OnlyOneOriole

Great avi name btw.

You put into words what I was trying to convey better than I did. He is like the O's hangout mascot. He is so emo and trollish without trying to be trollish that it works for him.

Let me make this clear. I like Roy. He in no way should be banned. Not sure what else I can say.

Agree. I think he could be really good. Almost like a Steve Finley guy. A spark plug type. But it is hard to tell when he doesn't really get a chance. And I get that. Players like Santander and Mullins are proven. And I like both. Hard to take them out. Stowers to me is a really good add in with a top O's prospect on a trade to get a top tier elite guy. Either pitcher or position player.

Bingo.

Well, if you look back on prior posts that I have made to Roy? First I always say I really like him and respect him as a person and a journalist. I did specifically say in ONE prior post that he makes a lot of emo posts that are almost trolling in nature because of their extreme back and forth. He can go from the Orioles are the best team ever to getting swept by the Yankees and they have no shot to win anything. He has done this 100000000 times. Which is fine. I like Roy and he is very fervent and emotional about the Os. He lives and dies with them and posts as such. My point was if it was anyone else making those same posts? I have a feeling the reaction would not be so......muted. For example I made a thread last year in July or August that the Os would not win the WS, probably would not win a playoff series, and had a slight chance of missing the playoffs totally. Very slight is what I said. I also said that 'next year'.....as in the year we are in now, with the growth of the younger players like Cowser and Gunnar and hopefully with the addition of an ace (which we got with Burnes) the Os had a serious chance to win it all. For making those bold predictions? Which were all very logical? I got crucified and almost banned on here. Literally for that. That specific thread. Which in no way was anti Oriole. So you make the call.

My final post to you. One, you again, just can't help yourself with the insults. And two, you are dead wrong about pedigree and just too bull headed to see any side but your own. Have fun insulting other people but I am done with you.

Great point. If he can adjust, I would think JH can.

Of course you would say that. You always have a snarky remark. I take the time to write out a thoughtful response with zero personal attacks toward you but you just can't help yourself. Seen it a million times from you towards lots of other posters. I think it is better that you and I do not converse. I can hold to that. I doubt that you can.

See I disagree. As a race horse trainer and owner who has trained 100s and 100s of horses and who has bought many yearlings and older horses, you 100% have to look at pedigree when buying a yearling, and you mix pedigree and past performance history when buying a horse that has already raced before. That is really your only way to judge future performance. I am not going to spend $50,000 on a horse with a sire like Amanda's Cadet, who was a poorly gaited horse I owned, but I would strongly consider it if the sire was Western Hanover. Add in your ability to train and bring out the best in the horse and you make a judgement on what you think the horse will do in the future. For example, I once traded the horse I mentioned above, Amanda's cadet, to another trainer for an On the Road Again sired horse. On the Road Again is one of the greatest harness horses ever and he almost always had fast offspring. But this horse that I traded for, the son of On the Road again named Jbs Expressway, was at the time 4 years old and had done nothing. Maybe had made $10,000 TOTAL up until then. But man he was a beautifully built horse and I knew with his lineage that he had the potential to be really good. I traded the Cadet horse for JB, made a few changes, and he won his first 6 races for me and went on to make a ton of money for me. He always had the pedigree, he just needed a change of scenery. In Heston's case (btw there used to be a very fast horse called Heston Blue Chip), he has the pedigree and the past performance. Trading him for these 2 relievers would be like trading a $100,000 stakes horse for two 6 year olds that up until this year had done nothing. Sure they are faster right now but they never showed it before. You just cannot do that. If you are going to trade quality, or in the case with Heston 'potential quality' with a college and minor league history to back it up, you had better make damn sure you get proven quality back. Those 2 relievers are not proven quality.

Yeah I grew up in MI and would watch him on tv all of the time. Very strange stance to say the least.

Well again if you compare him to that video I posted from about 5 months ago, his leg kick went from kind of an inch off the ground slide to a foot high raise, hold, float, levitate, and step forward. I would guess they did that to get him ready to swing sooner but it seems to be having the opposite effect as he seems late on a lot of pitches. To me it doesn't look natural. Almost like he has to think about holding the foot up. And you never want to think when hitting. You just, as the Joker said, "DO".

No one. But my point is he was drafted second for a reason (past performance and talent) and has given the Os no reason to doubt him moving ahead. In fact considering his health issues after he was drafted? I would say he has done exceptional. He could be a locked in corner outfielder with plus power for years. All star is his ceiling. I would not trade that for 2 middle relievers who on the other hand do not have the pedigree that Heston does and who up until this year have had so so minor league careers. Way too much risk that they regress imo. Especially for having to give up on a very promising outfielder.

Difference is Heston has performed so far in the minors and looks as though he is starting to get his feet under him with the parent club. He has given the O's no reason to not expect him to do well into the future. Especially in 2025 when he will probably be a starter.

Yes strictly basing my two 'guys' statement based on their careers so far up through the minors. For all I know they may turn into an Andrew Miller but I am not risking my second pick in the draft who has performed very well so far on it. I mean his ranking and performance in the minor leagues dwarfed those 2 performance wise.

All very good points. But you simply cannot trade him for 2 career middling relievers. Not the second pick in the draft and someone who has performed all the way up the ranks. I think you would be wayyyyy undervaluing Heston. If you are going to trade him? Add him in with someone else of value and get a true stud. Not two 'guys'.

Yeah I wonder what they are thinking now? Probably not much has changed since his leg is still much higher than it was before. I noticed he rarely ever hits a high fastball and tends to really over swing and pull towards first base when faced with one.

True, but look at the video I posted from last winter. His leg kick was much lower.

What is odd is if you watch this video from 5 months ago in a home run derby against his brother and dad, he barely lifted his leg at all. And he was jacking them....granted it was against a pitching machine. I wonder what made him change before this season? youtube

I saw a couple highlights and it did look a little less pronounced. Maybeeee? Possibly not keeping his leg in the air quite as long as he was, but it wasn't a super big change. If any. The one thing I see with his leg kick is whenever he swings and misses, because he keeps that leg so long in the air that once he commits to a swing, he loses his balance a lot. He does the leg kick, letting his foot dangle in the air, and then tries to pull the trigger while its still in mid air. That is hard to do and hard to time. Many times his foot still seems in the air when the ball is already by him. And every single time the right leg kick foot ends up going straight towards first base instead of towards the pitcher. This causes his entire body to pull off the ball and towards first base and he just has no chance doing that. All swings and misses. Watch Gunnar for comparison. Much more on balance and his stride foot when swinging is more or less at the pitcher, which keeps his entire body and swing plane where it should be.

I think that is a very reasonable take. Pitchers, especially middle relief pitching but all pitching as well, is just so much better than it used to be. I do think the leg kick is a big issue. In the minors he can get away with it and still keep his timing intact. In the majors? Where velocity, spin, and movement is all magnified? It is much harder to keep the balance throughout the swing that one needs to be successful. All imo of course.

Agree.

Ummmmm...maybe because he is a top 100 prospect and a former #2 draft pick and the 2 guys from Clev have been middling relievers there entire careers? Tell ya what. Why don't you offer 2 of our average middle relievers to XXX team for a top 100 prospect and top 5 pick and see how far you get without being laughed out of the room. Some of the takes I see from people such as yourself....wanting to trade top talent for relievers who are literally a dime a dozen...is wild to me.

Really like the guy as I said a month ago or so. I think he is going to be great for the O's and the city,

That isn't at all what I said.