After further examination, who are the Baltimore Orioles?
When Showalter took over the team August 2nd, the Orioles were 32-73. Since that point, the O’s have gone 26-16. Neither one of those records can be discounted, because there is something to be learned from both extremes.
I like Bill Parcells’ quote that you are what your record says you are, but that does not tell the whole story. The O’s were never as bad as they played during those initial 105 games (65% of the season). The O’s are also not as good as they looked the past six-weeks either. I do not know anyone that believes this team as assembled is capable of playing .619 ball over an entire season. (For comparison the Yankees enter tonight having a .605 winning percentage for the year).
The old axiom that you are never as good as you look when things are going well, nor as bad as you look when things are going bad remains correct. The O’s did lose those 73 games by accident, but they have not won these 26 games through luck either.
Here is the reality for the Baltimore Orioles as they stare at their immediate future. They remain a team of question marks. The roster is full of players who might be answers. Those potential answers remain full of questions.
The O’s did not end 2010 flirting with a .500 season like I thought they would. They have however gone 29-30 since the All-Star break showing they are capable of .500 ball over a pro-longed stretch of play. When I look at the existing roster, and project towards next-year I have no problem believing this team in 2011 will be the .500 level team I thought they would be in ’10.
What is hard to imagine at this point, is the O’s being able to contend next-year. The reason why contention is currently hard to imagine has very little to do with the overall 58-89 record for this team. It has everything to do with the questions the remain with the players you are counting on going forward. Pick any of those players you want, they all have questions. (Obviously the questions vary from player to player and of importance issue to issue)
I would caution anyone from thinking that those ‘questions’ equate to the O’s definitively not being able to drastically improve from within next-year. That would be an inaccurate representation. There is legitimate talent here. Over the past six-weeks we have seen those players flash their talent on a more consistent basis. The core players you are going to rely on, have yet to reach the ceiling their abilities say they are capable of.
The O’s are a team of questions, but those questions beat the definitive answers everyone had about this team six-weeks ago.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.