Our season is over! We're the next 2011 Red Sox! O, woe is us! (aka The Loser Lap)

[BRobinsonfan]

I told you guys a week ago that the Orioles would win this division. That's still true. I got ripped and negative repped out the wazoo. And why? Because some of you are so simple-minded in believing in such things as "baseball gods". News flash.....there's no such thing. There just isn't.

The reason the Orioles sucked for 14 years is that they weren't very good. It had nothing to do with an internet thread. Neither does the fact that they will win their division this year. They will win because they are a good team.....better than the other teams in their division. It's not up to the "gods of baseball". What a bunch of crap!

So go ahead, rip a lifelong Orioles lover with your garbage about some sort of a curse related to being confident about your own team. I guess a "real fan" simply does the losers limp and blames some unnamed "god" when things don't go right.

And for the record....don't get your panties all in a twist if I suggest the Orioles might not have the best fans in baseball. Way to rip a true Orioles fan. Really. Good job. I'm embarrassed by you. Your belief in things unseen and your willingness to ignore actual results in favor of shredding a fellow Orioles fan are eye-opening. Now I know what I'm dealing with. Thank you.

Decaf bro, decaf.

[glenn__davis]

It was a bit silly to take a victory lap with so many games remaining.

The response to your thread was even sillier, though. Pennant races make people crazy sometimes.

[epic]

#analysis

[UMDTerrapins]

It was a bit silly to take a victory lap with so many games remaining.

The response to your thread was even sillier, though. Pennant races make people crazy sometimes.

But according to this guy it makes us not "true" fans, "losers", "simple-minded", "sheep", "weak-minded" posters, who post "garbage", reek of "stupidity" and have no balls. I think there's a very real chance that he's the enlightened one and it's everyone who's not him that is at issue. I for one plan on watching and learning from this thread. I think it will make me a better man. Or more importantly, a better fan. The more you know…….

[MDK02]

Do you really think my thread caused a 3-game losing streak? How dumb! That's the height of stupidity. Think about that for a minute.

I thought about it.. yes, it caused the sweep.

[oriolesmagic9]

I thought about it.. yes, it caused the sweep.

There you go. Can't argue with that logic.

[LookitsPuck]

OP, the thing about the O's (and just sports in general) is that they're not above reproach.

If you think about post-ASB, the O's aren't hitting. They scored a bunch of runs against the Cardinals and Yankees. And the White Sox. But everyone does that to the ChiSox. Aside from that? 1 game against the Rays. The rest of the games they had to claw their way to a win. And honestly we're starting to see major chinks in the armor of the starting rotation:

Bud Norris last 5 starts: 5.33 ERA, 25 1/3 IP (5 IP avg), .265/.315/.418 .733 OPS.

Is it a bump in the road? I hope. But he wasn't good in July. A 4.00 ERA really only made decent by 2 starts against the Angels. He stunk against the Nats. He really stunk against the Mariners. Batters had a slash line of .304/.366/.446 .812 OPS in July.

Perhaps more alarming is Gausman's complete and utter inability to go deep into games. I think he's well on his way to the bullpen...and unfortunately the only depth starter this club has is Ubaldo. You tell me what you want in the rotation.

Other major issues? Davis is completely lost and apparently Buck feels the need to bat him 5th against righties. And play him regularly. Cruz has been struggling lately (he will rebound, IMHO), Schoop mostly doesn't hit (had a few good games in August), Flaherty has a noodle for a bat, yada, yada. Oh, and Davis is a huge drop in performance compared to Manny at 3B. He's a butcher. Yes, he made a few highlight reels in the Rays series, but let's not forget how many times he double clutched, cut in front of Hardy, overthrew Pearce, etc. in that same series. Food for thought.

All that said, this club is in first place by 7 games in the AL East. That's not a large margin. Especially since we have to play the Yanks 8 more times.

I still think they'll win the division, but let's not act as if the O's are beyond reproach. They have a lot of holes. Luckily the bullpen is superb and can pick up Gausman and Norris (and even Chen) at times. The offense (for its warts) usually has someone stepping up to pick up the slack (Pearce, Hardy, Young). And the rotation, aside from Gausman and Ubaldo, has been pretty good throughout the year. And the defense is superb.

[El Gordo]

I told you guys a week ago that the Orioles would win this division. That's still true. I got ripped and negative repped out the wazoo. And why? Because some of you are so simple-minded in believing in such things as "baseball gods". News flash.....there's no such thing. There just isn't.

The reason the Orioles sucked for 14 years is that they weren't very good. It had nothing to do with an internet thread. Neither does the fact that they will win their division this year. They will win because they are a good team.....better than the other teams in their division. It's not up to the "gods of baseball". What a bunch of crap!

So go ahead, rip a lifelong Orioles lover with your garbage about some sort of a curse related to being confident about your own team. I guess a "real fan" simply does the losers limp and blames some unnamed "god" when things don't go right.

And for the record....don't get your panties all in a twist if I suggest the Orioles might not have the best fans in baseball. Way to rip a true Orioles fan. Really. Good job. I'm embarrassed by you. Your belief in things unseen and your willingness to ignore actual results in favor of shredding a fellow Orioles fan are eye-opening. Now I know what I'm dealing with. Thank you.

here we go again. Sweep by the Twinkiess?

[El Gordo]

It was a bit silly to take a victory lap with so many games remaining.

The response to your thread was even sillier, though. Pennant races make people crazy sometimes.

It's still silly.

[ScottieBaseball]

I told you guys a week ago that the Orioles would win this division. That's still true. I got ripped and negative repped out the wazoo. And why? Because some of you are so simple-minded in believing in such things as "baseball gods". News flash.....there's no such thing. There just isn't.

The reason the Orioles sucked for 14 years is that they weren't very good. It had nothing to do with an internet thread. Neither does the fact that they will win their division this year. They will win because they are a good team.....better than the other teams in their division. It's not up to the "gods of baseball". What a bunch of crap!

So go ahead, rip a lifelong Orioles lover with your garbage about some sort of a curse related to being confident about your own team. I guess a "real fan" simply does the losers limp and blames some unnamed "god" when things don't go right.

And for the record....don't get your panties all in a twist if I suggest the Orioles might not have the best fans in baseball. Way to rip a true Orioles fan. Really. Good job. I'm embarrassed by you. Your belief in things unseen and your willingness to ignore actual results in favor of shredding a fellow Orioles fan are eye-opening. Now I know what I'm dealing with. Thank you.

You lost me with all the "real fan" BS.

I say it all the time...you don't get to tell me how to be a fan. I'll do it my way, you do it yours. However, if you come here and share an opinion in the public forum, don't get all butthurt if you get ripped for it. I can be a "real fan" and a realist at the same time. With so much baseball left to be played, declaring them division winners is very premature. Me pointing that out doesn't mean that I don't want them to win with every fiber of my being, it just means I'm reasonable enough to know that there's a good chance, but it's baseball, it's human beings playing a game, and worse collapses have happened.

[VeveJones007]

I told you guys a week ago that the Orioles would win this division. That's still true. I got ripped and negative repped out the wazoo. And why? Because some of you are so simple-minded in believing in such things as "baseball gods". News flash.....there's no such thing. There just isn't.

The reason the Orioles sucked for 14 years is that they weren't very good. It had nothing to do with an internet thread. Neither does the fact that they will win their division this year. They will win because they are a good team.....better than the other teams in their division. It's not up to the "gods of baseball". What a bunch of crap!

So go ahead, rip a lifelong Orioles lover with your garbage about some sort of a curse related to being confident about your own team. I guess a "real fan" simply does the losers limp and blames some unnamed "god" when things don't go right.

And for the record....don't get your panties all in a twist if I suggest the Orioles might not have the best fans in baseball. Way to rip a true Orioles fan. Really. Good job. I'm embarrassed by you. Your belief in things unseen and your willingness to ignore actual results in favor of shredding a fellow Orioles fan are eye-opening. Now I know what I'm dealing with. Thank you.

Almost everyone who talks about the "baseball gods" does so with tongue firmly implanted in cheek. If you engage in conversations with those people, you're just asking to be trolled.

[weams]

You lost me with all the "real fan" BS.

I say it all the time...you don't get to tell me how to be a fan. I'll do it my way, you do it yours. However, if you come here and share an opinion in the public forum, don't get all butthurt if you get ripped for it. I can be a "real fan" and a realist at the same time. With so much baseball left to be played, declaring them division winners is very premature. Me pointing that out doesn't mean that I don't want them to win with every fiber of my being, it just means I'm reasonable enough to know that there's a good chance, but it's baseball, it's human beings playing a game, and worse collapses have happened.

I like this post.

[VeveJones007]

You lost me with all the "real fan" BS.

I say it all the time...you don't get to tell me how to be a fan. I'll do it my way, you do it yours. However, if you come here and share an opinion in the public forum, don't get all butthurt if you get ripped for it. I can be a "real fan" and a realist at the same time. With so much baseball left to be played, declaring them division winners is very premature. Me pointing that out doesn't mean that I don't want them to win with every fiber of my being, it just means I'm reasonable enough to know that there's a good chance, but it's baseball, it's human beings playing a game, and worse collapses have happened.

Word. Although, I would characterize their chances of winning the division as being better than "good." They were good a month ago. Now it's more like "barring anything absolutely crazy happening..."

[El Gordo]

Superstition is a big part of baseball, and people who love the game usually take delight in the many different forms it takes. It is also a part of life. I know few people who don't entertain some superstitions. And for good reason. Carl Jung explains it best, but to put it simply there are things in life and/or baseball, that just don't make sense and can't be explained. Mysteries. Ergo the baseball gods .Superstitions are ways in which we cope with these things. Only the most literally minded wouldn't understand this.

[weams]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3RRWI6O57IE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

When you believe in things you don't understand.

Then you suffer.