Zaaaaaaaach !!!

[JTrea81]

Somebody tell me other than service time which should not matter one iota for a pitcher, why we should send him to AAA?

[AgentOrange]

How do you know it wasn't 96 ? The gun said 96.

Did the YES feed have a gun? On the ESPN feed, it didn't have a gun on that pitch.

[AgentOrange]

Somebody tell me other than service time which should not matter one iota for a pitcher, why we should send him to AAA?

Who are you sending down in place of him? Bergy?

[Sports Guy]

Somebody tell me other than service time which should not matter one iota for a pitcher, why we should send him to AAA?

First of all, the idea that we shouldn't care about his service time is pretty poor.

Its just a few weeks...We are talking a few starts, that's it. The Orioles would be morons if they kept him on the team just so he can get a few more starts this year at the ML level.

Secondly, he should be behind Tillman. Tillman needs ML starts....He has proven himself at AAA over an extended period of time..Britton hasn't.

Britton may be better but there is still a smart and right way of doing things.

Britton will get his chance.

Now, no way would I care about the super 2 stuff with him but getting the extra year is obviously important.

[waroriole]

First of all, the idea that we shouldn't care about his service time is pretty poor.

What? You're crazy, no pitcher will ever make it more than 6 years anyway, so it's just a waste of his arm.

[Bradysburns]

Thanks for passing that along.

The similar speeds combined with the big difference in movement between the two fastballs makes that a devastating combination. Even if you guess right, each one is hard to hit square. "Lacks command because the ball moves so much" is not really a bad problem to have.

The slider is supposed to be better than average, and I saw a couple of excellent changes the other night. I don't remember the last time I got so enthused by a first look at an O's player. Mussina, maybe.

The Orioles have made an effort to mute the hype, I think, so Britton has snuck up on us somewhat. But from my first look the other night, he has the potential to be really, really good.

Took some time off today and watched the game. I agree with everything you're saying here.

He threw a couple nasty little change-ups that just floated in for strikes, around 81 mph. The fastball was hitting 96 consistently. Nasty sink, and it really does look almost like a slider... at 93-96. He kept everything down. And his finish is very smooth... he ends in a very balanced position.

Another thing I noticed today is how he seemed to change his approach to fit the game situation. The Yankees came up aggressive in the early innings and got a lot of flip singles by jumping on early strikes. He started throwing a bit more junk early in the counts after the third and took them out of their aggressive approach - that's what it looked like to me.

I honestly see no reason why he doesn't break camp in the rotation at this point.

[Frobby]

Somebody tell me other than service time which should not matter one iota for a pitcher, why we should send him to AAA?

Your oft-stated theory that "service time should not matter one iota for a pitcher" is absolutely wrong, as I've said 1,000 times before. Thank goodness our management understands that an extra year of service time in the likely prime of a career is worth a lot more than 3-4 starts in a pitcher's rookie year. You have to be the most impatient guy on earth.

Beyond that, Britton has made a very strong case that he's one of our best five pitchers. Fortunately, the other guys aren't too shabby, either.

[Bradysburns]

Who are you sending down in place of him? Bergy?

Couldn't you have a rotation of:

Guthrie

Matusz

Arrieta

Bergeson

Britton

So Tillman would go down, or to the pen. To Trea's question, I say there is no reason Britton should not start in the rotation outside of the service-time stuff.

I'm not sure of the service-time situation either. I know we might not need the fifth starter for awhile. So I'm wondering how many starts we would get out of him over the first however many weeks, in exchange for that one year of "service time"?

[Bradysburns]

Your oft-stated theory that "service time should not matter one iota for a pitcher" is absolutely wrong, as I've said 1,000 times before. Thank goodness our management understands that an extra year of service time in the likely prime of a career is worth a lot more than 3-4 starts in a pitcher's rookie year. You have to be the most impatient guy on earth.

Beyond that, Britton has made a very strong case that he's one of our best five pitchers. Fortunately, the other guys aren't too shabby, either.

Thanks for answering my question, Frobby. I was wondering about the service-time implications. We'd give up one full year of control of Britton for 3-4 starts? I can see why we wouldn't do that. But I would basically tell the #5 guy that he's warming the spot unless he friggin' kills it.

Or just tell the starting 5: whoever's doing the worst in five weeks will get replaced by Zach Britton.

[scOtt]

What I don't understand... Why the people here that are highest on Britton, who want him in the rotation now now NOW. Why don't they understand the value of having him for an extra year? If he's that good, don't you want him on the team for as long as possible?

It makes my brain hurt.

[bej6789]

Your oft-stated theory that "service time should not matter one iota for a pitcher" is absolutely wrong, as I've said 1,000 times before. Thank goodness our management understands that an extra year of service time in the likely prime of a career is worth a lot more than 3-4 starts in a pitcher's rookie year. You have to be the most impatient guy on earth.

Beyond that, Britton has made a very strong case that he's one of our best five pitchers. Fortunately, the other guys aren't too shabby, either.

While I get this idea, and as my previous posts can show -- I want Britton in the rotation on OD. The 3-4 starts that we'd save seem small compared to an extra year of having Britton under contract, but that paints a different scenario. The Orioles didn't sign Buck Showalter to be good 4 years from now. The Orioles didn't sign Vlad and Lee to be competitive 4 years from now. It's time to make a jump in the standings, period. You do that by carrying your best players north, no matter the age or service time requirements. If the team is still in a situation where Britton has no desire to return to Baltimore 4 or 5 years down the line, I'm not sure an extra year of control over him is our biggest issue...

[Sports Guy]

While I get this idea, and as my previous posts can show -- I want Britton in the rotation on OD. The 3-4 starts that we'd save seem small compared to an extra year of having Britton under contract, but that paints a different scenario. The Orioles didn't sign Buck Showalter to be good 4 years from now. The Orioles didn't sign Vlad and Lee to be competitive 4 years from now. It's time to make a jump in the standings, period. You do that by carrying your best players north, no matter the age or service time requirements. If the team is still in a situation where Britton has no desire to return to Baltimore 4 or 5 years down the line, I'm not sure an extra year of control over him is our biggest issue...

Its a few starts.....That's not going to make or break the season.

[waroriole]

While I get this idea, and as my previous posts can show -- I want Britton in the rotation on OD. The 3-4 starts that we'd save seem small compared to an extra year of having Britton under contract, but that paints a different scenario. The Orioles didn't sign Buck Showalter to be good 4 years from now. The Orioles didn't sign Vlad and Lee to be competitive 4 years from now. It's time to make a jump in the standings, period. You do that by carrying your best players north, no matter the age or service time requirements. If the team is still in a situation where Britton has no desire to return to Baltimore 4 or 5 years down the line, I'm not sure an extra year of control over him is our biggest issue...

I don't mean to be rude, but this is just so wrong. 3-4 starts are not worth an entire year of control. That's not what smart GM's do. Even if we have to trade Britton, that extra year of team control will be very beneficial to the team we're trading him to.

[AgentOrange]

Its a few starts.....That's not going to make or break the season.

Not only that, but its not like we would be filling in those starts with a guy who would post a ERA of 5+ in that time period. Its either going to be Tillman or Duke. Both are more than capable.

[Sports Guy]

Not only that, but its not like we would be filling in those starts with a guy who would post a ERA of 5+ in that time period. Its either going to be Tillman or Duke. Both are more than capable.

Right...Some are assuming that Britton definitely outpitches these guys in just a few starts. Its a poor assumption and its just an overall poor strategy.