Game 77: Philadelphia Flyers at Buffalo Sabres; 4/5/24 @ 7 PM, NBCSP

[flyerrod]

13 hours ago, Samifan said:

Flyers trailing by one and Staal and Johnson are pinching, this will end well 

This……one million percent. If they are going to make the playoffs, it should be done without these 2 skating pylons. Put Attard and Ginning back on the ice and Johnson and Staal as popcorn specialists. If they do make the playoffs, great. If not, better draft picks. Either way the young guys get the experience and we the fans get nausea relief from every time Johnson and Staal step on the ice…..

[GratefulFlyers]

1 hour ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

Next season is when they should make a big jump.

 

You mean as far W/L, POs etc.? Like actually being a good team instead of overachieving or whatever they did this year? I know you follow the game closely...so I'm a little surprised you're this optimistic....if I understood you correctly that is.

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

57 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

 

You mean as far W/L, POs etc.? Like actually being a good team instead of overachieving or whatever they did this year? I know you follow the game closely...so I'm a little surprised you're this optimistic....if I understood you correctly that is.

I am optimistic and I'll explain. Tortorella's teams usually take a huge jump in years two and three. So this year, big jump compared to last year. We can all agree on that. They came close this year to making the playoffs. They were supposed to be awful. I'm my eyes, that's a win. We saw guys take a huge jump forward in their development, we saw guys hit what they were supposed to be when they were drafted and we got glimpses of what the future will bring. 

 

This is also a work in progress. The defense is still a mess. York was fantastic most of the year, but he's run out of gas towards the end of the year. Sanheim stepped up to price everyone wrong. Drysdale looks like he's going to be a speed demon with offensive chips. Yes, he's been bitten by the injury bug, but these injuries this year didn't require surgery or anything like that. A full off-season of good physical training and he's a different player come training camp. Zamula was very good in his bottom pairing role. He can give 16 to 17 minutes a night and can fill in for others and not look overwhelmed. However, there's still dead weight on the blue line. Ristolainen has to go. He really offers nothing. He's not even offensively talented anymore. It's like everything has been drained from him. Staal and Johnson are gone after this year. The only real anchor is Seeler, but for less than $3 million bucks, he can be bounced to the third pairing when his usefulness runs out. So, they need at least two defensemen. Is Andrae one of those guys?

 

Goaltending is going to be a tough one to fix. Is Ersson the answer or is he a flash in the pan? Was he gassed from a heavy workload or can he simply not handle that can workload? I'm interested to see how he responds this off-season in terms of training. As for Fedotov, the man has been in town for nearly two weeks. I'm sure he's experiencing culture shock and upheaval. I'll reserve judgement on him until next year. But yes, they could use a good third veteran to come in to push and challenge them. 

 

As for the forwards, there's room for improvement there. I'd say that at least four forwards are gone. Atkinson will be gone. I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that they'll use of the biggest name forwards as bait. It won't surprise me if at the very least, they shop Frost and Farabee. They've got Tuomaala in Lehigh Valley, but he might need another season and Michkov won't be here for another two seasons.

 

So, there's still work and questions. But I'm satisfied with how this year went. And yes, I feel confident they are even better next year, win record wise and player development and acquisition. 

[GratefulFlyers]

Excellent comprehensive assessment imho - so do you see Tortorella losing his effectiveness by year 4? Coincidentally that's when his contract expires AFAIK. If he gets "Flyers fired" upstairs (good one @flyercanuck!) I won't mind but I do wonder if the Tortorella trajectory from years past still applies.

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

30 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:

Excellent comprehensive assessment imho - so do you see Tortorella losing his effectiveness by year 4? Coincidentally that's when his contract expires AFAIK. If he gets "Flyers fired" upstairs (good one @flyercanuck!) I won't mind but I do wonder if the Tortorella trajectory from years past still applies.

A couple of things. First, I think the system Tortorella uses is a very physically intense system and it wears down players. Their effectiveness becomes less and less because of injuries and exhaustion. You can't play 100 miles per hour like that and not think that it's not going to cause problems. Look at the good teams around the league and you see that they don't play that type of hardness all the time. I agree that you should keep the pedal to the metal so to speak, but at the same time, you have to know when to let up on occasion. 

 

Second, I think after awhile, the same message gets old. You have to know when to freshen it up and I think Tortorella is a "my way or the highway" guy and he won't break from that. He talks about being able to read the room. If you see that your guys are tuning out, you need to change the message. That doesn't make him ineffective or his coaching ineffective, but it definitely leads to locker room revolts.

 

When you look at Tortorella's overall body of work, he's a coach that gets results. That can't be denied. He did a great job in Tampa Bay, New York and Columbus. Vancouver was a one off, but overall, he did a great job and when you consider that he's lasted an average of six seasons everywhere he's been, it's clear that he's a good coach. I look at him here and it's clear that he's chilled out a bit. However, some of his old tendencies continue to follow him. For instance, not being able to understand offensive hockey? Come on, that's the direction the league has moved in and you can't figure it out? Garbage. Same with his defense of Rocky Thompson and the Flyers power play. If you're going to call out players, you HAVE to call out your coach who has coached bottom of the league powers in San Jose and Philadelphia. That's not a coincidence. I'm not saying that Thompson is a bad coach because he's won championships at the Major Junior and AHL level. He can coach. He just can't run a power play. Honestly, I'd be using Rocky down in Lehigh Valley because he can develop talent. 

 

Once again, this is my own $0.02 on things. Others might disagree, but if we're strictly looking at numbers, the numbers speak for themselves. 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

3 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Wasn't aware he was a center.

 

Most places just list him as a forward.

 

Always loved his dad and always thought he would have been an amazing Flyer.

 

In fact every hockey game I played I always traded for Iginla so he did become a Flyer. What might have been.

 

Iginla can play all three forward positions, but he's most effective at center. I'm really hoping that the Flyers can end up with either Catton or Helenius though. I want the pure offensive dynamo. I'm tired of good reliable two way players. Give Michkov a high end offensive guy to work with as well. 

[OccamsRazor]

43 minutes ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

Give Michkov a high end offensive guy to work with as well.

 

WTF is MM going to play with all these damn RWs?

 

Konecny 

Tippett

Foester

Brink

 

Sorry someone needs to go and with TK needing an extension after next season it looks like it should be him to bring back some young center depth or the picks to acquire said center depth.

 

Just has to be someone.

 

Either at the draft or some point.

 

But they should have moved Laughton and Seeler too.

 

Guess we'll see what the next phase of their plan holds.

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

WTF is MM going to play with all these damn RWs?

 

Konecny 

Tippett

Foester

Brink

 

Sorry someone needs to go and with TK needing an extension after next season it looks like it should be him to bring back some young center depth or the picks to acquire said center depth.

 

Just has to be someone.

 

Either at the draft or some point.

 

But they should have moved Laughton and Seeler too.

 

Guess we'll see what the next phase of their plan holds.

 

Foerster is going to stay on the left side, I think. He's gonna score a lot of goals from his off wing. 

 

Tippett just signed that long term deal, so he's going nowhere. Then it comes down to Konecny and Brink. Brink fits closer to the time line that they're looking for. 

 

So yeah, I think Konecny will be the guy they move. It also makes sense from an asset standpoint. He'll return the most in any trade, at the very least the Flyers could get a roster player, a first and a good prospect. 

[flyercanuck]

14 minutes ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

Foerster is going to stay on the left side, I think.

 

He played it a lot in Barrie. He's fine there.

[GratefulFlyers]

Trading TK will bite them back hard, as bad or worse than any trade in Flyers history. Konecny is a unique player - like Brad Marchand - and he'll leave a huge hole production-wise and every other -wise. Plus he's half the reason I watch the Flyers! I'd hate to see him go.

 

Imagine TK skating with an "elite" center no question in my mind he's a 40+ goal scorer.

 

Good lord 6-1 in Columbus... never mind trade everybody starting with Konecny. Fk it.

[flyercanuck]

7 hours ago, GratefulFlyers said:

Trading TK will bite them back hard, as bad or worse than any trade in Flyers history. Konecny is a unique player - like Brad Marchand - and he'll leave a huge hole production-wise and every other -wise. Plus he's half the reason I watch the Flyers! I'd hate to see him go.

 

Imagine TK skating with an "elite" center no question in my mind he's a 40+ goal scorer.

 

Good lord 6-1 in Columbus... never mind trade everybody starting with Konecny. Fk it.

 

Konecny is my favorite Flyer. I'm sure he's many on heres favorite. He's also 27. He's also due a big raise after next year. He'll turn 29 in the 1st year (of what, 7 or 8 year?) and his game will begin its decline shortly after.

 

The Flyers need a #1 centre. They could use a true #1 dman. The need a #1 goalie. The need an elite left winger, or two. Michkov can ease the pain of losing Konecny. If we fall a few more spots in the standing (the playoffs will only humiliate this team, we'd get thrashed) maybe we fill the hole at centre or D.

 

Dealing a RWer is our only real position of strength. Losing Konecny will take us down a few notches in the standings. Which will not only give us a more valuable asset in our own draft pick, but would also land us a substantial package (I wouldn't trade him for anything less than an overpayment) to help fill in areas of need. Like a real rebuild. 

 

I'd rather see this team drop in the standings and get some real help positionally to move up past this eternal middle of the pack we've been doomed to dwell in thanks to senior advisors inability to live it the 2000s.... That are now a quarter of a century old.

[flyerrod]

2 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

 (I wouldn't trade him for anything less than an overpayment) to help fill in areas of need. Like a real rebuild. 

Re TK

I love the way he and Tippett communicate and move the puck. For me, I want him to stay unless it is Adam Oates level stupid overpayment. The Columbus game was a calamity of errors front to back and the Flyers as a whole played like they had all been forced to watch video a la Clockwork Orange for 3 straight days before the game. For them to turn this around, they are going to need some puck luck for the goalie and get post/shaft Hasek like luck instead of every goal being a seeing eye goal. Errson is burned out from being over played and needs to reset. Time to give Fedotov a few more games.

[SCFlyguy]

19 hours ago, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

We saw guys take a huge jump forward in their development,

Which guys were that?  Tippet maybe? 

 

I don't see Morgan Frost barely eking out 50 points as a huge jump.

York played pretty well and he has maybe the most untapped upside of any current player on the team, but huge jump, no way.

 

I can't think of another possibility.

[SCFlyguy]

Konecny is their only real trade chip and if they sign him long term instead of trading him they are not serious about rebuilding.  It's that simple.

 

There is zero chance of this organization successfully pulling off a retool by just picking where they usually do and struggling to find one playable but not exciting player every draft.

[tucson83]

10 hours ago, GratefulFlyers said:

Trading TK will bite them back hard, as bad or worse than any trade in Flyers history. Konecny is a unique player - like Brad Marchand - and he'll leave a huge hole production-wise and every other -wise. Plus he's half the reason I watch the Flyers! I'd hate to see him go.

 

Imagine TK skating with an "elite" center no question in my mind he's a 40+ goal scorer.

 

Good lord 6-1 in Columbus... never mind trade everybody starting with Konecny. Fk it.

i think trading tk makes sense because of needing contract extension and we have alot of right wingers in the system, frost has to go as well, we need players playing on their elcs, so we can get elite talent especially if we have to buy which more likely that option because of the rigged lottery system.

[mojo1917]

19 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

But they should have moved Laughton and Seeler too.

Laughton, who's contract expires next year is still valuable asset- either in the room or on the trade market.

 

He may be traded in the offseason, same with nearly anyone.

 

I don't think keeping him for this stretch run was managerial malpractice. 

 

I don't think Seeler's presence blocks anyone. 

 

Those are nibbling at the sides worries imo.

 

 

I don't feel bad about this season at all.

The management has to see what we see.

Trading the team's 2nd best defenceman? that was a move toward building something.

 

It didn't say "we're buying and this is a job well done". Which is how I take many of the "here we go again" posts's meaning.

 

The team isn't built but I think the direction is good.

Better than it has been in years. 

 

 

 

Edited April 7 by mojo1917

[OccamsRazor]

19 minutes ago, mojo1917 said:

Trading the team's 2nd best defenceman? that was a move toward building something

 

Well hold your breath they have already mentioned about trying to bring him back in the offseason.

 

So yeah seeing them struggle down the stretch I sure hope doesn't make them say "yeah we need to give that guy his 4.5 mill for the next 5 years" now.

 

It won't be long I day by mid season next year that Hunter McDonald will be ready to contribute to the Flyers he has gotten rave reviews just in the little but of time he has been with the Phantoms.

 

He just maybe the the steady stay at home presence a kid like Drysdale needs.

 

I am holding out hope.

 

York/Sanheim

McDonald/Drysdale

 

Is a very solid top 4 from a youth perspective.

 

I hope if given the chance they can develop chemistry with some coaching from Shaw.

 

Not sure who fills out the bottom pair?

 

Ginning/Attard?

 

Can't say at this moment.

[flyercanuck]

1 hour ago, OccamsRazor said:

 

Well hold your breath they have already mentioned about trying to bring him back in the offseason.

 

So yeah seeing them struggle down the stretch I sure hope doesn't make them say "yeah we need to give that guy his 4.5 mill for the next 5 years" now.

 

It won't be long I day by mid season next year that Hunter McDonald will be ready to contribute to the Flyers he has gotten rave reviews just in the little but of time he has been with the Phantoms.

 

He just maybe the the steady stay at home presence a kid like Drysdale needs.

 

I am holding out hope.

 

York/Sanheim

McDonald/Drysdale

 

Is a very solid top 4 from a youth perspective.

 

I hope if given the chance they can develop chemistry with some coaching from Shaw.

 

Not sure who fills out the bottom pair?

 

Ginning/Attard?

 

Can't say at this moment.

 

We've got 4 - 1st round picks in the next 2 drafts...maybe we get another dman or 2 out of that.

[GratefulFlyers]

5 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

So yeah seeing them struggle down the stretch I sure hope doesn't make them say "yeah we need to give that guy his 4.5 mill for the next 5 years" now.

 

gotta admit this worries me too. I like Walker but they can't sign more 30-year old D-men. I want the D to resemble the forwards - 80% young guys and a couple veterans. TK is one and I guess Couturier is the other. Atkinson has to go...somewhere. The D has Seeler and Ristolainen already that's enough older guys. Hopefully Briere can unload Ristolainen this summer.

[GratefulFlyers]

10 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

He's also due a big raise after next year.

 

Big raise? Nah. A 20% bump puts him at $6.6mil. That seems right to me. Term, I hope he ends his career in Philly.

 

11 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

He'll turn 29 in the 1st year (of what, 7 or 8 year?) and his game will begin its decline shortly after.

 

"decline shortly after" I don't know about that. Has TK hit his ceiling yet? 5 years from now he'll be 32. Marchand is 35, has 66 pts this year (w/out Bergeron) and he's still a gigantic PITA to play against. Marchand didn't start putting up 30-goal seasons until he was 27. TK turned 27 last month. Give TK a Bergeron and he'll have 85+ seasons too.

 

It's all about the contract.

 

O*****T*****O*****H

 

Trading Konecny is really starting over. It's a drastic step but maybe it's their best bet. Last night broke my fan spirit. Starting over can't look worse than this. 

[tucson83]

22 hours ago, mojo1917 said:

Laughton, who's contract expires next year is still valuable asset- either in the room or on the trade market.

 

He may be traded in the offseason, same with nearly anyone.

 

I don't think keeping him for this stretch run was managerial malpractice. 

 

I don't think Seeler's presence blocks anyone. 

 

Those are nibbling at the sides worries imo.

 

 

I don't feel bad about this season at all.

The management has to see what we see.

Trading the team's 2nd best defenceman? that was a move toward building something.

 

It didn't say "we're buying and this is a job well done". Which is how I take many of the "here we go again" posts's meaning.

 

The team isn't built but I think the direction is good.

Better than it has been in years. 

 

 

 

accept tippett and forester, i think everyone is on the block, we need to get rid of the big contracts and alot of cap space to get this team back into contention, . that's why the redwings are playing well, they have a ton of cap space to sign players, we dont have much and we are stuck with an ahl squad on our back end, that's why we are taking a step back, not enough depth.

[GratefulFlyers]

On 4/7/2024 at 9:30 AM, mojo1917 said:

I don't feel bad about this season at all.

 

Columbus got to me in a big way. I'm ready to join the BITFU crowd.

 

Seeing the Flyers go limp after a season of fighting and winning so many battles...that they couldn't summon the strength to fight for a PO spot... I don't know anymore...maybe Blow It Up is the right call.

 

Edited April 8 by GratefulFlyers

[OccamsRazor]

Well looking at the standing and the Red Wings have bumped the Flyers out and the Caps are ahead of them.

 

I just don't think they deserve to make the playoffs if they can't actually win their spot.

 

Just the way it goes shows us this team just doesn't have what it takes.

 

The plus is that they are getting a better draft spot. That's it.

[mojo1917]

14 hours ago, GratefulFlyers said:

Trading Konecny is really starting over. It's a drastic step but maybe it's their best bet. Last night broke my fan spirit. Starting over can't look worse than this. 

No It can 

 

Collapse and redemption (1984–1991)[edit]

After winning the World Series in 1983, the Orioles organization began to decline. In 1986, a rash of injuries resulted in the team suffering its first losing season since 1967. The 1988 season started unceremoniously when the Orioles lost their first 21 contests, finally winning in the team's next-to-last game of April. Manager Cal Ripken, Sr. was fired six games into the season, replaced by former Oriole great Frank Robinson. However, this was not enough to stop the bleeding, and the Orioles ended the year at 54–107, the worst record for the franchise since 1939.

The next year, the Orioles sported a new look, replacing the cartoonish bird with a more realistic one. The 1989 squad, led by surprise ace Jeff Ballard, rebounded to finish in second place behind the Toronto Blue Jays with an 87–75 record, staying in contention until the last week of the season and earning the nickname of the "Why Not?" Orioles. Frank Robinson earned the 1989 American League Manager of the Year Award for his efforts in leading the team out of the abyss. Two years later, Cal Ripken Jr. won the American League Most Valuable Player award in the team's final season at Memorial Stadium. He was also named Most Valuable Player of the 1991 All-Star Game, played in Toronto's SkyDome.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards and Ripken's record (1992–1995)[edit]

In 1992, with grand ceremony, the Orioles began their season in a brand new ballpark, Oriole Park at Camden Yards. However, the name of the new park was accompanied by controversy. Many felt that since the Orioles' new home was so close to Babe Ruth's birthplace that the new park should have been named after Ruth instead of being indirectly named after the Earl of Camden, Charles Pratt, a Britisher who never set foot on American soil. There was also the superficial connection to the fact that Ruth played for the Orioles early in his career, but the Orioles team that Ruth played for was not related to the Orioles team that moved to Baltimore from St. Louis.

In 1993, Peter Angelos bought the Baltimore Orioles, which returned the team to local ownership. However, Angelos' ownership resulted in a number of controversies. The Orioles also hosted the 1993 All-Star Game.

On September 6, 1995, in a game between the Orioles and the California Angels at Camden Yards, Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak of 2,130 games. This was later voted the all-time baseball moment of the 20th century by fans from around the country in 1999. Ripken's streak ended at 2,632 straight games, when he sat out the game on September 20, 1998.

Return to the playoffs (1996–97)[edit]

In 1996, team owner Peter Angelos hired Pat Gillick away from the Toronto Blue Jays to be the Orioles' general manager. Gillick brought in several players, including catcher B. J. Surhoff, relief pitcher Randy Myers, and second baseman Roberto Alomar. Under Gillick and manager Davey Johnson, the Orioles returned to postseason play by winning the American League's wild card spot in the 1996 season. The team set a major league record for home runs in a single season, with 257, and upset the Cleveland Indians in the Division Series before falling to the Yankees in a controversial American League Championship Series (a fan, Jeffrey Maier, interfered with a fly ball hit by Derek Jeter in Game 1; the play was ruled a home run and the Yankees eventually won the game). The Orioles followed up by winning the AL East Division title in 1997, going "wire-to-wire" (being in first place from the first day of the season to the last). After eliminating the Seattle Mariners in four games in the opening round, the team lost again in the 1997 American League Championship Series, this time to the underdog Indians, in which each Oriole loss was by one run. After the Orioles failed to advance to the World Series in either playoff, Johnson resigned as manager following a dispute with Angelos, with pitching coach Ray Miller taking his place.

Downturn (1998–2004)[edit]

With Miller at the helm, the Orioles found themselves not only out of the playoffs, but also with a losing season. When Gillick's contract expired in 1998, it was not renewed, and Angelos brought in Frank Wren to take over as general manager. The Orioles added volatile slugger Albert Belle, but the team's woes continued in the 1999 season, with stars like Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar (who joined his brother Sandy Jr. in Cleveland), and Eric Davis leaving via free agency. After a second straight losing season, Angelos fired both Miller and Wren. He named Syd Thrift as general manager and brought in former Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove to lead the team on the field. In 1998, the Orioles updated the bird in their logo, and then once again the next season in 1999.

The first decade of the 21st century saw the Orioles struggle due to the combination of lackluster play on the team's part, a string of ineffective management, and the ascent of the Yankees and Red Sox to the top of the game – each rival having a clear advantage in financial flexibility due to their larger media market sizes. Further complicating the situation for the Orioles was the relocation of the National League's Montreal Expos franchise to nearby Washington, D.C. in 2004. Orioles owner Peter Angelos demanded compensation from Major League Baseball, as the new Washington Nationals threatened to carve into the Orioles fan base and television dollars. However, there was some hope that having competition in the larger Baltimore-Washington metro market would spur the Orioles to field a better product to compete for fans with the Nationals.

Beginning with the 2003 season, big changes began to sweep through the organization to try to snap the losing ways. General manager Thrift was fired as general manager, and to replace him, the Orioles hired Jim Beattie as executive vice president and Mike Flanagan as vice president of baseball operations. After another losing season, manager Hargrove was not retained and Yankees coach Lee Mazzilli was brought in as the new field manager. The team signed powerful hitters in shortstop Miguel Tejada, catcher Javy López, and former Oriole first baseman Rafael Palmeiro. The following season, the Orioles traded for outfielder Sammy Sosa.

2005 season[edit]

The 2005 season was one of the more controversial in the Orioles' history. The Orioles began the season with a tremendous start, holding onto first place in the AL East division for 62 straight days. However, turmoil on and off the field began to take its toll as the team started struggling around the All-Star break, dropping them close to the surging Yankees and Red Sox. Injuries to Luis Matos, Javy López, Brian Roberts, Sammy Sosa, and Larry Bigbie came within weeks of each other. The team was increasingly dissatisfied with the front office's and manager Mazzilli's "band-aid" moves to help the team through this period of struggle. Various minor league players such as A League Frederick outfielder Jeff Fiorentino were brought up in place of more experienced players such as David Newhan, who had batted .311 the previous season.

On July 15, Rafael Palmeiro collected his 3,000th hit in Seattle; but 15 days later he was suspended for a violation of MLB's drug policy, after testing positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. The Orioles continued tumbling, falling out of first place and further down the AL East standings. This downfall cost Mazzilli his managerial job in early August, allowing bench coach and 2003 managerial candidate Sam Perlozzo to take over as interim manager and lead the team to a 23–32 finish. The Orioles called up Dave Cash from the Ottawa Lynx to serve as the team's first base coach.

Measured by winning percentage, the Orioles' 32–60 second half record is the worst in baseball history after playing .600 ball for the first 70 days ^{[citation needed]}. Sosa, who was the club's biggest offseason acquisition, posted his worst performance in a decade, with 14 home runs and a .221 batting average. The Orioles did not attempt to re-sign him, considering his exorbitant salary, his miserable performance, and his stormy relationship with batting coach Terry Crowley and teammates including Miguel Tejada. The Orioles also allowed Palmeiro to file for free agency and publicly stated they would not re-sign him. On August 25, pitcher Sidney Ponson was arrested for DUI and on September 1 the Orioles moved to void his contract (on a morals clause) and release him. The Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance on Ponson's behalf and the case was sent to arbitration. The case was finally resolved in late 2008 with Ponson winning at the arbitration hearings.

2005–06 offseason[edit]

Front office changes[edit]

Following the disappointing 2005 season, it was clear major changes needed to be made within the Orioles. In the front office, Executive VP Beattie was not re-signed, allowing Flanagan to become the sole general manager. Shortly after, Jim Duquette was hired as vice president of baseball operations, which was Flanagan's previous position. Duquette made it clear at his signing that he reported to Flanagan, so the "two-headed GM" will not exist anymore. ^{[citation needed]} The Orioles also fired assistant general manager Ed Kenney and asked for the resignation of Dave Ritterpusch, the director of baseball information systems.

Coaching staff changes[edit]

There were also drastic changes in the Orioles coaching staff. Perlozzo was named the new manager, and unlike Mazzilli, was given full freedom to name his coaching staff. Perlozzo led off strong by convincing Atlanta pitching coach Leo Mazzone, who had revolutionized the careers of many pitchers in Atlanta, to become the pitching coach for the Orioles. He retained Crowley as hitting coach and Cash as first base coach. Former base coach and 1983 World Series World Series MVP Award Rick Dempsey replaced the late Elrod Hendricks as the bullpen coach, with Tom Trebelhorn resuming third base coach. Perlozzo rounded out his staff with former Cubs and Phillies manager Lee Elia as the bench coach.

Roster changes[edit]

The roster changes of 2005 were prefaced with Peter Angelos' comments: "We are coming back strong next year. I know you have heard that tune before, but this time it will literally come true."^{[citation needed]} The Orioles allowed Palmeiro, Sosa, and Surhoff to become free agents. They also set their wishlist: an everyday first baseman, an experienced starter, a closer, a defensive catcher, outfield help, more defense, and more speed. However, their off-season moves showed no differences from past years. The Orioles were not able to re-sign closer B. J. Ryan, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. They were also locked out in bids to sign first baseman Paul Konerko, outfielder Johnny Damon, and starter Paul Byrd. The Orioles were rumoured to have a deal with outfielder Jeromy Burnitz, but his agent balked, supposedly at language regarding the physical, which was deemed by legal experts to be rather standard, and Burnitz signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Orioles chose not to enter the bidding for players like A. J. Burnett and Kevin Millwood, whose asking prices were far beyond what the Orioles were willing to pay. The only target the Orioles managed to sign was catcher Ramón Hernández.

Locked out of pursuits to sign top-tier players, the Orioles decided to make several moves to allow minor league prospects more time to develop. This led to bringing in players like Jeff Conine and Kevin Millar, both of whom were known for their positive presence in the clubhouse. The Orioles also made several trades to bring in needed players. They first traded disgruntled reliever Steve Kline for LaTroy Hawkins, then traded for outfielder Corey Patterson, who brought speed and defense to the outfield, and traded former closer Jorge Julio and John Maine for experienced starter Kris Benson. The Orioles also addressed future free agents by extending the contract of outfielder Jay Gibbons and third baseman Melvin Mora, and signed a contract extension with second baseman Brian Roberts. The team's opening day roster featured top prospect Nick Markakis, a potential A.L. "Rookie of the Year", the best young position player the Orioles' farm system has produced since Roberts. Markakis represented the revival of the Orioles' once proud farm system, which features four players listed in Baseball America's 2006 list of the top 100 prospects in minor league baseball.

Miguel Tejada[edit]

The Orioles' lack of movement over the course of the off-season frustrated many, including Miguel Tejada. This led to him stating, controversially, that he "wanted to play for a winner", and "perhaps a change of scenery is needed." The Oriole front office began to talk to many teams interested in Tejada as a trade. It was rumored that the Boston Red Sox offered All-Star outfielder Manny Ramírez for Tejada, though no Orioles officials confirmed this. There were also talks of Mark Prior being offered for Tejada. After several weeks, teammate Melvin Mora facilitated a conference call between the Orioles and Tejada where Tejada backed down and said his comments were intended to provoke the Orioles to make more moves in free agency.

The Orioles finished the up and down 2006 season with a record of 70–92, 27 games behind the Yankees, who won the AL East Division.

2007–2011: Rebuilding years and arrival of Buck Showalter[edit]

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A new President of Baseball of Operations named Andy MacPhail was brought in about halfway through the 2007 season. MacPhail had had success as general manager of the Minnesota Twins in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and had been the chief executive officer of the Chicago Cubs from 1994 to 2006. He spent the remainder of the 2007 season assessing the talent level of the Orioles, and determined that significant steps needed to be made if the Orioles were ever to be a contender again in the American League East. He completed two blockbuster trades during the next off-season, each sending a premium player away in return for five prospects or (or younger less expensive players). Tejada, who had hit .296 with 18 home runs and 81 runs batted in during 2007, went to the Houston Astros in exchange for outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton, and Dennis Sarfate, and third baseman Mike Costanzo. The newly designated ace of the Orioles rotation, Érik Bédard, who went 13–5 with a 3.16 earned run average and 221 strikeouts in 2007, was sent to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for top outfield prospect Adam Jones, left-handed pitcher George Sherrill, and three minor league pitchers – Chris Tillman, Kam Mickolio, and Tony Butler. The Bedard trade in particular became one of the most lop-sided and successful trades in the history of the franchise.

While MacPhail found success in most of his trades made for the Orioles over the long-term, the veteran acquisitions that he made often did not pan out, and as a result, the team did not finish higher than 4th place in the AL East, or with more than 69 wins, while MacPhail was in charge. Some of his free agent signings had positive contributions (such as reliever Koji Uehara), most gave only mediocre returns. In particular, the Orioles never managed to cobble together a successful pitching staff during this time. Their most consistent starting pitcher from 2008 to 2011 was the late bloomer Jeremy Guthrie who was the Opening Day starter in 3 of the 4 seasons and had a cumulative 4.12 earned run average during this stretch.

Following Davey Johnson's dismissal after the 1997 playoff season, Orioles ownership struggled to find a manager that they liked, and this time period was no exception. Dave Trembley was brought on as an interim manager in June 2007, and had the interim tag removed later that year. Trembley was at the helm again in 2008 and 2009 but was not able to lead the team out of the cellar in the AL East. After starting the 2010 season a dismal 15–39, Trembley was fired and third base coach Juan Samuel was named the interim manager. The Orioles were seeking a more permanent solution at manager as the 2010 season continued to unfold, and two-time AL Manager of the Year Buck Showalter was eventually hired in July 2010. The Orioles went 34–23 after he took over, foreshadowing that a brighter future might be on the horizon, and giving Orioles fans renewed hope and optimism for the team's future.

The Orioles made some aggressive moves to improve the team in 2011 in the hopes of securing their first playoff berth since 1997. MacPhail completed trades to bring in established veterans like Mark Reynolds and J. J. Hardy from the Diamondbacks and Twins, respectively. Veteran free agents Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero were also brought in to help improve the offense. At the 2011 trade deadline, fan favorite Koji Uehara was sent to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter, a move that did not pay immediate dividends, but was crucial to the team's later success. While these moves had varying impacts, the Orioles scored 95 more runs in 2011 than they had the previous year. The team still finished last in the AL East due to the utter failures of the team's pitching staff. Brian Matusz compiled one of the highest single-season earned run averages in major league history (10.69 over 12 starts) and every pitcher who started a game for the Orioles except for Jeremy Guthrie ended the season with an earned run average of 4.50 or higher. The Orioles finished last out of 30 major league teams that year with a 4.89 team earned run average. MacPhail's contract was not renewed in October 2011 and a search for a new general manager began. After a public interview process where several candidates declined to take the position, former general manager Dan Duquette was brought in to serve as the executive vice-president of baseball operations.

2012–2014 "Buckle Up, We won't stop."[edit]

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Duquette wasted no time in overhauling the Orioles roster, especially the pitching staff. He traded Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Jason Hammel. He brought in new free agent starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen from the Nippon Professional Baseball league, and Miguel González was signed as a minor league free agent. Nate McLouth was signed to a minor league deal in June 2012 and made a significant impact down the stretch. 2012 year also marked the debut of the much hyped prospect Manny Machado.

The Orioles won 93 games in 2012 (after winning 69 in the previous year) thanks in large part to a 29–9 record in one-run games, and a 16–2 record in extra inning games. The difference between this Orioles bullpen and bullpens past was like night and day, led by Jim Johnson and his 51 saves. He finished with a 2.49 earned run average, with Darren O'Day, Luis Ayala, Pedro Strop, and Troy Patton all finishing as well with earned run averages under 3.00. Experts^[who?] were amazed as the team continued to outperform expectations, but regression never came that year. They battled with the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East until September, and earned their first playoff berth in 15 years by winning the second wild-card spot in the American League.

In the 'sudden death' wild-card game against the Texas Rangers, Joe Saunders (acquired in August of that year in exchange for Matt Lindstrom) defeated Yu Darvish, and the Orioles advance to the divisional round, where they faced a familiar opponent, the Yankees. The Orioles forced the series to go five games (losing games 1 and 3 of the series, while winning 2 and 4), but CC Sabathia outpitched the Orioles' Jason Hammel in Game 5 and the Orioles were eliminated from the playoffs.

Back to the playoffs (2015–2016)[edit]

Main article: 2015 Baltimore Orioles season

On April 26, the Orioles scored 18 runs against the Boston Red Sox, the most runs they had scored in a single game, since they defeated the Cleveland Indians 18–9^[7] on April 19, 2006. The Orioles beat the Red Sox 18–7.^[8] On June 16, the Orioles scored 19 runs against the Philadelphia Phillies, making it the most runs the Orioles scored since earlier in the season against the Red Sox. The Orioles had 8 home runs during the game, a franchise record.^[9] The team then later got their 5000th win as the Orioles on June 28 with a shutout 4–0 win over the Indians. On August 16, the Orioles defeated the Oakland Athletics 18–2, during which the team tied a franchise record for hits in a single game with 26.^[10] On September 11, the Orioles rallied from a two-run deficit of 6–4 in the bottom of the 8th inning against the Kansas City Royals. The Orioles won the game 14–8. The rally included left fielder Nolan Reimold and designated hitter Steve Clevenger both hitting their first career grand slam home runs, making the Orioles the only franchise in major league history to hit multiple grand slams in the same inning in two different games, the last time being in 1986.^[11] On September 30, in a reverse of fortune, the Toronto Blue Jays clinched the AL East with a win over the Orioles in Baltimore where they had watched the Orioles celebrate their division title clinch the previous year.^[12]

Despite the 2016 season being another above .500 season for the Orioles, they failed to win their division, but were able to secure a wild card spot. However, they lost against the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL Wild Card game.

Rebuilding (2017–2022)[edit]

2017 season[edit]

Main article: 2017 Baltimore Orioles season

The 2017 season was the Orioles' first losing season since the 2011 season. They finished 75–87 and last place in the American League East.

2018 season[edit]

Main article: 2018 Baltimore Orioles season

The 2018 Orioles broke the record of most losses in franchise history, and instead of improving from their 75–87 finish from the previous season, they became the first team since the 2003 Detroit Tigers to win fewer than 50 games and the first to lose at least 110 games since the 2013 Houston Astros.

2019 season[edit]

Main article: 2019 Baltimore Orioles season

By late August, the 2019 Orioles had lost twice as many games as they had won. Home runs were being hit at a record pace across the league, and on August 22, the team set a single-season MLB record for home runs allowed (12 years to the day where they lost 30–3 to the Texas Rangers).^[13] They ended with a record of 54–108, good for the second overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.

[GratefulFlyers]

Thanks. But baseball is way too sleepy. Sleepy to play (90%) and sleepy to watch. I couldn’t possibly read about it lol!

 

Still I know you’re right. Sure it can get worse. I don’t really want them to BITFU but I’m beginning to wonder…maybe it is the only honest rebuild, the only shot at building a champ. I hope not bc KJ and DB ain’t interested…