One-third of the way through, the O’s are on a 105-win pace

[Moose Milligan]

I remember thinking that no one was gonna catch the Rays last year. 

Some of you guys have short memories. 

[Sports Guy]

I will not believe in the Yankees as a viable threat until Rodon and Cole show themselves to be where they were 2 years ago (or even Cole last year) and they get more hitting.

I honestly think the Os are well ahead of everyone in the AL right now BUT I also think their pitching makes them very vulnerable in a short series.

Cleveland can pitch but they need hitting..same with Seattle.

Houston is probably the team I’d be worried about the most.

[Fiver6565]

The good news is regardless of who is directly chasing us, we’re likely to have to tie breaker on them. We’ve won 5/6 so far from the Sox and 5/7 from the Yanks, so just a couple more wins in the next 6 or 7 games against each is required on that front. 
 

If you actually watch a Yanks game, that’s not a good team right now. They aren’t playing well in the field and the lineup is hot garbage other than the obvious two. Volpe has slumped a bit and was down to sixth in the order the other day, with rookie Ben Rice in the leadoff spot. Grisham is playing basically every day and he’s an awful hitter. Lemahieu’s ghost can’t hit anymore. Verdugo is decent but basically an average hitter. It’s not pretty. 
 

The pitching is of course slumping a bit and may very well bounce back. But Gil has IP issues likely, Cole could get reinjured at any moment, and Rodon is just an enigma.  Holmes has looked vulnerable on the backend a little bit. Our staff has question marks for sure but theirs has its share as well. 
 

We are very clearly the better team on paper. 

[Malike]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

I will not believe in the Yankees as a viable threat until Rodon and Cole show themselves to be where they were 2 years ago (or even Cole last year) and they get more hitting.

I honestly think the Os are well ahead of everyone in the AL right now BUT I also think their pitching makes them very vulnerable in a short series.

Cleveland can pitch but they need hitting..same with Seattle.

Houston is probably the team I’d be worried about the most.

Cleveland is scoring about 5 R/G. Do you think it's not sustainable over the course of the season and they need to add offense? (Serious question).

[dystopia]

Cleveland also needs starting pitching.

[btdart20]

1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

I will not believe in the Yankees as a viable threat until Rodon and Cole show themselves to be where they were 2 years ago (or even Cole last year) and they get more hitting.

I honestly think the Os are well ahead of everyone in the AL right now BUT I also think their pitching makes them very vulnerable in a short series.

Cleveland can pitch but they need hitting..same with Seattle.

Houston is probably the team I’d be worried about the most.

CLE is a top 10 offense so far this year.  Even with a bottom 10 BABIP.  

MIN and TEX can be forces with health and a little bit more from some key players.

[Hank Scorpio]

The Yankees will do Yankees things and trade for Bellinger or someone who has been middling who will then catch fire. At this point I think Rodon isn’t what they thought. Cole will be good provided he can stay healthy. Their problem is their lineup is generally 77% pooty tang. 

I feel like if we add another solid starter and bullpen piece, we’ll be in good shape. I mean we’re already in *good* shape. That may put us in great shape.

A Mullins resurgence surely wouldn’t hurt. The guy I struggle with is Mateo… yeah he’s fast and very good defensively. But his bat is atrocious and I worry this year may mirror last year. Once that decline begins, it has historically snowballed on him. 

The next 3 weeks should be interesting.

[Malike]

21 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

The Yankees will do Yankees things and trade for Bellinger or someone who has been middling who will then catch fire. At this point I think Rodon isn’t what they thought. Cole will be good provided he can stay healthy. Their problem is their lineup is generally 77% pooty tang. 

I feel like if we add another solid starter and bullpen piece, we’ll be in good shape. I mean we’re already in *good* shape. That may put us in great shape.

A Mullins resurgence surely wouldn’t hurt. The guy I struggle with is Mateo… yeah he’s fast and very good defensively. But his bat is atrocious and I worry this year may mirror last year. Once that decline begins, it has historically snowballed on him. 

The next 3 weeks should be interesting.

Hopefully, we get to see Mayo at 3B and Westburg at 2B, and Mateo spot starting again.

[Yossarian]

2 hours ago, btdart20 said:

CLE is a top 10 offense so far this year.  Even with a bottom 10 BABIP.  

MIN and TEX can be forces with health and a little bit more from some key players.

And Houston recently took Baltimore to the woodshed in a 3-game sweep.  They are very much in the conversation.