This JJ Hardy situation needs to be monitored

[Can_of_corn]

Where did you stand on the "sell high" topic mid last season for Arrieta or last offseason for Tillman? Just curious...

Or maybe on the lack of moves this past offseason? Again, just curious...

Trying to remember, I would appreciate if no one bothers to dig back to get me contradicting myself.

I don't think I ever actively advocated trading Arrieta or Tillman as I don't think the return would have been sufficient.

The main moves I pushed for this offseason were trading Hardy to free up SS for Machado (I later reversed course as I saw a lack of adequate folks to take over third base) and trading Johnson as I like to trade high on bullpen arms.

The lack of moves didn't bother me overmuch as I didn't think PA would free up enough money to make a big splash and I saw 2014 as a better year to make a big push then 2013.

Hope that is helpful.

[jabba72]

This pitching staff desperately needs good defense. The defense at CF and 1B appear to be a bigger problem to be monitored, and those bats are good. So you cant have everything.

[BobDylanBundy]

As long as he's not hitting in the first 6 spots in the batting order, I couldn't care less about Hardy's offense. Shortstop defense is at the heart of any winning ballclub. I'd be a proponent of a Brendan Ryan type shortstop for virtually any team, and the Orioles are in an even better position than most because we've got Wieters's offense at catcher. Very few shortstops with Hardy's fielding ability will offer any kind of offense; Hardy is an asset even if he's slugging .350 instead of .450.

If we need better hitting, it's time to look at the weaknesses at other positions. Hopefully Reimold starts hitting like we all know he's capable of, and Flaherty can give us some offense at 2B (or even the return of Roberts). A corner player who can mash RHP would be a nice acquisition as well.

[isestrex]

One of the reasons Hardy was available for what amounted to a contract dump by the Twins was because the Twins had become exasperated with Hardy's refusal to change his approach at the plate. Hardy has always been a pull hitter who looks for pitches on the inner half of the plate to pull. Until he changes, and I doubt he will, he will continue to be a mistake hitter who will be below average offensive player. Thankfully, he's so good defensively that he makes up for it in the field even though his numbers a bit down this season so far. Hardy is better than a .189 hitter but he's basically a Tony Batista-type bat.

Refusal and inability are two different things. I don't think Hardy was indignant about the changes the Twins were trying to enforce upon him, he simply wasn't very good at the implementation.

[weams]

Trying to remember, I would appreciate if no one bothers to dig back to get me contradicting myself.

I don't think I ever actively advocated trading Arrieta or Tillman as I don't think the return would have been sufficient.

The main moves I pushed for this offseason were trading Hardy to free up SS for Machado (I later reversed course as I saw a lack of adequate folks to take over third base) and trading Johnson as I like to trade high on bullpen arms.

The lack of moves didn't bother me overmuch as I didn't think PA would free up enough money to make a big splash and I saw 2014 as a better year to make a big push then 2013.

Hope that is helpful.

Hardy. And Jim Johnson. Definitely Jim Johnson.

[Aristotelian]

Or maybe your concerns were right. At this point, if he does not hit, we just have an excellent defensive short stop and a great mentor for Manny Machado.

This. We already have the answer. Eventually it will be Manny. It will be much easier for us to find a 3B who can hit than a SS who can hit. If JJH is this bad all year, I would not be surprised if we started seeing Manny getting reps at SS, especially if the O's are out of it in Sept.

[weams]

One of the reasons Hardy was available for what amounted to a contract dump by the Twins was because the Twins had become exasperated with Hardy's refusal to change his approach at the plate. Hardy has always been a pull hitter who looks for pitches on the inner half of the plate to pull. Until he changes, and I doubt he will, he will continue to be a mistake hitter who will be below average offensive player. Thankfully, he's so good defensively that he makes up for it in the field even though his numbers a bit down this season so far. Hardy is better than a .189 hitter but he's basically a Tony Batista-type bat.

And for some reason, Minnesota had thought they had cobbled together a replacement for him in Casilla, A Japanesse guy that could not play shortstop, and a castoff from the Orioles minor leagues. Never a good call at shortstop.

[weams]

This. We already have the answer. Eventually it will be Manny. It will be much easier for us to find a 3B who can hit than a SS who can hit. If JJH is this bad all year, I would not be surprised if we started seeing Manny getting reps at SS, especially if the O's are out of it in Sept.

Not this season.

[LookitsPuck]

As long as he's at the bottom of the order and providing elite level defense, I'm all for JJ Hardy.

However, the fact that Reimold, Flaherty, and Pearce have been black holes for offense has made Hardy look worse.

[DrungoHazewood]

Hardy is better than a .189 hitter but he's basically a Tony Batista-type bat.

Even Batista's later years would have been reasonably valuable if he was a +10 shortstop. Actually, Batista had 3-4 years where he was a darned good player despite his approach at the plate. We make fun of him, but in '99-00 he had a mid-800s OPS as a SS/3B with 72 homers. The O's got him on waivers and got 5 rWAR out of him. There's more than a few similarities between Hardy and Batista.

[Frobby]

Even Batista's later years would have been reasonably valuable if he was a +10 shortstop. Actually, Batista had 3-4 years where he was a darned good player despite his approach at the plate. We make fun of him, but in '99-00 he had a mid-800s OPS as a SS/3B with 72 homers. The O's got him on waivers and got 5 rWAR out of him. There's more than a few similarities between Hardy and Batista.

I found this comp pretty interesting. The only problem is, right now Hardy's offense looks like the 2003 version of Bautista (.235/.270/.393), rather than the better version we saw in 2001-02. But obviously, you'll tolerate poor offensive numbers from a great defensive SS much more than for a mediocre defensive 3B. (Note: dWAR says Bautista was a little above average defensively at 3B in his time with the O's. "Mediocre" is my subjective description.)

[BobDylanBundy]

(Note: dWAR says Bautista was a little above average defensively at 3B in his time with the O's. "Mediocre" is my subjective description.)

Mediocre would be my subjective description of his fielding production as well. The Orioles were a very boring team during those years. Perhaps the college interns charting the raw data used to calculate Batista's dWAR snoozed past some of his miscues?

[Frobby]

Hardy's not looking very good at the plate right now. Like a lot of players, Hardy can be very streaky. For example, last year Hardy had a .569 OPS in April and then .922 in May. Even in his good season of 2011, he really had two hot months and didn't hit very well the rest of the time. So, it's hard to say whether he'll get hot at some point and have a pretty good year, or not. I agree the situation is worth "monitoring" but as a practical matter there's nothing to be done about it right now.

OK, I am continuing to "monitor" JJ Hardy at the

[Frobby]

Hardy's not looking very good at the plate right now. Like a lot of players, Hardy can be very streaky. For example, last year Hardy had a .569 OPS in April and then .922 in May. Even in his good season of 2011, he really had two hot months and didn't hit very well the rest of the time. So, it's hard to say whether he'll get hot at some point and have a pretty good year, or not. I agree the situation is worth "monitoring" but as a practical matter there's nothing to be done about it right now.

OK, I am continuing to "monitor" JJ Hardy at the plate. His OPS has almost gotten respectable (.691 as of today) and he's on pace for 32 HR and 95 RBI. So far in May, Hardy has a .931 OPS.

As I was saying, "[l]ike a lot of players, Hardy can be very streaky".... Let's hope he rides this hot streak for several more weeks.

[LayzieDES]

OK, I am continuing to "monitor" JJ Hardy at the plate. His OPS has almost gotten respectable (.691 as of today) and he's on pace for 32 HR and 95 RBI. So far in May, Hardy has a .931 OPS.

As I was saying, "[l]ike a lot of players, Hardy can be very streaky".... Let's hope he rides this hot streak for several more MONTHS.

Fixed it. Looks better now.