Archive for October, 2013

Making the Orioles a Champion in 2014: Starting Pitchers – Part 2

Posted in Offseason, Pitching with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 29, 2013 by oriolesprovingground

Today, over at ESPN Sweetspot Network Orioles blog, Camden Depot, I have part 2 of the offseason starting pitching outlook for the Baltimore Orioles in our continuing “Making the Orioles a Champion in 2014” series.  Since I looked at how the Orioles starters performed in 2013 in Part 1, I’ll be looking at what they can do to improve their rotation for the 2014 season.  We’re getting close to wrapping up this offseason outlook for the Orioles, so check back soon for links to every position.

Direct Link to Article –> Making the Orioles a Champion in 2014: Starting Pitchers-Part 2

Leave a comment »

Making the Orioles a Champion in 2014: Starting Pitchers – Part 1

Posted in Offseason, Pitching with tags , , , , , , , , , on October 17, 2013 by oriolesprovingground

As I mentioned in last week’s post, over at ESPN Sweetspot Network affiliated Orioles blog, Camden Depot, the writers are undertaking a position by position review of the Orioles 2013 season, followed by what we think the Orioles should do in the offseason to make them World Series champions in 2014.  I was put in charge of looking at the team’s starting pitching as well as the shortstop position.  First up (for me) are the Starting Pitchers, Part 1.  In Part 1, I review the 2013 season, as it pertains to Baltimore’s starting staff, and it’s not too pretty.

Direct Link to Article –> Making the Orioles a Champion in 2014: Starting Pitchers – Part 1

Leave a comment »

Statistically Speaking: Wrapping up the 2013 Orioles

Posted in Offense, Offseason, Pitching with tags on October 12, 2013 by oriolesprovingground

Like most teams, the 2013 Baltimore Orioles came up short of the playoffs, and will have some decisions to make heading into the offseason.  The Orioles finished the season with an 85-77 record, tied for 3rd place in a predictably competitive AL East.  They were 12 games behind the Boston Red Sox and 6.5 games out of the second wild card spot.  They were in the thick of the wild card race up until a 6 game losing streak beginning on September 19 ultimately did them in.  As I mentioned last week, despite winning 8 fewer games than they did in 2012, they arguably had a better team this year than last year.  In large part, this was due to the fact that they went from having the best record in one run games in 2012 (29-9) to the worst record in one run games in 2013 (20-31).  Some of this is luck, but some of it is also due to a less effective bullpen in 2013, as you’ll see below.

After the jump, you’ll find several tables that look at how the 2013 Orioles performed in certain categories compared to the rest of the American League as well as all of baseball.  It will provide a starting point to look at what the Orioles need to do to improve for the 2014 season.  In addition to my offseason opinions on this site, the writers at Camden Depot (the ESPN affiliated blog for the Baltimore Orioles) will be doing a position by position analysis that looks at what happened in 2013, and the steps that the Orioles need to take to improve that position to win the World Series in 2014.  I am responsible for the starting pitchers and the shortstop position.  I plan on linking to my posts as they go up, and will also post links to all the position write-ups at the end of the month when we’re all finished.

As always, please consult the Fangraphs Library for definitions of advanced statistics such as wOBA, FIP, UZR/150, and DRS.

Continue reading →

1 Comment »

2013 Playoff Predictions

Posted in Playoffs with tags on October 1, 2013 by oriolesprovingground

Even though the Orioles (or Phillies) have not made the playoffs this year, the thought of postseason baseball fills me with warmth, even as the weather cools off (not the most poetic line, but whatever).  And despite the high probability of these looking really bad at the end of the month, I submit my 2013 playoff predictions.

Continue reading →

1 Comment »

Eulogizing the 2013 Orioles

Posted in Defense, Offense, Pitching with tags , on October 1, 2013 by oriolesprovingground

Friends and fans, we are gathered here today to remember the extremely promising, but ultimately unfulfilling life of the 2013 Baltimore Orioles, as their season officially came to an end.  Building on the playoff appearance last year that many analysts called “lucky”, the Orioles made a valiant effort to return to the playoffs, only to fall out of contention (mathematically) with 5 games remaining, due to an ill-timed losing streak at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Continue reading →

1 Comment »