O's what a relief!

Baltimore's bullpen has become its strongest unit

Here's a news flash: Times are tough in Baltimore. The Orioles entered Thursday's game against Pedro Martinez and the Red Sox with the AL's lowest team batting average (.229). Only the Tigers and Angels had scored fewer runs. Scott Erickson's 4.60 ERA was the lowest among the five Baltimore starters who'd made at least three starts -- everyone else was over 5.00. And the fans have begun to tune out. A smaller-than-usual crowd of 29,004 showed up at Camden Yards to see the O's beat the Red Sox on Wednesday night. Baltimore's average crowd of 31,867, while still fourth-best in the league, was more than 2,000 off their average through the same number of dates last year, when the Orioles posted their lowest attendance total since moving into Camden Yards.

There is one encouraging sign, however. If the season's first month is a good indication -- and often it isn't -- the Orioles have improved what's been their Achilles' heel over their streak of four straight losing seasons: a horrid bullpen. Baltimore has the AL's third-best relievers ERA (3.05) and has converted four of its first six save chances, a stunning success rate for a unit that coughed up 19 opportunities last season. Earlier this season, Baltimore relievers had a streak of eight games and 24 2/3 innings without allowing a run. "Our bullpen has really been doing a great job for us all year," says manager Mike Hargrove. "It's been the big reason we've won some ballgames."

They're a long way from rivaling the pens in Seattle or Minnesota, but the Orioles at least have the seeds of a consistently successful relief corps: young, power arms who are beginning to buy into pitching coach Mark Wiley's throw-strikes mantra. (The Orioles even designed a computer program last year that measures how often pitchers "hit the glove," or put the ball exactly where their catcher wants it.) The emphasis on command has paid off. As a group, Baltimore relievers have the lowest walk total in the AL. "The way they pitched the last couple of days, they'd have done well against any team,'' Boston's Johnny Damon said after the Orioles' 5-3 win Wednesday, their second straight victory over the Sox. "Every one of them is hitting their spots."

Rookie Jorge Julio, 23, is the youngest and has the most powerful arm of the bunch. Plus, he has seized the closer's role. Julio was acquired in one of the Orioles' few shrewd trades in recent years, a deal that delivered him from the Expos for failed third base prospect Ryan Minor after the 2000 season. Julio lights up radar guns -- he's been known to hit 100 mph -- and attacks hitters in classic closer mode. Only one of the 22 pitches he threw to nail down Wednesday's victory clocked in at under 95 mph; it was the only breaking ball he tossed in the inning. More important than the heat, though, is Julio's command. He's walked just four in 11 2/3 innings, unusual control for a young flamethrower. "You could see the hitters' reactions," Red Sox manager Grady Little said after Julio closed his team out on Tuesday. "He was throwing hard, but what most impressed me was that he was around the strike zone with it."

"There's very few people in the world who can throw that fast," Hargrove said.

Setup men Willis Roberts (2.79 ERA) and Rick Bauer (1.80), age 26 and 25, respectively, have both been effective, and left-handed specialist Buddy Groom (the old man of the group at age 36) has yet to allow a run in seven appearances. Another indication of the depth the O's have developed is the transfer of Rodrigo Lopez to the rotation. Until this season, Lopez's greatest claim to fame was the 10-2 record he ran up for the Culiacan Tomato Growers in the Mexican Winter League last year. He went 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five relief outings this month. This week Hargrove started him in place of the struggling Josh Towers, and on Wednesday Lopez beat the Red Sox in his first major league start since June 2000, when he was with the Padres.

The Orioles won't be printing playoff tickets for a few more years, at least. But a revitalized bullpen is a stepping stone toward respectability. Holding on to late-inning leads does wonders for a young team's morale and confidence, especially when those leads are likely to be few and far between. It's a start, which is what the O's should be striving for these days. "It's still early," Hargrove said after Wednesday's win. "But slowly but surely, it's getting better."

Sports Illustrated staff writer Stephen Cannella covers the baseball beat for the magazine. Touching Base appears every week on CNNSI.com.

 

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