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Post by mmmbeer on Jul 15, 2014 8:29:24 GMT -5
they are about 5 games better than I guessed they would be. Barring injuries, I don't see a reason they can't win the division. Only Toronto looks to have enough talent to challenge them over the remainder of the season. They will need to win it to go to the playoffs. No wildcard spot for the AL East this year.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2014 19:45:42 GMT -5
The Orioles have a difficult stretch of games coming up against the tough AL West immediately after the break. A winning road trip would go a long way toward establishing the Orioles' playoff bona fides. And I agree, I don't think there's going to be a wildcard coming out of the AL East. This appears to be a noticeably down year overall for the division.
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Post by Evil Yoda on Jul 17, 2014 17:58:24 GMT -5
This upcoming tough road trip against some of the best teams in baseball will tell us a lot about their chances.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2014 0:29:21 GMT -5
Good start to the Halo series tonight. Nice pitching performance by Bud Norris and two bombs by Adam Jones.
The Orioles are said to be interested in Ian Kennedy of the Padres. I hope that interest wanes. Kennedy's decent, but he also pitches in a very pitcher-friendly park. The Orioles don't need another No. 3 or No. 4 starter. This is one of those trades that would be best if it isn't make. |
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Post by Evil Yoda on Jul 22, 2014 18:55:36 GMT -5
Buck said Duq discussed a trade with him (per Brittany Giroli on the official site) but did not, of course, say which trade. I certainly would not want them to give up a promising prospect for a rental pitcher, not even if I was much more certain they could last until the end of the year and go deep into the post-season. That hasn't worked too well for them.
Isn't there a school that says, "grow your pitchers, buy your hitters"? Seems to work better than other approaches.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2014 23:26:37 GMT -5
A top-of-the-rotation starter would be nice, but I don't see that happening in a trade. Tampa may or may not trade David Price, but if they do, the asking price is likely to be very high.
Cliff Lee of the Phillies is always subject to trade rumors, but he's also coming off an elbow injury which saw him miss the last two months of the season. His monstrous contract likely means that he wouldn't cost as much in terms of prospects, but he's also due $25 million this year and next, plus a (gulp!) $27.5 million vesting option for 2016 if certain conditions are met. That's a tremendous amount of money for a soon-to-be 36-year-old pitcher. He also has a limited no-trade clause.
The trade market for top starters just doesn't appear to be there this season, leaving a bunch of mid-rotation and innings-eaters as possible acquisitions. None are likely to have a game-changing impact.
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Post by Evil Yoda on Jul 23, 2014 16:14:47 GMT -5
They have a bunch of #3 and #4 starters already. Although some of them may need to be revised upwards, unless they are simply inspired to pitch above their ability lately. They don't need any more of those. They're talking about putting Gonzales in the 'pen when Ubaldo comes back. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Reward the guy that can't pitch and penalize the guy that can??? Some of Buck's decisions make me scratch my head. I get that Duq doesn't want to look like he paid $50MM/3 a year for bullpen caliber talent, but that might be exactly what he did. He should own it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2014 0:04:21 GMT -5
Some bullpen help would be nice. Hunter and Matusz teamed up to punt away the lead in the eighth inning against the Angels tonight.
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Post by alienrace on Jul 24, 2014 10:07:13 GMT -5
Yeah, the bullpen has cost them from being 5 out of 6 on this road trip.
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Post by mmmbeer on Jul 25, 2014 7:40:03 GMT -5
won the 1st game in Seattle. One more and they will be at least .500 on this trip. I'll take that. Matusz is really scuffling now. Any serviceable lefties in the Minors that could help out of the BP?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 26, 2014 0:36:10 GMT -5
Helluva win tonight in Seattle. The O's aren't hitting much on this trip, but the starting pitching has been stellar. Gausman still needs to throw more strikes, but he matched King Felix almost pitch for pitch into the seventh. Good job by the bullpen, particularly Matusz, who registered three consecutive swinging strikeouts. MF Yankees won again, so the lead stays at three.
And I've now decided that I LOVE instant replay!  |
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Post by Evil Yoda on Jul 27, 2014 15:02:50 GMT -5
If they lose today they'd be 5-5. Considering that I'd have been happy with 4-6 against those teams, I've got no complaints.
They face 'em again, here, next week. (Well, not the A's).
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2014 23:13:12 GMT -5
Nice win today to close the road trip at 6-4. Britton striking out the side to end it was icing on the cake.
Hopefully the O's can bring some of that momentum to Camden Yards for the upcoming homestand. |
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Post by alienrace on Jul 28, 2014 8:18:12 GMT -5
First stage of the gauntlet completed, and 6-4 on the road is stellar. Could have, should have, been 7-3, but I'll take it. Now just make a good homestand against these teams, and after that beat up on the weak sisters of the division and they will win the AL East.
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