Bubble Buddy

He has pretty decent stuff. I think he does well for this team and honestly might have been OK as a #5 last year. But everyone else pretty much sucked too. If he stays healthy he can eat some innings, which has value at this stage of our development.

Anybody know how Adam's defense in RF is looking? I feel like he should still have enough speed and arm to make it work out there.

His velocity is up 4 or so MPH right? I mean, he's routinely touching 94. And to my eyes, it looked like he has really good movement on the FB and CH. I'm not sure that his breaking pitch is too great, but a lefty with that velocity, movement and CH? If I didn't know already I would have thought he'd be at least a top 10 prospect in our system.

Here, here. That was a very "businessy move". Salary dump. Which just stinks because if KG was producing this year, we could have gotten way more. He's been pretty healthy his whole career too. Consistent velocity. Just needed to iron out those secondaries. But even then he still did OK.

Does anybody remember when DD was real serious about not letting pitchers use the cutter? I remember it was centered around Bundy. I can’t help but watch him now and feel like he’s turned into what DD feared. Whether it’s as a result of the use of the cutter or not is very debatable. But he has no feel for his curveball and kind of uses his cutter/slider as a crutch. Plus, fastball velo is down. That’s exactly what I remember DD pointing out about the cutter. Saps velo and can lessen effectiveness of other pitches. It might be all due to injury for Bundy. But man, he doesn’t have the velocity, pitch arsenal or control to succeed as a starter right now.

No one quite discounted the things he has done. Not even Adam. Just offered his opinion on his former teammate and said that race could definitely play a factor in how he's viewed. We have a pretty checkered racial history in this country (putting it lightly). Just because you personally may not see its effects on modern America doesn't mean others of us don't. And may have an interest in talking about it.

It makes sense. I guess especially for players that had a couple good years, but then flame out a bit.. a la Bundy

I know it's been discussed around here a lot. I've just never paid attention if there was a correlation to productivity in the case of a player like Bundy. I only really knew that the most productive players get the highest amount.

Isn't there merit involved with arbitration? Would he be in line for a raise? I'm not guaranteeing anything. And I wish he succeeds as a starter. But I also don't think back end of the bullpen is out of the question at all if you try to transition him soon. Obviously if he sucks then he's basically cooked and we probably would non tender. I just don't think it's a guarantee that he would suck and I'd be curious to see how he does if he continues to be our worst starter.

I don't necessarily agree that he has to be a middle reliever. I think it's possible he could be a late inning guy. There are plenty of examples of guys where control improved with a move to the pen. The question is whether he could get a bump to mid 90's velocity. But his stuff is probably better than Hunter's was. Things may just sharpen up with a move to the pen. Especially in Bundy's case where it seems he tires during the season/games, has had injuries, etc.

I know it doesn't show up in the numbers, but if the guy has to come in for one or two innings, the stuff could play up. The control could be better. Think, Tommy "Home Run" Hunter. Has had a fine career as a reliever.

What's hard though is you gotta wait even longer than that. Bundy had some really nice double digit strike out games his first couple years paired with good results. And now this. I guess he had the injury history to be concerned about. And then really I wonder if it was that shoulder beyond the TJ. Because post TJ he was still mid 90's, if I remember correctly. And was throwing all his pitches in some of those starts where he dazzled.

I guess I didn't quite communicate what I meant. Many have thought that 2018 was the new norm for him. Whereas I think he could still produce at a similar level of 2017 for a few more years. Doesn't mean he is in his prime any longer. But I think he is still a solid full time player. Especially if he can adjust to COF. And I get it, those last three years show 98, 107, 98. Take the average and it's not very encouraging. But I think he can still be near 800 OPS with the bat and learn how to be average in RF. We'll see how it plays out.

It really is kinda crazy that a line up with Schoop, Machado, Jones, Mancini, Beckham, Trumbo, Davis (2017 was bad but not as bad as 2018) was THAT bad. More than half of those guys were in their prime or younger. The team was very one dimensional as we know. Virtually no defense, especially switching Manny and Beckham and putting Mancini and Trumbo in the field, which was almost insulting to the game of baseball. But still.

My man Adam! It's so early, but to me, it's long looked like last year *could* be a down year rather than a downward trend with the bat (2017 he upticked to 787 OPS). Imagine building a franchise into a perennial winner and then all of that falling off a cliff in a few short months? These guys are humans too. Sometimes circumstances wear on you a bit. And honestly I think he made his decisions based on that. I think even last year he was probably insulted at the prospect of getting traded to be a part time player. He still believed in his abilities in a rough year for everyone connected to the Orioles. I think he's primed for one of his classic 30 HR years with the bat. We'll see about the defense, but excited to see how he does. I think he's got plenty left in the tank if he can adjust well to COF.

BEER ME 1) Chris Davis will get: A. 300 or more at bats 2) Trey Mancini will start more games at what position: A. Left Field B. First Base C. DH 3) (One point for each correct answer): Name up to 3 players currently on the 40 man roster who will be the property of another major league team on the last day of the season: Alex Cobb, Jonathan Villar, Givens 4) (Tough one, this is worth 3 points): Name a player who is not currently in the Orioles organization who will be in the Orioles organization on the last day of the season: Parker Bridwell 5) True/False: Austin Hays will play for the Orioles before September 1 6) True/False: Anthony Santander will play for the Orioles before September 1 7) True/False: DJ Stewart will play for the Orioles before September 1 8 ) True/False: Yusmiel Diaz will play for the Orioles before September 1 9) True/False: Ryan Mountcastle will play for the Orioles before September 1 10) True/False: Ryan McKenna will play for the Orioles before September 1 11) True/False: Chance Sisco will play for the Orioles before September 1 12) What Oriole pitcher not named Cobb/Cashner/Bundy/Wright/Hess will start the most games this year? John Means 13) Who will start more games at 3rd base: A. Renato Nunez B. Rio Ruiz C. Other 14) Who will lead the Orioles in saves? Givens 15) Who will lead the Orioles in home runs? Davis 16) Who will pitch the most major league innings before September 1 (if you answer A-D and that player does pitch in the majors before Sept 1, you get a point; if you answer E you get a point only if all 4 fail to do so). A. Dillon Tate B. Dean Kremer C. Keegan Akin D. Hunter Harvey E. None of the above will pitch in the majors before September 1 17) Will Mark Trumbo be traded to another team during the season? Yes 18) Will Chris Davis be traded to another team during the season? Not a chance 19) Will Alex Cobb be traded to another team during the season? Yes 20) Will Dylan Bundy be traded to another team during the season? No 21) Will Mychal Givens be traded to another team during the season? Yes 22) Will the Orioles get the #1 draft pick in 2020? Yes 23) Will Brandon Hyde be ejected from a game in 2019? Yes 24) Will Chris Davis OPS be: A. < .600 B. .600 - .699 C. .700 - .799 D. >= .800 25) Who will lead the Orioles in home runs? Diversify my answers? Mancini 26) Name a player who will represent the Orioles in the 2019 All Star Game Givens 27) Who will start the most games at Catcher for the Orioles in 2019? Sisco 28) How many stolen base attempts (SB+CS) will the Orioles have in 2019 (reference: 103 last year)? A. Less than 60 B. 60-89 C. 90-119 D. 120-149 E. 150 or more 29) What pitcher will start the most games for the Orioles in 2019? Bundy 30) Will the Orioles use an "opener" at least 5 times in 2019? [Definition of an opener for the purpose of this question: someone who has not had at least 10 5+ inning starts in 2018 & 2019 starts a game, and is taken out after less than 3 innings without having gotten injured or giving up 4+ runs -- that would have to happen 5 times for the answer to this question to be "Yes"] Yes 31) Last year's attendance was 1,564,592. This year's will be: A. Less than 1 million B. Greater than or equal to 1 million but less than 1.3 million C. Greater than or equal to 1.3 million but less than 1.6 million D. Greater than or equal to 1.6 million but less than 1.9 million E. Greater than or equal to 1.9 million 32) True/False: The Orioles will sign an international prospect for at least $500,000 bonus in the current signing period which lasts until June. 33) True/False: The Orioles will sign an international prospect for at least $500,000 between the start of the next signing period (start of July) and the end of the regular season 34) Name the winner of the 2019 Brooks Robinson Award for Minor League position player of the year. Yusniel Diaz 35) Name the winner of the 2019 Jim Palmer Award for Minoe League pitcher of the year. Grayson Rodriguez 36) True/False: the Bowie Bay Sox will make the playoffs. 37) True/False: The Norfolk Tides will make the playoffs 38) The most games over .500 the Orioles will be at any point this year will be: A. 10 or more B. 6-9 C. 2-5 D. 1 E. The Orioles will never have a .500+ record this year 39) Name an Oriole not named Chris Davis who will put a ball on Eutaw Street this year. (You are allowed to answer "None" and that will only be correct if no one other than Davis does it). Jonathan Villar 40) Will Richie Martin start more games at SS for the Orioles than any other player? Yes 41) Will Jonathan Villar start more games at 2B for the Orioles than any other player? Yes 42) Will Cedric Mullins start more games in CF for the Orioles than any other player? Yes 43) How many games will Joey Rickard start in the outfield? A. 0-50 B. 51-100 C. 101-150 D. 151+ 44) How many different positions will Drew Jackson start a game at this year? [DH does not count] A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 3 E. 4 or more 45) How many days before September 1 will Pedro Araujo be on the major league roster? A. Under 17 (so he does not complete his rule 5 eligibility) B. 17-30 C. 31-80 D. 81-100 E. 100+ 46) Name an Oriole who will be DFA'd after the season has begun. MIke Wright 47) Will the Orioles #1 choice in the 2019 draft be: A. A college pitcher B. A college position player C. A high school pitcher D. A high school position player 48) Will the Orioles sign their #1 draft pick? Yes 49) Will Richie Martin fulfill his Rule 5 requirement before the end of the season and still be on the roster? Yes 50) Will Drew Jackson fulfill his Rule 5 requirement before the end of the season and still be on the roster? Yes 51) How many more deals will the Orioles make tradinga way international signing bonus slots between now and the end of the current signing period? A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 3 or more 52) How many deals will the Orioles make after the next signing bonus period starts, trading away slots from THAT period, before the end of the season? A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 3 or more 53) Between now and the end of the season, will the Orioles extend the contract or sign a multi-year contract with any player on their 40 man roster? NO 54) What is the highest level of minor league baseball will Grayson Rodriguez reach during the minor league season? A. Low A B. A C. AA D. AAA 55) What is the highest level of baseball DL Hall will reach during the season? A. A B. AA C. AAA D. September MLB callup E. Pre-September MLB 56) Who will lead the Orioles in wins? Bundy 57) Who will lead the Orioles in steals? Villar 58) Who will lead the Orioles in batting average among players who meet MLB batting title qualification minimums? Mancini 59) Who will lead the Orioles in onbase percentage among players who meet MLB batting title qualification minimums? Villar 60) Who will lead Orioles in slugging percentage among players who meet MLB batting title qualification minimums? Nunez 61) Who will lead Orioles in OPS among players who meet MLB batting title qualification minimums? Mancini 62) Who will lead Orioles in ERA among pitchers who meet MLB ERA title qualification minimums? Givens 63) Who will lead Orioles in WHIP among pitchers who meet MLB ERA title qualification minimums? Bleier 64) The Orioles play 20 different opponents in 2019. Last year won the season series from 2 opponents (Mets and Braves) and lost the season series to 17 opponents. How many opponents will the Orioles win the season series against this year? A. 0-2 B. 3-5 C. 6-8 D. 9+ -- The next 5 questions will not be able to be graded the day after the season ends so if the competition for the prize is close a winner might not be known until early November 65) Will an Oriole receive any MVP votes (I believe voters put 10 names on their ballot)? No 66) Will an Oriole receive any Cy Young votes (I think this is also 10)? No 67) Name the Oriole who receives the most Rookie of the Year votes. ("None" is an acceptable answer and is only correct if no Oriole gets a single vote in the Rookie of the Year balloting). None 68) Will Brandon Hyde receive any Manager of the Year votes? No 69) Will an Oriole win a Gold Glove in 2019? No 70) Will the Orioles finish in last place in the AL East? YES 71) What is the most games out of last place (i.e. ahead of the last place team in the standings) the Orioles will be on any date this season? A. 20+ B. 10 to19.5 C. 6 to 9.5 D. 2 to 5.5 E. 0.5 to 1.5 F. The Orioles will never be ahead of a team in the AL East? Note: the weather forecast looks good for New York on Thursday so the likelihood of a rainout is slim. 72) How many guys on the 40 man roster will be dealt in the month of July? A. 0 B. 1-2 C. 3-4 D. 5-6 E. 7+ 73) Will the Orioles be no-hit in a game in 2019? Yes 74) Will the Orioles allow 18+ runs in a game in 2019? Yes 75) Will Chris Davis be released during the season? No 76) How many home runs will Chris Davis hit for the Orioles? A. 0-10 B. 11-20 C. 21-30 D. 31-40 E. 41+ 77) Will anyone the Orioles draft in June play for the team before the end of the season (including September)? Nope, no reason 78) Will the Orioles have a winning month in 2019? [Consider March games to be part of April record] No 79) How far out of first place will the Orioles finish in 2019? A. 0-10 games B. 10.5-20 games C. 20.5-30 games D. 30.5 - 40 games E. 40.5 - 50 games F. 50.5 or more 80) Will Ryan Ripken or Preston Palmeiro get a plate appearance for the Orioles in 2019 (includes September)? No 81) Who will lead the Orioles in outfield assists? Hays 82) Will Jimmy Yacabonis start a game for the Orioles and go at least 4 innings (the second part is to preclude an "opener" type situation)? Yes 83) Will John Means start a game for the Orioles and go at least 4 innings? Yes 84) Will Evan Phillips pitch for the Orioles before September 1? No 85) Will Trey Mancini's OPS be closer to his 2017 number (.826) or .2018 number (.715)? 86) What hitter (not named Villar) acquired in last year's selloff will have at least 100 ABs and the highest OPS in the majors. Choices are Bannon, Diaz, Carmona, Cumberland, Encarnacion, NONE (an answer of NONE gets you a poitn if none of them gets 100 ABs). None 87) What pitcher acquired in last year's selloff will have at least 20 innings and the lowest ERA in the majors? Choices are Kremer, Pop, Ortiz, Phillips, Zimmerman, Tate, Carroll, Rogers, NONE. (An answer of NONE getes you a point if none of them gets 20 innings). 88) The Orioles are scheduled to play the Yankees 19 times. How many saves will Zach Britton get against us? A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 3 E. 4+ 89) The Orioles play the Padres 4 times. How many home runs will Manny Machado get against the Orioles? A. 0 B. 1 C. 2 D. 3 E. 4+ 90) The Orioles play the Diamondbacks 3 times, in Arizona. Will Adam Jones hit a hom run against the Orioles? Yes 91) (For five points). Make an "outlandish" prediction for 2019. Possibilities include: The only one I feel like I could go with was the cycle because that feels flukey anyway (i.e. Aubrey Huff and Felix Pie)... Cedric Mullins hits for the cycle

Encouraging to hear. I think what goes on between the ears is a big deal in sports (even though it can't be measured). It's unlikely for him to bounce back, but not impossible. 33 is not young, but it's certainly not too old to still have baseball athleticism and by all means he's in good shape. If he gains some confidence somehow, I wouldn't be shocked if his results are quite a bit better. We are humans after all, not machines.

I remember seeing Ynoa a couple years ago and feeling his stuff looked live and playable. Like a back end starter or long reliever.

What have Bundy's ST results been in the past? Has his velocity been down like this? I feel like I have memory of him being unimpressive to start spring one year but then he did well in the regular season. Had better velocity, etc. He's definitely gotta be the biggest disappointment thus far. We know he ran out of gas at the end of last year, but his stuff was pretty good first 1/3 of the season. 4.35 ERA first 18 starts. 7.11 the last 13. Hopefully he is trying to pace himself or something. 89-91 ain't gonna cut it.

I've mentioned this before, but If he or we haven't done so already, get him in touch with Adam Dunn. The guy had a horrible, Davis-like first year with the Chi Sox and actually rebounded to respectability. Similar age, similar offensive skills. Things aren't so simple as a convo like that "fixing" things, but it couldn't hurt.

And what's hard is ST results this early don't mean much. BUT, for a guy in his situation, you want anything positive you can get. Just adds fuel to the fire of his destroyed psyche until you can get some positive results.

Was there signs that he was injured before this ST? Will be interesting to see if he's actually injured and how he produces. If he produces well for the Braves, it will hurt a bit more. EDIT: Just saw Frobby's post. But again, shoulder soreness ain't great, but it isn't always doomsday. Pitching is rough on the shoulder.

Shoulder soreness never a good thing, but he and the braves are downplaying the severity.

I know it. And I guess I should have mentioned that his hands were probably tied. Because he did do well on all the other trades IMO. That one was such a buzz kill.

I think DD did very well on the dodgers trade. And even the Brewers trade. He did OK on Yankees trade. He completely screwed the pooch on the Gausman trade. I know that was mostly money related but either get more for him at the deadline or hang onto him and trade him this off season or this deadline. I know they probably didn't want to pay his arbitration salary. And got O'Day off the books in a rebuild. But that one still bothers me.