We Need To Start Being Scared Of The Baltimore Orioles

Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.

Writing that blog headline felt strange to me. The Baltimore Orioles have been such a lousy franchise this century. Even the logo is pretty cuddly and smiling. Sure, there were was a short period of relevance from 2012-16 and they were very good last year. But let's not forget that we are talking about a team that has the following stat associated with them:

90+ Loss Seasons Since 1998: 12

80+ Win Seasons Since 1998: 7

The Orioles were a dominant American League team from 1966-83 winning three World Series and making it to six. They haven't been back since. Much of it ties to Peter Angelos buying the team in 1993. Angelos spent at first but tied up the pursestrings before the end of the 1990's. The Orioles have spent the past couple decades being known as an awful and poor baseball team playing in a beautiful stadium.

Those days are over. They are soon to have new ownership and now they are spending. The Yankees, Red Sox, Rays and Blue Jays have feasted on beating up the shitty Orioles. Allowing a smart guy like GM Mike Elias to build up the farm system is one thing. That's not enough. Look at the Guardians or Brewers. Those are organizations that were led by bright people but with owners unwilling to spend and subsequently never won. Tough to win when your owner pretends to have the same net worth as Rickety Cricket.

It can't be a coincidence that they announce a new ownership group led by David Rubenstein buying the Orioles is they same week they finally trade prospects for an ace pitcher in Corbin Burnes. Money doesn't solve all your problems as Lindsey Lohan or any Mets fan can tell you. But it sure can take a lot of those problems away.

This is different then when my Mets spent money hand over fist to put together a 87 loss team that they had to dismantle before the trade deadline. The Orioles have an incredible foundation that already won 101 games last year and have maybe the best prospect in baseball waiting in the wings in Jackson Holliday. The Mets had a terrible organization when Cohen took over that he's still trying to fix. Hopefully David Stearns is the answer to run the Mets but the Orioles are leap years ahead of the Mets.

Mike Stobe. Getty Images.

I saw Yankees fans all over including in this office shitting on the Orioles. Even when they played really well last year, people like Marty and Ev didn't take them seriously. In fairness, they were right. The O's didn't win a playoff game.

That time has passed. Next year's free agent crop includes Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Willy Adames, Gleyber Torres and the aforementioned Corbin Burnes. You start pairing some of those guys with this current team and you're building something potentially great. 

The Red Sox are likely going to have their third straight losing season in a row for the first time since the 1960's. The Yankees did add Juan Soto to their team but also did finish 19 games behind the Orioles last year. The Rays starting pitching next year has either been traded away or will be hurt next year. The Blue Jays continue to disappoint on an annual basis and are entering next season with a worse roster than last year.

There was a horrible Burt Reynolds comedy that came out in the 1990's called Cop And A Half. It was about a little kid that becomes a cop (partnered with Reynolds) and the big quote from the movie was "I'm your worst nightmare: an 8 year old with a badge." This always stuck with me because I don't think that's anyone's worst nightmare. But the if you fuck with that quote a little bit, it might make sense for the O's.

They are now the AL East's worst nightmare. A great farm system with money.