Tonight it was a couple of cheap scratch hits that did the O’s in.
Roberts trying to steal 3rd with 1 out and Manny then Crush up is just another in a long line of stupid plays by Roberts. Once again he almost injured himself with his amateurish slide besides costing us the game. In fairness, he has been an asset since his return. But please Buck stop him from stealing bases before he kills himself.
Wild Card Standings
| American League | |||||||||||
| AMERICAN | W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | RS | RA | DIFF | STRK | L10 |
| Tampa Bay | 75 | 56 | .573 | – | 44-25 | 31-31 | 583 | 529 | +54 | Won 1 | 6-4 |
| Oakland | 75 | 57 | .568 | – | 39-25 | 36-32 | 593 | 521 | +72 | Won 3 | 6-4 |
| Cleveland | 71 | 61 | .538 | 4 | 40-26 | 31-35 | 597 | 559 | +38 | Lost 2 | 6-4 |
| Baltimore | 70 | 61 | .534 | 4.5 | 38-29 | 32-32 | 625 | 587 | +38 | Lost 2 | 5-5 |
To reach the 92 game plateau the O’s must go 22-9
Crush hit #47 tonight–his pace is 58
Mricklen
Put a fork in them!
Magic is gone from players with rare exceptions , and Buck who I love has regressed to his history of failing beyond his 3rd year.
So many bad decisions, and childish stubborn arrogance, especially with the vets .
Matt Weiters is a rally killer, Nick is fading fast. They are both bottom of the order batters.
Mclouth also is fading, as he is not an everyday player.
The starting pitching is by far the worst among contending teams. And there is no longer a reliable go to reliever.
Fortunately we have on very good core players , with the possibilities of Bundy, Gausman, Rodriguez on the way.
But in order to take that next step it is imperative that the purse be opened and front line players added, especially the starting pitching.
We made the jump to respectability with some lucky. midest priced retreads.
But in order to compete against the elite teams consistently , there has to be a commitment to spending for the upper echelon talent .
Enough with the Pearces, Betemits, Mcclouths, et als! Time for talented youth infusion and bye bye to Roberts, Nick and the assorted dh’s.
Also a hitting coach that emphasizes the strike zone should be a priority.
Much work to do, but hope springs eternal.
· 11/12/2019
freddy from boca
you can’t have starting pitchers going only 5 or 6 innings and use 4 relief pitchers. most relief pitchers are in the bullpen for one main reason. they are not good enough to start. so if you keep bringing in a lesser pitcher your chances of that guy getting hit increases. that’s why it’s important for starters to go deep into games. the philosophy and mental and physical conditioning of pitchers have changed over the years and needs to be re-evaluated. as for the prospects..keep in mind the last really good starting pitcher the orioles drafted and developed was mike mussina, over 20 years ago. before him, mike boddicker, over 30 years ago. bundy probably won’t physically be able to pitch in the big leagues until 2015. no sense rushing a young pitcher a year after tommy john surgery. i’m not sold on gausman because he throws a very straight fastball and at this time only has a change up which is pretty good. rodriquez is pitching pretty well but you would think needs one more year of seasoning, though if he is outstanding in spring training, i’d give him a shot. chen, gonzo are decent pitchers but probably not more than number 4 and 5 type pitchers. tillman could be very very good. hammel. feldman and norris don’t impress me though norris probably could get by as a number 5 starter. his stuff isn’t bad, just not great command. hard to imagine the o’s spending 150 million on a top shelf pitcher and considering the the band box they play in i would think a real good free agent starting pitcher would look to play elsewhere. i’ve always thought the o’s should remove a couple of rows from left field to move the fences back so you wouldn’t have a shallow power alley in left. you already have a short porch in right. orioles lack depth on the big club and in the minors. to make a trade for a significant player or to fill spots on the big club. i would think jonathan schoop will get a shot at second base next year.
it’s starting to look bleak but yet they are still in it. they need to do something they haven’t been able to do all year. an extended winning streak. 7-8 in a row 11 out of 13. possible though looking like it’s not probable
mike says…Enough with the Pearces, Betemits, Mcclouths. agreed, but first of all betemit and pearce are fringe players and the o’s have no one in the minors to fill those positions. plus it’s hard for young players to sit a lot and then produce when asked to play a couple times a week. that’s why veterans fill those positions. they need to find one solid dh and let him play everyday. using multiple dh’s who take up too many spots on the roster. there isn’t much you can do with the line up right now due to lack of depth other than perhaps bat markasis lead off where he has done very well. if you get rid of mclouth who do you replace him with? they need to find a free agent. hard for them to make a trade because they don’t have much to trade. overall they o’s haven’t drafted well except for a high first round picks. half of those players drafted never get out of “a” ball so it takes years to develop and deep farm system and only if you have good scouts and good coaches who can develop talent. over the last 30 years the o’s haven’t had good scouts who can indentify and project talent and they haven’t done a good job of developing talent. homegrown players are manny, wieters, nick, roberts, jim johnson, matusz. johnson is a guy you might want to stretch out next spring to let him start and matusz should be given the same opportunity because of the lack of starting pitching. roberts is basically finished and unless nick’s lack of punch this year is because he needs another off season to regain full strength in his wrist that was operated on last year, he’s on the decline.
· 11/12/2019