The Suck is in full swing now

[theocean]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

No, they’re not.   There’s no real reason for them to be worse than last year’s staff.   It’s mostly the same guys, yet the team ERA is 1.22 runs higher than last year’s, which already was worst in the league.   I do not expect that to continue.    I don’t expect Cobb to post an 11.88 ERA, or Bundy a 7.79, or Straily an 8.59.   I expect things to get better from here.   

I wouldn't look at ERA a few weeks into the season as an accurate measure of anything. They're all pitching right around where you'd expect - a solid start here, a few stinkers there. Nobody really making it out of the sixth inning even on a good day. Bundy basically looks the same as last year. Cobb was this bad at the beginning of last year.

The O's already have a -46 point differential - even if they pitch 1.22 runs better, they're still looking like 100 loss team that's going to struggle to get through some games.

[theocean]

28 minutes ago, Sessh said:

The Cobb signing was a mistake and I wasn't all that thrilled with it at the time either. Even with a resurgence this year, I can't imagine he would be a hot commodity on the trade market. There's a reason he fell to the Orioles; no one wanted him. I don't imagine that has changed much. He will still have his hot streaks, but his 2013-2014 days are well behind him. More hits allowed, more home runs allowed and fewer K's. I don't see it getting better. He's certainly better than 11.88, though... at least, I hope he is. With all the injury issues he has had and continues to have, it's certainly possible that a sudden decline will occur with him. He's extremely fragile and has never pitched a full season. Never made 30 starts in a season or thrown 180 innings. Bedard was fragile and even he did those things at least once.

I think Cobb is trade-able if he performs well and the O's eat money - but the big question is if he can stay healthy enough to perform well. He's always been injury prone and he's only getting older - so I'm not super optimistic. It might end up being another contract the O's have to just ride out.

[Beef Supreme]

12 hours ago, Beef Supreme said:

The Red Sox are an excellent team. Their current record does not make them a "bad" team.

12 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Their record does mean they will have to be outstanding the rest of the year to end up excellent.

That goes for every single team. If you consider a .600 record to be "excellent," then even the team with MLB's best record, the Mariners, will have to play outstanding .591 ball the rest of the way. 

But my point was that the Red Sox have excellent players. But you knew that, right?

 

[25 Nuggets]

17 hours ago, Beef Supreme said:

There never was any "illusion of competitiveness" for the 2019 Orioles. 

That's the difference and that's why I'm still feeling pretty OK about things.

[sportsfan8703]

Guys that have done well with their chances,

Smith Jr, Nunez, Ruiz, Alberto, Means, Hess, Phillips, Yac

Guys that haven’t done well with their chances,

Mullins, Davis, the C’s, the rest of the pitching staff 

[Mayor McCheese]

23 hours ago, oriole said:

Bundy is the only one that really gets me down. Maybe Cobb a little too, but Bundy was supposed to be an Orioles ace. He’d have at the very least been relegated to the bullpen on any other team.

Orioles ruined him... Just like every other decent arm.   Once he's gone, he will be Arrieta2.0.

[Mayor McCheese]

7 hours ago, Beef Supreme said:

That goes for every single team. If you consider a .600 record to be "excellent," then even the team with MLB's best record, the Mariners, will have to play outstanding .591 ball the rest of the way. 

But my point was that the Red Sox have excellent players. But you knew that, right?

 

Boston had a flaw to begin the season.  They never addressed/improved their bullpen which is really hampering them right now with while their starting pitching is struggling.  If this continues, they might not even be in the WC race.

[atomic]

14 hours ago, Sessh said:

I don't think we'd be any better with Gausman honestly. He'd be pitching for a team who isn't playing for much of anything before the season even started. In Atlanta, at least he has something to play for.

 I know Cobb had a good finish last year, but I've never been all that impressed with him. He has had health issues pretty much his entire career and that takes it's toll on anyone eventually. I don't expect Cobb's ERA will get under 4.50 this year possibly not even under 5, but who knows? If Straily is healthy, a low to mid 4 ERA is a reasonable expectation along with a moderate to high WHIP. I think Bundy is all he ever will be and I don't expect him to get much better. I want to see him in the bullpen. He was at his best there throwing 97, but I'm not sure he can even do that anymore. Cashner is ok, but inconsistent. I don't expect things to get much better.. better, but not much better. I'd rather see Means in the rotation over Bundy.

 The Cobb signing was a mistake and I wasn't all that thrilled with it at the time either. Even with a resurgence this year, I can't imagine he would be a hot commodity on the trade market. There's a reason he fell to the Orioles; no one wanted him. I don't imagine that has changed much. He will still have his hot streaks, but his 2013-2014 days are well behind him. More hits allowed, more home runs allowed and fewer K's. I don't see it getting better. He's certainly better than 11.88, though... at least, I hope he is. With all the injury issues he has had and continues to have, it's certainly possible that a sudden decline will occur with him. He's extremely fragile and has never pitched a full season. Never made 30 starts in a season or thrown 180 innings. Bedard was fragile and even he did those things at least once.

I don't think it is true that no one wanted Cobb. No one wanted him on a 4 year deal at 15 million a year.   I am sure he could have gotten a 2 year deal from plenty of teams. 

[oriole]

1 hour ago, Mayor McCheese said:

Orioles ruined him... Just like every other decent arm.   Once he's gone, he will be Arrieta2.0.

I dunno, with his fastball he seems destined to be Tillman 2.0

[maybenxtyr]

1 hour ago, Mayor McCheese said:

Orioles ruined him... Just like every other decent arm.   Once he's gone, he will be Arrieta2.0.

How did the Orioles ruin him? I'd argue that the guaranteed major league contract did.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Mayor McCheese said:

Orioles ruined him... Just like every other decent arm.   Once he's gone, he will be Arrieta2.0.

We have a new GM, Manager and pitching coach.    If Bundy can be fixed, why can’t this group fix him just as easily as some new team could?

I’m going on record as saying that Bundy will have a decent season.   I’ve seen signs of improvement from him the last 2-3 starts.   He’s probably never going to be the TOR pitcher we hoped he’d be, but IMO he has enough going for him to be a solid major league starter.   

[Redskins Rick]

2 minutes ago, Frobby said:

We have a new GM, Manager and pitching coach.    If Bundy can be fixed, why can’t this group fix him just as easily as some new team could?

I’m going on record as saying that Bundy will have a decent season.   I’ve seen signs of improvement from him the last 2-3 starts.   He’s probably never going to be the TOR pitcher we hoped he’d be, but IMO he has enough going for him to be a solid major league starter.   

I totally agree with you, but the trolls wont accept it.

[Moose Milligan]

4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

We have a new GM, Manager and pitching coach.    If Bundy can be fixed, why can’t this group fix him just as easily as some new team could?

I’m going on record as saying that Bundy will have a decent season.   I’ve seen signs of improvement from him the last 2-3 starts.   He’s probably never going to be the TOR pitcher we hoped he’d be, but IMO he has enough going for him to be a solid major league starter.   

Hope @Redskins Rickdoesn't consider this trolling, but I need to see it for a full season, including into next season before thinking anything of Bundy.  We've seen him do this before, reel off a few good starts followed by some disasters.  The one caveat here is the new regime, hopefully they can make a lasting change.  

[Frobby]

2 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Hope @Redskins Rickdoesn't consider this trolling, but I need to see it for a full season, including into next season before thinking anything of Bundy.  We've seen him do this before, reel off a few good starts followed by some disasters.  The one caveat here is the new regime, hopefully they can make a lasting change.  

Yeah, I wouldn’t even say he’s reeled off a few good starts yet. Just that he’s looking a little better.   

[OriolesMagic83]

1 hour ago, Mayor McCheese said:

Orioles ruined him... Just like every other decent arm.   Once he's gone, he will be Arrieta2.0.

With his arm, the best he can hope for is Trachsel 2.0