What a bunch of sad-sack losers

[El Gordo]

WC, in part you are correct that I am just venting. Part of my frustration is that we lost games by 3-2, 3-2 and 1-0 on this road trip. Yes, we actually got good pitching three days in a row, and we did nothing with it. In fact, we've had good pitching in 5 of the last 7 games, for the first time in a long time.

It is the offense that has me ticked off. I have no problem with the Salazar and Montanez tryouts, and those players have done just fine. In fact, Salazar's hitting .308/.449/.564 this month, best on the team, and is 2nd in RBI this month. But as nacedir pointed out, pretty much every regular on the team has an OPS that is 100+ points below his season average in September. And while I've said myself that it's hard to hit when the pitchers aren't keeping you in the games, for the last week the pitchers have been doing their jobs, and the offense has been asleep at the wheel.

So the offense blows 3 or 4 good pitched games and you are ticked off. But the SP blows how mant 7 + run games this season and you accept it fatalistically? By the way ths offense that is letting you down. Is it AJand Mora, coming back from injury? BRob and his .851 OPS the last 7 days? Millar and Payton who haven't been playing all that much? Super Monty or Salazar? The mighty Castro and his shadows Cintron and Fahey? Or is it Huff and dare I say it, Nick?

[TonySoprano]

mon	GAM	RUN	RPG	BAT	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+APR	28	120	4.286	0.253	0.328	0.403	0.73	91MAY	27	104	3.852	0.239	0.306	0.38	0.686	79JUN	27	146	5.407	0.281	0.345	0.472	0.816	112JUL	26	151	5.808	0.275	0.341	0.474	0.815	111AUG	28	177	6.321	0.307	0.369	0.473	0.842	119SEP	18	66	3.667	0.238	0.307	0.375	0.682	78

The oiffense may have mailed it in for September, but it took them until June to get into gear. Team OPS+ for September is comparable to May.

[murrayfan420]

In my opinion, he is the worst owner in professional sports. We can go over the litany of transgressions, but it's been done many times.

If you really want me to I can list them out.

Clay Bennett is the worst owner in professional sports.

edit: maybe he's just the biggest ahole

[Frobby]

So the offense blows 3 or 4 good pitched games and you are ticked off. But the SP blows how mant 7 + run games this season and you accept it fatalistically? By the way ths offense that is letting you down. Is it AJand Mora, coming back from injury? BRob and his .851 OPS the last 7 days? Millar and Payton who haven't been playing all that much? Super Monty or Salazar? The mighty Castro and his shadows Cintron and Fahey? Or is it Huff and dare I say it, Nick?

All I can do is point you to nacedir's post earlier in the thread showing that every regular is far below his season average in September. And yes, that includes Nick Markakis.

The pitching is different. As I pointed out in another thread, the 12 pitchers who were on the team Opening Day have thrown less than 30 innings in September. The staff has been obliterated by injuries.

The same isn't true of the offense. Yeah, Mora is playing hurt and Jones is coming back from an injury. Pretty much every team in baseball has two regulars who are hurting at least that much this time of year. That's no excuse.

And just to be clear, the offense didn't just suddenly start underperforming this week. They've been underperforming since mid-August. For a lot of the time, that was irrelevant because the pitching was so awful. I mean, who cares if you only score 2 runs in a game where the pitchers have allowed 10? But in a league where it typically takes 5+ runs to win, the O's have scored less than 5 in 21 of their last 30. They're better than that.

[wildcard]

WC, in part you are correct that I am just venting. Part of my frustration is that we lost games by 3-2, 3-2 and 1-0 on this road trip. Yes, we actually got good pitching three days in a row, and we did nothing with it. In fact, we've had good pitching in 5 of the last 7 games, for the first time in a long time.

It is the offense that has me ticked off. I have no problem with the Salazar and Montanez tryouts, and those players have done just fine. In fact, Salazar's hitting .308/.449/.564 this month, best on the team, and is 2nd in RBI this month. But as nacedir pointed out, pretty much every regular on the team has an OPS that is 100+ points below his season average in September. And while I've said myself that it's hard to hit when the pitchers aren't keeping you in the games, for the last week the pitchers have been doing their jobs, and the offense has been asleep at the wheel.

Frobby, think about it for a minute.

The O's pitching is 13th in the league with a 5.10 ERA

They were 13th in July with a 6.06 ERA.

They were 14th in August with a 6.20 ERA

They are 12th so far in Sept with a 5.94 ERA.

So the pitching staff pitches well for 3 days on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and loses and that makes you upset? How about what the hitters have come to expect from their pitching staff?

Yeah, the hitting are not hitting well this month. They 25 games out and eliminated and not because of the hitting. The pitching has been terrible and has put the team so far out of it that it is hard for the players. In a ideal world guys concentrate and bear down just as hard when they are eliminated has they do when they are fighting for a playoff spot.

And then there is reality.

[J.D.]

All I can do is point you to nacedir's post earlier in the thread showing that every regular is far below his season average in September. And yes, that includes Nick Markakis.

The pitching is different. As I pointed out in another thread, the 12 pitchers who were on the team Opening Day have thrown less than 30 innings in September. The staff has been obliterated by injuries.

The same isn't true of the offense. Yeah, Mora is playing hurt and Jones is coming back from an injury. Pretty much every team in baseball has two regulars who are hurting at least that much this time of year. That's no excuse.

And just to be clear, the offense didn't just suddenly start underperforming this week. They've been underperforming since mid-August. For a lot of the time, that was irrelevant because the pitching was so awful. I mean, who cares if you only score 2 runs in a game where the pitchers have allowed 10? But in a league where it typically takes 5+ runs to win, the O's have scored less than 5 in 21 of their last 30. They're better than that.

The eternal optimist in me is taking a vacation at this point in the season. There's not really a good rhyme or reason to why the O's are hitting the way they are right now, aside from my persistent belief that "If it isn't one thing, it's another." When the hitting was going, the pitching was awful. Now that the pitching is actually half-way respectible, the offense has disappeared. So it goes. I'm not angry about it. More apathetic. I've watched less Orioles games in September and have started doing other things with my time. It just seems to happen in September for me.

I'm still excited for 2009. There have been some signs that have me excited for the future. But September 2008 is really bad. Honestly, they're starting to play the way that we kinda thought they would going into the season. I'm still grateful for the exciting baseball we had through the end of July, but it's been pretty tough sledding for me as a fan for a couple of months now. With the Ravens performing well, most of my TV shows having season premiers, and just various other things occupying my time... I find less and less time to fit the Orioles in right now.

I know me though. I'll get right back into things come hot-stove season and Spring Training. But consider me, like the Orioles seem to be doing, mailing in the rest of the season.

[El Gordo]

How do you tell the difference between when a guy is in a slump or just not trying anymore? I wonder who people think are definitely phoning it in, besides the usual bete noirs of course; Ramon, Millar, Payton, and Mora?

[Tony-OH]

Frobby, the best thing you can do is detach yourself from this team in September, because they've already detached themselves...

Maybe if they had something to play for instead of pride, then they'd be a little more resilient...

Sadly, this is all too true...

[TonySoprano]

And just to be clear, the offense didn't just suddenly start underperforming this week. They've been underperforming since mid-August. For a lot of the time, that was irrelevant because the pitching was so awful. I mean, who cares if you only score 2 runs in a game where the pitchers have allowed 10? But in a league where it typically takes 5+ runs to win, the O's have scored less than 5 in 21 of their last 30. They're better than that.

I submit they played over their heads in August when they averaged six runs a game.

It's subjective whether they're going through the motions or just plain worn out at the end of the year, or it may be a combination of all of the above. Since the vast majority of us don't have access to the clubhouse, we have no insight what the root cause(s) are. To come up with a one-size-fits-all answer may not be appropriate.

If they are run down, in part, that again raises the question Drungo raised previously about Richie Bancells' training methodology. That also speaks to how Trembley used his line-up and pitching staff game after game.

Managers change, players change, but the annual September swoon happens. September scheduling is a factor, with a heavy does of playoff bound teams seemingly every year.

[Frobby]

How do you tell the difference between when a guy is in a slump or just not trying anymore? I wonder who people think are definitely phoning it in, besides the usual bete noirs of course; Ramon, Millar, Payton, and Mora?

I don't think any of them are "just not trying anymore." But I think they are mentally defeated. For whatever reason, they are just not a very mentally tough team.

I think this team would really benefit if it had an excellent player who is also a natural team leader, who could buck them up in tough times. Millar has been this team's leader, but he's close to done as a player and it's tough to lead from that position. Markakis and Roberts aren't the type. Maybe Jones can develop into that ina couple of years, or maybe Wieters.

[El Gordo]

I don't think any of them are "just not trying anymore." But I think they are mentally defeated. For whatever reason, they are just not a very mentally tough team.

I think this team would really benefit if it had an excellent player who is also a natural team leader, who could buck them up in tough times. Millar has been this team's leader, but he's close to done as a player and it's tough to lead from that position. Markakis and Roberts aren't the type. Maybe Jones can develop into that ina couple of years, or maybe Wieters.

A couple of excellent SP's would do wonders, even if they werent team leaders.

[osfan83]

As I have said numerous times... the season is just too long for the O's. Our players are only conditioned to play about 100 games a year. The last 3rd of the season our pitchers break down and our hitters get tired. The O's would fare better if the cut the regular season down to about 100 games.

[wickedwitch]

I wonder if the lack of offense has to do with the weather. They weren't good in April or May either.

[bej6789]

I can't express how angry I was last night at this team. After everything thats happend this season, how piss poor its been. You have a chance, the last game at the most hyped sports location in the world, to send the entire Yankee nation home crying. Winning last night would've meant so much more than just a W, it meant beating the odds. There isn't a shred of doubt in me that didn't think the Orioles were going to get squeezed a bit last night. Walking in there, with Chris Waters as your starter, and beating the Yankees in their last home game in the house that Maier cheated would've perhaps been the best tasting revenge dish ever.

[cindyluvsbrady]

I can't contain myself anymore. The disgraceful performance of this team in Yankee Stadium this weekend, and the pathetic display they have put on for the last five weeks (not to mention the pathetic performance in 6 of the last 7 years from mid-August on) just makes me nauseous.

Where the hell is the life and pride in this team? I'm embarassed to root for them.

When the pitching was getting shelled every day, frankly that was easier to take. But our offense has been maudlin this month. They really look like they can't wait for the season to end.

I had expected a lot more from this team. Remember all that talk about how resilient this group was earlier in the year? How resilient are they looking now?

There is no other team in baseballl that lays down every September like this. Not the Royals, not the Pirates, not the Nationals. Not one team.

So go ahead and tell yourselves that this is actually a good thing because we are getting a higher draft pick. In my opinion, it sucks.

WOW:eek:

Is this a fake Frobby?