Episode 136: Spirit Quest

Published by Bird's Eye View at August 23, 2015

Leading Off

Do you remember when baseball was fun? Neither do we. This week of Orioles baseball was like… nope. Can’t do it. This episode was recorded after the Orioles’ heartbreaking loss to the Twins on Sunday. After this latest helping of Orioles Tragic, there’s nothing more to say than: drink up, it’s time for the Drink of the Week.

Medical Wing

J.J. Hardy is on the DL with a groin – insert your own jokes.
Steve Pearce is set to return from his oblique strain for the Royals series.
Everyone else is on hold to return in September including Chaz Roe, Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson… eventually, Norfolk will stand up.

This Week on the Twitters

I'm at "I'm not even mad, I'm just disappointed" stage

— Orioles Uncensored (@OsUncensored) August 23, 2015

@Orioles have fallen behind MIN & TEX after 1-10 rec combined v them.
O's 18-38 v opponents currently +500.
O's 16 of next 19 v +500 teams.

— Mark Viviano (@MarkWJZ) August 24, 2015

logan verrett appears to have won a major-league role with 1 outing. but what an outing! 1 run in 8 IP at coors. #mets

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 23, 2015

The three teams with worst batting average (Mets, Astros, Cubs) all headed to playoffs right now. Almost like it's not relevant to winning.

— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) August 23, 2015

https://twitter.com/mister_ice_cold/status/635573197539295232

Spirit Quest

Have you ever wondered what the spirit animal of your favorite Orioles player might be? No? Not once? OK, suit yourself, but we’re going to tell you anyway. If there are any that we got wrong, or if we missed something obvious, tweet us your corrections using

#OsSpiritAnimal

I Hate It When She Does That

The Orioles season has not gone the way we had hoped, and though the mediocrity of the American League means that the Birds aren’t out of it, they are… pretty much out of it. Jake, particularly, plays the role of Negative Nancy, in assigning the Orioles’ playoff chances.

If the O’s are not a playoff-bound team, what can we expect for the remaining portion of the season? How do we, as fans, enjoy a team that is not Dark Period terrible, but not good enough to make a playoff run?

Fantasy Boss

Fantasy Boss is our head-to-head fantasy segment where we pick one stat, and select a player. Feel free to play along, and tweet us your #FantasyBoss pick @birdseyeviewbal.

Fantasy Boss is just another reminder that things could have gone better for the O’s this week. Without a blown save on Sunday, Scott’s pick (Zach Britton) would have fared much better in xFIP. Instead, it’s Jake taking the honors this week, as his pick (Mychal Givens) out-xFIP-ed Britton .288 to .534. That brings the contest to 10-7-1.

This week’s category will be BABIP.

Scott’s Pick: Adam Jones

Jake’s Pick: Gerardo Parra

The gauntlet has been thrown. Who will own it?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Who had a great week? Who had a tough week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly for the week.

Tweet us your selections @birdseyeviewbal with #OsGood, #OsBad, and #OsUgly.

Blowing the Save

bubbles

Most podcasts try to end on a high note – the perfect coda to a quality program. That’s just not our style. Each week, we’ll end on a weak note, blowing the save with an item that didn’t quite fit into the episode, or something they simply need to get off their chests. It’s our version of taking the ball and pulling a Kevin Gregg.