Don’t Expect a September to Remember

Enjoy the extra elbow room, there is about to be plenty of room on the Orioles bandwayon.

It’s pretty clear, at this point, that the 2015 season will not provide a September to remember. Far from the “meaningful games in September” that became so important in 2012, the Orioles will go through the motions of playing out the rest of their schedule.

Sunday’s game looked very much like one being played by a team going through the motions. It wasn’t the fact that they were shut out (these things happen). It was, again, the fact that the offense completely shut down for long periods of time. Rangers’ starter Derek Holland got the complete game shut-out, in which he struck out 11 and retired the last 14 consecutive batters. Yup – the Birds shut it down in the 5th.

The Orioles are now unquestionably out of the playoff race, having assured it by losing 10 of their last 11. The trouble is that you can’t really tell when they’ll hit the bottom. There is still plenty of time for more embarrassment. Though the O’s have exceeded their loss total over 2014, there are still 32 games remaining – 26 of which will be played against AL East opponents.

The Orioles currently find themselves in fourth place in the division, and are only three games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. In full free-fall mode, it is not out of the question that the Orioles could retake the cellar by season’s end. The O’s have proven that they cannot beat the Yankees, Blue Jays, or Rays. Why should September be any different? The Orioles had rather dismal Septembers during the Dark Period. They went 164-240-2 after September 1 from 1998-2011.

Buckle Up, O’s fans. It’s going to be that kind of fall.