So We Finished Dead Last.

[ORIOLE33]

I had honestly stopped paying attention to what our record was for about a week. I knew we were ahead of Toronto, but I didn't think we'd finish last. To finish behind Toronto after the way we started and the dreadful start they had, we must have been really, really bad. 

How did this happen. 

[dennis wise]

Everyone and their mother knew the Orioles starting rotation was a dumpster fire from the start. I think most people were  clinging to the hope that Bundy and Gausman could lead the charge and hopefully the elite pen could mask the stench of the dreadful rotation like it did in 2016. Unfortunately the rotation was worse than expected with the exception of Bundy and the pen had to work harder than a 10 year old Chinese kid in a manufacturing plant. Combine that with a feast or famine offense and the losses were bound to pile up, an elite pen can only do so much when you expect them to pitch 5/6 innings everyday. And I didn't even mention that Britton was gone for an extended period of time...

[OFFNY]

3 hours ago, ORIOLE33 said:

 

I had honestly stopped paying attention to what our record was for about a week. I knew we were ahead of Toronto, but I didn't think we'd finish last. To finish behind Toronto after the way we started and the dreadful start they had, we must have been really, really bad. 

How did this happen ???

 

o

 

While I am disappointed and mildly surprised, I am hardly shocked. 

Looking back at it, it is pretty easy to see how it happened.

 

Tillman was probably pitching hurt all season, and was subsequently historically awful. 

Gausman didn't get his shit together until mid-July. 

Zach Britton missed more than half the season with injuries, which subsequently put even more pressure (and workload) on an already taxed bullpen ...... a bullpen which was functioning with historically bad starting pitching in the first place, which had them logging more innings than any team in the Majors except for the Reds and the Blue Jays.

Miley and Jimenez were at least as bad (if not worse) than most expected.

 

Even with all of that going against them, they still almost amazingly had a relatively competitve 71-68 record more than 3 quarters of the way into the season before the (already shaky) roof finally caved in for good.

 

Again ........ I'm disappointed and mildly surprised about the 2017 Orioles going 75-87, but I'm hardly shocked about it after the fact.

 

o

[FanSince88]

I hope DD and PA are proud of themselves for stubbornly retaining Britton, Brach, and Machado so we could "contend" this year.  If this is what "contending" looks like to them, then I guess the 1988 Orioles were "contenders" in their book too.  

[bobmc]

35 minutes ago, birdwatcher55 said:

This season is not over until The Boss (Tony ) offers his analysis.

Well then you have the rejoinders from SG (er not him) Can, RZNJ, Hoosiers, etc. so there is that!  

Wildcard will have a promising look to the future and Frobby won't rain on our parade but provide his cogent reflections of guarded optimism.  We have a dearth of optimism though I fear.

[TouchemAll]

12 hours ago, ORIOLE33 said:

I had honestly stopped paying attention to what our record was for about a week. I knew we were ahead of Toronto, but I didn't think we'd finish last. To finish behind Toronto after the way we started and the dreadful start they had, we must have been really, really bad. 

How did this happen. 

Horrific pitching with one of the worst staffs in MLB get you record. Add to that and inconsistent offense and our top closer missing half the season and I guess we're lucky it's not worse?

[gmelson26]

3 minutes ago, TouchemAll said:

Horrific pitching with one of the worst staffs in MLB get you record. Add to that and inconsistent offense and I guess we're lucky it's not worse?

In some ways, we were extremely lucky to have the record we have, given the starting pitching staff.  I think only 3 teams gave up more runs than we did but we had a better record than 8-9 teams.

[LookitsPuck]

Not shocked one bit. The starting pitching was/is awful. 

[backwardsk]

If you're not first, you're last.  People forget that.

[interloper]

This September was one of the most pathetic displays of Orioles baseball I've seen since the early 2000's. They really put on a suck show. 

[ORIOLE33]

49 minutes ago, backwardsk said:

If you're not first, you're last.  People forget that.

Not true. Are the Yankees or Minnesota last?

[ORIOLE33]

53 minutes ago, LookitsPuck said:

Not shocked one bit. The starting pitching was/is awful. 

Oh come on. Yes, the pitching was horrible, but this team was in last place for ONE day all season. The very last day.

Where was the pride and heart these last few weeks?

[backwardsk]

20 minutes ago, ORIOLE33 said:

Not true. Are the Yankees or Minnesota last?

You are obviously not a pupil of the teachings of Reese Bobby.

[hoosiers]

Our next competitive team will be created by our next GM.  The sooner the current one goes, the sooner we can be competitive again. 

Anyone thinking the playoffs are within reach when we are trotting out Miley, Hellickson and Jimenez for three out of every five starts is hallucinating.  DD has had 6 years to draft, find, create or buy a decent SP besides Tillman, Gausman and Bundy and he has failed spectacularly in that effort - signing Gallardo and Jimenez (losing draft picks) while dealing away JakeA, EdRod, Bridwell, Miranda - all of whom would have helped this year or much more in prior ones.

 

[Frobby]

19 minutes ago, hoosiers said:

Our next competitive team will be created by our next GM.  The sooner the current one goes, the sooner we can be competitive again. 

Anyone thinking the playoffs are within reach when we are trotting out Miley, Hellickson and Jimenez for three out of every five starts is hallucinating.  DD has had 6 years to draft, find, create or buy a decent SP besides Tillman, Gausman and Bundy and he has failed spectacularly in that effort - signing Gallardo and Jimenez (losing draft picks) while dealing away JakeA, EdRod, Bridwell, Miranda - all of whom would have helped this year or much more in prior ones.

 

Chen?   Gonzalez?   Hammel?

I don't think it's impossible for us to revert to being a team that wins in the high 80's/low 90's next year. There's almost nowhere to go but up so far as the rotation is concerned.     This one was probably in the bottom 1-2% in major league history.    Fortunately, the two guys who were decent are still under team control at pretty cheap prices, while the others are all on expiring contacts so we don't need to keep them.    It's just a matter of whether Duquette can find the right guys.