Matt Wieters needs to be benched for a few days

[Nolanseye14]

Has anyone watched Wieters swing lately. I mean everyone knows he has a very slow swing but right now it just looks incredibly slow. I can't remember ever seeing someone with such a slow swing. Maybe he should use a bat that weighs significantly less it would help get Jay Gibbons out of slumps.

I think the most frustrating thing with Wieters is he does show glimpses of being that great player we were all counting on. But then he quickly turns into a Brad Ausmus who can't even call his own pitches .

[glenn__davis]

My question is, what is the purpose of benching him? To send a message? Because I'm pretty sure that message doesn't need to be sent. I'm pretty sure Wieters knows he stinks offensively right now.

[Nolanseye14]

My question is, what is the purpose of benching him? To send a message? Because I'm pretty sure that message doesn't need to be sent. I'm pretty sure Wieters knows he stinks offensively right now.

Whats the worst that could happen with benching him? He looks exhausted and right now there isn't much of a dropoff from Wieters to Paulino offensively. I think he could use a seat on the pine for a few games.

[Brendan25]

I would just simply slide Davis to the #5 hole and Wieters hit 6th or 7th. Don't freak out and hit him 8th. Don't bench him. Slide him down one slot, relax, and see what happens. Wieters is not this bad of a hitter.

[Going Underground]

Whats the worst that could happen with benching him? He looks exhausted and right now there isn't much of a dropoff from Wieters to Paulino offensively. I think he could use a seat on the pine for a few games.

You can"t bench Wieters. I heard alot of people say Wieters was exhausted last year. He hit really well in August and September. He hit poor in June and July. You would think he would have hit worse in August and September if he was tired. This is just one of those long prolonged slumps he goes into.

[Brendan25]

The one person that I would focus on more then Wieters is Jim Presley. You're the hitting coach. When a player gets into a slump, it's your job to figure out what he is doing wrong and fix it.

Fix it.

[Nolanseye14]

You can"t bench Wieters. I heard alot of people say Wieters was exhausted last year. He hit really well in August and September. He hit poor in June and July. You would think he would have hit worse in August and September if he was tired. This is just one of those long prolonged slumps he goes into.

That is a good point. And he did have a strong September his rookie year to finish with a .288 batting average. I just don't think it would hurt anything to bench him for a few. Would you be afraid the benching would hurt his confidence? Don't you think the pressure of batting in the 5 spot and not producing for over a month would do the same?

[NewMarketSean]

His slow, long swing is so odd to me because when he is dialed in, his swing looks smooth, precise and fast.

Maybe he is fatigued?

[jjnono]

It's true the schedule doesn't get any easier over the next week, and I can understand where you want to keep Wieters in for his glove. But it's not like the 2012 Orioles have a highly performing defense. I just come from an era where not performing for long periods of time generally meant letting someone else have a shot. It sucks that the best option we have is Paulino, but I'd give him a couple of games back to back at this point. If Buck won't do this, then Matt should be dropped in the order until he can get his stick back. That nightly sucking sound you hear is the vacuum created by a week's worth of O-fers in the five hole...

[24fps]

The pressure to break a horrible slump? The pressure to help the O's end their slide? The pressure to try and stay atop the toughest division in baseball? The pressure to earn a big new contract?

And that's not even mentioning the undue pressure o's fans put on him as the savior of the franchise when he first came up.

Nah' date=' I'm sure none of that bothers him or even weighs on him at all. Keep batting him in the heart of the order and maybe he'll run into one eventually. Or just advance a freaking runner every now and then.[/quote']

There's plenty of evidence to suggest he's slumping, none that I can see to indicate he's choking.

[nadecir]

Matt Wieters' numbers show again this year that he is a very good hitter ahead in the count, a below average hitter even in the count, and a very poor hitter behind in the count.

His 2012 numbers (from Baseball Reference):

Ahead in the count - OPS: 1.292

Even in the count - OPS: .498

Behind in the count - OPS: .351

Matt's career numbers:

Ahead in the count - OPS: 1.106

Even in the count - OPS: .671

Behind in the count - OPS: .408

Every hitter is better ahead in the count, but Matt's drop off when he is not ahead is striking. These numbers suggest that Wieters is a guess hitter, and when he guesses right, he jumps all over the pitch. When he is fooled, it is not so pretty.

[Malike]

He's struggling badly but I can't see how anyone can justify removing him from the lineup in favor of a clearly inferior option in Paulino. You're crazy if you don't want Wieters behind the plate for this series. And you can talk holding runners or time to the plate all you want but Wieters is far and away our best weapon against the running game.

I want him behind the plate, I just don't want him batting 1-6 in the order.

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

[Dipper9]

Ah yes, THIS is the Orioles Hangout I know and love. Whenever someone slumps and the team plays badly, everyone sits back with their suggestions to "fix" the team. Look at the threads right now...

DFA Betemit

Release Chavez

Bench Wieters

Change the Lineup

Send Hunter to Norfolk

Send Arrieta to Norfolk

And all that is just off the top of my head.

We are slumping guys...slumping badly. But you know what's great about baseball? One win on Friday night and the O's are one game up in the AL East. Take 2 out of 3 in Tampa and you leave town in first place. Sweep them and suddenly we're 3 games up in the Division and everyone is dancing again. Where is THAT thread by the way? A week ago we won 5 straight and "everybody is dancing." Its been a bad week. Lets not break up the team over one bad 10 game stretch. If we continue this for a month, then we can say, "same ol Birds." But for now, breath. Relax. We are STILL in first place as the calendar turns to June. Nobody in the world projected that in March!

[Rene88]

Matt Wieters' numbers show again this year that he is a very good hitter ahead in the count, a below average hitter even in the count, and a very poor hitter behind in the count.

His 2012 numbers (from Baseball Reference):

Ahead in the count - OPS: 1.292

Even in the count - OPS: .498

Behind in the count - OPS: .351

Matt's career numbers:

Ahead in the count - OPS: 1.106

Even in the count - OPS: .671

Behind in the count - OPS: .408

Every hitter is better ahead in the count, but Matt's drop off when he is not ahead is striking. These numbers suggest that Wieters is a guess hitter, and when he guesses right, he jumps all over the pitch. When he is fooled, it is not so pretty.

Wow, excellent analysis. Thanks for posting!

[Rene88]

Ah yes, THIS is the Orioles Hangout I know and love. Whenever someone slumps and the team plays badly, everyone sits back with their suggestions to "fix" the team. Look at the threads right now...

DFA Betemit

Release Chavez

Bench Wieters

Change the Lineup

Send Hunter to Norfolk

Send Arrieta to Norfolk

And all that is just off the top of my head.

We are slumping guys...slumping badly. But you know what's great about baseball? One win on Friday night and the O's are one game up in the AL East. Take 2 out of 3 in Tampa and you leave town in first place. Sweep them and suddenly we're 3 games up in the Division and everyone is dancing again. Where is THAT thread by the way? A week ago we won 5 straight and "everybody is dancing." Its been a bad week. Lets not break up the team over one bad 10 game stretch. If we continue this for a month, then we can say, "same ol Birds." But for now, breath. Relax. We are STILL in first place as the calendar turns to June. Nobody in the world projected that in March!

But...Hunter WAS sent down:) and Chavez stinks! The lineup cannot have Chavez batting leadoff. The others I generally agree with you on accept if we had someone else I would consider sending Jake down to regain his form, but our options are thin there.