Unexpected Position

With the baseball season a third of the way complete the Baltimore Orioles are in second place. Granted they are .500 and ten games out of first but for as much as they've been savaged by the local press and fan-base they're hanging in there just fine. To finish the season at .500 would be a major victory for an organization whose last winning season was 1997. The Oriole team ERA+ is sitting at 108 and pitchers Brian Burres and Jeremy Guthrie are putting up very effective innings in their unexpected starting roles. Has the Leo Mazzone effect started to take hold in Baltimore?

Baltimore's push to .500 has occurred over the past week with a six game winning streak versus OAK - OAK - KC - KC - KC - LAA. While the offense has turned it up a notch during the streak (most notably Miguel Tejada) it's the performance of the pitching staf that's been the real difference maker.

And for all of the attention given Danys Baez's horrendous spring (72 ERA+) the other three Oriole bullpen signings from this winter have been just fine. Jamie Walker, Scott Williamson and Chad Bradford have posted a combined line of 51.2 IP, 60 H+BB and 39 SO's. The trio has also only allowed one homer and are owners of ERA+'s of 125, 388 and 186 respectively.