brucewayne

Bradfield works for the Orioles. Not the other way around. Keep in mind there is an employee/employer relationship here. And Bradfield is on the short end of that stick. He will do what he is told for the benefit of the organization and if he has a problem with that then he can go kick rocks. Anyways, he seems like an optimistic kid who would never be a problem anyways, so I don't think he will be difficult to work with if he was asked to make some swing changes.

Was watching Brian Kenny recently explain the Os success. And he said they simply have an endless supply of guys who can hit. Along with a good bullpen. Nobody on the team is a monster hitter (yet), it's the sheer volume of guys who can put the bat on the ball.

Tools are all the rage in modern baseball. Everybody wants that guy with the cannon arm, who is 6'4" and can run like a track star and launch 500 foot homeruns. All good stuff, but that's not how a ball player makes his mark long term. Baseball is about hitting the ball. The hit tool is by far the most important skill any position player can have. Bat to ball skills is what makes or breaks you at the MLB level. Taken to the extreme you can literally be a HOF player with just 1 tool above average. There are players int the HOF who can't do much other than hit. If your hit tool is great and you have 20HR type power then you are literally HOF, damn the other tools. I'm not saying it's great to be slow or mediocre in the field. I'm saying that tools are flashy, but bat on ball skills is what really matters. We took Kjerstad #2 overall in what most consider a reach because he's not "toolsy" enough for that slot. We took Holliday #1 overall when everybody else had Druw Jones going #1. Why? Because Jones is bigger, faster, stronger with a cannon arm. Good for him. Guess what? Jackson can hit and Druw can't. Holliday broke the all time record for high school hits. The previous record holder? JT Realmuto. How is JT doing? I'd say pretty damn good. Rutschman was taken #1 overall and we took him over Witt. I like that decision. Catcher is the most important position on the field and Rutschman can put the bat on the ball. I like the decision to take guy who can put the bat on the ball. We have taken some high risk, high upside picks recently like Beavers and Bradfield. Guys who profile as toolsy instead of natural hitters. That said, you can afford to take a little more risk when you've already established a core pipeline of hitting talent.

Bobby Witt barely has a career OBP over .300 Stop this now. Stop. No debate. Rutschman is the better player. The fact that he plays the most important position on the field seals it even further.

He keeps hitting. He's probably the 2nd best prospect in the organization right now. He is 19. Once you start getting up to the mid 20s or so, guys sort of become a case of they are what they are. Don't know how much more development you can start squeezing out of guys who are 24 or 25 in the minors. At that point whatever development they have left must be done at the MLB level. Sort of get the feeling that guys like Ortiz, Kjerstad, Cowser are reaching the point in their baseball lives where it's time to put up or shut up. It's just the natural life cycle of a ballplayer's career. Eventually you arrive at the end of your development. Basallo has upside like crazy.

Like the move. Cowser is hitting fcking .115 Bruh, fcking .115

His father will tell him to sign at 18, reach the majors quickly and become a FA as young as he can to maximize compensation. You are throwing away money when you debut at 24.

Big LeRoy who is 6'6" and with a size 17 shoe is waiting for him.

If true that is disgusting. These are allegations, but if true and proven in court he needs to be thrown in prison. Stash his ass in jail.

He is allegedly involved with a minor. If she's 16 or 17 then hes ruined his reputation for life. If she's under 16 he needs to prosecute and jailed.

3 games up!

Fuji is Japanese.

Goddamn it. Not now Fuji.

Huge Home Run! Opportunity to pick up a game on the Rays!

I'm at Red Eye right now watching the OS game. They are having a bikini contest right now.

So what? Everybody misplays balls sometimes. Look the Mariners just made an error.

Frazier is a Fkn boss

Baseball reference has him at negative batting runs.

Hanser Alberto couldn't hit. He is a career .269/.292/.390

It has to happen this year or within the next handful of years while the window is open. Got to go for it. Grab the bull by the horns and win it all. In the mid 2010s we were a solid team, but I never got the feeling that we had the talent to win it all. This team can do it and more talent is coming. It's got to happen otherwise I might die without ever seeing an Orioles victory. I wasn't born until 1986. I have never experienced victory.

Manny currently has 1698 hits. He is 31 years old. And is under contract through 2033. He would have to average about 130 hits a season should he end this current season at 1698. That's a long way away, but he is probably better positioned than any current active player to reach 3000 hits. Other than perhaps Altuve and Freeman. I wouldn't bet on it, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if he reached the milestone. A major key is the contract. He's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Arraez is the best contact hitter in the world. So no, I do not expect Holliday to be Luis Arraez right now, but I wouldn't put it past him to become the world's best contact hitter at some point in his career. He rarely pops up, hits a lot of line drives, has a low k rate for somebody so young, hits the ball on the ground at a decent clip, has speed getting out of the box and with the new shift rules LHH have now recaptured their massive natural advantage over RHH.

The hit tool is by far the most important tool for any position player. Ask Derek Jeter.

To be real though, Gunnar is the only one that Holliday isn't going to have a realistic shot to outperform at age 19. And he probably won't be as good as Frazier is in the clutch. Other than, I don't think it's impossible he is the 2nd best infielder in the organization right now.

He doesnt need to take a team friendly deal for financial security. Hes already rich as hell.