Expectations for the "Solid Six"

[wildcard]

Why deal Chen if you want someone as good as Gonzo? Chen is solid and has a reasonable contract for the next 2 years. I have no issue trying to deal the other guys including Matusz IMO.

If you trade Chen than are basically trying to find someone else to replace him.

Chen faded over the last two months of the season. He has done it both years he has been with the O's. That is not good enough. Got to do better to get to the WS.

[weams]

Chen faded over the last two months of the season. He has done it both years he has been with the O's. That is not good enough. Got to do better to get to the WS.

I'll worry about getting to the playoffs. Two great pitchers can get you through the playoffs to the World Series. It's a different game in the playoffs.

[Camden_yardbird]

Really shows the weakness on this team...OBP. .320 is laughable. For comparison sake (I have included each teams catcher):

Boston 6 (salty, napoli, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Victorino, Ortiz): .361

Detroit 6 (Hunter, Fielder, Cabrera, Martinez, Jackson, Avila): .357

A's 6 (Donaldson, Cespedes, Norris, Reddick, Lowrie, Moss): .335

Tampa 6: (Zobrist, Molina, Longo, Jennings, Meyers, Yunel): .334

This really needs to be an area of focus for this team.

[weams]

Really shows the weakness on this team...OBP. .320 is laughable. For comparison sake (I have included each teams catcher):

Boston 6 (salty, napoli, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Victorino, Ortiz): .361

Detroit 6 (Hunter, Fielder, Cabrera, Martinez, Jackson, Avila): .357

A's 6 (Donaldson, Cespedes, Norris, Reddick, Lowrie, Moss): .335

Tampa 6: (Zobrist, Molina, Longo, Jennings, Meyers, Yunel): .334

This really needs to be an area of focus for this team.

Since we were fourth in OPS, I would say that we have done a phenomenal

1	Boston	162	5651	853	1566	363	29	178	2521	819	.277	.349	.446	.7952	Detroit	162	5735	796	1625	292	23	176	2491	767	.283	.346	.434	.7803	Oakland	162	5521	767	1403	301	25	186	2312	725	.254	.327	.419	.7454	Baltimore	162	5620	745	1460	298	14	212	2422	719	.260	.313	.431	.744

job in slugging. In fact, I would not want to sacrifice it for OBP.

[weams]

Since we were fourth in OPS, I would say that we have done a phenomenal

1	Boston	162	5651	853	1566	363	29	178	2521	819	.277	.349	.446	.7952	Detroit	162	5735	796	1625	292	23	176	2491	767	.283	.346	.434	.7803	Oakland	162	5521	767	1403	301	25	186	2312	725	.254	.327	.419	.7454	Baltimore	162	5620	745	1460	298	14	212	2422	719	.260	.313	.431	.744

job in slugging. In fact, I would not want to sacrifice it for OBP.

Home Runs count. They count a lot. If we give up less, pitch better, our offense is darned near perfect.

[Moose Milligan]

Really shows the weakness on this team...OBP. .320 is laughable. For comparison sake (I have included each teams catcher):

Boston 6 (salty, napoli, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Victorino, Ortiz): .361

Detroit 6 (Hunter, Fielder, Cabrera, Martinez, Jackson, Avila): .357

A's 6 (Donaldson, Cespedes, Norris, Reddick, Lowrie, Moss): .335

Tampa 6: (Zobrist, Molina, Longo, Jennings, Meyers, Yunel): .334

This really needs to be an area of focus for this team.

I agree that it needs to be an area of focus but....who'd you be willing to part with out of these six players? I like what Hardy brings with his defense, especially paired up with Machado and I like the pop he brings, too. I'm willing to accept his OBP issue. As bad of a hitter I think Rick De...er, Matt Wieters is, he still is a good defender and the staff seems to like throwing to him. I'm willing to accept that over his lack of hitting skills.

OBP is a concern, to be sure. Maybe I'm too emotionally attached to some of these guys because they are a large cog of the first back to back winning seasons I've seen since high school.

[weams]

OBP is a concern, to be sure. Maybe I'm too emotionally attached to some of these guys because they are a large cog of the first back to back winning seasons I've seen since high school.

I think it is because you are emotionally attached to one of the better offensive teams that Orioles fans have seen. And yes, these types of team statistics are just not seen post steroid area. The team offense gets an A in my book. We have two positions that we can improve OBP on, left field and half of DH. Otherwise, we are good.

[Frobby]

Home Runs count. They count a lot. If we give up less, pitch better, our offense is darned near perfect.

For me, it's all about runs. Last I heard, that's what decides who wins and loses the games. We were tied for 4th in runs. Boston, Detroit and Oakland all were ahead of us. Obviously, OBP had a lot to do with it, since we hit more home runs than any of those teams.

[weams]

For me, it's all about runs. Last I heard, that's what decides who wins and loses the games. We were tied for 4th in runs. Boston, Detroit and Oakland all were ahead of us. Obviously, OBP had a lot to do with it, since we hit more home runs than any of those teams.

I like fourth. I'd sign up for that again.

[calmunderfire]

I dont see the logic of trading Hardy and moving Manny to short.

Yes Manny would be a great shortstop.

But, you would then have to fill the hole at third, and we've been there done that.

Manny and Hardy make a great left side of the diamond combination. I hope they stay together for a few more years.

There is logic to it, it's just a matter of do you see it that way. For one Machado is just a meh hitter. His offense is very solid at SS, but 3B not so much. Put him at SS and you don't have to worry about offense there for a decade.

Secondly, he's incredible in the field. His range and arm are tremendous, so let him go to work in the hole.

[calmunderfire]

I worry about Wieters and Markakis next season. Wieters is regressing as a player the past few years. He contributed very little this season. The defense was not as advertised last season. His offense regressed and even when he gets on base he's slow as hell. Can he bounce back? I don't know. I'm sure that 5.5 million he made last year had something to do with his performance.

As for Markakis I'm done with him. He's far worse than Melvin Mora ever was for this team. He's just not a playoff player. We need a better RF to make the playoffs. 15 million for his performance, damn that's weak. He's clearly lost his physicality before he turned 30 which is a sign of relaxing on your conditioning. His power is gone and his speed has evaporated.

Jones is the safest of the core six to produce. He's in his prime and is a proven player over many years. He'll do his thing.

[El Gordo]

There's no guarantee Manny would be a better SS than Hardy, at this point in his career. No doubt he has better tools but it's a tougher position to play than 3B, so there's bound to be a learning curve, and we also don't know whether his injury will be an issue for his range. Seems imprudent to risk losing that much defense(we'll never find as good a 3B) for whatever you might get in trade for Hardy. It wont be a TOR SP, so I'd rather have the sure defense on the left side.

[Russsnyder]

One thing to note about the Solid Six -- they're not a high OBP group. When your best six players have a collective .320 OBP, it's pretty hard to expect your team to be in the top half of the league, OBP-wise. You can look to make improvements, but without spending a ton of money at the other three spots, it's hard to do much.

Bingo! Nailed it. OBP is among the major concerns going into next year. I am tired of the "we are who we are" argument. Jim Duquette said on 105.7 the fan that the " Orioles biggest downfall was their free swinging style."

[weams]

Bingo! Nailed it. OBP is among the major concerns going into next year. I am tired of the "we are who we are" argument. Jim Duquette said on 105.7 the fan that the " Orioles biggest downfall was their free swinging style."

Thank goodness they slug so well to offset this deficiency.

[mdbdotcom]

There's no guarantee Manny would be a better SS than Hardy, at this point in his career. No doubt he has better tools but it's a tougher position to play than 3B, so there's bound to be a learning curve, and we also don't know whether his injury will be an issue for his range. Seems imprudent to risk losing that much defense(we'll never find as good a 3B) for whatever you might get in trade for Hardy. It wont be a TOR SP, so I'd rather have the sure defense on the left side.

Manny doesn't have to be better than Hardy. He just needs to be Manny. Hardy will be gone after next year, anyway. If they extend him at age 32, they will alienate Manny, who wants to play SS. I think you can't be afraid to make the moves you need to make. And if trading Hardy and Norris for a young, team controlled left fielder who plays great defense and puts up a .340 or better OBP, you don't miss a beat.