TT: The Orioles are a mediocre team

[esmd]

Can we please stop bumping this thread because it's convenient when the Orioles go on a winning streak? It doesn't devalue what Tony said at the time when he started the thread, and his points still have merit.

Oh stop it. They're 17 games over .500, they're not a mediocre team. And I'm sorry, but I absolutely do not agree that his points had merit. Taking away 7 wins to say they're a .500 team is cherry picking and just not sound reasoning. Those first few pages were born of frustration with the team after a stretch of them scuffing for a week or two.

[ShaneDawg85]

Oh stop it. They're 17 games over .500, they're not a mediocre team. And I'm sorry, but I absolutely do not agree that his points had merit. Taking away 7 wins to say they're a .500 team is cherry picking and just not sound reasoning. Those first few pages were born of frustration with the team after a stretch of them scuffing for a week or two.

Even if it were born out of frustration, the fact remains the starting pitching is still a problem and the farm system is still weak, which people repeat endlessly on a daily basis. The points had merit then, and they still do now, because guess what, people are STILL saying it.

[accinfo]

Even if it were born out of frustration, the fact remains the starting pitching is still a problem and the farm system is still weak, which people repeat endlessly on a daily basis. The points had merit then, and they still do now, because guess what, people are STILL saying it.

If it is written on the internet then it must be true.

[Frobby]

Even if it were born out of frustration, the fact remains the starting pitching is still a problem and the farm system is still weak, which people repeat endlessly on a daily basis. The points had merit then, and they still do now, because guess what, people are STILL saying it.

The offense has been better than expected. That's been the story of the season so far. It's been so good that the starting pitching hasn't hurt us. Tony's post came at a time when the offense was in a brief slump and I certainly understood his concerns. I do not think Tony would say now that the Orioles are a mediocre team. But it could well be that they will play mediocre baseball for extended stretches of time. Hopefully the hot streaks will continue to occur and overwhelm the periods when the team plays so-so baseball.

[Redskins Rick]

The offense has been better than expected. That's been the story of the season so far. It's been so good that the starting pitching hasn't hurt us. Tony's post came at a time when the offense was in a brief slump and I certainly understood his concerns. I do not think Tony would say now that the Orioles are a mediocre team. But it could well be that they will play mediocre baseball for extended stretches of time. Hopefully the hot streaks will continue to occur and overwhelm the periods when the team plays so-so baseball.

Fans were unhappy in 2014 too, during April/May when they were playing so-so baseball.

But, then things click in mid June, and they raced to the playoffs leaving the others in their dust.

Fans are hungry for a WS championship, and the slightest hint that things are not going that direction, they are not happy.

[joeyc]

Guys, be careful. We have only played 33 games on the road. we have a ton of road games, in the second half. Toronto has played 44 road games already they have a ton of home games the second half. We are not the greatest team on the road. I hope things don't turn around because of that.

[Frobby]

it is credible to selectively pick arbitrary start and end points to suit your narrative? No, that is silly and self-serving. the first 7 games don't count because they won? hah.

While I critiqued Tony on this very point, I would not accuse him of being self-serving or doing it to suit a narrative. It's not like Tony has an anti-Oriole agenda or is a chronic pessimist. He just felt that, despite the hot start, the team had been playing mediocre ball for a long time and that it was likely to continue. Luckily, he was wrong.

[weams]

Can we please stop bumping this thread because it's convenient when the Orioles go on a winning streak? It doesn't devalue what Tony said at the time when he started the thread, and his points still have merit.

Those ones sure do. I think several threads were merged here. Tony has taken ownership of his reverse jinx.

[weams]

Guys, be careful. We have only played 33 games on the road. we have a ton of road games, in the second half. Toronto has played 44 road games already they have a ton of home games the second half. We are not the greatest team on the road. I hope things don't turn around because of that.

What do I need to be careful of? Being happy for a change?

[Frobby]

Guys, be careful. We have only played 33 games on the road. we have a ton of road games, in the second half. Toronto has played 44 road games already they have a ton of home games the second half. We are not the greatest team on the road. I hope things don't turn around because of that.

It's an issue, but it's not like we've been awful on the road. We're 16-17. Over a full season, that projects out to 39-42. At home we are 31-13, which projects out to 57-24. Combine those and it projects to 96-66. I'd sign up for that!

[weams]

Smh, lol....we all have ones we'd like to have a re-do on, and this is certainly one that qualifies for many posters.

I only care if I am right when the Os are winning, so I often used to need to admit my foolish opinions. Last four years, not so much.

[jjnono]

What do I need to be careful of? Being happy for a change?

The curse of being an Orioles fan (these days) is that you can rarely enjoy the good times because you are persistently afraid that it's all too good to be true and that sooner or later the house will collapse.

I'm ecstatic about our position. I am perpetually anxious about the future. That's as good as it gets for me!

[sportsfan8703]

While I critiqued Tony on this very point, I would not accuse him of being self-serving or doing it to suit a narrative. It's not like Tony has an anti-Oriole agenda or is a chronic pessimist. He just felt that, despite the hot start, the team had been playing mediocre ball for a long time and that it was likely to continue. Luckily, he was wrong.

I'm sure he's real happy that we're winning. As for the road games we've played some tough teams on the road so far;

@Bos 3

@Tex 4

@KC 3

@TB 3

@Min 2

@LAA 3

@Hou 3

@Clev 3

@Tor 4

@Bos 3

@SD 2

Only SD, TB, LAA and Min are under .500. That's only 10 of our 33 road games so far. The other 23 road games have been against the better teams in the AL.

[Tony-OH]

I don't see how it helps to write that they may have extended mediocre periods. This is true of the team that wins the division winner every year. Even good teams have mediocre (or worse) stretches over 162 games.

Remember when the Tigers started 35-5 in 1984 and won 104 overall? That team still had a couple bad streaks that year.

A team shouldn't be judged when it is scuffling any more than it should be judged when everything is going right. Clearly, the team isn't as good as it has been playing in June. Starting a thread suggesting they were would be rightfully ridiculed.

People were frustrated and lost patience when this thread started. It happens. It isn't a mortal sin. But I don't think it does any good to pretend it didn't happen.

My 2 cents...

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Disappointing take. No one has suggested the post didn't happen, the issue is when poeople start saying it was only done in frustration. The points about the rotation in the farm system were true. Pretty hard to predict that the team was going to set a major league mark for home runs in a month to help offset their shaky rotation. But, I guess you guys who only Monday morning quarterback or have after the fact analysis knew that was going to happen.

[esmd]

Disappointing take. No one has suggested the post didn't happen, the issue is when poeople start saying it was only done in frustration. The points about the rotation in the farm system were true. Pretty hard to predict that the team was going to set a major league mark for home runs in a month to help offset their shaky rotation. But, I guess you guys who only Monday morning quarterback or have after the fact analysis knew that was going to happen.

Tony, this team has been a strong offensive team over the last 4+ seasons, I think it was very logical to conclude that the hitting would come around after that rough stretch. Hell, there are multiple threads from March and April predicting that this team would be strong offensively. No one has said that the SP isn't shaky and the minors are thin, but we are disputing your contention that they're a mediocre team. I don't think that remains in question, right? And people, myself included, thought it was faulty logic for you to discount the 7 game winning streak to start the season when forming your conclusion that they're mediocre.

As was said, no biggie, it happens. I'm sure you're happy to be proven wrong. Like I originally posted, we all have some posts that would like to have back. Hey, we're 17 over and 5.5 up in the division. Let's just agree to enjoy that and hope it leads to winning October baseball.