The Baltimore Orioles finished the first half of the 2012 season in second place in the A.L. East with a 45-39 record, which has them six games behind the Yankees. Can they keep it up? Only time will tell. Here are the players that made the biggest impact in the first half of the 2012 for the Orioles in my opinion:

Team MVP: Jim Johnson - I considered Adam Jones here, but I went with Johnson as he has been a lockdown closer for the Orioles so far this year. Johnson has pitched in 37 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 1-0 with 26 saves, a 1.21 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. He has only given up 19 hits in 37 1/3 innings as he has been downright nasty.

Biggest Surprise: Jason Hammel - In there wildest dreams, the Orioles didn’t foresee Hammel becoming the ace of the rotation. But he has become that so far in 2012. Hammel has pitched in 17 games (all starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 8-5 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. The Orioles hope he can keep up the good work in second half of the 2012 season.

Biggest Disappointment: Jake Arrieta - 26-year old righty starting pitcher Jake Arrieta was supposed to be a big key to the rebuilding of the Baltimore Orioles’ starting rotation, but he has been awful this year. He has pitched in 18 games (all starts) for the O’s so far this year and he is 3-9 with a 6.13 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He is in AAA now.

The Baltimore Orioles swept their three game series against the Twins, outscoring them by a combined score of 15-5! Jake Arrieta, Tommy Hunter and Jason Hammel gave the Orioles outstanding starting pitching as they combined for a 3-0 record with a 0.41 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP as they were flat out amazing. Closer Jim Johnson passed his first tests of the season as he got saves in 2 of the three wins for the Orioles without giving up a run. Offensively, Nick Markakis led the way for the O’s as he was on fire hitting .556 with 3 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Robert Andino (.333 avg) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs, Adam Jones (.333 avg) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base and Ronny Paulino (4 for 4 with a double and 2 runs scored) also really hit the ball well over the weekend for the Orioles. The Orioles look to keep rolling as the 0-3 New York Yankees are going to pay a visit to Baltimore.

The Baltimore Orioles are currently in last place in the American League East with a 36-52 record which has them 18 games behind the Red Sox in the division. They are also 17 games back for the A.L. Wildcard. They are going to be sellers once again at the trade deadline as this season has been especially brutal because the Orioles spent a lot of money on free agents who have not panned out in 2011. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact for the Orioles in the first half of the 2011 season:

Team MVP: I’m going to go with 25-year old righty swinging CF Adam Jones. Jones has played in 87 games for the Orioles so far this year and he is 96 for 337 (.285 avg, .785 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 13 homers, 49 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Jones has been hitting with a lot of power this year and he’s playing a very solid CF defensively for the Orioles.

Biggest Surprise: Despite pitching very well out of the bullpen in 2010, 36-year old righty reliever Koji Uehara had his skeptics. Some of those skeptics must have been in the O’s front office as they brought in Kevin Gregg to replace Uehara as the closer in 2011. Uehara has outpitched Gregg and all of the other pitchers on the Orioles. Uehara has pitched in 37 games (0 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 2.03 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. He has only given up 22 hits in his first 40 innings this year and he has walked only 8 batters while whiffing 52! Uehara is going to be a hot commodity on the trade market this month.

Biggest Disappointment: This is a tie between 25-year old righty starting pitcher Brad Bergesen and 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Brian Matusz. Both of these guys were very solid when Buck Showalter took over as the manager last season, so he was counting on them at the back end of the starting rotation. Both pitchers have failed miserably in 2011 as they have both spent time in the minors this year. Bergesen has pitched in 17 games (9 starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 1-6 with a 5.65 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He is hanging onto a job in Baltimore by a very thin thread. Brian Matusz is currently in AAA right now. Matusz has pitched in 6 games (all starts) for the Orioles so far this year and he is 1-4 with a 8.77 ERA and a 1.99 WHIP. He has given up a stunning 40 hits (9 homers) in his first 25 2/3 innings with the Orioles this year.

The Baltimore Orioles are in first place in the American League East after sweeping the Rays in the season opening series at Tropicana Field. The Orioles outscored the Rays 12-3 over the weekend in the 3 game series as the pitching was off the hook. Jeremy Guthrie, Chris Tillman and Zach Britton all had solid starts and the bullpen backed them up. The Orioles ran into some tough pitching by the Rays but they got big hits when they needed them. The Orioles looked great last weekend as Buck Showalter still has the team rolling.

The first half of the 2010 season was a disaster for the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles are 29-59 on the season which has them in last place in the A.L. East, 27 games behind the Yankees. Not everything has been awful for the Orioles this season and here is a look at some of the surprises and disappointments of the first half for them:

Pleasant Surprises: Ty Wigginton came into this season as a backup player but the injury to Brian Roberts and the lack of performance of the O’s at 1B opened up a lot of P.T. for him and he is the Orioles’ All-Star tonight. Wigginton has played in 83 games for the Orioles this year and he is 76 of 302 (.252 avg, .768 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 14 homers and 45 RBIs. 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Corey Patterson was signed to a minor league deal with little expectation. But since coming up for the Orioles he has been one of the best players on the team. Patterson has played in 50 games for the Orioles this year and he is 58 of 201 (.289 avg, .758 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 5 homers, 21 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. 29-year old righty reliever Alfredo Simon’s performance has been even a bigger surprise than Patterson this year. Simon has pitched in 25 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this year and he is 2-1 with 13 saves, 3.24 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. His main problem has been his control as he has walked 13 batters in 25 innings this season. 26-year old righty reliever Jason Berken was terrible in 2009 as a rookie starting pitcher. They moved him to the bullpen this season and he has been the O’s best pitcher in 2010. Berken has pitched in 32 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this year and he is 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.

DISAPPOINTMENTS: 24-year old catcher Matt Wieters was supposed to be the next big thing at catcher and he still might be down the road but he has not played well this year. Wieters has played in 77 games for the Orioles this year and he is 66 of 269 (.245 avg, .672 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 6 homers and 29 RBIs. Garrett Atkins was signed to be the starting 1B for the O’s over the winter but he has already been released as he was downright terrible. Atkins played in 44 games for the Orioles this season and he was 30 of 140 (.214 avg, .562 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs. Kevin Millwood was brought in to be the ace of the Orioles starting rotation but he has been pitching a lot of batting practice this season. He has started 18 games for the Orioles this year and he is 2-8 with a 5.77 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Millwood has allowed 135 hits (20 homers) in only 107 2/3 innings this season for the O’s and that’s awful. 32-year old lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez started this season as the O’s closer but he didn’t last long before going on the D.L. He has pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this year and he is 0-2 with 1 save, a 18.00 ERA and a 4.50 WHIP.

The Orioles are in last place in the A.L. East coming into this week with a 2-11 record which has them 8 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles have been outscored 66-42 this season as they are neither hitting or pitching well this year. The Orioles are on the road this week against the Mariners (three games) and the Red Sox (3 games this weekend). They need to get things going soon or some heads are gonna start rolling in Baltimore.

The Orioles got swept by the Blue Jays over the weekend. They are now 1-5 on the season which has them in last place in the A.L. East, 4 games behind the Blue Jays. The Orioles have been outscored 27-19 so far this season as they have been having offensive and bullpen troubles so far this year. The Orioles are only hitting .236 as a team with a .689 OPS and that’s pretty awful for a team with a nice collection of hitters. The Orioles have a full week playing at home for three games against the Rays starting today and then they leave for Oakland for a four game series starting Thursday Night.

The Orioles deserved better than they got in Tampa. Sure, they were outscored 12-11 by the Rays but they could have just as easily won all three ballgames. New closer Mike Gonzalez blew a ninth inning lead in the opener (which the Orioles lost). The silver lining here with the Orioles as they played hard in all three games and they got solid starting pitching. They begin a three game series with the Blue Jays this weekend and despite the fact that the Jays are 2-1 on the year they aren’t anywhere near as good as the Rays.

It’s about time for the Orioles to give up on using Daniel Cabrera as a starting pitcher and make him the closer for 2008.  With Chris Ray and Danys Baez out most, if not all of 2008, the Orioles have a need.  Cabrera has unhittable stuff and he might be able to handle coming in for 1 inning and throwing 100 mph gas.  Cabrera is having another rough season as a starter and he is 9-17 with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.  In 194.1 innings, Cabrera has allowed 191 hits, walked 104 batters and whiffed 160.  For his career now, Cabrera has pitched in 115 games (114 starts) and he is 40-48 with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.  Cabrera has now worked 651.1 innings in his career and he has allowed 610 hits, walked 384 batters and whiffed 550.  If the Orioles look at recent history they will see a few pitchers who were awful starting pitchers that turned into excellent stoppers when they could just let it all go for 1 inning at a time.  Jose Mesa was awful as a starter with the Orioles and Indians as he was 27-40 with a 5.03 ERA in that role.  The Indians converted him into a closer and he is 53-69 with 321 saves and a 3.97 ERA as a reliever.  LaTroy Hawkins was really stinky as a starting pitcher with the Twins as he was 26-44 with a 6.17 ERA.  Out of the bullpen however, Hawkins has been good as he is 30-32 with 75 saves and a 3.28 ERA.  Eric Gagne also wasn’t a great starter as he was 11-14 with a 4.61 ERA for the Dodgers.  Out of the bullpen, Gagne is 17-9 with 177 saves and a 2.47 ERA.  For Cabrera to be able to join these standout relievers he would have to throw strikes which has been a problem for him his whole career.  The Orioles are now 64-86 which has them in 4th place in the American League East only 2 games ahead of the Devil Rays for the basement.

The Baltimore Orioles need to start earning their hefty paychecks.  Owner Peter Angelos is not cheap and he should be very upset with the product on the field of play because he has spent a lot of money on players.  Yet, the Orioles are stumbling this season with a 61-82 record which has them 25.5 games out of first place.  In fact, the Orioles are only 1 game ahead of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and that is a joke.  Memo to Peter Angelos…..get a GM that has a clue.