Baltimore Orioles 2013 Thread

[pjfootballer]

Are you implying that I can't keep up with this thread???? I've visited it twice since I started it.

Actually I was suggesting anyone but me, since I can't keep up with it.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Actually I was suggesting anyone but me, since I can't keep up with it.

I'm completely kidding...luckily it just requires the occasional title change to keep up with current story lines. For example:

April: "It's Opening Day!"
May: "Wow, 9 games up in the East Already"
June: "Will Anyone Get Machado Out?"
July: "Bundy is Up and Dominating"
August: "Figuring Out our Magic Number"
September: "O's Clinch the East and Best Record in Baseball"
October: "Playoff & WS Run!"
November: "O's win it All...Skins still Undefeated"

[MattFancy]

I'm completely kidding...luckily it just requires the occasional title change to keep up with current story lines. For example:

April: "It's Opening Day!"
May: "Wow, 9 games up in the East Already"
June: "Will Anyone Get Machado Out?"
July: "Bundy is Up and Dominating"
August: "Figuring Out our Magic Number"
September: "O's Clinch the East and Best Record in Baseball"
October: "Playoff & WS Run!"
November: "O's win it All...Skins still Undefeated"

I like it!

[Fight4RGIII]

I'm completely kidding...luckily it just requires the occasional title change to keep up with current story lines. For example:

April: "It's Opening Day!"
May: "Wow, 9 games up in the East Already"
June: "Will Anyone Get Machado Out?"
July: "Bundy is Up and Dominating"
August: "Figuring Out our Magic Number"
September: "O's Clinch the East and Best Record in Baseball"
October: "Playoff & WS Run!"
November: "O's win it All...Skins still Undefeated"

Sounds better than last year...

April: "It's Opening Day!"
May: "Meh."
June: "This team isn't for real."
July: "This team can't be for real"
August: "This team can't be for real"
September: "This team can't be for real"
October: "IT'S REAL"

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Sounds better than last year...

April: "It's Opening Day!"
May: "Meh."
June: "This team isn't for real."
July: "This team can't be for real"
August: "This team can't be for real"
September: "This team can't be for real"
October: "IT'S REAL"

True...but man what a fun roller coaster that was!

[TheDoyler23]

Total number or starts in 2012 from Matusz, Arreita, Hunter, Eveland, Britton, and Wolf? 69.

69 starts from pitchers that were meh-to-terrible in 12.

I doubt we'll have that again in '13. Maybe the pen regresses a bit, and maybe our boys don't dominate in 1 run and xras. But if healthy, Tillman gets more that 15 starts, Hammel more than 20, Gonzo more than 15.

[Bang]

Any 20 game winners hiding on staff?

~Bang

[fullnelson9999]

Hoping for a good season, but would be totally ok with a growing pains-type season while Machado and Bundy settle into their roles.

I say 80-85 wins.

[MattFancy]

Any 20 game winners hiding on staff?

~Bang

Good question. I still can't believe Chen lead the teams in win last year with 12 lol. Let's shoot for a 15 game winner this year Bang. Baby steps haha

[rictus58]

I say we're already better off than we were at this point last year. I mean hey, no Wilson Betemit starting at 3rd.

I wouldn't go so far as to say all the 1 run/extra inning games last year were luck. They were very gritty. fantastic bullpen kept them in a lot of games. Once they got a full year under Adair as pitching coach, things really started coming together. This is a team that really lacked any kind of constants in the previous decade. Having all the same pieces in place will help them a lot. I'm not going to suggest they'll do as well as last year, but i don't see us 4th or 5th in the ALE.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I say we're already better off than we were at this point last year. I mean hey, no Wilson Betemit starting at 3rd.

I wouldn't go so far as to say all the 1 run/extra inning games last year were luck. They were very gritty. fantastic bullpen kept them in a lot of games. Once they got a full year under Adair as pitching coach, things really started coming together. This is a team that really lacked any kind of constants in the previous decade. Having all the same pieces in place will help them a lot. I'm not going to suggest they'll do as well as last year, but i don't see us 4th or 5th in the ALE.

I guess "luck" is a bad choice of words because nothing fluky happened to win those games (at least not most of them). But I guess it's just tough to count on those odds again. One-run games really should go either way. Sure, the better teams might win a few more, but still. So, over the course of the season we just seemed to win more than you would expect.

However, if we got incrementally better, it's possible that some of those one-run wins from 2012 turn into three-run wins in 2013. So, I don't really presume to know that our "luck" will turn this year, but the staggering one-run and extra-inning success probably can't be replicated.

[rictus58]

no. that 1-run/extra inning stat was pretty ridiculous and won't be replicated. But like you said, some of those games will turn into 2-run games hopefully. And hopefully we'll have less games where the offense fails to show up outside of 1 guy.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

no. that 1-run/extra inning stat was pretty ridiculous and won't be replicated. But like you said, some of those games will turn into 2-run games hopefully. And hopefully we'll have less games where the offense fails to show up outside of 1 guy.

Now I'm buying in. We can win 93+ again!

[Forehead]

From a Nats fan who doesn't follow the O's much, are you expecting Bundy to start in the majors, or are they going to put him in the minors until June so they can keep him under control for an extra year? I'm curious to see what Balti-Strasburg is capable of.

Oh, and not trying to be mean or start anything, but I don't expect Baltimore to repeat last year. Your record in 1 run games and extra innings was astonishing and probably not sustainable. You had a couple of guys who I think will regress somewhat, Jason Hammel immediately springs to mind, and I question whether Adam Jones season was just a peak of everything coming together, or whether he truly has taken the next step. Don't get me wrong, I like Jones and think he's a great player, but I always thought of him as a decent bat with some power, and great defense. I didn't foresee him outhitting his career batting average by 10-15 points and cracking 32 bombs, or exceed his previous best OPS by nearly 50 points, so I do wonder if he's going to do it again.

I kind of hope Baltimore does pull it off. Not because I like Baltimore, I've made it pretty clear in the past that I do not, but I do enjoy it when our fanbases are able to go at each other.

You can ignore the middle part if you want, but I would like an answer regarding Bundy. Are they definitely keeping him down until June/July?

[MattFancy]

You can ignore the middle part if you want, but I would like an answer regarding Bundy. Are they definitely keeping him down until June/July?

I think he'll start in the minors for sure. We have a ton of pitching depth, so we don't really have a spot for him at the moment. He'll definitely be up at some point this year, I'm hoping sooner rather than later. I think if someone struggles early or gets hurt, he'll be the first call up.