Orioles 10 Worst from 2014

Yep, the 2014 season has been cut short. As such, it’s time to look back and reflect. Here at Bird’s Eye View, we like to do the cringing first. Presented below are our 10 Worst from 2014. We don’t like to be boxed in by a label. These aren’t ten plays, or ten games, or ten… anything. They’re just things that were bad. Sound like a cop out? It is, and that’s the way we operate around here. If you missed our previous efforts, check out the 10 Worst from 2013 here.

Later, we’ll release our Top 10 from this past season. Until then, here are the Orioles 10 Worst from 2014:

 

10. Insult and Injury

Photo Credit: Jeff Rogash/Getty Images

Before we knew this team would cruise into the playoffs with a comfortable division lead, the Orioles went into Fenway Park for a four game set in April. The third game of the series was a serious gut punch, as the Orioles lost 6-5, but in the worst way.

Ubaldo Jimenez squandered a five run lead, before being pulled in the sixth inning. With the bullpen warming, pitching coach Dave Wallace paid Jimenez a visit prior to his (obvious) last batter. With two on and Johnny Gomes at the plate, Jimenez responded by giving up an Earl Weaver Special, and let the world champion Red Sox back into the game.

Later, J.J. Hardy left the game with a hamstring injury, which brought Ryan Flaherty into the picture. This would prove to be significant. The Orioles were finally done in on a pair of their own mistakes: Flaherty was called for an infraction in the pre-oops-we-botched-this-transfer-rule era, and David Lough made a mockery of throwing home, to allow the winning run to score when he threw it away. This was not a good game. It was the type of misery-inducing Fenway contest that plagued the Dark Period.

 

9. Manny Throws the Bat

Photo Credit: Jay Absalon/TODAY Sports

Manny Machado looked terrible in a weekend series against the Oakland Athletics in June. Manny went down during what I thought was a clean tag from third baseman Josh Donaldson, and came up angry. He got in Donaldson’s face, and had to be separated by the umpire. It didn’t look good for Manny, but paled in comparison to the rest of the weekend. In the next game, Machado hit the Athletics’ catcher in the helmet on his backswing, and when the A’s determined that Manny wasn’t sorry enough, they threw behind his (surgically repaired) knees. On the next pitch, Machado “lost hold” of his bat, which landed near the third base umpire. The benches cleared, and Machado was ejected. After the fireworks, he served a five-game suspension.

This was embarrassing for Orioles fans, and it took place on Little League Day, in front of thousands of kids. Oh, and the game was an absolute blow-out (11-1).

 

8. Nelson Cruz’s Slump

Photo Credit: Dilip Vishwanat /Getty Images

Cruz was a man on fire in the early portion of the season. After turning down a qualifying offer, and swallowing his pride to sign an $8MM one-year deal with the Orioles, Cruz certainly looked like a guy trying to reset his value. Cruz had a Most Valuable Oriole season, but things weren’t always rosy for the slugger (and by extension, the Orioles). Check out his season, by month:

Cruz nearly disappeared at the plate, for portions of June and July. Eventually, he pulled it together, and got back on track, but were it not for a career season from Steve Pearce, who got hot at the right time, this slump might be a lot higher on the list.

 

7. Ubaldo Jimenez

 Photo Credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images

Let’s not sugar-coat this: Ubaldo Jimenez was terrible. Acquired late in the offseason for a king’s ransom (the four-year. $50MM contract was the largest for a free agent pitcher in club history), he changed the landscape of the Orioles rotation. He just didn’t change it in the direction he was supposed to. Jimenez failed early, and became incredibly unpopular with fans. He was, however, extremely popular with opposing hitters.

Jimenez finished the season with an ERA of 4.81, and had  BB/9 of 5.53. He was a literal disaster, whose greatest contributions to the club was tripping over a pot hole, so he could spend some time on the DL.

 

6. Chris Davis Suspension

Photo Credit: mlb.com

This one was impactful on the field, and in our hearts. Though Davis was having a terrible season (in stark contrast to his MVP-caliber 2013), but even in his diminished role, he served as a threat to be taken seriously at the bottom of the order. His versatility in the field allowed Buck Showalter to overcome the hole left behind at third base by the Machado injury, and to get Steve Pearce some well deserved at-bats. As the Orioles failed to score runs in the final two games of the ALCS, it would have been nice to have a left-handed masher off the bench, or allow Ryan Flaherty to move to second base, ensuring that Jonathan “Automatic Out” Schoop wasn’t in the lineup.

What’s more, Davis let the fans down with his suspension. After being an ardent defender of the purity of the game (during his 2013 HR chase, he stated that 61 was still the legitimate home run record), it was a shock to see him suspended for a banned substance. Though the offending substance was not a steroid, the distinction will matter little to opposing fans who heckle and dismiss any future success. And Davis has earned every bit of that.

 

5. Matt Wieters’ Injury

Photo Credit: mlb.com

Matt Wieters is incredibly important to this team. He’s an all-world defensive catcher, and handles the staff very well. In the early portion of 2014, he offered much more. Wieters was finally enjoying that breakout offensive season that had been expected of him since he was catching/closing for Georgia State. In just over 100 plate appearances, Wieters slashed .308/.339./.500/.839 with 5 HRs and 18 RBIs.

Then it was the arm injury. He was hurt, then he was fine, then he was maybe… and then Tommy John. The injury toyed with our emotions, and left us with a lot of question marks behind the dish.

 

4. Chicago Cubs Series

Photo Credit: David Banks/Getty Images

The Orioles went 21-9 after the All-Star break, including a do-or-die west coast trip against the (at the time) best teams in baseball – the Athletics and Angels. The Orioles had a six-game Chicago trip, taking on the White Sox and lowly Chicago Cubs. To take in the history of the “Friendly Confines,” thousands of Orioles fans flocked to Chicago to see their first place Orioles on the road. Instead of going to plan, the Cubs swept the Birds, and Orioles fans got… a little uncomfortable. Even if it didn’t mean the other foot had fallen, it still was an unpleasant series for fans who spent a lot of money and emotion on that series.

 

3. Manny Machado’s Knee Injury 2.0

Photo Credit: Greg Fiume/Getty Images

“Oh no, not again. Not like this!” It was a refrain heard in every corner of Birdland. But it did happen. Machado went down awkwardly while swinging, and required yet another knee surgery. For a second consecutive season, Machado was lost for the stretch run, causing manager Buck Showalter to juggle his lineup and defensive alignment. An optimist can look at the replays of the unsettling injury and say that Machado’s knee troubles are behind him, and the burgeoning star’s stock can only rise from here. A pessimist can look at the injury and say that Machado will always remain a health risk – one who might never achieve his incredible promise. To determine who’s right, all we can do is wait for 2015. And cross our fingers.

 

2. ALCS Games 1-3

Photo Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

It was the first ALCS in seventeen years. It was supposed to be a lot more fun than this. Instead, the Royals came from behind twice at Camden Yards, treating Orioles fans to a pair of gut-wrenching losses at home. The Royals followed up with another close-but-never-really-in-question 2-1 victory in Kansas City. The series that held such promise after the Orioles’ 3-0 sweep in the ALDS became a house of horrors very quickly. The Orioles’ bullpen faltered, and their lineup experienced a power outage. In the meantime, The Royals earned every ball that bounced their way.

 

1. ALCS Elimination

Photo Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

There was nothing worse in 2014 than having an amazing season come to an end. In many ways, it was such a painful ending in the fact that this team that thundered to the top of the AL East, went out in the ALCS with a whimper. Though the games were close, the series was decided in four consecutive losses which proved that the Orioles simply weren’t the best team on the field.

 

Well, there you have it: the very worst of what was a fantastic season. If it seemed a little nit-picky, it is only because this team won 96 games in the regular season, and swept through the ALDS. This isn’t exactly your 2007 squad.

How did we do? Did our list have everything that made you crazy in 2014? Feel free to comment below, or to let the Twitters know just how wrong we are.