ESPN the magazine predicts the AL east

[LocoChris]

Here's what ESPN said about 2012. 5th place here too:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/preview12/story/_/id/7746521/mlb-previewing-american-league-east-teams

Screw them. Don't even know why we mention their name.

For 2012, they had FAILING TO WIN 70 GAMES as the BEST CASE scenario, with the worst case scenario being setting the franchise record for losses in a season.

LOL....

These incompetent predictors should not have any credibility with anyone after that pitiful Oriole-hating prediction.

[vab]

Pretty sure they had the Red Sox either 4th or 5th last year. And the Blue Jays 1st.

[MurphDogg]

I would be pretty surprised if the AL East won 13 fewer games this year than they did last year.

[O's84]

It would be funny if Socrates was alive now and was a baseball fan. Imagine how bad he would make these ESPN guys look.

[Orioles4Life21]

I move that we all stop watching/reading ESPN and go to Fox Sports for our info instead.

[PeteCanes]

May as well be the Weekly World News. Peter North's handlers use that towel to wipe things up.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

Lol wut?

Who exactly did we lose that cost us 8 games? Who in the division got so much better as to account for the differential? Did they have one of the football guys come up with these standings? Did they just come up with random numerical records and throw darts to assign them to teams?

I'd wipe my butt with this nonsense but I don't want to compliment it like that.

[Kalkan]

I do not have ESPN magazine, but don't they use Dan Symborski's ZiPS? He is a pretty big Orioles fan. You cannot really input anti-Oriole sentiment in a projection model.

So shouldn't the argument be about ZiPS projections and how they are derived as well as how playing time is handed out in their models? It seems that a big city bias or chip-on-the-shoulder perspectives do not really play into this.

I am optimistic about the season though. The pitching looks stronger. The offense will probably do a lot of regressing, but that is good with Nick and Matt (though bad with Davis). Seems to me they are a mid to high 80s win team that needs just a little bit of fortune to break through. Certainly less good fortune is needed this year than what we got in 2012.

[wildcard]

This is entirely possible if Jimenez gives a 2012 performance and Norris a 2013 performance. Its mostly about the pitching.

On the other hand if everything clicks the O's could win 95.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

This is entirely possible if Jimenez gives a 2012 performance and Norris a 2013 performance. Its mostly about the pitching.

On the other hand if everything clicks the O's could win 95.

Of course.

But similar things could be said for any team. These standings seem to assume everything goes right for TB and BOS, and pretty much everything goes wrong for the O's. That seems rather arbitrary to me.

[foxfield]

Tampa 93-69

Redsox 89-73

Yankees - 82-80

Blue Jays - 79-83

Orioles - 77-85

Thoughts?

Not shocking whatsoever. The rag and the boys in Bristol have been Orioles doubters since the emergence in 2012. 77 wins could happen but my guess is they're going for a little shock value there. And keep the natives in Boston and NY pleased.

I honestly don't see how we aren't better than the Yankees this year. Their infield is pathetic, Ellsbury is going to get hurt and Beltran is approaching fartknocker status. Their rotation can be pretty solid and I'm not sure about their bullpen. But after a quick position by position checklist rundown in my head, I like us better around the diamond, 1-9 in the lineup and I think we're at LEAST equal in the staff.

Here's what ESPN said about 2012. 5th place here too:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/preview12/story/_/id/7746521/mlb-previewing-american-league-east-teams

Screw them. Don't even know why we mention their name.

Pretty sure they had the Red Sox either 4th or 5th last year. And the Blue Jays 1st.

In fairness, it's a tough division to handicap. The Rays are clearly the team to beat and without question the most balanced team in the division if not all of baseball. I could see any number of situations playing out and if you had to stake your reputation there is plenty of reason to rank them pretty close to above.

Also, while others note that in 2012 we were literally predicted to be among the worst teams in baseball, in 2013, IIRC, Tim K among others actually predicted the Orioles to win the division outright.

To me the surprise is that the win total is below 82. DD is not going to win less than 82 IMHO unless everything goes wrong in April and May and he decides to move everyone for prospects.

Personally, I'd rather start with the above prediction and overcome it than say, be like the Bluejays last year.

Also even with Orange colored glasses, I find it hard to envision the Orioles not being better than Toronto, and believe we are every bit as good as the Redsox. I do not see the Yankees finishing last, but I believe they are the worst team in the East without an awful lot of good fortune on the health front. If this were 2009 and the Yankees had the same roster, I'd say they were very strong.

Only one way to find out.......

[davidhusker]

I think it has to do with pitching. Generally speaking, great pitching leads to more wins. The Orioles were an offensive beast last year and the best defense in the majors, but struggled with most of their starters being consistent.

So I think the media is saying "they dont have pitching" so won't win games, but to me, Our pitching almost has to be better than last season (blown saves, rough bullpen, shaky starts galore.) and our offense has to be better. I think the latter is tough as last year we put up a ton of runs. From a production standpoint we return our core offense and add a power bat in Cruz. Not only that, one of our top players had his worst season in a long time (Nick) and has had a good offseason.

TLDR; We've added bats, pitching can only get better, great defense. Record should improve over last year. I might be drinking some kool-aid and being optimistic, but just my 2 cents.

[Stotle]

Shock; horror.

[AlbionHero]

It keeps on surprising me how many high 70 win totals I'm seeing projected for the Orioles. Did we really get that much worse from last year?

[Frobby]

I've stopped worrying about projections and predictions about how the Orioles will do. As recently as two years ago today I really couldn't foresee that the Orioles would suddenly become contenders, but they did. With my orange-colored glasses on, I see no reason why this team won't be in the playoff hunt again. I'm biased and proud of it.