When the Orioles won six straight to finish May at an even .500, many fans leaped to the conclusion that this was the real 2007 Orioles, a franchise that had gone from down-and-out to up-and-at-’em by rebuilding middle relief and adding some additional offense.
It was a lovely thought at the time, particularly since three of those wins came against Oakland and Los Angeles, two of the better teams in the American League. The other three wins came against Kansas City, decidedly not one of the better teams in the league.
When the ax fell on manager Sam Perlozzo on Monday, much was made of the eight-game losing streak that ended his tenure with a record of 29-40. Left unsaid was the Orioles? record against the Royals and Tampa Bay Devil Rays of 11-1, meaning their record against everyone else was 18-39. Ouch.
Winning is difficult enough, but winning in the AL East is something else. The Orioles usually finish ahead of the Devil Rays (and have beaten up on the Royals for years), but there’s still the matter of the Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays. In the seasonal series played against those teams from 1997 to 2006, the Orioles won three of them ? twice against Toronto, once against Boston ? and lost 24. Over those same nine seasons the Orioles were a collective 145 games under .500, but 110 games under vs. New York, Toronto and Boston, and just 35 under against everyone else.
Sensing a pattern here?
As the front office constructed the 2007 roster, it should’ve been apparent the Orioles really had no chance to contend this year. Get closer to .500, perhaps, but to consider them finishing higher than fourth place was wishful thinking.
A veteran baseball scribe told me over the weekend that beyond second baseman Brian Roberts, he didn’t see anyone else in the Orioles’ everyday lineup that would start ahead of his counterpart on the Red Sox, Yankees or Blue Jays. Nick Markakis might get a second look, but overall, I don’t disagree.
Multiple big-league scouts this season have described the Orioles as a team of “second-division regulars,” another way of saying they’re playing exactly the way they should be based on personnel. It’s part of the culture of losing; with few exceptions, the premium free agents don’t want to come to Baltimore, leaving a lot of second-tier players.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow for those fans who require a winner if they are going to open their wallets to buy a ticket. But once Cal Ripken Jr. is inducted into the Hall of Fame next month, this team needs to find something else to hang its hat on.
The anticipated arrival of Andy MacPhail is an unspoken acknowledgment of nearly a decade of organizational stutter. There’s no doubt the organization meant well with every move they made. It’s unfortunate it took this long to look in the mirror.
Contact Phil Wood at [email protected]
