Boston Red Sox Teach the Baltimore Orioles the Value of Pitching

The visit by the Boston Red Sox to Camden Yards this week is a reminder to the Baltimore Orioles that they still have quite a journey ahead if they indeed wish to become competitive in the American League East.

The Red Sox are among the most balanced teams in baseball, annually ranking among the league leaders in both pitching and run production.

When you think of the Red Sox, the first visual that comes to mind is that of the Green Monster and the towering home runs that Red Sox batters from Ted Williams to Jim Rice to Manny Ramirez have launched high into the night.

However, the success of the Red Sox in the last decade has been almost as much a result of quality pitching as it has been due to offensive prowess.

Since 2000, Boston has ranked in the top four in the American League in earned run average six times. They ranked third in the AL in ERA when they won the World Series in 2004 and led the league in 2007 on their way to a second world championship.

That success ranks in stark contrast to the Orioles.

Baltimore has finished 10th or worst in the league in ERA in all but two seasons since 2000. In fact, they have finished 13th (second to last) in the league in ERA each of the last three seasons and are currently mired in the same spot in 2009.

Orioles President Andy MacPhail has done a solid job building a starting lineup for the Orioles that is competitive with those of contenders across the American League.

However, when you look at the Orioles pitching staff in comparison to the Red Sox, you can quickly see that the Orioles still have a long way to go.

By today’s standards, the Red Sox have a loaded pitching staff.

Now, no one would ever confuse the 2009 Red Sox starters with the 1971 Orioles or 1995 Atlanta Braves, but they are deep and balanced and built to maintain their success into the postseason.

Staff ace Josh Beckett is off to a solid start in 2009 (9-3, 3.48 ERA) and should earn another All-Star berth.

Surprisingly, Beckett isn’t even leading the team in wins as 42-year old Tim Wakefield has a team-best 10-3 record and is making a bid for his first appearance in an All-Star game.

Left-hander Jon Lester, who continued his mastery of the Orioles with a shutout win on Monday night, has developed into a solid starter with a 7-6 record and 4.35 ERA.

Fourth starter Brad Penny (6-3 record) is a two-time All-Star and finished third in voting for the National League Cy Young Award just two years ago.

As if their top four starters aren’t enough, the Red Sox also recently activated former Atlanta Braves ace John Smoltz to provide a fifth starter with postseason experience. After a rocky first outing, he proved in his start against the Orioles that he still has what it takes to be a solid Major League starter.

And I haven’t even mentioned the best pitcher on the team from a year ago, Daisuke Matsuzaka, who has struggled this season after posting an 18-3 record in 2008.

That formidable rotation is quite different than the starters the Orioles are currently sending out to the mound every night.

Jeremy Guthrie leads the Orioles with six wins, but his 5.11 earned run average is higher than that of every pitcher (other than Matsuzaka) on the Red Sox staff.

As a starting staff, the Orioles are 21-32 with a 5.36 ERA while averaging just 5.1 innings per start.

It is quite possible that the Red Sox bullpen is even stronger than their starting staff. Led by closer Jason Papelbon, each of the top five relievers for Boston has an ERA under three runs per game.

Baltimore relievers have been better than the starters, but still have a 4.44 ERA to go with a 13-10 record.

MacPhail has been banking the future of the Orioles pitching staff on a talented crop of youngsters who have been developing over the last couple years in the minor leagues.

The first wave of starters made their debuts in Baltimore earlier this season, and Brad Bergesen has been the most successful with a 5-2 record and 3.76 ERA.

If history is any guide, it is likely that at least a couple of the young Orioles starters will develop into successful Major League hurlers, but much like the Red Sox, Baltimore will eventually have to bring in some proven veteran pitchers if the staff is ever going to take a leap toward competitiveness.

Of the top 11 pitchers for the Red Sox, only four began their professional careers in the Red Sox organization. Lester is the only homegrown product among the starting pitchers.

The danger with being in a building mode, as the Orioles have been since MacPhail’s arrival in 2007, is that you keep concentrating on identifying the pieces you need for winning sometime down the road and never recognize when you have enough pieces to start thinking about winning at that moment.

I’m not saying that they are there yet, but at some point in the near future, the Orioles will need to decide that there has been enough building and that it is time to make the final moves necessary to win.

The first of those moves will need to be securing a starting pitcher capable of being a staff ace and contending with the top pitchers of the Red Sox, Rays, Yankees, and Blue Jays. Having a clear number one pitcher will take some of the pressure off of Bergesen, Guthrie, and the other young pitchers, allowing them to develop into the type of deep rotation the Red Sox currently enjoy.

Until that day comes, the Orioles will have to be content sending their young guns out there to take their lumps and learn their lessons as the Red Sox continue teaching the Birds just what it takes to compete in the AL East.