101 wins last year.
On pace for 103 wins this year. 

 

Pretty great time to be an O's fan right now. 
 

Curious how you'll feel if the O's again exit the post-season quickly?
Obviously you wouldn't enjoy it. 
But would that eliminate your existing good vibes? (Ex. there are numerous Ravens fans still pretty bitter after losing the AFC Championship Game).

Would you be calling for larger change? 

 

Would your answer change if the O's are proactive in the trade market, even if any additions don't end with champagne popping and the organization's 4th World Championship?

101 wins last year.
On pace for 103 wins this year. 

 

Pretty great time to be an O's fan right now. 
 

Curious how you'll feel if the O's again exit the post-season quickly?
Obviously you wouldn't enjoy it. 
But would that eliminate your existing good vibes? (Ex. there are numerous Ravens fans still pretty bitter after losing the AFC Championship Game).

Would you be calling for larger change? 

 

Would your answer change if the O's are proactive in the trade market, even if any additions don't end with champagne popping and the organization's 4th World Championship?

Chris to me that last two questions are the critical components.

 

I never get down on an organization if they go for it. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. I see the O's in position to take one of three general paths.

1. Stand pat. I will blast them on August 1st if they do that. Yes they may well win the WS even still. I'd view this as a organizational mistake.

2. Middle of the road moves. Add a back end starter and some bull pen help. How I'll feel about that would depend a lot on just what the actual pieces of the moves were and how does that look in comparison to moves other teams pulled off. But most likely I'd view this much more positively than #1 above.

3. Go for it. Trade one or even two of the top 4 guys on that farm and bring in a TOR starter and at least one if not two high lev bullpen arms. If they take this approach and don't win I will be unhappy we didn't win but have no issue at all with the organization.

 

Y'all know my overall take. I want to go for it. Baseball is a funny game. You just don't know what the future holds. Surely I don't want to see them totally trade the farm for just this year but we are close. We have some clear needs. Push some chips into the middle of the table and hope you end up with a winning hand.

Competitive baseball will always be enjoyed considering the 14 losing seasons and more recently 3 of 4 100+ loss seasons.

 

I'd see no need for larger changes at this stage yet regardless of finish.  The offseason is more intriguing than the trade deadline.  Will they make a legit run at Burnes and/or spend other money?

If they don't make moves this deadline I will explode, even more than I did the previous 3 times. Next year is not promised, the time is now.

That being said if they make moves and we make ot to the ALCS I won't be too upset. Disappointed of course but that would still leave me optimistic going into next year. Even though beyond a doubt expectations are that we can win it all this year.

I'm loving the crap out of this.

I am (obviously) one of the members of the group of Ravens fans who are still bitter about the AFCC loss, but the difference between the two teams are night and day.

The Ravens have choked over and over again in the playoffs against inferior teams, largely due to their most important player and biggest star just not being able to perform when the brightest lights turn on. To be clear, this is not something I'm saying just because they lost. Its the way they've lost; the utter futility and mistake-fueled abandonment of their identity. The entire team played a very good game overall against KC and Lamar couldn't do what they pay him superstar money to do. To me he is the fatal flaw that will continue to result in disappointments and unfulfilled promise, and until he proves he can actually deliver them a deep playoff run, I'm going with the track record he has established for himself. I can't enjoy Ravens seasons anymore because I already know how they're going to end. I've never been less excited or more apathetic about the upcoming season in my lifetime than I am this one, and I just dont see any change in sight. Hopefully this post ages like milk, but until they show they can get there, I'm going to keep expecting what they've kept delivering.

On the other hand, no baseball team loses a series because of one guy, and the entire team shares more equal responsibility for their performance. Furthermore, no player represents the entire team's identity the way Lamar does for the Ravens. On top of that, the window is still wide open, and great young talent is still waiting to come up. I feel good about the team's future and that isnt likely to change. Meanwhile on the Ravens side of things, the primary reason they can't get over the hump is getting more and more expensive, causing the team around him to keep getting weaker and weaker.

So...no, I wouldn't be overly bitter if they had an early exit. Fantastic baseball teams exit early all the time because of the nature of a short series and I know they'll be back. The Ravens meanwhile have already showed us who they turn into in the playoffs, and I see no reason to expect a different outcome until they prove they can achieve one.

Loving every minute of it.

Just like with the Ravens, I enjoy the regular season of having a team that's in the Top 5 of their respective sport.  I tip my hat to the fans who stuck by them when they were losing over 100 games a year, no matter how angry they would get at the futility.  I never even gave them a second's attention and if you asked me about specific players of that carnage, I doubt I could name them.  Didn't watch them...didn't care.  It was strictly an exercise of counting down the days until Ravens camp.  So, in essence, you can call me a fair-weather fan.  Won't deny it.  There's still a lot of things about the game of baseball today that I dislike but how can you not love this Orioles team?  I've enjoyed the past 2 seasons immensely and the team has actually rekindled my interest in looking at box scores every morning and to see what the standings are. I would have never thought that was possible a few years ago. 

How I feel in terms of trades really depends on what other teams did and what we gave up. If other teams improved for prices I felt were fair while we stood pat I will be upset. If other teams don't improve and we don't either, or if prices for trade pieces are thru the roof, I won't be too upset. If we trade the farm for an underwhelming haul I will be upset.

1. It wouldn't eliminate good vibes but I do think it'd lead to more nihilism/numbness about the regular season where yeah I'd prefer to watching a winning team over a losing one obviously but if they win 0 playoff games again this year I think the attitude entering 2025 would be "just get back, I don't care how or in what spot"

2/3. Unlikely I'd want any major changes but if they whiff on any impact moves at the deadline I do think it'd be time to least start whispering that being a GM requires more than just a good scouting/development team and wonder if Elias has the killer instinct to trade some of his beloved prospects to try to win now but that's only if they trade for failed fliers like Flaherty/Fuji again   

It's a joy everyday.

Will be disappointing if they don't improve upon last year's postseason performance, but next year will be as exciting so will be hopeful in 2025 and able to move past any lingering disappointment if there is any.

I'll be very frustrated if they don't add to this team at the deadline. I can be content with modest additions, but have to do better than last year's minimum acceptable SP and trash heap RP. I don't need to deal away a top-25 prospect, but we do have to add a good SP and good RP.

I'll be surprised if they don't make a move to bulk up the pitching staff in some fashion. Nothing huge, but something to bolster the late inning options.

What they do in the coming off-seasons will carry more weight than how far they go in October or if they lay an egg in a short series.

My expectations for the year have been lowered due to major injuries to Bradish, Means, and to lesser extent Wells. If fully healthy, big IF, I would've been disappointed if they didn't make an ALCS appearance. Anything can happen once you're in, so can't expect a WS or bust scenario.

I'm thrilled that there's excellent baseball to enjoy in Baltimore once again and for the foreseeable future.

Quite frankly its everything Ive dreamed of as an Os fan. '96-'97 and 2012-2016 wasnt this. This is legit. Its not luck. Its why it was easy to stay positive during the crap years. I always believed and Im being rewarded. Obviously, I want it to culminate in a WS title but watching a good team day in and day out is reward enough if that doesnt happen

I was too young to truly enjoy 96 and 97, but looking back, those teams were old and the minor league pipeline then was horrendous. It's no wonder everything crashed from 98 on.

2012-2016 was the first time I was truly able to enjoy Orioles baseball as an adult, but once again it all seemed unsustainable, despite Buck and a farm system that was producing some decent talent.

Having grown up with the 1970s Orioles, I'm enjoying every minute of this.

Having grown up with the 1970s Orioles, I'm enjoying every minute of this.

 

This is where I am.  It’s a shame so many of those players are no longer with us.

I think a related question to this is "do the Orioles have to win a WS before Jackson Holliday hits FA to feel like the tanking was worth it?" and my answer is yes but I'm gonna guess I'm in the minority there 

Stop living in the past people. Jesus. The bad years are irrelevant now. With the talent we had in house at the end of '18 we were never gonna contend before  '23 anyway. Better to squeeze every last drop and get the higher draft pick and bigger draft pool.

I’ve always dreamed of my favorite team in my favorite sport being in this position so I’m just going to enjoy it as long as it lasts. Obviously I want (multiple) championships and would be very disappointed not to get one but ce la vie.

People still want to bitch about the tanking. It was for 3 years under this regime. The turnaround couldn't have been faster. Ill grant everyone that '22 wasnt supposed to be a winning season but its a credit to the player devolpment that they did have a winning '22. Other teams may not completely tank like this FO did but they linger in no mans land for way more than 3 years. Its an incredible turnaround and build up. Especially when you consider that 2020 was a lost year and really '21 was still feeling the effects of Covid protocals. Its incredible what this FO group did in such a short time and under trying circumstances.