Elias on team struggles and sticking with the plan

Orioles fans are understandably upset with their team right now. Even those that knew and fully accepted that there would be tough times during another season of rebuilding were hopeful they would see better from the club that what it is showing lately.

When John Means pitched a no-hitter, it was for a nearly .500 club and left the Orioles with a 15-16 record on May 5, and they had won five of the previous seven games.

But now the Orioles have been swept three in a row by three straight teams. It is one thing to see the Orioles lose within the American League East, but the Washington Nationals had a record of 17-23 when their series with the Orioles began, and Minnesota was 17-29. But both swept the Orioles and they are winless at 0-6 on a 10-game road trip.

When he talked with O's reporters before Wednesday's loss, the Orioles' ninth in a row, executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said some struggles were to be expected this season and that the team will not change its future course because of three brutal weeks of baseball when the Orioles have gone 2-16.

"We are remaining on target with what we're trying to do, which is build for a sustainable, competitive, playoff-caliber future for this organization for a long time so we do not have to undergo a process this traumatic ever again," Elias said.

"I don't think anyone's happy about the win-loss record. We haven't been since we've been here. But it's very important for us to remain focused and committed. Overreacting briefly to struggles from young players, making rash roster decisions with guys that have bright futures is not in our long-term nor short-term best interest.

"So we remain committed and focused and working hard every day on what we do and understand that baseball can be like this, especially when you're going through what we're going through. And the players themselves have the same approach and know that the hits will start to fall or they will get into a groove on the mound. And we wait for that to happen. We see talent here and we see youth here and want to continue to support these players and allow them to develop and get better."

Elias said the organization remains fully behind the rebuilding efforts and its young players, both in the majors and on the farm.

"We continue to have the utmost confidence in the coaches and player development professionals that we have up and down the organization," he said. "The people that are involved in guiding these young players and coaching them and making decisions about their futures. And the players themselves. This wave of young players right now that are undergoing some struggles in what I call their sophomore seasons are a very talented group. I don't think this is unexpected. Sophomore slumps are real.

"You are looking at young pitchers that have undergone struggles this year. The ERAs are a little high, but the strikeout and walk numbers remain positive. Those are interesting and indicative of future results. And we see a lot of talent there. This is a group of players that we believe in."

The Orioles have allowed 72 runs during the losing streak and the rotation just saw one young pitcher head to Triple-A in Dean Kremer and another take his spot in lefty Keegan Akin. So rookies Akin and Bruce Zimmermann, who starts tonight at Chicago, join fellow lefty Means in a rotation that also includes right-handers Matt Harvey and Jorge López.

Kremer got a reset to work on his pitches and command. The Orioles are still bullish on his talents. But what about a young player like Ryan Mountcastle, who is batting .228/.258/.353 with 54 strikeouts? Or lefty Tanner Scott, who has walked 17 in 19 1/3 innings? I asked Elias how the club weighs riding out the struggles with these young players against sending them down to work on some things.

"It's frustrating to see that (young players struggle)," he said. "Especially with both of them and others having such smooth years last year in a shortened season. But, it's more often than not there are ups and downs with young players. It's the exception that comes up and just continuously performs well in the major leagues.

"We're understanding of that, but yeah, we've got to put the work in and put them in positions to improve. And if we feel anytime that someone is overwhelmed, that their development would be better benefitted from being in Norfolk than being in a major league environment, we will do that. But suffice to say that you know the guys are on the major league roster because we want them to be there. And we see better performances on the horizon for, really, a lot of these guys."