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06-22-2004, 07:37 PM
Well, June's almost over. It hasn't been pretty. This pretty much says it all.
Maz held a meeting just before the last game with the Rox. He told them he believes in them. I hope they believe in themselves. They're too good to be this bad.
There's month of reasons for June swoon
Injuries, poor hitting in clutch, 'pure bad luck' all hinder Orioles; NL West proves to be a power vs. O's; Team hopes for a turnaround like one enjoyed by Devil Rays
By Joe Christensen
Sun Staff
Originally published June 22, 2004
When Orioles catcher Javy Lopez left the Atlanta Braves as a free agent last fall, he knew he was subjecting himself to a new way of life as a baseball player.
After all, not every team can win a division title every year.
Oh sure, the Braves had losing streaks. Last year, they had a few three-game skids. In 2002, they suffered through a four-game drought. In 2001, they even endured a six-game slide.
But in his 12-year major league career, Lopez had never experienced a seven-game losing streak. And it's already happened to him twice with the Orioles.
"This is like a shock," Lopez said. "I didn't know things like that could happen to this team."
The past month has been pretty rough for Lopez and the Orioles. On May 19, they were 20-16, sitting two games out of first in the American League East. They enter tonight's game against the New York Yankees at 28-37, and their deficit has already reached 14 games.
How could things go so wrong so quickly?
"It's a combination of everything," Lopez said. "Sometimes it's the offense, sometimes it's the pitching, sometimes it's pure bad luck. ... It's like we have to play a perfect game for us to win. I've never been in a situation like that."
On Friday night, Lopez had one of those moments that have come to symbolize everything about the 2004 Orioles. Trailing the Colorado Rockies 2-1 in the fifth inning, they loaded the bases for Lopez, putting starting pitcher Shawn Estes on the ropes.
It seemed like a mouth-watering proposition. Lopez, who hit 43 home runs last year, facing a left-hander in the hitter's paradise that is Coors Field.
Instead, it was inning over. Lopez grounded right back to Estes, who threw home to start a double play. The Orioles never quite recovered in a 5-3 loss.
Lopez is batting .189 with runners in scoring position, and he isn't alone in his struggles. As a team, the Orioles are hitting a league-worst .243 with runners in scoring position. And it's all the more perplexing considering this team had the league's best average overall on June 1.
"In general, we've cooled off as a team," said Orioles hitting coach Terry Crowley. "That's something you hope to stay away from the whole year, but right now you just don't have that many hot bats. We'll get through it. It's hard to hit consistently well for an entire season as a team. There's always going to be some dry spells."
Estes was another in a long line of left-handers who have mesmerized this team. This has become a confounding problem. The Orioles lead the league with a .291 average against right-handers but are hitting a league-worst .243 against lefties.
Surely, other teams have noticed. It's no coincidence the Los Angeles Dodgers and Rockies stacked their rotations to have the Orioles face five consecutive lefties to finish their road trip.
The Orioles are 7-15 in games against left-handed starters. After going scoreless for seven innings Sunday against Rockies left-hander Joe Kennedy, the Orioles finally ended their seven-game losing streak when Brian Roberts hit a ninth-inning grand slam off Rockies closer Shawn Chacon - a right-hander, of course.
Afterward, an exasperated manager Lee Mazzilli said: "I don't want to see another left-hander as long as I live."
But in a way, the fates seem to be conspiring against this team. How unfortunate was it that they lost third baseman Melvin Mora and center fielder Luis Matos to injury right before they arrived in Denver? Without those two right-handed bats, it left the Orioles even more susceptible to left-handed pitching.
Without Matos to police center - he was replaced by Larry Bigbie and Tim Raines - with a gimpy Jay Gibbons in right and with Jerry Hairston looking like a fish out of water in left, the Orioles were poster children for how not to play the spacious outfield at Coors Field.
By the time they looked up Saturday, they were sitting 10 games under .500.
"Every team goes through it," said first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, whose .178 average against left-handers is well down from his .282 career average. "It's just a long, hard grind, and the teams that survive and make it are the teams that can minimize it and keep these long slumps to a short period."
The Orioles have had six consecutive seasons derailed by at least one losing streak of nine games or longer. They haven't hit a nine-game skid yet, but these two seven-game stretches came awfully close together.
Signing Lopez, Palmeiro and Miguel Tejada, this club hoped the losing culture would change. But Tejada knows all about slumps. He has always been a streaky hitter. A year ago, he was batting .176 on May 6.
And when Tejada goes through a slump, he usually tries to swing his way out of it. When he went on a 6-for-40 slide this month, he drew just two walks during that span. As the losses mounted, Tejada was flailing away, and the rest of the lineup seemed to be playing follow the leader.
Of course, Tejada's value to the team goes well beyond the statistics. His presence in the lineup every day is huge, especially with the other injuries.
Even when he's going badly, he's good for comic relief. On Sunday morning, with the rest of the team at wit's end, Tejada had the whole clubhouse in stitches as he pranced around the clubhouse wearing nothing but two white sanitary socks pulled high to each knee and two more pulled high over his arms to each elbow.
"We've got 80-something games left, and we just have to keep playing hard," Tejada said. "We've all got to believe in here we can come back and have a great season."
Sunday's improbable comeback closed a disappointing stretch. Considering the arduous schedule the Orioles face in the AL East, they had to get well against the NL West.
That's what the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have done, shooting past the Orioles in the standings by going 11-1 in interleague play. The Orioles, meanwhile, went 3-9.
No wonder they held three team meetings in a span of eight days - two by Mazzilli and one held exclusively for the players.
"I still have a feeling with this team," Lopez said before Sunday's victory. "We're going to win one game and go on a roll again. There's no reason we can't do that, because we've got a tremendous team."
NOTE: Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson, will sign copies of her book, Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America, at the Orioles' community booth tonight at Camden Yards. Proceeds benefit the Orioles Foundation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wrong turn for Orioles
Major reasons for the Orioles' current slide:
Feeling hurt
Melvin Mora and Luis Matos, two right-handed hitters, have missed recent games with injuries.
Slipped clutch
The Orioles are batting a league-worst .243 with runners in scoring position.
Left out
The team is batting nearly 50 points lower against left-handed pitchers than against right-handers.
Copyright © 2004, The Baltimore Sun
Maz held a meeting just before the last game with the Rox. He told them he believes in them. I hope they believe in themselves. They're too good to be this bad.
There's month of reasons for June swoon
Injuries, poor hitting in clutch, 'pure bad luck' all hinder Orioles; NL West proves to be a power vs. O's; Team hopes for a turnaround like one enjoyed by Devil Rays
By Joe Christensen
Sun Staff
Originally published June 22, 2004
When Orioles catcher Javy Lopez left the Atlanta Braves as a free agent last fall, he knew he was subjecting himself to a new way of life as a baseball player.
After all, not every team can win a division title every year.
Oh sure, the Braves had losing streaks. Last year, they had a few three-game skids. In 2002, they suffered through a four-game drought. In 2001, they even endured a six-game slide.
But in his 12-year major league career, Lopez had never experienced a seven-game losing streak. And it's already happened to him twice with the Orioles.
"This is like a shock," Lopez said. "I didn't know things like that could happen to this team."
The past month has been pretty rough for Lopez and the Orioles. On May 19, they were 20-16, sitting two games out of first in the American League East. They enter tonight's game against the New York Yankees at 28-37, and their deficit has already reached 14 games.
How could things go so wrong so quickly?
"It's a combination of everything," Lopez said. "Sometimes it's the offense, sometimes it's the pitching, sometimes it's pure bad luck. ... It's like we have to play a perfect game for us to win. I've never been in a situation like that."
On Friday night, Lopez had one of those moments that have come to symbolize everything about the 2004 Orioles. Trailing the Colorado Rockies 2-1 in the fifth inning, they loaded the bases for Lopez, putting starting pitcher Shawn Estes on the ropes.
It seemed like a mouth-watering proposition. Lopez, who hit 43 home runs last year, facing a left-hander in the hitter's paradise that is Coors Field.
Instead, it was inning over. Lopez grounded right back to Estes, who threw home to start a double play. The Orioles never quite recovered in a 5-3 loss.
Lopez is batting .189 with runners in scoring position, and he isn't alone in his struggles. As a team, the Orioles are hitting a league-worst .243 with runners in scoring position. And it's all the more perplexing considering this team had the league's best average overall on June 1.
"In general, we've cooled off as a team," said Orioles hitting coach Terry Crowley. "That's something you hope to stay away from the whole year, but right now you just don't have that many hot bats. We'll get through it. It's hard to hit consistently well for an entire season as a team. There's always going to be some dry spells."
Estes was another in a long line of left-handers who have mesmerized this team. This has become a confounding problem. The Orioles lead the league with a .291 average against right-handers but are hitting a league-worst .243 against lefties.
Surely, other teams have noticed. It's no coincidence the Los Angeles Dodgers and Rockies stacked their rotations to have the Orioles face five consecutive lefties to finish their road trip.
The Orioles are 7-15 in games against left-handed starters. After going scoreless for seven innings Sunday against Rockies left-hander Joe Kennedy, the Orioles finally ended their seven-game losing streak when Brian Roberts hit a ninth-inning grand slam off Rockies closer Shawn Chacon - a right-hander, of course.
Afterward, an exasperated manager Lee Mazzilli said: "I don't want to see another left-hander as long as I live."
But in a way, the fates seem to be conspiring against this team. How unfortunate was it that they lost third baseman Melvin Mora and center fielder Luis Matos to injury right before they arrived in Denver? Without those two right-handed bats, it left the Orioles even more susceptible to left-handed pitching.
Without Matos to police center - he was replaced by Larry Bigbie and Tim Raines - with a gimpy Jay Gibbons in right and with Jerry Hairston looking like a fish out of water in left, the Orioles were poster children for how not to play the spacious outfield at Coors Field.
By the time they looked up Saturday, they were sitting 10 games under .500.
"Every team goes through it," said first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, whose .178 average against left-handers is well down from his .282 career average. "It's just a long, hard grind, and the teams that survive and make it are the teams that can minimize it and keep these long slumps to a short period."
The Orioles have had six consecutive seasons derailed by at least one losing streak of nine games or longer. They haven't hit a nine-game skid yet, but these two seven-game stretches came awfully close together.
Signing Lopez, Palmeiro and Miguel Tejada, this club hoped the losing culture would change. But Tejada knows all about slumps. He has always been a streaky hitter. A year ago, he was batting .176 on May 6.
And when Tejada goes through a slump, he usually tries to swing his way out of it. When he went on a 6-for-40 slide this month, he drew just two walks during that span. As the losses mounted, Tejada was flailing away, and the rest of the lineup seemed to be playing follow the leader.
Of course, Tejada's value to the team goes well beyond the statistics. His presence in the lineup every day is huge, especially with the other injuries.
Even when he's going badly, he's good for comic relief. On Sunday morning, with the rest of the team at wit's end, Tejada had the whole clubhouse in stitches as he pranced around the clubhouse wearing nothing but two white sanitary socks pulled high to each knee and two more pulled high over his arms to each elbow.
"We've got 80-something games left, and we just have to keep playing hard," Tejada said. "We've all got to believe in here we can come back and have a great season."
Sunday's improbable comeback closed a disappointing stretch. Considering the arduous schedule the Orioles face in the AL East, they had to get well against the NL West.
That's what the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have done, shooting past the Orioles in the standings by going 11-1 in interleague play. The Orioles, meanwhile, went 3-9.
No wonder they held three team meetings in a span of eight days - two by Mazzilli and one held exclusively for the players.
"I still have a feeling with this team," Lopez said before Sunday's victory. "We're going to win one game and go on a roll again. There's no reason we can't do that, because we've got a tremendous team."
NOTE: Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson, will sign copies of her book, Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America, at the Orioles' community booth tonight at Camden Yards. Proceeds benefit the Orioles Foundation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wrong turn for Orioles
Major reasons for the Orioles' current slide:
Feeling hurt
Melvin Mora and Luis Matos, two right-handed hitters, have missed recent games with injuries.
Slipped clutch
The Orioles are batting a league-worst .243 with runners in scoring position.
Left out
The team is batting nearly 50 points lower against left-handed pitchers than against right-handers.
Copyright © 2004, The Baltimore Sun