With zero reliable pitchers behind Bundy and a weak AF bullpen to couple with bats that look extremely pedestrian, this has the makings of one of the worst teams in the MLB.Are the O's taking Jones out because it's a blowout, or is he hurt? (I don't have MASN, just Gameday)
Edit: I'm assuming it's just because it's a blowout. They're replacing other guys now.
Side note: I don't like being negative, but I'm worried that the team hasn't turned things around yet. Maybe they start tomorrow.
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Baltimore Orioles Discussion (2017 Season)
- Thread starter JO_75
- Start date
OK guys so as most of you should already know I'm french and I don't know jack about baseball, but since I hear from time to time about the O's and I'm quite fond of american sports, can anybody introduce me with the current and historic state of this team? Just out of curiousity tbh.
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
In the past couple of years, the O's have had a good bullpen (pitchers who replace the starter) and they have struggled to have good starting pitching. The offense is based on power, like hitting lots of home runs, which means the offense is streaky at times. Last year, the O's set the record in the MLB with 56 home runs in June, but then the offense faltered in the second half of the year.
This year, the bullpen has struggled and faced lots of injuries. Our top closer, Zach Britton, who was perfect in save attempts last year, had been hurt for the past month or so, and another reliever, Darren O'Day is also hurt.
The starting pitching right now is also pretty bad. Chris Tillman and Kevin Gausman, 2 of our top starters, have struggled this year, combined with inconsistent starts from Ubaldo Jiminez and Wade Miley.
Right now, the team is struggling to get the hitting and pitching together, but I wouldn't let that stop you from checking out the team.
Alright, real nice from you! Don't really have any notion in baseball (except basically what a HR is) but I'll try looking it up since it might make the wait for football easier to swallow lol.
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
If you want some good highlights to watch, I would recommend looking up the 2014 AL divisional series, Tigers vs. Orioles.
Or if you just want home runs, you can watch all 253 from last year. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...ioles-home-runs-this-year-20161003-story.html
At this rate, the Orioles better hope Manny Machado keeps his batting average down and it makes him more affordable because that defense is going to surely price him out of Baltimore and if he goes, I'll probably stop watching the Orioles.
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
I don't really think one poor hitting season is going to affect his price that much.
Would you watch whichever team he is on if he leaves?
No, I would not. I'm an Orioles fan through and through and I don't have any other teams to watch because my entire family likes the Orioles (before my brother passed, he was a huge Falcons fan, so I always pull for them).
I would be disgusted if the Orioles let Machado walk. He's easily the face of the Orioles and a top 5 player in the MLB. Yeah, I get it- it'll probably cost you $30M+ per season, but that's going to pale in comparison to the money you'd lose if you let Machado walk and go back to 14 straight losing seasons.
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
Ubaldo pitching 7 innings and giving up 2 runs...
Surprising
Surprising
Hey so I started watching the Tigers game (not finished, please don't spoil the result), but I don't understand when you say the offense is power based and homerun oriented. Do you mean there is a game plan? A collective strategy? Because to me it just looks like guys trying to hit the ball and not get stricked out, and hopefully hit a HR. Can you make it more clear?
You're hitting the nail on the head.
The Orioles don't prioritize contact or players who draw a lot of walks. They just go for raw power and home runs. And they usually lead the league in homers.
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
Most of the guys hit for power, Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, and in 2014 there was Nelson Cruz. Pretty much what BmoreBird said.
The game plan is really based on how the lineup is constructed, with the Orioles being built on guys who can hit a lot of home runs.
An example of a team built differently would be the Kansas City Royals, I believe. They could draw walks and steal bases and they wouldn't have to rely on home runs to score.
The Red Sox are an excellent team that combines walks, hitting for contact, and power.
I can't remember all the names of all the players on the Red Sox, but last year when Ortiz was playing, I bet two thirds of their lineup hit at least .300 and I bet everyone had an OBP above .300.
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
Not quite 2/3s with a .300 batting average, but they all did appear to have an OBP above .300. And they had 3 guys with 30 or more home runs. Pretty scary lineup.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2016-batting.shtml
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
@29BmoreBird22 Do you think the Orioles should move on from Duquette?
I think Duquette makes the best of the situation he can.
I don't think Baltimore is a great market for drawing in a lot of money, like an LA or a NY, but I think it's more Angelos than it is Duquette.
The Orioles always at least show interest in big name free agents and making the big move, but Angelos is such a cheap owner. Prior to the Davis signing, he would spend like $50M out of a possible $200M per year on payroll. He just didn't want to open the pocket book for anyone. I think this year they're closer to like $100M, which I would imagine has to do with Angelos being near to death.
But at the same time, Duquette isn't free of blame. He's built a team that doesn't bat for average and doesn't draw walks. They are so feast or famine with the long ball that if they aren't getting good contact (like they did against STL), they're likely not going to win. I think that's a major flaw in philosophy.
And the trades have been abysmal. Despite having a freakishly bad starting rotation for several years, Duquette has zero issue shipping out any highly rated pitching prospect for half season rentals. He's gutting the farm system.
And the Orioles haven't been great at drafting, either. Cisco is the only player in the top 100 for the Orioles and he's in the mid 70's, I believe. Although, if he can get his defense together, he could have a Posey type impact offensively, which is rare for a catcher.
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
Yeah, I'm kind of in between. I don't like how the offense can be so hot or cold, but I understand the money that Dan has had to work with in the past.
Hopefully the last 2 drafts can help restock the farm. They drafted something like 20 pitchers this year, so hopefully some will work out.
What's obp?
And while I am at it, what is ERA, and what is that inning stat? To me an inning would be the equivalent of a drive in football but it appears in pitchers and teams' stats and sometimes it's a number like 2/3. What would be the meaning of that?
(Sorry for all those questions but you know I guess I'm starting to enjoy it)
(Sorry for all those questions but you know I guess I'm starting to enjoy it)
SepticeyePoe
Hall of Famer
OBP stands for on base percentage or average and basically it measures how often a player reaches a base. This is the formula: OBP = (Hits + Walks + Hit by Pitch) / (At Bats + Walks + Hit by Pitch + Sacrifice Flies)
Good players tend to have an OBP of .370
ERA stands for earned run average and is the average number of runs given up by a pitcher per 9 innings. (Total # earned runs allowed) / (innings pitched) x 9
A good ERA would be 3.00, but I'm not sure if a lot of pitchers have an ERA close to that right now.
An inning is basically 6 outs. Each team gets 3 and the inning is divided into top and bottom halves, with the home team pitching in the top and batting in the 2nd half. When a pitcher pitches 2/3 of an inning, that means they got 2 outs before they were replaced with another pitcher.
There are a lot of stats in baseball and it's hard to remember what they all mean sometimes.