Pickles

So Mountcastle missed a ball tonight that I believe was easier than the ball last night. He's a big man. He plays small around the bag.

You've said that several times, correct? I started a thread about the guy after game two and called him a breath of fresh air. He's helped. I can't quantify it, but he's been such a massive upgrade.

I was wondering about that myself. I hope he's doing well.

It's eerie but everyone coming out of the pen for the O's this year has looked real good.

I believe the LF, Gallo, could have caught the ball as it happened. I also believe he would certainly have caught it if he had been positioned a few feet closer to the IF, which almost certainly would have been the case w the old configurations.

And the floodgates open. What a strange, funny game.

That occurred to me.

You're right. It was an awesome example of good strategic thinking and we should totally be emulating such processes.

Thank God! Odor, of all people, with the big hit.

Well, of course no one is suggesting trading for a pitcher who will perform badly in exchange for a prospect who will far outrstrip expectations. That's the beauty of hindsight. What is being advocated is prospects for "stopgap" pitchers. I'm pointing out the downside in that.

I would criticize it under that very explicit reasoning.

If they wanted Davies, they should have signed him to a FA contract six weeks ago.

Obviously, I'm not advocating never making trades or never trading prospects. Let's keep these things in context. I'm specifically criticizing the idea of the Orioles right now trading a prospect for a stopgap pitcher.

No, rest assured, if Elias starts trading prospects for stopgaps I'll criticize him for it.

Nor do you trade them for stopgaps to get to 64 wins.

Major parts in teams winning 64 games?

I don't believe he was a global top 100 prospect at the time of the trade.

Obviously, the history of baseball is littered with far more than one example where a "small piece" or an "insignificant" prospect far overachieved their prospect status. It's why trading prospects for stopgaps to get that magical 64th win is a stupid, moronic, very idiotic proposition. Am I doing it right?

Tatis Jr. was a small piece for a stopgap SP. How'd that work out?

The changeup was a real weapon.

Bullpen was great last night. Had a real 2012 vibe to it. Going forward, we'll see. I believe I started a thread, or participated in one last year, around the end of April and I was effusive in my praise for them. They immediately wilted under the pressure of having to carry an awful starting staff. So far though there's a lot to like. BTW, there was speculation about Tate after his last appearance and that should be put to bed now. His velo was fine last night.

It was definitely close. Great throw and probably better tag were the only reason he was out. However, you can't make an out there.

That would kinda be the thing they would keep proprietary, no?

This is a real bummer.

Let's hope we only need about half that.