crawjo

I think there are too many seats, yes. I believe most of the newer stadiums have lower seating capacities. I think a capacity similar to what the Pirates have (38,000), would be ideal.

I would do that, but since we are thin on pitching I wouldn't trade Rodriguez, because then our return is just filling a new hole that we've just created.

I'd say our only untouchable prospect is Jackson Holliday. And you aren't going to trade Rutschman or Henderson. I would absolutely move Westburg or Cowser in a deal for Gilbert.

I don't know what would get it done, but I would trade a lot for Logan Gilbert. He's exactly the kind of pitcher we should be trying to land.

I'm old enough to remember when everyone was saying the Orioles had too many outfielders.

And not just that, but only two months of Jordan Montgomery. Pass.

Yennier Cano had an 11.50 career ERA entering this year. I think he is finding his actual level now. It's not what he was during the first 35 innings of this year, but it's a lot better than anything else he's done in the past.

I think I'd rather have Baumann in the 8th than Fujinami in that spot. Fujinami has great stuff and I think he can be very good, but I don't think it was the right move to have him pitch on back-to-back nights and put him in a pressure situation right away. They need to try to work him in gradually so that he can get comfortable and hopefully be a weapon down the stretch. I'm someone who usually thinks that closers are overrated in general, but Bautista is clearly the MVP of this team for me right now. There are just so many games that it feels like we're supposed to lose but then he comes in and shuts the door.

Sports betting has become a blight on the sports landscape. You can't watch any sporting event without getting a plug for gambling every 7 minutes or so. It's absolutely awful. I've never been one who felt that sports gambling needed to be illegal, but I sure wish they would pass some laws limiting the ability of sports betting sites to advertise, as they have done for cigarettes.

I'm sure they will trade for more pitching. I have no idea who it would be, because I don't really know who will be available. I definitely don't think they should trade big prospects for short-term additions. It would make sense to break the bank for a huge rental like Ohtani if the Orioles window was closing. But our window is opening, not closing.

Yup. I still remember how throughout his career Ripken would go through long stretches where he looked totally useless as a hitter. Then he'd try some new weird batting stance to pull himself out of it.

Yeah, I don't agree. He's been worth 1.4 WAR so far this year, which is solid. His OPS+ on the season is right around 100, which is above average for a second baseman. He complements the roster well as a left-handed hitter and has a clear role on the team. I also don't agree that we are losing "player development time" for anyone.

This isn't a comment just prompted by this game, but I've felt all year that the criticism against Frazier has been mostly unwarranted. He's a solid player who should be getting fairly regular at-bats the last couple months.

Teams that don't sell because they have a marginal shot at a wild card will regret it later. It will be a sellers market and there are plenty of good prospects to be had. This is one reason why I hate the wild card and expanded playoffs. It used to be that, in order to win a championship, you needed to put together an excellent, even dominant, 162-game season and then back it up by beating similarly excellent teams in the playoffs. Now you can just #@$% around, get 86 wins, and bs your way to a pennant, like the Phillies did last year. I don't know what the point of a 162-game season is if we are going to let more than a third of the teams in at the end of it. For the Orioles, I want a division title or nothing. I'm not interested in wild card lottery tickets. I want to win the toughest division in baseball and then go from there.

I'm kind of feeling having a deep, active bench. People often want there to be a clear distinction between "starters" and "bench" players, but I like the idea of having platoons and using the full bench. The team is playing well, let's just enjoy it.

Anyway, I agree with the OP. Ortiz is our best trade chip. I do not think other teams will see him as "scraps." I think if packaged with the right secondary pieces you could potentially get a nice haul for him. And it makes sense based on who is on the major league roster right now and who is on their way. In three years, I can see where Henderson, Westburg, and Holliday are all playing. But Ortiz? It's hard to see a path for him other than a devastating injury or massive stock drop by Holliday or Henderson.

Awfully tough to trade arguably the best hitter on the team right now in the middle of a pennant race. You almost never see that happen. In the offseason, it's definitely a possibility. But to make the trade now would be very risky.

I think he's surely better than he has shown in the last couple of months. I mean, his OPS+ was 84 last year, and that made him a decently valuable player. After the hot start this year he's been way, way worse than that. It's just a weird bench log-jam right now with Mateo, Frazier, and Urias. Frazier seems to be getting the most playing time at the moment, but that could change. When Hays is healthy that will make lineup spots more difficult to come by, now that Cowser is up.

Yes, I think patience is needed here. We have the All Star Break coming up, you will want to see who is healthy and productive in a couple weeks. I do think it is a question whether Hicks can be productive for us if he is in a fourth outfielder role and not getting regular playing time. McKenna was able to handle that role reasonably well. But, a single injury can change the whole dynamic, and I really don't think the front office wants to bring up Kjerstad in that situation.

To me, Ortiz seems like a trade candidate. Given the depth we have at shortstop in the majors right now, plus Holliday in the minors, dealing Ortiz as part of a package for some pitching depth would make a lot of sense.

Hopefully Rodriguez gets called back up after the All-Star break.

Yeah, and Tate is a big loss for our bullpen. We really need another reliable arm out of that pen.

For me, the goal for this team has to be a division title. Getting the wild card is fine and all, but it's not likely to lead to championships. Seeing where we are now, I think we are still a year away from being able to realistically compete for the division. Our position players are still young and growing, our starting rotation is spotty, and our middle relief needs help. I'm happy with the Cowser call up not because I think it's going to give us the spark to ignite a run, but because Cowser is now at the point where he needs to develop in the major leagues, and not at AAA. Westburg, Cowser, Henderson, and Rutschman are the future of this franchise. Now we need Grayson Rodriguez to earn himself a promotion back to Baltimore and then see where our rotation is heading into next year. For me, Wells and Bradish are part of our future. Gibson and Irvin are placeholders, and Kremer is a big question mark.

I don't think I agree with the last part. I think Urias or Mateo would make excellent utility players down the stretch. That's an important role and you need somebody who can shift into different positions and play well.

Yeah I'm going to go ahead and say that they aren't bringing up Westburg just to fill Mountcastle's role and hit against lefties for a few games before being sent back down. They see Westburg as a future regular, maybe a star. They clearly don't see Ortiz the same way. I'm sure if this was 15 years ago, when the Orioles were bad and the farm system was garbage, Ortiz would have gotten regular playing time. But the standards are higher now and Westburg is ahead of Ortiz in Elias's mind. That's all that matters to me. Elias has certainly earned my trust when it comes to drafting, prospect evaluation, and prospect development. Ortiz should be frustrated, but if he plays well in AAA he will get his opportunity, either here in Baltimore or somewhere else.