It's Official, We are Contenders and Probably Favorites

[Mizerooskie]

One thing that needs to be noted in this thread (I very well could have missed it if it already was):

No team in the Majors has played fewer home games than the Orioles. That bodes well, methinks.

[Ruzious]

One thing that needs to be noted in this thread (I very well could have missed it if it already was):

No team in the Majors has played fewer home games than the Orioles. That bodes well, methinks.

And they haven't played the Astros. I alluded to that on page 2.

[jjdman]

Do the various strength of schedule ratings that people have dug up for this thread just take into account who you have played? Or do they talk home/road into account. After all, there IS a home field advantage, home teams win, what, 54% of the time and lost 46% of the time or something like that? So regardless of the specific opponents we have had, our schedule has been tougher because so much of it has been on the road. Especially when compared with Boston, who has spent a good chunk of the early season in Fenway.

Yes sir. Home teams win 53.85% so far this year

http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/mlb/trends/league/season.html

[DrinkinWithFermi]

The AL East will come down to health.

The same thing could probably said for any division in any sport

[El Gordo]

I would say we are one of 3 favorites to win the division. And I don't believe the Yankees are for real. Their lineup can't hold up for a season and I don'; expect great things from Jeter and Tex when ever they come back. BOS maybe, if Lester and Bucholz keep it up. They just lost two RP though.

[jjdman]

I would say we are one of 3 favorites to win the division. And I don't believe the Yankees are for real. Their lineup can't hold up for a season and I don'; expect great things from Jeter and Tex when ever they come back. BOS maybe, if Lester and Bucholz keep it up. They just lost two RP though.

Strange that Bucholz had his worst game after Morris accused him of throwing a spitter.

[jjdman]

Frobby, you of all people should know that we caught both the Yankees and Red Sox(especially the Red Sox) AND Toronto in especially tough

injury and personnel situations last year. I AM NOT SAYING WE WERE LUCKY OR NOT GOOD. I AM saying that the Sox are infinitely better and the

Yankees will be getting their regular squad together for the second half and I feel the Rays will get Price going again and play better. I just think our

starters will have to be a lot better than last year and we have to avoid injuries like the others. Of course I think we can contend, especially if our

pitching reserves step up and we figure out a solution at 2b(Roberts returns and plays well?). But this season 9th in ERA will not be good enough to

get into the playoffs.

Bottom line is we are 7th in the AL with a 3.88 ERA

Boston 5th 3.64

NY 6th 3.87

[Frobby]

Frobby, you of all people should know that we caught both the Yankees and Red Sox(especially the Red Sox) AND Toronto in especially tough

injury and personnel situations last year. I AM NOT SAYING WE WERE LUCKY OR NOT GOOD. I AM saying that the Sox are infinitely better and the

Yankees will be getting their regular squad together for the second half and I feel the Rays will get Price going again and play better. I just think our

starters will have to be a lot better than last year and we have to avoid injuries like the others. Of course I think we can contend, especially if our

pitching reserves step up and we figure out a solution at 2b(Roberts returns and plays well?). But this season 9th in ERA will not be good enough to

get into the playoffs.

Actually, I agree with you on this. I wrote many posts in the offseason stating that for the O's to return to the playoffs their starting pitching would need to be better. So far, it hasn't been, but we've been carried by an offense that is averaging 4.97 runs per game, which is better than I expected. I think the offense eventually will cool down, whcih means the pitching (by which I mean, the starting pitching) will need to pick up the slack. But that doesn't mean that we have to have one of the top rotations in the league -- average/slightly better starting pitching should be good enough, with our excellent bullpen, to give us above average pitching overall.

[foxfield]

Frobby, you of all people should know that we caught both the Yankees and Red Sox(especially the Red Sox) AND Toronto in especially tough

injury and personnel situations last year. I AM NOT SAYING WE WERE LUCKY OR NOT GOOD. I AM saying that the Sox are infinitely better and the

Yankees will be getting their regular squad together for the second half and I feel the Rays will get Price going again and play better. I just think our

starters will have to be a lot better than last year and we have to avoid injuries like the others. Of course I think we can contend, especially if our

pitching reserves step up and we figure out a solution at 2b(Roberts returns and plays well?). But this season 9th in ERA will not be good enough to

get into the playoffs.

Actually, I agree with you on this. I wrote many posts in the offseason stating that for the O's to return to the playoffs their starting pitching would need to be better. So far, it hasn't been, but we've been carried by an offense that is averaging 4.97 runs per game, which is better than I expected. I think the offense eventually will cool down, whcih means the pitching (by which I mean, the starting pitching) will need to pick up the slack. But that doesn't mean that we have to have one of the top rotations in the league -- average/slightly better starting pitching should be good enough, with our excellent bullpen, to give us above average pitching overall.

Roy, your point is valid as Frobby notes. The Orioles will need to improve their overall pitching ERA from 9th last year to make the playoffs this year. However, everything else in your post does the ole slight of hand and describes the Yankees and Redsox from the top down (in otherwords, best case scenario) and then sticks the Orioles in for comparison with a bottom up approach.

Look I do not care about luck, the simple fact is over the last 12-18 months the Orioles have played some pretty darn good baseball and have gotten better along the way and at the same time managed to get younger. They may not have reached the mountain top but they are moving in the right direction and while they will have to prove it over the course of the rest of this season and next...I will just have to say it....

The Orioles are a better team top to bottom than either the Redsox or the Yankees.

Ok, that scared me a little, but I feel pretty damn good. Come on Roy, you want to say it....you need to say it.

[SeaBird]

I would say we are one of 3 favorites to win the division. And I don't believe the Yankees are for real. Their lineup can't hold up for a season and I don'; expect great things from Jeter and Tex when ever they come back. BOS maybe, if Lester and Bucholz keep it up. They just lost two RP though.

Well if you say it, I guess it must be so.

[Frobby]

Roy, your point is valid as Frobby notes. The Orioles will need to improve their overall pitching ERA from 9th last year to make the playoffs.

Actually, they were 9th in starter ERA, 6th in overall ERA.

[brianod]

Roy, your point is valid as Frobby notes. The Orioles will need to improve their overall pitching ERA from 9th last year to make the playoffs this year. However, everything else in your post does the ole slight of hand and describes the Yankees and Redsox from the top down (in otherwords, best case scenario) and then sticks the Orioles in for comparison with a bottom up approach.

Look I do not care about luck, the simple fact is over the last 12-18 months the Orioles have played some pretty darn good baseball and have gotten better along the way and at the same time managed to get younger. They may not have reached the mountain top but they are moving in the right direction and while they will have to prove it over the course of the rest of this season and next...I will just have to say it....

The Orioles are a better team top to bottom than either the Redsox or the Yankees.

Ok, that scared me a little, but I feel pretty damn good. Come on Roy, you want to say it....you need to say it.

Great post. I agree. We are better. Not only that, we may just have more money to spend then the Yankees for another player or two.

[SteveO]

This team has a special something. Lot of that has to do with the character of the guys they have brought in. The word that comes to mind when I think of the O's is tenacious. We are 20-13 getting little to no offensive output from our DH and 2B positions. Our starting pitching has been adequate but not spectacular. I think there is significant room for this team to improve as the season progresses either through guys getting back (Betemit), trades or just guys in the starting staff getting into their groove and improving. Feeling very very optimistic.

[Palmoripken]

We look good. Still a lot of baseball to be played but right now, we're showing that last year's team was no fluke.

[SteveO]

We look good. Still a lot of baseball to be played but right now, we're showing that last year's team was no fluke.

No doubt. I think this team has some really nice pieces to work with but more importantly they have leadership that promotes and has instilled in them the belief that they are winners, they should win, and as a result you see a team that make you work to beat them. Imagine what they can do if the starters start to get in a grove with consistency and they find someone who can provide some output at DH....very very dangerous team.