Friday, October 25, 2019

ALL DECADE ORIOLES

Baltimore has had a rough go of it lately, but they've made a few pushes towards the World Series in the 2010s! This is the first step down in terms of strength of "All Decade" team in a while, but objectively.... what a fun team anyway!!! The offense has speed and lots of interesting charts, the rotation has some unique arms, and that bullpen will be FUN to play with! Honestly, it's pretty incredible to think about what an amazing job Buck Showalter did with Baltimore after examining this team -- he managed the hell out of their pitching and power hitting to reach the playoffs three times (and even win the brutal AL East once, reaching the ALCS) in the decade. As a result, sure... this is definitely going to be the team everyone picks last in the AL East in the All Decade league. But y'know what.... don't count them out completely!

(He didn't make the cut, but I love this power hitting Trumbo card from 2016... 
honorary 19th member of the All decade team)
Lineup: Only one OB 10 made the Orioles lineup, but 2013 Chris Davis is a monster at OB 10, HR at 16!!! He's surrounded by their two OB 9, HR at 17 hitters -- lauded superstar Manny Machado at 3B and under-the-radar stud Trey Mancini of this season. Actually, two Orioles from 2019 made the team, including SS Jonathan Villar who leads things off with a lethal speed (A23) and power (18-20 HR, essentially 2B at 13) card. In the fifth spot is the best OB 8 on this team, slugging Nelson Cruz! He only played one year in Baltimore, but he bashed over 40 HRs and earned a sweet contract with the Mariners (with whom he is also an All Decade hitter). In the six hole is Steve Pearce! The Red Sox World Series hero put together a stellar 2014 campaign, helping Baltimore reach the ALCS, and brings a strong #6 hitter card -- he's going to get on base a lot with his OB 9, BB at 3 card. He'll either be helping drive in or setting the table for a trio of solid OB 8 hitters. Adam Jones is another lethal OB 8 and most fans will be surprised to see probably the second best Orioles hitter during the decade in the seventh spot, but he's never been a great OBP guy. He's backed up by Weiters, who had a strong decade overall... his chart comes from Colby's blog, and he's a very, very solid catcher option! Rounding things out is the doubles galore Brian Roberts from '09. Honestly.... yes, this lineup is a step down from ones we've seen recently, but there's no one lower than an 8 and there's serious damage/speed on charts! A fun team to manage if you want a challenge!










Rotation: Only one Tier 2 starter in this rotation, so you know it's going to be bleak compared to other teams. At least there's a couple Control 6 pitchers, but Wei-Yin would be the #3 starter on a lot of All Decade teams, while the other three pitchers would all be struggling to find spots. However... if there's one thing I've learned -- a Tier 3 starter can hand with a Tier 2. And with this bullpen, all Baltimore needs is 4-5 innings. Honestly, in a must win -- only 3 innings (and they could take 2 lol). These starters may end up with the lowest IP in the league by the end of the All Decade league, as the Baltimore manager is going to be leaning heavy on the 'pen.






Bullpen: The strength of this team, easily. Also... potentially look out Yankees. Yes, there aren't two IP 2 pitchers (and Jim! is a Tier 2), but this bullpen is LETHAL. Zach Britton is the best RP available that I've made from the 2010s. His 2016 season was absolutely ridiculous (and I can't believe Buck didn't pitch him against Toronto). He's a tier 0 with a Control 6... and no doubles. He's supported by two Tier 1 pitchers, both with Control 6 cards, in Bleier and O'Day. In particular, I think Bleier is going to be a fan favorite thanks to his ridiculous GB range. Supporting the bullpen with long inning help is my friend Riley and I's favorite player of the decade... a Cy Young winner in our 2011 league using Colby's cards, the re-designed card of Colby's 2011 set, JIM! Johnson!!! We affectionately call him JIM!, said very staccato and very high-pitched. He's a stud IP 2 with a Control 5 and no doubles. Rounding out the bullpen is Andrew Miller, who (people forget) was acquired in the 2014 season and pitched spectacularly for Baltimore on their way to the ALCS. He didn't get a card in Colby's set, but I love Andrew, loved watching him pitch for the O's, and had to include him! Overall, this bullpen is 1250 points!!!!






OVERALL, the Orioles come in at 6,830 points, sliding it at #6 in the current point power rankings. It's shocking that the Tigers are still in last place. They're the first team in a while not to reach 7,000 points and their bullpen is SUPER expensive. However' that strength (1) can keep them in games early; (2) hold leads if the super powered charts get lucky and bash a HR. I'm really excited to use them and think they'll be flying under the radar, but don't be shocked if they're hanging around .500 and then make a late run at a Wild Card berth! Here's the standings for pure point totals after 8 teams:


  1.   Yankees     7920 points
  2.   Nationals   7670 points
  3.   Astros        7420 points
  4.   Rockies      7090 points
  5.   Mariners   6880 points
  6.   Orioles      6830 points
  7.   Marlins     6750 points
  8.   Tigers        6710 points

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3 comments:

  1. RogerCopesOctober 25, 2019 at 10:07 PM

    Love these Birds! Very characteristic of the actual teams they built this decade... low on base percentages, high power, weak starting pitching but amazing bullpens.. wish that 2014 team could've played better in the ALCS but hopefully I can have some good Showdown runs with these guys!

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    1. David BushOctober 27, 2019 at 8:36 AM

      Definitely some fun cards in this group to use, and as long as you get a couple charts with these power hitting monsters... that bullpen has the W locked up!!! Also, 50 HR Crush is one of the best 1B of the decade, full stop!

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  2. mcelduffmOctober 28, 2019 at 8:24 AM

    damn that bullpen is SILLY. Here's my overview:

    9/9 full agreement. Chris Davis leads the way with 6.30 expected runs, and this lineup is the rarity that each of these players are the top at their position AND the top 9 players the Orioles have had the past decade - you don't lose anyone to a positional overlap, which is nice since they're definitely lacking a bit in the OB category. Roberts comes out of this as the lowest ranked player with only 4.11 expected runs, which is solid for your worst hitter. Here's a fun one for you: Pearce actually projects higher than Cruz, despite having half the home runs on his chart. 4.97 vs. 4.69 expected runs. Obviously not a big number, but shows you how important 2 outs vs 5 outs on your own chart is.

    Rotation:
    5/5, albeit I have Jimenez as the #2 starter here. Chen leads the way with a 6.15 expected runs, and the next three are all within .1 expected runs of each other so it really doesn't matter which direction you go. None of these guys are going to be day in day our dominant starters, but they should be able to put up a solid fight.

    Bullpen:
    Britton MY GOD. 3.99 expected runs is SILLY. Agree with your choices, although I have Bleier at 2 at 5.15 runs, followed by Bleier, Miller then Johnson who comes in at 5.73 runs to make this an unruly bullpen. Obviously there's a fall off after Britton but by god he's nasty.


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