Is Millwood Worth Keeping Around?

Unless you’re an Orioles fan that has been living under a rock, you understand the difficulty in finding sympathy for Kevin Millwood at this point in the season. Yes, his run support is less than remarkable. However, he has not helped his case by allowing thirty-four first inning runs this season, putting his team in a hole from the very beginning. And when it comes to run support, recently Millwood has been getting decent hitting. In fact, his average run support per nine innings is now at 5.39. For an offense that has given Millwood excuses all year as to why it is not his fault for his horrific win-loss record, the blame has to rest almost squarely on his performances as of late.

Millwood has an ERA sitting at 5.63. He leads the American League with fourteen losses. Despite his attempt to convince us that he still has what it takes to get batters out at a major league level, Millwood always seems to find a way to revert back to his old self. Even during his most recent string of three consecutive quality starts (six innings pitched while allowing no more than three earned runs), there has been nothing convincing to fans that Millwood deserves a place in this rotation even through the rest of the season.

Millwood is the only starter who has not seemed to benefit from the managerial change.

With the rosters expanding in just a few days, Buck Showalter has expressed interest in calling up a couple of young starting pitchers including Chris Tillman. The Orioles’ prospect has been stellar over his last three outings in Norfolk, and it leaves fans restless as they wonder what kind of effect Showalter could have on his control problems. So far, the Orioles’ young pitchers have been far better than they were in the first half of the season, and one has to contribute most of that success to the new O’s skipper.

Showalter has told the media that his plans may include expanding the starting rotation, giving room for the likes of Tillman and Troy Patton to get some major league innings under their belts. With that being said, it seems as if the expansion of the rotation may not have any room for the likes of a struggling veteran like Millwood. No purpose would be served to keep him as a starter for this team, especially when there are several rookies that will be making a push to display what they’ve got on an MLB stage.  Millwood may soon be facing the dark reality that the Orioles are ready to move on without him. He was brought to Baltimore in order to solidify a young pitching staff; However, with Buck at the helms, starters like Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz are beginning to become much more valuable than an aging mentor that can’t seem to get out of the first inning unscathed.

Buck’s Presence Is Being Felt

The era of Buck Showalter has reached Baltimore, and it hit hard and fast. The O’s started off scalding under their new skipper, and through Monday have a 12-7 record while playing under him. While the off-season will most certainly be dedicated to finding a power bat via free agency, the pitching prospects that Andy McPhail has worked so hard on acquiring are finally beginning to shine.

Arrieta is looking to establish himself as a solid fixture in the O's rotation.

Arrieta has not gone any less than six innings per start since Showalter took over. While he has felt the effects of a poor offense, Arrieta has made the best of his outings. Even though he has taken the loss in his  last two starts, Arrieta has given up a total of only four runs and struck out five over twelve innings of work.

Matusz has also been outstanding; He went eight innings in his last outing against Texas and has given up only seven runs in twenty-four innings pitched since Buck became manager.  He has gone 2-1 for Showalter, and has looked more and more like the ace that Baltimore drafted him to become.

Brad Bergesen has pitched 35 innings over his last five starts, including one complete game two hitter against Seattle. He is 2-0 over that time, and with the exception of the five runs he gave up against Texas in his last start (which he also got the win), he has allowed only five total earned runs since July 31st. Bergesen has seemed to have found his form from 2009 before he went on the DL, and his contributions have been crucial to the resurgence the O’s have felt since Showalter took over.

The brightest part of the O’s starting staff has been Jeremy Guthrie. He is 4-2 over his last seven starts while allowing only twelve earned runs over that time period (five came in his last start alone from which he walked with the loss). While his record doesn’t show it, Guthrie has become the proven veteran of this staff. He loves playing in Baltimore, and fans have learned to trust him whenever he is on the mound. Guthrie has the potential to become a great pitcher with the right tools; It seems as if Showalter has gotten the ball rolling.

Rosters Expanding

As if we haven’t had our fair share of young prospects making their way to the big leagues (it never gets old as long as the team can keep winning), the rosters will expand at the beginning of September, allowing for more roster spots. Showalter and McPhail will dig deep into the minor league system to figure out who they would like to bring up to give an opportunity.

Recently, Showalter was in Bowie, apparently to see how the rehab assignment was going for relief pitcher Jim Johnson. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Showalter was using his trip for other things as well, such as scouting out what players may benefit from a trip to Camden Yards to end the season. While names like Tillman and Patton circulate around Triple-A, Bowie also has some gems that may get a chance to be called up. First baseman Joe Mahoney is the stand out favorite to earn a September promotion; In his time with Frederick and Bowie this season, Mahoney has cranked 17 home runs while hitting .319. The 6’7” lefty could benefit from experience in the majors, and it would be interesting to see what kind of power he could generate in the short period of time between now and the end of the season. In order for Mahoney to be called up, however, the Orioles must add him to their 40-man roster by September 1^st.