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clutch2113

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About clutch2113

  • Birthday 08/23/1975

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  • Favorite Current Oriole
    Cedric Mullins
  • Favorite All Time Oriole
    Cal Ripkin Jr

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  1. They have Hall as a Reliever, Not a Starter. So, some of that 'Bust' percentage may be accounting for the fact it is easier to stick as a reliever. Rodriguez has a 40% bust chance as a starter, while Hall has (in their view) already busted as a starter and now has a 25% bust chance as a reliever. That's totally speculation on my part - just how I read it.
  2. And from the All-Star break on he slashed .241/.280/.412/.692 - so he was on fire from mid-July to mid-August (thus the article) Maybe the better comparison is his time with San Diego and his time in Baltimore: San Diego: .195/.235/.310/.545 Baltimore: .231/.278/.386/.664 Ultimately, I think every team is trying to find 'reclamation' projects to keep payroll down (We just traded Nevin to the Tigers - I'm sure they think he'll be a bounce back guy). I am of the opinion the O's have had a better track record under Elias than other teams. We have also had more opportunities open because we weren't really in Win-Now mode, so maybe it just appears better. I guess we'll see what the results look like when we have less roster flexibility for these types of moves.
  3. Of course the formatting looks crazy - I tried to clean it up best I could. I copied an article from the Sun from August about how Mateo worked with the Orioles to improve his at-bats. How a meeting with Orioles coaches helped unlock Jorge Mateo’s swing — and a deeper lineup By Andy Kostka - Baltimore Sun Aug 13, 2022 at 6:00 am ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A month ago, Jorge Mateo might not have even reached the pitch. It has been the formula against him for some time — aim low and outside with breaking balls, and the Orioles shortstop would open his stride and miss. But in the second inning Friday night at Tropicana Field, Mateo’s stride remained square with the plate, and he poked the low-and-away curveball from Tampa Bay Rays starter Corey Kluber into shallow right field for a bloop RBI double. It’s the kind of swing that’s now going Mateo’s way ever since he met with manager Brandon Hyde and co-hitting coaches Matt Borgschulte and Ryan Fuller after a series against the Minnesota Twins during the first week of July. “He was like, ‘We have to make an adjustment,’” Fuller recalled. And the adjustment came in the form of batting practice sessions full of sliders away, practicing in bulk against the pitch that has given him the most trouble. To that point, Mateo’s .173 batting average against sliders was his lowest against any pitch type, per Statcast, and he whiffed on 36.9% of his swings against that offering. The heavy slider regimen in batting practice has led to a breakout at the plate since early July, including a career-high five hits Friday that led Baltimore to a 10-3 victory against the Rays. If Mateo can keep it going — laying off pitches off the plate while reaching the ones he can hit — he unlocks a new level for the Orioles’ lineup. “Any time we get threats at the bottom of the order and make the lineup as deep as possible, that’s huge,” Hyde said. “That’s been a huge boost for us the last couple months.” From opening day through the end of June, the biggest problem for Mateo was chasing those sliders. He had a 32.3% strikeout rate during that stretch, a mark that made Fuller and Mateo cringe. That prompted Mateo’s insistence to find a solution at the start of July, and the results have played out on the field. His first double Friday came on that low-and-away breaking ball. The next came when Mateo turned on an inside sinker. He had initially been opening up his stance and stride to reach such pitches, but as Mateo adjusted his open stance to include a square stride, his plate coverage improved. Since July 4, the day after Mateo met with the hitting coaches and Hyde to improve his approach, the 27-year-old’s strikeout rate is down to 21.6%. He hit .196 up until July 3. Since July 4, he’s hitting .308 with a .922 OPS. “I’ve been working really hard at that,” Mateo said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I credit the hitting coaches with helping to put in the work with things like that, focusing on staying in the zone and focusing on shortening my swing a little bit.” The biggest improvement came when Fuller and Borgschulte ran Mateo through mixed rounds of batting practice, throwing two-seam fastballs in on his hands and sliders away at random. Mateo had to react on the fly, as he does during games. As Fuller watched Mateo steadily reduce his whiffs on outside sliders, he knew a breakthrough was coming. “Those sliders that we could usually get him to swing on, he was in a good position to say no,” Fuller said. “We were like, ‘Man, he was swinging at those, chasing those before.’ Those are really strong takes, setting himself up for the mistakes that he can hit.” It’s turned Mateo, a nine-hole hitter, into one of the Orioles’ most dangerous offensive threats, routinely sending the speedster sailing around the bases and leaving his helmet in his dust. He laughed when asked why his batting helmet always flies off his head as he sprints from one bag to another. He doesn’t know exactly. But “if it works, I take it,” Mateo said with a smile. And right now, just about everything is working.
  4. I think Mateo absolutely qualifies, he was a waiver claim. And his 2nd half of 2022 showed marked improvement. Split G GS PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB ROE BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ 1st Half 85 80 303 278 32 57 12 4 7 23 22 4 16 93 .205 .258 .353 .610 98 4 4 2 1 0 1 .279 90 72 2nd Half 65 62 230 216 31 52 13 3 6 27 13 5 11 54 .241 .280 .412 .692 89 4 1 1 1 0 2 .293 113 94
  5. I think the Zac Eflin deal could turn out to be a steal. I was hoping we'd be the team to steal him.
  6. I couldn't disagree with a statement any more than this one. You don't take a cake out of the oven before its time because it 'looks' ready - nor do you turn up the heat to cook it faster. This was always a .500 team that played a few games over their heads - and there was no combination of moves to be made at the deadline that would have changed that significantly.
  7. I'm not opposed to letting Mateo start the season at short next year. I know he's still been inconsistent with the bat, but they re-worked his swing around the All-Star break and he's shown marked improvement. I feel like an offseason working on his adjusted swing could go a long way towards him having a better all around year next year. For Context: Pre All-Star Break: Games Played: 85 AVG: .205 HR: 7 RBI: 23 OPS: 611 Post All-Star Break: Games Played: 55 AVG: .243 HR: 6 RBI: 26 OPS: 704 Is he setting the world on fire? No - But he's shown improvement, and in 30 fewer games he equaled his HR total and RBI total - stolen twice as many bases and generally had better AB's. All while adjusting against major league pitching - I think he's earned a chance to start his age 28 season at short.
  8. So, we're 0-5 against Detroit so far this year. I know its silly to pick and choose games in a season to play what-if, but man - that team stinks and if we were 5-0 instead of 0-5 we'd be tied for the 3rd Wildcard spot right now. Even if we had taken 2 out of those 5 we'd be in the conversation.
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