Pickles

His OPS is down like 20 points. A hot night and he's right back where he was last year. That's in over 200 more ABs. That takes a toll. He's not going to be a 900 OPS monster. He's going to hit ~20% above league average and he's going to see a lot of pitches and get on base. Sounds like an ideal 1/2 hitter to me.

I think the much bigger thing is that this is just who Adley is. I said it before the season: I thought people's offensive expectations were way too high, and they weren't appreciating just how difficult it is to be a true MOO bat while playing catcher every night.

I hope the speakers tonight have the good breeding to refrain from criticizing Jonesy's swing decisions. Is John Angelos scheduled to speak?

Purely as players, they were very similar in value.

Sounds like moving him around in the lineup isn't going to be a solution then.

Is that controversial? Purely as a player, Anderson was at least Jones' equal.

Beloved is a subjective term, but Palmer was better; Palmer's teams were far more successful; and Palmer was an Oriole for far longer. In addition to his multi-decades broadcasting career.

Oh, I don't mean "best" or "most talented." Jonesy certainly wasn't that. But he was the heartbeat of our best teams this century. Manny wasn't here long enough, and Gunnar and Adley haven't done enough yet, though I certainly hope they both surpass him.

Palmer.

It would be pretty epic if Jones got a chance to pie somebody this evening after a walk off.

He's thus far the most important Oriole of the 21st century imo. Does anyone disagree with that?

Oh, I was just making a joke. I'm always amused by the "say what you will about so and so, but he's actually great." If he's so great, why are so many people eager to say what they will? Adam Jones wasn't a perfect player, and surely isn't a perfect man, but at his retirement ceremony I'm sure nobody is eager to bring up any of his faults.

Now that's an interesting thread idea.

Was anyone inclined to say anything bad about Jones?

From the view on TV it looked like more than 25, but I'm not questioning the accuracy of the number. I'm sure it's correct. The crowd sounded solid on TV. I mean, it's not amazing, but 25 K on a school weeknight vs. the Rays is quite an improvement on where we were even a year ago.

I'm surprised. It looked bigger than that on TV. But thanks for the update. I was actively curious.

Some people aren't built for this.

I wouldn't doubt the logic is give Irvin his couple of days off- he never leaves Baltimore- and somebody is magically "hurt."

This is surely because Irvin is going to be unavailable for a few days after having pitched so much recently. I'd be surprised if he wasn't on the postseason roster.

If Hernaiz ends up an everyday player then yeah, it's an overpay. But he had no role here, and Irvin does, so I'm fine with it either way.

I just mean he's a better version of Akin. The results might be similar at times but Irvin's talent is superior.

Irvin is a rich man's Akin. These marginal upgrades don't garner the headlines but they've been fundamental to this team's success.

Threw a ton of strikes. That was good to see. It's hard not to be encouraged.

I'd be shocked if Frazier was here next year. Mateo will be though imo.