Crimson Red Sports

The O's win the Eastern Division of American League. The Braves are crap and I've always liked the Orioles since the days of Frank & Brooks Robinson, Dave McNally, Jim Palmer, Boog Powell, Paul Blair, Mike Cuellar and several more. I am looking forward to the Braves hiring a new GM and maybe manager.



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Thanks MD. I didn't get to keep up tonight but as I told cbbama99 when they hired Bucky that he could get ready. The O's were fixing to start winning again. He can build a good team anywhere if given the time and resources(money). RTR!

O's and Dodgers in the WS. You heard it here first. (Which means it will prolly by the Angels vs St. Louis)

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I just hope we don't lose our edge going into the playoffs after having clinched so quickly.   :pray:

Congrats to the O's. I hope they do well. I am a life long Red Sox fan. The O's are the only American League East team I like other than the Sox. I hope they have a long run in the post season. They deserve it. It has been a while since they have been in this position.

I think your boys are going to make some big moves in the offseason and be right back up there again. I just hope the O's don't sink back into mediocrity (or worse) after such a great season.

Give me a quick rundown on the O's. I am a National League guy even though I like the O's. How's their pitching, who are their main guys on the mound? Same for hitters & how's their defense? What's their biggest weakness?

Thanks.


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I just don't see Bucky allowing them to drop off much. He is a great manager and the Yankees were doing ok, but they wouldn't give him enough time to build the team. I spoke to CB when the O's hired him and I said if they will give him time the O's will not be on the bottom long. I am really pleased with the way they played. I was ho-ping to see the Braves vs. O's in WS. Never gonna happen. RTR!

Well, let's see. I imagine Buck will be going with a four-man rotation for the playoffs. Chris Tillman will probably get the nod, along with Wei Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, and Bud Norris. Pitching was not supposed to be a strong point for the team this year, and the year started out slow. But since the all star break, the guys have one of the lowest ERAs in the AL. I don't think we have that big ace, like Kershaw or Verlander, but Tillman is the closest we have. He is 13-5 with 3.26 ERA, but since the All-Star break he has an ERA of just over 2 and guys are hitting only .202 against him. Both Chen and Norris have double digit wins, too, and Gonzalez is one win shy of double digits as well. The bullpen is outstanding. Zach Britton has 35+ saves, and Tommy Hunter (FROM YOUR UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA!!!!) is a great setup man, but watch Darren O'Day and Andrew Miller. Those two guys have been absolutely filthy out of the pen.

Offensively, Nelson Cruz at DH has been a beast. He is hitting around .265, but leads the league in homers with 40 (the O's lead the majors in HRs with somewhere north of 200). Centerfielder Adam Jones may be our most consistent player. He is hitting just over .280 with 28 homers and may be the best defensive CF in the game. Steve Pearce is another you should pay attention to. He wasn't even on the TEAM in April, and all he has done in about 300 at bats is hit .295 with 21 HRs. With Chris Davis having such a horrible year and is now suspended for 25 games, Pearce has been a major surprise. J.J. Hardy is a great defensive SS, and has a good bat with a little bit of power (more than the average SS). With our starting catcher Matt Wieters out for the year with an injury, rookie Caleb Joseph has taken up the slack well. His offensive numbers are impressive (.209, 9 HRs), but he calls an outstanding game, has caught 41 percent of the runners stealing, and has a nearly 1.000 fielding percentage.

I think we have two weaknesses. One, we are not great at manufacturing runs. At times, it seems like if we don't go yard, we can't score. That has improved somewhat in the second half, but still a concern. Second, our starters don't go deep enough into games at times, throwing a lot of pitches. Now, you can often makeup for that with some outstanding long-relief guys (which we have), but you also don't want to overwork the bullpen.

WHEW! I think I covered it all. Let me know if you need anything else. GO O'S!!!

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Preacher, Buck is from Century, Fl, just up the road from here in Pensacola. Whenever I travel all points north, I go through Century. As you enter the city limits on Hwy 29, on the right is Showalter Park. Not much else in that town. He is truly a small town hero.

That is the exact problem the Braves always had under Bobby Cox & now Gonzales. I knew about Jones & Nelson Cruz but not about the bullpen. I was checking stats & Chen is 16-5 & Norris is 15-8. Both have good ERA's. Britton was in 69 games (that's about the max you want for a closer) and had a sick ERA of 1.70. Hope they make it to the Seriesand win. By the way, I hate the Dodgers.



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I might be a TAD early but I think the O's will win the ALCS. I would love to see the Dodgers come against them. It would be a true East vs West game. RTR!

I hope you are right ricky. It bothers me that they are not playing all that well in their last regular season games. Hopefully it is just letting up on the gas a little and they can get the mojo back next week.