Orioles Facing Brutal Early Schedule

For those who, like me, are expecting big things from the Orioles this year - and by big, I mean hovering around .500 for much of the season - your enthusiasm might be tempered by some tough early season matchups.

Red Sox Nation invades Camden Yards on April 30.

ESPN's Buster Olney reports (must be Insider to read entire article):

Here's a look at the AL early-season schedules, with teams ranked from the toughest (bad news for the Orioles) to the easiest (the Rays catch a break this year).

1. Baltimore Orioles

Home/away: They are home for 15 of their first 35 games.
Games against teams that finished over .500 in 2009: 28 of the first 35. No kidding.
Meat-grinder stuff: From April 23 to May 5, the Orioles play four consecutive series -- 12 straight games -- against the Red Sox and Yankees.

Let's elaborate on those numbers for a second.

• Home/away: They are home for 15 of their first 35 games. The Orioles went 25-56 (.309) on the road and 39-42 (.481) at home last year.

• Games against teams that finished over .500 in 2009: 28 of the first 35. No kidding. Their combined record against those teams was 22-46 (.324). 

                             vs. Tampa: 8-10   
                             vs. Boston: 2-16   
                             vs. New York: 5-13   
                             vs. Seattle: 4-5   
                             vs. Minnesota: 3-2

• Meat-grinder stuff: From April 23 to May 5, the Orioles play four consecutive series -- 12 straight games -- against the Red Sox and Yankees. Shit.

Yea, I think it's pretty safe to assume we'll have a good idea what these O's are capable of right out of the gate.