Meoli calls out the players also in article

[Going Underground]

This is about as critical an article in the Sun that I have seen for awhile. So not every player is taking blame for themselves like someone else wrote.

 

Sunday was another silent clubhouse for the Orioles after they were swept out of Oakland and returned home with a second straight 0-6 road trip to their name.

There was no breaking down of the game, as there was Friday when they felt they could have had a different result, nor was there the disbelief present after they lost Saturday when Kevin Gausman pitched nine scoreless innings.

There was just resigned silence. They have all the same questions as everyone else, though they also know they hold the answers in their play and if we're being truthful, probably know the answers as it is.

 

Clamoring for someone from management, whether field or front office, to be made an example of is simple, but how responsible are they for players playing badly? It's true that their messages don't exactly resonate anymore, especially in this veteran clubhouse, but if the players are as above instruction and criticism as they make themselves out to be, shouldn't they be playing at a higher level to prove it?

Instead, it's the worst offense in the American League and a pitching staff that doesn't do middle-of-the-road. They either have good or bad starts. And defensively, they're as bad as anyone around. The coaching staff has done the "more with less" thing for a while, but after years of maximizing the talent there, it's clear that's not possible with this group. The splatter of shooting blame will touch everyone.

 

But for better or worse, it might end up being one of the motivating factors for the rest of the year without any tangible team goals. Pending free agents need to perform for their next contract. Young players need to accumulate stats for their arbitration cases. And the veterans signed to long contracts, especially the pitchers, can't let their performance dip so badly that the fanbase turns on them, a la Chris Davis.

That none of those motivations include winning games isn't an accident. But maybe the individual players realizing what's at stake for them will mean the Orioles happen into some wins as a group.

 

Their cadre of infield acquisitions have proven unqualified. They are playing DH-only types at third base every single day. Rule 5 outfielder Anthony Santander has had to play almost every day with Rasmus out.

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-homestand-analysis-20180507-story.html

[weams]

These are bad players. Real bad. 

[LookitsPuck]

3 minutes ago, weams said:

These are bad players. Real bad. 

This 100%.

I mean, this team is starting (fairly regularly) Anthony Santander (Rule V), Craig Gentry (34, backup OF/PR), Pedro Alvarez (31, all or nothing), Danny Valencia (33, platoon), Engelb Vielma (career MiLB numbers: .255/.315/.303 - .617 OPS), Jace Peterson (28, career MLB numbers: .232/.318/.329 - .647 OPS), Caleb Joseph (32) and Chance Sisco (rookie).

Yes, Schoop, Trumbo and/were now Beckham are hurt, but even still. Hard to be productive when all of the above are on the active roster *and* the core is aged another year (Davis is now 32, Jones is now 32).

This is an old ball club with a bunch of AAAA/Rule V fillers right now. That's a recipe for failure.

[Going Underground]

12 minutes ago, weams said:

These are bad players. Real bad. 

But the article implies that some of the veterans are uncoachable. 

[LookitsPuck]

9 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Some are role players who have been thrown into significant roles.  Players expected to play significant roles who are bad?

Davis. That's an easy one.

Brach.

Beckham and Schoop before they went down but I don't believe either is a bad player.

Tillman is bad.

Who else is just plain bad?

Anthony Santander, Craig Gentry, Danny Valencia, Engelb Vielma, Jace Peterson, Caleb Joseph, Chance Sisco, Chris Davis, Luis Sardinas (although he's hurt now).

Beckham and Schoop were certainly *doing bad* prior to getting hurt. They're not bad players.

Adam Jones has been pretty bad, but not worse than the rest.

Basically the only *good* positional players have been: Machado and Mancini.

The entire bullpen short of Bleier and O'Day have been bad.

Tillman is bad. Cobb was rushed, he'll turn it around.

Oddly enough, the starting rotation is the one area I expect will get better.

[Cavspider]

Adam has been bad.

Caleb has been bad.

Both have been just plain bad imo.

 

 

 

[weams]

1 hour ago, RZNJ said:

Some are role players who have been thrown into significant roles.  Players expected to play significant roles who are bad?

Davis. That's an easy one.

Brach.

Beckham and Schoop before they went down but I don't believe either is a bad player.

Tillman is bad.

Who else is just plain bad?

Caleb. Araujo. And the role players. Jones is good. Manny is a great third baseman. 

[weams]

1 hour ago, Going Underground said:

But the article implies that some of the veterans are uncoachable. 

I trust your hearsay more than that,  

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, weams said:

Caleb. Araujo. And the role players. Jones is good. Manny is a great third baseman. 

Jones was good.

Right now he's bad.

[mdbdotcom]

This thread is too complicated for me. I'm going to ask Google to translate it.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, mdbdotcom said:

This thread is too complicated for me. I'm going to ask Google to translate it.

Just remember, cool is a rule but sometimes bad is bad.

[mdbdotcom]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Just remember, cool is a rule but sometimes bad is bad.

And sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, mdbdotcom said:

And sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Come on now, that was a quality Huey Lewis reference.

[mdbdotcom]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Come on now, that was a quality Huey Lewis reference.

News to me

 

[Going Underground]

5 minutes ago, mdbdotcom said:

News to me

 

Did have an album called Sports.Walking on  a thin line.