A Team that is "Fun to Watch" ........ It's All About Wins and Losses, Nothing More, Nothing Less

[OFFNY]

o

 

It has often been said by many that the 2016 Orioles team has "Not been very fun to watch." And this is almost always said after the Orioles lose 2 or 3 games in a row, and particularly when they lose 2 or 3 games in a row to a division rival such as the Yankees, the Red Sox, or the Blue Jays.

 

We all look back at the 2012 Orioles team with loving memories, and remember them a young, spunky team that never quit. That team went 93-69, beat the Texas Rangers in a one-game playoff in their home park, and took the Yankees right down to the wire in the A.L.D.S.

However ........ that same 2012 team had a record of 46-44 after 90 games, which was well past the midway point of the season. After starting the season at 39-27, the Orioles went 7-17 over their next 24 games, and all of us (myself included) were extremely fearful that we might be witnessing a repeat of the 2005 season. We were so desperate that we called up Tommy Hunter from AAA-Norfolk to start the next game against the Twins in Minnesota. What happened ??? The Orioles scored 2 runs in that game and they lost ano ........ NO !!! Tommy Hunter pitched 7 innings of 1-run ball, and the Orioles won the game by a score of 2-1, which started them on a 5-game winning streak. After that win, the lowest number of games that the Orioles ever were over .500 for the rest of the season was 4 (51-47), and they in fact did the complete opposite of what the 2005 team did after their very promising start to that season.

 

So that 2012 season IN HINDSIGHT looks like a team that was "Much more fun to watch" than this current 2016 is. However, looking at it more objectively, I don't think that there were 5 posters that were fondly thinking of that team as "Fun to watch" when they were 46-44, had just lost 17 out of their last 24 games, and were counting on Tommy Hunter to stop the bleeding.

 

And while I'm stating the obvious (teams that win games are more fun to watch than are teams that lose games, REGARDLESS of how they win the games and/or what their Pythagorean record is), I think that it needs to be stated. Currently, the Orioles are 82-69, and are riding a 2-game losing streak to their division rival Red Sox. 4 or 5 years from now, will we all look back on this team as one that was "Fun team to watch" with glowing memories, as we do of that 2012 Orioles team ??? It all depends on several things ........ how the Orioles fare in their final 11 regular season games, how the Orioles fare in the postseason if and when they reach it, and how the Orioles are doing 4 or 5 years from now when we are looking back at this 2016 season.

 

o

[brianod]

2012 was fun to watch because we sucked for the previous 13 yrs. Playing .500 was promising, like the sun coming out after a week of rain.

This years team is excruciating to watch. How many innings in this latest homestand and have we been ahead? We fall behind, spend all game leaving runners on, swinging at balls in the dirt and neck high. Simply torture to someone who really cares

[24fps]

2009's team was excruciating to watch. At worst, 2016's team will be periodically frustrating and ultimately disappointing.

[Frobby]

Whether a team is fun to watch is subjective. If you prefer teams that have great starting pitching and play a lot of small ball and are good at that, and don't enjoy watching a team that relies heavily on homers, has shaky starting pitching and doesn't execute small ball well, then I guess you are entitled to say this team isn't fun to watch.

For me, this team is fun to watch. First of all, winning is fun, and we've won significantly more than we've lost. Second, there is a core group of guys who seem like good people and teammates, get along well with each other, work hard and enjoy playing the game, who I can identify with as a fan. I feel good for the players when they win, and bad for them when we lose. The jerk quotient on the team is extremely low. Third, I am fairly agnostic about how we win. Winning on homers, great infield defense and an excellent bullpen is just fine with me.

My advice -- if you don't think the team is fun to watch, then don't watch. Because the only reason to watch is to have fun doing it. And I'm going to keep watching, because I am having plenty of fun doing it.

[Can_of_corn]

The offense slumps don't bother me.

Starting pitching incapable or unwilling to challenge hitters is not fun to watch.

Poor defense is not fun to watch.

[brianod]

Whether a team is fun to watch is subjective. If you prefer teams that have great starting pitching and play a lot of small ball and are good at that, and don't enjoy watching a team that relies heavily on homers, has shaky starting pitching and doesn't execute small ball well, then I guess you are entitled to say this team isn't fun to watch.

For me, this team is fun to watch. First of all, winning is fun, and we've won significantly more than we've lost. Second, there is a core group of guys who seem like good people and teammates, get along well with each other, work hard and enjoy playing the game, who I can identify with as a fan. I feel good for the players when they win, and bad for them when we lose. The jerk quotient on the team is extremely low. Third, I am fairly agnostic about how we win. Winning on homers, great infield defense and an excellent bullpen is just fine with me.

My advice -- if you don't think the team is fun to watch, then don't watch. Because the only reason to watch is to have fun doing it. And I'm going to keep watching, because I am having plenty of fun doing it.

I see opportunity lost. This team is better than it has played lately. How you enjoy a 2-4 homestand when it matters most is beyond me but I am genuinely happy for you that you do. As for me, I'll keep watching and hoping, and if they keep playing like this, not enjoying it

[OFFNY]

brianod;41[quote name= data-cite= said:

 

2012 was fun to watch because we sucked for the previous 13 yrs. Playing .500 was promising' date=' like the sun coming out after a week of rain.

This years team is excruciating to watch. How many innings in this latest homestand and have we been ahead? We fall behind, spend all game leaving runners on, swinging at balls in the dirt and neck high. Simply torture to someone who really cares.

 

o

 

As recently as Wednesday night and Thursday morning, this team was not so excruciating to watch. After getting crushed in the series opener against the Red Sox, the Orioles came back to win the next 2 games at Fenway Park, with Kevin Gausman out-dueling Rick Porcello, and shutting the Red Sox out for 8 innings. That win punctuated an unexpected 6-3 roadstand, and Oriole fans (at least nost of the OH Oriole fans) were revived and energized.

Hell, even the almost always pessimistic Roy Firestone was gushing about their latest exploits with a thread that he started that night:

 

I Talked to Palmer Tonight about Gausman

 

 

Roy Firestone said:

 

He was pretty impressed.

Jim is no snob, but he doesn't get too worked up about pitching performances. He had 53 shutouts in his brilliant career...but NOT ONE WAS IN FENWAY!

He told me Gausman's performance was one of the best hes ever seen at Fenway and the fact that he was still at 97 MPH on the gun in the 8th told him that Gausman had plenty left.

He was impressed with his strike ratio, his command, his demeanor and his fastball.

Palmer said the kid can only get better.

Lordy, If we can get Gausman, Tillman, Bundy, and Ubaldo to just pitch like theyve BEEN pitching of late...this rotation is pretty impressive.

I'd have to say that short of a no hitter or a perfecto, this is as close as we will get to perfection in an outing at Fenway.Especially with these Red Sox.

Just tremendous, Gaus.

Jim Palmer was impressed.

 

 

http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php/154744-I-talked-to-Palmer-tonight-about-Gausman

 

Also, as I stated in the OP, there weren't many (if any) posters that were talking about how fun the 2012 team was to watch when they were 46-44 overall, and had just lost 17 out of their last 24 games. In fact, if I recall correctly, there was much sentiment of the opposite ...... of about how it felt like the movie "Groundhog Day", with people wondering if the Orioles would collapse yet again as they did in the 2005 season, and wondering if the Orioles woul ever break out of their consecutive losing streak rut that they were mired in at the time.

As Frobby just said, different fans have different tastes as to what is "fun to watch.

Do you like a team like the 2012 team, a team that greatly outperformed their Pythagorean record ???

Do you like a team like the 2014 team, a team that stomped their way to the division title by double digit games ???

Do you like a team like the 2016 team, a team that many expected to finish in the cellar of the A.L. East with a record of about 74-88, but has somehow managed to be well above .500 very late in the season in spite of periods sustained in which they had atrocious starting pitching ???

In my rat's ass of an opinion, it ultimately comes down to wins and losses, regardless of how you get there. If the Orioles were 4 or 5 games better than they currently are (86-65 or 87-64) and tied with the Red Sox for 1st place, I don't think that there would be many people asserting how excruciating it was to watch this team. Nerve-wracking, with many of their wins going right down to the wire ??? Absolutely. Sometimes frustrating because of boneheaded plays on the base-paths and/or errors from a usually sure-handed fielder like Manny Machado ??? Without question. But if your team is in 1st place and 20 or more games over .500 with less than 2 weeks to play in the regular season, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find many (if any) fans that would claim that they were unwatchable and/or excruciating to watch.

 

o

[Can_of_corn]

2012 was a lot more fun.

It was a lot more like '89.

[weams]

2012 was a lot more fun.

It was a lot more like '89.

The Giants have an exciting team. And an Exciting Announcer to listen to. In the ninth inning.

[weams]

I see opportunity lost. This team is better than it has played lately. How you enjoy a 2-4 homestand when it matters most is beyond me but I am genuinely happy for you that you do. As for me, I'll keep watching and hoping, and if they keep playing like this, not enjoying it

I enjoy being a fan of a team that is one of ten left that have a chance to continue the season. And all the excitement that goes with that.

[Can_of_corn]

The Giants have an exciting team. And an Exciting Announcer to listen to. In the ninth inning.

I saw the word historic used to describe their season.

[SteveA]

The Giants have an exciting team. And an Exciting Announcer to listen to. In the ninth inning.

And they have been way worse than us since the All Star Break.

[O's84]

The offense slumps don't bother me.

Starting pitching incapable or unwilling to challenge hitters is not fun to watch.

Poor defense is not fun to watch.

My least favorite pitcher to watch is Gallardo. Fits your description to a T.

[Frobby]

And they have been way worse than us since the All Star Break.

I'm pretty sure that weams was alluding to the fact that the Giants have lost 5 of the last 10 games where they went into the 9th inning with a lead. That is definitely not fun. One of the least fun things in baseball is having a bad back end of the bullpen. The blown saves are excruciating, and even the successful saves are very stressful because you know your pen is unreliable. In that regard, the Orioles are an extremely fun team to watch.

[OFFNY]

weams said:

 

The Giants have an exciting team. And an Exciting Announcer to listen to. In the ninth inning.

 

SteveA said:

 

And they have been way worse than us since the All Star Break.

 

Frobby said:

 

I'm pretty sure that weams was alluding to the fact that the Giants have lost 5 of the last 10 games where they went into the 9th inning with a lead. That is definitely not fun. One of the least fun things in baseball is having a bad back end of the bullpen. The blown saves are excruciating, and even the successful saves are very stressful because you know your pen is unreliable. In that regard, the Orioles are an extremely fun team to watch.

 

o

 

Yes, it was weams being weams. ) 

 

o