Moose Milligan

There goes Mountcastle getting unlucky again.

Glad to see Wells is shoving it up their ass.

Stealing on a pitchout is fantastic.

Sac fly Adley! Let's GOOOOOOOOOO

Awesome!

Thanks. I like that Houck's pitch count is already that high.

Damn, just realized the game was on. How'd we get our 2 runs?

His teammate writing this about him comes of as an apology.

It's possible. I mean, he might just have an attitude that he's good enough, he's gonna do what he's gonna do and it's gotten him here. No one can say it hasn't worked for him. 1st round pick, Orioles rookie record for homers in a season, 3rd full season in the majors, one of the faces of the franchise...it's certainly worked for him, why bother changing anything? I'm playing devil's advocate here.

I know the guy that owns this is your friend, but I can't help the 5th grader in me laughing hysterically at the URL as I read it in the address bar.

Nah, I meant McKenna cause I was comping outfielder to outfielder (J-Rod, Trout) but also more saying the 25th guy on a team isn't always so far removed from the raw skills of the best guy on the team.

Well bully for Elias.

I just read an article today about the adjustments that Mateo has made that have made him a better hitter. Right after that, I read an article on The Athletic about what Jarred Kelenic has done to go from looking like a bust to looking like an All-Star. If you want to read it, I'd recommend it, it's very well done: https://theathletic.com/4443635/2023/04/26/mariners-mets-jarred-kelenic-adjustments/ I'm not here to say that all players can be fixed to the degree that Mateo has been hitting this year and a turnaround like Kelenic. But it's not as if you have to look very far to see guys who have found the right hitting coach, the right methodology and the right approach to turn their careers around. I don't need to remind you (but I'm going to) that we had Jose Bautista at one point. We also had Justin Turner. If baseball is an allegory for life, how many people have we run into across our lives that are super talented at something, but don't give it their all effort? That maybe they'd be the best person at their job or a fantastic artist or a better parent but they're perfectly content to say "this is good enough." I don't believe that these are easy fixes, but I also believe that everyone in the MLB is in the 99.9th percentile when it comes to hand/eye coordination and fine motor skills. I truly don't believe there's much that separates a guy like Ryan McKenna's raw skills from the raw skills of Julio Rodriguez or Mike Trout. I'm not saying that McKenna IS as talented as those guys, but he's not far off from a raw perspective. And yet, does McKenna go to Driveline in the offseason? Has McKenna used the Trajekt Arc machine? Has McKenna come across the one hitting coach that has the eagle eye to look at him and say "Hey, we need to make THIS adjustment" which turns him into an All-Star caliber guy? Like I said, I don't believe the fixes are necessarily easy to make, but I believe that it's also hard to search and FIND the right coach who can make those changes.

I don't know what you're talking about.

I understand where you're coming from, but these guys are more or less guaranteed starting positions with salaries like that. I believe that's part of the negotiations for a salary like that, not only am I getting 8 million but I'm also getting 8 million not to sit on the bench, right? Those are discussions that are had between GM, and agent and player. It's not, hey, we're giving you an 8 million dollar deal and you'll do whatever we want...we'll bench you if we want. To your point about our AAA prospects clearly closer to being big league ready, they were just as ready 23 games ago as they are today. I hope you're correct about him not being in the lineup 5x a week...like I said, I think best case scenario is that he's in the lineup 2-3 times a week and there's a platoon situation going on. In regards to Stowers/Cowser, I think Cowser gets the nod when it comes to playing time/promotions. Seems to be a better overall player.

I think they can recognize it just fine. I think it's a hero complex where they believe they can hit it. Because maybe, like, 3 weeks ago they hit one and that gives them the idea that they can do it. So for the next 30 times they see a slider coming in, they take a rip at it because THAT ONE TIME IT WORKED. It's like playing Madden with your buddies and you run some bull**** ass play that shouldn't work but you bomb it 50 yards and somehow your WR got behind the defense for a touchdown and all of a sudden you think that's a magical play. And so you try that play again and again and again and again and again because you think you found the one play that your buddy can't account for but all of a sudden he can sack your QB or get a defender on your WR and break up the pass and shut it down time and time again but you keep running it because you beat him ONE TIME for a sick touchdown and you're like a junkie chasing that high of being able to do it again. So that's what I think Jones was, and that's what I think Mountcastle is. Guys who know better to swing at the low and outside slider but they have a bit of a hero complex.

Yes. He did it for 14 years and went to 5 All-Star games.

I didn't either, but it's hard not to when we're playing positional musical chairs and you realize that he affects what you can do in the outfield, too. And, for the record, I don't have a huge, huge problem with Frazier the guy and Frazier the player. I mean, he is what he is, which is a slap hitter that gives relatively good at bats, can help drive up a pitch count and not strike out 2-3 times a game like Odor was doing last year. I think defensively at second he's cromulent, but I'm not sure if I want him in the outfield. The versatility is overrated when it comes to him. He is better than Odor last year...when I say I don't have a huge, huge problem with him and that he's better than Odor, that doesn't mean I think he's GOOD. He's just cleared Odor's bar to hurdle which was, like, a couple inches off the ground. I do have a problem with the 8 million and I do have a problem with how he clogs up the roster. When it looks as if he could be getting in the way of a 1st round pick getting at bats in the majors, relegating Santander to the DH position and moving Hays to RF in addition to guys like Westburg/Ortiz getting playing time at 2nd, that's an issue.

No chance. I mean, flip it on it's head. The Orioles were a surprise team last year that had playoff contention hopes until about 2 weeks to go in the season and they trotted Odor out practically every day for around 800k. This year, they're looked at as anywhere from a 70-75 win team to a playoff contender depending on who you ask. Regardless, Frazier is viewed as an upgrade and he is. But the point is that they paid Odor 800k last year and played him damn near every day, they're ABSOLUTELY NOT going to put Frazier on the bench or release him since he's making 10x what Odor made last year. If (and it's a big IF) they can find a willing trade partner, I believe Elias will pull the trigger but they'll have to eat a large part of the remaining salary for the rest of the year. Fine. But what team would trade low level prospects/organizational filler for a 2nd baseman who has an OPS is in the low .600s? Even with salary relief. I mean, I think most organizations can find that production in their own system for a lot less cheaper and not having to part with any talent. I think, best case scenario is that they do some kind of a platoon with Frazier. He makes 2-3 starts a week, splitting the time with someone else. To @Sports Guy's point about Elias saying that a left handed hitting second baseman was desired, I find that really odd and strange. I'm an Elias fan, but this is one head scratcher that doesn't make sense, especially considering you've got switch hitters in Rutschman and Santander, and a lefty in Gunnar. I could kind of understand if it was a power thing, but Frazier doesn't provide much power at all to take advantage of RF in Camden Yards.

Frazier and his 8 million contract say otherwise.

Yeah, I'd make this move.

Totally. Didn't figure it would be hurting him that much, though.

This is a great, insightful read. Borgschulte seems like the real deal. A big, big improvement from the Coolbaugh days.

Gotta make room for Holliday!

SO WE CAN TRADE HIM!!!! Ain't that right, @Sports Guy?