Ruzious

Yeah, I thought that should be one of the benefits of being a lousy team - Ya can give a kid a shot - so he gets valuable MLB experience.

And ya gotta look at the age of these guys. If they're 25 and still in the minors, don't ya think that's somewhat demoralizing to a kid who sees people younger than him who he thinks he's better than - already succeeding in the majors. For the 1st time, he's 2nd guessing himself.

Exactly. And in Lowther's case, he'll turn 25 in April and has dominated at every level he's pitched at. What is pitching against AAA players - who are mostly AAAA types - really going to do for a guy like him? It should be a question for the O's scouts as to whether or not he's ready. If they think he's ready for Baltimore, he should pitch in Baltimore.

When you do that, you're not really competing. Competing is about getting the batter out - not trying a variety of pitches against him.

Hayes is projected to OPS .770 Austin Hays Stats | Baseball-Reference.com (baseball-reference.com) If he does that and stays healthy, we got ourselves a good situation in CF going forward - with more upward potential.

I want them to promote him when they think he's ready. Pitching in AAA isn't guaranteed to help him. Some things that work in AAA might not work in the majors. For example, if he figures he can get certain AAA/AAAA batters out with just his fastball, he might neglect working in his changeup - which he'll need to get most batters out in the majors. Pitching in the majors forces him to become a better pitcher and makes it clearer to him what he needs to work on.

An open letter to Chris Davis: Dear Chris, Please come to a financial agreement with the O's to end your career in Baltimore immediately. You have given the O's fans nothing but failure on a historical level for 3 straight years and show absolutely no signs of changing that. You are also taking away opportunities for players who are far more deserving than you are. You know that the right thing to do - for everyone's sake - is to retire immediately, and you owe it to everyone to do so. Thank you in advance for your consideration and action to this matter. - Ruz

He just means we won't be able to see it if we're wearing glasses. After all this time, I won't believe a word he says about him making any effort. The bridges have been burned.

But are you really going to lose anything by having Valaika as the backup SS rather than Martin? If yes, the overall difference probably isn't significant.

Exactly. No more playing games with rules that won't really make much difference anyway and no more over-thinking. Play your best 5 starting pitchers.

Gotta get that slugging percentage back over .320.

That's a relief - as long as it doesn't sap his power...

If he actually has a great year, will we really know if it wasn't Batman in disguise? There's always going to be that issue clouding his achievements. Good luck to the Dark Knight of Camden Yards.

O to have insurance cover a Chris Davis extraction.

Special isn't even the word for it.

I'm not going to complain if they wait a few weeks, but get him in the O's starting rotation. We don't need to see him go against AAA/AAAA hitters.

So what? Who isn't overmatched in their first 100 or so at bats. He was kinda able to rebound from that. Ya don't just give up on Adley if he struggles in April - that would be foolish/absurd/ridiculous.

You're talking about 135 plate appearances in Trout's first year. In his 1st full year, he OPS'd .963, won ROY, was 2nd in MVP voting, won a Silver Slugger, was 1st in offensive WAR in the AL, 8th in defensive WAR in the AL, I could go on and on.

Maybe this is the issue you don't understand. The goal is NOT to learn how to hit AA pitching. The goal IS to learn how to hit major league hitting.

Right, and at 23... a top 2 prospect in baseball in an organization that needs to show some sign of life to keep its declining fan base. By all reports was a man among boys last year. But no matter what organization really... who keeps a 23 year old in the minors when he's regarded as a top 2 prospect in all of baseball?

Ok, I see now that wasn't directed at me. Because I can't edit... I can't delete that last post.

Lol, I was about to thank you for a reasonable explanation before reading that last comment in your post. I don't think there was anything wrong with my post.

It's disturbing that only 26-27% said Yes. To me, either of the 1st 2 answers has to be the answer. None of the others should even be considered.

Would it be crazy to try a platoon of Ruiz and Bannon at 3B? Neither probably has what it takes to play ever day with consistency, but if you can limit Ruiz to batting against righties and Bannon against lefties, maybe that can work effectively to their strengths, and you end up getting good production at the position. Platoons seem to have mostly gone out of style, but now they might be a way to hide what would be a weakness. What? It's a no because they need Bannon at catcher?

Mayhap. It might finally be the last straw for me with the O's if he doesn't get a significant amount of playing time in Baltimore this season.