Frobby

I was looking at the O’s stat page and noticing how high all the OPS+ numbers are. For example, Cedric Mullins has a .736 OPS but that’s good for a 116 OPS+ right now. So, I looked around. Right now, the MLB average OPS is .698. That’s down from .734 last year, and (for those thinking of a “cold weather” explanation) from .726 last April. The O’s, on the other hand, have a .780 OPS, compared to .742 last year. That’s 3rd in MLB and good for an MLB-leading 130 OPS+, compared to 107 last year. I’m not sure if the hot hitting will continue, but the team has had one heck of a start offensively, in a year where the league has been pretty cold.

Jacob Cravey continues to be a bright spot for the Shorebirds. 3.2 scoreless last night, lowering his ERA to 0.61.

I have a feeling Roy wouldn’t have posted this today if Kimbrel had blown that game in the 9th. I always feel like the players and the manager are able to set aside the ups and downs a lot faster than a dedicated fan can.

Fair enough. I think both players have flaws and have talent, and how they’ll each develop is kind of an open question for me. I’m encouraged with how they’ve started. One worry I’ve permanently crossed off my list is Cowser’s defense. It was puzzling that he seemed so tentative last year, when his MiL rep was pretty good. This year he’s looked very comfortable from the jump, and he covers a lot of ground quickly with those long strides.

I’m very satisfied with a 4-2 road trip. A few of the wins got more stressful than I would have preferred. But, wins are wins.

That video encapsulates what you like about Bradfield. Most runners would not have scored on that play, if the catcher had held the ball.

Without being on a heater, he’s on pace for 27 HR and 115 RBI. His BA and OBP are a little lower than normal right now, but his 118 OPS+ is right in line with 120-121 from the last two years. Defensively, he’s played well. No big complaints about Santander so far, though I think his swing has looked a little loopy at times, generating a lot of pop-ups. His value hasn’t changed much from last year IMO.

Hard to say hiw Manny would have been as a SS if he’d played it right from the start in the majors. Due to Hardy’s presence, he essentially played 3B for 5.3 seasons before ever getting a shot as full time SS. By that time he’d lost some speed and range and was rusty at the ins and outs of SS. If 2012-14 Hardy was on this team, Gunnar would be at 3B, watching Hardy win his three Gold Gloves.

He said after the game that he has five pitches, and if any three of them are working on a given night, he can mix them up enough to get batters out.

He’s had quite the turnaround vs. LHP on this road trip. Hopefully it continues all year!

I’m sure he wasn’t running on his own. He was acting on orders. Took a perfect throw, a great tag and a questionable call to get him. Not a bad decision to try to get him into scoring position given that Kimbrel has yet to allow an extra base hit.

Perez had his first rehab outing today: double, RBI single, pickoff, fly out, ground out. Three of the batted balls were 95-97 mph, the exception being the 67 mph RBI single. He threw 13 pitches (10 strikes): only one four seamer, at 95.9 mph, 5 sinkers averaging 94.8, 6 sliders and one curve. Each pitch type yielded one ball in play, with the slider yielding the 67 mph RBI single. Overall, he didn’t fool anyone but threw strikes and showed good velocity first time out. Decent first outing.

Prior to today’s game, the advanced metrics have Gunnar at neutral or slightly negative right now: -2 Rdrs (which feeds dWAR), -1 Rtot, -0.1 UZR, 0 OAA. He does have 3 errors, which is a fairly high number after 24 games, though not outrageous. It’s still early in the year and he’s just a tad In negative territory, nothing to be concerned about.

Felix allowed multiple baserunners 14 times in 56 appearances last year. Too much drama for a closer? It happens.

Couldn’t disagree more about “too much drama for a closer.” He has an 0.64 WHIP, a .139 BAA, 0.82 ERA, 13.9 K/9. You are living in a fantasy world if you think that’s too much drama for a closer. 4 of the 5 hits were softly hit balls and he’s walked 2 guys in 11 innings. Felix last year had a 1.48 ERA (worse than Kimbrel’s), an 0.91 WHIP (worse than Kimbrel’s), and walked 26 batters in 61 innings (way worse than Kimbrel’s). He blew 6 saves, and yielded 4 homers, each of which blew a save. I’m not saying any of this because I think 2024 Kimbrel will be better than 2023 Bautista when this year is over. I’m just showing that Kimbrel has been OUTSTANDING over his first 11 appearances. Too much drama? Bullhockey. No closer avoids all drama.