Opportunity knocks for Ryan Flaherty

[mdbdotcom]

..,...or something else going on in the Orioles locker room that we don't want to know about. .

Or his last name starts with Flah - just insert the 's'

[El Gordo]

..,...or something else going on in the Orioles locker room that we don't want to know about. .

I believe that's what Buck's nick name refers to.

[scOtt]

Who the heck is Flash?

[video=youtube;6dK6OqQrOys]

not Joe.

[Rene88]

Not at game, but very happy to see Ryan doing well.

[Enjoy Terror]

Hit another dinger!

[Scrat1]

It would be so huge for the Orioles if Flaherty established himself as a solid regular.

[OriolesFaithful]

It would be so huge for the Orioles if Flaherty established himself as a solid regular.

I know he struck out looking early in the game, but his batting eye seems to have improved a ton. He isn't chasing all that breaking junk in the dirt and/or outside the zone like in the past. I'm too lazy to look it up, but I'm sure his surge correlates to a big drop in strikeouts.

[UMDTerrapins]

It would be so huge for the Orioles if Flaherty established himself as a solid regular.

Glad to have Roberts on the roster, but Flaherty is on a roll and I worry about taking away at bats right now....his OPS is .789 in June. Roberts' career OPS is .765 and he's unlikely to be a factor for the O's beyond this season. Plus Ryan's defense is terrific. Ultimate irony that we finally get back Roberts at the point in time where I'm not sure it's such a good thing. Perhaps Roberts will be DHing a good amount.

[pdiddy]

It would be so huge for the Orioles if Flaherty established himself as a solid regular.

Just in time for B Rob to muddy the waters. Hope they're smart about it.

[Flash- bd]

Ryan Flaherty agrees with you.

Like I've said, Ryan always looks out for a brother. He's a stand-up guy.

[Enjoy Terror]

Roberts will probably be a weak side platoon and get starts at DH. Not really a true platoon because the splits aren't completely there, but I don't see how the Orioles sit Flaherty at this point considering how much Buck values defense.

[trk001]

Flaherty strikes me as being very similar to Chris Davis. They're both roughly the same size (Davis seems to have about 20 lbs of muscle over Flaherty). They're currently using very similar batting stances and swings. Flaherty has a lot of natural power he hasn't harnessed yet. I'm not saying he's going to go 60 homeruns crazy like Davis, but he hasn't come close to reaching his full potential. He seems to be a late bloomer and I think it would be a mistake to take him out of the lineup at this point.

And given his demonstrated ability to play infield and outfield with solid defense, he could be our own Ben Zobrist.

[OFFNY]

.724 OPS in 21 G since his recall.

.814 OPS in his last 10 G.

This guy needs to stop being treated like he is absolute dogsh*t.

Ryan Flaherty agrees with you.

Like I've said, Ryan always looks out for a brother. He's a stand-up guy.

Flaherty never had a thread with a poll for a facetious/degrading nickname for him as did Tommy Hunter, but I understood what you meant.

[scOtt]

I know he struck out looking early in the game, but his batting eye seems to have improved a ton. He isn't chasing all that breaking junk in the dirt and/or outside the zone like in the past. I'm too lazy to look it up, but I'm sure his surge correlates to a big drop in strikeouts.

Quote from Roch:

"I've been getting into better counts and I've been positioning myself to have some more success," he said. "I've been laying off some pitches that I might have been swinging at before. It's just trying to slow the game down. Once you do that, the recipe for success is more in your favor.

"Really, it's just looking for a pitch that's hittable and not swing at anything down in the dirt. That's been my main approach since coming back, is putting myself in better hitting counts, and that's been a recipe for success."

[Flash- bd]

Flaherty strikes me as being very similar to Chris Davis. They're both roughly the same size (Davis seems to have about 20 lbs of muscle over Flaherty). They're currently using very similar batting stances and swings. Flaherty has a lot of natural power he hasn't harnessed yet. I'm not saying he's going to go 60 homeruns crazy like Davis, but he hasn't come close to reaching his full potential. He seems to be a late bloomer and I think it would be a mistake to take him out of the lineup at this point.

And given his demonstrated ability to play infield and outfield with solid defense, he could be our own Ben Zobrist.

I also saw some similarities with the Chris Davis case: http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php/131503-Opportunity-knocks-for-Ryan-Flaherty?p=3106544#post3106544

I definitely agree, Ryan seems to me your typical late bloomer. I don't know if Chris Davis was as much a late bloomer as he was a guy who just needed a long, consistent chance for his potential to come out.

Dunno about the Ben Zobrist comp., though, as Ryan will never have those kind of OBP skills, IMO. But I know what you mean. He could certainly have a plus bat at the position if we continue to let him develop and get comfortable with ML pitching.