Schoenfield: O's Starting to Look Like Team of Destiny

[Ooooooohhhh!!!!]

ESPN article

The articles are shifting from "they can't keep this up" to "they look like they're for real."

[waroriole]

It only took 80% of the season for the first person at ESPN to accept it.

[phaedrusX]

Tillman's emergence -- he's now 7-2 with a 3.26 ERA -- symbolizes how the Orioles have revamped their rotation over the past month. Gone are Jake Arrieta (6.13 ERA), Brian Matusz (5.40 ERA) and now Tommy Hunter (5.95 ERA), to be replaced by the newly acquired Joe Saunders, who will start in Wednesday's series finale.

Couldn't help pointing out this error.

[RichmondVA Orio]

Wow! The national media did read Bluedog's piece about the run differential being skewed because of starts by Arrieta, Matusz and Hunter. That and who was manning 3rd prior to Machado.

[bt12483]

Couldn't help pointing out this error.

This supports my opinion that the national pundits don't watch full games. They form their opinion(s) off of highlight clips. They have little knowledge about the inner details of many teams, they do little in depth research. They use the Cliff Notes approach.

He is writing about 2 potential playoff teams, he should have his facts straight and know it is a 4 game series.

It may be nitpicky but I've seen it happen too much. These national writers/TV personalities have at best a surface level understanding of most of the teams they discuss.

[Frobby]

But here's the deal: A month ago, the Orioles were 52-49 and 8.5 games behind the Yankees. Their run differential at that time was minus-63. Since then they've gone 19-8 and outscored their opponents by 24 runs -- or nearly one per game. There's nothing that screams fluke about what has happened over the past 30 days. The Orioles might have lucked into a 52-49 record but at this point they're for real.

I think Schoenfeld is on to something here, that has been pointed out by some other posters: the current Orioles are a better team than the first-half Orioles. The defense is better, the offense in LF is better, and the starting pitching is better. Meanwhile, the thing that got us to August -- the bullpen -- is as good as ever.

It remains to be seen if this is a "team of destiny," but it is certainly a better team than many pundits realize. They are playing their best baseball of the year, and have done well against good opponents, and have done well on the road. I think we are "destined" to enjoy September one way or another.

[ScottP]

They're hedging their bets in case the O's do make the playoffs so they don't look clueless. If the O's falter, they can just shift back to the "luck" excuse/dismissive attitude.

[GoldGlove21]

I want 90 wins and to win the AL East. You can't fluke a MLB season, it is just too long. A team can get lucky during the season, but teams do not have lucky seasons IMO. The tide has to turn with the media because they would look like fools if the Orioles made the playoffs and they continued to talk about how we were below average. Whatever, just keep expecting the Orioles to melt down and for the Red Sox to turn it on..... idiots.

[LA2]

I think Buck and Duquette smell blood in the water, Bronx blood. It's clearly one of the reasons they're stocking up on veteran left-handed pitching. Barring a weak return by Hammel, the O's starting rotation will be stronger than the Y's, as is, of course, the 'pen. (And, as we all know, the pen is mightier than the bat.) Very importantly, this team doesn't get the shakes in Yankee Stadium. AJ's and Andino's plastering of NYC with Orioles stickers was just a rehearsal (or reconnaissance mission).

[Frobby]

Very importantly, this team doesn't get the shakes in Yankee Stadium.

It's nice to be able to say that, for once. We still need to go in there and prove it one more time, though.

[DuffMan]

I want 90 wins and to win the AL East. You can't fluke a MLB season, it is just too long. A team can get lucky during the season, but teams do not have lucky seasons IMO. The tide has to turn with the media because they would look like fools if the Orioles made the playoffs and they continued to talk about how we were below average. Whatever, just keep expecting the Orioles to melt down and for the Red Sox to turn it on..... idiots.

The 1969 Mets say Hello.

[Frobby]

The 1969 Mets say Hello.

Yeah, they were somewhat fluky, but they did manage to finish over .500 in 6 of the next 7 years, and returned to the World Series in '73. Bottom line, they had great pitching.

[DuffMan]

Yeah, they were somewhat fluky, but they did manage to finish over .500 in 6 of the next 7 years, and returned to the World Series in '73. Bottom line, they had great pitching.

Finished over .500 yes, but never topping 86 wins in that time.

[HokieOs]

Well our 27-14 start wasn't going to keep up. Going 25-35 after that didn't do us any favors in the public confidence department. However, since THEN, we're 19-8 and on an absolute tear.

The fact is, for us to finish with out 15 straight losing season, we'd have to 9-25 the rest of the way. 11-23 gets us a winning record. Just going .500 from here on out though and we're in the thick of things.....

[lovetoaster]

That was a really good article, other than the gaffe about today being the series finale.