We made Kuroda an ace

[Roll Tide]

I'm tiring of Showalter sugar coating everything. His comment on Chen's performance was ridiculous:

"He pitched real well, gave us a chance to win," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "We just weren't able to score any runs. With very few exceptions, he was just as good as Kuroda.

Ummmm....No he wasn't, Buck.

Wow ...really ....Chen had a quality start .... 6 innings three runs or less. You expect to win these types of games. Saying it wasn't a good performance by Chen is lunacy. The Os produced no offense to a good pitcher who benefitted from a low strike zone that helped him (a sinkerballer) more than it did Chen.

I don't think anybody is over praising Chen ...but if he gives me 32 starts and averages 6 innings and 3 runs he's certainly doing his job.

[centralpaosfan]

I'm more upset at how incredibly fake the Yankees are than getting shutout. The first two games the crowd was silent and none of the hurt Yanks were anywhere around. Put them on tv on a Sunday night and all of a sudden the crowd is back to chanting every players name and every single hurt player is on the bench for their face time.

[Malike]

Kuroda was throwing strikes all night long. Nearly everyone took the first pitch and it was a strike. He was ahead all night, he had everything working. He was on.

[ShaneDawg85]

Will people stop dogging Kuroda like he's Sidney Ponson. He's got a career 3.41 ERA in the states, all of which has come over the age of 33. If he were on the Orioles we'd be looking at him as our ace, but since he's with the Yankees he shuts us down, as a good pitcher should, and all of a sudden we made him look great. :rolleyestf:

[Frobby]

I'm more upset at how incredibly fake the Yankees are than getting shutout. The first two games the crowd was silent and none of the hurt Yanks were anywhere around. Put them on tv on a Sunday night and all of a sudden the crowd is back to chanting every players name and every single hurt player is on the bench for their face time.

I thought the place sounded like a tomb.

[Aristotelian]

I've always looked at Kuroda as an ace. He reminds me of Pedro in his prime. Performances like tonight should be his norm not an aberration.

Kuroda is a good pitcher and pitched great last night, but let's not get carried away.

Kuroda throws FB, sinker, splitter, sits 90-91 mph. Best year went 16-11, 3.32, 167 K in 219.2 IP for 6.84 K/9.

Pedro threw FB, slider, change, sitting 93-94 mph. Best year went 23-4, 2.02, 313 K in 213 IP 13.20 K/9.

Completely different styles of pitching, completely different levels of dominance.

[SteveO]

I will not get into the typical rants I've done in the past.

I will only say this: we do need a true MOO bat in order to get past guys we should have beaten.

Kuroda is solid, very solid, but we could have done a lot more than we did tonight. I am tired of watching the Orioles lose when we could have somehow scratched out a win with more patient at-bats and some small ball here and there.

Really, we should be like 9-3.

MSK

I have been a supporter of idea that we should have gotten a MOO bat but that said saying we should be 9-3 pretty much shows a lack of understanding of baseball. There is no one player that the O's could have brought in that would be a +3 win player through 12 games....thats just silly.

So your saying if we brought in Josh Hamilton (a MOO bat) and his .235 avg and 2 HR's we would be 9-3? Nonsense

[SteveO]

Kuroda is a hell of a lot better than a lot of people give him credit for. When he's on, he's like a Koji that can throw 100 pitches. What are you gonna do, the guy pitched really well. We give credit for Jim Johnson getting groundballs throwing similar sinking fastballs, so we should give credit to Kuroda.

This!

Kuroda is a good pitcher who can be dominant on a given night if he is on. He was on point last night and pitched well. Sometimes credit to the other team is due. Last night was one of those nights.

[SilentJames]

Kuroda is a good pitcher. Sometimes teams get shut out.

Man, one good season and the sense of entitlement around here is almost at Yankee-fan level proportions.

Seriously. It is kind of ridiculous. No wait - it IS ridiculous and kinda irritating.

[LookitsPuck]

I'm tiring of Showalter sugar coating everything. His comment on Chen's performance was ridiculous:

"He pitched real well, gave us a chance to win," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "We just weren't able to score any runs. With very few exceptions, he was just as good as Kuroda.

Ummmm....No he wasn't, Buck.

Yes, he was. He threw 2 poor pitches. One was a fastball up and in that Wieters called for low and away to Gardner that ended up hitting the foul pole for a home run. The other I can't immediatetely recall the at bat. But he had 2 batters with extended at bats that caused him to be removed after 6 as opposed to 7.

[El Gordo]

Chen was getting pop ups and Kuroda was getting nubbers. Unfortunately one of Chen's pop ups hit the foul pole for a HR. Any pitcher when he is on his game and locating consistently is pitching like an ace. Kuroda won't do that every time out like a true ace, but was good last night.

[Mayor McCheese]

Just tip your cap to Kuroda and move on...

[MemorialStadKid]

Kuroda is a good pitcher. Sometimes teams get shut out.

Man, one good season and the sense of entitlement around here is almost at Yankee-fan level proportions.

So would you prefer the "pessimism" of the past?

Lock me up for EXPECTING the Orioles to win. :slytf:

What the heck is wrong with some of you folks?!?!?! I felt the Orioles should have taken 2 of 3 because CC = automatic loss for the Orioles. We could have gotten past Kuroda if there was some more plate discipline. First strike or not, you don't swing at every single first pitch he throws. We never wear down the other pitchers unless they get pulled for giving up HRs. CC and Kuroda going the distance is horrible.

I just feel that the Orioles should be able to get past Kuroda.

MSK

[Dipper9]

So would you prefer the "pessimism" of the past?

Lock me up for EXPECTING the Orioles to win. :slytf:

What the heck is wrong with some of you folks?!?!?! I felt the Orioles should have taken 2 of 3 because CC = automatic loss for the Orioles. We could have gotten past Kuroda if there was some more plate discipline. First strike or not, you don't swing at every single first pitch he throws. We never wear down the other pitchers unless they get pulled for giving up HRs. CC and Kuroda going the distance is horrible.

I just feel that the Orioles should be able to get past Kuroda.

MSK

Seems I have to ask this same question every year, so this will be my one time for 2013.

Why is it that when an Orioles pitcher throws a good game, we Orioles fans say how great he was at shutting down the opposition. But, when an opposing pitcher throws a good game, we ***** about why the Orioles hitters couldn't get to him? Its a catch 22 that looks at the game of baseball with blinders on. Any fan of BASEBALL, not the Orioles, but baseball, knows that good pitching will beat good hitting, and last night, Kuroda was on his game! Simple as that.

[Moose Milligan]

So would you prefer the "pessimism" of the past?

Lock me up for EXPECTING the Orioles to win. :slytf:

What the heck is wrong with some of you folks?!?!?! I felt the Orioles should have taken 2 of 3 because CC = automatic loss for the Orioles. We could have gotten past Kuroda if there was some more plate discipline. First strike or not, you don't swing at every single first pitch he throws. We never wear down the other pitchers unless they get pulled for giving up HRs. CC and Kuroda going the distance is horrible.

I just feel that the Orioles should be able to get past Kuroda.

MSK

Pump your brakes there, MSK. If this OP is you being an "optimist" or something, I don't want to see what your pessimistic side looks like.

I feel your frustration but, as I said, Kuroda is a good pitcher and last night he was ON. The Orioles definitely could have taken 2/3 this series but they didn't and there's no use crying about it. Did you see the movement on his fastball last night? How come no one was able to make solid contact? Dude pitched a hell of a game, chalk it up to that.

I also don't see you taking Adam Jones to task on here for his snafu on Friday evening. Wonder why.