Close Minded

The Orioles' 2010 season is about building and development, laying the base for a team that could contend in 2012. But that doesn't make a 2--11 start feel any better. Through Sunday the Orioles were last in the AL with 42 runs scored, and only the Angels and the Royals had allowed more than the 66 Baltimore had given up. Worse was this: The Orioles were 2--3 in games in which they had a lead in the ninth. New closer Mike Gonzalez blew two of his three save opportunities before going on the DL on April 14 with a strained shoulder. His replacement, Jim Johnson(below), blew his first two chances and had a 6.75 ERA through six outings. The failures of Baltimore's bullpen turned a bad start into the worst in baseball.

PHOTO

CLIFF WELCH/ICON SMI (JOHNSON)