TT: Is this really the worst season of your fandom?

[esmd]

Not even close.  While this season is disappointing due to them falling  below hopes and expectations, they went into it with a chance to be a playoff team.

In the dark ages, they never had a chance from day 1 and were the laughingstock of the league.

Like I said, not even close.

[Norfolk orioles]

We area quickly approaching laughing stock territory once again.

[O's are Legends]

This isn't the worst for me but it's the most disappointing. If the O's simply had average starting pitching they would be in the wild card game. Add in the fact, the offense has gone completely MIA during the month of September after a nice 7 game winning streak in August is another major disappointment.

Everytime I had to sit through a atrocious outing by Ubaldo, Tillman or Miley aka Mr. 3-2, I was reminded of how horrible the Davies for Parra trade was. A short sighted trade by DD which has hurt the O's in the department they need the most help. Bridwell having success with Anaheim leaves a sting as well.

Regarding Trumbo and Davis, not much else needs to be added that hasn't been said this season. Horrible at bats after another, and Trumbo the DH disguised as a rightfielder was exposed as he can't catch routine fly balls.

On the plus, Bundy, Mancini, Castro, Bleier had good seasons and Schoop became a serious threat at the plate. Beckham trade was real good as well.

[Deadwood Fan]

TIFWW 

Jabby Burns @Jabbyburns

I would wager a ton of dough Dan Duquette doesn't run down the Orange Carpet March 29, 2018 when the #Oriolesopen vs. the Twins. #Bet?

[Orioles1954]

Not the worst season of my fandom but this team is extremely unlikable from my point of view. Can't really put my finger on it but I never really fell in love with this squad. 

[joelala]

1 hour ago, Norfolk orioles said:

We area quickly approaching laughing stock territory once again.

Eh thats a b

it of an exaggeration.  Wait until you see what we do this off season (or don't do, as the case most likely will be) before hitting the panic button.  But definitely have your finger ready for sure

 

9 hours ago, KylOriole Ren said:

This is my first season watching so I don't have anything, at all, to compare it too?

Welcome to the third circle of Hell! 

Jk, welcome to Oriole fandom, hopefully you'll get to enjoy some less frustrating seasons in the near future.

[NashLumber]

I listened to the O's in NC on an affiliate station decades ago (70s) and on WTOP as its signal was strong enough to reach down here at night. Then it was static-filled WBAL if the radio was pointed the right way when WTOP didn't carry the games anymore. When the internet came, I started listening online. I followed them via The Sun online and box scores before the streaming began by MLB. There were some years in the 90s when Home Team Sports carried a lot of games in NC. By '09, I finally bit the bullet and got satellite TV, got MASN and I probably only missed a game or two each year (and even then maybe got the radio on MLB-At Bat). This year is the first year I have turned off a game in disgust. O's games since about July for me have become something that's just on in the background. I no longer pause the action while I go into another room. After the great start, the rest has been such a disappointment. I didn't think they'd win 90+ games, but seeing guys like Davis and Trumbo just flail at the plate over and over and OVER  and having 3/5 of the starting pitchers who were utterly helpless (yet were brought here to do so much better) just wore me down. I'll tune in, but it's only to watch the young kids. Seeing the O's pin its hopes on re-tread starting pitching and veteran batters who won't adapt, cut down their swings or go opposite field is just an exercise in mind-bending aggravation. While there have been worse years record-wise, this has easily been one of the most frustrating. This team and the '05 team are tied in my opinion for seeing a team in agonizing death throes. It used to be a point of pride that I would not abandon an O's game and just turn it off. But tonight was the first ever for me. 

[Satyr3206]

1988 was the worst by far. I still remember where I was when they finally won a game.

[Eddie_Murray33]

1998 was the worst for me. Our mid/late 90s window slamming shut just as the NYY put together an all-time season was a particularly dispiriting 1-2 punch. I'd say '90 and '91 were tough too b/c I kept expecting a repeat of the '89 magic only to be disappointed.

1999-2011 was brutal- but a lot of that was just numbed resignation as opposed to torturous IMHO. NYY and BOS were so good- it was kind of hard to see the point...

[Tx Oriole]

22 hours ago, birdwatcher55 said:

Do you think Angelos is poised to fire Duquette and kick Buck upstairs. I would not want to see Buck in the front office. That has disaster written all over it.

I think so too. Both need be gone.

[Barnfather]

It is the worst season since I started following the O's religiously, but that isn't from a huge sample size of years.

My perspective is that good players don't become bad ones over night, but we do have quite a number who are exceedingly streaky, and to my mind there is fragile confidence through the team, so rather than look at Buck specifically, it may be worth looking at the rest of the coaching setup and whether there is any way this can be mitigated going forward.

I'm not a fan of destroying everything based on this season. The trick will be mentally getting them in a groove and keeping them there and for that I'd look at supplementing the coaching staff and perhaps leaning more on the senior players (I do still think Markakis is a bigger loss than it first appeared, in  this regard).

Oh, and get Davis a TUE and get him back on the pep pills

[maybenxtyr]

56 minutes ago, Eddie_Murray33 said:

1998 was the worst for me. Our mid/late 90s window slamming shut just as the NYY put together an all-time season was a particularly dispiriting 1-2 punch. I'd say '90 and '91 were tough too b/c I kept expecting a repeat of the '89 magic only to be disappointed.

1999-2011 was brutal- but a lot of that was just numbed resignation as opposed to torturous IMHO. NYY and BOS were so good- it was kind of hard to see the point...

Window slamming shut...NYY coming together...sounds familiar?

[Frobby]

30 minutes ago, maybenxtyr said:

Window slamming shut...NYY coming together...sounds familiar?

It's very worrisome.   

[Tony-OH]

44 minutes ago, maybenxtyr said:

Window slamming shut...NYY coming together...sounds familiar?

It does and it's the reason why the Orioles can't repeat the failures of the past to properly rebuild. McPhail started this organization on the right path with his Bedard and Tejada trades. Duquette or whoever is GM will need to do the same this offseason. The big difference is McPhail didn't have the albatross contracts like Davis and even Trumbo to some extent.

Machado must be resigned to a 10-year contract or traded this offseason. If the offers aren't good enough then you hold on to him and hope someone gets desperate around the All-star break, but I have to imagine a Machado rental won't bring the type of return this organization needs.

[CanadianOriole]

Might not be the worst, but pretty close to the most frustrating. Despite everything else,  this could still have been a playoff team with even the tiniest effort to be creative and address the starting pitching situation. That Miley/Tillman/Ubaldo/Hellickson combined to make 82 starts for this team this season is an absolute atrocity of rotation management. There was never any hope Ubaldo/Miley/Hellickson could be effective, and it was obvious about 6/7 starts in the Tillman wasn't going to be able to get anyone out either. Cycling through our minor leaguers, the waiver wire,  and QuadA guys trying to catch lightning in a bottle and find some quasi-effective arms - while unusual - would have had a far better probability of success than just running those gas cans (or worse - trading for someone as putrid as Hellickson) out there and accepting our fate