A disappointing Orioles homestand shows all the places they can improve in 2023
The Orioles' struggles over the last week-plus came as the limits of their thin roster started to be tested in September.
Even as they hit the blast-off button with Gunnar Henderson and added another piece to the future to a team that’s still trying to win now and make the postseason, there was probably an understanding in the Warehouse that there was plenty of work to be done to build the sustainable contender the Orioles hope to be going forward.
This most recent homestand went a pretty long way to reinforcing that.
It started well, with a pair of wins over Oakland. Then, the Orioles got shut out on Sunday and were swept in their Labor Day doubleheader with Toronto. Brandon Hyde managed the hell out of Tuesday’s game to ensure they won at least one game against Toronto, but that’s all it proved to be, and today’s lifeless defeat consigned them to a series loss against the Red Sox and meant they’re 5.5 games out of the playoffs with 22 games remaining.
It’s a tall, not impossible task that’s befitting a team that wasn’t meant to be in this spot in the first place. In future seasons, maybe they’ll be closer at this time of year, or better equipped to play winning baseball in September.
At least for now, though, they’re still playing meaningful games at this time of year–something that depending on one’s view of the 2017 collapse hasn’t happened in either six or seven years. Breaking down all the areas that hurt them on this homestand could go a long way to determining what a team that’s well-suited for the task might look like.