What went wrong: Inconsistent Orioles offense lacking in versatility

[Going Underground]

Sun article about the Orioles offense:

It is a simple enough matter to break down the past season and find all the reasons the Orioles did not score enough runs or distribute them more evenly to deliver their fans a fourth consecutive winning season.

The Orioles offense was consistently inconsistent because it was not built with enough versatility and connectivity to overcome the predictable ebb and flow of a free-swinging lineup with an inordinate dependence on the home run.

That's the opinion of observers inside and outside the organization. Major league scouts who observe the Orioles on a daily basis (but are not allowed to comment on them publicly) point to the high strikeout and low walk totals to explain the team's meager on-base percentage. Manager Buck Showalter would rather dwell on a long list of positive individual performances, but he doesn't have to look hard for another big reason his team's OBP receded this year.

"You lose two guys who walk as much as Nelson and Nicky did, it will," he said.

Indeed, the departures of Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis last winter had a huge impact on the Orioles' ability to produce runs. Everybody knows that. The inability of the front office to find anyone to replace an adequate percentage of that production left the Orioles with gaps in the lineup that widened as the season wore on.

The Orioles came into 2015 with the intention of improving on last year's .311 OBP to offset losing Cruz and Markakis, but entered the final weekend of the season looking up at that number and 27 other major league teams.

It is not a new problem, but the Orioles were able to gloss over it in previous years because of their huge power numbers.

"Sometimes you get kind of a false sense of security thinking that's kind of your safety blanket," hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh said. "I would like to see us a little better manufacturing runs. For me as a hitting coach, I feel like an offense should be like a golf bag. You have different clubs for different lengths and different positions on the course. I think that's the same way you look at an offense. You have some guys that have some power and you have some guys that can get on base.

Trouble is, the Orioles appear to be on the verge of perhaps trading one problem for another. They already seriously downgraded their power potential when they let Cruz leave last winter. Now, they face an uncertain offseason in which they are expected to lose both Chris Davis and Matt Wieters to free agency. If so, that would mean that over a span of two winters, they will have removed nearly 100 home runs from their offensive equation.

Coolbaugh walked into the middle of this and predictably has become an easy target on the fan blogs and message boards, but Showalter bristles at the suggestion that he has had anything but a positive impact on the club.

And yet, Showalter concedes the club has lacked offensive versatility and that has reduced his ability to force the action on the bases.

"I don't think I've ever given less signals," he said. "If you see where we are with stolen bases, it got to the point where the percentage is just not there. You're just throwing outs away. And when you swing and miss a lot, and you don't steal a lot of bases, that's the two combinations you look for in hit-and-run situations."

The Orioles' contact issues are well known. There are only three major league teams that have struck out more this year, but the Orioles went to the American League Championship Series with nearly the same number of strikeouts last season. That's an area Coolbaugh wishes he could have fixed, but he was not in a position to dictate new approaches to the established hitters in the lineup.

"I think one of the things coming in as a first-year coach, you don't want to disrupt what has been successful with the organization over the last few years," Coolbaugh said. "The offense has been what it is. It has been that way for the last four years and, consequently, getting to the American League Championship Series last year, you don't want to come in and say, 'OK, we're going to completely change something that they do well.'"

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-what-went-wrong-offense-1002-20151001-story.html

[OsEatAlEast]

I know an old school way to improve hand eye coordination. Play stickball a couple of times a week.

[weams]

I know an old school way to improve hand eye coordination. Play stickball a couple of times a week.

Or Pepper.

[weams]

And cut out the GOLF!!!

[OsEatAlEast]

Or Pepper.

I know it's probably something to do with safety. But those signs at ballparks have always made me scratch my head.

[Going Underground]

I know an old school way to improve hand eye coordination. Play stickball a couple of times a week.

I played stickball. We used a Spaldeen or a Pencie Pinkie.Drew a strike zone on the school wall . Big in NYC.

[OsEatAlEast]

I played stickball. We used a Spaldeen or a Pencie Pinkie.Drew a strike zone on the school wall . Big in NYC.

I really wish I would have taken the advice of a coach and done so in my playing days. I had a good batting eye but couldn't make contact to save my life.

[weams]

I hit like Chris Davis with these.

[Il BuonO]

And cut out the GOLF!!!

I actually used golf sized wiffle balls for my daughter before she started softball as a teaching tool for better hand eye coordination. She led her age group in hitting.

[OsEatAlEast]

I actually used golf sized wiffle balls for my daughter before she started softball as a teaching tool for better hand eye coordination. She led her age group in hitting.

I seem to remember they sold a pitching machine that used those. Also I remember Chris Richards endorsing such a model.

[Il BuonO]

I seem to remember they sold a pitching machine that used those. Also I remember Chris Richards endorsing such a model.

I remember reading an article about David Wright and the Upton brothers all playing at the same youth program and learning to hit by using bottle caps. The spin and odd trajectories helped to train their eyes. Of course, Melvin hated the drill.

[wildcard]

Near has I can tell this is a bunch of bunk.

The have hit more homers in 2015 than they did in 2014. 212 to 211 with three games to play.

The O's are on track to score as many runs as last year. 705. They are 14 runs short with three games to play.

The O's scored 4 or more runs in 87 games so far in 2015. In 2014 they scored 4 or more runs in 89 games. Again there are three to play.

The difference between the successful 2014 and the losing 2015 is two factors.

1) the pitching was way worse in 2015

2015 ERA = 4.07, 2014 ERA = 3.43

2) The Blue Jays and Yankees were better in 2015 than in 2014.

[OsEatAlEast]

I remember reading an article about David Wright and the Upton brothers all playing at the same youth program and learning to hit by using bottle caps. The spin and odd trajectories helped to train their eyes. Of course, Melvin hated the drill.

It probably helps with concentration and reaction time also. The more you can activate the prefrontal cortex the better in my estimation.

[OsEatAlEast]

Near has I can tell this is a bunch of bunk.

The have hit more homers in 2015 than they did in 2014. 212 to 211 with three games to play.

The O's are on track to score as many runs as last year. 705. They are 14 runs short with three games to play.

The O's scored 4 or more runs in 87 games so far in 2015. In 2014 they scored 4 or more runs in 89 games. Again there are three to play.

The difference between the successful 2014 and the losing 2015 is two factors.

1) the pitching was way worse in 2015

2015 ERA = 4.07, 2014 ERA = 3.43

2) The Blue Jays and Yankees were better in 2015 than in 2014.

Yes, I do agree that the pitching needs to be much better to contend.

Still, I'd feel a lot more comfortable with a team that scored 800 runs. Which I doubt is an unattainable goal for a team that has a modicum of plate discipline.

[Fuzzball22]

Near has I can tell this is a bunch of bunk.

The have hit more homers in 2015 than they did in 2014. 212 to 211 with three games to play.

The O's are on track to score as many runs as last year. 705. They are 14 runs short with three games to play.

The O's scored 4 or more runs in 87 games so far in 2015. In 2014 they scored 4 or more runs in 89 games. Again there are three to play.

The difference between the successful 2014 and the losing 2015 is two factors.

1) the pitching was way worse in 2015

2015 ERA = 4.07, 2014 ERA = 3.43

2) The Blue Jays and Yankees were better in 2015 than in 2014.

I was just looking at this on baseball reference. Our OBP is down by .06. But the offense is on par with last year without Cruz and Markakis. If the pitching had held up their end of the bargain we would be in the playoffs this year. All of you people bemoaning the loss of Cruz and Markakis please read this. If we would have just pitched to an ERA of 3.7ish we would have been fine.