9/8 Roku Rubber Match vs. Rays

[Fla_O'sfan]

I’m taking an Oriole hiatus. They’re way too frustrating to watch anymore.

[Brooks The Great]

Just now, Yossarian said:

Why did we bring Jimenez in to face a right hander?

He's actually been better against righties for his entire career, as well as this season. All of his home runs this season have been hit against righties.

I point that out as someone who hates Eloy as a player and as someone who was extremely critical of the trade Elias made to get him because I knew Hyde would use Jimenez to block Mayo at DH. 

Hyde, being the moron that he is, mostly starts Jimenez against lefties. But pinch hitting him against a righty is actually the optimal usage of Eloy, to be fair. 

[ShoelesJoe]

1st and 2nd nobody out, and our 2/3/4 batters all strike out. 
 

This is like Groundhog Day, but instead of a comedy it’s a farce. 

[LookitsPuck]

McCann might love these hitting coaches, but looking at his numbers, do we trust his assessment?

[Yossarian]

2 minutes ago, SteveA said:

We didn't.

We brought him in to face the lefty, and after we had announced him for O'Hearn, THEN the TB manager brought in the righty.

But that dumb piece of *#*@ announcer Melanie Newman and her idiot partner didn't tell you what, so unless you happened to be able to hear Eloy being announced in the background of the broadcast, or if you went out to a score site during the commercial to see if Eloy had pinch had been announced, like I did, you would have no way of knowing.

The one actual time an announcer could tell us soemthing about the game that we couldn't witness with our eyes even if the sound was down, and she completely and utterly failed.   

Got it.

[RavensNOsGuy]

When the Yankees sweep the Cubs today this will be the weekend we lost the division. Not that it really matters at this point, this team is cooked.

[Moose Milligan]

Did I hear that right? First and second none out and they strike out 3 in a row?

[forphase1]

So pathetic.   I know,  I know,  it's all about the pitching,  we are still top 5 in runs scored, etc.  Yeah,  the pitching has been decimated by injuries,  but many times recently the pitching has kept us in games while the offense has been non-existent.   So many holes in this lineup right now, including some of our 'stars'.  Just pathetic. 

[spiritof66]

26 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Best record in the AL last year;  a half game off the best record in the AL this year?

Yeah, I don't see any evidence in this team's performance that Elias knows what he is doing.

How many front office teams do you think could have taken over the Orioles where they were in 2018 and put up the results that Elias has?   Probably some, but not many.

Yes, we are in a prolonged slump now.   But those early games when we were absolutely dominating the league still count, you know.   And our overall record is still pretty darn good.

I'm not saying Elias has failed. What I'm saying is that I don't see anything from the team's performance that tells me he's got some secret sauce, proprietary methods or magic touch that can boost a team's performance in ways that are special or nearly unique. 

The Orioles are 44-43 since the All-Star break, and they're headed for 44-44. I wouldn't call that a "prolonged slump." That's more than half a season of mediocre baseball, with no basis to expect improvement. I think most GM teams could have done that, if they had been given free reign to put a terrible team n the field to take advantage of the now-altered amateur draft, as Elias was. Could a lot of GMs, with that tool, have produced a season and a half of very good baseball as Elias did? I don't know, but again I think so. I mean, why not? What has Elias got that most of them don't have?

Of course, that's speculation on my part. What isn't speculation is that, over 87 games, Elias has done nothing that has markedly improved the team's performance, and there has been very little help from the highly ranked ML system. 

 

[mrbig1]

1 minute ago, Dunk35 said:

LMFAO. Get two runners on and 2/3/4  hitters come up! 
 

3 Ks. 

I would say unbelievable. But we see it again and again.

[ShoelesJoe]

Mayo at 1B.

[Moose Milligan]

1 minute ago, spiritof66 said:

I'm not saying Elias has failed. What I'm saying is that I don't see anything from the team's performance that tells me he's got some secret sauce, proprietary methods or magic touch that can boost a team's performance in ways that are special or nearly unique. 

The Orioles are 44-43 since the All-Star break, and they're headed for 44-44. I wouldn't call that a "prolonged slump." That's more than half a season of mediocre baseball, with no basis to expect improvement. I think most GM teams could have done that, if they had been given free reign to put a terrible team n the field to take advantage of the now-altered amateur draft, as Elias was. Could a lot of GMs, with that tool, have produced a season and a half of very good baseball as Elias did? I don't know, but again I think so. I mean, why not? What has Elias got that most of them don't have?

Of course, that's speculation on my part. What isn't speculation is that, over 87 games, Elias has done nothing that has markedly improved the team's performance, and there has been very little help from the highly ranked ML system. 

 

Injuries. Is this team better with Westy, Mounty, Mateo? Cmon. 

[ShoelesJoe]

Walls bunts to 3rd for a hit. Not Soto’s fault, just good play. 
 

But a good play our batters can’t accomplish. 

Edited September 8 by ShoelesJoe

[casadeozo]

What a difference a few months makes. I have zero confidence in them in the playoffs. Especially compared to last year.

yea we could get healthy and things may turn around, but the team approach is obviously flawed and it would be with or without injuries. 

that 8th inning should command some kind of players only meeting. Something needs to change. This is no longer an anomaly. This is who this team is.

[Wavetrapper]

Have we reached the point where McCann needs to be primary catcher.  Adley spells him from time to time.