Three Run Homer

To be fair, his rehab starts were terrible until the last one. Tonight was better than most of us expected but I think most of us were cautionusly optimistic after his last start.

Exactly. I was playing a gig tonight and I wasn't able to turn on the radio until the bottom of the 9th. Many managers--including Brandon Hyde most of the time--have a ride-or-die approach to their closer and won't take them out until they've blown the save. I applaud Hyde for his flexibility and I hope that he will take a closer-by-committee approach this season. Kimbrell should be in the mix, but so should Coulombe, Perez, Cano and Webb based on matchups, situation, who's rested and who's pitching well.

Another magnificent defensive play by Cano tonight. If you're a groundball pitcher, you'd better be able to field your position and Cano is outstanding. It's uncommon but not unprecedented for a reliever to win a Gold Glove. Bobby Shantz won several GGs in the late 50s and early 60s and was mostly a reliever at that point.

Ideally you'd have someone with knockout stuff (like Bautista or Holmes) as your closer. But if you don't have that, you at least need someone with decent stuff who isn't fazed by pitching in the 9th inning. Cano, for instance, probably has the best talent in the bullpen but it seems he is better in the 7th and 8th innings for whatever reason. Kimbrell no longer has top-end stuff but at least you don't have to worry about his mental makeup (as long as his latest struggles are a physical issue as opposed to the early stages of Steve Blass disease). Webb's performance this week opened my eyes both as to the quality of his stuff and his makeup. I'm guessing those were the highest-leverage innings he has ever thrown in the major leagues, and he rose to the occasion.

A closer is born?

Don't know why this post got a "laugh". Mayo is a highly regarded, bat first prospect. There's a decent chance that he ends up being a better hitter in his career than Holliday, even if Holliday winds up being a better player overall due to his defensive value.

Sad but true. The O's could use another right handed bat for matchups. I thought they should have called up Norby to replace Hays in the first place, and I still think that.

I think we might see Akin. Unfortunately, he's likely to be sent down when Means is activated, so he can rest up while he's in Norfolk. Then again, Baumann might be pitching for his Oriole life tonight.

I don't blame Hyde for bringing Kimbrel in. But when he walked the (awful) leadoff hitter on four straight pitches, that should have been it.

I hate Kimbrel.

When Bradish comes back, Suarez goes to the pen. He will be an asset there and he can come back to the rotation if Irvin or someone else gets hurt or pitches poorly. I would DFA Ramirez and let him keep accumulating HBPs somewhere else. I'm not sure why we would assume that Means rejoins the rotation right away. He has not pitched well at all during his rehab. I think he belongs in long relief until he shakes the rust off. I guess Dillon Tate will be the one to go, since he has an option.

I like O'Hearn more than Santander as a hitter going forward.

Ah, the Bug League...

Kjerstad is certainly deserving of a callup, but I'm a little surprised they didn't go with a right-handed bat (e.g. Norby).

He has thrown some legitimately nasty pitches tonight. His screwball to strike out Trout with a runner in scoring position in the 3rd inning was epic. Barring injury, I think he's going to stick with the team in some role for the rest of the season.