Is the 2019 Season a Blatant Tank Job?

[SteveA]

1 hour ago, interloper said:

Straily wasn't DFAd weeks ago because it was reasonable to expect a slight return to form based on his career. He's not out there throwing 88. He hits 94 and is a professional big league pitcher. Did they give him a bit longer than we'd like? Sure. But... who cares? 

He went 10 days without pitching, as the last option in the bullpen, because our pitching had a good stretch.

Then he had an excellent outing June 12 vs Toronto.   At that point his last 3 appearances were 9 innings, 4 runs, 1 HR, 9 hits, 3 walks.   Pretty darn respectable for your last option in the bullpen.

It wasn't until Saturday and last night that he was absolutely demolished.  

I'm not saying 15 HRs in 44 innings is good.   It's very bad.   But it didn't get astronomically bad until the last two outings where he has given up 7 more HRs in 3.2 innings.

He has been bad all year, but the last two starts have been beyond bad and they will signal the end of his time here.   Could it have been done a few days earlier, after Saturday?   Sure.   Maybe it would have if he hadn't had 3 decent appearances in a row before Saturday.

[DrungoHazewood]

12 minutes ago, SteveA said:

I'm not saying 15 HRs in 44 innings is good.   It's very bad.   But it didn't get astronomically bad until the last two outings where he has given up 7 more HRs in 3.2 innings.

My yardstick for home runs allowed was Ken Dixon, 1987.  He was hurt, or at least not quite right.  It was the year of the first home run explosion.  Gave up 31 in 105 innings.

At current rate Straily would allow about 51 homers if he was allowed to pitch 105 innings.  The all-time record for homers allowed in a season in any number of innings is 50.  By Bert Blyleven in a season where he threw 271 innings.

[SteveA]

2 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

My yardstick for home runs allowed was Ken Dixon, 1987.  He was hurt, or at least not quite right.  It was the year of the first home run explosion.  Gave up 31 in 105 innings.

At current rate Straily would allow about 51 homers if he was allowed to pitch 105 innings.

It is a different era.

In the past two weeks we have seen:

   -- a 13 HR game, a MLB record

   -- 4 consecutive HRs by the Nats

   -- 3 consecutive HRs to start a game by the visiting team, something that hadn't been done in a long time

   -- Cycles on back to back nights

   -- 3 HRs in a row about 4 or 5 times if I recollect correctly, I know someone did it last night

[DrungoHazewood]

1 minute ago, SteveA said:

It is a different era.

In the past two weeks we have seen:

   -- a 13 HR game, a MLB record

   -- 4 consecutive HRs by the Nats

   -- 3 consecutive HRs to start a game by the visiting team, something that hadn't been done in a long time

   -- Cycles on back to back nights

   -- 3 HRs in a row about 4 or 5 times if I recollect correctly, I know someone did it last night

They have to be considering slow pitch softball rules at this point.  Anything after your team's fifth homer of the night is an out. But you can drink beer while running the bases.

[OFFNY]

o

 

It depends on how you define "tank job" in relation to the Orioles' 2019 season.

 

If you define it as not sticking to a major rebuilding plan for 2020 and beyond, which means all but ignoring this year's W-L record and not spending time and resources to make a 45-55 win team a 55-65-win team, then the Orioles ARE NOT tanking.

 

If you define it as not doing everything in your power to win as many games as possible immediately, even if that effort means essentially ignoring the fact that you would probably be much better off not bothering to do so, and putting all of your efforts into trying to return the Orioles to contender status (as they were between 2012 and 2016) in the relatively near-future, then the Orioles ARE tanking.

 

o

[OFFNY]

4 minutes ago, OFFNY said:

o

 

It depends on how you define "tank job" in relation to the Orioles' 2019 season.

 

If you define it as not sticking to a major rebuilding plan for 2020 and beyond, which means all but ignoring this year's W-L record and not spending time and resources to make a 45-55 win team a 55-65-win team, then the Orioles ARE NOT tanking.

 

If you define it as not doing everything in your power to win as many games as possible immediately, even if that effort means essentially ignoring the fact that you would probably be much better off not bothering to do so, and putting all of your efforts into trying to return the Orioles to contender status (as they were between 2012 and 2016) in the relatively near-future, then the Orioles ARE tanking.

 

o

o

 

Granted that this has been said in one form or another about 157 times over the past few months, but if people are going to continue to talk about (and if posters continue to challenge it), then I think that it's appropriate for me to point it out for the 158th time.

 

o

[HowAboutThat]

2 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

Are you sure about that one?

http://www.fixedearth.com/

[maybenxtyr]

3 hours ago, atomic said:

I am guessing because of the Orioles there will be rule changes during the next collective bargaining agreeementt.

So, 4 of the last 6 World Series winners have followed a similar plan, but they are going to change everything because it's Baltimore? 

 

My only gripe about the current situation is that they are using players that have zero chance of being here in a couple of years. I would have preferred it if some of the actual younger prospects were introduced into the plan in phases, rather than trying to bring them all up at one time.

 

Just my opinion, but I don't think either of the future OF's will be the next player that you have to worry about keeping for the extra year. That's not to imply that they won't have successful careers, just not guys that will be superstars.

[Morgan423]

As far as I'm concerned, they can tank to their heart's content. 

There is ZERO practical difference between winning 55 games in a season, and winning 75.  The results are the same (you didn't have a winning year, nor did you make the playoffs, and no one will even remember the exact record three years from now),  but you get a much better draft pick with the terrible record.

If we're following Houston's rebuild path as closely as possible, get ready for more of this next year too (they tanked three seasons in a row, and then had a better but still sub-500 year before they started winning again).

[SteveA]

5 minutes ago, maybenxtyr said:

So, 4 of the last 6 World Series winners have followed a similar plan, but they are going to change everything because it's Baltimore? 

 

My only gripe about the current situation is that they are using players that have zero chance of being here in a couple of years. I would have preferred it if some of the actual younger prospects were introduced into the plan in phases, rather than trying to bring them all up at one time.

 

Just my opinion, but I don't think either of the future OF's will be the next player that you have to worry about keeping for the extra year. That's not to imply that they won't have successful careers, just not guys that will be superstars.

I do think it hurts the game to have 5, 6, or more teams all "tanking" at the same time.

That really just started in the last couple seasons.  

I think it is just one contributing factor out of a large number of factors that are making the game less attractive to fans.

[Pheasants]

I like the statement used by one of our announcers and later by Hyde.  This is an inventory year.

[maybenxtyr]

1 minute ago, SteveA said:

I do think it hurts the game to have 5, 6, or more teams all "tanking" at the same time.

That really just started in the last couple seasons.  

I think it is just one contributing factor out of a large number of factors that are making the game less attractive to fans.

For the first time in my life I don't really care about baseball. I used to follow other teams when the O's were rolling on an endless crusade of ineptitude. Now I really don't care.

 

I do check here several times a day so I guess I do care a little. I'm just not sure how high my enthusiasm will get if and when they turn things around.

 

A bigger concern in my opinion for baseball is the useless unproductive contracts that can not be undone. I get that the union worked for this, but it does nothing to enhance the game watching players make more on a nightly basis than the average household does in a year to be pathetic at their job.

[24fps]

35 minutes ago, Pheasants said:

I like the statement used by one of our announcers and later by Hyde.  This is an inventory year.

I'm sympathetic to wildbillhiccup's general feeling on competition, but inventory year is exactly what this year is and until MLB radically changes its policy it's also good business long-term.

[Going Underground]

47 minutes ago, Pheasants said:

I like the statement used by one of our announcers and later by Hyde.  This is an inventory year.

But too much seconds and irregulars on hand and you sell at a discount.I see no sales.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, Going Underground said:

But too much seconds and irregulars on hand and you sell at a discount.I see no sales.

Someone needs to check the sell by dates.