The remote chance the Orioles had to steal a wild card berth went down in flames last week with loss after embarrassing loss that spotlighted the glaring weaknesses the 2017 Orioles have faced all year – shockingly bad pitching and a hibernating offense too reliant on the home run. Major league teams can hide those flaws for only so long before proving that a playoff run is just a dream.
Time to wake up, Orioles.
Maybe it wouldn’t have a made a difference, but Buck Showalter’s stubborn dependence on starting rally-killers Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo instead of jump-starting the offense with an infusion of the young talent just added to the team was especially frustrating.