The Wild Card Race

[Frobby]

On 7/30/2022 at 5:43 PM, wildcard said:

You are not kidding anyone.    You look at the scores everyday.  So you are scoreboard watching no matter what you want to call it.

Shrug.  You can think what you think.  I do not pay much attention to what other teams are doing.  Our team has lost two in a row and is at .500.   That’s not going to cut it, and that’s all I need to know.   

Here’s a test: do you check the scores of other games while the Orioles are playing?   I don’t, except for the Orioles’ minor league teams. 
 

[OriolesMagic83]

On 7/30/2022 at 5:23 PM, btdart20 said:

I think Seattle just made the key deal for them.  They just need to stay healthy.  Same deal for Toronto.

I think our biggest competition will be Tampa and Chicago.  Tampa is banged up.  But Chicago is getting Eloy back in the mix.  They are so inconsistent though…

I don’t think Cleveland or Boston have the horses.

The O's aren't going to catch Toronto or Seattle, so they have to outwin every other team.  .500  isn't going to cut it.  Winning 1 of 3 vs. Cincy isn't going to cut it.  I'm more focused on next year and just happy the O's are going to be playing meaningful baseball in August.

[btdart20]

4 hours ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

The O's aren't going to catch Toronto or Seattle, so they have to outwin every other team.  .500  isn't going to cut it.  Winning 1 of 3 vs. Cincy isn't going to cut it.  I'm more focused on next year and just happy the O's are going to be playing meaningful baseball in August.

Same thoughts here.  But I don’t think the barrier to entry will be that high this year.  I would be building toward something more meaningful.

[wildcard]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

Shrug.  You can think what you think.  I do not pay much attention to what other teams are doing.  Our team has lost two in a row and is at .500.   That’s not going to cut it, and that’s all I need to know.   

Here’s a test: do you check the scores of other games while the Orioles are playing?   I don’t, except for the Orioles’ minor league teams. 
 

So you are saying you don't check the teams in the AL wild card race to see who won and lost and how many games the O's are behind in the wild card race?

O's were 16-9 in July and took 3 of 4 from the Rays last week.

Edited August 1, 2022 by wildcard

[Yardball85]

19 minutes ago, wildcard said:

So you are saying you don't check the teams in the AL wild card race to see who won and lost and how many games the O's are behind in the wild card race?

O's were 16-9 in July and took 3 of 4 from the Rays last week.

I do, but I don't doubt that others dont. 

[Sports Guy]

24 minutes ago, wildcard said:

So you are saying you don't check the teams in the AL wild card race to see who won and lost and how many games the O's are behind in the wild card race?

O's were 16-9 in July and took 3 of 4 from the Rays last week.

I don’t because it doesn’t matter.  The playoff spot isn’t being decided today or tomorrow or even a month from now.

Lots of things can change.  All that matters right now is what the Os are doing.  The rest will take care of itself.

[Baltimorecuse]

I'd love to see them make the playoffs.  I'm more interested in seeing how our talent progresses.  I'm going to go crazy waiting for spring training next year.  

What I really want is a team that can beat the crap out of the Yankees.  

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Baltimorecuse
add info

[bpilktree]

I don't think checking the box score after the game is over is scoreboard watching because you check it once and see what everyone did.  I consider scoreboard watching while the teams are playing checking what the score is, what inning it is and so fourth.  Now with technology you can check score, inning, who is in the game pitching,  and who is on base during the game.  The original scoreboard watching was started when you would be waiting for the guy to change a number on the score at the ballpark on the out of town scoreboards and then the announcer would give you the update for those watching or listening at home.   

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

So you are saying you don't check the teams in the AL wild card race to see who won and lost and how many games the O's are behind in the wild card race?

O's were 16-9 in July and took 3 of 4 from the Rays last week.

I generality don’t look to see who won and lost. Obviously when we play the Rays, I know we beat them.  If Seattle is on a 14-game winning streak, I know that.   But I couldn’t tell you right now who won or lost yesterday, except that we lost to the Reds and that’s not good.  

I’m not saying I never scoreboard watch.  But I don’t do it in July, or even August.  There’s just too many games to play and we need to take care of our own business.   If our August is as good as July was, it will be time to pay attention.   
 

[btdart20]

Sounds like the Rays are listening to offers for their BP arms and Choi.  It’s like they question their playoff chances and want to gear up for deeper runs later.  Same for Boston.

The wildcard bar this year feels pretty low.  I think we can make the playoffs even if we trade away some ML talent and backfill with in-house options.

[bpilktree]

9 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

Sounds like the Rays are listening to offers for their BP arms and Choi.  It’s like they question their playoff chances and want to gear up for deeper runs later.  Same for Boston.

The wildcard bar this year feels pretty low.  I think we can make the playoffs even if we trade away some ML talent and backfill with in-house options.

The Rays have a rough schedule to finish the year.   We play 19 of the last 30 at home where we play much better.  If we can stay within striking distance through August it will be a huge advantage for us.  

[Hank Scorpio]

2 hours ago, wildcard said:

So you are saying you don't check the teams in the AL wild card race to see who won and lost and how many games the O's are behind in the wild card race?

O's were 16-9 in July and took 3 of 4 from the Rays last week.

I don't... I check the minor league box scores and watch the game most of the time.

It's way too early to be sweating what everyone else is doing, IMO.

[Too Tall]

Right now, I care only about what the Orioles are doing. If they win, that kind of takes care of future possiblilities. Like others have said, I'm more interested in next year and what they do this winter to set up next year. They have all ready peaked the interest of many who have not been interested for quite a while. That's great! But, I still feel they need Starting PITCHING - have needed Starting PITCHING and also a more balanced line-up - to be viewed as any more than a rebuilding team that has turned the corner. I'll get a little more excited if we are having this conversation in mid- September. QED

[btdart20]

The gap between the playoff locks is growing as we near the trade deadline:

NYY - best W% and added Montas, Benintendi, and Effross addressing the bulk of their team needs.

Hou - second best W%, Mancini fills their 1B/DH needs, trade from SP depth for RP Will Smith, and a better hitting catcher (Vazquez).

Min - division leader, added Mahle TOR-type SP, and Lopez to deepen their bullpen a closer, and I suspect they aren't done.

 

Toronto is in the wild card driver's seat in cruise control...

Tor - best wildcard W%, some BP depth, could see them getting a 2B or more BP help.

 

On the bubble for the other two wildcard spots:

Tampa - got Siri OF starter (buried in Houston) and some smaller deals.  I'm not convinced they'll make any bigger moves.  Some offensive injuries, but the pitchers are getting healthy.

Seattle - Recent injuries sting...  Landed Castillo as a TOR. 

Cleveland - who knows?

Texas - Expensive losers.

Chicago - no big moves (Diekman), still looking for BP help...

 

Baltimore can still make the wild card cut.  BP will take a little hit trading Lopez, but still a strength of the team.  Urias has hit his stride.  There's a chance Odor is benched for Vavra (or even Urias if Henderson is called up).  Biggest question mark (and even that is pretty small) is the dip in production/adjustment period for whoever replaces Mancini.

[sportsfan8703]

Notice how since we’ve played basically all of our games against NYY and TB, except 6, that the other teams in our division have to play each other a ton. 
 

Our season comes down to what we do against Toronto. 15 games. We control our own playoff destiny still.