Would a .500 record on May 1st be a bad sign for the Orioles? | MAILBAG

Question: Since the first part of the O’s schedule appears to be the easiest, do you think this team is in trouble if they are only playing.500 ball a month into the season? From: Glenn Fuller

Answer: Glenn, I don’t think the Orioles would be in trouble if they are playing .500 ball at the end of April. I don’t think they’d be in trouble if they were playing .500 ball at the All-Star break.

I don’t think it’s wise to make judgments until they’ve played 30 or 40 games. I know I said the same thing last year, but that team was getting blown out of games, and the Orioles’ losses this season have been much closer and, yes, it’s ridiculously early.

You’re invited to ask a similar question on May 1^st.

Question: When Samuel Basallo goes to the mound to visit with the pitcher, how can they have a conversation when Basallo can’t speak English? From: Marc Goodman

Answer: Marc, Samuel Basallo speaks fluent English. He is often uncomfortable speaking it publicly so he uses Orioles team translator Brandon Quinones. If you watch his interviews, you’ll see he usually answers a question posed in English in Spanish. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Basallo conduct interviews in English soon.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.