Fastball

Former MLB Executive Says Orioles Are Not as Good as Record Indicates

The Baltimore Orioles, fresh off taking two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays and out to the second-best record in the American League, aren't as good as the record indicates, according to former MLB executive Steve Phillips.
Brady Farkas|
Former MLB Executive Says Orioles Are Not as Good as Record Indicates
Former MLB Executive Says Orioles Are Not as Good as Record Indicates

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Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles just took two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays and own the second-best record in the American League at 24-13.

In fact, our own Tom Brew just wrote a column saying how good the Orioles are and how they'll be in the playoff race all season long.

However, former MLB executive Steve Phillips doesn't see it that way. He was on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM on Thursday and threw some water on the Orioles hot start.

You can hear the full comments below but here is a partial transcript of what he said:

"....they have the second-best record, but they aren't the second-best team in baseball because the starting pitching ERA is 5.08 and they've won games that they don't deserve to win, so what I'm telling you is, they are going to slide."

Phillips misspoke, as the Braves actually have the second-best record, but the O's do have the second-best record in the American League.

Phillips is right to point out the concerns in the starting rotation. The Orioles didn't do much this offseason to add pitching, just bringing in Kyle Gibson (4-2, 4.40 ERA) and Cole Irvin (demoted to Triple-A) and that could come back to haunt them.

They are getting a historic season from reliever Yennier Cano and have a lot of fun and exciting youth like Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, but you wonder if those guys will eventually hit a wall.

We'll see over time if Phillips or Brew is correct!

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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