Effectively Wild Episode 1009: The Orioles vs. the World
Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan begin by bantering about tentative plans for an Effectively Wild event this summer. Then, prompted by Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo signing, they pit the perplexing Orioles against every other organization in a series of head-to-head matchups.
Audio intro: The Band, "Volcano"
Audio outro: Beck, "Volcano"
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I don’t think the Orioles make the playoffs this year but they’re certainly capable of doing so. And if they do make it they’ll probably actually use Zach Britton this year and thus could do some ‘Royals-style’ damage. A team that can compete is laughably, laughably better off than the Rockies btw. I don’t understand dying on this hill that the Orioles are not a good team. They’re absolutely a better team then the Rays.
Great podcast guys always enjoy listening at work! Just on a lighter note Baltimore is a horrible place to live, visit, drive-thru (almost typed drive-by lol JKJK), etc… so in all honesty I would say 0 teams would trade places with Baltimore.
Chris Lee was an Astros prospect that was ranked somewhere around 30 when he was in Houston’s farm. And he’s Top 5 in the Orioles list? OUCH.
He’s not one of their top 5 prospects. If someone who doesn’t know anything about the Os system wants to say that, that’s fine…but its not reality. You could argue he is in the top 10, which is bad in and of itself though.
I really like the work you guys do on this site but this was some really lazy analysis. Now, I am an Os fan and I do agree that their long term situation isn’t that good in terms of their farm system. They also have crappy ownership and a shaky at best front office. Now, it didn’t seem like you were taking that into account and if you were, the Orioles should be near the bottom because of Angelos. OTOH, if you are taking that into account, OPACY, the fans, etc…should also be part of this and most teams would love to have our park, our excellent fans and the experience you have on gameday (rated #1 again in a recent poll)
That being said, most of the “analysis” here was really awful. First of all, you mention that you like some teams (like Seattle for example) because they have assets to trade off if they wanted to and that would set them up better. The problem with that analysis is that you only mention Machado for the Os in that regards. Well, obviously he is bringing back a ton. But, what about Britton? We have seen elite relievers fetch a lot in trade. A guy like Adam Jones has very solid value. He isn’t great by any means but he is one of those guys that traditional scouts and teams would love to have. A guy like JJ Hardy, who is still very good defensively and was decent with the bat last year, could bring something decent back. You have a guy like Brach, who has been one of the best relievers in terms of WPA, since he came to BMore. Not to mention, he has excellent numbers. You have young assets like Gausman, Bundy, Schoop, Givens and Sisco, all of whom have some level of value. They could get a good package for Chris Tillman as well. You ignored all of this. Obviously if the Os just traded Manny and Britton, they would revamp their farm system quickly and a lot of people liked what they did in 2016 draft as well.
The next lazy analysis you did was justify some of these teams because of your little projection system. Now, I don’t hate on projections. They serve a purpose and I appreciate the concept. But how many years in a row do the Orioles have to give a big middle finger to those projections before the so called experts just realize that maybe the Orioles have a formula that doesn’t work well with projections but it does in actual baseball world? They have the MOST WINS OF ANY AL TEAM since 2012. They have been in the playoffs 3 times and have been 500 or better in every season since 2012. So, looking at team X and saying, well I like that team more because of the projections is just awful and ignores what has gone on for 5 straight seasons.
In terms of teams right now, AL wise…Only Cle and Boston are definitely better as we enter the season. Now, I am not willing to say the Os are the third best team by any means but I do think you can take the Orioles and put them in a hat with teams like Tor, NY, Sea, Tex, Det and KC and they could finish in order. Most likely, those teams will all end up within 5 games of making the playoffs (or making the playoffs). There isn’t much separation there.
Again, I am not trying to come off as an Os apologist. I hate the way the team is constructed, I hate that they have ignored the long term good of the team and I can’t stand the ownership.
All of that being said, they have the same team this year that has won in the last 5 years…elite pen, excellent IF defense, adequate starting pitching and a lot of power. It may not be the way I would build a team or the way the projection systems want to see but you can’t deny that it has worked since 2012.
I guess my main point is that when I come to a site like this, one I highly respect and reference quite often and I hear 2 guys (who I also respect) discussing things, I would like to hear a more balanced conversation that has better knowledge behind it and this podcast failed miserably at that.
“Again, I am not trying to come off as an Os apologist.”
You failed.
Tell me where I’m wrong then.
Just letting you guys know the player is still totally broken for Chrome,at least for me. If you pause the audio, the player freezes and has to be reloaded.
I agree that this was lazy analysis. The orioles don’t get much mention around here and then the one time they get featured on the podcast you literally talk about the rest of the league instead. I’m fairly positive you said “Mike Trout” more than “Manny Machado” in an episode with Orioles in the title. If you know the Oriole’s are continually over-achieving, then why not go through the roster or any other variable and try to find what might be undervalued. That would be far more interesting than just casting them off as being bad again.
As a relative of Lenny Harris and an Oriole fan, Ad-blocker is officially enabled.