Do you agree with the O's decision to recall Britton from Norfolk?

[Sanfran327]

Doesn't bother me much as a pitcher. He may not end up being a guy we want to extend. Lots of time between Sunday and the day he hits FA. I agree that you want to delay the start of his service clock if you can avoid it, but we don't really have much of a choice right now. I, for one, am really going to enjoy the game on Sunday.

[OFFNY]

Fixed that for you.

Thank you.

[SammyBirdland]

Give me a break. You were wrong before and you're wrong now. Simple as that.

:thumbsup1:

Welcome back, Old#5Fan

[eddie83]

There is no way he ever sees the minors again unless he is ineffective or hurt.

Do you want either of those things to happen?

You honestly think they can't buy 3 weeks at some point in the season to save on service time. There is no way in the world this kid in this division is going to be asked to take the ball every 5 days for the entire season.

I don't care how many innings he pitched in the minors it isn't the AL East.

[mofome]

This tells me how close the decision was in regards to sending him down or not. In my mind, it's all about calculated risks. With this combination of pitchers, we should get at least this many wins. With a different combination, we'll end up with a different win total. It's a given that you're not going to win them all, so you calculate what you think will happen in the win-loss column and determine what you're willing to live with. Makes sense to me.

I can't see going one way and then doing this, but thats where we are. I was for him being up to start the season because he was clearly one of our best 4 arms.

What is odd is seeing some folks who so passionately, not just disagreed with, but insulted anyone who thought britton should start the season with the team now arguing that this injury makes such a huge difference over a 21 day period.

Nice to play both sides I guess.

More than anything, im hoping that Matusz gets the rest his back requires and doesn't have to battle this all season long. Back injuries can be tricky.

[MikeAD]

You honestly think they can't buy 3 weeks at some point in the season to save on service time. There is no way in the world this kid in this division is going to be asked to take the ball every 5 days for the entire season.

I don't care how many innings he pitched in the minors it isn't the AL East.

So what if they can't? In the grand scheme of things how important is this?

I was in the camp that wanted Britton to stay down but right now circumstances call for him to be in the rotation. So be it. If this is what breaks us, we are screwed anyway.

[JTrea81]

Other than CarGo, whose extension was an awful deal for the Rockies, what other Boras clients are signing pre-FA extensions?

Carlos Pena

[mofome]

You honestly think they can't buy 3 weeks at some point in the season to save on service time. There is no way in the world this kid in this division is going to be asked to take the ball every 5 days for the entire season.

I don't care how many innings he pitched in the minors it isn't the AL East.

Supposing we're in contention and he's pitching well, we aren't going to send him down for 3 weeks this year.

[mofome]

So what if they can't? In the grand scheme of things how important is this?

I was in the camp that wanted Britton to stay down but right now circumstances call for him to be in the rotation. So be it. If this is what breaks us, we are screwed anyway.

We could have used you in some of the debates a few days ago.

:boogie:

I don't wish anyone injury, but damn its tough losing Matusz.

[Steve I]

This gives Britton 3 more starts. That's not enough to justify the move.

3 + 2 = 5, minus Matusz 5 and there is your answer. Let's say Matusz is not injured. So Britton as #5 gets 2 starts, fine send him down. Let's say Brian goes 4-1 (#2 starter numbers) Now take those away. Promote Bergy as #5 to Brian's spot. What does he do? He pitches well, but is now up against better starters. Say he goes 2-3. Brian may or may not be back at that point, if he is gone 6 weeks or more, then more starts come into play. Plus if you start Bergy for Matusz, who pitches as the 5th starter? It is far more games you are risking against top competition to gain that extra year. A decent gamble by the O's, called by Matusz injury. On comes Britton, results TBD.

[OFFNY]

So what if they can't? In the grand scheme of things how important is this?

I was in the camp that wanted Britton to stay down but right now circumstances call for him to be in the rotation. So be it.

If this is what breaks us (in 2016), we are screwed anyway.

Absolutely.

[ledzepp8]

Give me a break. You were wrong before and you're wrong now. Simple as that.

:thumbsup1:

What exactly was I wrong before about and what am I wrong about now?

You don't think there's a difference between keeping Britton in the minors, for 3 weeks, when everyone is healthy and bringing him up only because Brian Matusz is going to be out for an extended period of time?

Stop trying to paint everyone on the board with some broad brush.

[Sanfran327]

You honestly think they can't buy 3 weeks at some point in the season to save on service time. There is no way in the world this kid in this division is going to be asked to take the ball every 5 days for the entire season.

I don't care how many innings he pitched in the minors it isn't the AL East.

It's also much more intentional to do it that way. I wouldn't want to risk souring Britton's view of this organization by holding him back from free agency for another year. I'd be pretty POed if I were Zach in that situation.

[MikeAD]

Carlos Pena

I have been looking for an example of a Boras client to extend as well (for the sake of the argument in this scenario). But I don't think Pena is a good comparison/example. Lets find a better one...

[eddie83]

So what if they can't? In the grand scheme of things how important is this?

I was in the camp that wanted Britton to stay down but right now circumstances call for him to be in the rotation. So be it. If this is what breaks us, we are screwed anyway.

I have no problem with him being up now based on the circumstances. I am sure they wanted him to throw a couple of games in the minors before coming up. Pitching in this division is very taxing, you aren't going to ask your #1 prospect in this day and age take the ball everyday for an entire season at the age of 23. He hasn't pitched against Boston or New York, those innings don't equate to minor league innings. I just don't think it will be that hard to send him down to the minors at some point.