Believe in Baltimore

[Aristotelian]

We have been consistently good, but never great. Good is better than bad for sure. 2014 was very close to great. We shouldn't take it for granted. But MLB is not about being good. You can have 10 good seasons and nobody will remember them if you don't go deep in the playoffs. I think a lot of folks are negative because they see an opportunity to be great but it is slipping by, in part due to decisions by the front office and the ownership.

[Dark Helmet]

We have been consistently good, but never great. Good is better than bad for sure. 2014 was very close to great. We shouldn't take it for granted. But MLB is not about being good. You can have 10 good seasons and nobody will remember them if you don't go deep in the playoffs. I think a lot of folks are negative because they see an opportunity to be great but it is slipping by, in part due to decisions by the front office and the ownership.

Very few great teams then. Boston and Toronto were the doormats just a few seasons ago. The Cubs haven't been great in forever, yet many puck them to win it all. I see your point, but only so many teams can be great.

[atomic]

We have been consistently good, but never great. Good is better than bad for sure. 2014 was very close to great. We shouldn't take it for granted. But MLB is not about being good. You can have 10 good seasons and nobody will remember them if you don't go deep in the playoffs. I think a lot of folks are negative because they see an opportunity to be great but it is slipping by, in part due to decisions by the front office and the ownership.

I would prefer 10 good season over 1 great season and 9 bad seasons. I don't care if anyone remembers them. I just enjoy the games being meaningful.

[scOtt]

Also from Judge Smails...

"You'll get nothing and like it!"

How about a Fresca!

[Jagwar]

How about a Fresca!

Don't sell yourself short Judge. You're a terrific slouch!

[Rich Mac]

Don't sell yourself short Judge. You're a terrific slouch!

I've sentenced boys younger than you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to ... felt I owed it to 'em.

[Aristotelian]

I would prefer 10 good season over 1 great season and 9 bad seasons. I don't care if anyone remembers them. I just enjoy the games being meaningful.

I agree with you, but I also get irritated when people dismiss any questioning of the organization with the "most wins since 2012" card.

[FlipTheBird]

I agree with you, but I also get irritated when people dismiss any questioning of the organization with the "most wins since 2012" card.

Which is fair, but just as many people dismiss that stat unfairly. The way this message board reacts, you'd think the O's have been one of the worst teams in baseball, year after year.

[SteveA]

I agree with you, but I also get irritated when people dismiss any questioning of the organization with the "most wins since 2012" card.

It's not to dismiss ANY questioning of it.

I usually bring it up when someone makes an outrageous statement like Duquette is a horrible GM who should be fired. Or ask who is to "blame" for our current position, when our current position is that of a wild card team. You know, silly stuff like that.

You want to talk about how bad the Parra deal was, or the fact that our farm system is low rates, sure. Absolutely. But when your initial premise doesn't begin with the basic fact that we are a top 10 team in MLB or a top five or six overall team in MLB for the past 5 seasons, then that fact needs to be reminded.

If you feel we should be even BETTER than that, with a different GM, or that we should be where we are without losing the minor league talent we have given up, then by all means make that argument. But you can't pretend this team hasn't been successful. An awful lot of people don't seem to appreciate what we've had here for the past half decade.

[Chavez Ravine]

It's not to dismiss ANY questioning of it.

I usually bring it up when someone makes an outrageous statement like Duquette is a horrible GM who should be fired. Or ask who is to "blame" for our current position, when our current position is that of a wild card team. You know, silly stuff like that.

You want to talk about how bad the Parra deal was, or the fact that our farm system is low rates, sure. Absolutely. But when your initial premise doesn't begin with the basic fact that we are a top 10 team in MLB or a top five or six overall team in MLB for the past 5 seasons, then that fact needs to be reminded.

If you feel we should be even BETTER than that, with a different GM, or that we should be where we are without losing the minor league talent we have given up, then by all means make that argument. But you can't pretend this team hasn't been successful. An awful lot of people don't seem to appreciate what we've had here for the past half decade.

I agree.

I suppose it is an inherent aspect of a message board, but I get annoyed with the constant rush to instant judgment in a sport that has 162 games in a season. This team was done and buried in spring training, then if you ignored all those 7 game winning streaks we actually were quite bad, if you just look at the road games we suck as well, plus lefty soft tossers pitching on Tuesdays expose us as top tier pretenders.

We may end up finishing fourth in the division, but up until recently we have been the best team in the AL east (by what actually counts...the win-loss record). It seems like lots of folks need to be pundits these days. I long for a simpler time when we just watched the games and hoped our guys would do well.

That said, this was the first game in a while that reminded me of those days that will go unmentioned. We pitched well but not really that great, we hit OK but not really that well, and we made a few key errors. I remember whole seasons of games like tonight.

[OFFNY]

o

It's easy to believe when things are going well, and/or right after a win.

Believe now, after an extremely disheartening loss.

The Orioles are down.

I still believe.

I gotta believe.

[OFFNY]

o

It's easy to believe when things are going well, and/or right after a win.

Believe now, after an extremely disheartening loss.

The Orioles are down.

I still believe.

I gotta believe.

o

BALTIMORE O RIOLES Oo..lll))))) - 5

NEW YORK YANKEES OOOOOOo...llllll))) - 0

o