The Baltimore Orioles

[Tyler Durden]

Have the second best record in the majors. Have won 8 straight. Are leading the majors in runs scored.

Have a four game lead in the AL East. So all you Yankees and Red Sox mofos believing the hype can fcukin suck it. Last year was last year was last year.

But don't worry Boston fans, 2090 isn't THAT far away (and Curt Schilling is still a bitch).

[mason55]

Can't wait for Baltimore-DC world series.

[istewart]

Results-oriented.

[Tyler Durden]

lol. that means sox and yankees fans have nothing to talk about ever. if you can't be results oriented in sports...

[istewart]

Hahaha.

[tbach24]

Brian Roberts has 8 homers this April. That makes 20 for his career, lol. I've been very impressed though, they look really good 1-9 and have a good BP. The staff though, is atrocious.

[Tboner7]

Staff still better than the Yankmees.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
Staff still better than the Yankmees.

[/ QUOTE ]

Meh, it's actually not that bad.

Rodrigo Lopez = solid
Bruce Chen = solid
Erik Bedard = solid
Sidney Ponson and Daniel Cabrera = the sucks

The way I see it is that RJ is better than any of them, Pavano is about as good as one of the solid one's, and then the Yanks have three other sucky guys. So yeah, your statement is true. I don't think the Sox are too much better off though with the injuries unfortunately.

Edit- This is so far, I don't think that if I were to make projections, they would be anything close to actuality

[Jack of Arcades]

Baltimore won't hit .302 all year.

[Tboner7]

[ QUOTE ]
Baltimore won't hit .302 all year.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe, maybe not. The O's are scoring tons of runs even though most of it is from just 4 players. Roberts, Mora, Tejada, Javy Lopez has been the whole offense. Nobody else excpet mabye Matos(hitting well, but doesn't play as regular as others) you could say is hitting well. Raffy is stinking it up, Sosa is doing OK but not great (could heat up later), Bigbie hitting average at best right now, Gibbons seems to be coming around, but isn't really there yet. Still lots of potential in the line-up.

[contentless]

[ QUOTE ]

Bruce Chen = solid


[/ QUOTE ]

A lot of people are saying this, and all this time, I've been like 'WTF?' This is the same Bruce Chen that left Atlanta and sported a 5+ ERA...while playing for 7 teams! I'll believe it if Chen makes it through an entire season, but I was not impressed when he played for Boston as his 7th major league stop.

[sublime]

i hope you enjoyed APRIL

(damn i sound like a NYY fan)

[DougOzzzz]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Baltimore won't hit .302 all year.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe, maybe not. The O's are scoring tons of runs even though most of it is from just 4 players. Roberts, Mora, Tejada, Javy Lopez has been the whole offense. Nobody else excpet mabye Matos(hitting well, but doesn't play as regular as others) you could say is hitting well. Raffy is stinking it up, Sosa is doing OK but not great (could heat up later), Bigbie hitting average at best right now, Gibbons seems to be coming around, but isn't really there yet. Still lots of potential in the line-up.

[/ QUOTE ]

As long as you assign a percentage value of 99.5% to maybe not and 0.5% to maybe, you're right.

The offense, in my opinion, still ranks 3rd in the AL East. It might be 4th best in the majors, though, but I doubt it.

Roberts of course should get a heavy dose of reality the rest of the year. He'll continue to do better than his career line, though. How does a guy who has hit less than 1 HR/100 ABs in his career suddenly hit 8 in 1 month? The odds of it happening are less than 1 million to 1, if he didn't actually improve.

An interesting fact though. Last year, Roberts hit 50 doubles - the most EVER by a switch hitter. Perhaps some of those doubles are turning into home runs, now.

I do believe it's time to start taking the Orioles seriously, however. I don't think they are actually better than the Yankees or the Red Sox. However, they do have a 4 game head start on the Sox and are 7.5 games ahead of the Yankees. If you consider them to be say, 10 wins per season worse than the Sox and Yanks, then they still have a reasonable chance to take the division if things go well.

[Dead]

Your sample size is too small.

[MrFeelNothin]

[ QUOTE ]
Staff still better than the Yankmees.

[/ QUOTE ]

RJ, Pavano and Mussina are all better than every one of the Orioles starters.

One could make the argument for Lopez over Moose, but at this point its too early to tell if we are talking about the Moose of early 2004, or the Moose of the last month of 2004 and the previous 13 years. Regardless, Pavano and RJ are leagues above any of the Orioles starters.

Though, I will say that the O's staff is very young and has a lot of potential. With the exception of Fatso.

[Richie Rich]

That's unfortunate, because your posts usually have some semi-worthy content in them.

ps~ i'm not a fan of the Yanks nor the BoSox

[mikeyworm]

[ QUOTE ]
Bruce Chen = solid

[/ QUOTE ]

really? i think i would have to be really drunk to be convinced that the above statement is true.

[HesseJam]

I think the offense is for real this year. The Bench is somewhat thin and there is nobody in Minors who could soon help them. They cannot afford a lot of injuries there.

The pitching seems better than last year but that doesn't say too much. They would exceed my expectations if they will be just solid/ stable this year.

The defense is better than average. The infield is pretty good.

In my books they currently have a 50% chance to get to the play offs. Compared to the last 5+ years, that's a huge improvement.

They are 1.5 good/ very good players away from being very good. They are about 3 good/ very good players (1 batter 2 pitchers) away from greatness.

[Crveballin]

8 years in a row the Baltimore Orioles finished with a below .500 record. It will take me to see them in the playoffs before I believe it. Of course they are 5-1 this year against the Yankees and 2-2 against the Redsox (they had a convienent rain delay to prevent a sweep.)

They are playing good ball but will the young arms hold up through the long season?? My bet is they make a trade mid season if they are still in it. Possibly something like Gibbons and Julio for Ben Sheets or something of the like.

[ QUOTE ]
Can't wait for Baltimore-DC world series.


[/ QUOTE ]

Same here. Already been to 3 Nationals games and 1 Orioles game. Maybe finally Angelos will put a team worthy of competing on the field with the Nationals "competing" for fans.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Bruce Chen = solid

[/ QUOTE ]

really? i think i would have to be really drunk to be convinced that the above statement is true.

[/ QUOTE ]

Over his last 81 IP (last 2 seasons) his WHIP has been 1.222. He's also K'ing more people and giving up less walks. I'm sold.

To the poster who said that RJ, Pavano and Moose are better than any Yankee, I'm going to guess you haven't seen the new Erik Bedard. The one who isn't walking people like it's his job. Mussina sucks.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
Roberts of course should get a heavy dose of reality the rest of the year. He'll continue to do better than his career line, though. How does a guy who has hit less than 1 HR/100 ABs in his career suddenly hit 8 in 1 month? The odds of it happening are less than 1 million to 1, if he didn't actually improve.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is easily the strangest thing in baseball. A guy who hit 12 homers before this season has already hit 8. And they weren't fence scrapers. He actually had one robbed too. From what I've heard, he got new contact lenses, but I don't see that making too much difference. He didn't get much bigger from what I can see, so I think steroids isn't a question. I gotta get me some of those contact lenses.

[Jack of Arcades]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Bruce Chen = solid

[/ QUOTE ]

really? i think i would have to be really drunk to be convinced that the above statement is true.

[/ QUOTE ]

He has over 500 major league innings with a 4.40 ERA. That seems pretty solid to me.

[JinX11]

Can't wait to bump this thread in say...mid-July.

[Jack of Arcades]

Look, Baltimore has a decent chance to win the AL East, but even 4 games back, Boston has a very good chance to take it themselves.

I had Baltimore as about a .500 team coming into this season. Factor in the possibility of an utter collapse from Boston and New York, Baltimore winning the division is feasible.

Even after April, Baltimore is still closer to an 81 win team talent-wise than a 100 win team. I think 93 wins is about right for this year, which might be enough to take it if Boston suffers some more injuries.

The biggest problem is that Baltimore is playing way over their heads offensively... which isn't such a huge surprise, given that their offense isn't exactly built around guys who take a lot of walks. BA is very streaky and Baltimore's probably a .270-.280 team... which would still provide for a pretty good offense, just not world-beating. Combine that with their below-average pitching and, you have maybe a 90 win team.

I hope I'm wrong.

[Wes ManTooth]

The Orioles are winning??
Is the world coming to an end??
Oh well, what can you say, the sunlight shines on a dogs ass once and while.

[MrFeelNothin]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Bruce Chen = solid

[/ QUOTE ]

really? i think i would have to be really drunk to be convinced that the above statement is true.

[/ QUOTE ]

Over his last 81 IP (last 2 seasons) his WHIP has been 1.222. He's also K'ing more people and giving up less walks. I'm sold.

To the poster who said that RJ, Pavano and Moose are better than any Yankee, I'm going to guess you haven't seen the new Erik Bedard. The one who isn't walking people like it's his job. Mussina sucks.

[/ QUOTE ]

That poster would be me, but I guess I wasn't worthy of an individual reply. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Anyways, yes walks were a huge problem for Bedard last year, but its not like people weren't hitting him. Opponents batted .270 off of him and he gave up well more than a hit an inning. I understand that if there were less runners on base due to less walks he would be able to pitch more effectively, but still, he has shown me absolutely nothing prior to this year. And he is going to need more than 5 starts to convince me that he is for real, especially when those 5 starts come against OAK, TAMPA (2), TOR and DET. Oh, and DET teed off on him. Lets see how he does against the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels or Rangers before we start sucking him off.

Moose sucks? How is it that 5 games are enough to convince you of Erik Bedard being a stud, but 13 years of pure consistency are not enough for Mussina. Oh wait, I see, he had a half of a bad year. Thats enough to convince me, stick a fork in him, hes done!

[MrFeelNothin]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Roberts of course should get a heavy dose of reality the rest of the year. He'll continue to do better than his career line, though. How does a guy who has hit less than 1 HR/100 ABs in his career suddenly hit 8 in 1 month? The odds of it happening are less than 1 million to 1, if he didn't actually improve.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is easily the strangest thing in baseball. A guy who hit 12 homers before this season has already hit 8. And they weren't fence scrapers. He actually had one robbed too. From what I've heard, he got new contact lenses, but I don't see that making too much difference. He didn't get much bigger from what I can see, so I think steroids isn't a question. I gotta get me some of those contact lenses.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here is a link to an article about the "magic" lenses. Pretty interesting read. linky ( http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/stan-mcneal/20050421-p.html)

[jakethebake]

...does a thread with this title get 237 views?

[andyfox]

C'mon now, enjoy your team's fine play without being vindictive. There are plenty of places to read about George Steinbrenner or Mr. Schilling or Barry Bonds, let's give a quality guy like Lee Mazzili his due and show some class.

[MrFeelNothin]

Also, Wang looked good in his first start. I'm hereby nominating him for the AL Cy Young award.

Hey, its at max the 3rd or 4th most outrageous statement made in this ridiculous thread.

[meep_42]

[ QUOTE ]
...does a thread with this title get 237 views?

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't look at me, I live in MD.

-d

[Roan]

Someone posted somewhere, and I think it's true that this team has a lot in common with the Angels from 3 years ago.
Good offense, OK starters, excellent bullpen.

I don't see why people are that shocked by their offensive numbers, or why people think they will drop significantly, their current level is probably not sustainable, but Roberts is the only guy playing way above his projected level right now. Sammy is a little below what I had hoped for in terms of the power numbers, and Raph isn't adding that much, but the bottom of their lineup is solid too.

They're finally doing what they need to do to make the postseason, playing the good teams tough and destroying the bad teams.

[Crveballin]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
...does a thread with this title get 237 views?

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't look at me, I live in MD.

-d

[/ QUOTE ]

Same here. Honestly, just because this isnt another gay yankees/red sox thread, why are there haters?

[J.R.]

cause people are sick of the idiocy that jokers like yourself have forced on what was previously an intelligent, reasoned and somewhat more mature fprum in which to discuss non-poker issues.

I suffered too long to ask questions and try to figure this out, the 1989 "why not" season didn't make much overt sense either. Its time to enjoy and hope the pitching holds up!! BTW, this thread has some incredible misinformation.

http://ballparkdigest.com/images/Baltimore_Orioles_old.gif

[dmk]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Bruce Chen = solid


[/ QUOTE ]

A lot of people are saying this, and all this time, I've been like 'WTF?' This is the same Bruce Chen that left Atlanta and sported a 5+ ERA...while playing for 7 teams! I'll believe it if Chen makes it through an entire season, but I was not impressed when he played for Boston as his 7th major league stop.

[/ QUOTE ]

He has added a money breaking ball. And its definitely enough to improve his ERA by a LOT. That thing just drops off the table when it breaks, its a beautiful site really.

LETS GO O'S!!!!!!!!

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Last year was last year was last year.

Last I checked, we're only 15% of the way through this year. The O's are off to a good start, but the finish line is a long way down the road.

[MrFeelNothin]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't see why people are that shocked by their offensive numbers, or why people think they will drop significantly, their current level is probably not sustainable, but Roberts is the only guy playing way above his projected level right now.

[/ QUOTE ]

Probably not sustainable? Have you looked at their stats recently? They are hitting .304 as a team with a .502 SLG percentage. Just for reference, the Bosox led the majors last year with a .282 ave. and a .472 SLG.

As for Roberts being the only one playing above his projected level, did you have Tejada projected for 216 RBIs preseason? Neither did I. Tejada, Roberts, Gibbons and Matos are all clearly overachieving and Mora and Lopez would be hard-pressed to keep up their current levels of production. Good lineup? Yes. This good? Not nearly.

[ QUOTE ]
Good offense, OK starters, excellent bullpen.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ummmmmm........no. Just no.

[Tyler Durden]

How the hell does jakethebake have over 8,000 posts in a little over a year?

[tbach24]

Probably the same way I have like 3000 in 5 months or Dead has like 5000 in 3 months.

[Vaughn]

The Orioles started the first couple of months last year very well. Then they imploded and finished miserably. Another year under their belt may help them, but they will still finish third.

[MrFeelNothin]

[ QUOTE ]
The Orioles started the first couple of months last year very well. Then they imploded and finished miserably. Another year under their belt may help them, but they will still finish third.

[/ QUOTE ]

Finally, some common sense in this thread.

What rock have all these Orioles fans been hiding under anyways?

[meep_42]

I've been under Jeffrey Maier's baseball cap.

-d

[Tyler Durden]

May 18th and the O's still have the second best record in the majors. And the best road record in the majors at 12-4.

Brian Roberts is SICK, batting .376 w/ 11 homers and an OBP of .453.

Miguel Tejada has been worth every penny. Batting .333 w/ 10 homers and 38 RBI.

Erik Bedard has been awesome, ERA of 2.35 over 53 IP.

I'm not sold on Bruce Chen just yet but he's doing well also.

The AL East race should be a very good one.
Only Boston and the Yankees have scored more runs but the Orioles have allowed less than both teams.

[Crveballin]

Last night Royals go up 8-2 after the second inning and dont score a run for the rest of the game. The Orioles could have one of the best bullpens in the majors (if only they benched Steve Kline more often). With that lineup and a great bullpen, they can afford some shady starting pitching from time to time and still pull off wins.

[andyfox]

I'd vote for Roberts as the league MVP and Tejada second. They've been terrific and Tejada has been, in baseball terms, a bargain.

Both the Red Sox and Yankees starting pitching is as suspect this year as it's been at any time in the past 6-7 years, so that would seem to bode well for the O's. Toronto too has a respectable record, so the division certainly is a tougher one this year than it has been at any time in the recent past.

[tbach24]

Not to mention the great jobs Jorge Julio and BJ Ryan have done.

[Voltron87]

I hate to burst everyone's bubble here, but Baltimore is not going to win the AL East. I can say that with confidence now that the Yankees are in steamroller mode. They have a good shot at the WC though.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
I hate to burst everyone's bubble here, but Baltimore is not going to win the AL East. I can say that with confidence now that the Yankees are in steamroller mode. They have a good shot at the WC though.

[/ QUOTE ]

They've played the A's and the Mariners.

[Voltron87]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I hate to burst everyone's bubble here, but Baltimore is not going to win the AL East. I can say that with confidence now that the Yankees are in steamroller mode. They have a good shot at the WC though.

[/ QUOTE ]

They've played the A's and the Mariners.

[/ QUOTE ]

that's a stupid copout, and you know it. they've also been playing like good team.

plus, teams go on ten game winning streaks all the time right?

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I hate to burst everyone's bubble here, but Baltimore is not going to win the AL East. I can say that with confidence now that the Yankees are in steamroller mode. They have a good shot at the WC though.

[/ QUOTE ]

They've played the A's and the Mariners.

[/ QUOTE ]

that's a stupid copout, and you know it. they've also been playing like good team.

plus, teams go on ten game winning streaks all the time right?

[/ QUOTE ]

Fiiiiiiine. Still, as impressive as the Yankees have been, the Sox and Orioles haven't been slacking that much.

[Voltron87]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I hate to burst everyone's bubble here, but Baltimore is not going to win the AL East. I can say that with confidence now that the Yankees are in steamroller mode. They have a good shot at the WC though.

[/ QUOTE ]

They've played the A's and the Mariners.

[/ QUOTE ]

that's a stupid copout, and you know it. they've also been playing like good team.

plus, teams go on ten game winning streaks all the time right?

[/ QUOTE ]

Fiiiiiiine. Still, as impressive as the Yankees have been, the Sox and Orioles haven't been slacking that much.

[/ QUOTE ]

Boston dropped 2/3 to the Mariners, IIRC. The Orioles are playing well. But how the GB column isn't really important, what is important is that the Yankees were playing AWFUL and were the laughinstock of the MLB 2 weeks ago, hopelessly behind and today they are playing great in striking distance and looking like a good team rather than the pathetic bunch they were 2 weeks ago.

Anyone who actually believe the stuff like "oh, well they're still in 4th place so winning 10 games has done nothing" is a real idiot

[J.R.]

[ QUOTE ]
what is important is that the Yankees were playing AWFUL and were the laughinstock of the MLB 2 weeks ago, hopelessly behind and today they are playing great in striking distance and looking like a good team rather than the pathetic bunch they were 2 weeks ago.

[/ QUOTE ]

sample size. just as everyone (some still) got on the o's early, opinions are still out on the yankess. disregard the cupcake opponents (oak and seattle are tied for the next to worst record in baseball) that they have feasted on if you will (although a 10 game win streak is impressive), but how thy play agaisnt the east (see memorial day weekend) or even a winning team like the mets this weekend will tell us a lot more.

[Voltron87]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
what is important is that the Yankees were playing AWFUL and were the laughinstock of the MLB 2 weeks ago, hopelessly behind and today they are playing great in striking distance and looking like a good team rather than the pathetic bunch they were 2 weeks ago.

[/ QUOTE ]

sample size. just as everyone (some still) got on the o's early, opinions are still out on the yankess. disregard the cupcake opponents (oak and seattle are tied for the next to worst record in baseball) that they have feasted on if you will (although a 10 game win streak is impressive), but how thy play agaisnt the east (see memorial day weekend) or even a winning team like the mets this weekend will tell us a lot more.

[/ QUOTE ]

A ten game winning streak is a big deal, even against the A's and M's. Especially with the 4 shutouts, team avg over .300 and general dominance and good play. So yes, the opponents are bad but I'm more happy with how well the Yankees have played than anything else, a drastic (huge, I've watched all but 2-3 games so far and it's night and day) change from 2 weeks ago. I'm not just happy about winning 10 games, I'm happy that we are playing like a good baseball team instead of a crap one.

But yeah, beating the As and Ms isn't as great as most NYY fans think but winning 10 games is more significant that haters want to admit.

How they play against the mets and sox is important, and winning 10 in a row and getting on track will help them since it has given us confidence and momentum.

[durron597]

[ QUOTE ]
Have the second best record in the majors. Have won 8 straight. Are leading the majors in runs scored.

Have a four game lead in the AL East. So all you Yankees and Red Sox mofos believing the hype can fcukin suck it. Last year was last year was last year.

But don't worry Boston fans, 2090 isn't THAT far away (and Curt Schilling is still a bitch).

[/ QUOTE ]

The White Sox pwn j00.

[SocialWelfareIV]

The last time the Yankees were on this much of a roll was last October....may as well give them the division title right now. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[ElSapo]

[ QUOTE ]
Can't wait for Baltimore-DC world series.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hell, I can hardly wait for a Baltimore-DC series.