TT: Rangers remind me of the 2014 Royals

[Tony-OH]

It's become very obvious during these first two games that the Rangers offense is just white hot right now. I was looking up at the jumbotron yesterday and 5 of the 9 hitters in the lineup had OPS's over 1.000 at one point. Holy crap, Evan Carter has been unbelievable and Josh Jung and Cory Seager have been on fire as well. 

They also have a bunch of soft tossing lefties which is the Orioles kryptonite. It's just not a good combination and why we're down two games to none.

Now saying that, having a bullpen with Baker and Webb in the playoffs is a failure of Elias to acquire an impact bullpen arm at the deadline. Flaherty obvious was a guy Elias thought would be a rotation piece in the playoffs, but his failures and Mean's injury put Rodriguez in game two and it was clear, the moment was just too big for Grayson. Oh, and pulling Bradish in game one in the 5th inning because Seager was coming up is ok IF you have a great bullpen. The Orioles do not. If you are pitching Webb in a one run game your bullpen is not a strength. Now part of that was losing Bautista, but I do still think Elias being unwilling to part with prospects for an impact bullpen arm has cost us in this series.

BTW, someone is going to have to explain to me why Bryan Baker, who was not even very good in AAA and wasn't good enough to be on the Orioles roster for most of September, was the choice to replace Means. Why was Cole Irvin not the guy? Hell, I'll be honest, as bad as Fuji has been at times, I would have preferred him over Baker. Baker's inability to throw a strike was absolutely embarrassing for a major league pitcher in a playoff game. He came into a game down by three and absolutely led to the game getting imploded. Just a head scratching move that completely and utterly back fired on the Orioles.

The Orioles haven't been swept all season so let's hope they don't break that streak on Tuesday. 

I'm not going to get down on this team after the season they had. I knew going into the playoffs this team had very little playoff experience and the moment was going to be too big for some.

I was at the game and the energy from the fans was amazing in the first inning. I told my friend that if Grayson throws the first pitch at 100 MPH, that he's too amped up and that's not good for his command.

Sure enough, he sat 99-100 the whole 1st inning. After the Orioles got 2-runs, the place was absolutely buzzing and I was wondering how he would handle all that energy. Unfortunately, he was not able to bottle his emotions up which should hopefully come with more experience. He certainly was no Mike Boddicker who was absolutely nails in his first playoff series as a rookie in 1983. 

Either way, there is little doubt that the Rangers are white hot right now. They remind me of the buzzsaw that the 2014 Royals were until they went to the World Series. The difference is the Ranger' lineup is legitimately good. 

 

 

[Moose Milligan]

I don't believe the moment was too big for Grayson.  Grayson came back after loading the bases and attacked, attacked, attacked.  We've seen him hit 100 before and pitch well.

Picked a bad day to not have his best stuff, but it happens.

I think ultimately though you might be right in regards to running into a team that all of a sudden got hot.  In that respect, they remind me of the Royals that year.  Big differences between those teams though, the Rangers can hit, the Royals really relied on good defense and an elite bullpen.  So far the Rangers defense looks fairly decent but their bullpen is a mess.  Of course, our guys haven't been able to really expose that until it was too late yesterday.

I'm hoping we can at least steal a game tomorrow so we don't look totally outclassed.  

 

[clapdiddy]

3 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

It's become very obvious during these first two games that the Rangers offense is just white hot right now. I was looking up at the jumbotron yesterday and 5 of the 9 hitters in the lineup had OPS's over 1.000 at one point. Holy crap, Evan Carter has been unbelievable and Josh Jung and Cory Seager have been on fire as well. 

They also have a bunch of soft tossing lefties which is the Orioles kryptonite. It's just not a good combination and why we're down two games to none.

Now saying that, having a bullpen with Baker and Webb in the playoffs is a failure of Elias to acquire an impact bullpen arm at the deadline. Flaherty obvious was a guy Elias thought would be a rotation piece in the playoffs, but his failures and Mean's injury put Rodriguez in game two and it was clear, the moment was just too big for Grayson. Oh, and pulling Bradish in game one in the 5th inning because Seager was coming up is ok IF you have a great bullpen. The Orioles do not. If you are pitching Webb in a one run game your bullpen is not a strength. Now part of that was losing Bautista, but I do still think Elias being unwilling to part with prospects for an impact bullpen arm has cost us in this series.

BTW, someone is going to have to explain to me why Bryan Baker, who was not even very good in AAA and wasn't good enough to be on the Orioles roster for most of September, was the choice to replace Means. Why was Cole Irvin not the guy? Hell, I'll be honest, as bad as Fuji has been at times, I would have preferred him over Baker. Baker's inability to throw a strike was absolutely embarrassing for a major league pitcher in a playoff game. He came into a game down by three and absolutely led to the game getting imploded. Just a head scratching move that completely and utterly back fired on the Orioles.

The Orioles haven't been swept all season so let's hope they don't break that streak on Tuesday. 

I'm not going to get down on this team after the season they had. I knew going into the playoffs this team had very little playoff experience and the moment was going to be too big for some.

I was at the game and the energy from the fans was amazing in the first inning. I told my friend that if Grayson throws the first pitch at 100 MPH, that he's too amped up and that's not good for his command.

Sure enough, he sat 99-100 the whole 1st inning. After the Orioles got 2-runs, the place was absolutely buzzing and I was wondering how he would handle all that energy. Unfortunately, he was not able to bottle his emotions up which should hopefully come with more experience. He certainly was no Mike Boddicker who was absolutely nails in his first playoff series as a rookie in 1983. 

Either way, there is little doubt that the Rangers are white hot right now. They remind me of the buzzsaw that the 2014 Royals were until they went to the World Series. The difference is the Ranger' lineup is legitimately good. 

 

 

Totally agree about the Rangers.   They are a different kind of team than KC, but they look like they can beat anyone right now.  

I also agree about Irvin.   He should have been on the playoff roster instead of Bryan Baker.   Baker goes through too many stretches where he can't throw strikes.   Elias should have beefed up the bullpen at the break.   It was nice to take a chance on Fuji, but you needed someone with more experience.  

[Aristotelian]

Different sort of team, but equally frustrating. In this case their offense is stacked and they have both stars and out of nowhere guys who won't make an out. With the Royals it was that damn bullpen and the outfielders who caught anything hit their way. Same feeling that we are getting beat by a team that was worse during the regular season, but it is what it is. Also credit the Rangers for improving the team at the deadline and aggressive use of rookies. They are pushing all the right buttons with some high risk moves that are paying off. 

[Frobby]

The Rangers don’t remind me of the Royals that much, inasmuch as they are an excellent offensive team that finished first in the AL in runs, hits, homers, BA, OBP, SLG, and OPS.  The 2014 Royals were a below average offensive team that had an incredible bullpen, which is Texas’ weak spot.  

The big similarity so far is that they’re kicking the Orioles’ butts.  So far.  
 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Frobby

[Spy Fox]

I’m really confused by the Baker over Irvin decision given two things:

The Rangers have a lot of lefties and switch hitters, who we’d probably prefer hitting right handed in Camden.

Means off the roster meant one less lefty and one less length bullpen arm since both Kremer and Gibson need to be available to start. 

[Moose Milligan]

Also meant to say, I agree with everyone wholeheartedly about Irvin.  Not having him on the playoff roster is egregious.

[clapdiddy]

7 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Also meant to say, I agree with everyone wholeheartedly about Irvin.  Not having him on the playoff roster is egregious.

Yup.   I thought he actually pitched pretty well for a nice stretch and was actually showing increased velocity out of the bullpen.   

[Moose Milligan]

Just now, clapdiddy said:

Yup.   I thought he actually pitched pretty well for a nice stretch and was actually showing increased velocity out of the bullpen.   

Agreed.  He's been pretty solid.  His command is good and I don't think we walk everyone in the stadium yesterday if he's on the mound for 3 or 4 innings.

[SilentJames]

21 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I don't believe the moment was too big for Grayson.  Grayson came back after loading the bases and attacked, attacked, attacked.  We've seen him hit 100 before and pitch well.

Picked a bad day to not have his best stuff, but it happens.

I think ultimately though you might be right in regards to running into a team that all of a sudden got hot.  In that respect, they remind me of the Royals that year.  Big differences between those teams though, the Rangers can hit, the Royals really relied on good defense and an elite bullpen.  So far the Rangers defense looks fairly decent but their bullpen is a mess.  Of course, our guys haven't been able to really expose that until it was too late yesterday.

I'm hoping we can at least steal a game tomorrow so we don't look totally outclassed.  

 

What gave me bad Royals vibes was during that second inning, a couple infield hits and then Alodis' grounder that bounded off the mound into center field. 

[Tony-OH]

18 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I don't believe the moment was too big for Grayson.  Grayson came back after loading the bases and attacked, attacked, attacked.  We've seen him hit 100 before and pitch well.

Picked a bad day to not have his best stuff, but it happens.

I think ultimately though you might be right in regards to running into a team that all of a sudden got hot.  In that respect, they remind me of the Royals that year.  Big differences between those teams though, the Rangers can hit, the Royals really relied on good defense and an elite bullpen.  So far the Rangers defense looks fairly decent but their bullpen is a mess.  Of course, our guys haven't been able to really expose that until it was too late yesterday.

I'm hoping we can at least steal a game tomorrow so we don't look totally outclassed.  

 

He failed miserably. It's not about velocity, it's about controlling his emotions and stuff. He did not do either. He'll learn from this, and I think one day he will be that ace that starts game one, but there is no other way to explain yesterday's start as anything but an utter failure.  

He's been very good since returning but this start reminded me of when he first came up and the moment was a little too much for him. I think going back to the minors helped him calm down, and when he started to control his emotions, he found his command.

[dystopia]

Leaving Irvin off the roster really is a head scratcher. 

[Moose Milligan]

2 minutes ago, SilentJames said:

What gave me bad Royals vibes was during that second inning, a couple infield hits and then Alodis' grounder that bounded off the mound into center field. 

That's true, everything did seem to go well for the Royals that year, too.  

[Tony-OH]

24 minutes ago, Frobby said:

The Rangers don’t remind me of the Royals that much, inasmuch as they are an excellent offensive team that finished first in the AL in runs, hits, homers, BA, OBP, SLG, and OPS.  The 2014 Royals were a below average offensive team that had an incredible bullpen, which is Texas’ weak spot.  

The big similarity so far is that they’re kicking the Orioles’ butts.  So far.  
 

But that's my entire point. They are just white hot like the Royals, not that they are doing it the same way. They are in no way built the same way.

[InsideCoroner]

Irvin's absence doesn't make any sense to me, either. Perhaps they were worried they would be too lefty-heavy in the pen, but considering that Irvin is good at both a) throwing strikes, and b) eating innings, it's confusing. Of course if Baker hadn't shown all the control of Steve Sax out there, maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation, but he did, and we are.