46 replies to this topic

[Nigel Tufnel]

What? Lol. Come on. I vaguely remember the HTS and early Comcast days and I'm pretty sure the west coast games were regularly televised. You could still check ESPN. Let's not pretend that we had to wait until next mornings newspaper.

 

Yeah, but if you didn't stay up for the end of the game and your work internet blocked places like ESPN, then radio or the late edition of the newspaper were basically your only options.  The next morning's newspaper wasn't any help, because late games weren't included.

[BaltBird 24]

If you were up early enough before school/work you could've just watched the scroll bar on Sportscenter. Wasn't it on repeat every day from like 6AM-12PM? I remember watching it over and over during summer break.

[glenn__davis]

If you were up early enough before school/work you could've just watched the scroll bar on Sportscenter. Wasn't it on repeat every day from like 6AM-12PM? I remember watching it over and over during summer break.

 

We didn't have cable in my home growing up so no ESPN or SportsCenter.  Definitely as late as the late 90s, I remember our local radio station had a number that you could call in to to get the score when the games were on the west coast.

[RichardZ]

That's a bold statement, considering you've seen some great Orioles teams of the past. 

I lived and still live in NJ. The only access I had was tv games against the yanks and the occasional Saturday game of the week on NBC. Otherwise, I waited for the sun to go down until the WBAL signal came in. I could never listen to a day game and even night games went in and out of the static. Minor league information came via the Sporting News and the stats were about a week to 10 days old before you got the latest edition.

Now, I have everything I always wanted and the type of team as well. Young, fast, athletic, with more young players on the way.

[mikezpen]

Go for it all.

 

They have 4 top-notch positional prospects plus a few decent other talents (Stowers, Norby,) to fill out trade packages (BTW, good to see Bradfield coming along. I'd include him).If it costs them 2 of the top guys plus some other, lessor ones to get a top starter (NOT a rental) and a top reliever or two, go for it. You still have two top guys left to bolster what is already a very strong lineup. And 3 strong starters plus a really improved bullpen could win it all.

 

But if they go mediocre it could wind up like last year: a total flop. And in postseason, they're dead. They will have drained away useful trade options for nothing.Then next year, you're facing a worse pitching deficit if Burnes walks. 

[weird-O]

For me, the regular season is its own creature. You can't undo a 101 win season. Despite the outcome from the playoffs last year, I was still anxiously awaiting opening day this past spring. And the same goes for the Ravens.

I expect better results this Oct, because we have Burnes and because the team has that swept experience to grow from. Like Ricker said, I'll leave the 2024 post season "what ifs" to those who want to entertain those thoughts. But I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be calling for larger change, because Elias is doing a great job. My expectation is that Elias will make trades that serve the here and now, without making major sacrifices to the future. Honestly, that's why it stings so badly to lose Means and Bradish. Because it forces Elias to make tougher decisions. No one wants to significantly reduce the stable, but no one wants to stand pat either. And that balance can be challenging.  

[BSLSteveBirrer]

I like to watch almost every game. And enjoy them as a singe entity. So sure winning 100 is a whole lot better than losing 100. But at the end of the day its sports. Its still about winning championships. This club is close. But it has some serious flaws. The good news is they are fixable. And yes that doesn't guarantee you a WS. Just like standing pat doesn't mean you won't win.

 

But this team is missing 1 and really 2 front end starters that were expected to be major contributors in Bradish and Means. Kremer would have been #5 in that rotation. Now he's likely #3 and a playoff starter. We have the ability to fix this.