With a 7-6 win this past Sunday over the Boston Red Sox, the 2010 Baltimore Orioles vaulted their record to 3-16, for a sizzling .158 winning percentage. If the current Orioles kept up this record pace, this losing percentage would be the second worst of all time.
Howver, there is no way they continue this pace, not with good, young hitters Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, Nolan Reimold and Nick Markakis in their lineup.
In addition, young pitchers David Hernandez and Brad Bergeson are better than what they have shown so far, while veterans Kevin Millwood and Jeremy Guthrie have pitched well but have yet to record a victory.
In fact, the only starting pitcher to record a victory is Brian Matusz, who is 2-0 with the Orioles bullpen blowng leads in his two other starts.
It is the hitting which has cost the wins. They have a team line of .239/.302/.377/.679 OPS, all near the bottom in the American League.
With the exception of Wieters, all the young hitters have struggled, hitting well below their short career numbers. Veterans Garret Atkins and Miguel Tejada were brought in for their bats, but have provided little support in the lineup.
Finally, the team has sorely missed leadoff hitter Brian Roberts.
They have the worst record in basebal, l but do have the pieces to play better baseball.
Their horrid start had us thinking about the worst teams of all time, those teams not only had the worst record or winning percentages, but teams which also are recognized for bouts of futility.
While it is possible these 2010 Orioles could eventually make this list in future seasons, I do not anticipate them being there.
They have played an incredibly tough schedule thus far, including six games against the Tampa Bay Rays, three against an early, tough Toronto team plus a long 10 game West Coast and back East road trip.
With Toronto, a team thought to end up in the cellar of the American League East, the Orioles caught them at a bad time. In all sports, it does not matter who you play, it matters when you play them.
It does not get any easier with their next 13 games are against the New York Yankees, Boston and Central Division-leading Minnesota.
But things get better after that and they get a chance to beat up on the other Central Division "powerhouses."
These Orioles have played badly, but will get better. Let's just hope it does not start this week against the New York Yankees.
What the teams on this list have in common are bad players, bad managers, but especially bad ownership. These owners were usually in deep financial situations and did not pay to retain their best ballplayers, mostly selling players off to better run teams.
Some things never change.
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