Calling the Pen: Orioles need someone to take the lead before it’s too late

Starting pitcher Dean Kremer said you can’t lose a season in April after the Tigers swept the Orioles this past weekend in Detroit. Infielder Ramón Urías said the Orioles were still bringing energy in a 7-0 mismatch that completed the sweep and the Orioles’ humiliation.

Kremer has math on his side, although the Orioles’ 10-17 record is, at the least, a concern if not a crisis point. Urías can’t support his assertion that the Orioles’ energy is still high. The team has shown about as much fight recently as Gunnar Henderson and Colton Cowser in the Star Wars promotion.

The Force doesn’t appear to be strong with this team, and one can point to a number of reasons. Their starting pitching is a wreck because of injuries and a poor offseason after losing Corbin Burnes. The injuries to Henderson in spring training and Cowser on a head-first slide into first have had a major impact, as has the struggles of Jordan Westburg, who’s now dealing with a sore hamstring.

The Orioles expected their young core — Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Cowser, Westburg and Jackson Holliday — to all take a step forward this season, leading to a third straight playoff appearance. Holliday appears to be taking that step, and Rutschman has been strong behind the plate, but no one is off to the kind of start that Cowser had last April when he was named AL Rookie of the Month.

The Orioles were having fun back then. Cowser developed his own moo-ing section, Mr. Splash was soaking the fans, and Henderson, Rutschman and Westburg were compiling numbers that led to All-Star Game appearances. The three were joined by staff ace Burnes and slugging outfielder Anthony Santander, both of whom left in free agency.

Executive vice-president/general manager Mike Elias failed to replace Burnes with another ace, instead gambling on 41-year-old Charlie Morton, who’s 0-6, and 35-year-old Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, who appears to be adjusting to his new league. To replace Santander, he brought in Tyler O’Neill, who’s hitting .215 and is on the injured list for the 15th time in his career.

Manager Brandon Hyde, who’s not big on excuses, said “it’s been rough” after Sunday’s loss. He didn’t have Rutschman, Mullins or Westburg because of injuries and illness, but the players he did have looked beaten from the start. Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal can do that, and he struck out 11 in six scoreless innings.

But someone needs to light a fuse, ignite a spark, do something to lead the Orioles out of their lethargy. They need a leader, someone who won’t let them go down without a fight. Someone who will tell them that it’s not enough to say they’re a good team, they have to prove it. Someone who will remind them that they have to pull together to pull out of this mess.

Someone who will let them know that it’s getting late early this season.