Oriole consolation: Being first among those who are last
OK baseball fans, so how is this for a consolation. The Orioles are easily the best last-place team in baseball. And I don't say that with sarcasm. They have the best record of any team currently in last place and it is quite possible that the O's could finish at or above .500 and still wind up in the AL East cellar.
At 58-62, the Orioles are three games behind fourth-place Toronto. In the NL West, they'd be only 3 1/2 games out of first place. Overall, the Orioles have a better winning percentage than 11 other teams in the majors. But enough of the silver linings, last place is last place.
In last night's 11-6 win over Cleveland, the Orioles illustrated that they're far from the only team in baseball with a bullpen that can go "boom" at any time. Both starters, Baltimore's Daniel Cabrera and Cleveland's Zach Jackson left with the game a tidy 3-3. But after the Indians' Juan Rincon held the fort for two innings, the O's teed off on Cleveland's relievers for eight in the eighth. So, a lack of pitching depth is certainly not unique to the Orioles. The Indians were division winners a year ago and now they're 12 games under .500.
Comments
Awesome..we are the best last place team !!! Things are fine...just ask Jim Hunter.
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JD,
You know I wasn't saying that was something to aspire to ... it was just an interesting observation.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Cereal Blogger | August 15, 2008 10:30 AM
You & Me, Bill. On the same page. I just posted the exact same sentiment on the comment section of the Huff clearing waivers article.
Last place is last place, but this is usually the time that the O's are in mid-tanking mode. The part of the season that they're so banged up from beating themselves that they don't have anything left for the last 40 games.
Provided they stay competitive, this season will provide something with which to build on. Which after decade of making no progress, is all you can finally ask for.
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Alex,
Absolutely. It would be nice to be the Tampa Bay Rays but this is about as good as you can expect. If they get close to 80 wins, that is a major deal considering the preseason predictions were just north of 60.
-- Bil O.
Posted by: Ace | August 15, 2008 10:31 AM