TommyPickles

I could still see this team winning 70-73 games this season. There have been some pleasant surprises. Some of the best pitching we've seen over the past few years. (3.44 Bullpen ERA is 4th best in the AL, even after a bit of a shaky week for the pen') Could really use a decent catcher and 2nd baseman, though.

Yea I've been to two games this season, the win on Sunday (awesome game) and a loss a couple weeks back. During the first game the mask requirement was very strict. They had people walking around telling you to mask up in your seats if you weren't eating or drinking. This Sunday no one seemed to care. Some people had them on, some didn't, but I didn't see any ushers telling people to put them on in their seats. I suppose with the new CDC guidelines they may have opted for a more "we recommend it but don't require it" approach. I'm fully vaccinated and still wore my mask when walking around the stadium, but I was happy to take it off for the entire time I was in my seat this time around. And I think one thing we can all agree on, Nats Park kinda sucks. Hope you have fun though, @RVAOsFan!

I'm pretty happy with Zimmerman's 4.79 ERA through 35.2 IP. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him, Akin, Lowther, Kremer, and Means getting starts this season. I'd be fine with Plutko and Lopez pitching out of the pen exclusively.

Really fun game. Got to see it in person. I'm ready to see Baltimore Bruce back in this rotation...

Wait, so Akin got fat?

Armstrong definitely has a longer track record in the majors, but he's been worse this season and is older and more expensive. Age: Lakins Sr: 26 Armstrong: 30 Career ERA: Lakins Sr: 3.59 Armstrong: 4.46 2021 ERA: Lakins Sr: 5.19 Armstrong: 10.80 WAR from 2019-2021: Lakins Sr: 1.1 Armstrong: 0.1 HR/9: Lakins Sr: 0.6 Armstrong: 1.3 Salary: Lakins Sr: $530,591 Armstrong: $825,000

Ah yeah, I remember watching that game now. That was a tough one... That whole starting-a-runner-on-2nd-in-extra-innings really makes for some wacky pitching stats. As usual, I agree with all of your points. He has looked shaky these last couple outings. That said, I still feel like he's a useful bullpen piece. He can go multiple innings, he doesn't allow many home runs (career 0.6 HR/9), he's young, and he's cheap. I'm not saying he should be our closer or something, but I think his job should be safer than Armstrong's right now.

According to baseball reference, he's only allowed earned runs in two of his outings this season (the last two appearances). He also did not allow an earned run in his final three appearances in 2020. I should have specified "earned run" because I see he did allow an unearned run one other time this season.

Travis Lakins Sr. has not allowed a run to score in 12 of his last 14 appearances for the O's. In March/April of this season he had a 0.00 ERA over 9 outings. He's also only 26 (Armstrong is 30). I don't think they're in the same boat at all. Lakins is just coming off his worst outing. Go easy on the guy. He's a solid middle reliever for this team.

Baseball Reference just updated the stats to reflect yesterday's games. Enjoy: The Case for John Means' 2021 AL Cy Young Award: WAR for pitchers- 2.3 (1st) WHIP- 0.674 (1st) ERA- 1.37 (2nd) Hits per 9 IP- 4.109 (1st) Win-Probability Added- 1.8 (1st) Innings Pitched- 46 (2nd) Games Started- 7 (1st) Wins- 4 (1st) Complete Games- 1 (1st) Strikeouts- 50 (4th) Ace.

So now are we allowed to call John Means an “ace”?

I agree with you. I think an even more compelling argument is that Ruiz is 11 for his last 70 (.157 avg/.519 OPS) and Urias is 7 for his last 44 (.159 avg/.518 OPS)

Are they using this rule in the postseason? I'm not a big fan of it. I agree with @Can_of_corn that it should kick in for the 11th inning, not the 10th.

Great game for Trey last night; OPS up to .773! Also, I notice he seems to hit better when he's DH'ing. Maybe Hyde should make him the DH more often, especially this season as he works his body back to 100%. In 2021: OPS when DH'ing: 1.054 OPS when playing 1B: .692 Over his whole career: OPS when DH'ing: .887 OPS when playing 1B: .835

Nice to see all these stats. I've got to say, it's so much more fun watching a team that is pitching (pretty) well. 2017-2019 were just brutal... O's Team ERA and MLB rank: 2017- 4.97 (27th) 2018- 5.18 (30th) 2019- 5.59 (30th) Would love to see us stay in the top 15 or so for team ERA all year.

I already gave my definition in the Means thread, but I might as well throw it in here: "I think of an 'ace' as a #1 starter who might find himself playing in an All Star game (or several) during his career. A guy who is a top 10 pitcher in his league, year after year."

Yea, I've seen people argue about the definition on here. I guess I'm more in the latter group? I think of an "ace" as a #1 starter who might find himself playing in an All Star game (or several) during his career. A guy who is a top 10 pitcher in his league. I know some people are more careful with the title and I respect that. But, to my original point, I actually believe Means has the potential to be a perrenial top 5 pitcher in the AL. I'm more bullish on his career than the those of us who see him settling in as a dependable 2nd or 3rd starter on a winning club. I think he's shown the ability to improve his game (Ex: the development of his change up) and an ability to outperform the prognosticators' expectations of him. -In 2019 he was 8th in the AL in WAR among pitchers (4.8) and he didn't even pitch the whole season. -So far this year he's top 3 in the AL in WAR and ERA among pitchers. He's in the top 6 or so in IP and WHIP.

I think John Means could achieve ace status. He's constantly exceeding the expectations people have for him.

But have they faced a pitcher of Jorge Lopez's caliber? That will be the real test.

The bullpen has been decent this season, but damn, they sure do let in a lot of runners inherited from the starters. As soon as Sulser came in, I was like "guranteed Zimmerman is getting charged with this third run too." I wonder how they compare with other bullpens around MLB in that regard?

Haha I've been using that one with my friends too. Great baseball nickname

By the way, who's starting on Friday against Oakland? I lost track with the off days and Kremer being sent down.

I said it two years ago, I'll say it again, I think John Means will start the next playoff game the Orioles play in.

Personally, I'm surprised Sisco didn't get charged with a PB. He has looked bad this year.

Fun Stat: If Galvis makes the play on that groundball and Paul Fry didn't allow both of Harvey's runners to score in Boston, Matt Harvey would have a 3.68 ERA through three starts with the O's. I've been impressed.