MLB

Scores   Schedules   Standings   Statistics   Transactions   Injuries: AL | NL   Players   Weekly Lineup   Message Board   Minor Leagues   MLB Stat Search Clubhouses

Teams Anaheim Arizona Atlanta Baltimore Boston Chicago Sox Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Cleveland Colorado Detroit Florida Houston Kansas City Los Angeles Milwaukee Minnesota Montreal NY Yankees NY Mets Oakland Philadelphia Pittsburgh San Diego San Francisco Seattle St. Louis Tampa Bay Texas Toronto

Sport Sections

	Friday, July 14
	Midseason report: Baltimore Orioles By Marty Bernoski ESPN.com
	After a half season of suffering along with an atrocious bullpen and shoddy starting pitching, the Baltimore Orioles find themselves, somewhat surprisingly, within reasonable striking distance in the under performing AL East. Let's review the Orioles' first half. First-half MVP: The O's went south in June (10-17) and Albert Belle erupted ... on the playing field this time. Belle was named AL Player of the Month, batting .364 with 12 homers and a team-record 37 RBI in 27 games. The right fielder hit grand slams on consecutive nights, June 14-15 against Texas and homered in three consecutive at-bats June 15-16. Through 83 games, Belle leads the team in RBI (66) and total bases (172), ranks second in homers (18) and is fourth in average (.295). Biggest disappointment: Scott Erickson, a 15-game winner in 1999, has not seen his ERA drop below 6.00 yet this season. In losing three consecutive starts (June 18-29), Erickson allowed 22 earned runs and did not pitch beyond the sixth inning. He even walked eight on June 13 against Texas and actually got the win. Erickson ended the month of June 1-5 with a 8.00 ERA. He kicked off July on a high note with a win against the Yankees (7 2/3 IP, 3 ER), improving his record of futility to 4-6 with a 7.32 ERA after 12 starts. Biggest surprise: The O's have a pair of players having career years. Mike Bordick (.299, 14, 53 through 83 games) is having a fantastic first half, but the nod goes to Charles Johnson, who already has broken his career-high mark for homers (20) and his .312 average is 74 points above his career average. Johnson got out of the gate quickly, hitting .261 with six homers and 19 RBI in April. His power stroke calmed down in May (2 HRs, 5 RBI), but he continued hitting at a .300-plus clip. After ripping nine more homers in June, Johnson's average finally topped the .300 mark on July 1. Second-half goals: After 83 games, the Orioles are only 8½ games out of first place. Although Baltimore has been left for dead by most, the O's do have an outside shot at making a postseason run. The Orioles need to put a stop to the streaky play, especially when it involves losing. In the month of June they won six straight, then lost nine in a row. They've had six losing streaks of four or more and four winnings streaks of four or more. Consistency will be key. Grade: -- Through 83 games, the O's 6.27 bullpen ERA is dead last in the AL. In fact, it's the worst in the majors. Fixing the bullpen is just the start. (Scale: 1 to 4 baseballs; 1 = worst, 4 = best) We told you what we thought of the Orioles' first-half performance, now you've told us. Here is what you had to say about what the Orioles have to do in the second half.		ALSO SEE Midseason Feedback: Orioles MLB midseason reports ESPN.com's All-Star Game coverage Kurkjian: Stories of the first half Ten second-half questions for the AL Ten second-half questions for the NL