A closing argument

Are we still stressing over the closer situation or an offense that scored in only three innings during the three-game series against the Tigers? Maybe it's the rotation, which has produced only 13 quality starts in 38 games. Or Matt Wieters' elbow, which eventually could require ligament-reconstructive surgery. J.J. Hardy still hasn't hit a home run. Chris Davis has two. David Lough, once projected as the regular left fielder, is batting .176. Jonathan Schoop is batting .224. Ryan Flaherty is batting .203. Preston Guilmet has an many 1-2-3 innings as Tommy Hunter, one each in a non-save situation. How is this team in first place? It's only May 15. Imagine where the Orioles will be once their offense gets cranking. And trust me, it will get cranking. Scoring runs won't be a season-long issue. Manager Buck Showalter didn't offer a vote of confidence yesterday when asked whether Hunter would be used in a save situation. "I don't know yet," he replied. "We'll see." We never found out, of course. The Orioles trailed by two runs yesterday in the ninth. They didn't lead. Fans are offering an assortment of solutions to the closer crisis, mostly starting with Hunter's exile. Folks, he's out of minor league options and his stuff is too good to let him go. Teams would pounce on him in a heartbeat if the Orioles designated him for assignment. Let them pounce? That's dumb. You don't just give him away. Try to take the emotion out of it. Maybe he needs a short break from closing. Maybe he's better suited as a set-up man. It's still a relatively small sample size as we sit in the middle of May. But he belongs in this bullpen, so let's try to eliminate all talk about giving him the Kevin Gregg treatment. If it's not Hunter, maybe it's Zach Britton, whose heavy sink should produce more ground balls. But I've got two concerns. He's never done it, either, and he's thriving in his current role. You're familiar with the whole "robbing Peter to pay Paul" argument, right? Where would the Orioles be without Britton doing his current job? I'm covering my ears whenever someone suggests Kevin Gausman. Again, he's never done it, so why assume that he'd be better than Hunter or anyone else? And his pitch count is increasing so he's an option for the rotation. Don't shorten him to one inning. Gausman was drafted with the idea that he can rise to the top of the rotation. It's too early in his career to make him a late-inning specialist. Focus on making him a better starter. It all starts with starting pitching. Showalter could use a committee of closers, though he's not comfortable doing it. Ideally, he'd like one guy to handle the bulk of the load. In case you hadn't noticed, the Orioles don't have a proven closer waiting in the wings. They didn't re-sign Francisco Rodriguez, who leads the majors in saves and allowed one run in 21 innings before last night's hiccup. The Orioles had interest in bringing back Rodriguez and spoke to his agent, Scott Boras, but the money wasn't right. If you're ready to pull the plug on the Hunter experiment, be prepared to do more experimenting. Of course, Gregg is still a free agent if you're willing to go there again. The Mets just released Kyle Farnsworth. Mouth watering yet? I'll get you a towel. My guess is Showalter may be more inclined, at least for now, to stick with the hot hand if a reliever such as Britton or Darren O'Day breezes through the eighth. No rule against coming back out for the ninth. And Hunter may not be the automatic choice until he has a few drama-free outings. It's as simple as 1-2-3.