In 2016, the topic du jour for Orioles fans has been the starting rotation and the team's success in spite of it.
Entering play June 21, the Orioles' 4.97 starters' ERA ranked 27th in all of baseball. But despite that, the O's are 40-29 and have a one-game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the American League East.
In 2012, when the Orioles advanced to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, they were able to win 93 games with a shaky rotation -- surviving a bevy of poor performances and injuries with a lockdown bullpen, powerful lineup and steady defense. Could the O's do the same this year?
"Yeah, I think they can because, A) Chris Tillman has been pretty darn good," ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian said on Glenn Clark Radio June 15. "And yes, in today's day and age, you can cover ordinary starting pitching a whole lot easier, [than] say, 25 years ago, because of the strength of these bullpens and everything else."
