Explosivo

Think of it this way, we know Westburg is terrific and will likely assume duties at 2B this year. What we do not know is how quickly it will take him to start doing well. Say you hand him the job and he doesn't fair well for 1/3 of the season, you could potentially lose out on winning games during that time either by defensive mistakes or simply not hitting with runners on, who knows. All the Frazier move does is give us stability and options to play the hot hand. It's a long season and there are few positions that will field the same faces throughout its course. The ability to play guys when hot and not when cold and the flexibility to do so will yield us the most wins at the end of the year. I really think we are going to be returning to our roots with Earl Weaver and his approach to the game. We now have the options needed to succeed in that gameplan.

In my defense, they are kindly in response to the same arguments made over and over. Retorting them is not the same.

If y'all end up being wrong about Frazier, McCann, Irvin and Gibson, will y'all admit to it and start looking at future decisions through a different lens? My hope is yes, but likely not. We will see this year if the moves made have an impact, time will tell, but y'all are broken records at this point.

I remember Elias having an interview where he alluded to Povich starting in 2023. Was that a fever dream or did that actually happen?

Oh well then I was wrong entirely, my bad.

As we've seen from the past, Hays typically has a good first half of the season and then tapers off. What I'm expecting is Cowser gets more seasoning in AAA and when ready, we trade Hays at his peak value and bring Cowser in to replace him. I could also see the same scenario for Santander. Hays' arm is exceptional and he can cover ground much better than Santander so either scenario would be fine. It comes down to whomever the Orioles think will benefit the team the most. Moving Cowser to left to cover the large territory there and moving Hays to right to make better use of his arm would be interesting. Again, preventing runners from moving first to third will be of paramount importance in saving runs and thus, winning games. My only concern is Hays' health. He's never been healthy for an entire year during his career and his bat is not as good as Santander's. He is much more athletic however.

This dude is sad about the trade. Interesting to see a different perspective. He sounds like a really cool dude. I am becoming a bigger fan of this trade the more I dig.

Players like Mateo will have their value risen via athletic ability due to the lack of shift, balls in contact (going first to third) and of course the all important stolen base. If he were to be traded, it's best to do so after these gifts can be shown and exploited by us. If the bat makes good, he sticks, if not, at worst he's a defensive replacement/pinch runner in late innings. His speed alone could win us some games if used wisely. He's a weapon.

Just walk devers every time. Don’t let him beat you and you beat the Red Sox.

Good thing we are loading up on left handed batters both in drafts and in free agency.

I guess you could say that expectation is as easy a call as...a can of corn...

Luckily we have a lot of talent around our best guys with more to come. 2024 is going to be very special and the start of well, the best window of opportunity for a World Series we've seen in a long, long time. Perhaps Gunnar makes the final out to seal the world series just as Cal did. Maybe 2023 will be more special than we realize!

I'd love to try him out as a starter. He already has experience from last year and now that his arm is healthy, we might as well stretch him out. He pitches the first 5 innings and hands it over to our bullpen. He has a special arm and as a lefty there are few teams with a player like him. That gives him an edge. Yes, he has to reign the arm in, but what's the reason not to rip the band aid off this year and see what his arm can do as a starter? At worst, he gets pulled and we bring in a long reliever and it becomes a bullpen game. At best, he figures it out and we've got a really dynamic young lefty.

I'd bite on the over easily. Vegas relies on past performance. With our team being so young and guys soon to be on the roster like Grayson, I'm not sure they know how to gauge their performance. I'll be putting 100 on the O's over easy. Besides, it's more fun that way. We play the AL East less for crying out loud.

Comparing Frazier to those guys is laughable. We don't spend 8 million on a hunch. They see something and he has proven that in previous years. Those guys are not even close. Pretty silly man, but this is your forum and I'm happy that we have this forum to voice our fandom. I just don't get why people are down on this team given all we have seen.

That we agree on. I personally would have him back up Hays and take over when he has gone cold and have him play right when Santander DHs. Frazier does add depth at corner outfield which is a plus but I'd rather have him at second for the majority of the games he plays. I think he does precisely that but have another option at outfield is important. McKenna is another guy that I expect will have a better year than what we have seen previous. Left field is like another centerfield with the new dimensions so we will need all the depth there we can get. Can't wait to see Cowser man that spot as well. My gut tells me we ride Hays' first half into a trade and bring along Stowers and Cowser after the deadline. Hyde has said we are going to be younger this year than last year so the plan is already being hatched, I think.

Aw come on haha. I mean, all of what he groaned about has been addressed by Elias and Frazier. It's important to look out for information than wander in the dark without a light.

It's not though. It's about approach. It's like saying McCann isn't going to provide depth because he didn't perform well at the Mets. It's like saying Voth was a bad signing because he didn't perform well with the Nats. I trust our coaches and analytics team to get the most out of these guys as they have proven to have earned my trust. Again, you need quality depth to slowly bring in the younger guys. That's exactly what Frazier provides. This way we can start strong and finish strong.

Talk about cognitive dissonance. He had a down year is all. We can circle back once the season starts and determine who is right.

Look, I love our prospects too, but expecting them to immediately compete at the major league level with no experience is asking too much of them. Frazier fills that role while they slowly season. To make the playoffs which I think we will do, Hyde has to maximize talent and opportunity on each day. We will see a cadre of different lineups as a result. Will we see the young prospects this year? Yes, but we can’t have an offensive void for a couple of months waiting for the young bats to click. Adley struggled at the plate, Nevin never could figure it out though he crushed minor league pitching. You need depth. Quality depth. Frazier is exactly that. Plus, he’s a vet and that’s incredibly important for a club as young as ours.

So they aren’t trying to win now? Haha, ok, what are they trying to do? Languish in mediocrity? If that was the case, we never would have built the facility in the Dominican. Elias is building a juggernaut not just a couple of good years but a great decade. Y’all are too much man.

Last year was a down year for the fella. Have you seen his interview on MASN where he discusses that and his approach at the plate? How Elias said the data suggests his resurgence at the plate? I feel like it’s kinda necessary to get complete context, but that’s ok.

He’s a contact hitter who will get on base and play quality defense. No one is comparing him to Ricky Henderson but you lol. Honestly, you guys are hilarious sometimes picking at every word . Do y’all live in Baltimore? Maybe there’s something to that if you do.

It's all about flexibility. He can cover two spots, second and left field. We will need as much depth as possible to cover 162 games. I think he's a great table setter for a hopeful return to form by Mountcastle and the rest of our power hitters.

Huh? You mistake my meaning. Hall outperforming Grayson doesn’t mean Grayson doesn’t perform well. It would just be funny if they are our 1-2 combo aces but with Hall as the one and Grayson as the two.