Quick Hits: The Indians are Coming to Town and the Rundown...

We know the Baltimore Orioles are in a funk, and they need to find a way out of it. At the moment, the pitching, for the most part has done its job, but it is average at best. The bullpen, masterful in the first weeks, looks to be a little tired and perhaps might have cost the Orioles a few games.

However, the offense has been nothing short of dead and the Orioles are not getting the job in terms driving in runners when they are in scoring position.

With the exception of Miguel Tejada who is batting .345 but with only 6 extra base hits and a team that looks to be devoid of power, something needs to happen.

This weekend, the scorching Indians are in town, and as we know from last weekend, they are a tough customer.

With Travis Hafner who’s deadly on the road, Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore here for 4 games, this series will prove what the Orioles are really made of and could perhaps set the tone for the rest of the month.

Matchups:

• Friday: Paul Byrd (2-1, 3.50) vs. Erik Bedard (3-2, 6.09)
• Saturday: Jeremy Sowers (0-1, 4.40) vs. Daniel Cabrera (1-3, 4.50)
• Sunday: C.C. Sabathia (4-0, 3.38) vs. Adam Loewen (2-0, 3.56) ok, it may most likely be Brian Burress or maybe Jeremy Guthrie
• Monday: perhaps Cliff Lee (0-0, 7.50) vs. Steve Trachsel (1-3, 4.08)

At this point, I am not so much worried about the pitching, albeit, thye have to get deeper into games, it’s the offense.

If there’s any positive out of this, it’s like not the Orioles were blown out in the majority of the losses during the streak. The majority of the games were lost by one or two runs and thing could have gone in another direction with timely hitting or the bullpen holding the game tighter.

If the Orioles don’t improve into the Tampa Bay series, things will go from ugly to nuclear real fast.

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Although the Orioles are in May, it may or may not be a time to be concerned; however, it's not like I need to repeat a broken record -- the offense needs to pick up. Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun has thoughts on this topic and input from some of the Orioles in an article.

Rick Mases of the Baltimore Sun ponders how the organization will fare due to the resignation of Joe Foss, Orioles COO. He was sort of the right hand to Angelos, and considering all the good he has done with the Orioles, the attendance has dropped big time and this could be a time of change for the team in terms of the bottom line.

Spencer Fordin of the orioles.com has a great Q&A with pitching coach Leo Mazzone.

The Baltimore bullpen is a sort in a funk right now, but they are trying their best to keep things upbeat and good in spite of the team's downturn.