emmett16

Matz had a 4.72 ERA on 7/15 of 2021 then proceeded to pitch: 4 games vs. BAL 2 games vs. MIN 2 games vs. DET 1 game vs. TEX 1 game vs. NYM 1 game vs. SEA 1 game vs. CLE 1 game vs. NYY 1 game vs. BOS He pitched against the Yankees 2 times last year, Boston 3 times, and Tampa Once. He was hidden against strong RH lineups and the better teams in general. Not a guy I would target to pitch in the AL East against the better competition.

The Orioles have One (1) SP that is a solid major league contributor. They need at least five(5) more SPs, a SS, a 2b, & a 3B. Not to mention they need BP help. The Orioles payroll is somewhere around 40MM right now. If they spend ~25-30MM on FA signings (or trade for players with a higher salary) that gets them about 3-4 wins @ ~8MM per win. I don't see how this team can approach 75 wins next year. Perhaps IF 3-4 players come up from the minors this year and show that they CAN be solid contributors and CAN fill 3 to 4 of the 6 to 8 massive holes, then spending 25-35mm next year might be solid strategy. Especially considering that in 2023 there should be 3-4 additional promotions from the minor league level. Spending cash this year does not seem like the prudent move.

Stephen Matz was the straw that broke the camel's back? Did not see that coming. Managements plan should be to plan a winning run around player X & player Y's service time? Seems like a poor long term strategy. I fail to see how this team could be so exciting in 2022, even with the addition of 2-3 solid FA signings. This team is historically terrible and has 6-8 massive holes that need to be filled. Grayson and Adley are more than likely to come to the majors and struggle. If you are expecting them to dominate day 1, then you are setting yourself up for more disappointment than missing out on Stephan Matz.

Pinto and Hernandez for me. Pinto had a great year and Tony is high on him. Hernandez looks like high school ARod. For me after top ten it’s all about ceiling talent.

That swing is a thing of beauty. Smooth, effortless & powerful. I’m officially on the Maikol bandwagon.

Is it possible Elias is doing Harvey a solid by letting him go early so that he can land on his feet and try to take advantage of the next opportunity?

The fact that one of these guys is going to be the 8th ranked prospect in our system is pretty dang amazing. We've come a long way.

Of course you can do whatever you want. The last three drafts have been overwhelmingly hitter heavy which creates speculation on a message board full of dudes following the worst team in baseball. BTW bourbon or beer this evening?

But you could make more money in 1 year than your colleagues. And if you are successful you are going to get more money the following year.

I'm terrible at these types of things. But I'd target Greinke, Gray, Stroman, and Syndergaard on one year deals. As I said before they'd need to target mercenary style players and as a casual fan I have no way of learning that info. I do know if highest annual value is on table(which would help players union in future negotiations), the union would put pressure on pitcher to take that deal. I don't think they could afford/lure players like Scherzer, Ray, or Kershaw. And I imagine Kevin Gausman will never come back to this organization unless his life depended on it.

I think they need to identify Pitchers that would be willing to take a 1 year deal and sign them above value. They need to find a way to keep offensive player's salary to a minimum and pay out the wazoo for SP. Identify a mercenary that is willing to bet on himself with 1 year deals and pay 10-20% above market value.

Perhaps. But you OP points out that 60% of the SP from 2018 Astros were acquired from other teams. You also pointed out that Astros tried to develop their own pitching and failed, thus separating the strategies employed by the Orioles currently. So it doesn't seem they are 'slavishly following a certain model'. What Elias' master plan is we can only guess at and watch play out.

Is the point of this thread to point out that after you buy the arms to finish a rebuild, you sustain your winning ways with players from the system?

Permit issues, supply chain issues, understaffing issues, COVID issues, material availability, material cost volatility, labor availability, "island time" issues, etc. Like I said in my earlier post, seems like they are right on time.

If getting a permit in DR is anything like getting a permit in DC, VA, or MD then I'd say they are right on time. We heard about this 6 or 7 months ago. I image that is when all plans were finalized and submitted for permitting/approval. 6 month wait for permit on a large commercial complex in DR seems about right. When I first saw the announcement I assumed it would be a three year project. Looks like it will end up being a 1.5 -2 years to completion. I'm pleasantly surprised.

La posada is a festival. It Doesn’t mean past. Arozarena = Sandy rice There used to be a poster on here with an avatar of a Tejada jersey number 10 but had “roof” in place of tejada. Made me laugh.

Kids no longer have any interest in baseball. I live in the Bethesda area and the local league has 4 select teams for the 10u age group, that down from 10+ just a few years ago. I don't think there are any 9u select teams this year. My son is the ONLY kid in his entire grade (4th) that plays baseball. For years, decades even, the owners have been killing the sport in an attempt to line their pockets as much as possible. The playoffs this year are yet another example. Why in the world do the games start at 8pm? (rhetorical questions - I know exactly why). Television coverage of baseball has become so boring that even myself, a life long baseball fan, has trouble making it through games. The game is slow and boring for the casual & new fan. There are 162 mostly meaningless games throughout the season and the first game of importance, postseason pressure, exciting plays, etc. was aired after all children went to sleep. At what point will baseball market their stars and make sure they are put in front of young eyes? It is painful watching baseball commit suicide. MLB is so far behind the marketing/branding curve, that I don't think they will ever catch up. In fact I think we will see the game slowly die out during our life times.

480 then you have to get it through the wind. Wind comes into the stadium and swirls as it hits the warehouse. It’s like surfing next to a jetty. The warehouse asks like a jetty and picks up wind swell from all directions and bumps wind back towards the field. It would take a monster blast, dead summer (for highest humidity & fewer oxygen molecules) and absolutely zero wind for a ball to even have a fighting chance. IE. Day of homerun derby conditions and the leagues most elite left handed power hitter.

Mountcastle’s bat to ball skill is incredible. He’s going to be a special hitter. I think we are just seeing tip of the iceberg.

Keith Olbermann’s mom might disagree.

The curve ball was a real weapon for him last night.

What's the longest stretch of baseball he has played w/o being on IL?

He's a big boy and has a thick lower half. He drops and drives and looks like he has a tough time getting over top his lower half and falls off the the left side. Looks like a compact and efficient motion nonetheless, just might be a body type thing. One thing I'd be nervous about is telegraphing his pitches. Looks like he might have a tendency to tip pitches to advanced hitters.

He looks like a man amongst boys down there, just in the way he carries himself. Game moves slower for him. I was super impressed when he kicked it into high gear on Friday to turn a single into a double. Shows immense baseball IQ and a pretty darn strong run tool.