foxfield

You have to get 2 outs. You have an 11 run lead. You face the top of a lineup that had one hit on the day. I might give up 7 straight home runs in this situation, but I ain’t walking 2 guys to start the inning. Two outs. He is frustrating.

You have basically answered your own question. If Grayson didn’t agree he could file a grievance. He didn’t so one might assume, regardless of how serious, he agrees with the course of action.

Nice game. Expected nothing less. Last two nights we have even had some creative bull penning.

I will say that in 1970 I didn’t think the Yankees were going to destroy Oriole pitching. And if I did, I wouldn’t have said it out loud. Sure I was only seven. But yeah it is starting to stand out that many still think of this team as if it is a pretender. I expect a win. Every night. Every series. Why would you not? Do I think the East is assured? No. But it goes through Baltimore. Do I think the WS is assured? Of course not. But I do think one or more is coming.

I appreciate the reverse jinx thing and Roy does it well. But one of the things that annoys many of us about the Yankees is that they expect to win. There was a time when that’s how it was for us. Personally, I’d rather have that back. The Yankees pitch pretty well and if they stay healthy they will be tough. But tonight we got some breaks and we did lots well. Grayson wasn’t masterful but he did the job. Perez, Cano and Coulombe were sharp enough. The O’s played good defense and Gunnar became the Youngest player in MLB history to hit 10 HRs before May 1st. But most of all I sat in 3rd base Box seats with a lot of folks who expected the Yankees to win and I enjoyed the heck out of it. My favorite play was Santander and Gunnar forcing out Stanton at second on a single to right. Reverse away Roy. But the time is coming when we should expect this. And tonight felt good. Ain’t the beer cold!!!

Glad he is ours.

I have noticed this as well. Sure hope he delivers.

There are an awful lot of assumptions here that are premature. Athletes want to perform and Kimbrel has every reason and right to do the same. My guess is that he wants to perform well enough that the O’s pick up the option for next year. He knows his body better than anyone and we don’t know the situation other than he has seemed off. We also know his usage rate is unsustainable. It’s a tough time for the O’s but hopefully there is a way to manage. Good to see Means have a very nice outing in his rehab. My guess is we are about to see how creative Elias and Hyde can be with mixing and maxing pieces. …Crosses fingers.

I did not look it up, but as I remember the Orioles actually did try to resign Cruz. He wanted and got a longer contract that turned out to be a good deal. At the time it seemed prudent that the Orioles balked at that.

I didn't use the word logjam, it was in the OP. That said, while the jam may well be at the back of the rotation, the fact that giving Bradish and Means a whirl to see where they are forces some moves. IF either one of them is not what we need, then anything that is DFA'd can't come back and that would be an issue. Yes we still want more and better pitching, but without the ability to simply option guys and find out, it creates a log jam to determine what is best moving forward and it creates risks if either Bradish or Means are not serviceable somewhere.

I don’t see anything that said the Orioles had too much pitching talent. Or why you would read it as such. Simply another way for you to drop your belief that until the Orioles have the three best SP in baseball, they are not serious WS contenders. And while that is admittedly an overstatement of your point, I think it’s you who has a pie in the sky view.

The answer to the question is obviously no. Now if the question was would Gunnar have been worthy #1 pick the answer seems obvious that he would have been. But taking him where he went allowed the Orioles to maximize their draft which is what every team hopes to do. You can argue whether Adley was the right pick but if Gunnar went first there is no way the two picks work as well for Baltimore.

I don’t think I could make a list of 26 people I’d rather have than Gunnar.

Ordinarily a logjam is a good problem to have. Unfortunately for the O’s this one has some good and bad with it. On one hand it is remarkable that Bradish could be back so soon and the potential arrival of Means also has to be welcomed news. That the O’s are 16-8 without these two is also a really good thing. But the O’s do not have a hoard of optionable players and both Bradish and Means are potentially arriving but are not locks to either be effective or to have staying power. In theory both could be back out as quickly as they arrive just as easily as they could return to prior form. Either could also prove to not be as effective as hoped. But you have to find out so they are coming and the O’s will in my opinion try to minimize DFA’ing potential pieces as long as possible here. I still do not have high expectations for Bradish or Means, but color me very pleased that we get a chance to find out as we close out April. How this goes is going to be important and hitting on one or both of these moves would be extraordinary.

For me it’s the fascination with people who are fascinated at the people fascinated with Roch’s fascination with McKenna. And it’s not particularly close.

The question isn’t whether you offer it. It’s whether you are willing for him to accept it. It’s going to be pretty easy if Santander stays healthy to math out why he is worth more than $20M. But the pick associated with signing him could well affect the market. If you would love him back, make the offer. However, if you have any qualms about paying him for one year, you don’t offer the QO.

I would give him a deal based on what Seattle did. Large incentives for GG, MVP, All Star etc. and I’d try to avoid opt outs. (Although Julio Rodriguez’ did have them). That deal was 12 years 209M and could extend to almost 500M with 2 MVPs. And I’d tell Gunnar that these were the types of deals that would allow extensions to his teammates.

I looked at that draft today. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a very good draft. I don’t think there were many nuggets that the O’s missed on. They were just unfortunate to have a draft with so many in the top turning out to miss. But yes the difference is amazing. Hopefully they continue to grab top talent.

You mean the Montgomery who had a 9.0 ERA AGAINST US in the playoffs and still won? Yeah. Bud you keep beating this horse, but as it turned out the Orioles didn't pitch, hit or play def the same way in the playoffs. IF they had done that, perhaps it would have proven that the pitching was the reason the 23 playoffs ended for the O's. I mean I agree that I wish we had gotten Montgomery. But if Grayson pitched against Texas the way he pitched against Tampa or Wash in his last two starts...at the very least the O's do not get swept. And maybe they get on a roll. We don't know. We do know that the best hitter for the Orioles in the playoffs last year was Jorge Mateo who outhit the entire team in one game (except Gunnar) going 4-5 in Game 3. That kinda tells you something. And not specifically to your point, but even though Bradish exited game one in 4.2 innings, he outlasted Heaney for the Rangers. Game one comes down to the Jacob Webb HR, otherwise the bull pen does good work. Win Game 1 and well everything looks different. It didn't. But not because of the point you consistently make that the Orioles failed to get a starter like Montgomery. They failed to perform pretty widely. As is won't to do in a three game series. Simply repeating it over and over, doesn't make it so.

6.2 and 0 runs is not 7 and 1. I don't know whether you owe blood...or your head...but I assume missing by a whisker saves you. Try to do better next time though ok?

I think this is part of what is going on. Hays in my opinion is pushing a bit because he wants to stay and keep playing. In the off season he announced he would love to sign an extension. He ia a player I have always liked and admired. He was a bright light on some dark teams without much talent. He played all out when there wasn't much to play for except pride. However, the tide is rising and it would appear guys like Hays will be replaced. Whether he continues as a 4th OF guy or not IDK. I hope he comes out of it and plays his best. But I still expect Cowser to get the most abs.

Who had the OH turning on Jackson Holliday in less than 10 days? I took the over, but I am an optimist.

I don’t love Kevin Brown. But I like him a lot. I also see a ton of potential for him to grow. I think the O’s are lucky to have him and I think if our future is as bright as we hope he will be wonderful to chronicle that journey for us. John Miller isn’t coming back. Nor is Joe Angel. Kevin Brown is a nugget.

Best headline ever. Well done.

I’d make a run at it in the order of Gunner/Adley and then Holliday. I’m not unwilling to do something with Burnes but I think I’d be out before he says yes. I would also try to do incentives to make deals more lucrative. Like the deal Seattle did with Julio Rodriguez. I think going that long without incentives is unwise and giving opt outs only to the player is financial folly.