Could the starting rotation sink this ship?

Not good enough. From time to time, we hear Buck Showalter say that phrase. It fits for O's starting pitching over the last seven games and it fits for the Orioles' starting pitching for most of this season. For a brief time, it looked like the Orioles were turning a corner. From June 2-16, the Orioles got a run of nine quality starts over 14 games and they went 9-5 in that stretch. But over the last seven games, they have gotten just one quality start and their pitchers are barely averaging five innings per outing in that time, going a combined 35 2/3 innings in the stretch and pitching to an ERA of 6.56. Not surprisingly, the Orioles are 2-5 in those seven games. Just nine times all year the O's have seen their starter go seven innings or more and they are 7-2. If you want a possible ray of hope, O's starters were not very good in the first half of last season, but they later turned it around. The starters' ERA was 4.77 in the 2012 first half, when the O's went 45-40, and 4.01 after the All-Star break, when the Orioles went 48-29. From Aug. 1 on, O's starters worked to an ERA of 3.85 through the end of the regular season, going 38-20 in that time. Last season, the rotation was a work in progress for most of the season, but they got it together in time to make the postseason. Looks like they need to do that again. The O's starters' ERA is 4.89 right now and that ranks next to last in the American League, ahead of only Minnesota at 5.23. Baltimore starters have allowed a league-high 77 homers and the next closest team is at 62. The Tigers staff has yielded only 36 home runs. The O's rotation is just not pulling its weight right now. Not good enough. Live chat today: I'll be hosting a live video chat at 1 p.m. this afternoon with Adam Jones that will air here on MASNsports.com. Be sure to watch and this is your chance to send Adam your own question. For more, read here.