Wieters is pretty bad offensively

[Pickles]

In left field they currently have a first baseman, at second base they have a platoon of a 31-year-old AAA journeyman and a Rule 5er, at third they have platoon DH, their DH is Jim Thome who's as old as me and almost certainly won't be back for '13. In the rotation they have some talent, but only two starters who've thrown 100 innings to an ERA under 5.00. I think there's 4-5 holes in there.

Again, I said the positional side. And I can make the case that at C, CF, SS, RF they have "all-star" talent. (And yes, Hardy is in a hellacious slump and Nick was hurt for 6 weeks.) At DH and 1B they have adequate regulars. (And yes, Reynolds isn't hitting like he normally does, and Thome is a new aquistion, and not long-term.) At 3rd base, they have a bad defender that hits well from one side of the plate, and a utility IF masquerading as a regular (Andino). And in LF, they have a guy who isn't called a LF, but who has power and a hit tool, but Ks too much, doesn't walk enough, and is, at best, decent in the field. (Remind me again, am I conversing w the guy who thought the FO was dolts for not throwing the likes of Cust and Knott into LF? You can't have it both ways.)

So, yeah, there are holes, and less than ideal solutions. But take a look at the other rosters around the league. Besides the elite teams, TX, NY, and LA, are the O's really that much bigger? You'd have a hard case imo to make that case. Want to talk about TBs starting 9? Or Toronto's? Or Oakland's?

[Pickles]

Star power? The O's have 2 SP currently they can count on for consistent QS. They have a bunch of bats that hit for power but precious few that can get on base. None of that, 2 additional SP to give them QS, and 2 additional bats to give them .350+ OBP, constitutes "star power".

They need some guys that can get on base. I don't disagree w that. That doesn't constitute gaping holes all over the diamond.

P.S. I've always, and still do, contend the rotation is the weak link.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Mr. Offense looking great again.

[section18]

I'm getting more and more upset with Wieters everyday. No more suggestions for him. He obviously doesn't read OH and none of his friends do as well. The last few days it seems all he does is strike out and hit his normal assortment of ground balls for easy outs. Three strikeouts tonight and a fly out. 0-4. One more time.....is Jim Presley helping him? Is he helping any of our hitters? 12 more Oriole strikeouts tonight so far. I'm not for firing people but how he keeps his job is beyond me. We have scored 2 runs in the last two games and struck out 23 times. Forget the shutouts before the All-Star break. He was a career .247 hitter. Does that make him a good hitting coach? Does that make him a bad hitting coach? You'll have to be the judge. I think it's time for Wieters to get help from a real hitting coach.......and it looks like most of the lineup.

[Going Underground]

It's amazing how bad of a left handed hitter he is. Weak swing, weak ground balls, weak fly balls, and even his occasional hit is weak. Maybe he should go to more of a closed stance as a lefty (more like his righty stance)... But either way, every time he comes to the plate left handed he looks unconfident and overmatched

This is Matt going through one of his horrible slumps. They last long but he usually comes out of them. He hit well in August and September 2011. I predict he breaks out next month. Last year, he had 6 RBI's in June and 4 RBI's in July. He is a hitter prone to long slumps.He will come in around his norm .260,20 homers and 70 RBI's.

[clapdiddy]

This is Matt going through one of his horrible slumps. They last long but he usually comes out of them. He hit well in August and September 2011. I predict he breaks out next month. Last year, he had 6 RBI's in June and 4 RBI's in July. He is a hitter prone to long slumps.He will come in around his norm .260,20 homers and 70 RBI's.

Seems like we have too many of those on this team.

[Dipper9]

Seems like we have too many of those on this team.

Which begs the question, when does the hitting coach take some blame?

In fact, for years we all were upset that Angelos didn't let his managers pick their coaches. Well, Buck had total control, getting rid of some guys who we thought should have stayed, and I really don't see his hand picked coaches doing much to help these guys in their struggles.

[clapdiddy]

Which begs the question, when does the hitting coach take some blame?

In fact, for years we all were upset that Angelos didn't let his managers pick their coaches. Well, Buck had total control, getting rid of some guys who we thought should have stayed, and I really don't see his hand picked coaches doing much to help these guys in their struggles.

I truly question both the hitting and pitching coaches, but I'm guessing I'm going to start reading soon how they don't have a whole lot of influence on players at this level...

[SerenityNow]

I'm getting more and more upset with Wieters everyday. No more suggestions for him. He obviously doesn't read OH and none of his friends do as well. The last few days it seems all he does is strike out and hit his normal assortment of ground balls for easy outs. Three strikeouts tonight and a fly out. 0-4. One more time.....is Jim Presley helping him? Is he helping any of our hitters? 12 more Oriole strikeouts tonight so far. I'm not for firing people but how he keeps his job is beyond me. We have scored 2 runs in the last two games and struck out 23 times. Forget the shutouts before the All-Star break. He was a career .247 hitter. Does that make him a good hitting coach? Does that make him a bad hitting coach? You'll have to be the judge. I think it's time for Wieters to get help from a real hitting coach.......and it looks like most of the lineup.

You are getting upset with him he isn't taking hitting advice from a message board? This is one of the most unintentionally funny things I have ever read on the OH.

[fansince71]

You are getting upset with him he isn't taking hitting advice from a message board? This is one of the most unintentionally funny things I have ever read on the OH.

Damn blast it Matt, why arnt you listening to us.:laughlol:

[nadecir]

Matt Wieters continues to show a real inability to hit when the pitcher gets ahead in the count. I posted this last year, but Matt Wieters is actually a worse hitter statistically in his career than Cesar Izturis when the pitcher is ahead in the count.

In 1798 career plate appearances, Matt Wieters as an OPS of .416 when he resolves his at bat when the pitcher is ahead. (.425 this season)

In 4506 career plate appearances, Cesar Iztruis has an OPS of .490 when he resolves his at bat when the pitcher is ahead.

I posted several examples last year, but Wieters split between being ahead in the count and behind in the count is more drastic than most players. Nick Markakis, for example, has a career OPS of .989 when the pitcher is behind in the count, and an OPS of .627 when the pitcher is ahead.

Matt Wieters is a good hitter when the pitcher is behind in the count (career OPS of 1.080), and a very poor hitter when the pitcher is ahead. What does this suggest? Matt Wieters is a guess hitter, and when he guesses correctly and sits on a pitch, he is a very good hitter. When the pitcher gets ahead, and Matt Wieters can't afford to guess, he is a very poor hitter.

Just a hypothesis, but perhaps he was such a great hitter in the minors because he was able to guess correctly what the pitchers would throw more often, since in the minors pitchers don't have the secondary pitchers than major league pitchers do. If this is true and Matt Wieters is predominantly a guess hitter, I am not sure that we will ever see Matt Wieters be the hitter we would like him to be at the major league level.

It's pretty clear that the pitching book on Wieters at the major league level is to get ahead of him in the count, and then make him hit your pitch.

[Larry18]

I haven't read the thread etc...

IMO Wieters is an above average hitter for a catcher, but below average as a #5. I think if was down in the 7/8 slot his offense wouldn't be an issue. But the O's don't have anybody better to hit 5th.

[OFFNY]

I'm getting more and more upset with Wieters everyday. No more suggestions for him. He obviously doesn't read OH and none of his friends do as well.

This is right up there with Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta and Tommy Hunter would rather be pitching AAA-baseball in balmy Virginia Beach than be playing in the majors, and that Zach Philips and Darren O'Day were intentionally grooving pitches so that Josh Hamilton could get 4 home runs in one game because they were once teammates in the Texas Rangers organization.

[CanadianOriole]

Wieters now seemingly dispensing with weak ground balls or pop-ups and simply striking out every at bat. On a 1-29 with 15k's binge. That is a serious slump. I'd suggest giving him a few days off to rest and recharge - but our current backup C is hitting .071!

[Pedro Cerrano]

Meh, he sucks. If you can get good value for him, trade him.