The Baltimore Orioles fell to an abysmal 2-13 record, with a 3-1 loss in Seattle. David Hernandez struggled in the 1st inning, but rebounded to provide an effective outing.
Hernandez went 6.1 innings, allowing 7 hits, all 3 er, 2 bb’s, with 2 k’s.
Again the O’s were done in by a total lack of production from the lineup. O’s announcer and Hall-of-Famer Jim Palmer rightfully called out several Orioles tonight (Atkins, and Lugo specifically).
As we have stated several-times, Bill Parcells was correct; you are what your record says you are. There is no hiding from how bad the O’s have played.
Still, I can not help but wonder how things would be around town if the Oriole record was reversed. Meaning what if the O’s had just won their 5th consecutive series, and claimed their 13th win? What if Roberts, Gonzalez, Pie, and Uehara were each healthy and producing?
While people would be rightfully excited, (and there would be hyperbole from plenty, myself probably included) plenty of people would correctly point-out that there is still 91% of the season left to play, and that printing playoff tickets would be foolish.
My point is not to minimize how bad the O’s have been, but to put some logic and context around the discussion.
At some point the true positional talent that exists on this team (Markakis, Jones, Wieters, Reimold) are going to start to consistently produce. As long as Dr. James Andrews does not start carving up Gonzalez, the bullpen is going to be augmented with the return of him, and Uehara. Bergesen might never be as consistently good as he was last year, but he will either return to the rotation and be solid enough – or replaced by prospects with legitimate pedigree (Arrieta, Tillman, Britton).
Basically you either believe in the core talent, or you do not. I think the real evaluation of what you have as a team, has to come after these players start to produce like they are capable of doing. When everything goes to hell in a hand-basket, it is easy to have the mentality of blowing things up and making wholesale changes. I think the O’s would be well served to avoid caving to that pressure, at-least regarding the core of players you have wanted to move forward with. If the O’s Front-office wants to remove the Coaching staff (and has a long-term option ready to go), I can get behind that.
You are neither as good as you look when things are going well, nor as bad as you look when things are going bad. With this pathetic stretch of play, we have seen how bad the O’s can look. If the O’s were 13-2, it would not be an accurate representation of what this Orioles team actually is. The inverse is also true. You are what your record says you are, but the disappointment is that this team is capable of more than they have shown.
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.