Sorry..but this time it wont get better...

[Roy Firestone]

This is not a 'dry spell". This is what youve got. A first baseman who isnt really a
first baseman who is paid to drive in runs and rarely does.A second baseman who
isnt really the second baseman and who really isnt a major leaguer baseball player.
A shortstop who absolutely cannot find his way out of a miserable slump, but who
cannot be replaced because there is no depth at that position on this teams' roster.
A third baseman who really isnt a third baseman and has an occasional hot bat but
mostly hurts the team defensively. A leftfielder who really isnt a leftfielder and has
a "mood ring" for a bat and a career. He simply cannot find any kind of groove.
Add to that dog tired players like the catcher and a CF who is playing hurt and all of
that BEFORE you get to the pitiful pitching situation.
Starters who cant get to the fifth inning;cant seem to shutdown opposing rallies and
of course absolutely cannot throw strikes on a regular basis.
There is no net now; no "cavalry" because the "cavalry" is worse than the regulars.
It has to be just a matter of time before you let the kids play. Hoes, Avery, and yes
Machado, Schoop, and maybe even Bundy. This team has collapsed, you might as
well see what you'll get because you know now what youve got. Not much.

[ccbird]

This was the real reverse jinx thread we've been waiting for. 5 of the next 6 is a lock now. Thanks Roy.

[Gurgi]

I was ready to pick up players a month ago. Now I think we should be sellers. And see what we have for next year.

Wonder who we can pick up out of Japan? Are we allowed back in Korea yet? Have we bowed and begged forgiveness enough. Wonder if Duqette knows how to grovel?

For a while I thought we might win 85 games. Now I wonder if we will win 70.

[NewMarketSean]

It really is amazing how poorly this roster was put together.

[russ snyder]

This is not a 'dry spell". This is what youve got. A first baseman who isnt really a
first baseman who is paid to drive in runs and rarely does.A second baseman who
isnt really the second baseman and who really isnt a major leaguer baseball player.
A shortstop who absolutely cannot find his way out of a miserable slump, but who
cannot be replaced because there is no depth at that position on this teams' roster.
A third baseman who really isnt a third baseman and has an occasional hot bat but
mostly hurts the team defensively. A leftfielder who really isnt a leftfielder and has
a "mood ring" for a bat and a career. He simply cannot find any kind of groove.
Add to that dog tired players like the catcher and a CF who is playing hurt and all of
that BEFORE you get to the pitiful pitching situation.
Starters who cant get to the fifth inning;cant seem to shutdown opposing rallies and
of course absolutely cannot throw strikes on a regular basis.
There is no net now; no "cavalry" because the "cavalry" is worse than the regulars.
It has to be just a matter of time before you let the kids play. Hoes, Avery, and yes
Machado, Schoop, and maybe even Bundy. This team has collapsed, you might as
well see what you'll get because you know now what youve got. Not much.

Hard to disagree. However, I do disagree with bringing up Schoop, Bundy and Machado. I just don't see the point in starting their service time. In the short term, I'd bring up Avery and platoon him with Pearce in LF. The Orioles really could use whis speed at the top of the order. I'd make Davis the full time first baseman. Reynolds and Thome would platoon at DH. At this point, I'd let Flaherty and Tolleson platoon at second for the next couple of weeks. If this is not working out, you can probaly pick up a guy like Fontenot for a PTBNL. I'd give the likes of Tillman and Britton a couple more starts, if thay don't turn it around, pick up a guy like Vargas or Saunders to eat up some innings. These moves don't mortgage the future, but they may keep this team from completely collapsing. The Orioles need to play some meaningful games in September.

[section18]

Our lineup is made up of a bunch of jack-of-all-trades guys and no specialists. Let's try to obtain a 3B and 2B DD. If the LF appears somewhere on the radar screen go get him. Let's play guys at their normal positions and see what happens. Maybe the pitchers will exhale.

[MrOrange82]

I was ready to pick up players a month ago. Now I think we should be sellers. And see what we have for next year.

Wonder who we can pick up out of Japan? Are we allowed back in Korea yet? Have we bowed and begged forgiveness enough. Wonder if Duqette knows how to grovel?

For a while I thought we might win 85 games. Now I wonder if we will win 70.

I don't think PA's going to approve major expenditures in the Orient unless they yield spices in quantities sufficient to put him back in Isabella's good graces.

[NewMarketSean]

Oh how I yearn for Nick Punto as 3B right now.

[BobbyWoontz]

This is not a 'dry spell". This is what youve got. A first baseman who isnt really a
first baseman who is paid to drive in runs and rarely does.A second baseman who
isnt really the second baseman and who really isnt a major leaguer baseball player.
A shortstop who absolutely cannot find his way out of a miserable slump, but who
cannot be replaced because there is no depth at that position on this teams' roster.
A third baseman who really isnt a third baseman and has an occasional hot bat but
mostly hurts the team defensively. A leftfielder who really isnt a leftfielder and has
a "mood ring" for a bat and a career. He simply cannot find any kind of groove.
Add to that dog tired players like the catcher and a CF who is playing hurt and all of
that BEFORE you get to the pitiful pitching situation.
Starters who cant get to the fifth inning;cant seem to shutdown opposing rallies and
of course absolutely cannot throw strikes on a regular basis.
There is no net now; no "cavalry" because the "cavalry" is worse than the regulars.
It has to be just a matter of time before you let the kids play. Hoes, Avery, and yes
Machado, Schoop, and maybe even Bundy. This team has collapsed, you might as
well see what you'll get because you know now what youve got. Not much.

DD sold us an illusion, and because of the wonderful 1st half we had, we bought it hook, line, and sinker! Now, back to reality.

[Va Beach O's fan]

In other breaking news, the sun came up this morning. Not even the blindest homer still thinks this team will be competitive in the second half. We just have to pray it doesn't approach an all time historical second half collapse and if you think that's a stretch or overly pessimistic, you clearly aren't paying attention.

[MrOrange82]

DD sold us an illusion, and because of the wonderful 1st half we had, we bought it hook, line, and sinker! Now, back to reality.

Define "illusion." DD came in saying that the goal was to win. None of the moves he made over the winter, though they ranged from meh to OK to good (e.g., Hammel/Chen), were breathtaking. Anyone who's followed the Orioles closely entered the 2012 season with expectations, at maximum, of a near-.500 record (plus or minus a couple games) given peak performances from the players on the roster. No one expected the O's to be serious playoff contenders.

The phrase "DD sold us an illusion" is akin to a situation in which DD says "so, I have this pile of poo, but look...it does tricks," followed by an audience member inexplicably offering to buy DD's poo for a million dollars.

In other words, if anyone bought anything beyond the obvious, it's his own damn fault.

[allquixotic]

I'm not even sure we will win another game in 2012 the way this is going. Within the month we'll be starting Ryan Flaherty on the pitcher's mound and Jim Thome in CF. Then we'll buy back Guts and he'll go 3 innings per game with a 45 ERA. Jones, Chen, Wieters, Hardy, and Betemit will be injured and out for the season within a month. We may as well blow up the team, decline to compete in major league baseball for 3 years, and come back refreshed in 2015.

Sent from my DROID RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk 2

[bobmc]

Hate to break the Debbie Downer mood but Nick looks good except when he's spitting...c'mon Frobby cheer us up!

[BobbyWoontz]

Define "illusion." DD came in saying that the goal was to win. None of the moves he made over the winter, though they ranged from meh to OK to good (e.g., Hammel/Chen), were breathtaking. Anyone who's followed the Orioles closely entered the 2012 season with expectations, at maximum, of a near-.500 record (plus or minus a couple games) given peak performances from the players on the roster. No one expected the O's to be serious playoff contenders.

The phrase "DD sold us an illusion" is akin to a situation in which DD says "so, I have this pile of poo, but look...it does tricks," followed by an audience member inexplicably offering to buy DD's poo for a million dollars.

In other words, if anyone bought anything beyond the obvious, it's his own damn fault.

I define illusion as something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality. Meaning going into the season with all them DH-type players platooning all over the field, which resulted in near record producing errors. He stood pat while they played 10+ plus games over .500, making Buck put the same DH-platoon lineup out there every nite. The bullpen saved the 1st half, and now the bullpen is spent, but the same DH-type lineup is still out there trying to save the season. Sure, injuries didn't help, but all teams have injuries to overcome. And to top it off, he acquires another DH-type in Thome, at 41 years old. At least he isn't playing the field.

With all them slow-footed geezers in the lineup, how in the heck did he expect them to last the whole season? He should've been weeding them out in the first half, 10 games over .500 or not. He stood pat, and now it's coming home to roost---back to reality. We were illused by the great Dan Duquette!

[ShaneDawg85]

So are we still wanting to give Duquette the key to the city.