Il BuonO

The Yankees are playing well, but I like Toronto’s chances.

It’s a decent point, but I haven’t given up on Santander. He was shopped coming into this season, but it’s unfortunate the way his season has unfolded. The injury hasn’t helped, but he is capable of solid play defensively and is more athletic than Mancini. I’ll be disappointed if TM becomes a sentimental pick to return, but I guess worse things have happened.

Still mad about it.

They’re far more likely to be hurt by the bad FA signing. Davis says hello. Resources are better risked on young controlled talent than on aging superstars. The Orioles aren’t the Yankees, Dodgers, or Red Sox, but they certainly could be closer to the what the Rays have done.

Come on, man! Mullins and RM are way above average.

To put a pin in The Richie Martin Escapades at SS, if I’m his manager I might not even say anything to him. But I’m sure not giving him the next few starts. Screw your head on.

In any case, I’m not worried about missing out on a premium pick, even at number two.

Yeah, bad. And he’s a horrible defender at 3B.

Do you mean 2020?

I know how it was ruled on the field. It was not the correct call. The rule says “....on a reasonable throw from a fielder, another player has an expectation to prevent or not prevent the throw,” and I’m paraphrasing, but not covering a base isn’t an error. It’s the expectation that Valaika made the correct throw that situation and Martin wasn’t there to catch it. I’ll find the rule number and post it or just the number, so people can decide for themselves.

The Rangers radio broadcast team do a very good job.

Blacked out here, so I’ve been following along on the Rangers broadcast. Their radio guys went above and beyond looking up the rule covering the play at 2B where Martin apparently forgot his job. They were genuinely surprised there was no error charged to Martin and Means was charged with an earned run, for which the rule clearly explains should not have happened. I was driving so I missed what part of the book in which they found it.

No reason for that. He’s surpassed what anyone could have expected.

And a .300 BA, although, it’s less of a marker than in the past. His defense, especially with OAA looks good. What does your eye tell you? I notice with that metric the above average play is all to his glove side. I really think he covers the gaps well, however, it makes sense that he’s better to his glove side. His deficiency is balls up against the wall. He’s looked less than stellar on balls there, but I admit he’s also made more than one play robbing a HR. Regardless, he’s more than solidified himself all around.

The Orioles have pitchers?

So, also interesting to note that a few years back there were a few pitchers (very few) who experimented with just slightly dropping the differential from their FBs to the five mph range, the “hard” change, as it were. Greinke, was the most notable, but their were others. And now that’s all he does, which is fine at this stage of his career. As the old saying goes, though, pitching is about changing speeds (and probably eye level along with command), but it ain’t easy. Ask any of the “pitchers” the Orioles have run out there this year besides Means, and I’m sure they can attest. I’ve always liked around 10 mph off the FB as a good range.

That’s a pretty good take. Again, my dad in CA watches every Angels game, sometimes even the replay! He’s the harshest critic I know and he said Bridwell never looked the same after the injury. Only anecdotal, but the injury was very real and it likely ended his career.

I was giving odds against in one of the game threads when he was on 28. They’re less now.

And that Mountcastle kid ain’t bad either!

Boooooo! Yeah, imagine that, a call decided in NY that doesn’t go the Orioles way (not to be confused with The Oriole Way). ?

I didn’t say he can’t. I’m not convinced after watching him battle through the injury this year that he’s moving any better in the OF than he was when he was in the midst of it. It was a bad call to keep him in the lineup early on instead of an extended stay on the IL. If anything, it hampered his recovery. He had a good couple of weeks with the bat and I’m confident he’s through the worst of it. But make no mistake, a hitter needs his legs healthy to be effective. More so for Santander because he’s a switch hitter. You can’t plant your back leg on a bad ankle, which is where a hitter transfers weight from back to front. That can’t be stressed enough. And he’s landing on it when he’s hitting from the other side. (Santander takes a big stride and he’s listed at 235) To me, it was a noticeable difference when got hot and started driving the ball. However, his OF play has not been good by any metric. And it doesn’t pass the eye test either. He looks like a different guy going after the ball. I was excited about Santander when they made him a Rule 5 pick. I remember posters here bashing his defense, not without cause, but not entirely accurate either. I remember reading Kendall’s comments on him and about how hard he worked at getting better on defense. There’s a lot to be said for a guy with a guy who has a good work ethic. Santander has a ton of athletic ability, or had. I broke my right ankle and it’s never been the same. I hope he does come back.

As Frobby stated, ball was hard hit, not an easy play. But one he was making routinely last year.

I wouldn’t go that far, but he certainly won’t be nominated for a GG again. He’d better hope another team still believes he can put together a comeback.

Thank goodness. Cesar Valdez, preserving the Orioles chance at a number one pick. ?

Hasn’t been moving well all season. I’m ready to move on. They have a glut of outfielders I’d rather see.