Disappointing Orioles

When looking at the stat sheet for a lot of Orioles players you have to be disappointed. However, the Orioles are still just 5 games under .500 and one winning streak away from from being in serious competition for the AL Wild Card. I think fans have been disappointed with the production of a lot of Orioles players and rightfully so. I would like to know though which player has let you down the most so far this season. Obviously the baseball season is just two months old and there is a lot of baseball to be played. I fully expect fans opinions of the Orioles to change by the end of the season for many of the teams players.

If you look down the stat sheet and have been following the Orioles season through the first two months there are a number of players who stick out as having disappointing seasons so far. My pick would have to be Nick Markakis. If you look at the Orioles hitters who have failed to impress, I had my suspicions about all of them. I didn’t expect Nick Markakis to struggle like he has so far. Luke Scott has always been a streaky hitter and up until last season he was hitting in the .250 range with the Orioles. My guess is Luke Scott probably will get hot at some point this season, but I think expecting the kind of season he delivered last year was looking for too much.

Mark Reynolds is another disappointment this season. I would even argue the Orioles should start looking for some way to dump Reynolds in a trade. I doubt the Orioles would be getting much worse production from Josh Bell if they called him up to start every day at third base. Reynolds is hitting just .188, but is tied for the team lead with 7 home runs. The problem is, Reynolds has 11 errors at third base and isn’t providing 30 to 40 home run power that fans were hoping for. I think fans could live with the horrible batting average if he was mashing home runs every night at Camden Yards. Is he your biggest disappointment?

You can also add Derrek Lee and Brian Roberts to that list. Lee is on the disabled list and was hitting just .231 with 14 RBI’s as the Orioles three hole hitter. However, I am not shocked the aging Lee isn’t producing. I hoped he would of had a bounce back year, but I am not surprised it looks like his best days may be behind him. The same goes with Brian Roberts. He is starting to get up there in age and after last season’s injury prone season, it can’t be a huge surprise Roberts is back on the disabled list. I will say, I didn’t expect Roberts to be hitting just .221 when he was healthy though.

Now, back to Nick Markakis. Part of the reason he is my choice for most disappointing Orioles player so far this season may be because he is my favorite player. However, I think most fans are baffled and let down that he has struggled so mightily. Markakis has been the Orioles number two hitter most of this season, but he has hit just .239 with 4 home runs and 17 RBI’s. This is a player who was a first round pick by the Orioles and was not long ago signed to a 6 year $66 million dollar extension to be the face of the franchise. I don’t think anyone expected Markakis to hit 40 home runs and be a superstar player, but a lot more was expected that what he is giving the team right now. Since last season when Markakis hit just 12 home runs and had just 60 RBI’s, his power numbers have gone down dramatically. At one point, scouts thought Markakis could be a 30 home run hitter. Still, last season, Markakis was able to hit close to .300 like he has his entire career…up until this season. In his defense, Markakis has been a slow starter throughout most of his career. I remember his rookie season when he struggled badly during the first half of the season, then turned it on after the All-Star break. Maybe Markakis will turn it on again this season, but there are definitely worries among fans that there could be something wrong with the Orioles right fielder. There have been rumors that Markakis looks skinnier than he has in past seasons. This could definitely be the reason for why he has seen a decrease in power and doesn’t turn on inside pitches like he used to. The reason he is skinnier? That is an entirely different post. Either way, Nick Markakis needs to turn it around. For the sake of the team and the fans.

My most disappointing Orioles player this season is Nick Markakis…who is yours? I didn’t even touch upon the pitching staff, but there could be a couple pitchers you could bring up. Maybe Justin Duchscherer is most disappointing considering he hasn’t even thrown a pitch this season yet. Brian Matusz could be considered a disappointment through the first two months since he was supposed to be the teams number two starter and he was on the D.L. the entire time. What about Mike Gonzalez? Did anyone else think he would have a bounce back season? If you did, you definitely are disappointed. Let me know what you think.