I did not know.

[HowAboutThat]

We didn’t buy a car today either…

[Jagwar]

7 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

We win tomorrow. Eflin is a horse too. 

Burnes was a horse yesterday. Unfortunately, the hitting horses were all still in the barn.

[LA2]

6 hours ago, tntoriole said:

They certainly don’t have a Frank or Eddie type guy who get more fired up the more the pressure 

But even Eddie had some very poor postseason series, especially the 1979 (Orioles) and 1995 (Indians) World Series.

[PauleeWalnuts]

Is it the pressure? Feels like once they knew they were in the playoffs the bats came alive in Minny. Granted they didn't see a pitcher like Ragans all series.

I keep hyping myself up every time they make the playoffs thinking this game is gonna be different and I'm let down with the same old song every time around. Just glad I was smart enough not to buy tickets this time around.

[JR Oriole]

31 minutes ago, PauleeWalnuts said:

Is it the pressure? Feels like once they knew they were in the playoffs the bats came alive in Minny. Granted they didn't see a pitcher like Ragans all series.

I keep hyping myself up every time they make the playoffs thinking this game is gonna be different and I'm let down with the same old song every time around. Just glad I was smart enough not to buy tickets this time around.

Of course we cannot know with certainty, but I suspect it is the pressure. What evidence has there been to show that this group can perform well in big situations? They faltered down the stretch in 2022. They were ousted easily in the playoffs in 2023. Since mid-June of this year, how many situations have there been late in games where they came through to turn a loss into a victory?  Santander against Houston.  When else?   How many game changing or memorable hits has Gunnar had late in games this year?  

They came into New York down 6 games in the division with 6 to play.  Once they won the first two and things started getting mathematically interesting, they were obliterated in the third game. The Twins games were 100% pressure free. They were locked into the 4 seed and nothing was at stake. 

Ragans is a very good pitcher, but he has a 3.14 ERA this year. He was responsible for 65 earned runs over the course of the season.  Their relievers have ERAs also. So to take the motivation from last year's embarrassing playoff ouster and not be able to muster a single run in your own park against probably the weakest opponent (other than us) in the entire playoff field.....it is very fair to wonder if these guys just don't have the capacity to perform under pressure.  Not everyone does and that isn't something that analytics seem able to adequately capture.

[ledzepp8]

9 hours ago, MDK02 said:

Will Gunnar, Adley and company ever win a single playoff game in an Os uniform? It’s become a valid question. Nothing leads me to believe that they will. 

Has it? Really? 
 

No serious person thinks that. 

[ledzepp8]

8 hours ago, Three Run Homer said:

Why are people already assuming that the series is over?  The O's are at home and they can absolutely win the next two games.  

Especially since they won 2/3 vs them twice already. Not saying they’ll win but some of the people on this board have utterly ridiculous takes lately. 

[Sports Guy]

8 hours ago, Three Run Homer said:

Why are people already assuming that the series is over?  The O's are at home and they can absolutely win the next two games.  

It’s what this board does.

[Tony-OH]

The only losses that matter were the sweep last season by Texas since that was with this core group. The big story is now 0-4 by this core group. 

Watching how they wilted when the pressure started to build this season, their lack of clutchiness, and then their absolute embarrassment of an offensive showing yesterday, it's fair to wonder if this core group can not handle pressure. 

Even Gunnar, who is a great player, came up small yesterday. Elite players tend to show up in elite times, and what we've seen is that this core group just doesn't have those players offensively. 

Maybe they'll make me eat my words this afternoon or maybe they will slink away and finish off this disappointing season with a sad loss leaving their fans wondering whether this group will ever be able to pick it up when it matters. 

If I'm Elias, I'm thinking he has to really change up the dynamic of this group this offseason if they don't win this series. 

 

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

The only losses that matter were the sweep last season by Texas since that was with this core group. The big story is now 0-4 by this core group. 

Watching how they wilted when the pressure started to build this season, their lack of clutchiness, and then their absolute embarrassment of an offensive showing yesterday, it's fair to wonder if this core group can not handle pressure. 

Even Gunnar, who is a great player, came up small yesterday. Elite players tend to show up in elite times, and what we've seen is that this core group just doesn't have those players offensively. 

Maybe they'll make me eat my words this afternoon or maybe they will slink away and finish off this disappointing season with a sad loss leaving their fans wondering whether this group will ever be able to pick it up when it matters. 

If I'm Elias, I'm thinking he has to really change up the dynamic of this group this offseason if they don't win this series. 

 

It’s 100% fair to wonder if players can calm themselves down and get their heart beat down. 
 

I think Westburg can do this.

Edited 2 hours ago by Sports Guy

[Tony-OH]

7 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

It’s 100% fair to wonder if players can calm themselves down and get their heart beat down. 
 

I think Westburg can do this.

You're right, Westburg seems like a guy who can because you don't see him throwing things or being emotional on the field. Obviously it's a small sample size, but so far he has not come through very much in post season.

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, Tony-OH said:

You're right, Westburg seems like a guy who can because you don't see him throwing things or being emotional on the field. Obviously it's a small sample size, but so far he has not come through very much in post season.

No but he hits a homer in almost every other park yesterday and he seems to be the guy on the team that does a great job of shortening his swing when needed. He didn’t try to over swing on his base hit yesterday.

[Tony-OH]

30 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

No but he hits a homer in almost every other park yesterday and he seems to be the guy on the team that does a great job of shortening his swing when needed. He didn’t try to over swing on his base hit yesterday.

Yes, Elias' Waltimore cost the Orioles two runs yesterday and took one away from the Royals. 

[Three Run Homer]

If we lose this series, it's a huge disappointment, but that's baseball.  I think Derek Jeter said something to the effect that you win the regular season when you are the best team, and you win the World Series when you are the team that got hot at the right time.   Every team in the playoffs is good.  

We are trying to win 2 out of 3 games at home.  During the regular season, the worst team in baseball can win two out of three games against the best team in baseball, and nobody thinks twice.  In football or basketball, the best team is going to win in the playoffs almost all of the time, because luck is not very important in those sports.  But baseball is a game where luck is really important.  A hard hit ball can go straight to the fielder's glove.  A soft-hit ball can find a hole.  A hitter can just miss a fat pitch.   An umpire can miss a call at just the wrong time.  

The Royals didn't win yesterday because they have better roster construction or because Bobby Witt has nerves of steel.  They won because Bobby Witt hit a ball that found a hole when there happened to be a runner on third base. 

If the O's lose today or tomorrow, it will not tell me much.  It certainly won't tell me that the O's need a massive roster overhaul, or that Gunnar Henderson can't take the pressure, or even that we need a new manager or GM.  Of course the O's need to make some moves over the offseason, and whether Elias makes the right moves will affect our chances of winning the World Series in the future.  But the main way they will matter is through their effect on our regular season record and whether we make the playoffs in future years.  

The fact that playoffs in baseball are pretty much a crapshoot is frustrating.  People always want to feel that destiny is in our power to control.  Fans want to think that there's something a GM or manager or player could have done to guarantee that their team would win in the playoffs.  But there is nothing that a team can do to guarantee post season success.  Good team building means making the playoffs.  That's all.  

[Low Country Bird]

12 hours ago, Bmorebirds24 said:

Who on this team is that spark plug?  I feel like these guys are all just good guys but nobody stands out that has much fire to them. Santander maybe but I'm sure we lose him after this season.

If you don't think Gunnar has much fire to him, I'm not sure what you've been watching.