Alasdaire

I kind of want to go back and see where the catchers are setting up. Because sometimes it seems like he's not wild so much as he just has a terrible approach. He dotted the zone a few times this inning and then proceeded to throw fastball after fastball off the plate that hitters weren't remotely fooled by. It's like he wanted that pitch even though it clearly wasn't working. Maybe connected to the psyche/mental aspect, but you're right it's not totally fair to ascribe that as we can't know.

It's interesting to me that you're watching this series and still call them "this good." Do you really think Houston is going to lose four games out of seven to us? Atlanta/LA?

I thought Fuji needed to be put in situations where he wasn't as likely to fail which includes clean innings . But that's because I've had my doubts about Fuji from the very first pitch he telegraphed to Siri in Tampa for a homer, so I was trying to come up with any way to try to make the situation work. He's his own worst enemy and the psyche is pretty clearly fragile. I don't think it much matters either way though, he has too much to correct to be reliable within the next two months.

Given that they've been in every ALCS for a hundred years, I would count on seeing them. Then we'll see them one of the Braves/Dodgers, who did this same things to us. That's the reality people are suggesting when they say this team can win the WS.

Almost like there's a reason why we've lost all of these close games to the Braves, Dodgers, and Astros.

There are other options in the organization that they'll tap into. You might have a preference for "established" arms from elsewhere, but Fuji is far from the only change/addition they'll make to the bullpen by October.

He loves going outside and hitters rarely take the bait. It's not that difficult of a pitch to see and lay off of.

Agreed and he throws the fastball in predictable situations and to hittable spots. But all you ever hear is how electric his arm is because he touches triple digits. I'm rooting for him very hard, but there's a reason why he was available for what he was. Major developmental project.

Would really like to take one of these games by any means necessary. Getting swept for the first time in over a year by the Astros would feel like getting put in our place.

I hope you're right. But that would require that the O's pony up and that he accepts it.

I don't think it's a 2020-type thing where they're making close contacts stay home or anything. As far as I know, Palmer is confirmed sick and is staying home because of it to recover and not expose others. There are quite a few people I know and have seen online who are sick with it right now for what it's worth.

Frazier has no shot at those balls up the middle. Even if he gets to it, no way he's spinning around and nailing the runner.

Are you suggesting that someone who is sick should knowingly go to work when there are replacements? I hope that's something that is never normalized again.

As has been explained to me, game threads are literally the outlet to complain about this stuff. I don't think many people have anything personal against Melanie, but it's a disservice to the fanbase to have her calling games and that should be out there.

That settles it then.

FWIW if you have MLBTV, you can do the MASN video feed with the 98 Rock radio feed synced up. I'm personally hate listening to the MASN booth right now just to feel something.

A guy who was on the street makes his first appearance and the O's state-run media talks him up like he's a shutdown reliever.

This booth is unbearable. Two nice people, but putting them on in the wake of the KB debacle a night after having Jason LaCanfora in the booth is borderline offensive to O's fans.

I agree with this generally. Fuji is a good example. His fastball velo is as high as it gets, but guys still routinely hit it hard because they're waiting on it. I think Felix has had the success he has had not only because of the velo/movement on the four seamer, but also because he has pounded hitters with it up high. His fastball above the zone is one of the nastiest pitches in baseball because high heat always looks tempting to batters out of the hand and they have to worry that it's the splitter and will end up in the zone. So they wind up swinging at 100+ MPH way outside of the zone, which is difficult to do anything with. He really didn't attack that area against Tucker. He probably didn't want to walk a run in and so threw five straight in the zone after it went 2-2. I will say that very few hitters in baseball have the bat speed to foul off so many pitches like Tucker did. That's why Felix dominates most of the time. The problem is that the teams we need to get through have guys who do have those hands/timing.

It's a good question. I think it gets at some of the questions about being "clutch" that a lot of statistically oriented baseball fans don't believe in and that is very difficult to prove one way or another. This is just broscience, but maybe it has to do with how guys are motivated. In sports and otherwise, some people can intrinsically regulate their motivation and sustain effort. But others rely on external motivators like an upcoming deadline. If there's any truth to that, those people would have variable performance because the external source of motivation is not omnipresent, so they struggle with being "on" all the time. Maybe in the same way that "January Joe" Flacco seemed to find a different gear in the playoffs, he would've been the type of student who slacked off until the night before his project was due until he felt that gust of wind at his back. Part of what also might distinguish players who can turn it "on" is the ability to perform under pressure that some athletes have and other don't. Again, see "Joe Cool," which you could say about Montana, Flacco, and now Burrow. All of that is just guesswork, but I do think about it sometimes because it seems like athletes very much seem to believe in the idea of certain guys being clutch or having another gear, so I'm inclined to believe there's something there.

He's not infallible, but I question how much teams/players who have climbed the mountain before and whose seasons are failures if they do anything other than win a world series are really dialed in to game 122 or whatever of the regular season against a cellar dweller team in St. Louis. Valdez is an elite pitcher who can turn it on like he did in his last start to pitch a no hitter, and I would not feel confident this lineup would bat him around in the playoffs. It's encouraging that they've shown the ability to him him though, no doubt.

Touche. I forgot about that game. Oh boy, this is so rich. Let's reminisce on that game from last September where we lit up Framber. The Astros went into the ninth inning in Baltimore down by two runs. Who came in to save the game but Felix Bautista. They scored four runs in the ninth to beat us by one run. So at least that one too.

Assuming they're not calling up Ortiz this season, who is the backup shortstop if Mateo goes? DFAing Mateo means that you go into the playoffs with a rookie (Gunnar) starting at the most important position on the field and another rookie (Westburg) backing him up. I don't think that's a situation Hyde wants to be in.

Let's turn the superstar having a bad night thing around. How many times do you think this lineup puts up six runs on Framber Valdez? Is that a reliably repeatable performance?

It's incredibly eerie how similar it was to the first game against the Dodgers. Grayson started and pitched well in each. We began an inning up by three runs in both instances. In that game and this one, the center fielder (that time Hicks) couldn't make a tough, but doable, play. Jason Taylor worked and worked a count like Kyle Tucker did. Two grand slams to put us down by one. Mirror images! Almost like there's a pattern.