Baltimore Orioles: 7 Signs the Birds Can Actually Remain Hot All Year Long

The start to this Baltimore Orioles season is different.

It looks different. It feels different. And they're certainly playing differently.

The O's are off to a 16-9 start — they're best start since the 2005 season.

It seems as though almost every year the O's start off hot through the season's first eight or 10 games, then fizzle out.

But this year, that is different too. The O's have been playing good ball through the season's first 25 games, and they don't seem to be slowing down. In fact, they only seem to be getting sharper.

The O's will maintain this level of play throughout the whole season.

Starting Pitching

So far this year, the O's starting pitching has been amazing.

Jake Arrieta, the O's Opening Day starting pitcher, blanked the New York Yankees over eight innings yesterday, allowing only five hits and striking out nine while walking none.

Wei-Yin Chen has been fantastic since coming over from the Japanese league, sporting a 2.22 ERA over his first 24.1 innings of major league work, accompanied by a 2-0 record.

Jason Hammel (pictured) has been unbelievable, with a 3-1 record and an incredible 1.97 ERA over 32 innings pitched.

Being his usual steady self, Tommy Hunter has kept the O's in the game when he pitches, and is 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA while eating up 31.2 innings.

Brian Matusz appears to finally be finding himself again, as his last three outings have been better and he seems to be building on each one. Right now, he's 1-3 with a 4.67 ERA over 27 innings, but he got his first win in nearly a year on Tuesday, when he went 6.1 innings against the Yankees, allowing only one earned run on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

If this rotation keeps improving, it could be scary good. And the O's still have lefty Zach Britton waiting in the wings once he recovers from injury.

Timely Hitting

What's different about the O's offense this season is that they're scoring when they need to, and not simmering down late in games.

Adam Jones, Matt Wieters (pictured) and Chris Davis have been an impressive 4-5-6 combo in the order, driving in runs and hitting homers with the best of 'em.

Robert Andino has been steady in the ninth spot in the order, and after going 3-3 against the Yankees on Wednesday, he's hitting a very nice .342 on the season.

Nolan Reimold has been doing a fantastic job in the leadoff role for the O's with a hitting line of .313/5 HR/10 RBI. Now all he needs to do is stay healthy enough to remain in the lineup for an extended period of time.

Once players like J.J. Hardy, Nick Markakis and Mark Reynolds get going, this Orioles offense will be even better.

But the biggest plus here is that while some players are struggling, others are stepping up to carry the offensive load. That's the mark of a solid lineup.

Strong Bullpen

At this point, the Orioles have one of the best bullpens in baseball.

Boy, when do O's fans ever get to say that?

Orioles pitchers have yet to blow a save, with closer Jim Johnson (pictured) going seven for seven so far in save opportunities and set-up man Pedro Strop nailing down two saves while Johnson was sick. Middle reliever Luis Ayala even has a save himself.

What's more, the bullpen ERA for the O's is a miniscule 1.73 heading into Friday's game, giving them the lowest bullpen ERA in the major leagues.

The weakest link in the Orioles' bullpen appears to be Kevin Gregg, and even with the dislike that O's fans have for Gregg, they can still admit that any bullpen that has him as the weakest link is a pretty good one.

The O's need to keep up the great relief work. If they do, that will do wonders for the team.

The Buck Effect

Many fans probably already know about manager Buck Showalter's record from his first full season with a team to the second. For those who don't, let me post the stats, with the team he managed followed by the record of the team the first year he was there, and the second.

New York Yankees

1992: 79-86

1993: 88-74

Arizona Diamondbacks

1998: 65-97

1999: 100-62

Texas Rangers

2003: 71-91

2004: 89-73

That's pretty much all that needs to be said on that front.

Granted, a manager doesn't make a team, but a manager helps make a team grow, and Buck certainly appears to know what he's doing on that front.

A Good Mojo Going

The O's have got some great momentum on their side, and positive momentum can contribute to a positive mentality.

Mentality is a huge thing in sports, especially baseball. If a team has a negative mentality, they're likely to have a negative showing on the field.

The Orioles surely feel great about themselves right now. They've been playing great baseball, and playing great makes one feel great.

They're entering every series feeling like world beaters, and if they think they can beat any team, they've already won half the battle.

Improvement on Defense

At the start of the year, the Orioles' defensive wasn't exactly the most impressive thing in baseball.

But over the last week or so, they've been tightening things up, and are really looking good out on the field.

I'm not going to pretend that the Orioles are the greatest fielding team out there, because they're far from it, but as long as they maintain the solid defensive work they've shown recently, it'll be a huge boost to their pitching staff. Preventing runs is a huge key to winning.

As well, the Orioles do have a few plus defenders, such as catcher Matt Wieters, shortstop J.J. Hardy and outfielders Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. Robert Andino isn't too shabby at second base either.

A tight defense is a good defense. They may not be the greatest, but the point is to get the job done, and they've only been improving in that aspect.

Overall Improvement

The most encouraging sign for the Birds this young season is the fact that they don't only appear to be growing individually, but as a team as well. The only way to win is to play as a team.

Guys are supporting each other offensively, as well as defensively. They're all there for each other mentally, and they pick each other up when the guy playing next to them or batting before them doesn't get his job done.

They're playing as a team, winning as a team and losing as a (competitive) team. It's a brilliant sign for the team, and for the fans.

That will be the key in 2012 for these Baltimore Orioles — to continue to play as a team, as well as taking strides forward as a team.

If they continue to do that, anything is possible.