Would you take Jeremy Guthrie back?

[russ snyder]

There's no doubt in my mind that the thin air in Colorado has added to Guthrie's woes. However, I'd rather the Orioles target a guy like Saunders. I would not get in a bidding war with Toronto for Guthrie's services. We'll light him up if he pitches against us.

[Mayor McCheese]

I'd pass on guthrie. The hot and humid summers in baltimore is no different from the thin air out west.

[Lucky Jim]

The hot and humid summers in baltimore is no different from the thin air out west.

Why would humid air be the same as thin, dry air?

[DrungoHazewood]

I'd pass on guthrie. The hot and humid summers in baltimore is no different from the thin air out west.

Except that sea level air at 90% humidity has a very different effect on the flight characterists of a baseball than dry, 5200 ft air.

[DrungoHazewood]

Why would humid air be the same as thin, dry air?

Perhaps he's from the group of traditionalist British climbers of the 1920s who thought it unsporting to blame ones failures on a lack of oxygen.

[mi_oriolesfan]

I think the Orioles can get better pitchers at this point. Guthrie for Gregg would be a pipedream IMO.

[Mayor McCheese]

Why would humid air be the same as thin, dry air?

Except that sea level air at 90% humidity has a very different effect on the flight characterists of a baseball than dry, 5200 ft air.

You do realize that moist air (humid air) is less dense than dry air which does effect how a baseball travels!?

[DrungoHazewood]

You do realize that moist air (humid air) is less dense than dry air which does effect how a baseball travels!?

Yes, but you've offered no evidence that humid sea-level air is equal (from a baseball's perspective) to 5280 ft air. I would be quite surprised if it was, since OPACY doesn't play anything like pre-humidor Coors in July and August.

[Lucky Jim]

You do realize that moist air (humid air) is less dense than dry air which does effect how a baseball travels!?

I didn't. Which is why I asked.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/howfar3.html

Humidity is a measure of the percentage of water vapor in the air. An increase in humidity has a surprising effect on air density: As humidity increases, air density decreases. In damp air, the large, heavy oxygen and nitrogen molecules are replaced by lighter water molecules, resulting in less density -- in essence, "lighter air." Physicist Paul Doherty explains it this way: "We think of humidity as something that's added to the air on a hot, muggy day. So you might think that a ball would go farther on a dry day than on a humid day. But for every water molecule that we add to the air, we have to remove a heavier nitrogen or oxygen molecule. Since the addition of humidity actually makes the air less dense, a ball will go farther on a humid day than it will on a dry day." The changes in air density related to humidity are not large: Compared to dry air at the same temperature and pressure, there's only about a 1 percent reduction in density for a humidity of 80 percent.

Regardless, I think the issue w/ Guthrie is more about the difficulty of throwing breaking balls in Colorado.

[DrungoHazewood]

I didn't. Which is why I asked.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/howfar3.html

The changes in air density related to humidity are not large: Compared to dry air at the same temperature and pressure, there's only about a 1 percent reduction in density for a humidity of 80 percent.

Regardless, I think the issue w/ Guthrie is more about the difficulty of throwing breaking balls in Colorado.

Bolded passage is the important one. It appears the effect of Baltimore humidity is not nearly as great as Colorado altitude on air density.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Regardless, I think the issue w/ Guthrie is more about the difficulty of throwing breaking balls in Colorado.

As far as I understand, that is the core issue ............... and not just for Guthrie.

[El Gordo]

Why would humid air be the same as thin, dry air?

I would think his question might be, why is it that when it's hot and humid in OPACY the ball flies out, and yet when its dry and thin in Denver, it does as well?

[Lucky Jim]

As far as I understand, that is the core issue ............... and not just for Guthrie.

Right. Just ask Hammel.

[El Gordo]

I didn't. Which is why I asked.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/howfar3.html

Regardless, I think the issue w/ Guthrie is more about the difficulty of throwing breaking balls in Colorado.

If the humid air in OPACY is thinner, then why wouldn't he have just as much difficulty throwing his curve here as in COL?

[Mayor McCheese]

Yes, but you've offered no evidence that humid sea-level air is equal (from a baseball's perspective) to 5280 ft air. I would be quite surprised if it was, since OPACY doesn't play anything like pre-humidor Coors in July and August.

The higher the alt. the less dense the air. = Colorado dry, thin, less dense air.

Humidity will decrease the density of the air = OPACY on a hot/humid night.

I can see the relation there, if you want to be a nit and think I was comparing the air to be the same, go ahead but my point is right (less dense air does have an impact on how baseballs travel) and Guthrie is known to give up the long ball.