The Magic is Gone ("Perspective" thread merge)

[Guest]

Their record at this same point last year is nearly identical, so keep the faith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still have faith but last year was last year. If the Rays had Evan all year not just 75 games 93 wins last year doesn't get the wild card and no Houston in Al too. This year the AL is ten times better then last year. Just look what a true number 1 pitcher can do. James shields is a beast KC went from fewest innings pitch in 2012 to the most in 2013. Onto Houston just think A's and Texas get to play them 19 times so unfair.

[Redskins Rick]

I still have faith but last year was last year. If the Rays had Evan all year not just 75 games 93 wins last year doesn't get the wild card and no Houston in Al too. This year the AL is ten times better then last year. Just look what a true number 1 pitcher can do. James shields is a beast KC went from fewest innings pitch in 2012 to the most in 2013. Onto Houston just think A's and Texas get to play them 19 times so unfair.

This is still a better team all around team, and on the way to shattering the all time fewest errors in a season.

[vab]

What kills me is less than two years ago people would have been jumping up and down if the Orioles won 81 games in a season. Now we're sitting here in August, 12 games over .500 and in playoff contention and it's garbage.

[Redskins Rick]

What kills me is less than two years ago people would have been jumping up and down if the Orioles won 81 games in a season. Now we're sitting here in August, 12 games over .500 and in playoff contention and it's garbage.

:agree:

[sangar]

Somebody once said "It's better to be lucky than good". Overall, this is a better team than last years but I don't think this years team makes the playoffs or wins as many games.

Luck is game-to-game. Over the course of a season, I'll take skill.

[Keygans]

There's no doubt that this team has a good chance to make the playoffs. I and some others just don't think this team has "it". In the end, "it" comes down to the bullpen. There's a difference between getting emotional after every loss and just believing that this team doesn't have what it takes to make the playoffs.

This is how I feel. The comparisons to last year aren't exactly valid because this year the other teams are better than last year, and our schedule doesnt "allow" for these types of loses. Of course we are going to lose games that we should win, and we will even win a few that we are supposed to lose, but our margin for error is MUCH smaller this year than it was last year. The "it" that is missing this year is the gaping hole at DH, the almost complete non existance of hitting with RISP, and the fear that occurs with a 1 or 2 run lead going into the late innings.

[Tony-OH]

I agree with the premise of the OP, but the post loses it's "win" as some suggested because of its need to talk down to the fans that ride the emotional rollar coaster. Fans come in all shapes and sizes and I never understand the need for some people to act superior to others because they don't stay emotionless after a tough loss and feel the need to vent a little.

They are all fans just the same.

[BohKnowsBmore]

All of this. I can't be too upset with the game last night, because I didn't stay up. If I had, I'd probably be really pissed. It's hard to knock someone for comments right after a game like that, but today should be a different game.

I was definitely pissed last night, but I still think this team has a chance and is very much in it. I just disagree with the notion that there is some virtue in extreme overreaction "because the term fan comes from the word fanatic after all..."

[Tony-OH]

What kills me is less than two years ago people would have been jumping up and down if the Orioles won 81 games in a season. Now we're sitting here in August, 12 games over .500 and in playoff contention and it's garbage.

One thing to remember is that you have a group of fans 17-24 that probably have none or vague memories of the Orioles being competitive until last year. I think that's part of the rollar coaster ride that some people ride. We also have 14 years of losing that has gotten into the soul of many Orioles fans. They probably still feel the other shoe is going to drop at any second.

I refuse to bash or look down upon these fans because they get emotional. I usually just ignore the rants or calmly point out the facts like the actual standings and the fact that this team is pretty good overall. The OP made some great points, but than he got all holier than thou and that ruined it for me. There are lots of different kind of fans and that makes it interesting. If we all thought one way, it would be pretty boring around here so the folks that constanly bash the "negative" or "overly emotional" fans are more a problem than the former in my opinion.

[NJOsFan]

I agree with the premise of the OP, but the post loses it's "win" as some suggested because of its need to talk down to the fans that ride the emotional rollar coaster. Fans come in all shapes and sizes and I never understand the need for some people to act superior to others because they don't stay emotionless after a tough loss and feel the need to vent a little.

They are all fans just the same.

I don't think it's a need to feel superior that drives those posters Tony. After that many seasons of poor baseball, from top to bottom, we should be a bit less reactionary to tough losses. After the magical season we all enjoyed last year, we are going to want to get right back to feeling the way we felt in September and October, but some people just need to relax a "tiny" bit.

I'm not saying we need to enjoy the losses as much as the wins, but some here are starting to sound eerily similar to the entitled Red Sox and Yankees fans from other message boards.

[olehippi]

What the hell happened to the Hangout overnight? There is far too much logic and common sense being expressed. Did everyone just suddenly wake up filled with some resonant circumspection this morning?

[Tony-OH]

The problem is this front office thought it could win with the same team. Starting pitching let this team down this year early on killed the pen now we're seeing the efforts of that. Bottom line everyone one they counted on in 2013 let them down. Hammel Johnson Jake Pedro Britt on bottom line I hope they get some real pitching this off season but I'm not counting on it.

But that's just not true. Chen, Tillman and Gonzalez have come through just fine and they were not totally dependent on Hammel, Arrieta and Britton in the rotation. The Orioles went into the season with four starters pretty much guaranteed spots (Tillman, Chen, Gonzalez and Hammel). Out of those four only Hammel has struggled. The 5th starters spot was up for grabs but to me they had pretty good depth overall. The Orioles felt like one of Arrieta, Britton, Steve Johnson, and Jurrjens could hold the fort until Gausman or Bundy were ready. Obviously Johnson and Bundy were hurt, and none of Britton, Arrieta or Jurjenns stepped up. This drove the Orioles to rush Gausman and sign Garcia, neither of whom were up to the task.

Also, I ran the numbers a month or so back when people were slamming the starters for not going deep enough and the Orioles starters on average pitched one third of an inning less than major league average. The bullpen is not worn out because of the starters, the bullpen is just not as good, mainly because Jim Johnson as regressed back towards the mean and away from his carer year last year.

[Redskins Rick]

But that's just not true. Chen, Tillman and Gonzalez have come through just fine and they were not totally dependent on Hammel, Arrieta and Britton in the rotation. The Orioles went into the season with four starters pretty much guaranteed spots (Tillman, Chen, Gonzalez and Hammel). Out of those four only Hammel has struggled. The 5th starters spot was up for grabs but to me they had pretty good depth overall. The Orioles felt like one of Arrieta, Britton, Steve Johnson, and Jurrjens could hold the fort until Gausman or Bundy were ready. Obviously Johnson and Bundy were hurt, and none of Britton, Arrieta or Jurjenns stepped up. This drove the Orioles to rush Gausman and sign Garcia, neither of whom were up to the task.

Also, I ran the numbers a month or so back when people were slamming the starters for not going deep enough and the Orioles starters on average pitched one third of an inning less than major league average. The bullpen is not worn out because of the starters, the bullpen is just not as good, mainly because Jim Johnson as regressed back towards the mean and away from his carer year last year.

As pointed out by Zach Wilt:

Orioles starters are 27th in the big leagues with a 4.62 ERA this season, but they have pitched to a 3.93 ERA over the last 30 days.

[Tony-OH]

I don't think it's a need to feel superior that drives those posters Tony. After that many seasons of poor baseball, from top to bottom, we should be a bit less reactionary to tough losses. After the magical season we all enjoyed last year, we are going to want to get right back to feeling the way we felt in September and October, but some people just need to relax a "tiny" bit.

I'm not saying we need to enjoy the losses as much as the wins, but some here are starting to sound eerily similar to the entitled Red Sox and Yankees fans from other message boards.

We'll have to agree to disagree here. We certainly have some fans on here who always see things sunny and always root for the team and never see any issues. That's great. They usually provide very little analysis and normally only post to tell everyone else that all is well and the Orioles will win tomorrow. That's fine. They are welcome to share their optimism.

But, there are certainly a few posters on here that relish in telling other fans how they should react. They are always ready to pounce and they normally have snide comments that border on breaking the rules about other posters. In fact, a lot of them are the ones that scream about other posters trolling when they themselves are the ones trolling the other posters.

I don't normally agree with most of the reactionary threads, but I don't take offense to them either. If I respond, it's usually with stats and facts that counteract the reactionary post. In fact, this is what the best posters do and that's how a reactionary thread can turn into a good thread because you can then use those facts in conversations with people who act like this at work or in other social engagements. I always enjoy the proper statistical and/or fact based response that shows the reactionary post to be just that. Instead, we have posters who cause the thread to meltdown because they want to get into bickering and trying to out snark each other the reactionary post.

A little snark can be funny, especially if they are backed up with stats and facts. Drungo is the master at this. Others are just the master of snark.

[TiredofLosing20]

I agree with the premise of the OP, but the post loses it's "win" as some suggested because of its need to talk down to the fans that ride the emotional rollar coaster. Fans come in all shapes and sizes and I never understand the need for some people to act superior to others because they don't stay emotionless after a tough loss and feel the need to vent a little.

They are all fans just the same.

It is one thing to be mad and upset after a loss.. A whole other thing to then come on here and make macro judgements and grandiose statements based on that loss. This seems to be happening after every loss these days. To me the fact that these types of posts are met with criticism is part of what makes this board what it is. If those types of posts are simply left unchallenged then this board could quickly devolve into the Sun Board as one big giant reactionary mess...

As for your perception that SJ is talking down to other fans, I didn't necessarily get that but condescension is often in the eyes of the beholder.