InsideCoroner

I don’t think I have ever booed the Orioles. I grew up among Phillies fans who regularly booed their players simply for trying and failing, and I always found that distasteful. Now if a player doesn’t try, like that time when B.J. Upton loafed after a base hit in the gap, or when Sean Casey singled to left but got thrown out at first because he thought the ball was caught and didn’t run? That you boo. And jerks on other teams, or Cito? Of course. Out of curiosity, @AdamK, is your son named after Ripken, or “& Hobbes”, or Coolidge?

Is it, though? Look at what happened to McGwire, Bonds, Palmeiro and ARod, each of whom were sure to get into the Hall Of Fame, yet after being HR Derby contestants all of them have failed to do so. How else could you possibly explain that? It’s a curse, I tell you! (NP: “The Needle And The Damage Done”)

The 1980 season was the one that infuriated me as a kid. We had a great team coming off that brutal Series loss and won 100 games. But because the Yankees won 102 games we didn’t even go to the postseason, despite having the second-best record in baseball. (The Yankees, of course, then got swept in the ALCS by the Royals) Nobody could explain to my 10-year-old self how this was remotely fair. (That year, I also thought catcher Dan Graham was our next star, after he hit .278 with 15 homers in half a season. My grandparents got me a signed photo somehow which went right on my wall, and I tried to mimic his left-handed stance. A year later Graham would be out of the game after hitting just .176 with two homers. I still have the photo, though)

It’s going to be Jeff Stone time before we know it.

The most exciting thing as a fan about this team is that it was mostly unexpected. Of course we knew this team was on the rise from last season, but given the middling off-season acquisitions compared to our rivals, I expected them to be competitive, but hardly dominant. The way they have outperformed both expectations and predictive stats (suck it, run differential), the obvious fun they're all having, the obvious fun that WE are having... I couldn't be happier. Even if they get knocked out early in the postseason, I have had a hell of a lot of fun with this team this year. If they would somehow bring home the trophy... my head just might explode, Scanners style. And after 40 years I think I would be okay with that.

Correct, he signed the extension in the 2021 off-season after playing 70 games that year.

One advantage of mlb.tv is being able to go back and watch some games or game moments on the opposing team's broadcast, especially to hear some unfiltered, un-Angelosed comments about our club. On Gunnar's backhanded dive and throw in the bottom of the 7th they just said, "Wow..." and mentioned he already put up a few good defensive plays in the series. At the end of the game, they were lamenting that they lost the lead in the top of the 10th despite Soriano retiring all the batters he faced. "They lost the game with three ground ball outs. Kind of a ridiculous way to lose a game." I reckon it is. But I'll take it!

And if you’ve ever heard Uecker talk off-mic, he’s every bit the vulgarian that Earl was.

Both Mullins and Frazier. Each had an OPS south of .600 last month.

That one aged well, didn't it?

Good ol' D.J. Stewart. It's not easy to put up a .921 OPS in limited playing time and still be worth 0.0 WAR.

The managers might want it but some opposing pitchers struggling to get noticed probably have an entirely different take.

What a blow for the game. That's certainly going to make some GMs think twice before writing him a blank check. Here's hoping it's nothing that derails his career, baseball needs more players like him.

In a good amount of those quasi-cycles, I am guessing the hitter didn't have the opportunity to choose whether he wanted the cycle, like a guy hitting his second home run in a day. I do respect that Gunnar didn't "stumble" coming around first, even if it's also in his own (statistical) best interest not to do so.

I suspect you're right. Players can always sign on with a different team and get the hell out of Dodge. As a diehard fan, I don't have that luxury to just start following a different club. Sometimes I wish I could, but I can't.

Here we are enjoying one of the best seasons the club has ever seen, finally lifting the clouds on years of abject misery, and this guy just can't help but try to ruin it by NOT. SHUTTING. UP. I think we should ask Oakland fans where they're getting all those "SELL" shirts printed up so that we can do some in orange (or white on black, for City Connect games).

I think we certainly can, but I am honestly dubious abut our chances against Atlanta in a 7-game series.

I think this year is different with so many people suddenly loving and praising the Orioles. That alone might give our 2nd-round draft choice the edge over a poor-fielding mercenary on his $90 million contract.

So did I until I saw Moose post his pic in the High Water Mark thread. Somehow I forgot all about his 11 homers and negative WAR. But we really used to be the final dumping ground of once-decent players. So many guys like Ron Kittle, Keith Moreland, Greg Walker, Ernie Whitt, Sammy Sosa came and quickly went into retirement (plus Colby MF Rasmus).

If Stanhouse was "Two-Pack", then in the modern era Fujinami should be "Two-Patch". I think he's effectively wild, but once the ball leaves his hand I don't think he has much idea where it's going to wind up. This time, it worked out. Next time, it may not. In a season where every game counts, I would prefer a little more dependability myself... but here we are.

I found it telling that the PBP guy always opens the MASN broadcast by themselves, then they say “so-and-so will be with me in a moment” and then bring in the color personnel. Last night it was KB and Brach right from the get-go, surely to take the focus off Brown. It was good to see him back, nonetheless.

Ryan O’Hearn with his game face on always gave me Kendall/Succession vibes.

Start a thread? We’re talking about second half performances. Which includes both Frazier and Mounty. If you want to just harp on Frazier, there are another dozen threads for that already.

I really like Kevin as our PBP guy. Yes, he’s young, he’s excitable, his references may not always hit home with everyone… but I see someone who is improving every year, who seems to love what he’s doing, and who (at age 33) should get even better as years roll on… plus I think he makes a great counterpart to Ben, who has also really come into his own as an excellent analyst / color broadcaster. I am always a little disappointed when someone other than Kevin kicks off a game.

Pictured: Webb’s reaction upon hearing that Gillaspie already wears #71.