NYT: Orioles May Keep Verlander Waiting

[waroriole]

I find it amusing that the normal thing to do is to get to the bullpen. In most cases this is true' date=' but if I was playing the 2012 O's, the bullpen was the last thing I would want to face. I would be begging Buck to keep his starters in for one more inning.[/quote']

Considering that the 2012 O's bullpen was by far the greatest bullpen ever, I think it's safe to say that the point remains.

[waroriole]

I have a question about analyzing the offense. I understand factoring in the park, etc, our ops + was a modest 99. But when people questioned why run differential was important to judging offense, ca oriole just went into more detail about factoring In park. So my question is still this. Why is run differential that important with judging an offense. If we score 800 runs but give up 800, our run differential is not good. But maybe the offense is. Isn't ops+ , which factors in park, and run scoring environments, all you really need? Is there any reason to look at run diff? Not attacking anyone, just generally curious and trying to learn things.

Other than just a initial and general idea as to how the park plays, without actually looking deeper into it, no there isn't.

[weams]

Gotta spread the rep, weams. The Yanks hometown paper doesn't pick them.

I liked that a bunch. Thanks. Actually, justD found it for me. Go hit her up

[Bahama O's Fan]

Considering that the 2012 O's bullpen was by far the greatest bullpen ever, I think it's safe to say that the point remains.

Yeah, sure does, but I was just thinking about it. If I was playing the O's in 2012, I would have been hoping Arrieta or others might have kept their pitch count low and stayed in the game for an extra innning instead of having to go up against the mighty pen.

[weams]

I don't think so.. The Times article is not targeted for people like CA-ORIOLE but rather the average fan. They would regard the team that hits the most HR as a powerhouse. The Times is not known for it's sophisticated sports reporting.

You would prefer the Post or the Daily News?

[mdbdotcom]

You would prefer the Post or the Daily News?

I consider the Daily News the hometown paper of the Yankees.

[weams]

Few people polled had the Orioles reaching the playoffs, let alone winning the division. These stories just don't mean very much.

The East is going to be a meat grinder this year. Anything can happen, and nothing's a safe bet.

We have had plenty of those type of bashing articles. I was surprised when justD gave me this well thought out one from an opponent that expressed fear.

[El Gordo]

You would prefer the Post or the Daily News?

For their sports section yes. Just ry and find the sports section in the Times. Times has the better crossword puzzle.

[weams]

For their sports section yes. Just ry and find the sports section in the Times. Times has the better crossword puzzle.

OK. Thanks for the input.

[Frobby]

I have a question about analyzing the offense. I understand factoring in the park, etc, our ops + was a modest 99. But when people questioned why run differential was important to judging offense, ca oriole just went into more detail about factoring In park. So my question is still this. Why is run differential that important with judging an offense. If we score 800 runs but give up 800, our run differential is not good. But maybe the offense is. Isn't ops+ , which factors in park, and run scoring environments, all you really need? Is there any reason to look at run diff? Not attacking anyone, just generally curious and trying to learn things.

Your point is correct. Run differential tells you nothing about how good the offense was or wasn't. The Royals had a 47 run differential, the Orioles had a 36 run differential. Who had the better offense? We did, by far. Their pitching was much better. It's closer if you look at park-adjusted numbers than if you look at raw numbers, but really it's not that close.

To some degree, I think the Orioles have been built for the ballpark and division they play in. Would their offense look as formidable if they played their home games in Oakland, Anaheim or KC? No, but guess what, they don't play there. Their offense is pretty fearsome because they're built to take advantage of the dimensions of OPACY, Yankee Stadium* and Fenway*, and the homer conducive environment of Toronto. It would be kind of silly to build a slap-hitting, speed-based team to play most of its games in venues that reward power hitting.

* We actually did not score much in Yankee Stadium or Fenway last year.

[Teddy OBP]

We have had plenty of those type of bashing articles. I was surprised when justD gave me this well thought out one from an opponent that expressed fear.

Yeah, I'm underwhelmed by most "real" journalists compared to a whole slew of people on here.

My local paper reprinted a preview from one of the Chicago papers that picked us last in the East. The only analysis was "Late desperation signings of Jimenez and Cruz not enough." Moron.

[joedogg9999]

Not to me.

You score more runs in a hitters park and you give up more runs in a hitters park. Run differential is what matters. Park Factor adjustments literally are one of the first statistics Bill James came up with.

And what was their run differential when they made thw playoffs in 2012? Theres more to baseball than pure math. And what else do you call an offense that is top 5 in runs, if not powerhouse???

[BohKnowsBmore]

Yeah' date=' sure does, but I was just thinking about it. If I was playing the O's in 2012, I would have been hoping Arrieta or others might have kept their pitch count low and stayed in the game for an extra innning instead of having to go up against the mighty pen.[/quote']

So you're saying we don't work at bats and make quick outs to avoid the bullpen? Interesting... It might just be crazy enough to work

[weams]

So you're saying we don't work at bats and make quick outs to avoid the bullpen? Interesting... It might just be crazy enough to work

I'm not certain that I understand, but heck...whatever works.

[BohKnowsBmore]

I'm not certain that I understand, but heck...whatever works.

I'm not sure I understand it either, but the logic is pretty sound. 2012 Orioles bullpen >>> 2012 Arrieta, so avoid doing anything to get Arrietta out of the game (work at bats, elevate pitch count, knock him around, score runs, win the game, etc.) to preserve the better match up. You believe in platooning players on our end to maximize match ups, right?