Nail on head. Sammy and I have been tearing our hair out over the lack of starting pitching for years now. Year after year it has been one or two average to decent starters supported by prayers and it hasn't worked. The stopgap measures work on a short term basis from time to time but provide no consistency or ability to shut down the opposition on anything more than a once in a blue moon happening. A team simply cannot hope to contend with 1 or 2 decent starting pitchers. An ace is needed as an anchor and a stopper, and he needs 2 or 3 other good, solid, pitchers as support. I wonder if O's management/ownership will ever address the problem, especially before the window of opportunity (meaning Machado going FA) closes. The whole situation in terms of starting pitching is just sad. -- Al
2017 Baseball Season: Let's Play Two! (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter jazzeum
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Tonight's loss leaves the O's at 25-22, actually a half game closer to last place than first place. This slide has come just as the rest of the AL East is on fire. In the last 10 games the O's have lost 4 games in the standings to both Tampa and Toronto, and 5 games to the Red Sox. Sammy is right, if the O's don't turn this trend, and fast, they could be watching the rest of the division disappear in the distance. I'm might be overly pessimistic, but I think a reversal is a slim chance with the current starting pitching. 3 of the main starters, Gausman, Miley, and uBADo, have a total of 4 wins in 29 starts. That is pitiful. The ace, currently, is Bundy, with a 5-3 record. The other starter is Tillman, recently off the DL and still building stamina and strength. He is 1-1 in 4 starts. That's 5 starters with 10 total wins. This is simply not going to cut the mustard in the AL East, no matter how good Buck manages, the hitters score, or the defense fields. Message to O's ownership: It's the pitching, stupid! 
-- Al
-- AlPanzer ace
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Mean while on the left coast.....
I was busy with the show this weekend so I just got caught up on the Giants. They just won 2 out of 3 from the Braves yet they remain 11 games out of first. Eventually you need to win timely games and gain ground when the teams in front of you lose.
They have been treading water for quite some time and I fear even Bumgarner's return may not be enough.
I was busy with the show this weekend so I just got caught up on the Giants. They just won 2 out of 3 from the Braves yet they remain 11 games out of first. Eventually you need to win timely games and gain ground when the teams in front of you lose.
They have been treading water for quite some time and I fear even Bumgarner's return may not be enough.
desk11desk12
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Go Dodgers, swept the Cubs...shuts them out twice and out scores them 18-4!
Carlos
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Kind of a bush league play by Strickland considering the supposed slight was 2 years past. Strickland's own catcher, Posey, wanted nothing to do with it, as he made no attempt to intercept Harper, and there was plenty of time to do so had Posey wanted to. Even the infield was tardy coming to Strickland's support. As you say, though, both will be suspended and the Nats stand to lose more from the loss of Harper on a daily basis than the Giants do from Strickland being out. -- Al
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I have spoken out against pitchers doing what Strickland did and my disdain for that type of thing will not change just because a player on my favorite team was the one doing it. Add to that he was hitting Harper because he hit two home-runs off of him and I really don't like it. You might get a slight benefit of the doubt from me if it is revenge for a dirty slide etc. but hitting a guy just because he was successful against you is garbage.
The thing that struck me as the incident unfolded, and rather slowly at that, was Posey's lack of action. Once Harper had been hit, he started jawing at Strickland, and motioning at him, and only then did he make a move towards the mound. I kept thinking Posey will grab Harper from behind any second now, any second now, any second now, but nothing. Harper got all the way to the mound, squared off with Strickland, and both threw punches before any one else got involved. The time lapse that occurred before his teammates arrived has to have Strickland wondering. All unnecessary and will only prove to deprive the Nats and Giants of key players. -- Al
jazzeum
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Hitting a batter who was successful against you was common; when you hit a HR against Drysdale, you know you were going down. I don't see anything with it as pitchers can't let batters get too comfortable. The game may have changed but not the mindsets.
As to why Posey didn't come to his aid, short of statements from Posey as to why he didn't, I can't guess the mindset of a person.
As to why Posey didn't come to his aid, short of statements from Posey as to why he didn't, I can't guess the mindset of a person.
It just struck me as really odd that Harper and Strickland were able to duke it out for a few seconds before ANY of the Giant infielders or the catcher, all close to the action, intervened on their teammates behalf. Players from the Nats bench were on the scene just about the same time the Giants were. -- Al
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While it doesn't explain his slow reaction Posey says he didn't want to risk an injury once the benches emptied:
“There were some big guys tumbling around out there,” Posey said. “You see Mike Morse and Jeff Samardzija are about as big as they come and he was getting knocked around like a pinball. So it was a little dangerous to get in there.”
It is a double edged sword as far as I can see it. Since he did nothing he is getting lots of grief, if he had gone out there and been injured everyone would have been saying he should not have gotten involved. As a Giants fan I am glad he did not risk the injury.
“There were some big guys tumbling around out there,” Posey said. “You see Mike Morse and Jeff Samardzija are about as big as they come and he was getting knocked around like a pinball. So it was a little dangerous to get in there.”
It is a double edged sword as far as I can see it. Since he did nothing he is getting lots of grief, if he had gone out there and been injured everyone would have been saying he should not have gotten involved. As a Giants fan I am glad he did not risk the injury.
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I am not sure what to make of the suspensions? On one hand I agree that Strickland should get more games, on the other hand this is clearly not a deterrent to something like this happening again.
Yeah, Torre as the judge/jury/executioner doesn't really have a handle on this suspension stuff. He seems really arbitrary with his sentences. -- Al
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If MLB really wants to change this type of thing then the punishments are going to have to be more harsh.
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If the Giants wanted some sort of "revenge" for the Strickland/Harper fued they should gave won last night. Frankly their attitude and play in that game was lackluster at best.
Worrisome trends for O's fans: The O's are 13th in the AL in runs scored, ahead of only last place teams KC and Oakland. They are the only team in the AL East with a negative run differential. Most importantly, Machado continues his plunge towards the Mendoza Line. Currently hitting only .210 with a .292 OBP, he still leads the O's in Hr's (tied with Davis at 10) and RBI's, (25). Two other starters, Davis and Hardy, continue to sputter with the bat, hitting .223 and .213, respectively. It is obvious that the offense needs to step it up. Now to the pitching: at least it appears O'Day and Brach are back on track. The starters, with the notable exception of Bundy (6-3, 2.89 ERA, and 10 QS in 11 games), are a bad joke. Miley, Gausman, Tillman, and Jimenez, are a combined 5-11, with 10 QS in 34 games and a combined ERA hovering a little over 5. To be fair, Miley has pitched in some bad luck as his ERA is only 3.02, but he still has just the 1 win. Overall, it is just disappointing that the O's, who started out 22-10, are now flirting with .500 at 26-24, with Tampa Bay and Toronto hot on their heels. Haven't thrown in the towel as it is much too early for that, and if that offense can get rolling, it will offset some of the bad pitching, but as it stands, things are ugly. -- Al
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Al:
It could be worse, the Giants top hitter is Brandon Belt with a .237 average, 10 HRs and 22 RBIs. He has 190 at-bats and has struck out 55 times.
-Jason
It could be worse, the Giants top hitter is Brandon Belt with a .237 average, 10 HRs and 22 RBIs. He has 190 at-bats and has struck out 55 times.
-Jason
Jason, I guess it could always be worse. I could be crying about the fabled 1988 O's team that started 0-21.{eek3} -- Al