A look at the latest disappointing loss and an interview with Xavier Avery

The Orioles have a record of 26-28 against the AL East, 18-19 since the All-Star break and 6-10 in the last 16 games. These do not seem to be numbers that a playoff team would have. Yet, the Orioles are still in the hunt, even after their latest disappointing loss. They have a chance to make a run, but we keep waiting for them to do it and now there are just 29 games to play. It was very disappointing that Miguel Gonzalez got hit so hard in the last of the fifth, failing to get an out in that inning last night at Yankee Stadium. I was wondering if we'd see Kevin Gausman pitch in relief then, but T.J. McFarland came on. McFarland did fine and I guess Buck Showalter wanted a lefty to come on after a right-hander, but why not give the kid a chance? I had heard how well Gausman was throwing in his last few Triple-A outings, hitting 97 and 98, but he hasn't pitched since he's been back with the club. The Orioles are 1-3 on this road trip and in the three losses they've allowed 25 runs. Not good enough, as Showalter might say. The 2012 Orioles got great starting pitching in the last two months as they charged toward the playoffs, but the pitching has simply not been good enough this year. Xavier Avery was drafted in the second round by the Orioles as an 18-year-old just out of high in 2008. He started in the Gulf Coast League and by last season, had made it all the way to Baltimore. This morning, when Avery woke up, he was not with the Orioles for the first time in his professional baseball life after Friday's trade to the Seattle Mariners. "It caught me off guard," Avery said yesterday afternoon before he left his Norfolk teammates in Charlotte. "I'm sure that anyone that gets traded feels the same way. It's a big change. I appreciated everything the Orioles did for me, but the Mariners acquired me, so I'll go over there and play my heart out." Avery played in about 700 games for the O's organization and he hit .223 in 32 big league games in 2012. "I have been with them since 2008 and have a lot of memories," he said. "I'll miss a lot of things. Right now my mind is racing a bit, but I know I will slow down to think about a lot of things and appreciate a lot of things with the Orioles." Avery began this year with Double-A Bowie. After he hit .300 in 39 games, he went back to Triple-A Norfolk. He was batting .237 with two homers, 23 RBIs and a .624 OPS in 81 games at the time of the trade. He has hitting in the low .200s early this month, before batting .304 in August. "Just need to keep working on consistency," he said. "This month in Norfolk, I've been on fire. I had a little rough patch, but I've made a few changes. "I just got my mind clear and went out to play. Sometimes that is what you need to do, just go out to play and have fun. This last month I wanted to go out and have fun." Avery will fly to the West Coast today and is expected to join Seattle's Triple-A team in Tacoma for the final days of the season.