Oswalt is in the doghouse.

[24fps]

Same thing .... dont let the words cloud the issue for you. I've pitched and when I told my coach I "Had Enough" it meant I was done. Questioning how the guy felt physically is just wrong.

Take into account days off and pitching in between starts ...He last pitched 5 on 07/30 and pitched two innings on 8/3 before being used for two innings yesterday. Also take into account he might have been pitching like a reliever. Basically letting it rip ...rather than pacing yourself. Again if you've never pitched you wouldnt get it.

If he's just too tired to pitch a third inning, it ain't news. Nor is it an issue potentially requiring the GM to step in. I guess I see how the linguistic conventions between you and your coach might affect your interpretation of the story, but the fact remains there would be no story if it was merely fatigue.

If Roy has been wronged here, I'm sure there are plenty of reporters more than willing to give him an opportunity to set the record straight. Too bad he wasn't available after the game to nip this one in the bud.

[SrMeowMeow]

Even if you are right, and I tend to think it may be a combination of the two, can you fault him after the way the team handled it? I might have been more inclined to have gone the extra mile if I wouldn't have found out through the media I was being sent to the bullpen.

No, I wouldn't fault him or care. We want him to start, so I don't care if he throws himself on the ground and has a tantrum every time someone says the words "reliever".

[Snutchy]

How would we acquire him? Would the Rangers have to put him on Waivers and we claim him, or if he clears, he can be traded anywhere? Is that how it works? I'm sure he get's claimed. Where would we be in line? If i'm right, we'd be 8th in line behind Tampa, Boston, Toronto, Cleveland, Minnesota, Kansas and Seattle. Chances are that Boston takes a stab first. Didn't they want him to begin with?

[crawjo]

How would we acquire him? Would the Rangers have to put him on Waivers and we claim him, or if he clears, he can be traded anywhere? Is that how it works? I'm sure he get's claimed. Where would we be in line? If i'm right, we'd be 8th in line behind Tampa, Boston, Toronto, Cleveland, Minnesota, Kansas and Seattle. Chances are that Boston takes a stab first. Didn't they want him to begin with?

That seems right. I think it would be unlikely that Oswalt would fall to the Orioles. I was responding more to the people saying that Baltimore, absolutely desperate for competent starting pitching, should pass on Oswalt because he doesn't like being a reliever. IMO, that's just crazy. Sometimes I think people want players to be perfect citizens and exemplary teammates more than they want them to, you know, win games.

[Roll Tide]

You realize that there's a very good chance (we obviously don't have all the information) that you're wrong and that Oswalt felt insulted and checked out of the game early on that account? Maybe tone down the condescension a few notches.

He just pitched two innings on the 3rd ...Two days ago. And you cant call those innings a side session where your really not throwing 100% . Look Im not saying he's not bitter ...But if any pitcher in the Orioles pen pitched on 08/03 2 innings & 2 innings last night no one here would be saying he quit after just two innings.

[Roll Tide]

If he's just too tired to pitch a third inning, it ain't news. Nor is it an issue potentially requiring the GM to step in. I guess I see how the linguistic conventions between you and your coach might affect your interpretation of the story, but the fact remains there would be no story if it was merely fatigue.

If Roy has been wronged here, I'm sure there are plenty of reporters more than willing to give him an opportunity to set the record straight. Too bad he wasn't available after the game to nip this one in the bud.

How can anyone but Oswalt say that he wasnt fatigued? The fact that he's pitched 2 out of 3 days 2 innings each and they wanted more basically is bad managing and quite frankly not in the best interest of the pitcher IMO.

[Roll Tide]

How would we acquire him? Would the Rangers have to put him on Waivers and we claim him, or if he clears, he can be traded anywhere? Is that how it works? I'm sure he get's claimed. Where would we be in line? If i'm right, we'd be 8th in line behind Tampa, Boston, Toronto, Cleveland, Minnesota, Kansas City and Seattle. Chances are that Boston takes a stab first. Didn't they want him to begin with?

Not that we are ...But none of the highlighted teams would want to take on payroll and the Red Sox really arent in the race at this point.

[SrMeowMeow]

He just pitched two innings on the 3rd ...Two days ago. And you cant call those innings a side session where your really not throwing 100% . Look Im not saying he's not bitter ...But if any pitcher in the Orioles pen pitched on 08/03 2 innings & 2 innings last night no one here would be saying he quit after just two innings.

Yeah, and there wouldn't be an article about it on MLB's home page. You seem to be going out of your way to take a very awkward perspective. Listen to these lines from the article:

"...Oswalt declined to pitch; Manager wanted right-hander to throw a third inning..."

"Oswalt made his second appearance as a reliever for the Rangers on Sunday. The Rangers don't know if there will be a third one."

"Oswalt's situation has become murky after what happened..."

"The Rangers wanted Oswalt to keep pitching. He declined to do so."

"Oswalt made it clear to the Rangers that he didn't want to pitch in relief. The Rangers still made the decision..."

"What happens next will be up to Oswalt, or general manager Jon Daniels may have to resolve the issue."

Now, I know that since I'm not a pitcher there's no way I can understand what I'm reading. So I'll just say: you are correct. This, again, front-page article is about Roy Oswalt pitching two innings and being physically unable to go a third.

Oh, wait, no.

[Roll Tide]

Yeah, and there wouldn't be an article about it on MLB's home page. You seem to be going out of your way to take a very awkward perspective. Listen to these lines from the article:

"...Oswalt declined to pitch; Manager wanted right-hander to throw a third inning..."

"Oswalt made his second appearance as a reliever for the Rangers on Sunday. The Rangers don't know if there will be a third one."

"Oswalt's situation has become murky after what happened..."

"The Rangers wanted Oswalt to keep pitching. He declined to do so."

"Oswalt made it clear to the Rangers that he didn't want to pitch in relief. The Rangers still made the decision..."

"What happens next will be up to Oswalt, or general manager Jon Daniels may have to resolve the issue."

Now, I know that since I'm not a pitcher there's no way I can understand what I'm reading. So I'll just say: you are correct. This, again, front-page article is about Roy Oswalt pitching two innings and being physically unable to go a third.

Oh, wait, no.

Oh ...Okay your right

R Washington "I want you to pitch a 3rd inning"

Oswalt "I'm done"

R Washington " Your refusing to pitch then"

.... I get it .... Baseball loves controversy .... reporters need stories.

The fact is the guy pitched 4 innings in 3 days. If the Rangers want to cut him the Orioles would be so lucky to get him.

I dont understand why you dont think 4 innings spread over 3 days isnt a fair work load for a relief pitcher. I believe the manager was blaming the demotion to the pen as a reason that Oswalt wouldnt pitch a 3rd inning. If your Oswalt and you've had 2 relief stints in 3 days ....If your going to be insubordinate why not just refuse to pitch in relief????

[24fps]

How can anyone but Oswalt say that he wasnt fatigued? The fact that he's pitched 2 out of 3 days 2 innings each and they wanted more basically is bad managing and quite frankly not in the best interest of the pitcher IMO.

I think you present the facts in a way that needlessly clouds the issue. According to BBRef he made 24 pitches on 8/2 and 30 pitches on 8/5. That's roughly 72 hours rest for a pitcher accustomed to throwing twice that many pitches over a 3 hour period. While it's true that no one can fully know the mind of another, more than a little skepticism is warranted about how fatigued he might have been.

The story was clearly constructed to play up the possibility for controversy, but it is a remarkable lens indeed that allows one to view it as a whole and conclude that Ron Washington must be a bad manager.

[Dark Helmet]

Who's right is it to call out Owalt. Maybe he just got tired. Yeah, the amount of pitches weren't great. But, going out there twice within a time span your not used to, maybe his body didn't recover as fast. Ron Washington is the last person who should be questioning someone's integrity. I think its being blown up, to try and overshadow some of the odd comments coming out of Josh Hamilton lately.

[Roll Tide]

I think you present the facts in a way that needlessly clouds the issue. According to BBRef he made 24 pitches on 8/2 and 30 pitches on 8/5. That's roughly 72 hours rest for a pitcher accustomed to throwing twice that many pitches over a 3 hour period. While it's true that no one can fully know the mind of another, more than a little skepticism is warranted about how fatigued he might have been.

The story was clearly constructed to play up the possibility for controversy, but it is a remarkable lens indeed that allows one to view it as a whole and conclude that Ron Washington must be a bad manager.

Guilty until proven innocent? Starters throw every 5th day not every three days.... What about the oppressive heat? There's no way of knowing ... As I said if he didnt want to be a reliever and wanted to make a point of it he could've just refused to pitch in relief and forced a trade. The fact that he didnt want to pitch a 3rd inning doesnt make a point. If it does what is it???

[24fps]

Guilty until proven innocent? Starters throw every 5th day not every three days.... What about the oppressive heat? There's no way of knowing ... As I said if he didnt want to be a reliever and wanted to make a point of it he could've just refused to pitch in relief and forced a trade. The fact that he didnt want to pitch a 3rd inning doesnt make a point. If it does what is it???

Let me see if I have this straight.

Roy can't pitch if the heat is oppressive.

Roy can't throw 30 pitches unless he's had a full 5 days rest after throwing 24 pitches.

Roy gets to have his 6.49 ERA as a starter ignored because he "doesn't want" to be a reliever.

Roy gets to choose whether he feels like pitching another inning or not.

Roy gets to ignore the media when they might be wondering WTF is it with a guy who is getting $5 million for a half year's work and is having some kind of problem anyway.

Roy should be able to force a trade if he doesn't get his way.

Just the kind of guy we should be all over.

[Roll Tide]

Wow Really ?

We will have to agree to disagree .... But look closer at his starts 3 or his 6 starts he gave up 1 run in 5-6 innings. He had 1 mediocre start and 2 really bad ones. I can think of 2 picthers in our rotation that you'd gladly take a QS 50% of the time. On July third he gave up 11 runs! let me say that again for you 11 runs (9 earned)....Let me ask you when the last time Buck left one of our starters in a game that he gave up 11 runs. Talk about being hung out to dry! In the other start he gave up 8 ...Again 8 runs in 5 innings...When the last time Buck left a starter in a game to give up 8? Talk about questionable management. At very least admit that his era is inflated by his manager.

[24fps]

Wow Really ?

We will have to agree to disagree .... But look closer at his starts 3 or his 6 starts he gave up 1 run in 5-6 innings. He had 1 mediocre start and 2 really bad ones. I can think of 2 picthers in our rotation that you'd gladly take a QS 50% of the time. On July third he gave up 11 runs! let me say that again for you 11 runs (9 earned)....Let me ask you when the last time Buck left one of our starters in a game that he gave up 11 runs. Talk about being hung out to dry! In the other start he gave up 8 ...Again 8 runs in 5 innings...When the last time Buck left a starter in a game to give up 8? Talk about questionable management. At very least admit that his era is inflated by his manager.

If you need to cherry-pick fully half the data and then apply a filter based on presumed motives to make your point, I think it's fair to say your argument is on thin ice. What the heck are Jake and BMat doing in Norfolk if that's considered sound methodology?

Anyway, I think we're getting a little off-track here. I'm not suggesting we avoid pursuing Roy Oswalt because he isn't a good starter. As far as the rest of the season is concerned, we don't know if he will or won't be at this point although the Rangers seem to have made their (expensive) judgment. I am suggesting we ignore him because he looks like a prima donna. Prove me wrong Roy, and then let's talk.