Most important homestand in 15+ years

[bluedog]

I don't see Hunter being skipped. He has pitched well in three of his last four outings, and wasn't that bad in the other one.

Looking at the schedule you're probably right. Britton's spot doesn't line up right for being skipped and Hunter probably has enough rope to get a couple more starts before Buck would consider skipping him.

[SteveA]

Granted every homestand will be huge from here on out, but this one has the makings of the most important homestand for the Orioles in a long long time.

It's the longest remaining homestand at 10 games. We get 7 games against 2 of the 3 worst teams in the AL. We get the Red Sox who we've handled thus far this season, taking 6 of 9. We miss Felix Hernandez and we start the homestand no more than .5 games out of the AL Wildcard.

Best of all, while the O's get three teams with losing records, the Yanks get Det, Tor and Tex, so there's a very good chances for the good guys to make up ground on the division lead.

Exciting stuff.

Bolded is unfortunately not true.

Wild card standings:

Oakland 59-49 or 58-50 depending on the outcome of their game

Detroit 58-50 --

LAAofA. 58-51 0.5

Orioles 57-51 1

[bluedog]

Bolded is unfortunately not true.

Wild card standings:

Oakland 59-49 or 58-50 depending on the outcome of their game

Detroit 58-50 --

LAAofA. 58-51 0.5

Orioles 57-51 1

Good catch. Tigers weren't supposed to score 5 runs in the bottom of the 10th!

[SteveA]

Bolded is unfortunately not true.

Wild card standings:

Oakland 59-49 or 58-50 depending on the outcome of their game

Detroit 58-50 --

LAAofA. 58-51 0.5

Orioles 57-51 1

Updating:

Oakland 58-50 --

Detroit 58-50 --

LAAofA. 58-51 0.5

Orioles 57-51 1

Angels and A's start a series tomorrow, while Detroit plays the Yankees.

Can you say opportunity?

[Frobby]

Updating:

Oakland 58-50 --

Detroit 58-50 --

LAAofA. 58-51 0.5

Orioles 57-51 1

Angels and A's start a series tomorrow, while Detroit plays the Yankees.

Can you say opportunity?

To quote Woody Allen (when asked, "shall we say pistols at dawn?"), "Yes, we can say it. I have no idea what it means, but we can certainly say it."

[Dark Helmet]

I get alot of pleasure hearing the major networks trying their best to keep the Red Sox relevant , when discussing the playoff picture. You can almost feel their disgust when they have to mention teams like the O's and A's in the same breath as playoffs.

[Jonesy10]

We might miss Felix but we get Vargas who may be their next best pitcher. And we have to find out if Britton can be effective in the majors right now. Big question marks.

Vargas is a good pitcher but his good numbers are largely due to his home park. 4.67 ERA on the road with 19hr allowed.

[bdlj0887]

I get alot of pleasure hearing the major networks trying their best to keep the Red Sox relevant , when discussing the playoff picture. You can almost feel their disgust when they have to mention teams like the O's and A's in the same breath as playoffs.

The disappointment is palpable, yes.

[LookitsPuck]

Let's make a statement tomorrow. Tillman pitches well, we get a W and break out big against Vargas. Set the tone.

[Brendan25]

A 5-5 homestand should be our worst case

6-4 is very good

7-3 is TREMENDOUS

Anything under 5-5 is an utter disappointment.

[GoldGlove21]

We get Seattle and Kansas City over the next 7 games, which is a light schedule considering what we have been up against at times this season. Our ability to move up the standings has more to do with the schedule of our competition.

Here is a breakdown of the next 6-7 games for the Tigers and A's.

Tigers- Yankees x4, Rangers x3,

A's- Angels x3, White Sox x3

I for one think that the Angels will win one of the wild card spots. I also believe that the White Sox will fade at some point and be caught by the Tigers. That makes me feel good as an O's fan because I feel that we can finish with a better record than the A's, White Sox and Rays.

If the Orioles are going to make a move this might be a good time to go 6-1 or 5-2 over a 7 game stretch.

[Sanfran327]

I'm excited that we're still in the race and we're into August. What's really mind bottling is that we're NOT VERY GOOD and we're still winning and hanging around. This is the craziest season I've ever seen... this team refuses to go away, and I love that about them. Could be last year's Cardinals if we get a few of the cold bats heated up. Jones is going to have to put this team on his back for the next (wait for it...) 10 weeks if we're going to make a run at something.

[Va Beach O's fan]

Missing King Felix could be huge. That guy is unhittable right now. Never underestimate the value of missing the other teams ace.

We need 7 at home to feel really good about being legit midway through August.

We win 7 and I think you might actually see us pick up a player or two off trade/waivers. Maybe.

[bluedog]

A 5-5 homestand should be our worst case

6-4 is very good

7-3 is TREMENDOUS

Anything under 5-5 is an utter disappointment.

Personally, 5 - 5 would be an utter disappointment for me. It would mean that we played 10 games against teams with losing records, at home and almost certainly lost ground in the playoff race.

[crowmst3k!]

It's so unfortunate that the rotation is so shaky. Tillman can be either very good, or pray-for-rain worthy, same with Hunter. Britton has been mostly pray-for-rain worthy, as of late.

I'm trying to think of the next best option to replace him from Norfolk. Should we give a hometown kid named Johnson the ball during this Why Not season? This year's Harnisch did get injured, after all.