Means to an End

...I mean, what do you want me to say?

I just feel bad for the Orioles at this point. When I was growing up, the O's were terrible and you could get seats for insanely cheap prices. Then they got good, and it was a joy to see a team rise in quality like this. I just wish it wasn't so short-lived, because...this is just hard to watch.

Who the hell is leading this team? What, Trey Mancini and his fine-but-concerning numbers? The one-two punch of John Means and Andrew Cashner in the rotation? Dwight Smith Jr. and his ability to just emulate whatever the hell Adam Jones had been doing for 10 years? It's insanely scattered, and you can tell that a lot of this team consists of low rentals because they haven't accumulated enough young talent to not need them yet.

I mean, you hope the youth movement can come through, but the two rookies who were trusted in starting positions this year, Cedric Mullins and Richie Martin, have been insanely disappointing at the plate. Joey Rickard is supposed to be a backup, and the O's have no choice but to start him and his sub-.200 average because there doesn't seem to be many other better options. Yes, Stevie Wilkerson is beginning to heat up, but is he a starter? Do the O's have patience for people like him?

Plus, how much longer are they gonna be patient with Dylan Bundy? Dude's had pretty much one and a half good year, and now he's back to shitting the bed. I get that he's trying, and he definitely throws strikes, but...he still can't get it together. Gausman's getting it together in Atlanta, and Bundy was ranked higher than Gausman in all the prospect guides. What's taking him?

There's a lot of puzzling details with this Orioles team, and I'm not sure if any are going to be resolved by the end of the year.

Coming Tonight: Speaking of terrible teams, a veteran that's trying to get things together for a similarly bad team.