linedrive

Bummer. Not surprising though. I figured there'd be a delayed start and fewer games. Still, I was hoping for a "normal" season. But I'm okay with everything in the proposal except the one month delay and one week extension. I'd rather have a 3-week delay and no extension. I'd even be happy to permanently play only 154 games per season.

Personally, I liked Hunter and will miss him. I was pretty upset when we lost Jon Miller, but even though Hunter wasn't nearly as good, I enjoyed listening to him. On a side note, I know a number of Yankee fans who couldn't stand him (or Joe Angel) and would trash him to no end, and that would make me laugh... maybe that has something to do with it too, lol.

I think the international signings has taken some of the boredom out of this offseason.

Lots to be excited about! I've been waiting a long time to see something like this. And not only are we rated in the top-tier, but the Yankees are in the bottom tier! ?

I can't recall if it was a doubleheader, but I live in the Harrisburg area and make it to as many Bay Sox games as I can.

I was trying to get Matt Wieters autograph when he was coming up through Bowie. The game was in Harrisburg, and he was signing autographs for other fans. Just as I was getting close, all the players were called into the dugout, and Wieters began walking away. I called out and asked if he'd sign my Orioles media guide, but he was apologetic, saying he had to go. But then he shrugged, came over, and signed for me, and I thanked him. He didn't have to sign, but he did, which was very cool. Not many high draft picks would have done that, so he quickly became one of my favorite players.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!!

Enjoyed the interview. He's an easy guy to root for, and hope he makes it!

Sad to see Iglesias go. I really liked him, but I get it.

I'm guessing Elias thinks he'll be able to make a trade at some point. I think this will turn out to be a good move in the long run.

My expectation is for Hays and Santander to remain healthy and avoid the DL (or whatever it's called). That should go a long way to having a successful season for each of them. With that said, I'd be thrilled if Santander hit .250 with 30 homers and 100 RBI, with Hays hitting .270, 25 homers and 80 RBI. But is that what I expect from them? Probably not. I think my lowest expectation would be for Santander to hit .240, 20 homers and 85 RBI, and Hays to hit .250, 15 homers and 70 RBI. Anything less than that would be disappointing to me... or if they spent a considerable amount of time injured.

Makes sense, but still sad to see him go. All the Best to you Renato!

On the bright side, he out-pitched Porcello.

I guess it depends on how the term is defined. I defined it as "Using the best pitcher available in any given situation..." This primarily means not committing to someone as the "closer". How many times have we seen an inexperienced "closer" start the 9th inning and blow the save, and the next night he's put in the same situation and blows the save, and three nights later... etc. In the meantime, the previous pitcher recorded two outs on four pitches, and instead of leaving him in to close the game, he's replaced by the "closer", who promptly walks the bases loaded, gets a couple outs, then loses the game on a two-run double. By not committing to a "closer", however, we can leave the hot hand in the game, or bring in another pitcher who's been hot to finish the game, and if he gets in trouble, then replace him with another pitcher who might be right for the given situation. This idea isn't new and has been discussed by sports journalists for years. I simply take the above position- unless we have clearly have a dominating closer (and we've had many).

I like Sulser, but never agreed with committing to him as a closer... at least not until he established himself and truly earned it. I don't think that ever happened. In times like this, I'd like to see a bullpen by committee. Using the best pitcher available in any given situation seems like the most logical direction to go. When the entire staff is young and questionable, there's no need to force anyone into any given role. Put them in situations where they'll most likely succeed, learn and improve. I'd think situational pitching would be the best thing for this club. I realize a closer an expectation in today's game, but that may not always lead to more wins, which should be the ultimate goal. I'm not so concerned about wins this season, but in a year or two, let's go for wins, not saves.

Definitely. He walked 4 times in his first four games (.333 batting avg), but hasn't walked since- 0 walks in his last six games (.320 avg). He had 2 runs and 1 RBI in those first four games, and 2 runs and 4 RBI in his last six. Pitchers will adjust, and it would be helpful if he were to be more selective and take those walks. Let's see how he does this last month of the season.

I don't remember where he landed on MLB Pipeline's draft rankings, but I do remember he was advertised with having an advanced bat, and I was happy with that. I've been following his progress ever since.

Very encouraging.

True, but Trey Mancini deserves an honorable mention (debuted 2016).

Very encouraging.

Very cool. I got to meet him and play some baseball with him in a pick-up game. Great experience!

I definitely agree that we need to temper expectations. I don't think we have such a player whom another team would mortgage their future for, but I would be happy obtaining some solid bullpen arms, or take a chance on some players with upside. Anything to give us a better chance to compete in the future. We may be playing better than expected, and maybe we have shot at the playoffs, but I see no reason to make a run at the playoffs if we have a chance to improve the club in the long run.

I say absolutely YES we should trade away our most coveted veteran players for young talent, even if we’re in the playoff race. Why? Because it’s a perfect opportunity to fleece other teams desperate to make the playoffs, hoping for an unlikely World Series win. This is a great opportunity for us, and could set us up for a decade of playoff contention, and maybe a WS win or two. That’s more important to me than making the playoffs in a lost season. Making trades could also open the door for our future stars to get into some games, and that would be fun to watch them play. But I also would very much like another high draft pick, so I'm in favor of good trade opportunities.

I agree the O’s aren’t playing like the worst team in the Majors, and they won’t get a high draft pick at this pace, but they’re only 4 games ahead of the worst team in the Majors, and two games ahead of the worst team in the AL, so there’s still plenty of time to regress. Personally, I would prefer getting a high draft pick than make the playoffs at this point. This team still needs to acquire some top talent, and winning right now isn’t going to help us obtain the level of talent we need to sustain a team that can contend for the next decade. I’m glad some of the players we have are playing well, but hopefully we can trade them to another team desperate to make the playoffs and win the WS. In fact, this is the perfect year for an unlikely team to win the WS, and we have an opportunity to take advantage of those teams. That means we have to make some big moves, even if it costs us the playoffs. On the plus side, trades could open the door for guys who might be the future of the franchise, and that would be enough to satisfy me this year.