Was the Season Successful?

[Surhoffan17]

This season was, without a doubt, a success. It was great to make the playoffs especially when many experts forecasted a sub .500 season. The thrill of the September chase was up there for me. No way would I want to go back to the days of getting interested in training camp too early or just hoping to avoid 100 losses!

Like one other poster said though, it reminds a little of the Ravens where year after year they were in the playoffs and finally everything clicked and they were hot for one postseason run! I think the O's have it in them at some point, but I think the window may close after 2018.

[25 Nuggets]

Yes: I thought they were an 85 win team, I was very unhappy with the Gallardo signing and Fowler mess -- and they won 89 games and made the playoffs where they took the other Wild Card to extra innings and could have easily won that game.

Duquette did due diligence to improve the team. I don't agree with some of his moves and some of them of course did not work. But some did pay off. Compare to last off season where he did practically nothing and the team went 81-81 (needing five straight wins at the end of the season to get to .500). That was a disappointing season.

[Il BuonO]

I'll use the same standard Buck uses before the season begins. The answer is "no".

[brianod]

Yes, with a caveat. Adam continues to flail away in the clutch. Manny went from a superstar to an above average player in the second half. Chris Davis ran into enough to make it appear he's valuable but I don't want him up when the game matters. Schoop regressed in the second half. Hardy looks done as an offensive ss. Weiters was below average offensively. His replacement somehow played all year without getting an rbi. And, to add to all that, the only guy who had a consistent career year will probably be gone next year. So, the trend is not up, it is down.

[Moose Milligan]

Yes, with a caveat. Adam continues to flail away in the clutch. Manny went from a superstar to an above average player in the second half. Chris Davis ran into enough to make it appear he's valuable but I don't want him up when the game matters. Schoop regressed in the second half. Hardy looks done as an offensive ss. Weiters was below average offensively. His replacement somehow played all year without getting an rbi. And, to add to all that, the only guy who had a consistent career year will probably be gone next year. So, the trend is not up, it is down.

Aren't you a little ray of sunshine. Hard to argue with it though.

Adam is who he is, but at least Machado can improve although he really disappeared over the last two weeks. Schoop can get better too.

I don't think Davis gets enough credit for his defense. Everyone's wrapped up in his homers and batting average.

I thought this was a 75-78 win team. Happy with the season in the sense that they exceeded expectations but this is an incredibly frustrating team to watch. A barrage of homers and runs one night, only to get shut out the next.

[TheWall]

Hardy looks done as an offensive ss.

Hardy had his best year since 2013. I was quite happy with his performance, especially down the stretch.

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[BarclaySouthway]

Of course it was successful. You try to make the playoffs and then roll the dice. I didn't think we were much of a threat to win it all this year-- like 2014 or 1997, but those years ended in heartbreak too. If you throw the dice enough, eventually you'll roll your point.

[scOtt]

Yes.

Yes.

[hoosiers]

If the benchmark is to make the playoffs, then yes it was a successful season.

Did we pay a high price to make the playoffs? IMO, it was exorbitant.

Did we set ourselves up for a better future? I think the future is worse off than before last offseason. Given our various commitments and poor farm system, it is difficult to envision signing Manny long term.

We could have had six or seven high draft picks to add to the talent base in the draft, could have received a good haul for Britton and others at the deadline, and spent some $ internationally given the unique opportunity. We could be entering next season with perhaps 12-15 prospects who might all rank inside our top 20-25 and be without commitments to Gallardo and Davis.

I just don't believe we are close to Cleveland, Texas and Boston entering next season and Toronto, Seattle and Detroit are likely to enter next season better than us. Not the time to be going "all-in" in my book.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

As bad as the starting pitching was I have to say yes. Britton was the MVP without is all time great pitching performance, Orioles don't make the wildcard.

I'm looking forward to a full season of Tillman, Gausman and Bundy in the rotation in 2017. Next season should be the O's best shot at making the World Series in a long time. This assumes Duquette pulls the right strings this off season.

[Can_of_corn]

As bad as the starting pitching was I have to say yes. Britton was the MVP without is all time great pitching performance, Orioles don't make the wildcard.

I'm looking forward to a full season of Tillman, Gausman and Bundy in the rotation in 2017. Next season should be the O's best shot at making the World Series in a long time. This assumes Duquette pulls the right strings this off season.

You know that Gausman is going to have shoulder tendinitis again next spring right?

[Can_of_corn]

I'm not sure if this is a little tongue in cheek but he has had issues each of the last two years. I wouldn't be surprised.

It is a little tongue in cheek, just my way of reminding folks that you can't count on guys staying healthy all year.

And yes I specifically mentioned Gausman because of the issues the last two springs.

I also would not be surprised if it flared up again.

[Frobby]

I hate these either/or binary questions.

Did we lose because of Buck or Ubaldo or the hitting? Like it has to be one reason exclusively.

If you are going to force me to declare the season a Success or a Failure with no room for gray area, I guess I have to go with success. We did way better than almost all preseason predictions, were one of 10 teams that made the postseason, had the 7th best record in baseball while playing in the toughest division.

That doesn't mean there weren't many disappointments. The starting pitching for 2/3 of the season, the hitting in the 2nd half, disappointing individual seasons by some players, and of course the way it ended in Toronto.

But if I have to say Success or Failure with no other choice, gotta say Success.

Perfect response. This season was more successful than 2013 and 2015, less successful than 2012 and 2014, much more successful than 1998-2011, far less successful than 1966, 1970 and 1983, etc. It's all relative.

I do think RZNJ had a good point about how the expanded playoffs have altered our perception of what success is. And, the specter of 14 losing seasons still influences how we define success. In the 1970's, an 89-win season would have been considered a major disappointment. Now it's a moderate success, though I wouldn't describe it as a triumph.

Next year, I'd say we would have to do better than this year for me to consider it a success. An exact repeat would be a modest failure.

[Frobby]

Yes, with a caveat. Adam continues to flail away in the clutch. Manny went from a superstar to an above average player in the second half. Chris Davis ran into enough to make it appear he's valuable but I don't want him up when the game matters. Schoop regressed in the second half. Hardy looks done as an offensive ss. Weiters was below average offensively. His replacement somehow played all year without getting an rbi. And, to add to all that, the only guy who had a consistent career year will probably be gone next year. So, the trend is not up, it is down.

This is a pretty negative take. For me, most of the things you point out indicate there is room for improvement next year. Manny, Schoop, Jones and Davis are all capable of doing more, IMO. Gausman and Bundy are on the rise. There are some holes to fill and Duquette has work to do this winter to fill them, but if he has a good winter we could be significantly better in 2017.

[Frobby]

It is a little tongue in cheek, just my way of reminding folks that you can't count on guys staying healthy all year.

And yes I specifically mentioned Gausman because of the issues the last two springs.

I also would not be surprised if it flared up again.

I haven't updated my "injuries happen" thread, but I'd say we had an exceptionally healthy year. Off the top of my head, among the key players, only Hardy and O'Day missed significant time. The odds are we will have more significant injuries in 2017 than we had this year.