Time to Grow Up - No Excuses

[33rdst]

If you think you know who is pitching opening day then I say think again. Not only did Arrieta struggle yesterday but two starters pitch today - Chen and Hunter. Any one of the three could be the opening day starter.

Also Buck is not only lining up the starters for opening day, the starter that pitches opening day also comes back and pitches vs the Yankees on April 11th. Who's ready and who is not.

If Arrieta is not pitching particularly well right now would Buck rather have him pitch the 2nd game against the Twins and miss the Yankees? Its Buck's call and he is not telling quite yet.

There is no way Chen starts Friday. Now you can qualify your original post and add Hunter to the mix if you want to. He's certainly a much more realistic option then Chen.

[weams]

What's funny is that for a week now everyone has assumed that Arrieta was the OD starter when all along Hunter's day (Sunday) is the one that lines up with Opening day, on normal 4 days rest between start. It could be Arrieta but why everyone dismissed Hunter is beyond me. Roch still says the smart money is on Arrieta. Now wildcard has Arrieta losing the OD start (which we don't know if it was even his to lose) over a poor ST start. Great stuff.

I've had my dollar on Hunter from the start. I am not changing my tune now. But it's probably Jake. I assume that Buck will announce his choice today.

[wildcard]

There is no way Chen starts Friday. Now you can qualify your original post and add Hunter to the mix if you want to. He's certainly a much more realistic option then Chen.

I agree. More likely Hunter then Chen if it is not Arrieta for opening day.

[Frobby]

I just don't think it is a very good mind set when a pitcher gives up 10 base runners and 5 earned runs in 5 innings and say he had "good command". The guy should be honest with himself about where he is and where he has to go to be effective.

Here is what Buck had to say:

Asked about Jake Arrieta, manager Buck Showalter said, "He felt good physically. Product of the environment a little bit, but he feels great. Throwing the ball good."

Both home runs off Arrieta came on changeups that he probably wouldn't throw during the regular season.

"Speed up the bats there," Showalter said. "He's in a good spot. I'm happy where he is compared to where he was when he left us last year. To be at this point in the spring and be healthy and throwing the ball good ... I feel good about his stuff."

http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roch/2012/03/jim-johnson-with-scoreless-inning.html

Not very different from what Jake said.

[wildcard]

Here is what Buck had to say:

http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roch/2012/03/jim-johnson-with-scoreless-inning.html

Not very different from what Jake said.

Buck is going to say positive things about his players.

[Moose Milligan]

Everything in the OP gives me the nice warm and fuzzies. However, it's April.

Let's check back in August and see how the teams performing.

[Frobby]

Chen after his outing:

Chen said he was making adjustments with pitching coach Rick Adair.

"the first inning I was still getting a feeling and in the last three feelings I was feeling better," he said.

"I'm working on my offspeed pitch, like my changeup, a lot. Also, my timing's really important for me right now, so I'm still working with Rick on my timing, delivery, mechanics."

Chen didn't seem discouraged by the results.

"This is still spring training and I felt good today, actually," he said. "This is just part of the game. I still feel really, really good."

http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roch/2012/04/a-little-chen-music.html

Another uncompetitive pansy.

[Il BuonO]

Lol, I have to say I was discouraged with Jake's performance as well and Chen's today. However, we might all do well to remember that these guys do have a plan and they know that these games actually give them more leeway to try things. It's quite possible they were just working on stuff and that the results shouldn't matter as much to us either. Until the real games begin, then the words definitely need to match up with the results.

After 15 years of this crap the barometer is set pretty low though.

[wildcard]

Chen after his outing:

http://www.masnsports.com/school_of_roch/2012/04/a-little-chen-music.html

Another uncompetitive pansy.

They're a great team," Chen said through his interpreter after giving up three home runs in five innings and allowing seven runs total (three earned).

"They have great hitters and they hit me well with my fastball."

Neither Arrieta nor Chen look or sound like guys that are ready for the season. The Rays are a great team so it is alright for them to beat you up? Is that a competitve approach?

[DrungoHazewood]

Neither Arrieta nor Chen look or sound like guys that are ready for the season. The Rays are a great team so it is alright for them to beat you up? Is that a competitve approach?

Again, spring training isn't about winning, losing or even necessarily what your results were in 23 innings. It's about getting where you need to be to compete when the real games start. Seriously. That's what it's about. That's how the players and coaches go about spring training. That's what they expect out of it. If you have an issue with that then you have an issue with Major League Baseball.

[The Rick]

Neither Arrieta nor Chen look or sound like guys that are ready for the season. The Rays are a great team so it is alright for them to beat you up? Is that a competitve approach?

Yeah, Chen has an awful attitude. He doesn't care about competing at all. That's why he left home to go play for MLB 7,000 miles away, so that he can just lolly gag around, not care, and embarrass his friend's and family back home.

[srobby08]

When I said that the ties tell it all it had nothing to do with Spring Training records. I could care less about wins and losses in Spring Training. My concern is the sentiment I see with this team that it's all about the "process" and results don't matter. I understood this during the first two weeks of Spring Training when you work on your delivery from the stretch and your change up but the last week of spring training is when you are polishing up your performance and you, your manager, and your team should be expecting season like performances and disappointed with less than that.

Today, Chen gives up 3 home runs, six runs and in 5 innings and the response is the fastball had some zip to it and the wind is blowing out. James Shields gives up 1 run in 5 innings in the same wind.

All I'm saying is when you make excuses for poor play and accept things as part of the process, when does it stop. We shall see in a couple of days. I just can't take starters who accept 5 innings as their quality start.

[MrOrange82]

Neither Arrieta nor Chen look or sound like guys that are ready for the season. The Rays are a great team so it is alright for them to beat you up? Is that a competitve approach?

[wildcard]

I agree that most of ST is about getting ready for the season, working on pitches, etc. However the last pitcher's turn for many clubs is about getting some momentum going into the season. Thinking that a team or a pitcher can just turn the switch on opening day and be successful has never been a good philosophy IMO.

I do think there is a good point about speaking through an interpreter. Chen comes from a different culture that may approach competition differently. I'd like to learn more about that thinking. In the Japanese League they compete also.

[MrOrange82]

Thinking that a team or a pitcher can just turn the switch on opening day and be successful has never been a good philosophy IMO.

Couldn't agree more. A team that's been as bad as the Orioles have should be as serious as possible in re: every game, every pitch. Training or otherwise.

Sure, Arrieta might've not thrown change-ups in similar situations during the regular season, but I don't care when he threw them. If they were hit out of the ballpark, they were pretty lousy pitches.