We really are in a monster of a division

[Moose Milligan]

2 hours ago, Oriole1940 said:

I guess  this is a jinx, but by the end of the day the Orioles could be ahead of the Yankees in the AL East.

A dropped flyball is a *****.

[luismatos4prez]

12 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

AGREED WHOLEHEARTEDLY! 

There will be no givens and we are not going to leapfrog anyone without making good/great decisions. And some come with risk and others will cost real money. Nothing will be handed to the Orioles and they are not going to be able avoid hard choices to get there.

I disagree, I think he'll be back soon 

[Bemorewins]

LOL ... Yeah I think he's slated to come back soon and should help in the 6/7th inning.

[JR Oriole]

3 hours ago, interloper said:

I'm kind of eager to play the Rays and Jays to see how we match up. 

I think we match up well against the Sox, but just had a weird series.

I don't think we match up great against the Yankees, but I also don't feel like they are necessarily a better team than us. 

I can't say that I am particularly anxious to face divisional rivals in these series.  The only two series we have lost this year were to Boston and New York. Last year, we lost the season series to all four rivals.  We were a pretty good team last year and especially so outside of our division, but the AL East seemed to have our number in key games like they so often have in the past. So I need to see us start to win these series on a consistent basis before I get excited about matching up with them. 

Boston is, on paper, not even close to a typical last place team. They are far better than that, which speaks to the ridiculous strength of the division. I am glad we are no longer the doormat to gift wrapping everyone 90 wins like we were just 2 seasons ago.  

[sportsfan8703]

We have the lineup to be as dangerous as any team in the division.  Maybe even the best 1-9 offense.  Our SP is what it is, but Grayson and Bradish could be game changers.  The key for us will be getting our bullpen going.  Gilaspie is an up/down guy and he's been a pivotal reliever for us.  Bautista-Perez-Cano seems pretty solid right now with Baker.  Tate and Givens aren't that far away.  

When other teams know you have a shut down pen, the pressure starts to mount in the middle innings.  

[jabba72]

Its a good thing the schedule balanced out this year. 

[Billy F-Face3]

MLB should just go back to having 4 divisions and passing out playoff spots to the top 4-6 teams instead of having multiple divisions where a team with a better record might lose a playoff spot just because of the division they are in.

[25 Nuggets]

What are the chances all five teams finish above .500 this season with the adjusted schedule?

[sportsfan8703]

1 minute ago, 25 Nuggets said:

What are the chances all five teams finish above .500 this season with the adjusted schedule?

Well Boston sucks really bad. Duvall had a big series against us but now he’s hurt. I don’t see them winning more than 75 games. 
 

We’re one more TOR SP away from being as good as TB. I think we’re better than the NYY and Jays. Especially if we can get Givens and Tate going. 
 

This is lots of what ifs… but TOR trade SP, Bradish, Grayson, Gibson, Means is a hell of a rotation. I’m not giving up on Wells and Kremer, but if we’re in a position to win the division we should come deadline time. Elias will just have to make his first “risky” move. 

[25 Nuggets]

7 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Well Boston sucks really bad. Duvall had a big series against us but now he’s hurt. I don’t see them winning more than 75 games. 
 

We’re one more TOR SP away from being as good as TB. I think we’re better than the NYY and Jays. Especially if we can get Givens and Tate going. 
 

This is lots of what ifs… but TOR trade SP, Bradish, Grayson, Gibson, Means is a hell of a rotation. I’m not giving up on Wells and Kremer, but if we’re in a position to win the division we should come deadline time. Elias will just have to make his first “risky” move. 

I cannot expect a trade for an actual TOR pitcher, until I see it.  Another starter sure, but nobody costly.

Tampa started so red hot that it's hard to see just how good they are.  Their team OPS+ is 157 and team ERA+ is 166.  That's bound to go down, but I don't see how they can be viewed as anything less than the best in the division.

New York is a very studs-and-duds team right now.  Giancarlo Stanton is already on IR, good grief.

Toronto is the only team with a negative SRS at the moment; I'm a little surprised their pitching has struggled so much with Manoah and Bassitt but it's still early.

Boston... well they have fallen below .500 now, so yeah it's not looking good on the horizon.

[Sports Guy]

Just worry about yourself. If the Os can keep stacking wins, things will take care of themselves. 
 

 

[Frobby]

19 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Just worry about yourself. If the Os can keep stacking wins, things will take care of themselves. 
 

 

Exactly.  It’s that simple. 

[Going Underground]

1 hour ago, 25 Nuggets said:

I cannot expect a trade for an actual TOR pitcher, until I see it.  Another starter sure, but nobody costly.

Tampa started so red hot that it's hard to see just how good they are.  Their team OPS+ is 157 and team ERA+ is 166.  That's bound to go down, but I don't see how they can be viewed as anything less than the best in the division.

New York is a very studs-and-duds team right now.  Giancarlo Stanton is already on IR, good grief.

Toronto is the only team with a negative SRS at the moment; I'm a little surprised their pitching has struggled so much with Manoah and Bassitt but it's still early.

Boston... well they have fallen below .500 now, so yeah it's not looking good on the horizon.

Kluber and Sale are getting crushed. Don't see a. 500 record with them staying horrible. 

[Mooreisbetter27]

I know it's early.  But the Blue Jays are 11-8 with a -12 run differential.  

[Moose Milligan]

5 hours ago, Going Underground said:

Kluber and Sale are getting crushed. Don't see a. 500 record with them staying horrible. 

Love to see it.  Thought Sale might have a bounceback season, but I'm glad to see they gambled on Kluber and he's getting rocked.  To see them both getting rocked is a beautiful thing.