2019 Baseball season (3 Viewers)

[Panzer ace]

Thank goodness it's over. The Yankees v O's series, that is. NY won the series finale today, 6-5 and the won the season series 17-2. The O's won 2 of the first 3 games this year then proceeded to lose the last 16 games in a row, some in spectacular fashion. NY set a MLB record with Hrs hit against a given team in a season with 61 Hrs hit in the 19 games. They also had 2 players with double figure Hrs against a given team, Torrez with 13 and Sanchez with 10. Only the second time that's ever been done, the other time was by Ruth and Gehrig way back when. To the rest of the AL, let me apologize for the O's not being able to even slow down the runaway train that NY appears to be. -- Al

Al:

I get most of my Orioles info from your posts so I was shocked to hear that the Tigers are actually worse than the O's! Detroit is 35-81 and they were the first team to lose 80 games. They have not even scored 500 runs (429).

So I guess what I am trying to say is it could be worse.

-Jason

 

[lancer]

Al:

I get most of my Orioles info from your posts so I was shocked to hear that the Tigers are actually worse than the O's! Detroit is 35-81 and they were the first team to lose 80 games. They have not even scored 500 runs (429).

So I guess what I am trying to say is it could be worse.

-Jason

Jason, you are right. At the very least, the 2019 O's remain ahead of the pace of the 2018 O's, having won 3 more games at the 121 game mark. With the Yankees out of the way, maybe the O's can gain some more ground on the 2018 record.:wink2: -- Al

 

[Panzer ace]

Jason, you are right. At the very least, the 2019 O's remain ahead of the pace of the 2018 O's, having won 3 more games at the 121 game mark. With the Yankees out of the way, maybe the O's can gain some more ground on the 2018 record.:wink2: -- Al

It doesn't help that the O's play in such a competitive division. It seems like every other day they are playing Boston or New York.

 

[lancer]

It doesn't help that the O's play in such a competitive division. It seems like every other day they are playing Boston or New York.

Too true. And guess what? The 2020 schedule doesn't look much better as the O's open with 3 w/Yankees, 3 w/Boston, 3 w/St. Loo, and 4 more with the Yankees. How's that for the first 13 games? Ouch! {eek3} -- Al

 

[Panzer ace]

Too true. And guess what? The 2020 schedule doesn't look much better as the O's open with 3 w/Yankees, 3 w/Boston, 3 w/St. Loo, and 4 more with the Yankees. How's that for the first 13 games? Ouch! {eek3} -- Al

It is funny how the schedule works. I know the teams play each an equal amount of games but I could have sworn in the Giants recent World Series seasons that they were constantly playing the Padres. And in the years when they did not go to the World Series it always seemed like they were playing the Dodgers!

 

[Terp152]

Visited my friend in Cleveland for our annual MLB outing. He'll come here next yr to go to a Reds game. We watched the Indians tie the Red Sox in the 9th, coming back from a 6-1 deficit. Boston won the game with a solo homer in the 10th. But a great game, lots of hitting and some HRs and even a run down. Boston left 15 runners on base during the game which allowed Cleveland to come back. Fun time. Chris

 

[Warrior]

The Red Sox took two out of three from Cleveland; if they had a decent bullpen, they should have swept them, their problem is similar to a lot of teams, but much worse, they lead the league in blown saves.

They have 39 games left and are 7 behind the Doofin Rays, their 42.19 payroll and their 17 fans; if they realistically best scenario go 27-12, the Doofin Rays would need to go 20-19 just for the Red Sox to tie them.

That's extremely unlikely, so for all intents a purposes, barring a miracle, the defending WS champions will not make the playoffs.

But, I'll take 4 WS titles in the past 15 years; one would have been sufficient...……...:wink2:

 

[lancer]

The Red Sox took two out of three from Cleveland; if they had a decent bullpen, they should have swept them, their problem is similar to a lot of teams, but much worse, they lead the league in blown saves.

They have 39 games left and are 7 behind the Doofin Rays, their 42.19 payroll and their 17 fans; if they realistically best scenario go 27-12, the Doofin Rays would need to go 20-19 just for the Red Sox to tie them.

That's extremely unlikely, so for all intents a purposes, barring a miracle, the defending WS champions will not make the playoffs.

But, I'll take 4 WS titles in the past 15 years; one would have been sufficient...……...:wink2:

Four titles in 15 years is impressive. The Sox will be back, as their recent history tells you. I wish one of my teams, Nats or O's, could even get into the playoffs and make a run, but it hasn't happened. Since the game has shifted to the bullpen, most teams seem to be caught out. Just not enough quality arms to make up for the lack of innings by the starting pitching. It's a problem that has to be solved going forward before the Home Run becomes more common than the single. -- Al

 

[Warrior]

Four titles in 15 years is impressive. The Sox will be back, as their recent history tells you. I wish one of my teams, Nats or O's, could even get into the playoffs and make a run, but it hasn't happened. Since the game has shifted to the bullpen, most teams seem to be caught out. Just not enough quality arms to make up for the lack of innings by the starting pitching. It's a problem that has to be solved going forward before the Home Run becomes more common than the single. -- Al

Great post regarding the current state of pitching in MLB.

Starters are on a 100 pitch count, so every game becomes a bullpen game and as you stated, there just aren't enough quality arms to go around for every team, unless you're the gashouse gorillas, what do they have, four top shelf closers in their bullpen?

The playoffs become a scenario where one of your starters goes into the bullpen, you also have starters coming in for an inning here and there during the playoffs on their scheduled day to throw.

But for the 162 game grind, a tire fire bullpen is a disaster.

The Red Sox are actually in trouble going forward; they are hamstrung with the Pedrioa/Sadoval/Sale/Price contracts, plus two of their young outfield stars will be free agents at the end of next year, they are going to have a problem signing one of them, nevermind two.

Not to mention their farm system is gutted thanks to some of the deals they made.

For the next 2 to 4 years, the AL East is going to be a two horse race, the gashouse gorillas and the Doofin Rays, the Red Sox are in trouble to be honest...………………..

 

[Combat]

The Dodgers are 5-0 against Miami and have outscored them 45-9. Most recently 15-1 and 9-1 beatdowns. MLB needs either a Little League mercy rule or fewer teams. It's like watching the Harlem Globetrotters play the Washington Generals. Not competitive.

 

[lancer]

The Dodgers are 5-0 against Miami and have outscored them 45-9. Most recently 15-1 and 9-1 beatdowns. MLB needs either a Little League mercy rule or fewer teams. It's like watching the Harlem Globetrotters play the Washington Generals. Not competitive.

The O's would agree with you...refer to their series against the NYY's this year.:rolleyes2: -- Al
P.S. -- Matt Vasgersian of the MLB channel is addressing this particular subject (O's v NY and LA v Miami) as I write this. He says he is glad both series are over (after the last LA v Miami game today) because the series weren't competitive or interesting. Duh!

 

[lancer]

Harper's on a tear. He has 6 Hrs and 14 RBI's in his last 8 games, including a walk-off GS tonight against the Cubs. I thought the Cubs had this one locked with a 5-1 lead going into the 9th. Bullpen again.:rolleyes2: -- Al

 

[lancer]

If I had Jake Arrieta under contract, I would be worried about his number trends. After his breakout/Cy Young year in 2015 when he went 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA, his number of wins have gone down each year, losses have gone up and the ERA has gone steadily up, (22-6 in 2015-ERA 1.77, 18-8 in 2016-ERA 3.10, 14-10 in 2017-ERA 3.53, 10-11 in 2018- ERA 3.96, 8-8 in 2019- ERA 4.64). The number of innings pitched have also been in steady decline. If that isn't a troubling trend, then nothing is. One wonders how long the arm problems have been bothering him. -- Al

 

[jazzeum]

I think there was more to the Arrieta signing than just signing Arrieta; it told baseball they were serious about contending. It was similar to the Mets signing Pedro in 2005. They wouldn't have been able to sign Beltran without having had Pedro in the fold.

 

[Panzer ace]

In the age of the home run the Giants are failing, badly. For example, they have hit 48 HR's this year at home while giving up 75.

 

[Rutledge]

Big 3 game series this weekend. Braved host the Dodgers. The latter are presumed to be the best team in the NL. Will be interesting to see how the Braves do. They recently made some roster changes because of injuries.

 

[lancer]

Epic shootout between the Brewers and Nats last night with Brewers winning 15-14 in 14 innings. Back and forth all night. Brewers led 5-0... Nats tied it...Brewers regain lead 8-5...Nats take lead 9-8...Nats lead 11-8 into the 9th when predictable bullpen meltdown by Nats gives Brewers a 12-11 lead...Nats tie in bottom of 9...Brewer take lead 13-12 in top of 13...Nats tie in bottom of inning...Brewers go up 15-13 in top of 14...Nats rally again, close to 15-14 in the bottom of the inning, got tying run to third base but had to use a pitcher as a pinch hitter with 2 out with predictable results...he fanned for the final out as Nats fell just short, 15-14. I doubt I can survive a stretch run for the NL East title or WC, if the Nats bullpen continues like it has all year. The pen blew two sizable leads in this game, including the disasterous 9th inning which was a 3 run lead that Doolittle turned into a 1-run deficit in only 13 pitches (3 Hrs and a single). Pitiful display. -- Al

 

[jazzeum]

I don’t really see any of the WC teams (from Wash all the way down to the Giants) being serious contenders for one reason or another but mostly bullpen issues. It should be a Braves Dodgers LCS as they are the best teams although it’s fun to hope. I just hope the Mets are playing meaningful baseball in the middle of September. The schedule for the next few weeks is bru-tal: Cleveland, the Bravos, Cubbies, Phillies, Nats, Dbacks, Phillies again and LA. If they can get through those teams only a couple of games out, they might be ok. If not, see you next year!

 

[lancer]

I don’t really see any of the WC teams (from Wash all the way down to the Giants) being serious contenders for one reason or another but mostly bullpen issues. It should be a Braves Dodgers LCS as they are the best teams although it’s fun to hope. I just hope the Mets are playing meaningful baseball in the middle of September. The schedule for the next few weeks is bru-tal: Cleveland, the Bravos, Cubbies, Phillies, Nats, Dbacks, Phillies again and LA. If they can get through those teams only a couple of games out, they might be ok. If not, see you next year!

It seems game after game that I watch, regardless of the teams involved, is decided by a bullpen failure, large or small. Bullpens are just completely overtaxed in this day of the 5 or 6 inning starter. I would think that a roster expansion of some sort is due if the trend continues (and it seems pretty set at this point). What's the harm in allowing an extra position for a relief pitcher? I understand the potential influence on strategy but it still needs to be done IMO. -- Al

 

[Warrior]

The Red Sox came from down 6-0 today to beat the LET'S GO O'S!!, completing the weekend sweep.

It matters not at this point as the Doofin Rays took 2 out of 3 from the Tigers, 1-0 yesterday in 13 innings and after trailing 4-1 going into the bottom of the 8th, they stormed back for 2 in the eighth, 2 in the ninth to win it 5-4, their 27 fans went berserk after the game, trashing a Denny's during the early bird special from 4 to 6.

So a team with a change for a quarter for a payroll is going to beat out the team with the highest payroll in MLB for a playoff spot.

Great job Dumbrowski you clambrain.