Jammer7

You’re not wrong. I was just pointing out that it can be done, and well. There are many more out there who are “pull hitters.” They are not the majority. As far as Mountcastle, he has excellent power to all fields. I would not suggest he become a pull hitter. He is actually a good “bad-ball hitter.” He will likely never be a guy who has a high OBP, IMO. He can be more situational and look to pull certain pitches more, but I would not advocate for him to be a pull hitter. He is a very good off speed hitter, and unless the pitch is a hanger, the approach should be right-center for Ryan for those pitches. Ryan Ripken recently did a good breakdown of Mountcastle.

Yes, and Manny Ramirez. All guys who could hit the inside FB, and dared you to throw it. Thome opened his stance quite a bit and looked to yank everything. His words.

Yes, and no. That is the developmental approach for most. However, if you get up on the plate, like say, Jim Thome, the outside pitch is in the middle of the plate. And you can pull everything, especially with a bigger, longer bat. You’d better be really good getting to the inside pitch.

Correct.

I agree with separating them, absolutely. Thanks for the info. I teach Criminal Justice now at a high school. It is interesting to compare state laws to ours.

It is different here, as far as procedures go. We do the majority of things at the scene, if possible. If PC was established and arrest was made, Detectives generally play a role after the fact, behind the scenes in these DV cases. They support the victim in any appropriate way, show them how to take advantage of different services and programs. Here in Florida, it used to be when I started that if the victim made statements that the suspect battered them, that, in and of itself, was probable cause to arrest. The law was clear; the officer “shall arrest.” Even if it may not have been corroborated by physical evidence, and regardless of whether or not the victim desired prosecution. The State is the victim in DV cases. It has evolved over time, but for many many years that was the law.

Just one old guy a few years removed, and from only one agency here. But, it starts with the dispatcher’s call notes and observations. When we arrive, what we hear, and other observations. What do neighbors or other witnesses say? We make contact, and separate the parties. We question them as to what happened and look for evidence. Any injuries, scratches, bruises and such? Is the residence trashed? We talk to the kids, depending on the situation. We do the best we can to see what happened, and to determine if an arrest is warranted. Is there an actual domestic relationship? Did a crime of violence occur? Is there a current injunction in place? We try to do this in a way that lets the parties maintain as much dignity as possible. We often engage people on the worst moments of their lives. These are the most dangerous calls we answer. A lot of emotions run deep. I went to one call where the wife had been battering the very large muscular husband with a large frying pan. As we walked up, I heard what sounded like someone struck a gong. It was her hitting the man in his head. The lumps on his head to match. Minute later, we are arresting her, and the husband angrily tried to batter us. Quite a good fight, we broke nearly all of their furniture in the small apartment. Just another day, right? I tried to give you a general sense of things, and I am sure I left things out. Each incident is judged on its own merits, as it should be. If we have probable cause, an arrest of the primary aggressor has to be made. The law is clear.

It was a ridiculous statement. Hyperbole or not. We spend our lives defending the helpless, and people write things like that. It’s your right and all, but it makes you appear to not be credible. Everyone has rights, even the accused. What if it was you facing allegations, and you are innocent? We look at the facts, you know, the thing…evidence.

If we prosecute everyone who lies to the police, we would not have people available to answer 911 calls. We would do nothing but take liars to jail. Verbal allegations are one thing, but when they submit a sworn written statement it becomes a legal document. Easier to prosecute. I have prosecuted many such cases, mostly fraudulent cases with auto theft. Watch mainstream media? If you do, you are being lied to everyday.

It is not rare. It happens a lot. I retired from law enforcement last year after 29 years. This is what I experienced. Even more so to celebrities and others who have things to lose.

So, has any of that been proven to be true? I am not sticking up for him, but people make false allegations all the time. For the past 30 years I have listened to people allege that things happened. Often, it is false, or blown out of proportion because someone is upset and wants revenge, or to control someone. I truly despise that people get buried by rumors, innuendo and unproven allegations.

Bauer is certainly worth evaluating. He was whacky before the allegations, for which he has been cleared, but he is a talent. He has his warm-up routine, that many considered radical when he came out of UCLA. Funny how those things have become fairly normal now. Putting aside, for a moment, the allegations. He obviously is an extreme competitor, along the lines of a Marcus Stroman. The only thing that glares at me when I try to fit him into the Orioles clubhouse is his penchant to rant and take things to social media that should have stayed in the clubhouse. That is not something that will fly with Elias and Hyde, nor will it be ok with the vets already here.

I do dip snuff, mostly at baseball games and practices, for whatever reason. I recognize that others may not like the sight or thought of it, so I keep it incognito out of respect to others. I spit in a water bottle, and reseal it each time. I keep it away from others. I have seen someone drink out of another’s bottle, not good. I will say that I may not represent some others who are not as considerate of others. I understand that is really the issue. Personally, I would like to ban gum so I do not have to get it stuck on my shoe. I would argue that all of the vapes, especially the nasty weed vapes, are way worse to many people. That smell is awful, and it takes a long time to dissipate. It lingers. Not sure if it even illegal anymore in Maryland, I’ve lost track. Many do not seem to care where I live. Ah well, maybe we can get someone like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé or JayZ to throw a dip in. Then, the “I know what is good for you” crowd will think it’s cool to dip. I better stop here. Cheers

Just stupid. Next, they’ll ban sunflower seeds and peanuts. These folks that feel the need to decide what is best for all of us…never mind. I was about to get a little political.

At this point, the only thing I’ll address any further is the “free” thing. No, that definitely isn’t where I was going. Not going there at all. Thanks for the info. Some of this was my lack of understanding. Carry on, as you were.

Oh, the NCAA and their rules are often ridiculous. Pryor is only one small example. There was (is) so much cheating and they tried to make more and more bad rules. There is no question that NIL is their right. SCOTUS ruling is pretty clear, I think. The only questions I have is without their participation in college sports for an NCAA school, what would their “brand” be valued at? What role does the institution, and the infrastructure they have built before the athlete enters play in that? Does it create an unfair advantage? What is amateur sport? If they want to sell merchandise with their likeness, good. If they even want to get a job, good. But, forgive me for my ignorance, how can a University offer a kid millions of dollars based on what might be his value? Before he has even done anything? How is that an amateur sport? If he earns it, on his own, then great! I am all for it. Fundamentally, the student-athlete is supposed to be there for an education. In most sports, the non-rev ones, they are. For football and basketball, it has become a minor league sewer. There is some selfishness, sure. @Frobby wrote a very well written post about it. Strictly from a consumer standpoint, it is a disaster. From an idealistic standpoint of a parent, and as an educator, I want my kids to struggle. That is where growth happens. I know that is not the point of this discussion, but it gets lost these days because people simply only care about $$.

The scholarships they receive are $40,000-50,000? Perhaps a good bit more in many places when all expenses are added in with healthcare, food, lodging, supplies, etc… I realize how much money the schools make, so I’m ok with giving the players some kind of stipend. They did not allow the kids to work during the school year, IIRC. But to give them, in some cases, millions of dollars, what a joke. They have opened Pandora’s box with this “likeness” thing. The players are kids. Struggle is good.

Competition and depth are good things. Two options, good. Injuries happen, so why not make moves like this and Maton? A full 40 man can be remedied easily, when the time comes. I thought this was interesting from Melewski: “Soto was one of the top signings of the 2016 international signing period and got a $1 million bonus from the Braves. He was ranked as the Angels’ No. 16 prospect in 2018 and was in their top 30 every year through 2023, between No. 16 and No. 26. Soto made his pro debut for Atlanta in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 2017, but after the season was one of 12 Braves prospects declared free agents by Major League Baseball as punishment for Atlanta violating international signing rules. The Angels signed Soto the first day he was eligible to sign with a new club for $850,000.” https://www.masnsports.com/blog/o-s-claim-livan-soto-40-man-roster-is-now-full

Yeah, exactly. Nothing wrong with giving the kid some grace period as he adjusts, I.e. be patient. I am certain that, given some time to adjust, he’ll be similar to Machado in the way he made changes and grew into his body and game. He will not be in awe of anything. Jackson is different. I am all for having him start the season at 2B. Let him play and learn. Bat him 9th and watch him blossom. The game will not be too fast for him. Not for long anyway.

Maybe. Depends on how you value depth vs. higher ranked top 100 guys. I named several orgs that are definitely ahead of us, and some others that are unusually a bit thin. We have a good number of guys off our top 30 or so who could be much higher in other orgs. I’m no expert, and it is very subjective, obviously.

Yep, plus the picks, 22 and 31 in the first round, I believe. Maybe one of them can impact the O’s top 10. In your scenario, they would probably still be somewhere around 7-12 or so. It depends how you rank the system and how much weight you put on “top 100” types. The Orioles top 5 are top 50 types, the next current 5-7 (includes a few that just missed top 100) and are likely in the range of top 150-200. I just took a brief dive into BA’s org rankings. Many of our draft picks in 2023 are likely underrated, especially the pitchers who did not pitch last summer. The Rangers, Brewers, Rays, Padres, Dodgers and maybe the Pirates might be ahead of us. The Guardians, Mariners, Reds and Diamondbacks have slipped a little.

Well, yes. With injuries and trades to strengthen the big club, prospects can fill holes or be trade capital, as you said. We always need fresh optionable arms for the pen, and rotation depth as well. The only way for a small to mid-market team, like Baltimore, to maintain a playoff team is to introduce lower cost young talent to balance out the costs of the stars. As this group gets to arb 2/3 years, some may have to be moved so we can sign Adley, Gunnar, and/or Jackson to extensions. Not to mention Grayson, Bradish, Bautista and whomever else. So, we’ll need to keep producing, albeit at less of a level than we’ve have the past three years.

It will be interesting to see where we are, talent-wise, in the minors after this season. Potential subtractions of Holliday, Mayo, Kjerstad, Cowser, Ortiz, Norby, and maybe even McDermott, Povich and Seth Johnson. Basallo, Bradfield, Beavers, Horvath, Baumeister, and then what? Don’t get me wrong, it’s expected as we graduate so many great young talents. I am just referring to how interesting and exciting it is to see who will be the next stars to develop into top 100 types. This is where we will begin to see just how good our system is. No more top of the first round draft picks. True development time. Off the top of my head: Braylin Tavera, Ayden Almeida, Josh Liranzo, Leandro Arias, Luis DeLeon, Tomas Sosa, Carter Baumler, Trace Bright, Kiefer Lord, Stiven Martinez, Emilio Sanchez and Jake Cunningham all have tools to be guys who can impact the big club someday. Can Fabian, Haskin and Wagner, or even Carter Young, take a big step forward? Maybe Elias moves a few ML pieces for prospects as well. We have to make room for the young guys. I am not a guy who cares where we rank amongst other clubs, but it will be interesting to see where we are this time next year. If only in the context of how effective the system is working.

Me too. The return is very fair, and it hurts a little. But this is what takes a young team to the next level. Awesome deal!

Unless the days off were not his idea.