seak05

good defense matters, dang

If Bradish doesn't get a good look this year (and it's not due to injury or something like that) I will be thoroughly disappointed. I'm hoping that Zimmermann and Wells get thorough looks this year...Baumann I'm good with seeing what he does out of the pen first (same on Akin, and same with Lowther if he is throwing well at Triple-A).

Maybe it's because its opening day and I'm in a glass half full mood: But I'm choosing to view this as biding time until May when Bradish and Rodriguez get called up (and I'm actually good with Rodriguez being in Triple-A given he hadn't pitched there, Bradish should've been given a real shot at OD rotation)

Any reserve player is going to have limitations, and that's especially true if you cannot even start on a bad team, and so who plays tends to be a puzzle rather then a straight swap. Santander doesn't have great range, so swapping him out for Mancini in the OF isn't a big defensive loss, and you keep a better bat in the line-up. When you get to Camden Yards which now has the big LF...if you're swapping out Hays or Mullins, I think you'd play McKenna as defensive range is a much bigger necessity. So you take the hit in the lineup in order to keep a better defensive arrangement. I don't think it's as simple as, well if you play Mancini in the OF in place of Santander, that means you don't have a 4th OF. Now if Diaz had good defensive range, then I think you could have a good 4 man rotation with Mullins, Hays, Diaz, and Santander each getting plenty of at bats...but that doesn't seem to be the case. In reality Hays is probably the prototypical very good 4th OF, but that would require the Orioles to have 3 OFers better then Hays.

How good is Diaz defensively? If his range is more like Hays I think you can rotate him in, if it’s more like Santander…then yeah AB’s will be tough

I'd have started McKenna, but I think he slots best as a PR/defensive replacement (and my guess is he'll be used when Mullins or Hays gets a day off)

On a personal level I feel for Stewart. But from a baseball perspective, I never understood why he was on the team in the first place. He doesn't have any skill (run, defense, bat) that says major league. If you're starting Mancini in the OF, you don't have a fourth OF

Stewart

If you don’t think that’s worth 7m you haven’t been paying attention to the cost of pitching. Orioles need to cover a certain number of innings this year, Lyle will do a bunch of them in a not totally embarrassing way (hopefully). That would be a big improvement from a lot of last years starts

Why Odor over Smith? Granted neither can hit, but Odor can at least play defense

who is at the top of your list?

I'm ready for DJ to be DFA'd, can't field and can't hit

Roch reported it as a bruise in one of his notes sections a day or so ago. That seems to be the official line from the Orioles right now

If the Orioles are committed to a crappy lefty bat on the bench, I prefer Odor to Stewart.

Santander apparently read my comments about his potentially short leash

These are not straight fastballs

lol (Hyde said Hays would be in LF at Camden)

Yeah, he's only been a 1 WAR player, and I wonder if they'd start to rotate through with Diaz and Stowers if those guys have good triple-A starts, and Santander struggles as he did last year

I actually wonder how firm Santander’s grip on a starting OF spot is

Broadcast said could be in lineup tomorrow, just a bruise fwiw

Orioles didn't give either Mateo or Owings reps in the OF this spring (and Mateo might be starting SS). With new Camden Yards LF outfield defense feels important this year too. Then again I'm more then ready to move on for Stewart....who can't really play the OF anyways

That’s bullshit. You’d think they’d be happy anyone still wanted to cover this crap major league roster

The surprise here is definitely no creed Williams. Intrigued by De Leon

I think Perez replaces Scott taking the role as hard throwing lefty with command issues. Now maybe Scott has a better year then Perez, but I think it's certainly debatable. But I think you think more of Scott then I do Sulser is the bigger piece IMO, but it's not that unlikely that someone like Bauman, Bautista, or Baker has a better year, and there are only so many 1 inning specialist righty roles to go around

This, some of you all are acting like the Orioles traded away good players. Not guys who blew plenty of leads on their own last year (especially Scott). The replacements might not be any better, but it's not like these were two dependable above average options. Trade also clears space on the 40 man