The bad and the good

I decided to start with the "bad" because I'd rather end this blog entry on a high note. The Orioles are facing Jered Weaver tonight. That's bad for them. He's 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA in three starts, with only two walks and 23 strikeouts. He hasn't allowed a run in two of those outings. Weaver is 15-5 with a 2.68 ERA lifetime in the month of April. Over the last three seasons, he's 10-0 with a 1.85 ERA. The last time I checked, it's still April. The Orioles continued to be dogged by injuries and ailments. Nolan Reimold returned to the lineup last night, but he might wake up this morning with a stiff neck. It's been an issue lately. Earlier, he was receiving treatment for a sore hamstring. Tommy Hunter is pitching despite soreness in his left side. His lower back bothered him in spring training. Tsuyoshi Wada is dealing with neck stiffness, which could extend his stay on the disabled list. The current rotation has produced five quality starts in 14 games - two each by Jake Arrieta and Jason Hammel, and one by Hunter. They have two quality starts in the last 11. Everyone was so excited over Wei-Yin Chen's first major league win, and rightfully so, but he's got to break through that sixth inning wall. And Brian Matusz has got to end this losing streak, now at 12 starts. It's not going to happen if the defense behind him keeps falling apart. The Orioles have committed 16 errors, the most in the American League. They've turned 19 double plays, the most in the majors, but I can't get past all the miscues. Every time the ball is hit on the ground, I want to cover my eyes. Even Matt Wieters is getting caught in the act. He's committed three errors - he was charged with five in each of his first three seasons - and almost had a fourth last night before the official scorer changed it and gave Erick Aybar a hit. As for the offense, Nick Markakis is hitting .226, but his average was .190 four days ago, so I guess we could file this one under "good." J.J. Hardy is hitting .192. Wilson Betemit is hitting .171. Mark Reynolds is hitting .146 with no home runs. Nick Johnson is 0-for-20. Enough of the bad. I'm getting depressed. Reimold is on a tear. He's batting .370 with four doubles, five homers, 10 RBIs, nine runs scored and a 1.166 OPS. He's got at least one hit in 10 straight games and went 3-for-5 last night with a double and home run. He's homered in five of his last six games played. Keep him in the lineup for as long as his neck will allow. Reimold is 1-1 with a double and two walks lifetime against Weaver. Yes, a small sample size, but any success against Weaver should be celebrated. In Arrieta's only career start against the Angels, he held them to two runs and four hits in 7 2/3 innings. He's on the hill tonight. That's a good thing.