Ruzious

I surely didn't expect a 113 OPS+ in his first 105 plate appearances here and just 1 error in his first 16 games, but now... I'm kinda expecting him to keep it up and maybe even improve offensively. The talent was always there - he was a top 100 prospect (sometimes top 30) from 2016 through 2018. He just didn't develop as quickly as most expected him to. But ya watch the guy play, and the tools are so obvious, and he knows this is his opportunity of a lifetime. I hope to the baseball Gods that I'm not jinxing him, but I think he'll get better, and this is not a Felix Pie situation.

Yeah, he did everything right yesterday, and he'll get blamed for allowing an inherited runner to score. Those 2 missed plays were ground balls that he induced. He did a great job.

He looked like he was ready to pop, lol. Congrats to him for a nice debut - even with all the long fly ball outs and Jahmai Jones of all people - making a couple of nice defensive plays behind him. O's should use this piggy-back starters strategy more often.

Basically the same power numbers as 5'8 165 lb all-star Ozzie Albies. Mullins has actually eclipsed Albies because he hits for a significantly higher average and OBP. Interestingly, while Albies leads the NL in total bases with 266, Mullins has 281. What a terrific season Mullins is having.

Great early 26th birthday (Friday) present for Baumann!

So cool, and MASN re-played that game yesterday. Yesterday was a really unlucky game. The team definitely played well enough to win.

He hasn't done well, but I do think there's talent there - just not sure he's going to get there. He's gotta make some adjustments to stay in the majors on offense. He's got a quick bat, but he needs to figure out hitting breaking balls and going to the opposite field on pitches on the outer half of the plate. I'm guessing his failure to adjust was why he was slumping badly in AAA and not hitting now. And it might turn out that he can't adjust.

Thanks for the correction. I went with Jonathan Schoop Stats | Baseball-Reference.com - they show him as a free agent after this season, but Spotrac shows you are correct.

Hyde is a genius!

I think Barlow was about 100% sure he could get Jones to strike out throwing just breaking pitches. Sigh. Well, the other 3 O's batters hit the ball really hard in the 9th.

Great, Mondesi just stole 2nd AND 3rd against us.

I would never have guessed.

Fine, let's go 1 out at time to clear this up: 1. I wasn't talking about you having a loser's mentality. I was talking about team management. 2. Skip. 3. I did not say to put the bullpen before the rotation. I said I'm fine with whichever way the team goes - as far as starting him or using him in the pen. 4. Glad to hear you're not trying to be disrespectful. That wasn't the impression I got. 5. I didn't say Wells shouldn't get a chance to start next year. I said I'd be fine with whatever decision the team makes. Are we good?

Out of respect for Weams, I'll bow out of this scintillating conversation.

How do you not understand that I was talking about the future?

Not funny, and of course, we weren't talking about this year. At some point, it might be nice to not think like a perpetual loser.

While you're probably correct, there's nothing harder on a baseball fan of a contending team than having the bullpen blow a bunch of games. Having said that, I'm fine with whichever direction the O's go with him.

If we had to choose between signing Villar or Schoop in free agency, which would you choose?

His last 9 games: 9.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 9 K's. For the year, he has an .843 WHIP in 51 innings and a 6.2 K/W rate. Rookie Reliever of the Year? All 8 of the homers he's given up have been in Baltimore. Still, he's only given up a .672 OPS at home and an amazing .439 on the road.

He's getting the XBH's, and I think everyone looks to see - can he cut down on the SO's. One pleasant surprise is he's got 16 of 18 stolen bases this year in 97 games - not a big deal but shows some good base-running.

Gotta give the O's credit for the way they've moved Stowers this year. Even though it's late in the season, I think it's very important for a prospect like him (at his age and with his propensity to strike out a lot) to get some AAA exposure this season. It's good for him, and it helps the O's with their planning for next year.

Then your timing is as bad as Jones' today.

Lol, Scott pitched well. Jones was the only problem.

Jahmie Jahmie Jahmie. Uggg.

Or it could be the start of a new sport - underwater baseball. Some may say, we have a head start.