Three Run Homer

I'm tired of seeing these s***ty umpires with their expanded strike zones. It works against the O's because our hitters generally have excellent strike zone judgment that they then get penalized for. And is it just me, or does it seem that for some reason our pitchers aren't as good at taking advantage at expanded strike zones?

We'll see how Tate does but I don't have a problem with taking Irvin out there. Jeffers is their hottest hitter and he got a loud hit earlier in the game. I don't trust Irvin much these days.

For this season, the plan is (and should be) to see what Means and Bradish can provide, and then make midseason trades if one or both of them can't pitch effectively and stay healthy this season. If both of them come back healthy and good, then we are set--Wells and Irvin can go back to the pen, and Kramer is fine as a back-end starter. It's not too early for the O's to scout good starters on bad teams for the deadline. The O's still have plenty of ammunition to make trades. They could even do a hitting-for-pitching lateral type trade with a team that is in contention, offering someone like Mountcastle or Santander, with Kjerstad or Mayo waiting in the wings to take their place. For next season, I hope the plan is for David Rubinstein to loosen the purse strings so that the O's can make a serious bid to re-sign Corbin Burnes and/or to pursue other top free agent starters.

He needs to face nothing but splitters and sweepers in batting practice until he gets better at recognizing which are going to wind up in the strike zone.

I couldn't watch the game tonight but what I saw in the Boston series is that he's getting pitchers' best stuff. He's probably seen very few breaking and offspeed pitches of this quality and for now he is overmatched. Regardless of a quip I made in the game thread, there isn't anything to do except stick with him and let him work it out. He won't learn how to hit quality pitching in AAA. Adley started out 8 for 51 and Cowser was terrible last year, and both of them were a lot older at the time. Jackson has too much talent not to figure it out.

Mayo up to play 3B, Westburg shifts to 2B, Holliday back to Norfolk.

Might as well leave him in the rest of the game tonight, though.

He's 23 so if he keeps pitching well, he shouldn't be in Aberdeen for long.

I think Cowser should be a (mostly) every day player, but Hays still has a role on the team. He plays good defense, can play all three outfield positions, runs well and hits right handed. He is struggling now but he is a much better hitter than Ryan McKenna. So he is a deluxe fourth outfielder who should start against lefties and occasionally against righties, with his starts spread out among LF, CF and RF to keep everyone fresh. He can also step back into the starting lineup if anyone gets hurt.

FTFY

You rang?

That ball girl looked like a female Jackson.

As I write this Kimbrel has gotten two outs in the ninth, so he's pitching well. But I think it was a terrible decision by Hyde to bring him in to the 9th. Cano is fresh and has only faced one hitter. He should be ok for the 9th against the bottom of Boston's order. More importantly, who is going to pitch the 10th? You've already used up Cano, Coulombe and Webb. I doubt Hyde wants to use Kimbrel for two innings. So even if the O's get through the 9th and scratch out a run in the 10th, you don't have one of your best guys to get the save.

Free Aneudis Mordan!