OnlyOneOriole

Greatest manager ever. I met him at the Renaissance center in Detroit while having breakfast when the Os were playing the Tigers as a 7 year old kid and I still remember shaking his hand.

n Really hard to compare the athletic ability back then to now. Back then it is basically like AA or AAA compared to the athletes of today's day and age. As far as the 3 game losing streak? I agree all teams have them and more. Nothing unusual. I don't care about that. My concern is more long term, and I have talked about this since last year..... as far as the Os brass seems to want to draft lots of good players, who do well in the minors, but then never want to play them in the Majors. It seems as they get off on having the top minor league system without having the balls to go for it on the MLB level.

Well I mean I can tell when a swing is on balance and fluid. That swing was not. He is good enough that he can overcome that against lesser AAA pitching. But even there he is struggling. And against MLB pitching? Not so much.

But when the proven vets are not going to get you to the promised land? Why play them? Again I will as this for the 50th time and not one person has answered. All you are doing is stunting the growth of the youngsters who potentially could win you a WS but who may be hurt by not playing in the majors until age 26 when they could have had 2-3 years of solid MLB experience by then.

I mean, that was a special team. Orioles magic remember? I can't explain that season other than....

For some reason you guys take what is constructive criticism that we think could help the O's as "we hate the orioles and they SUCK". There is no middle ground for you guys. Very strange. It is either one extreme or the other for you.

JH was completely over matched and should not be anywhere near a major league stadium right now. Not only was he flailing at the plate, but he couldn't throw to first base without lobbing it and honestly the first pop fly when he flailed around like a bumble bee I knew he was not ready. Manny made that play because he was ready. JH was and is not.

You are forgetting that the point he was making, and I have as well, is this has been a year long thing going back to the second half of last year. This is not a 2 month thing. We are going on a year now with these guys. And it isn't as if these guys have had multi years of all star baseball. They have had a few spurts of it, and then more down times than not. Again, I will ask the question. Are we going to win a WS with guys like Hayes, Mullins, Urias and others playing? Guys who are old and not going to get better? Because if not, why play them when there are cheaper, younger, and most importantly guys with more potential waiting in the wings to replace them? It makes no sense to me. What you are saying is I am willing to settle for just being good. Not elite.

Yeah but I did answer the question. You didn't. I said that you are a guy that looks at stats as the be all and end all. I am not. I look at how much a player can help a team just be 'playing'. Manny did. In spades. Period end of story. The closest we have had to a Manny is Gunnar. And I have said this repeatedly since last year. They are both athletic and have that star "it" quality. Hence why I bought 200 GH rookie cards the first day he was called up. Which have all tripled btw. If you are referring to JH as far as me ripping on him? I think he is going to be a very very good player. His issues right now are all very fixable. Should be very good for years to come. But in no way shape or form is he anywhere close to the athlete that a Manny or a Gunnar is/was. He just isn't. Very good baseball player. Not a super athlete.

Look bro, if you are going to sit here and argue with me that Manny, as soon as he was called up.... as in the first game he played, did not provide a monumental spark to the Os team that year and was instrumental in their late season success? Then you do you. Believe what you want. i I cannot argue against a person who wants to compare people like Santander to a Manny Machado as far as value to a team. IF you do not understand the value that MM brought to the team from the very first day that he was promoted? Then you have obviously never played a sport in your life and rely strictly on 'stats'.

I think that is the main issue. He can do that in the minors with that swing against lesser competition. But he seems to have issues using that same swing against major league velocity. Even on that swing in the video he seems somewhat off balance (For example his right foot slides and stubs) and his whole body is turning towards first base rather than more balanced and towards the pitcher. He just seems off kilter to me.

He was a huge spark as soon as he was called up. Not just huge. Gigantic. If you deny that than you are just a troll and should discontinue posting on this forum.

I see the same thing said about Chris Ballard with the Colts. Staunch defenders of his very conservative approach to building the team. Meanwhile they haven't won a division since he has been GM......8 years. This coming after a team that won their division 8 of the prior 10 years. At some point, people can see what people can see. Ballard is great at drafting but too conservative when it comes to FA and relies too much on homegrown talent. Elias is great at drafting but too conservative when it comes to promoting players and relying on vets who he signs off of the scrap heap. One and the same and the bottom line between the 2 of them neither has won anything in a combined 14 years.

Bingo. Another thing I have harped on. You expect young guns from AAA to just step up and produce right away? Not everyone is Manny Machado. The way management has handled the youngsters has been had. I would rather play .500 ball or a little above while getting those guys experience than to play the vets who suck, who can't win us a WS, and then call up the youngsters and expect them to play lights out with no experience. It's crazy. The funny thing is they call up JH who is 20, and yet leave guys in the minors who are 24 and who have way more experience. It almost seems as if they know how to draft the right guys, but they don't know how to grow the right guys.

One of the best posts I have ever read on this forum. Dead serious. You nailed everything. I said this last year in my the O's will not win the WS in 2023 post but many here took exception to that. But your post? 10/10 and everything that you have said is exactly what I have been saying for over a year now. And it simply comes down to this. Mullins, Hayes, Urias, O'Hearn, Tony, and others are not going to win you a WS championship. That is beyond obvious at this point. So why IN THE H e 11 are we playing them? I would so much rather play the youngsters and give them a chance because guess what.....we don't know if they can help win the O's a WS championship. They could. They could not. But at least there is a chance. And I would play younger guys that have a chance over guys like the old vets who have SAWKED for over a year now and who cost 10 x more. I am not really sure why this is even an issue at this point. We seem to be the only organization in the history of baseball that would rather play old middling vets (who you have to pay more money to btw), over youngsters with way more potential and who cost much less. It is bizarre.

Which is insanity imo. Those guys are pretty good at best. Very bad at worst. Strive for higher because those guys won't win you a WS.

I wouldn't think too much about it. I have the same issue as Means PLUS a bone chip the size of a quarter in my elbow where the injury is. It comes and goes as far as pain. First suffered the injury 2 years ago. Never had surgery. For example the other day I was pounding a nail with a hammer and my elbow had a shot of massive pain. Lasted about 2 weeks. In the meantime I played tennis 4 days and bowled 30 games and averaged 225. At some point you just get used to the pain.

Unless they call up some of the youngsters and make a big trade for a big hitter? It's possible. Way too many holes in this lineup. And by holes I mean guys that CAN'T GET ON BASE.

Great post. Sadly too many posters here, and some in the Os front office (very obvious by now) are tied to the past and not what lies ahead. We are not winning a WS with Mullins, Hayes, Urias, Tony and about 3 others. So why play them? I am reminded of the great Seinfeld quote or "Serenity now, insanity later".

Ok.

Yup. I mean it is Chris Ballard 101. And Chris Ballard has not one a divisional title with the Colts in 8 years. Again, great judge of talent....but way way too conservative. ve

I haven't even mentioned Tony because he has been at least "not sucking completely". And he is in a contract year so I really thought he may come through. But even he is a below average OF compared to most teams this year. Think about who we have starting in the OF on a regular basis this year and compare that to other top teams. It isn't even close. Your OF hitters and your DH should be your main run producers. We have gotten next to nothing. It is time to change things up. First by making a BIG trade for a solid proven OF run producer and two by playing guys from AAA that actually have potential.

Not sure what you mean? We are not going to win a WS with players like Hayes, Mullins, Urias etc. I think that is obvious. What am I missing here?

I cannot blame any athlete for being inconsistent if you are only getting 1 or 2 bats every few days. No one can get into a rhythm doing that. Whether you play baseball or are a QB or play tennis or bowling. His minor league numbers have been more than stellar.......so for heavens sake play him. He is what...25? Are the Os going to wait until he is 28? Pretty ridiculous when you think about the number of players in the majors who are younger than him. And don't even get me started on Mayo. I love Elias. Want him to be with the Os for a long time. But he is starting to remind me Chris Ballard with the Colts. Both are great students of the game and judges of talent, but just so so conservative. It drives the Colts fans like me crazy, and it is starting to drive the O's fans, like me.....crazy.

Os are either going to have to trade for a big bat (and they are out there) or call up some youngsters and hope they learn and produce. For example Heston imo should be playing all day everyday. The fact he is not is criminal to me. Mayo should have been but now he is out. I don't think their are many organizations in baseball that would be playing players like Hayes, Mullins, and Urias over those guys. But here we are. And it makes NO SENSE. All imo.