Turn Out the Lights

[Tx Oriole]

9 hours ago, Norfolk orioles said:

The worst part about Davis is his total refusal to take base hits with a bunt when it's being handed to him time and time again.

He would rather hit .215 and strikeout 200 times than hit .350 and force the defense to change the way they approach him.

AWESOME.

So you think bunting is gonna give him hits? 

[Tx Oriole]

4 hours ago, 25 Nuggets said:

So let's get this straight -- Davis was 2-5 with a double, the Orioles scored 6 runs but still lost, and it's all Davis' fault because he made the last out.

Let's say the party is over.  We have a bright spot in the Beckham trade for 2018 because he fills a HUGE need at little cost.  So there's that.

But the team has to, has to, has to make better decisions with their starting pitchers.  Starting.  Pitching.  Is the real problem here.

CD is the scapegoat for some fans. It's easy to blame him. I didn't realize he was 2 for 5 with a double. I would have liked it better if CD hadn't been resigned. 

[foxfield]

Lighten up here people...sure punted a few on a 10 game road trip to go 4-6.  If they were 6-4 many here would be pretty pumped.  And rightfully so.  Don't get me wrong, the odds are not in the O's favor.  But I heard guys on ESPN talking about Toronto being alive.  Here's the thing...

Winning the AL East is not gonna happen.  And yes there are a pile of teams in front of the O's.   But if you cant see that a scorching 12-15 games cant get em in the playoffs you are missing something.  The second wild card is literally dangling fruit waiting for anyone to grab it and so far, no one has.  But, unless MLB decides to scrap the 2nd AL WC for 2017, they are gonna give it to someone and that could still be almost anyone.  Someone is gonna get hot.  Why not us?

[Aristotelian]

22 minutes ago, foxfield said:

 Someone is gonna get hot.  Why not us?

Because our pitching stinks and Davis. I take your point though, we are not dead, we are just on life support with a terminal diagnosis. 

[foxfield]

8 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Because our pitching stinks and Davis. I take your point though, we are not dead, we are just on life support with a terminal diagnosis. 

Of course, I couldn't agree more, it's just that laying in the bed in the same room are the Angels, Royals, Twins, Mariners, Rangers and Rays.

Someone is gonna get out of that bed and walk....probably not us....but all of these teams are...well... highly flawed.

 

 

I'm just saying, it would be a little foolish to pull the plug or...turn out the lights.  Today.

[Going Underground]

7 minutes ago, foxfield said:

Of course, I couldn't agree more, it's just that laying in the bed in the same room are the Angels, Royals, Twins, Mariners, Rangers and Rays.

Someone is gonna get out of that bed and walk....probably not us....but all of these teams are...well... highly flawed.

 

 

I'm just saying, it would be a little foolish to pull the plug or...turn out the lights.  Today.

Just a dimmer switch.

[foxfield]

1 minute ago, Going Underground said:

Just a dimmer switch.

Well, the patients need their rest.  

[Hank Scorpio]

To say I was disappointed would imply I had expectations.

[Spy Fox]

3 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

Because our pitching stinks and Davis. I take your point though, we are not dead, we are just on life support with a terminal diagnosis. 

The underperformance of Davis (and Trumbo) has been a big drag on the season overall, but it's not like his existence in the lineup can single-handedly prevent us from getting hot. Every one of these wild card hopefuls probably has a struggling hitter or two. Albert Pujols is having a much worse year than Chris Davis but the Angels are the team that's been on the rise lately. 

The starting pitching has been, and probably will continue to be, the reason why it's tough for this 2017 team to win consistently. 

[NashLumber]

I've said this before, probably buried in a thread from the recent past, but even if they go on a run, get above .500, pass several other teams and get to the 2nd Wild Card, their inherent streakiness does not bode well for any number of postseason series that would follow.  The times they've had a run, then lost one or two, then went on another run are so few and far between. It's not who they are. Usually one of the crucial cylinders goes out of sync with the others shortly after. I am not expecting anything like a sustained streak that carries over from the last week and into the postseason. If so, great. But I'll be very, very surprised. Shocked may even be a better word. 

[NashLumber]

Mark Viviano's Tweet regarding the math facing the O's now. 

 

O's playoff math (per current win %'s) w 41 gm left:
34-7 for div (93 W's)
28-13 for WC #1 (87 W's)
24-17 for WC #2 (83 W's)
#LongSeason

[wildcard]

2 hours ago, Spy Fox said:

The underperformance of Davis (and Trumbo) has been a big drag on the season overall, but it's not like his existence in the lineup can single-handedly prevent us from getting hot. Every one of these wild card hopefuls probably has a struggling hitter or two. Albert Pujols is having a much worse year than Chris Davis but the Angels are the team that's been on the rise lately. 

The starting pitching has been, and probably will continue to be, the reason why it's tough for this 2017 team to win consistently. 

I think the starting pitching will be helped a lot by the call up of several relievers on Sept 1-4.   Then when a starters get in trouble in the 4th or 5th Buck could  pulls the starter.  That is not happening now.

[Spy Fox]

1 hour ago, NashLumber said:

Mark Viviano's Tweet regarding the math facing the O's now. 

 

O's playoff math (per current win %'s) w 41 gm left:
34-7 for div (93 W's)
28-13 for WC #1 (87 W's)
24-17 for WC #2 (83 W's)
#LongSeason

I won't be surprised if we go something like 24-17. I will be surprised if 83 wins actually ends up enough to get the second WC. 

[Norfolk orioles]

We've been under .500 for 120 games.

why would we start playing .600 ball out of the blue?

Are we still not running Miley and Ubaldo out there?

Our other 3 pitchers would need to be perfect.

Its just not going to happen.

[wildcard]

45 minutes ago, Norfolk orioles said:

We've been under .500 for 120 games.

why would we start playing .600 ball out of the blue?

Are we still not running Miley and Ubaldo out there?

Our other 3 pitchers would need to be perfect.

Its just not going to happen.

The O's play .600 baseball at home.  However they play .400 baseball on the road.    However,  Buck manages differently in September.  Here are the O's record in September in the Dan/Buck era.

2012      19-9  .679

2013    14-14 .500

2014    17-10  630

2015   14-13  .519

2016   16-11 .593

The O's will add pitchers the last week or August and in September.  That allows Buck to give pitchers more rest and shorten up their outings which makes them pitch better.

That's the hope.