The Blame Game

[isestrex]

Now that it is official the Orioles will be missing the post season, what was the PRIMARY reason for their failure to achieve this goal?

I tried to list everything that people have brought up over the last few months but I'm only allowed 10 options.

[LookitsPuck]

Jim Johnson without a doubt. He lost 1 game in 2012 and blew 3 saves. He's lost 8 games in 2013 and blew 9 saves. Even if he only lost 3 this year, the team would be 87-70. Chew on that for a bit.

That said, the offense completely fell apart. They were on pace to score 750+ runs. But they've been awful in September.

[El Gordo]

It's a combination of things. And with all the one R G losses, while you can blame poor situational hitting, Buck, or a weaker bullpen, luck is a big factor too. As lucky as we were last season, we were unlucky his season in one run games. My feeling has always been this is an 86 W team that can make the playoffs with some things going their way or not if they break the other way. We have to upgrade this to a 90 W team. But that will cost us an extra 20M or so.

[zxlkho]

I voted "Rotation as a whole," but I really think it was a combination of the bullpen and rotation.

I also think Markakis and Wieters' poor seasons had a big affect.

[Malike]

I say nobody is to blame. Relievers are volatile, it happens. Hitters on this team are hackers, we knew that. Starting pitching wasn't good, we've known that all season. I blame a lack of talent and depth overall, I don't blame any particular part of the team or player. Those blaming Johnson, Rodney has blown 8, and Tazawa for Boston has blown 8. They seem to have recovered okay.

[JTrea81]

The offseason. It was foolish thinking that returning just about the exact same 25 man roster would produce a playoff team that would go onto the ALCS or World Series while teams like Kansas City, Cleveland, Seattle and especially Boston all retooled or improved. There was nothing done to improve the OBP, nor the inconsistency and failure to hit with RISP for most of the season and the playoffs. Duquette gambled and he lost, just like he did with the 1996 Red Sox. He didn't learn his lesson then apparently, so hopefully he's learned it now and will put forth more of an effort to change this roster so that this team returns to the playoffs and is a World Series contender in 2014.

[MemorialStadKid]

The offseason. It was foolish thinking that returning just about the exact same 25 man roster would produce a playoff team that would go onto the ALCS or World Series while teams like Kansas City, Cleveland, Seattle and especially Boston all retooled or improved. There was nothing done to improve the OBP, nor the inconsistency and failure to hit with RISP for most of the season and the playoffs. Duquette gambled and he lost, just like he did with the 1996 Red Sox. He didn't learn his lesson then apparently, so hopefully he's learned it now and will put forth more of an effort to change this roster so that this team returns to the playoffs and is a World Series contender in 2014.

Pretty much this.

I tried to be optimistic all year, but the lack of a legit TOR starter and/or a RH DH power bat doomed us on many occasions. The hitting with RISP over the last three weeks didn't help matters.

Here's to Chris Davis' breakout performance and some brilliant defense across the field.

Praying for a better run in 2014 provided DD gets better players.

MSK

[mark_beckens]

Other, it's a combination of everything above.

[notyourbuddy]

We had clear areas in need of upgrading last offseason (SP, DH, and 2B) and we did.... NOTHING. Going into the season arrogant enough to think you could repeat last years once-in-a-lifetime miracle run was a recipe for mediocrity... and here we are.

The closest poll choice you had was "Duquette's offseason moves last winter" but we all know who the skunk in the room is. The old decrepid scrooge hoarding all that MASN cash. I doubt he gave DD anything to work with last offseason and I doubt he gives him much more to work with this offseason.

Watching the owner hang this core, the city, and the fanbase out to dry is a depressing sight. The 2013 Orioles deserved better. The long suffering fans deserved better.

[olehippi]

I said "other" because you can't pin the final outcome on any one person. This was definitely a team-wide collapse coming down the stretch. The same has happened to a lot of very good teams in the past. The Orioles just run out of gas.

But look on the bright side. For two consecutive years, the Orioles have provided their fans a brand of exciting, and winning, baseball we hadn't seen in fourteen previous years. I have no doubt that next year is going to be better!

[Dipper9]

I voted "Rotation as a whole," but I really think it was a combination of the bullpen and rotation.

I also think Markakis and Wieters' poor seasons had a big affect.

:agree: I went with the rotation, as up until September they as a whole were not good. But in reality, the 9 blown saves puts us at 90 wins right now. The ONLY reason I didn't go with Johnson is that you cannot ever expect a closer to close them all, so even if he blew half those, that's about 85, 86 wins and still not quite good enough.

[Frobby]

Jim Johnson without a doubt. He lost 1 game in 2012 and blew 3 saves. He's lost 8 games in 2013 and blew 9 saves. Even if he only lost 3 this year, the team would be 87-70. Chew on that for a bit.

That said, the offense completely fell apart. They were on pace to score 750+ runs. But they've been awful in September.

What I don't like about this analysis is you are holding Johnson (and the rest of the bullpen) to an unrealistic standard. Even great closers don't convert 94% of their save chances on a regular basis. Even a great bullpen doesn't have a .744 winning percentage every year. You had to expect a significant decline.

Now, that said, I did not expect the decline from JJ and the rest of the bullpen to be quite as much as it is. JJ has saved 84% of his chances and a solid closer should be in the 87-88% range (not 94% where he was last year). If he'd blown 6 saves, I'd be fine with it, and if he's blown 7, I'd still be borderline OK with it. Nine is 2-3 too many. The other problem is that in 5 of JJ's blown saves, he actually put the team behind in the game, instead of just allowing the tying run to score. The offense didn't bail JJ out of any of those games, and they also ended up losing 3 of the 4 games he left tied, so the offense did him no favors.

For me, the blame doesn't go "primarily" on one guy or one segment of the team. The team has played really mediocre baseball for the last three months, all the way around.

[mark_beckens]

For me, the blame doesn't go "primarily" on one guy or one segment of the team. The team has played really mediocre baseball for the last three months, all the way around.

:agree: My sentiments exactly. Plenty of blame to go around.

[Orioles0615]

I am going with options 1,3,6,7

[Tx Oriole]

Now that it is official the Orioles will be missing the post season, what was the PRIMARY reason for their failure to achieve this goal?

I tried to list everything that people have brought up over the last few months but I'm only allowed 10 options.

No one is to blame. It was just one of those things that happens in baseball. To

blame one certain player or a group of players is just wrong. IMO.