It's time to get on anyone's Train

[Can_of_corn]

I love it how you say the Yanks got all these ? marks. Have you looked at the Orioles they got a lot too.

I will take the team with question marks that finished 12 games ahead over the team with question marks that finished 12 games behind.

I also like how you really haven't explained how the Yankees are better.

[maybenxtyr]

The Flaherty love is almost as amusing as the Drew love.

I would rather have Flaherty at a fraction of the cost than Drew.

[Frobby]

They won't be -31 in run differential in 2015. The O will be a lot better. Eovaldi will be good for them. If Tanaka can play a full season that's a big boost. That Bullpen is gonna be nasty.

They probably won't outperform their Pythag by 7 games, either. Their run differential has to improve from -31 to +40 just for them to expect to win 84 games again. I don't see the Yankees having a big improvement in their record this year.

[maybenxtyr]

They probably won't outperform their Pythag by 7 games, either. Their run differential has to improve from -31 to +40 just for them to expect to win 84 games again. I don't see the Yankees having a big improvement in their record this year.

The Yankees have been very fortunate for the past two years. It's amazing how the Orioles outplayed advanced stats in 2012, and it was a fluke, but some think the stats will catch up with the Yankees awesomeness.

[OFFNY]

That reminds me of this thread, started in February of 2014:

You Can Have Morales and Cruz, I Want Stephen Drew

http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php/139030-You-can-have-Morales-and-Cruz-I-want-Stephen-Drew?highlight=Stephen+Drew

The Flaherty love is almost as amusing as the Drew love.

I would rather have Flaherty at a fraction of the cost than Drew.

Worst-case scenario:

Even if you think that they are both lousy, one is cheap, and one is expensive, then the equation is easy.

[Guest]

I will take the team with question marks that finished 12 games ahead over the team with question marks that finished 12 games behind.

I also like how you really haven't explained how the Yankees are better.

A full year of Headley.

Anyone is a upgrade of Jeter in 2014.

Ellsbury will be better in 2015 IMO.

Eovaldi is a upgrade.

Deeper Bench in 2015.

[Dipper9]

Riddle me this...

Would you trade Cruz, Markakis, and Miller for Wieters, Manny, and Davis?

If so, then the Orioles 2015 Opening Day lineup is better than the Orioles 2014 playoff roster.

So why again is everyone so upset about this offseason????

[Guest]

I will take the team with question marks that finished 12 games ahead over the team with question marks that finished 12 games behind.

I also like how you really haven't explained how the Yankees are better.

People need to get over last year. I'm sure Boston fans said the same thing in 2014. You think any Boston fan thought they go 71-91 in 2014?

[Can_of_corn]

People need to get over last year. I'm sure Boston fans said the same thing in 2014. You think any Boston fan thought they go 71-91 in 2014?

People need to get over 1998 - 2011.

[MarylandAaron]

Riddle me this...

Would you trade Cruz, Markakis, and Miller for Wieters, Manny, and Davis?

If so, then the Orioles 2015 Opening Day lineup is better than the Orioles 2014 playoff roster.

So why again is everyone so upset about this offseason????

For me, it's concerning that Machado has already had two major knee surgeries at age 22, and that there are doubts about Wieters ability to catch again. Wieters really doesn't provide a whole lot of value as a DH.

I feel like the O's will find a way to replace most of the production from Cruz and Markakis, and the monster year by Pearce. However, it probably won't come in the way we expect to see as fans. Probably a couple bargain signings at the end of the offseason, or just relying on improvements from guys like Schoop, De Aza, and Lough.

Anyways, I'm pretty much fine with the O's approach at the moment. The only way I see this team not competing is if our SP suffers major FIP regression.

[OFFNY]

Riddle me this...

Would you trade Cruz, Markakis, and Miller for Wieters, Manny, and Davis?

If so, then the Orioles 2015 Opening Day lineup is better than the Orioles 2014 playoff roster.

So why again is everyone so upset about this off-season ???

The first thing that comes to my mind is the news on television.

If the newscasters came on the 6 P.M. news for ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, etc, and said something like, "Nobody killed anybody, nobody raped anybody, nobody died of a drug overdose, there have been no carjackings, no natural disasters ...... everything is fine today." ......... then nobody would watch the news.

Somewhat similar concept to being upset with the Orioles' offseason ..... or for that matter, being upset with ANYTHING in regard to the Orioles.

Even after the Orioles clinched the A.L. East two weeks before the end of the season last year, there were still some that questioned Showalter's managing in the final two weeks of the season, and/or upset and very pessimistic about the Orioles' chances to match up in the postseasons against the Tigers or the Angels, etc.

And even in the event that the Orioles wind up winning their first World Series since 1983 in the next year or two, there will still be criticism in the ensuing off-season about how the front office is resting on its laurels, and is not committed to defending the crown, that Angelos is too cheap to give Duquette the free hand to sign and/or re-sign players that we need to keep the world championships coming, etc.

There will always be something ...... even if it seems like not much is there.

[Mayor McCheese]

People need to get over 1998 - 2011.

Why do we need to get over those years?

melmo says no.

[Frobby]

Riddle me this...

Would you trade Cruz, Markakis, and Miller for Wieters, Manny, and Davis?

If so, then the Orioles 2015 Opening Day lineup is better than the Orioles 2014 playoff roster.

So why again is everyone so upset about this offseason????

While I am not upset about this offseason, I don't like the logic that Wieters, Manny and Davis will make up for Cruz, Markakis and Miller, because that assumes the team will be 100% healthy this year, and that certainly won't happen. The Orioles were not a particularly injury-bitten team last year compared to the average team.

[OFFNY]

Riddle me this ...

Would you trade Cruz, Markakis, and Miller for Wieters, Manny, and Davis?

If so, then the Orioles 2015 Opening Day lineup is better than the Orioles 2014 playoff roster.

So why again is everyone so upset about this offseason ???

While I am not upset about this offseason, I don't like the logic that Wieters, Manny and Davis will make up for Cruz, Markakis and Miller, because that assumes the team will be 100% healthy this year, and that certainly won't happen. The Orioles were not a particularly injury-bitten team last year compared to the average team.

Yeah, one of my concerns with Dipper's particular analogy/comparison is that of the former 3 players, one of them is a pitcher ...... while with the latter 3 players, none of them pitch (I don't consider Chris Davis to be a reliable bulllpen arm, in spite of his big win over the Red Sox back in 2012, and I'm not expecting Showalter to try to resuurect Wieter's career as the closer/catcher that he was when he was in Georgia Tech.)

And with me, I'm always concerned about pitching and defense first. I'm concerned about the offense also, but as I've stated before, pitching and defense has accounted for between 60% and 70% of the success of pennant-winning teams for over 100 years, and probably always will.

[Il BuonO]

Did we lose any one of our starters? Except for Miller, who we acquired near the end of the season, has our BP changed that much for the worse?

It's all about the pitching.