain any momentum what so ever for more than a handful of starts. In 107 innings, Matusz has given up 51 earned runs on his way to a below mediocre 5.42 ERA.

The lack of success this year is just another rung in the ladder towards busting as a prospect for Matusz. He only has one winning season in his career, his first when he was 5-2 in 2009, but a combination of bad Orioles teams and bad pitching by him has led to a career winning percentage of .389. At some point, the O’s have to make a decision about his future with the organization. If he continues with his current winning percentage with an ERA trending down, his future may be a short one.

Matusz is heading dangerously towards AAAA-player territory. These are the types of players who dominate players in the minor leagues, but can never put it together in the Major Leagues. Someone like Mike Hessman, the current minor league baseball home run leader, is the type of player Matusz is on the verge of becoming. Sure, some may say he is only in his fourth year of baseball, by Matusz is 25 and isn’t getting any younger. Even more concerning, is Matusz followed a career path, playing baseball at the University of San Diego before going pro, indicative of players who rise to the majors and succeed faster than other prospects.

Now, this may be viewed as secondary to some, but the worst part of Matusz’s lack of success is how it is also tanking his trade value. At one point, Matusz was considered one of the most promising pitchers in baseball and the organization could have netted quite the haul for him. Now though, as he struggles to show he can compete at the major league level, his value continues to plummet and Baltimore’s window for moving him for even a decent player in return is closing.

It is hard to blame the O’s for not trading the guy though. Matusz has a promising arm, was projected as a can’t miss kind of guy and clearly looked as if he had the intangibles to be a meaningful part of a major league roster. It is easy to play armchair general manager now, after seeing what Matusz has done, but it is tough to sit here and think Baltimore has anything more than outside hopes for him to impact the franchise going forward.

Matusz has an incredibly small window to get himself back into relevance. That time for him is now. If the former top pitching prospect is ever going to join this roster and show he can make it as a major league player, he has to do it this year. For his sake and the organizations, he can’t kick around in AAA again this year only to make the roster next year. If that is the case, then it is more of the same for Matusz and it is time for the O’s to start looking for his “Plan B.”

Have we seen the last of Brian Matusz? His trouble this season has been apparent. At only 25 years old, maybe he can rebound, but allow me to express my skepticism.

As you all know by now, following a 6-2 loss to the Indians Sunday, in which Matusz surrendered 5 runs in his 4 plus innings of work, he was optioned down to Triple-A Norfolk.   He follows Tommy Hunter as the second Starting Pitcher to be demoted to the minors in as many days.  Steve Johnson has been called up to complete the 25 man roster, and will join the Bullpen on the final road trip before the All-star game.

The Orioles starting pitching has been a huge contributor to a bad stretch as a team, and Brian has undoubtedly been the worst offender.  Since June 2, after his best outing this season, Matusz has lost his last 5 starts, notching a 8.44 ERA, and an eye popping 2.48 WHIP.

Many times I’ve heard the philosophy that if you give a pitcher a lead, it relaxes him, takes the pressure off, etc.  I think the same can be said for the Offense.  If the pitchers goes out and puts a team in a hole early, it’s hard to dig out, puts too much pressure on your hitters.  They become overzealous, swing at bad pitches, try to force things to happen, and leads to disastrous results. By this account, Brian Matusz hasn’t done much to help the offense.

We’ve seen the bad side of Matusz before.  In his 2011 campaign, he started on the DL, was sent back down to the minors after a 1-4 stint to work on mechanics and velocity, only to come back up to the majors, finishing the year 1-9, with a historically bad 10.69 ERA. (It’s the worst of any qualifying pitcher in an individual season…look it up).

The biggest hurdle I think Matusz has, and may never overcome, is his confidence.  He obviously has the tools, he had a stretch this season where he was effective, and even churned out a few consecutive victories.  I don’t think he believes in himself, and through his own lack of faith in his ability, the fans turn on him, and begins a downward spiral.  He stands on the mound drenched in pounds of his own sweat, regardless of the season, with a sad disposition reminiscent of boy without a date for prom.

His most recent demotion won’t do his confidence any good, and if this were any other season, we could keep Matusz on the main roster.  However, if we will seriously compete for a playoff birth this season, the Orioles cannot keep Matusz around while he gets his head right.  We have enough options down in Norfolk (Britton, Tillman, Bergesen, Willis, Berken) where we can continue to shuffle the roster until we find something that works.  There is even the chance of trying to procure a starter through trade, but management has stated they want to fix the roster internally first, before seeking elsewhere.

As for his future, I don’t see one for him here in Baltimore.  My prediction is he finishes the season in Norfolk. He’s in the final season of his contract, and I can’t see the Orioles resigning him.  It’d be a less popular move then if the Ravens tried to sign Heinz Ward.  He’ll see a contract from some other team, maybe he’ll make it back to the big show, but he’s never going to be that dominant pitcher the Orioles wanted him to be when they drafted him.

@JameTFinn on Twitter

Sunday’s dramatic win over the Washington Nationals looked like the perfect tonic to snap the Orioles out of the offensive funk that plagued them over a nine-game stretch following a sweep of Pittsburgh two weeks ago.

Four days later, it appears more like a temporary diversion as the Orioles have now lost seven of their last nine games and have looked even worse in dropping three straight this week.

The offensive struggles have become all too familiar as the Orioles have scored three or fewer runs in 11 of their last 12 games. They’ve gone 6-for-63 (.095) with runners in scoring position in their last 11 games.

The pitching has followed suit in a two-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels and Thursday’s 7-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians. In those three games, Baltimore pitching has given up 42 hits, 25 earned runs, and nine home runs.

Even more deflating is the fact that Jason Hammel and Wei-Yin Chen — the club’s most dependable starters — pitched poorly on consecutive nights, with their turns in the rotation typically circled as great opportunities to win.

And the defense? Well, it’s been as brutal as it’s been throughout the 2012 season.

It’s far too reactionary to say the annual swoon has begun or that the Orioles are finished — they’re still seven games above .500 — but a three-game losing streak in which they’ve been outscored 27-6 is enough to take the wind out of even the most optimistic fan’s sail.

Lately, the Orioles have looked like, well, the Orioles, meaning the club we’ve come to know for a very long time.

“We’ve had good stretches offensively, we’ve had some real good stretches pitching,” manager Buck Showalter said. “We’ve just got to get back to putting it together again.”

The Baltimore skipper is right. While their flaws are apparent in what’s been an unexpected run of good baseball over the season’s first three months, the Orioles have strung together multiple stretches in which they’ve pitched well and scored more than enough to win.

In fairness to the lineup, the Orioles have faced a daunting run of starting pitching, ranging from R.A. Dickey and Johan Santana to the Nationals’ outstanding rotation to C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver. Their break was supposed to begin on Thursday night with the recently-recalled Zach McAllister on the mound for Cleveland, but the Orioles weren’t able to capitalize aside from a J.J. Hardy home run in the fifth inning.

“We definitely haven’t been hitting with runners in scoring position lately, but we’ve got to keep grinding,” Hardy said. “It’s one of those things where, the more you think about it, the more you try harder and harder. That’s not what you need to do. It will turn around eventually.”

The Orioles will have three more cracks at Cleveland’s mediocre pitching that features a bullpen ranked last in the American League in earned run average. The problem is they will counter with the unpredictable trio of Jake Arrieta, Dana Eveland, and Brian Matusz after Hammel and Chen faltered the last two nights.

They need to quickly find that combination of solid pitching and timely hitting to take advantage of the next six games against Cleveland and Seattle, because the road gets more difficult after that.

Good teams take three out of four games from the Indians when playing at home and then follow it up with a series win in Seattle against one of the worst teams in baseball. The Orioles need to stack some wins before traveling to Anaheim for a four-game set with the Angels, who just finished beating their brains in for two nights at Camden Yards.

It doesn’t get easier after the All-Star break as the club will welcome Detroit to town for three games before leaving on another eight-game road trip taking them into late July.

By that point, we’ll have a good picture of whether or not the Orioles should be serious buyers at the trade deadline.

Every time you think the Orioles have been on the verge of collapsing this year, they suddenly snap out of it in a way that’s been both improbable and entertaining to watch.

Their win against the Nationals on Sunday looked like it was going to be the latest catalyst in propelling them to another winning stretch.

Instead, it now looks like a temporary regaining of their footing as they navigate down a slippery slope.

And if they’re not able to turn things around quickly, the slide could get much uglier in a hurry.

Visit the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault to hear more from Buck Showalter, J.J. Hardy, and Mark Reynolds following Thursday’s 7-2 loss right here.

The Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim come to town to battle the O’s in a short 2-game Series.  Both teams had the day off yesterday. Both teams are coming off a 2-out-of-3 series win over the weekend.  The Halos, however, did it with offense, scoring 14 runs over city rivals The Dodgers.

Tonight’s pitching match-up has C.J. Wilson taking the bump head to head against Brian Matusz.  Wilson’s 8-4, 2.44 ERA marks him among the top hurlers in the league, and (at least now) justifies the 5-year, $77.5M contract he signed during the winter meetings.  Matusz, on the other hand, has yet to find his rhythm this season…or any season for that matter.  He’s dropped 4 of his last 5, surrendering 15 runs over those games.  Against the high powered offense of the Angels, this can only spell trouble.

Wednesday night, 2 of the top pitchers in the bigs face-off, when Jered Weaver goes one-on-one against the surprising ace Jason Hammel. Weaver, despite coming off a quick stint on the DL with back spasms, looked great in his last start against the Giants, giving up no runs, 2 hits over 6 innings pitched. He hasn’t surrendered an earned run since May 23rd.  Not to be outdone, Hammel’s last 2 starts have been majestic:  A complete game 1-hit shut-out of the Braves with 8 K’s, and an 8 inning outing, striking out 10 Nationals.  Touch gloves and come out fighting.

Run production has come at a premium for the birds, and doesn’t appear to get any easier these next two days.  The bats need to come alive.  Take advantage of the day you’ve had to rest, where your opponent has been traveling cross country.  Get on the board early, and be confident in the most effective bullpen in baseball.

What I look forward to watching this series is the young, talented 20-year old, Mike Trout.  His initial impact on the club was initially missed by many nationwide that had Harper-Fever.  Cat is out of the bag, and this kid is great.  While his natural baseball instinct might not be as good at Harper, I think Trout is a more complete player then Bryce, has a better grip on his emotions (Trout is yet to miss any time from self inflicted head wounds), and overshadowing big names like Pujos and Hunter in the second biggest market in America.  L.A. is not an easy place to play, but he makes it look easy.

The objective going in to every series should always be to take the series. In this instance, I’m happy with a split, which is what I expect to happen.

Oh, and follow me on twitter. @JamesTFinn

After being optioned to Triple-A Norfolk prior to Tuesday’s game in Toronto, 22-year-old outfielder Xavier Avery became the latest in a long list of candidates to fall short in stabilizing the Orioles’ leadoff spot over the last two seasons.

Since second baseman Brian Roberts exited a game with concussion-related symptoms on May 16, 2011, the Orioles have been without a bona fide hitter at the top of the order despite trying a number of candidates in the role.

Shortstop J.J. Hardy had a higher degree of success than others last season, but his .295 on-base percentage while batting in the leadoff spot — to go along with a career .320 on-base percentage — didn’t exactly scream top-of-the-order hitter. In fact, Hardy’s power numbers (40 home runs in 176 games with the Orioles) suggest a player better suited to hit in the middle of the order than at the top.

This season, left fielder Nolan Reimold appeared to be an intriguing — but unconventional — choice with his career .338 on-base percentage, but a herniated disc in his neck has sidelined him after a fast start. In his absence, the combination of Endy Chavez, Robert Andino, Ryan Flaherty, and Avery has not been able to produce and set the table for the middle of the order.

Avery shows promise for the future, but his extended audition exposed the need for him to improve against off-speed pitches and develop further at Norfolk before he’s ready to assume the leadoff role on a permanent basis.

In 2011, the No. 1 spot in the order accounted for a .240 batting average and a .290 on-base percentage, the worst figures of any spot in the batting order. The numbers have been even worse this season as the top spot in the order has produced an anemic .213 average to go along with a .258 on-base percentage.

While many place too much emphasis on the batting order, the leadoff spot is expected to be occupied by a player with a strong ability to get on base and speed — a combination that has eluded the Orioles.

So, who might manager Buck Showalter turn to?

Ironically, it might be the man the Orioles have been trying to replace for over a year.

Five games into his minor league rehabilitation assignment, Roberts has yet to experience any setbacks while collecting two hits and two walks in 12 plate appearances at Double-A Bowie. Even if his rehab stint goes off without a hitch, it would be ambitious to expect Roberts to return to the form of a career .353 on-base hitter, but the 34-year-old infielder would easily become the most viable option in the top spot if he’s even remotely close to the player he was prior to the injury.

The debate will continue over how Showalter should handle Roberts’ workload and what it means for current second baseman Robert Andino, but the Orioles desperately need more production from the leadoff spot.

And with Roberts’ return looking more realistic every day, he would be as close to the ideal candidate as the Orioles have had since his exit over a year ago.

Starting pitching woes

The news of veteran pitcher Roy Oswalt signing a one-year deal with the Texas Rangers stole some of the thunder of this topic, but it’s become clear the Orioles need better starting pitching if they hope to maintain anything close to the 29-20 pace that’s put them in first place for much of the first two months of the season.

The current 4.31 earned run average from the starting rotation is just above the league average of 4.30, but that number becomes more concerning when you consider starters pitched to a 3.63 ERA in April but have posted a 4.94 mark so far in May.

Left-hander Zach Britton is expected to take the place of the struggling Tommy Hunter, who was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday with his ERA ballooning to 5.59 after another poor start in Toronto on Monday. However, the in-house options are few and far between after that, making the idea of Oswalt so appealing before he decided to sign with the defending American League champions.

The Orioles have few pieces in their system to warrant anything better than what they already have in making a trade, meaning they will likely have no choice but to depend on the continued success of Jason Hammel and Wei-Yin Chen and hope for more consistency from Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz to prevent too much wear and tear on the bullpen.

While the health of Britton’s left shoulder remains the priority over any short-term results, the Orioles can only hope the 24-year-old more closely resembles the pitcher who was 5-2 with a 2.35 ERA in his first 10 starts last season than the one posting a 6.25 mark over his final 18 starts, which included a demotion and a trip to the disabled list with that sore shoulder.

With two days off during the current nine-game road trip, the Orioles will not need a fifth starter again until June 9. Barring any setbacks, Britton should be ready to join the starting rotation by that point in time.

Given Oswalt’s preference to play for a winner, Baltimore was an extreme long-shot, but his veteran presence for one season — without a long-term financial commitment — would have brought some much-needed stability and a veteran presence to the rotation.

Carrying Flaherty becoming burdensome?

Showalter has said how impressed he is with Rule 5 selection Ryan Flaherty on several occasions this season, but you have to wonder if the 25-year-old is becoming too great a burden on the 25-man roster for a first-place team.

Injuries provided the utility player more playing time in the early stages of May, but his .143 batting average (7-for-49) has led to less playing time over the last two weeks. Since going 0-for-4 in Kansas City on May 17, Flaherty has received only one start and four plate appearances while being relegated to the bench.

The idea of a Rule 5 player on a team projected to be in last place sounds like an acceptable situation, but carrying a player like Flaherty when you’re trying to win is a dicey proposition, especially when the Orioles have elected to go with a three-man bench and 13 pitchers at times when the bullpen has been overworked.

In addition to Flaherty, infielder Steve Tolleson doesn’t have a strong hold on his roster spot, so it will be interesting to see what executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette decides to do if and when Roberts is ready to be activated on June 12. Regardless of whether Roberts takes Andino’s starting job or not, his addition will take away another roster spot and make you wonder if the Orioles can keep Flaherty around much longer if he isn’t going to produce.

We have a lot of ground to cover tonight in my If I can do it you can do it too blog. It was a very successful night for Charm City Electric. We swept the doubleheader tonight 17-11 in game one and 13-7 in game two. We got off to a fast start hitting after I got off to a painful start on the mound. Check out the awesome bruise from the comebacker I knocked down with my forearm in the first inning. Picture #1 is right after, picture #2 is much colorful later on in the night.

UPDATE: HERE’S HOW IT LOOKS NOW ON WEDNESDAY!

This is a fantastic contusion

Charm City Electric put up an eight spot in the first inning to race out to a huge lead. Chuck Perdue’s grand slam (pictured below) was the big blow of the eight run first inning.

For some reason we score a bunch of runs and then don’t score for awhile. I had one bad inning pitching in game one and gave up eight runs in the fourth and our opponents, Bad Company, came all the way back to tie the game.  Our left fielder, Brian (don’t call me Bob) Seger was our MVP of the game. He made an incredible diving catch to save a couple of runs in the fifth inning, and then made the catch of the game in the sixth. With a runner on first and one out he ran down and absolute bomb in deep left field. Then pivoted and threw a strike back to the infield and almost doubled up the runner back at first base. He also doubled five times and hit an absolute rocket over the center fielder’s head for a home run. He was an absolute beast in the doubleheader sweep. Seger is pictured below, I think it’s a bad ass pose. What do you think?

Charm City Electric closed the deal in the bottom of the sixth of a close game. Leading 10-9 we banged out a bunch of hits and hung a seven spot up to go ahead 17-9. I closed things out in the seventh and we held on for the 17-11 win.

BALTIMORE — Still experiencing numbness in his fingers and forearm, injured Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold will receive a second epidural injection to alleviate the pain from a herniated disc.

Reimold hasn’t played since the end of April and the first epidural he received nearly two weeks ago has done little to eliminate the discomfort from a bulging disc in his neck. The 28-year-old Reimold remains with the team and is expected to have the second injection on Friday, according to Orioles manager Buck Showalter.

“We’re hoping this does the trick,” said Showalter, who could not offer an idea of a projected date for a return. “That’s what we’re hoping, but there’s always that potential.”

The absence of Reimold and veteran Endy Chavez figured to leave a giant hole in left field, but the Orioles have found unexpected relief from 22-year-old Xavier Avery over the last 10 days. His emergency is even more remarkable when you consider the organization debated whether to send Avery to Triple-A Norfolk or back to Double-A Bowie after an underwhelming 2011 season with the Baysox.

Avery is hitting .278 in 36 at-bats and has already walked five times, showing impressive patience at the plate for a player not known for great discipline in the minor leagues. In comparison, Avery hit only .259 for Bowie last season and struck out 156 times while walking 49 times in 626 plate appearances.

Showalter is using caution when praising his fast start in the big leagues, but the Orioles feel very fortunate to have Avery’s contributions in left field every day.

“I’ve been impressed with his calmness and his selectiveness,” Showalter said. “And that’s always the last thing to come — it seems like — with a young player. Xavier’s doing well so far.”

In other news, injured infielder Mark Reynolds (strained oblique muscle) took batting practice off coaches in Sarasota on Tuesday. Chavez is also progressing nicely from a strained intercostal muscle and is scheduled to hit off coaches on Wednesday.

Left-handed pitcher Zach Britton said he felt good after pitching in an extended spring game and is on track to start at Double-A Bowie on Saturday.

Here are Tuesday night’s lineups…

Boston
SS Mike Aviles
2B Dustin Pedroia
DH David Ortiz
RF Adrian Gonzalez
1B Kevin Youkilis
3B Will Middlebrooks
C Jarrod Saltalamacchia
LF Daniel Nava
CF Marlon Byrd

SP Felix Doubront (4-1, 4.09 ERA)

Baltimore
2B Robert Andino
SS J.J. Hardy
RF Nick Markakis
CF Adam Jones
C Matt Wieters
1B Wilson Betemit
DH Chris Davis
3B Steve Tolleson
LF Xavier Avery

SP Brian Matusz (3-4, 5.36 ERA)

Here more from manager Buck Showalter in the BuyAToyota.com Audio Vault here and be sure to follow WNST on Twitter for live updates and analysis from Camden Yards throughout the night.