OK, so it looks like Detroit

[weams]

Why are you so focused on what happened in a three game series? The Orioles laid a dud in Chicago but went on a .750 winning percentage for the next two weeks.

It's his shtick. Let him wallow in it.

[Guest]

Tigers pitching gonna have fun with 3 easy outs in lineup. Joseph Schoop and Ryan.

[weams]

Tigers pitching gonna have fun with 3 easy outs in lineup. Joseph Schoop and Ryan.

Bird and Fan. What a show.

[weams]

Tigers pitching gonna have fun with 3 easy outs in lineup. Joseph Schoop and Ryan.

You are better when you find your own obsession.

[BRobinsonfan]

But what have we done against the Tigers this year? Answer: not much. Factor in we have lost Manny's bat and defense as well as Davis...I am extremely worried. It will be really disappointing if we go through all this winning of the division only to get knocked out one and done.

Good thing for the Tigers they're not playing Toronto in the Playoffs - they wouldn't have any hope. What did the Tigers do against them during the regular season? Answer: not much. They were 1-5 against the Jays. Lucky for the Tigers they're playing us.

[waroriole]

But there is also Sherzer and Price. I just hope we don't get swept and shut out a couple of times.

Why are you so scared? You're an embarrassment to this team. Frank Robinson would never have you on his team.

[Old#5fan]

Tigers pitching gonna have fun with 3 easy outs in lineup. Joseph Schoop and Ryan.

Right I am glad someone other than me is now pointing that out. That is like 3 innings of easy outs per games.

[Old#5fan]

Why are you so scared? You're an embarrassment to this team. Frank Robinson would never have you on his team.

Of course he wouldn't as I never made it past high school ball!:laughlol:

[larrytt]

The Detroit Tigers are a good team, and it'll likely be a good series if we play them. But I absolutely do not understand Old#5fan's terrifying fear of their starting pitching. It's good, but not as good as the Orioles. Let's look at the facts.

Here are the Oriole and Tiger starters, ranked in order of their ERAs since the Allstar break. (I've bolded the Orioles.) The Orioles completely dominate, with the #1, 2, 3, and 6 positions, with Tillman and Gonzalez by far the most dominant.

1) Tillman 2.06

2) Gonzalez 2.35

3) Chen 2.74

4) Scherzer 2.97

5) Porchello 3.20

6) Norris 3.27

7) Lobstein 3.38 (only 5 starts)

8) Gausman 3.72

9) Verlander 3.97

10) Price 3.97

But some of these games were back in July and August - how about recently? Here are the stats for September - and now the Orioles dominate even more, with the fop four positions as well as #6, including completely dominant numbers by basically all the O's starters.

1) Chen 1.82

2) Gonzales 2.00

3) Norris 2.08

4) Tillman 2.55

5) Scherzer 2.70

6) Gausman 2.87

7) Lobstein 3.52

8) Price 3.58

9) Verlander 3.89

10) Porchello 5.57

So here is the million dollar question: Should we be more afraid of their starters, or they more afraid of ours? The answer is pretty clear.

A few additional stats: Since the Allstar Break the Orioles have a 2.91 ERA (#1 in AL), the Tigers 3.95 (#11 in AL). For the month of September the Orioles have an ERA of 2.72 ERA (#2 in AL behind Astro's 2.66), the Tigers 3.41 (#7 in AL). The Orioles are also well ahead in run differential: +115 to +65 for the year, +89 to +15 since the Allstar Break, and +37 (#1 in AL) to +32 (#3 in AL) for September.

[waroriole]

Of course he wouldn't as I never made it past high school ball!:laughlol:

Even if you were talented enough, he kick your defeatist rear off the team. Losers always believe they've already lost.

[Uli2001]

They have no pen at all.

The question becomes: can the O's batters take some pitches from their starters?

[Three Run Homer]

Tigers pitching gonna have fun with 3 easy outs in lineup. Joseph Schoop and Ryan.

Schoop appears to have lost his job to Kelly Johnson, who is slightly less of an automatic out than Schoop.

Caleb Joseph is fading at the plate and in the field. I bet Nick Hundley gets the bulk of the starts. Again, slightly less of an automatic out.

I wouldn't have guessed either of those outcomes a week ago, but I think Buck will feel comfortable going with veterans who are playing well.

[Palmoripken]

The Detroit Tigers are a good team, and it'll likely be a good series if we play them. But I absolutely do not understand Old#5fan's terrifying fear of their starting pitching. It's good, but not as good as the Orioles. Let's look at the facts.

Here are the Oriole and Tiger starters, ranked in order of their ERAs since the Allstar break. (I've bolded the Orioles.) The Orioles completely dominate, with the #1, 2, 3, and 6 positions, with Tillman and Gonzalez by far the most dominant.

1) Tillman 2.06

2) Gonzalez 2.35

3) Chen 2.74

4) Scherzer 2.97

5) Porchello 3.20

6) Norris 3.27

7) Lobstein 3.38 (only 5 starts)

8) Gausman 3.73

9) Verlander 3.97

10) Price 3.97

But some of these games were back in July and August - how about recently? Here are the stats for September - and now the Orioles dominate even more, with the fop four positions, including completely dominant numbers by Chen, Gonzalez, and Norris, with Tillman not far behind. (And we'll only be using four starters in the playoffs - presumably those four.)

1) Chen 1.82

2) Gonzales 2.00

3) Norris 2.08

4) Tillman 2.55

5) Scherzer 2.70

6) Lobstein 3.52

7) Price 3.58

8) Gausman 3.73

9) Verlander 3.89

10) Porchello 5.57

So here is the million dollar question: Should we be more afraid of their starters, or they more afraid of ours? The answer is pretty clear.

Two additional stats: Since the Allstar Break the Orioles have a 2.90 ERA (#1 in AL), the Tigers 3.98 (#11 in AL). For the month of September the Orioles have an ERA of 2.70 ERA (#2 in AL behind Astro's 2.66), the Tigers 3.48 (#7 in AL).

Okay Larry enough of facts.

[Three Run Homer]

Here's a serious question: do you even put Wei-Yin Chen on the ALDS roster?

He's been a very good pitcher all season, but the Tigers eat lefties alive. The O's are maybe the only team in baseball with a deep enough rotation to consider holding Chen back until the next round.

[larrytt]

Okay Larry enough of facts.

I'm dumb in that way. Facts should never get in the way of observable stuff, whether the observable stuff happened or not.

I made one mistake - Gausman's ERA for September was 2.73, not 3.73. (Fixed.) That gives us for September the #1-4 and #6 starters. I also updated all the stats after tonight's games. (So Gausman, for example, is now at 2.87 for September.)

On a side note, somehow when I cut & pasted, all the bolds disappeared, but I just put them back in.

Time to start thinking about a Detroit Top Ten List.