Tony-OH

It is hard to expect your minor league pitcher to get major league hitters out after 90 pitches when you rarely ever allowed him to that in his career.

Well this is quite disappointing. Our top pitching prospects throw a crap game and then Hyde brings in his worse reliever up one run with runners on base and watches him pour gasoline on the fire. Yay O's.

Why anyone would bring Voth into a close game is beyond me. Hyde just really doesn't have a good feel for when to use a struggling pitcher.

There are no detractors. Just people seeing that his command is not very good. I want to love what I see. I don't. I will always call them as I see them. Rodriguez couldn't get through 5 inning against the A's. He couldn't put six batters away with two strikes. He was not very good on his T-shirt night. This is why you wait a but before you celebrate "prospects" with T-shirt nights, but that's not the way the world works anymore.

He's a starter no doubt, but yeah, this was a poor start. He had to battle all night because of his lack of command, something that is really starting to become a trend unfortunately. I sure would like to see him have better command but he just can't seem to refind that since the injury.

Well, not a good start on his T-shirt night. Gave up way too much hard contact and his command was just not very good. I really would like to see him use the change right on right a little more. He was given a gift of the A's and wasn't able to come through. Disappointing.

This has to be his last batter...

Perhaps, but giving up five hits with two strikes is pretty bad. His stuff is so good at times he can get away with his lack of command, but his two strikes pitches have been way too much in the middle of the plate. I think it just seems that when it gets 1-2 or 0-2 he's just not making good pitches and some of that could be focus.

Why, is that something you don't need to do in the minors? He's just making some crappy pitches. He needs to make less of them. He seems to lose focus with two strikes like he has the batter out. He has to be able to finish and be able to miss just off the strike zone. He doesn't have the command to do that yet.

C'mon now. These two strikes pitches are really poor. Rodriguez needs better focus.

Ruiz had no chance on that slider.

Umpires can't hold grudges and give close calls the other way anymore thanks to replay. At least while the manager still has a challenge left.

That tag up got them a run. +1 for Hays.

We have his entire minor league career numbers to know he's never going to have the command to become a TOR. could he become a 4-5 inning starter if that's what you want, sure, but the Orioles can get that from a lesser prospect and turn Hall into a real weapon as a reliever. 24-years old is not that young and there's only so many bullets in that arm. If the Orioles want to compete this year they should make that move sooner than later.

Gotcha. With as much time as i put into the Orioles prospects, I really don't spend a lot of time looking at other teams prospects or even major league players. I've never been much of a "build a trade" guy. Either way, to get this back to Norby, he's a guy they will have to decide that they can live with the defense at 2B, give him more time in the outfield, or use a trade chip, because his bat is going to play at the major league level IMHO.

The problem is that Hall has gone five or more innings in just 8 of his 32 starts between AA and AAA. He uses too many pitches to get guys out on a normal day. He needs to be moved to a reliever where he will have the most value at the major league level. Add him and Wells to the major league bullpen and suddenly they have themselves some weapons.

Thanks for the review. I guess a billion dollars doesn't buy what it used to!

The Rays are certainly the gold standard for fielding a competitive major league team with a small budget. There really is not anyone close.

BTW, let's stick to the subject of the thread. Thanks. I think some of this is covering a much larger issue and should be it's own thread on the mian board.

I would not be surprised if Westburg is not a key guy in a trade since he value decreases in the outfield vs 3B/SS/2B and another team may be willing to live with the defense at 3B or 2B and give better value. The Orioles have never really acquired a TOR with a TOR price tag, so it's really just speculating whether they would make a trade for a one-year TOR. I do think at some point they will probably try that since it only comes with one year of risk/high salary.

Haskins is an solid defensive left fielder, but has arm limitations that really limits his overall effectiveness to that position. He doesn't really have the footspeed for center.

Excellent job of adding in the twitter highlights in the game thread. Very nice!

I think was taking some of his frustrations out from that awful None overturn on the Mateo play that cost them their challenge. They then couldn't use it on the Hays strike to 2B when it appeared they may have gotten the runner. I was surprised by how accurate Moore was based on the box last night. I'm thinking the box on MASN may have been off a bit.

The lack of true sure fire starting pitching prospects after Grayson Rodriguez is an issue that Elias needs to either solve by trading the surplus of offensive talent or free agency. I doubt Angelos will ever give him a budget to do the real free agency or trade for an establish ace thing, so it's going to have to come from the talent. Here in lies the rub though. While there are definitely some real good hitters in the system, they come with defensive warts for the most part. Joey Ortiz is about the only high level prospect that looks to have a plus bat and certainly plus defense. Cowser is struggling offensively, Westburg and Norby have defensive limitations on the dirt, Mayo will have a hard time unseating Henderson at 3B and probably will end up in RF or 1B. Kjerstad is new to 1B so the jury is out on his defensive abilities and the other are too far away to trade for enouh value (though obviously Holliday is a blue chip guy). What team is going to give up a potential ace for any trade package that doesn't start with Holliday? Are the Orioles willing to do that? The Orioles were unable or unwilling to part with surplus talent and now they have guys like Stowers, Norby, Westburg and Ortiz in AAA with holes in their major league bullpen and no true ace at the top of the rotation. At some point Elias has to pull the trigger and be willing to move guys who will be good major leaguers but who play a redundant position to talent on hand.

Sig when programming his computer for lineups: Against Left-handed pitcher: RHB>LHB unless rookie LHB who struggles against LHP. No Stowers under any circumstances