The Eastern Division Race is Over?

[Mondo Trasho]

They are still a Major League team. Even Houston has won 40 something games this year. The loss tonight sucks, but if people are going to put the whole season down the drain because of one loss, find another team to follow. All season this team has had too struggle for wins, why should it change now?

Even if they get knocked out in a one game WC playoff, this season has been wildly successful. I think some people here are the type that would complain about paying taxes if they won the lottery. And thankfully the players have a better perspective than the fans.

There are only 8 games left, enjoy it. We have seen how long it could be before another great/exciting team comes along.

Obviously, it's been a great season no matter what happens from here on out. But, it's disappointing here and now in the moment when we have the potential for so much more for this season. It's not unreasonable for people to act down and depressed about this. Jeez, some people are just pessimists.

[fansince71]

Seriously , these Sunboard posters are about as good as the NFL refs right now.

Id rather read some posts from SG, Trea and Oldfan then this crap.

[MemorialStadKid]

As someone that has been accused of making bad threads over the years, this is easily one of the dumbest I've ever seen.

We've got 8 games left. Not 3, not 5, but 8.

We're 1.5 games back. And we're +1.5 games in the Wild Card.

How is this over?

We might, MIGHT not win the AL East, and that is still within our grasp, but to say it's "over?"

That's really dumb.

MSK

[SoCal]

Have you seen what the Twins are trotting out for starting pitching in their Yankees series? It should be under investigation by the league office.Tuesday it's Esmerling Vasquez with his sterling 6.75 ERA in 20 innings. What a joke!

I noticed that earlier. unreal!

[Frobby]

I'm whining because the Jays played dead for everyone else but us. You can't give up 9 runs to the Jays at home when they are completely done right now.

You are setting yourself up for disappointment if you expect us to go undefeated against teams that are below .500. We are 5-2 versus the Jays since August 24. That's very good and I'll take it any time. It's too bad that the Jays lost to the Yankees and Rays, but you had to expect them to win sooner or later. Toronto beat the Yankees 2 out of 3 in late August, so we are 5-2 recently against Toronto and the Yanks are 4-2 against them in that same period. Let's see what happens the next six days, when the Jays play us twice more and then play four with New York in Toronto.

[El Gordo]

It's not about losing a game to the Jays, it's about the state of our SP. Chen needs 6 days rest to have a chance to be effective and so does Gonzo. Buck has them both pitching on 4 days. Hammel is nowhere to be found. Saunders is our best option right now, and who pitches Weds., Britton? We are in trouble. We may make a WC slot still, but we need someone to step up or that's about as far as we can go.

[OFFNY]

Aside from the track record of being clutch all season, I have absolutely no reason to believe that this team will win three games out of the remaining regular season games.

But here's a thought.

If it's clubhouse morale, good coaching and good roster management that's made up for a lot of our weaknesses all season, where are all of the shenanigans now? Why in God's name are we still batting hitters who couldn't hit a ball out of the park on a little league tee if you gave them 50 swings with an aluminum bat?

If it's clubhouse morale, good coaching and good roster management that's made up for a lot of our weaknesses all season, where are our replacements who are fresh and not as hurt/slumping/asleep/distracted as our current lineup? Where is the depth to replace the guys who are simply NOT producing?

Is it simply that we have reached the bottom of the barrel? Is our depth exhausted? Have we explored all the options, only to find that our best options will put up a sub-.500 record to end the season and land us without a single postseason game?

The Orioles ALWAYS fizzle out.

The Orioles NEVER seem to have enough depth to be a competitive ball club through the end of the season. In previous years, we ran out of depth as early as May some years; June some other years; July if we were lucky.

This year, we made it all the way to September, only to fall flat on our face with our outstretched hands 2 inches from the finish line.

In short, the ONLY thing I am holding out hope for is that there really is some kind of baseball god or Orioles Magic, because all the indicators point to a 3-5 or 2-6 or 1-7 end to the season, and probably not even a 1-game wildcard playoff. I can name at least 10 regular players who we can no longer rely on to adequately perform their role, and they either have NO viable replacement at all, or the replacement is just as bad / worse than them. In short, everything except blind faith tells me that we are as done as a turkey on Thanksgiving day.

Ayala. Chen. Hardy. Reynolds. Quintanilla. Andino. Strop. Gonzo. Wieters. Davis.

And that's not counting the cast of thousands on the DL or still on the active roster but unlikely to play again this season, like Markakis and Hammel.

Bottom line, our roster has a finite number of players on it, and eventually we had to hit rock bottom. We literally have no one left to replace these guys. They're dead tired, exhausted, hurt, demoralized, whatever you want to call it -- none of them are anywhere NEAR their performance as seen for 90% of the season. But can they continue? No. As soon as we try to clinch the season, they all simultaneously start playing like they belong in GCL. The only player I've seen any semblance of grit from lately is Tommy Hunter. It's a sad, sad, sad situation. Oh well -- I guess I'll get to watch them do it again in another 20 years when I'm 46.

2010:O http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/2010-schedule-scores.shtml

OOOOOO (34-23 from August 3rd Until the End of the Season)

2011:O http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/2011-schedule-scores.shtml

OOOOOO (22-16 from August 22nd Til the End of the Season)

2012:O http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/2012-schedule-scores.shtml

OOOOOO (21-9 from August 24th - Present)

O

[Il BuonO]

I think we could be alright. The Yankees are due for a surprising, shocking run of bad games. That team is playing above its head, too, IMO. It has been for awhile. I honestly think we still have a very good shot at the division. You gotta think the Orioles have been traveling forever, playing extra inning games, winning them. So they come here and lose the second game of a double header and they're done? Give me a break. They're probably sleep walking. Give 'em a chance to sleep in their own beds for a night... and then let them come out swinging. I think this team just needs a long nap, and they'll be back at it. They could implode, but I have a weird feeling they won't.

I'm out of rep.

Lets be realistic for a second. Our starting pitching is patchwork at best. If we make the one wildcard and lose, it is great for the franchise.

Having said that, you gotta pinch run for Teagarden there and pull Jake after a great inning, let him leave on a high note.

Just my 2 cents.

Not over yet, but that Tampa series is really starting to scare me.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner! That's right. I'm glad you said it, I mention this stuff in the game threads but I'm getting tired of the "in game decisions by the manager don't decide games crowd".

Odds are the Yankees will not run the table. 1.5 is by no means impossible. Pitchers will have a bad night, bounces will go the wrong way, bullpens will implode.

1.5 games is way to close to call it over.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

TYVM, the Sox would love to do to the MFY what we did to them in the last game of the season.

[El Gordo]

Whistling in the graveyard. The MFY aren't going away. Forget about the division.

[Brendan25]

I love these threads. So comical.

[SilentJames]

I'm whining because the Jays played dead for everyone else but us. You can't give up 9 runs to the Jays at home when they are completely done right now.

Come on dude, as was said above they ARE a professional baseball team - it happens, they win games from time to time.

[Going Underground]

The O's lost a game they have been winning all year. How many games have the O's won when they should have lost? Sometimes the bounces go wrong or you hit one that just goes foul. Toronto is still a major league team. The worst ones still win over 50 games a year. Did the Twins only want to beat the Tigers when they swept them in a doubleheaer?

[BMann]

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Nothing is over until WE say it's over!

Jeter? He's a dead man!

ARoid? Dead!

Girardi?! DEAD!

Who's with me?!?

LET'S DO IT!!!

[someone had to go there...]

[Hang10]

I like your attitude. Lets not forget that the yankees final three games are in boston and the red sox certainly will not roll over as they'd love to play spoiler.

Actually, the Yankees last 3 games are against Boston in New York, not in Boston.

Having said that, I like their chances at the division better than ours, but it's not over. They do not have an off day before the end of the season. There will be a surprise before the season is out; just don't know what it is. The Orioles could be in first place within 2 days. Certainly not over.

It certainly would be nice if Boston could do to New York in New York what the Orioles did to Boston in Baltimore last September 28th.

[DrungoHazewood]

As someone that has been accused of making bad threads over the years, this is easily one of the dumbest I've ever seen.

We've got 8 games left. Not 3, not 5, but 8.

We're 1.5 games back. And we're +1.5 games in the Wild Card.

How is this over?

We might, MIGHT not win the AL East, and that is still within our grasp, but to say it's "over?"

That's really dumb.

MSK

Thank you. This fatalism is pretty ridiculous. The O's are 1.5 back with 8 left and a sizable portion of the community has flat-out given up. That's insane.

Whistling in the graveyard. The MFY aren't going away. Forget about the division.

Given your cheerful optimism lately, I take this as meaning the O's will win the division by 3-4 games.

I love these threads. So comical.

I guess everyone needs space to rant. And people firehosing out furious irrationality can be really fun.