Is the 2019 Season a Blatant Tank Job?

[Hallas]

6 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

You win the one against Boston when Givens blew the save.

He has 7 meltdowns and 5 blown saves.  Chapman would have probably converted 4 of those blown saves into wins.  

[interloper]

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? 

[DrungoHazewood]

1 hour ago, Moose Milligan said:

Drungo, I've seen you reply to him several times now and...I know it's an itch you gotta scratch, I get it 100%.  But man, he's just not gonna get it.  He's just not.

And I fully recognize it in myself as someone who used to go apoplectic on El Trea.  But it's like trying to beat a brick wall in a game of tennis.

I know.  I should stop.  I once got a reprimand for getting spun up about Old#5Fan.  Serenity now.

[Moose Milligan]

Just now, DrungoHazewood said:

I know.  I should stop.  I once got a reprimand for getting spun up about Old#5Fan.  Serenity now.

Trea, O5F, atomic...we need one more for the Mount Rushmore.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, Moose Milligan said:

Trea, O5F, atomic...we need one more for the Mount Rushmore.

Calmunderfire?

[wildbillhiccup]

13 minutes ago, El_Duderino said:

Replace Straily with prime Aroldis Chapman and we still lose all those games. 

Again, I think you're missing my point. I'm not saying playing someone else will amount to more wins or make a difference, but that doesn't mean you stop trying. The question I'm asking is not whether or not the Orioles are capable of winning more games, it's whether or not they're trying to win more games. 

[El_Duderino]

14 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

You win the one against Boston when Givens blew the save.

Ten Points Gryffindor.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, El_Duderino said:

Ten Points Gryffindor.

Is that a good thing?  Is ten points a lot?  What's a Gryffindor?

[El_Duderino]

1 minute ago, wildbillhiccup said:

Again, I think you're missing my point. I'm not saying playing someone else will amount to more wins or make a difference, but that doesn't mean you stop trying. The question I'm asking is not whether or not the Orioles are capable of winning more games, it's whether or not they're trying to win more games. 

Easy answer. Management and the players are trying to win as many games as possible without compromising an ounce of the future. 

[Tony-OH]

Outside of Atomic, who beats to some strange drum that no one can understand, can we all just agree that none of us want Straily on the team? 

Honestly, I'd rather them sink or swim with Ortiz as the mop up guy.

[DrungoHazewood]

38 minutes ago, FanSince88 said:

How exactly would this team avoid "tanking" with the current personnel in our system?  Sure, we could promote Mountcastle now and DFA Davis.  That might be worth a couple wins the rest of the season, maybe.  Who else are these incredible can't-miss prospects that we're holding back and would be sure to help us win 70 games instead of 50?  Because I don't really see a lot of that right now.  I wouldn't have minded if we'd signed Keuchel, honestly, but we'd have had to offer him a lot more than the Braves gave him, and he might help us win 2-3 games a year over the next guy in our system, I guess.  That's not going to make the kind of impact we need to contend.  

What would it have taken to get Keuchel to sign with a 47-win team playing half its games in Oriole Park?  A one-year deal for $20M?  2/60?  Coming here would almost guarantee a record of something like 7-16, 4.25 if things go well. Downside of giving up 27 homers and a .330 BABIP in 170 innings.  Hard to build value like that, it would be more like a placeholder, a hope that he's traded at the deadline.

If I'm Dallas Kuechel the Orioles would have been 30th on my list of preferred destinations.  Actually, maybe 35th.  Might be fun to sign for a year on a good Japanese team.

[El_Duderino]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Is that a good thing?  Is ten points a lot?  What's a Gryffindor?

ten points to Gryffindor

(slang) Used to praise someone for a statement or action viewed as commendable.

2008, James Goss, Torchwood: Almost Perfect, BBC Books (2008), →ISBN, page 90:

[DrungoHazewood]

1 minute ago, Tony-OH said:

Outside of Atomic, who beats to some strange drum that no one can understand, can we all just agree that none of us want Straily on the team? 

Honestly, I'd rather them sink or swim with Ortiz as the mop up guy.

I'll admit I haven't seen him pitch, but what the heck is wrong with the guy?  Even last year he was a serviceable MLB pitcher.  Now he's worse than a position player pitching mopup.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, El_Duderino said:

ten points to Gryffindor

(slang) Used to praise someone for a statement or action viewed as commendable.

2008, James Goss, Torchwood: Almost Perfect, BBC Books (2008), →ISBN, page 90:

 Not the response I was hoping for but thanks anyway.

[Moose Milligan]

3 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Outside of Atomic, who beats to some strange drum that no one can understand, can we all just agree that none of us want Straily on the team? 

Honestly, I'd rather them sink or swim with Ortiz as the mop up guy.

I think we all agree no one wants Straily around.  It's like seeing an old, blind dog who's got no bladder control limp around the house and bumping into things.  It's sad.  But someone's gotta take him to the vet.

I think a fair point that was brought up earlier is that we're not going to get someone who's significantly better than him at this point in the season.  We'll get an "innings eater" who can maybe cut Straily's ERA in half...which still sucks.