7Mo

I'm not either. But today may have been necessary.

He said mean words to his brother. Wait til you hear what he does the rest of the day.

This falls in line with what we talked about this morning but I don't think there's much different that coaches saw today from what MiLB coaches have seen the last 2 years. I'm sure they've told him what he needs to work on and how to get there. Was he always receptive and willing to make changes? Doesn't seem like 100%. Among other things, he ignores baserunners. And I'm quite sure coaches have talked to him about that since he was about age 15. Maybe today causes him to become more determined to make changes. One thing I'm convinced of though is if he stays up and Holt gets significant changes implemented in a few weeks, he may actually BE a wizard. I think 2 things are very clear. DL is very talented. And DL needs a LOT of work. Whether he's ready to do that is my question.

Agree. I think 2 of Mullins, Santander, Hays and Mountcastle are traded this offseason. If Mountcastle is one of them, I'd like seeing Josh Bell added if it's possible on a short term deal.

I kinda feel like if I was trying to create some kind of explanation, I would have led with something other than "treating ringworm".

My guess for the Morton equivalent is someone like Jose Quintana, Tyler Anderson, Corey Kluber, Taijuan Walker, Chris Bassett, Cole Irvin, Zach Eflin, Jake Odorizzi, Jamison Taillon. But I also believe Elias and crew are evaluating in terms of what they can add to the existing guy with data unavailable to us.

Without knowing the answer, I'd guess Mateo has always had a poor approach to a well placed slider. I don't think that issue just came up this year. So why hasn't he fixed it previously? I'd think he was always trying to improve as he rose thru the minors. I don't think our hitting coaches have some magical formula. But I think they have a really good plan for guys ready to make changes. I've seen articles discussing that with minor league affiliates and how at first, they gave each player his choice...do you want grooved fastballs for bp? Or do you want the mix of grooved with pitches intended to get you out? I think Jammer has it right above and those factors, plus Mateo being determined to get this one thing fixed and the training techniques all came together at the right time. Maybe my wording is bad because I think each player is trying to improve. But there's a difference when a guy is ready to face something he really struggles with and deal with it. That's a different level of determination. When you're ready to face your weakness and deal with it even though it's gonna bring a figurative punch in the nose/embarrassment/failure to get to later success. Maybe I'm wrong but that's what I believe.

I don't know the answer to that. I'm sure he was aware previously and coaches likely gave suggestions. My speculation is it was a combination of the challenging bp plus Jorge reaching a point where he was determined to get it fixed. To my knowledge, challenging bp is relatively new and it's certainly embraced by the O's minor league staffs. The O's made some adjustments with Voth and he's taken off. The Dodgers made some changes with Evan Phillips and Tyler Anderson and they've had big success. The Giants had success with Yaz. I thinking coaching has really improved over the last few years but I think a big key is the player being determined to improve. That's not always the case.

The gist of it is he met with Hyde, Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte to find an answer for sliders low and away. They put him through challenging batting practice sessions mixing sliders with 2 seamers in on his hands. Helped him learn to recognize pitches and adjust his approach. But I think the key was Mateo going to the coaches asking for the help and then diving in to what they offered.

I'm hoping Kluber is an Elias target for an O's jersey this winter.

I can't put faith in any group of individuals who voluntarily decides "hey, lets call ourselves the Guardians."

Maybe first place Cleveland with their 27th ranked payroll.

Is there a team in baseball that operates as you suggest?

Turnabout as fair play says we sign Tyler Anderson this offseason to learn precisely how the Dodgers taught him a changeup that transformed his career.

Agreed. ME doesn't strike me as the mega free agent type guy. But I think this winter leads to him signing 2 SP's that aren't huge money sexy guys but who are in the top 30 ERA/FIP guys. Not names that excite everyone but guys that will pitch very effectively.

I feel like anything other than taking advantage of service rules would cost. To me he's such a special talent that you bring him up early anyway but it seems clear that would cost the O's money whether you're able to sign him to an extension or not.

Hypothetically, IF the O's were trying to sign Henderson to an extension, would it become more costly if he's called up in 2 weeks?

Excellent post. Thanks for taking the time.

Congrats on the retirement. Really hope you do the podcast. I'd support it.

Before the comments ME made on the Texas trip, I didn't believe Henderson would be called up this year. But I'm more than a little shocked at the definite public statements. That leads me to believe there's a good chance he is called up this year solely to help in his development and recognizing he's going to be up very early next year, if not opening day. But I don't think the decision would be based on chasing a wild card this year.

Great.

I probably worded that wrong but I feel like this organization will always have a good defensive catcher who is experienced and works well with the pitching staff as a backup and not have much regard for their offensive output.

I think anyone who doesn't fit the offensive approach now being taught will be gone within 2 years unless it's a backup catcher who is a good mentor.

I think anyone who doesn't fit the offensive approach now being taught will be gone within 2 years unless it's a backup catcher who is a good mentor.

Elias doesn't strike me as the guy who will chase the popular names with big money contracts. IMO, he's going to chase a higher class of Jordan Lyles, Spenser Watkins, Austin Voth, Tyler Wells....guys they believe in based on numbers and analytics they don't share with the public. I think the board here will be underwhelmed during the winter, just like they were with Jordan Lyles. But Elias has things he believes in. We'll see. I really like the approach. I hope it works. And my unconfirmed conspiracy is that Elias took Phillips66 believing he had Mullins traded to the Marlins for a big time starter and it fell thru at the last minute.