Moose Milligan

Joan Jett, everybody.

No, I'm well aware that he was hurt last year and that's why he wasn't as good in the 2nd half. He's obviously having a great year. I want to see how he handles a slump, etc. His OBP will always be propped up by whatever his batting average is, that'll never change.

This is one of those threads (like most of them) where what I'd like to see versus what I think they'll actually do are vastly different things.

Ryan Mountcastle's OPS+ has dipped from 137 to 114, to 107 to 89. His regular OPS has dipped from .878 to .796 to .729 to .686. There is a very real possibility that he's on a steady decline across his career. Hicks, IMO, is more valuable based on his plate discipline alone and I'm not even bringing his adequate defense in CF to the table. O'Hearn isn't as good as he looks right now, I agree, however his plate discipline is still better than Mountcastle's. And he can bring a bit of positional flexibility and play in the outfield although I think probably everyone agrees that if O'Hearn is in the outfield something is wrong. So again, I don't care what Hicks hasn't done over the past two years because it's irrelevant if he's finally healthy which he looks to be. However, if we're going to prop up Hicks' last two years as something that's relevant, we also need to examine Mountcastle's steady trend of slowly becoming worse and not better.

I'm not sure what the point is. Aaron Hicks has 10 walks for the Orioles so far compared to Mountcastle's 12 walks. In 198 less plate appearances. I don't care what Hicks has done over the past two years. He wasn't healthy. But you don't need health to have good plate discipline. Ryan Mountcastle, no matter this year or last year hasn't had good plate discipline. He is who he is from that perspective. Some people want him as a platoon with O'Hearn. I'd begrudgingly accept that because that doesn't mean he's always starting. But this roster becomes way more flexible and arguably better without his presence.

I don't disagree. I just don't want him on the major league roster.

Also, I think it's absolutely hysterical that some of you guys in here are talking about "our turf" like you're the Sharks and the Nats are the Jets and you're about to recreate a dancing scene from West Side Story. In regards to RSN's failing and an alternative, the Utah Jazz have a solution which is following what the Suns did: https://frontofficesports.com/like-the-suns-jazz-are-ditching-their-cable-regional-sports-network/ Also hysterical is the fact that the name of the Jazz's TV station is called KJZZ which makes my 5th grade mind chuckle uncontrollably. But NBA teams are forward thinking and MLB teams are not. So, this probably isn't a real alternative for a team like the Orioles.

I SAID I was playing devil's advocate. No, I'm not betting against any of these two guys. But in keeping up with the charade of playing contrarian, I do remember "The Calvary" and it only netting, like, three good seasons of Zack Britton as a closer. Unless Tillman was part of that group. Either way, I remember that group largely being a flop. I'm pretty sure there was a time in Orioles history where Ken Gerhart and Pete Stanicek were considered to be future all-stars. I remember being psyched about Curtis Goodwin and Alex Ochoa, too. I thought Alex Ochoa was going to be the next Roberto Clemente or something. I'm pretty sure we all thought Billy Rowell was going to be what Mike Trout really became from a hitting perspective. All of that is to say that prospects don't work out all the time. Now the fact that the team has this much infield talent together at once makes it a bit different and certainly stacks the odds in their favor and I'm not complaining about it at all. But everything is always so rosy with prospects, isn't it? What are we saying when Holliday tears an ACL, Norby gets traded, Westburg doesn't pan out, Ortiz can't hit and Mayo is average? You think those things can't happen? Mind you, I'm not saying it's likely all of those things happen, but it can't be discounted. It's weird to be cocky as an Orioles fan, isn't it? I also think it's hilarious that you included Vavra in there. C'mon.

I get that and I'm inclined to agree. But I'm also inclined to say that Pythagoras is Greek for "math can kiss the fattest part of my ass" and that this is really fun and I'm a believer.

True, that was a weird patch where he lost it but put it back together. I don't know if he'd have recovered from that last year.

But also, @wildcardgetting rid of Mountcastle in some way makes keeping Hicks in the lineup easier. And that's clearly an upgrade.

We agree that Elias isn't going to change much. But Mountcastle is the one thing he should change. And I've grown tired of thinking how good he could be if he had better plate discipline. He doesn't. He never has. And odds are, he never will. In other words, Mountcastle has set the bar so low for 1B productivity, it will not be hard to find a better player. .686 OPS, 89 OPS+, .264 OBP. You can't have a first baseman with those numbers. But you made my case for me. The team is doing fine without him, there's no need to bring him back and give him significant playing time. If you want to send him down, fine. I'd prefer to trade him, whatever. Just don't want him on the 26 man and playing often.

I'm glad you all are enjoying the show. I am too. But I'm also like Tony Soprano over here.

Was glad to see him increase his strikeout rate last night but was disappointed he couldn't get through the 6th given how pitch efficient he was in the 1st and 2nd innings. As it stands now, his K rate is .2 below where it was last year, his k/bb rate is almost a full point higher. He is trending in the right direction and it's good to see. I think out of all the starters, he has the best pure stuff. Just needs to keep refining it and figuring out what works for him.

I'll play devil's advocate, just for kicks. I was an Orioles fan in the 90s and 2000s. I remember it well.

Make all the predictions you want, that's part of what this place is for. You just make it once, hope no one really pays attention and don't keep repeating yourself. Or else you'll end up like @Sports Guybeing remembered for his love affairs with Casey Kotchman and Brandon Wood. In regards to what Elias will/won't do with regards to Mateo and the playoff odds...if they're trending at 65% and getting higher with each successive win at this pace, I doubt Elias does anything to shake up this team. Outside of the Lopez and Mancini trades, he didn't last year, like I said he kept trotting out Odor. And Mancini was one of the faces of the team...so if he trades Mancini last year with the team winning and playoff chances around 10%, what do you think he does this year with a guy like Santander or Hays and our playoff chances at 65%? I mean, that's what's so frustrating about it all, this team is winning at a really good clip and beating some tough teams, all the while it appears that there are underperformers and this team could be better. But Elias clearly disagrees so far.

I don’t think Mateo is going anywhere anytime soon. And I agree, the defense, while still very good, isn’t as good as it was last year. Has nothing to do with the range, he’s botched some easier plays. But I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon. This is the same brain trust that trotted Odor out for a whole season last year. At least Mateo brings a very good glove…Odor didn’t do anything great except strike out. This is a brain trust that gave McCann at bats at DH this year. This is a brain trust that likes to carry three catchers for anywhere from 24-72 hours for no explainable reason. This is a brain trust that has yet to give significant playing time to Ortiz and doesn’t appear to be coming close to calling up Westburg anytime soon. This is a brain trust that will trot Mountcastle out to first base as soon as he returns from the IL, putting the much better O’Hearn back on the bench. Don’t get me wrong, Elias and Hyde have done a lot of great things. And this team has been a winner for over a full season now. But to pretend that they will do away with an underperforming player on offense just because there seems to be a better option available is foolish.

Drop Lester and McKenna. And trade Mountcastle. O'Hearn and Santander at first. Bring up Cowser and Westburg. Hicks in RF, then Cowser in RF when Hicks cools. Westburg in the infield rotation. Who says no?

Probably. And that’s too bad. Plain to see that he’s a drag on the offense.

Gotta find a way to keep him in the lineup when Cedric comes back as long as he’s hitting this well. I said it in the game thread, get rid of Mountcastle, Tony to 1B, Hicks to RF. O’Hearn can DH.

Too close for comfort. But it’s great to beat Tampa, especially with their home record.

Bob Walk.

That was smoked but Frazier should have had that. Backhanding it was a terrible move.

Damn. And for Bradish not to get through 6 innings given how he started this game and the lead he had, is disappointing.

That was lackadaisical, first impression.