Moose Milligan

Cedric is not looking like the Gold Glove caliber centerfielder that some claim he is.

I hate Boston. The whole thing. If it just washed away I’m pretty sure no one would miss it.

Yeah and this is arguably the first adversity he’s experienced as a professional, outside of the injury last year. I’m not saying he’s a bust, I’m not saying we should be freaking out over this, but how he’ll handle this adversity will tell us a lot about him. But you have to admit, this isn’t how anyone pictured the start to his season, he had a rotation spot waiting for him and he botched it. Adversity is fine, but not rising to the occasion isn’t optimal. You may consider them the same thing, I consider them close cousins. So I think we all wanted to see how he’d handle is demotion and the results today are lackluster. Again, not a reason to freak out yet, but this is easily the biggest disappointment of the early goings here.

I don't think this thread will be, like, 80 pages come September. There's a chance that it will with one or two outcomes: Frazier plays out of his mind and makes a lot of people change his mind, then there's rampant speculation about trade value...or, he completely craps the bed and we're here ranting all the time. Like, he's Odor bad. But the reason that this thread is popular today is that he had a good game and it was the first time a lot of us have seen him play when we've been paying attention to him. So there's a freshness factor here, a novelty factor that'll wear off in awhile. I will admit that the one thing I neglected to take into consideration is that Frazier is harder to strike out than Odor, he's going to put more balls into play which is a positive. Just eyeballing some of their recent seasons, Frazier should probably strike out 50-60% less than what Odor did last year. So having a guy at the bottom of the lineup who can slap the ball and maybe put some pressure on the defense is a good thing. More chances for something to happen on the bases, more chances to turn the lineup over to get Mullins and Adley up. My stance on the contract for the offseason was that it was 8 million that could have been better spent, especially with guys waiting in the wings who can play 2nd base and probably do just as good of a job, if not better. That stance hasn't changed and it won't change unless Frazier puts up a season for the ages.

Yeah, I remember watching him in '94 and thinking he was great. I didn't realize that he was injured in '95 and that's why he didn't play, but he's one of my favorite "short stay" Orioles that we've ever had. I knew he was good, but I didn't know he was THAT good in the beginning of his career with the Jays. Great story, too.

No game today, so I'm going down some rabbit holes on YouTube for baseball related videos. If you remember the '94 Orioles, you remember exactly how great Mark Eichhorn was. And this video is about Mark Eichhorn. This might have been some @DrungoHazewoodprime meat, but unfortunately Eichhorn didn't pitch in the Federal League.

Just give up. I have given up and I'm thankful for it.

That's a good way to start the season! On pace for 48.6 WAR. Suck it, Ohtani.

Amazing.

We're on pace for 162-0. How's that for some algebra?

Fine, .3 WAR.

I don't know how to calculate WAR but I think Adley deserves at least .5 WAR alone for today.

That was a great at bat, no doubt about it. He looked good today.

Yup, should have kept Betts, would have gone down in their franchise history as one of the all time greats and one of the most popular players.

He just looked kinda confused and walked slowly back to the dugout. There was no dust up or anything.

Devers gonna be the new Pablo Sandoval.

Mounty walked twice. That’s impressive for him.

I’m not sure I agree. Despite thinking the culture is tacky, I mean.

If you’ve got guys like ours, there will be a distinct advantage. The Sox catcher didn’t even try to throw anyone out, IIRC. Will be curious to see how we do at preventing the running game against other teams that have speed threats.

Oh, and, the Mateo throwing error on the DP the 9th was inexcusable, too.

There's a lot to unpack here: Adley is God. Offense can be potent. Seemed to be a focus on taking pitches, working the count. And this can be a really fun offense, too. I hope they run like this all season. Frazier was good today. Will make contact and spray it around, he's not going to be a whiff machine like Odor was. Outfield defense so far leaves a bit to be desired. Mullins should have had that ball in the first, Santander misjudged one in the later innings that should have been an easy out. Gibson was mostly sharp, I can see why they wanted him. Could be an uptick from Lyles. I wrote earlier about the bullpen scaring me this season, this game didn't do anything to put those fears to bed. This game should have been 10-4, 10-5. Felix Bautista scares me, too, I don't think he's anywhere near automatic and I said that last year and I said it again last week. Great guy, great story but I'm not sure if he's the permanent door-slammer for us. Overall, a really fun day for the most part but it didn't have to be as scary as it was. I hate that we let them back into this game. Should have been a tone setter for the series and the season.

It would make sense that the immensely punchable Justin Turner would end up on the Red Sox. Match made in heaven.

Should be 2 out. Dammit.

A true gold glover catches that.

Dude. Mullins, WTF.