2025 Season

[UVA_Guy81]

Sucks about Kremer not getting rewarded the other day with his solid start. Probably the most winnable game of that series. That's what you get though when you can't come in in the clutch with guys on base. And still don't get why Hyde insisted on Cano Friday night when he struggled again for the second game in a row. There were plenty of other guys that could've gotten those final two outs in the eighth.
Adley needs to be moved down in the lineup, around 6-9. Batting him at the top of the order is doing nobody any favors.

 

[hattersgonnahate]

Seems that the return of Eflin was exactly what this team needed... Also, maybe this team should simply "pretend it's 2022" (in the sense of holding an underdog / "nothing to lose" mentality, as the 2022 Orioles also had a 14-24 record after 38 games) and seriously consider playing the remainder of the season like they did today (e.g. by committing to a small ball strategy)?

 

[UVA_Guy81]

Seems that the return of Eflin was exactly what this team needed... Also, maybe this team should simply "pretend it's 2022" (in the sense of holding an underdog / "nothing to lose" mentality, as the 2022 Orioles also had a 14-24 record after 38 games) and seriously consider playing the remainder of the season like they did today (e.g. by committing to a small ball strategy)?

Efflin was definitely a much needed addition right now. If Kremer can keep up what's he's been doing his past couple starts and Sugano can continue being consistent, at least that'll make for a decent three. Povich I hope can continue to develop but still feel like he's too inconsistent at the moment.
Hope that that moving Mullins down in the lineup will get him out of his slump that he'd been going through since the calendar turned to May. Just need to do the same to jump start Adley's bat. Yesterday's two hits was at least a good start.

 

[hattersgonnahate]

Philosophical thought of the day:

"At least the 2025 Orioles can't get swept in the playoffs again... since they won't get anywhere close to making the postseason and will be competing for the #1 draft pick instead." (/s)

 

[UVA_Guy81]

 

[hattersgonnahate]

Hyde out as Orioles manager

Better late than never... although considering Elias's "the poor start to our season is ultimately my responsibility" quote, maybe he should offer to resign himself at the end of the season? (And for that matter, the Orioles still need to consider replacing the hitting coaches after this season as well.)

 

[UVA_Guy81]

Better late than never... although considering Elias's "the poor start to our season is ultimately my responsibility" quote, maybe he should offer to resign himself at the end of the season? (And for that matter, the Orioles still need to consider replacing the hitting coaches after this season as well.)

I think it’s a mix of everyone that’s to blame for this disaster of a season. Hyde was just the scapegoat for the time being. I’m just thinking that last nights game was the straw that broke the camels back by leaving 15 runners on base. I’m sure Elias is well aware that his seat is probably starting to get warm and that this past offseason is a big part of why this team is so bad right now. If this turns into a Colorado Rockies style train wreck, he should resign immediately.

 

[hattersgonnahate]

If this turns into a Colorado Rockies style train wreck, he should resign immediately.

While 2 games is a tiny sample size, the current Beltway Series does add another data point to the alternative hypothesis that practically any manager would have struggled with the current roster (although probably not to the extent of having a bottom-4 win percentage)... because the 2023 season and the 1st half of the 2024 season may actually be outliers, in the sense that the baseline talent level is really a 0.500 team when everyone's healthy.

If this is the case, then the 2018-21 rebuild has to be considered a failure in retrospect, and therefore one could argue that perhaps Elias should be replaced regardless of how the 2025 Orioles perform for the remainder of the season. (In other words, he should have seen this coming and therefore either go all-in or sell at the 2024 trade deadline... as opposed to the actual half-measure that ended up not really helping the short term, while also arguably harming the long term.)

Ironically, this team is apparently also failing the task of "tanking the rest of the 2025 season for a mini-rebuild": Despite the 2nd-worst run differential in the MLB right now, the Orioles are still staying ahead of the Pirates and White Sox (by 1 and 2 games, respectively) as of right now. This is not ideal if the Orioles need to maximize the probability of getting the #1 pick...

 

[UVA_Guy81]

While 2 games is a tiny sample size, the current Beltway Series does add another data point to the alternative hypothesis that practically any manager would have struggled with the current roster (although probably not to the extent of having a bottom-4 win percentage)... because the 2023 season and the 1st half of the 2024 season may actually be outliers, in the sense that the baseline talent level is really a 0.500 team when everyone's healthy.

If this is the case, then the 2018-21 rebuild has to be considered a failure in retrospect, and therefore one could argue that perhaps Elias should be replaced regardless of how the 2025 Orioles perform for the remainder of the season. (In other words, he should have seen this coming and therefore either go all-in or sell at the 2024 trade deadline... as opposed to the actual half-measure that ended up not really helping the short term, while also arguably harming the long term.)

Ironically, this team is apparently also failing the task of "tanking the rest of the 2025 season for a mini-rebuild": Despite the 2nd-worst run differential in the MLB right now, the Orioles are still staying ahead of the Pirates and White Sox (by 1 and 2 games, respectively) as of right now. This is not ideal if the Orioles need to maximize the probability of getting the #1 pick...

I think I switched my viewpoint sometime this past offseason on Elias. I think now that he's just a glorified scout. He has an eye for talent but it's not conducive to building a major league franchise. And his grow the bats, buy the pitching philosophy is killing the whole organization since the pitching he bought has been awful. And his aversion to drafting pitching early in drafts is killing us from the top down since there's very little to draw from when he have the Gibson's and Morton's (although to be fair, his last two relief appearances have been fine) stinking up the joint when they are starting.
At this point, I wouldn't be opposed to a fire sale of just about anyone if it brings back a massive haul of decent talent.