The Optimistic View

[weams]

The Orioles signed all their players.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">players now 3-0 in arb season. sosnick, cobbe & karon won case for chavez. might player wins bode poorly for next 1 to go?</p>— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) <a href="

">February 6, 2016</a></blockquote>

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[weams]

[SteveO]

We got a punchers chance. Our offense should be pretty potent though likely still a little streaky but certain more than good enough.

There is always a chance that we get the kind of bounce backs and progression we need from our pitching but my confidence level is not terribly high on that. If we were able to add one solid middle of the rotation type guy, then I think that improves your depth, options and odds.

[weams]

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2014/2/8/5367922/orioles-tank-2014-free-agent-davis-machado-wieters-hardy-jones

The Orioles have had an interesting offseason, to say the least. It's not the sort of winter Orioles fans wanted. It's hard to understand why the Orioles aren't spending at all. It adds up to very little for a team that needed to make a splash. At times, it's even caused garments to be rent.

Perhaps, however, this purported madness has a method behind it. Maybe this inactivity is not the sign of a clueless front office and a manipulative owner, but of actual — dare I say it? — expertise and competence at their jobs. Perhaps the Orioles, recognizing the difficulty of their division and the quality of their current talent, have given up on 2014, in hopes of going all in for 2015.

[weams]

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2014/2/8/5367922/orioles-tank-2014-free-agent-davis-machado-wieters-hardy-jones

FanGraphs' projected standings for 2014 has the Orioles at 76 wins for next year, last in the AL East and seventh-worst in the majors. This negativity can be attributed to their position players; while they were the fifth-best group in MLB in 2013, they're forecasted to tumble to 20th in 2014. Meanwhile, the pitchers are expected to maintain their mediocrity; they were 20th in the majors last year, and they should be around the same spot this year.

As Dave Cameron explained in January, Baltimore is top-heavy — the best players (i.e. the core nine outlined above) are collectively superb, but the rest of the team is terrible. The stars-and-scrubs model only works if you can find adequate role players to fill the gaps, and the Orioles can't seem to do that. While they've defied the experts for two years running, their luck will run out next year.

Dave Cameron!

[weams]

Optimist's View

[OFFNY]

o

(vs. RED SOX, 3/28) O [spring Training]

The Orioles appeared headed for a drubbing today, with their (mostly) "B" lineup going up against the Red Sox' "A" lineup.

Mike Wright managed to pitch 5 effective innings of 1-run ball, and the Orioles' offense scored 5 runs.

In the 8th inning, with the Orioles leading by a score of 5-1, the Red Sox added a couple of runs off of Brad Brach.

[OFFNY]

o

(vs. BRAVES, 3/29) O [spring Training]

Darren O'Day, Zach Britton, and Dylan Bundy pitched a combined 4 shutout innings tonight.

They cumulatively struck out 4, walked 0, and allowed 1 single in those 4 frames.

[Orange]

Maybe the OP needs to weigh in again, now that we're on the doorstep of the regular season. I still believe the bullpen, defense, coaching, offense, and intangibles are all top-notch. It's just too bad that the most important thing is the rotation and ours is a wreck. If Jimenez, Tillman, and Gausman are league average and we can coax a league average year out of YoGa and the Wright/Wilson/Worley group... well, those are some big if's but if the rotation is league average top-to-bottom, well we'd be on to something.

[weams]

"You look at a guy like Yovani (Gallardo), he's been around the block multiple times," Joseph said. "He knows when to use the bullets. Not saying he hasn't used any of his bullets, but he's definitely working on making sure his pitches are doing the right thing now. Whether that's amped up at 110 percent and really firing away, I'm not sure.

"What I know is when he's needed to make pitches during these outings, the times that he's needed to make those, they've been much more crisp. Like, 'OK, enough's enough.' And I think Buck was saying something not too long ago that his miles per hour are up a tick or two from his normal spring outings, so that's good. I don't really worry about Yovani. He's a veteran.

"Tilly, the last time he threw two or three days ago, his stuff was electric. That was very good to see. I think a lot of people have been waiting to see ... It's hard to put into words. It may look similar on the radar gun, but the late life, the explosiveness, the way the changeup was spinning, the sharp bite to the curveball, the stuff is there. And if his stuff is there, he's going to be fine.

"You've got to remember, too, when these guys especially are pitching at home, (opponents) are bringing over minor league guys. And I remember not too long ago when I was a minor league guy, one thing you want to do is get a hit, and sometimes that means ambushing and swinging at every pitch that's in the zone because you're determined, like, 'I'm going to show what I can do.' I think a lot of times people get caught up in spring training because the approach for hitters in spring training are a little bit different than maybe they are during the season. You get a little bit more of a refined game plan, so sometimes these spring training items are a little deceiving.

"I think for me as a catcher, the one thing I'm looking for is just if their pitches are moving the way they should. If they have that late life like they should. And if they're able to really locate them like they will. Sometimes, you've not going to get good results even if you make the pitch you want in a certain situation because maybe to this hitter it's not exactly the right pitch, but you're envisioning maybe a David Ortiz or an Alex Rodriguez in the box in this certain situation because you know you may get that during the season. You may have a No. 97 with two ear flaps on, and where a fastball might be the right pitch, you're trying to envision certain situations. So, I think a lot of times they're deceiving.

"I don't worry about our staff because all those other factors are right where they should be. That make sense?"

Caleb Joseph to MASNRoch www.masnsports.com

[ReclaimTheCrown]

We also haven't lost a game in a week (5-0-1 in that span). I know, Spring Training, and the starting pitching has still left tons to be desired, but it's better than losing. And given the attention that some on this board gave to starting out so poorly in terms of wins and losses, it's nice to hang some W's.

Just figured someone ought to mention...

[OFFNY]

o

The Orioles are 2-0 overall.

They could not have started the season's first 2 games any better than that.