Thoughts on deep playoff run?

[Hallas]

I unironically think that the 6th seed has an easier time in the AL than the 4 seed.  We'd have to play Houston or Toronto with home field advantage?  I'd take Minnesota or Cleveland 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.  If we somehow play ourselves down to a 6 seed we also skip TB until the ALCS.

 

Realistically?  It's the playoffs, anything can happen.  I think the 2 most likely outcomes are that we get stopped by TB in the ALDS or we make it to the WS.  If we make it to the WS I think we lose in 6 to the Braves and have a good shot against anyone else.

 

The division leaders being auto-seeded higher than teams with vastly superior records just throws any semblance of fairness in playoff seeding out the window and is complete horse poop, tbh.  I think we need to revert to 2 divisions per league whenever MLB decides to expand to 32 teams.  I think a playoff system with 2 division leaders and 4 wild cards in a field of 16 per side is pretty fair and adds enough games to keep the games compelling without overly crowding the playoff field.  I think the 6 seeds have a legitimate shot at playoff success.  The NBA model where .500 teams make the 8th playoff spot is kind of trash because the 7th and 8th teams advance far too infrequently to make those series compelling.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Hallas

[Bemorewins]

1 hour ago, dzorange said:

Lucky and being good can go hand in hand, they don't have to be exclusive of one another.

Good teams will capitalize on luck. Or minimize their risk.

I agree on all fronts!

[sportsfan8703]

Giolito and Robertson would give us a real shot at the WS. Things are breaking right for us right now. Especially if the twins don’t make the playoffs with their rotation, Mclanahan is out for TB, the angels and Ohtani not in the playoffs, Cortes and Rodon are out for NYY, and can Eovaldi stay healthy in Texas?

Giolito, Robertson, and maybe a “Miguel Cabrera” type Jackson Holliday boost. 

[Bemorewins]

24 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Giolito and Robertson would give us a real shot at the WS. Things are breaking right for us right now. Especially if the twins don’t make the playoffs with their rotation, Mclanahan is out for TB, the angels and Ohtani not in the playoffs, Cortes and Rodon are out for NYY, and can Eovaldi stay healthy in Texas?

Giolito, Robertson, and maybe a “Miguel Cabrera” type Jackson Holliday boost. 

Rodon just returned for the Yankees.

[FlipTheBird]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Giolito and Robertson would give us a real shot at the WS. Things are breaking right for us right now. Especially if the twins don’t make the playoffs with their rotation, Mclanahan is out for TB, the angels and Ohtani not in the playoffs, Cortes and Rodon are out for NYY, and can Eovaldi stay healthy in Texas?

Giolito, Robertson, and maybe a “Miguel Cabrera” type Jackson Holliday boost. 

Jackson Holliday is not coming to Baltimore this year. Yeesh.

[Baltimorecuse]

I think making the playoffs is still in doubt.  Right now I want to beat the Marlins.

[RZNJ]

36 minutes ago, Baltimorecuse said:

I think making the playoffs is still in doubt.  Right now I want to beat the Marlins.

Good post.  Just before this 5 game winning streak I could have sworn the sky was falling around here.   This team keeps winning and bouncing back but the balance between division winner and missing the playoffs completely seems fragile to me.

[Teddy OBP]

4 hours ago, dzorange said:

Elias hasn't had reason to be aggressive. If the O's are sitting within 2 games of the Rays in two weeks, then he does. Competing for the division is vastly different than trying to compete for the Wild Card.

Two or three weeks ago, the majority of this board wasn't expecting both Cowser and Westburg to be called up based on Elias' history.

Yep. August 2nd is the right time to make deep run estimates. If they’re still playing well and we can see what happened at the deadline.

If they stay close, can find a solid RP, and can get anything out of G Rod and potentially Means, McDermott, or Povich out of the pen I like their chances.

We should also check in on Delmon Young to see if he’s stayed in shape.

 

 

 

[Baltimorecuse]

14 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Good post.  Just before this 5 game winning streak I could have sworn the sky was falling around here.   This team keeps winning and bouncing back but the balance between division winner and missing the playoffs completely seems fragile to me.

There isn't a team in this division that is out of it.  

[Since1984]

It depends on the final weeks of who gets hot and how the moment starts in the playoffs. With or without additions this team has some depth causing more flexibility! 2023!

[StatusDC]

Made a fun $20 futures bet to win the WS with 10,000 odds, earlier in the season. 2k payout if they pull it off.

[24fps]

3 hours ago, Baltimorecuse said:

I think making the playoffs is still in doubt.  Right now I want to beat the Marlins.

Prior to the recent Yankees and Twins series (and the two lopsided victories) the O's run differential was only +19 including -2 at home.  For reference, both Texas and Tampa Bay were at +158.  If the conversation is about how deep into the playoffs the O's will get, it seems like there's been too much smoke and mirrors so far to get comfortable just yet.

[Billy F-Face3]

There's alot of variables with this topic. Who's healthy? Who's injured? Will we trade for anyone? What will the playoffs roster be? If the rotation is constructed from current pitchers in the organization, which versions of themselves will show up? Will they play to the best of their potential?

Like I said, a ton of variables. Even the front office has to be questioning the Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde nature of our pitching staff. It seems they can be either very good, or very bad. And we don't know which versions of those guys show up on the mound each day.

[Billy F-Face3]

If the Orioles were to make the World Series within the next 3 years, I predict the National League teams they are most likely to face would be the Braves, the Dodgers, or the Arizona Diamondbacks (Young nucleus of good players with a top farm system like the Orioles).

[Baltimorecuse]

You know what would be great is for Grayson to get his head connected to his super arm and become the pitcher he has the potential to be.  

If Grayson gets it right he can be dominating.