There is one person and one person only responsible for last night's loss

[FanSince88]

I try to refrain from attribution of on-field failures in a highly competitive environment to character flaws. After all, most of us here care deeply and desperately want the Orioles to win but have zero ability to play Major League Baseball at all. If you walked up to Gallardo and asked him why he was so stupid he'd probably care enough to punch you in the nose.

I do have zero ability to play baseball, but Yovani's been playing it all his life and is being paid $11 million this year to play it. He's the starting pitcher in one of the most important games of the season. The least we can ask of him is to throw strikes at the beginning of the game to Forsythe and Kiermaier, who aren't exactly Ruth/Gehrig. The outcome couldn't have been any worse than it ended up being.

[FanSince88]

People said the exact same things in August about Ubaldo and Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson.

Wright and Wilson aren't being paid $11 million and aren't veterans. And they aren't starting one of the most important games of the year in the midst of a playoff chase. Ubaldo was benched for a month and to his credit he worked out most of his issues, at least for now. If he does something similar tonight I will of course be frustrated but he also has weird mechanics which we knew about going in to the deal, and at his best this year Ubaldo's been borderline unhittable. The best Gallardo has given us is mediocrity, but more often than not it has been much worse than mediocre from Yovani.

[spiritof66]

I'm starting to sour on Buck. He's good, but an excellent manager would have pinch hit Kim for Davis in the 9th. Who is more likely to get you a single? Buck just doesn't think that way.

Or for Trumbo. Getting Kim up there with either one out or two would be defensible, IMO. Not getting him up there at all is not, IMO.

[LookitsPuck]

The thing that is frustrating about Gallardo is he admitted that he didn't do strength training for his arm in the offseason...and apparently this is a regular thing for him.

The hope, however, is that if he starts he can build up some arm strength. The downside, however, is his 4.7 BB/9. That's a career worst. He's walking nearly a batter and a half more than his career norm of 3.4.

So something is amiss. And this is why you don't wait until the last minute to sign a pitcher and then end up signing him due to desperation. It's also why you build up your farm system. Tillman, Gausman and Bundy have put up infinitely better numbers than the Ubaldo, Gallardo and Miley crew.

[NashLumber]

o

I suspect that they would go with a 4-man rotation should they make it that far ...... Tillman, Gausman, Jimenez, and Bundy.

Even if a travel day gives Tillman four day's rest? Just making sure I'm counting the days right. Maybe I'm thinking about a seven game series that has two travel days built in. But a five game series has one travel day. Oh well. Maybe Buck will do that, you're probably right. I'm almost thinking Bundy would be our rescue long man in relief in a short series with three starters.

[Ohfan67]

I'm starting to sour on Buck. He's good, but an excellent manager would have pinch hit Kim for Davis in the 9th. Who is more likely to get you a single? Buck just doesn't think that way.

Baloney. Make three or four decisions like that in a season and when they fail fans are going nuts to fire you.

[OFFNY]

Glass half full view:

If the O's do squeak by and make it into the playoffs, we know whom to avoid in the rotation in a five-game series. Looks like a three-man rotation in that scenario.

o

I suspect that they would go with a 4-man rotation should they make it that far ...... Tillman, Gausman, Jimenez, and Bundy.

Even if a travel day gives Tillman four day's rest?

o

It wouldn't, save for one unlikely scenario.

If Tillman pitched in Game One and came back for Game Four, that would be 3 days' rest.

If Tillman pitched in Game Two and came back for Game Five, that would be 4 days' rest, but then 3 other pitchers would have to pitch in Games One, Three, and Four ...... unless the Game One pitcher was brought back on 3 days' rest in Game Four, and I doubt that Showalter would do that.

He has 3 pitchers that are currently pitching well, and a 4th pitcher that, even with his recent struggles, is pitching considerably better than Miley and Gallardo are.

At most, I suspect that Showalter would go with Gausman, Tillman, and Jimenez for 3 games, and (assuming that there is not a 3-game sweep), would limit Bundy's Game Four start to 3 or 4 innings, and then bridge the gap to the late innings with a long reliever and/or several relief pitchers if it's a must-win game.

Finally, all of the above is assuming that the Orioles will be able to line up the specific pitchers that they want to for that 5-game series ...... a luxury that they may not have, especially if they have to play in the Wildcard playoff game right before the start of the ALDS.

[isestrex]

I'm starting to sour on Buck. He's good, but an excellent manager would have pinch hit Kim for Davis in the 9th. Who is more likely to get you a single? Buck just doesn't think that way.

This kind of utter nonsense makes me so glad we actually have an excellent manager in the dugout.

Take a BIG step back and think about what you just proposed. How many game winning hits/homers has Davis hit as an Oriole? How many times has Davis come through in the clutch? How much experience does he have in extreme pressure situations?

It's complete madness to thrust a rookie into a pressure situation OVER an established star hitter. If you wanted to say Kim over Bourn, Kim over Reimold, Kim over Flaherty, Kim over Caleb... all those have an argument. Your point has no argument.

[CP0861]

Baloney. Make three or four decisions like that in a season and when they fail fans are going nuts to fire you.

Absolutely. Bottom of the 9th, down 1, and Buck should take out the monster 40 hr 100 rbi power hitter???? Uhhh.......no. And I've been for Kim from day 1, but that's just crazy talk.

[allquixotic]

Wilson and Wright at least have a future and are inexpensive. Next year I want Gausman, Tillman, Bundy, Ubaldo and whoever is the least bad in spring training among Wright, Wilson, Lee, and whoever we don't get rid of among the other failed starters (Worley, Gallardo, Miley). If Miley or Gallardo aren't actively good during spring training I want them both gone before the start of the regular season.

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[Mayor McCheese]

And his name is Yovani Gallardo.

Surprised no one has mentioned Lew Ford yet.

[Aristotelian]

Wilson and Wright at least have a future and are inexpensive. Next year I want Gausman, Tillman, Bundy, Ubaldo and whoever is the least bad in spring training among Wright, Wilson, Lee, and whoever we don't get rid of among the other failed starters (Worley, Gallardo, Miley). If Miley or Gallardo aren't actively good during spring training I want them both gone before the start of the regular season.

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Did you also want Ubaldo DFA two months ago? Nobody is going to trade for Miley or Gallardo right now, and DD will not get rid of them, so you better prepare yourself to be disappointed.

[osfan83]

This kind of utter nonsense makes me so glad we actually have an excellent manager in the dugout.

Take a BIG step back and think about what you just proposed. How many game winning hits/homers has Davis hit as an Oriole? How many times has Davis come through in the clutch? How much experience does he have in extreme pressure situations?

It's complete madness to thrust a rookie into a pressure situation OVER an established star hitter. If you wanted to say Kim over Bourn, Kim over Reimold, Kim over Flaherty, Kim over Caleb... all those have an argument. Your point has no argument.

"Rookie"? Also honestly answer this question...who is more likely to get a base hit, Davis or Kim?

[tntoriole]

I hate that term "grind" used by some, including the players themselves, as if it is some positive attribute. Make mental mistakes, fail to perform in different situations...well, "we are just grinding". Does this mean "the season is long and we can't take it anymore so we just grind?" Does it mean "we can't get too high or too low, so grind is a nice neutral term that implies effort even in the absence of discernible result?" Does it mean "We put in the same effort every day, mental and physical, even if it is a game with playoff implications or a game when we are 25 games out in September" Does it mean "well, since I am grinding each day, I don't have to analyze what went wrong in my performance, but just keep grinding" In any event, I would just as soon this term be retired in its all too frequent use as a positive descriptor.

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[weams]

"Rookie"? Also honestly answer this question...who is more likely to get a base hit, Davis or Kim?

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=davisch02&t=b&year=&share=1.61#984-1024-sum:batting_gamelogs

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=kimhy01&t=b&year=&share=0.69#53-81-sum:batting_gamelogs