The breeze has died...

Again the Orioles lose despite having the game in hand late in the game. The O's have lost 4 straight, dropped 2 games below .500 and over his last 5 games, George Sherrill  has only converted 1 save.  The breeze has stopped blowing in the Orioles sail.  Right now, the All-Star break can't come fast enough for the O's . Now having to go to Boston for 3 games, the Orioles need to take 2 of 3 from the Blow Sox and stabilize themselves.  The Orioles can either recover from their recent struggles or they can lay down and get swept by Boston. We'll learn a lot about this team over the next 3 games. 

Overall, the O's have more than exceeded expectations during the first half of the season. Will they continue this trend? Not if their starting pitching only goes 5 innings and the bullpen continues to get burned out.  No one needs this break more than the bullpen, who has been overworked drastically over the last month. Losing several starting pictures to injuries has really hurt the Orioles.  Cabrera and Guthrie are the only pitchers in the rotation who the O's can count on to normally go at least 7 innings every game.  Unless Burress, Liz and Olson pick up their games after the all star break, look for the O's to continue to struggle. 

Its really a shame because the Orioles offense has been fantastic, especially over the last 4 games, when they've averaged over 7 runs per game and sadly are 0-4.

Do you think the O's should try to keep gunning for a winning season or should they try to sell off and continue the rebuilding phase? I don't think any can doubt Andy MacPhail after all he's done thus far, but I'm curious for other's opinions. Please vote to the right...

Please come back Orioles Magic!