Jammer7

I have had some vertigo symptoms in the past. For me, it wasn’t an issue of being ill or not, but degrees of it. Some days are better than others, and I was able to function somewhat. I hope he is able to overcome this fairly soon, but I am not very optimistic of a quick return, based on my own experiences.

I’m glad he went to Texas. I wanted no part of him in Baltimore. Too many issues. On the surface, I don’t think KC got much for him either.

I know Kremer has been frustrating to watch. For me, it isn’t the stuff, but the execution. He came into the year talking about having different shapes of pitches. He has at least seven different-shaped pitches: 4 seam, 2 seam, slider, sweeper, curve, change and cutter. It’s difficult to be able to keep all of them sharp. Is it time for focus on mastering 3-4 pitches and put some others on the shelf? Chris Holt certainly knows better than me, but to have consistency and be able to deliver competitive pitches in key moments, Dean has to be able to execute better.

@wildcard great post. You put a lot of time into this. Just a few thoughts. Long way to go before we make a decision on Hicks. I am ecstatic how he has played so far, but he’s 33 with a long history of injuries. He seems like a great addition in many ways, but if his production falls back down to his usual levels, I pass. Daz Cameron may or may not be something after all. The reason he did not come up could be that they had Hicks in mind already, which is something they said after they signed him right after the Mullins injury. They may have wanted to keep Cameron working on his improvements to further cement them with reps in AAA, without worrying about losing him to send him back to AAA when Mullins returned. I think it’s too early to count out Cameron or Lewin Diaz for 2024. There are a lot of moving parts, as always. Is Mountcastle ever going to be the guy at 1B they want? Will Santander become the 1B? Is O’Hearn more than a bench/platoon guy? Is McKenna expendable for Cameron or Haskin? What does the everyday infield look like? Are Mateo and/ or Urias dealt? Is Ortiz a UT or a starter? And much more that we should get more of an idea about by October.

I agree. I doubt any modern day manager would have that kind of latitude. Those are conversations they have before a move is made, for sure. There is a lot of things taken into consideration, like data, scouting reports, match ups and so on. I would love to be a fly on the wall in some of those conversations.

None of us know exactly where that line is. I keep reading that on this board, but there is zero evidence that it is the case. I believe there is input from the front office, maybe even who is a priority play and so on. From what I have read and heard, Hyde makes the lineups, and takes into account the input from the front office. Sig, Eve, Elias and Hyde have all said this in interviews in the past year or less. Obviously, Brandon Hyde has bosses and does what he is told. But I do believe he has great discretion in the lineups and pitching change decisions, in general.

He just needs to get comfortable fairly quickly, play solid defense and have solid pro at bats. Hyde showed a lot of patience with Gunnar and let him work his way through his early struggles. JW is not the same level prospect as Gunnar, but not too far off. I did not think JW looked very good at 2B in the limited looks in spring training. I hope he acclimates there much better than I saw. As far as Frazier or Mateo going, who knows? I think Josh Lester should be DFA to make room on the 40. They’ll likely send Ortiz down, but he should be back. You have to think that Mateo has just about played his way out of the lineup. The mental lapses and the fact that his approach and mechanics have regressed horribly are maddening. I was one of his biggest advocates here, but it’s time to not be the everyday guy. EDIT: LOL, they make the move as I was typing this. Godoy waived, fine. Lester can be waived for Cowser then.

I like McDermott’s athleticism. I have not seen much video this year, but he was a little too much effort to be a starter in the long term for me. And his change up needs to improve from last year. Without a better change up, probably a reliever. Povich is not as physical as McDermott, but still a loose and athletic guy. A five pitch mix, but needs to add more strength in his lower half. If I had to pick one, it would be Povich. It is a bit of a toss up for me. Both could pop in the next year or two, but neither one really seems close to being ready any time soon.

You’re 100% right, and I hate it. He grew up 10 minutes from me. I like the young man, and my 12 year old son has met him a few times and idolizes him. His power is tremendous, but until he commits to making pitchers throw him strikes he won’t get to it. How long does the organization wait on that? And, the wall is definitely in his head as much as the shift was in Chris Davis’ head. According to FanGraphs, he has two options remaining. Perhaps they should keep him in Norfolk beyond the rehab assignment. Let him try to work a few things out in his process. To me, when he is right, he drives the ball to RCF as well as anyone. I’d like to see him work back through the middle again like he used to.

I agree, for now. There may be days where Santander, and even Urias, plays 1B. If they bring up another OF, or when Mullins comes back, fine. But, IMO, I would not take him out of the OF for one misplay. He is decent out there. I like O’Hearn, and I said so at the time of his acquisition. Its a long season, and I would keep running him out there, on occasion, to keep his versatility. We may have further injuries that necessitate him playing there more. I like that Hyde plays him there.

Sure, but that bat has to be in the lineup against RHP. He moves pretty well for a bigger guy. I don’t want him out there five games a week, but he can play out there 1-2 times a week until Mullins comes back, or Cowser comes up.

Meh, it happens. I actually think he has been pretty good in the OF, except for that one gaffe yesterday. He moves better out there than I expected when he was acquired.

Obviously, it is uncommon to see a MLB player put on the IL for mental health. We all know his story, at least we have some insight anyway, and I hope all is well with him and his family. I truly wish him every good thing in life. That said, this is a business. I was a believer in his arm talent, but I loved the trade because Jorge’s confidence is very fragile. You cannot have that as a closer.

I am beginning to think you might be right. There is upside there, but he hasn’t shown the aptitude to improve in his shortcomings. I should say he has improved, at times, and then shown an unexpected regression to the bad habits. It really can be maddening as a fan, and even worse as a coach. Hyde, Borgshulte, Fuller and Ashe have to be pulling their hair out at this point. They get him to do the things they teach, he has success, and for some reason he goes back to the old way of doing things. His process is all over the place. For me, he has just about gone from a guy that we needed to see get everyday at bats, to someone we can move on from as the starter at SS. If this was 2021, no problem. It’s 2023 and we are trying to win.

I would say the SP are just fine. Gibson, Wells, Kremer and Bradish are a solid 4. The issue for me is the durability. For instance, Wells is at 81 innings already. With his history of shoulder issues, how confident are we that he’ll be healthy and effective in September and October? I feel optimistic about the health and durability of Gibson, Kremer and Bradish. For those reasons, the middle and set-up relief is the main issue for me. If Mountcastle is out for long term, and I truly hope not, then we’ll need to replace him. A Goldschmidt deal makes sense, but the Cardinals do not sell usually.

I agree. Cano has been showing a dead arm recently. The movement has been off, and the stuff is not the same. He has been overused, out of necessity. We need Baker and Perez to really step it up, or find two more 7th/8th inning guys.

Frobby is not alone with the perception expressed in the OP. This board is often consumed with posts that go out of the way to be negative. They often feed off each other. “This signing was horrible, so and so is a terrible defender, the team has done nothing to improve over the off season, So and so is toast…why did we sign him?, Elias can scout but he is in over his head as a GM…etc…” It’s been funny to watch the team win despite how terrible everybody is. lol If we disagree with the negative posters, we are Fanboys, Elias apologists and now, Frobbyites and Facebook posters. Who is telling whom how to fan? Not one poster has said others cannot criticize the team or whatever. Maybe just asking fellow fans to realize the great season the Orioles are having. I do take long breaks from this site these days. I suppose the negative posts lead to more clicks and hits from the Twitter-like masses, not from me. It didn’t used to be this way. Too bad.

Also my biggest concern. We need to add an arm to the back end. I do like what I have seen from Baumann recently, overall. The pen needs some guys like Perez and Baker to return to form. Coloumbe has been great, but over-used out of necessity as well. A healthy 2022 version of Tate would be great, but I doubt he gets back there in 2023. Givens’ shoulder appears to be worse than they are letting on. The wildcard here, for me, is DL Hall. He could be a big difference maker.

The negativity is why I don’t get on here much these days. It is absolutely draining. In fairness, I don’t think most here know how to feel about a winning team, at least not one with an even brighter future. The Buck/DD run for 5-6 years was always patchwork without much regard for the sustainability. We’ve recently gotten used to thinking about constantly replacing most of the roster, and replacing them with prospects who “might” be better. I do not think many here understand the growth process to building an actual solid major league player or pitcher and forming a winning team. We’re not used to building with a sustainable plan and seeing the guys on our MLB roster grow through adversity. Its easy to point to Mateo, for instance, and say how crazy they must be to stand by him through his offensive struggles. The coaching staff obviously feels that Jorge has remaining upside, and to have a chance to get there, they have stood by him so far. Although I do think he is running out of chances, and deservedly so. The point is, the maturation of a major league player is a process. They have to have X amount of reps to learn. Mateo has never had everyday at bats until coming to Baltimore. They gave him an honest chance, and he might have run his course at this point, maybe. When coaches are seen as standing behind your players, that matters to guys. They all struggle. They have to know that they can struggle and learn, to get to the other side. Like Gunnar, for instance. Look at how he is seeming to turn a corner. It’s a different situation in many ways, but the potential payoff is worth it. If Mateo does somehow click and learn better swing decisions, he would be a star. It’s a process, a gamble in some ways, but one a team in the position the Orioles have been in has to go through for potential stars. That said, I have been one of Mateo’s biggest supporters since he arrived. I am just about ready to move on. He does not seem to have the maturity and aptitude to move forward. But no one can say Hyde did not have a ton of patience with him. The thing is, now we’ll get to read all of the “I told you so” posts. Yay! I can’t wait. Its a fan site, I get it. But maybe take a deep breath and try to see the bigger picture before DFAing every player who has a slump.

That is true as well. He did not really improve like they hoped when he returned. And there were things some pointed to on data and video, like swing decisions and the amount of swing and miss in the zone. That, along with some mechanical adjustments, the Orioles believed in him and felt confident he could be much better in their system. That was what I was told anyway.

He was a year older, sure. It didn’t matter because he enrolled early at UF. When we drafted him last year, he was 21 and turned 22 in late September. Age wasn’t a factor. He skipped his senior season of HS baseball in 2019 to play CF for the Gators. Thanks to COVID, he could have stayed at UF for this season as well. The thing some did not like was supposed to be the strikeouts and approach. He was just trying to do what his coaches asked and he was more aggressive than he wanted to be to try to drive in runs. Some teams did not like that he was rumored to want to go to certain teams, like Baltimore, and feared he would not sign again. There was much more behind the scenes and to the Boston decision. He wanted to be in a system/situation he felt he could prosper, and Baltimore is such a place. Boston was not. He had leverage and Boston treated him like crap, gave him a true old school “take it or leave it” offer from the beginning after not really talking with him at all before the draft. No real dialogue. So, he went back and played with his brother at UF. We’re lucky to have him. Hopefully, he continues to develop and progress.

The college and pro guys I know and speak with, it’s a thing. Energy you bring each day is a thing. Maintaining intensity and being consistent with your attitude, preparation and approach is a thing. There are lots of guys with up and down uneven performances. It isn’t a measurable, you cannot quantify it, no. The reason you do not see it as much is those guys without it don’t make it to pro ball or major college ball much. These guys have to have a great work ethic. I saw Hays hit at the Marucci Clubhouse here near Orlando a few years ago in the offseason. He works at a different level than most. I guess it’s something you have to see behind the scenes or before games to compare. You disagree, cool. Rock on.

The lack of a green font had me question if this is some kind of humor, or what. It isn’t a new term, but ok. I don’t think it’s a “tool.” Its an intangible. It’s a term describing the energy exuded by a player, every day. Not that Jud doesn’t grind, he does, he’s just a little more laid back than Hays in his day to day approach. That is just my observation/perception. It’s a real thing scouts look at in an everyday position player. And to be clear, I am sure there isn’t a bigger fan of Jud than me on this board. But Hays brings “the juice” everyday. Another unclear tool, juice.

Anything is possible during this transitional time, but as I wrote earlier, I think they could gamble as you said. They spread things out in past drafts, and it was wise because they added quality talented depth. They can gamble a little here, and I think they did that last year as well when you think about McLean and the Walters, Young and another that escapes me right now. Gambling with the first pick is a little different, though.