Sanfran327

Do you think they've ignored him for the last 3 years? Don't get me wrong, I understand your point, but I think they've been working with him and I think he's come a long way as a hitter since his debut.

Good points. I don't disagree with you that I think the O's put a premium on good defense. Lots of roster decisions over the last 3 years to support that. But I think as they continue evolve from development to contention to championship aspirations (I'd like to think that we're firmly in the latter), that pendulum might shift a bit for some players. Fortunately, our defense is already very strong up the middle (and really throughout the infield), but corner OF defense might take a hit if Kjerstad or Mayo plays a lot out there. Obv Cowswer is a stud defensively next to Mullins, so that really only leaves 1 spot to be potentially below average.

Do you weight all defensive positions equally? I like to think of Manny Ramirez in conversations like these. He really should have been a full time DH, but they also had Ortiz, so that made it hard. LF in Fenway isn't that difficult (you probably remember, he played RF in Cleveland, but no way they could put him out there in Boston) and he did actually have a knack of throwing out baserunners, but he was overall a buffoon defensively. Then again, he was worth a little more than 10 runs offensively.

LOL. Good stuff.

This is what I love about this community. Nothing goes unpunished.

I wonder if they'd trade those walks for the 22 more runs we've scored than them.

Do you think he’s going to be the same player 4 years from now? He won’t learn anything?

For now. He will mature. He’s still inexperienced. There’s zero value in taking an aggressive lead in that situation.

Did KB just hit us with some Ted Lasso?

I was expecting to see a larytt style post, tbh. Lol are you running sql queries over a stat database? Or am I dating myself? Either way, cool concept. This group will help you hone it for sure.

Correct. Or worse, he could be Tim Lincecum, who was a generational pitcher with an incredibly short shelf life. Well, only worse if we extend him early and he breaks.

Exactly. I had this same internal dialogue today, actually. He could break over the next 5 years, or he could be worthy of extending. Either way, that's not a today problem. Just let him be for now.

The way the blue chip FA contracts are going lately is that they're only 2-3 years at a time to keep up with market value. I'd spend our ownership's money at $50m/yr to keep Burnes for 2-3 more years. Let someone else pay him in 2027 or 2028.

Needlenose Ced? Ced the Head? BING!

Took it out to the warning track by the tall wall in RF. Wouldn't say he crushed it, but encouraging based on what we've seen so far.