Buck tells 1057TheFan. Orioles are currently working on deals for Cruz & Markakis.

[Il BuonO]

Perfectly fine bringing him back on a one-year deal at $15M. That's what David Ortiz gets almost every year.

Yep, and that's his comp. If he doesn't accept it's money saved. I hear Reimold is healthy. :slytf:

[stomperspc]

Davis was not useful last season. I don't want him on the team next season and that has nothing to do with whether we sign Cruz. I dont want to see a guy play who is given the whole left side of the infield to get a hit in and instead nigt after night he trys to pull the ball. And I don't want Hunter back. We can getter a better pitcher cheaper

A few things:

(1) Davis had an .871 OPS when pulling the ball last season (.259 batting average). In fact, he was very good whenever he hit the ball. When he hit the ball in fair territory (he made 8 outs on foul balls so it is an immaterial amount), he hit .327 with a .677 slugging percentage. His issue was NOT that he tried to pull the ball too much. His issue was that he struck out way too much (33%).

(2) Here is his 2014 spray chart:

You can see he tried to go the opposite way a good bit and had some success. 18.2% of hits went to the opposite field according to Baseball Reference. Derek Jeter – a guy known to go opp. field with a lot of success – had 20.1% of his 2014 go to the opposite field. Not a huge difference.

(3) There are a lot of outs to the opposite field on that spray chart which brings up the point that it is not an automatic hit going the other way. Not only does he need to get a pitch he can hit the other way and execute, he also needs to hit a hard-ish (or really soft) ground ball or a line drive. In no way is that easy to pull off. Only the best contact/control hitters can do that with any regularity.

It is a myth that Davis was hurt last season because he tried to pull the ball too much and continually hit into the shift. Had he struck out closer to a 30% rate like he has most of his career rather than the 33% rate he K’d last year, he almost surely would have gotten more hits whether he pulled the ball or went the other way. The K’s were a big part of the issue. The shift might have had an impact and there might have been some bad luck as well, but he certainly didn’t struggle because of any stuboorn refusal to go the other way.

[weams]

A few things:

(1) Davis had an .871 OPS when pulling the ball last season (.259 batting average). In fact, he was very good whenever he hit the ball. When he hit the ball in fair territory (he made 8 outs on foul balls so it is an immaterial amount), he hit .327 with a .677 slugging percentage. His issue was NOT that he tried to pull the ball too much. His issue was that he struck out way too much (33%).

(2) Here is his 2014 spray chart:

You can see he tried to go the opposite way a good bit and had some success. 18.2% of hits went to the opposite field according to Baseball Reference. Derek Jeter – a guy known to go opp. field with a lot of success – had 20.1% of his 2014 go to the opposite field. Not a huge difference.

(3) There are a lot of outs to the opposite field on that spray chart which brings up the point that it is not an automatic hit going the other way. Not only does he need to get a pitch he can hit the other way and execute, he also needs to hit a hard-ish (or really soft) ground ball or a line drive. In no way is that easy to pull off. Only the best contact/control hitters can do that with any regularity.

It is a myth that Davis was hurt last season because he tried to pull the ball too much and continually hit into the shift. Had he struck out closer to a 30% rate like he has most of his career rather than the 33% rate he K’d last year, he almost surely would have gotten more hits whether he pulled the ball or went the other way. The K’s were a big part of the issue. The shift might have had an impact and there might have been some bad luck as well, but he certainly didn’t struggle because of any stuboorn refusal to go the other way.

Davis had an oblique injury that may have had a lot to do with his poor season.

[El Gordo]

Davis had an oblique injury that may have had a lot to do with his poor season.

Davis' best stretch last season was the few weeks after he came off the DL for his oblique and before the paternity leave.

[Frobby]

I'd love to see Nick and Cruz back at the right price. I think some team will iverpay Cruz and he'll be gone.

[Dipper9]

I'd love to see Nick and Cruz back at the right price. I think some team will iverpay Cruz and he'll be gone.

Me too. I'd love to go with the same squad we had in 2014, plus the additions of our injured guys, and put another 96 wins on the board.

RF: Markakis

3B: Machado

CF: Jones

DH: Cruz

1B: Davis

LF: Pearce

C: Wieters

SS: Hardy

2B: Schoop

Bench: Joseph, DeAza, Flaherty, Lough?

Rotation: Tillman, Chen, Gausman, Gonzo, Norris

Bullpen: Britton, McFarland, O'Day, Hunter, Brach, Jiminez, Matusz?

[Aristotelian]

Me too. I'd love to go with the same squad we had in 2014, plus the additions of our injured guys, and put another 96 wins on the board.

RF: Markakis

3B: Machado

CF: Jones

DH: Cruz

1B: Davis

LF: Pearce

C: Wieters

SS: Hardy

2B: Schoop

Bench: Joseph, DeAza, Flaherty, Lough?

Rotation: Tillman, Chen, Gausman, Gonzo, Norris

Bullpen: Britton, McFarland, O'Day, Hunter, Brach, Jiminez, Matusz?

Unfortunately, this will cost about $7 million for Nelson; $3 million each for JJ and Tillman; $1-2 million each for Norris, Wieters, Davis, O'Day, and Britton; plus taking on $5 million for De Aza. That's an increase of $27 million over 2013 just to return the same team minus Miller.

I don't think ownership is going for that, so once again I am back to trading Norris and non-tendering Matusz for starters and maybe non-tendering Davis and rolling with Pearce as our 1B.

[CA-ORIOLE]

A few things:

(1) Davis had an .871 OPS when pulling the ball last season (.259 batting average). In fact, he was very good whenever he hit the ball. When he hit the ball in fair territory (he made 8 outs on foul balls so it is an immaterial amount), he hit .327 with a .677 slugging percentage. His issue was NOT that he tried to pull the ball too much. His issue was that he struck out way too much (33%).

(2) Here is his 2014 spray chart:

You can see he tried to go the opposite way a good bit and had some success. 18.2% of hits went to the opposite field according to Baseball Reference. Derek Jeter ? a guy known to go opp. field with a lot of success ? had 20.1% of his 2014 go to the opposite field. Not a huge difference.

(3) There are a lot of outs to the opposite field on that spray chart which brings up the point that it is not an automatic hit going the other way. Not only does he need to get a pitch he can hit the other way and execute, he also needs to hit a hard-ish (or really soft) ground ball or a line drive. In no way is that easy to pull off. Only the best contact/control hitters can do that with any regularity.

It is a myth that Davis was hurt last season because he tried to pull the ball too much and continually hit into the shift. Had he struck out closer to a 30% rate like he has most of his career rather than the 33% rate he K?d last year, he almost surely would have gotten more hits whether he pulled the ball or went the other way. The K?s were a big part of the issue. The shift might have had an impact and there might have been some bad luck as well, but he certainly didn?t struggle because of any stuboorn refusal to go the other way.

I see almost a solid black blob on the right side of the infield with that chart. Looks like not a single ground ball and probably only a few line drives got through there. How is that not impactful? While his K rate was higher and important, his LD% and GB % were both higher in 2014. A lot of those those should be hits. He hit plenty of balls hard and a 93 point drop in babip isn't just bad luck imo, it was hitting them where they are.

While I agree there are a other factors besides the shift (including the K rate), it was also unrealistic to expect the the ridiculously high HR/FB rate he had in 2013.

[webbrick2010]

If we sign Cruz and Markakis to add to JJ Hardy, we will be locking in an aging, incredibly slow trio of players.

Have we learned nothing from the Yankees?

Have we learned nothing from the KC Royals?

JJ, Cruz, and Markakis should have all been given QO's and we could have added young talent to our core of Jones, Machado and hopefully Schoop plus our emerging strength of starting pitching.

[stomperspc]

I see almost a solid black blob on the right side of the infield with that chart. Looks like not a single ground ball and probably only a few line drives got through there. How is that not impactful? While his K rate was higher and important, his LD% and GB % were both higher in 2014. A lot of those those should be hits. He hit plenty of balls hard and a 93 point drop in babip isn't just bad luck imo, it was hitting them where they are.

While I agree there are a other factors besides the shift (including the K rate), it was also unrealistic to expect the the ridiculously high HR/FB rate he had in 2013.

I said the shift likely/may have an impact. I was reacting to the notion that Davis' failure last season was not going to the opposite field enough. Although significantly below prior years (which of course is in some part due to the shift), he still had an OPS of .871 on balls he pulled in 2014. Had he made more consistent contact and struck out at a rate more in-line with his career totals, it seems very likely his ending numbers would have been a lot more palatable.

I agree that his 2013 numbers weren't and aren't likely to be repeated. I didn't expect him to because as you pointed out, his FB/HR rate was in 2013 really high. However, I would be really surprised though if Davis doesn't at least have a season close to his 2012 one if he strikes out at a rate of 30% or below next season, even if he continues to be shifted and continues to pull the ball at the same rate. I also do think he had at least a tiny bit of bad fortune with so many hard hit balls finding gloves, even in the shift. I recall quite a few good plays made on Davis last season that went beyond the ball being hit right to the shifted infielder. I think a combination of a lower strike rate, just a tiny bit better fortune, and perhaps improved health (both physically and his state of mind) can have Davis back to being a very productive hitter, even if he doesn't go opposite field anymore than he has. I'd rank "pulls the ball too much" no higher than third or fourth on the list of reasons he didn't have a strong offensive year.

[canonfaz]

If we sign Cruz and Markakis to add to JJ Hardy, we will be locking in an aging, incredibly slow trio of players.

Have we learned nothing from the Yankees?

Have we learned nothing from the KC Royals?

JJ, Cruz, and Markakis should have all been given QO's and we could have added young talent to our core of Jones, Machado and hopefully Schoop plus our emerging strength of starting pitching.

I agree completely with Markakis, but most of JJ's value though is in his defense, which shouldn't decline as quickly as his offense. Cruz is a completely different animal. He had a monster year offensively and also provides adequate defense in the outfield.

I would offer a QO to Nick and try to sign Cruz for 3 more years.

[UpstateNYfan]

If we sign Cruz and Markakis to add to JJ Hardy, we will be locking in an aging, incredibly slow trio of players.

Have we learned nothing from the Yankees?

Have we learned nothing from the KC Royals?

JJ, Cruz, and Markakis should have all been given QO's and we could have added young talent to our core of Jones, Machado and hopefully Schoop plus our emerging strength of starting pitching.

It's a little early to proclaim the Royals as the new way of constructing a ball club. It may be, but just way too early.

I'm glad they signed JJ and can go either way with Cruz and Markakis. Markakis due to how willingly he may be to a changing role with the team and Cruz for other factors. I like them both, but my tops for Markakis is 3 at around JJ money and Cruz for 2/25. I think Cruz is the more likely to be gone and the more likely to wish we had signed.

[Dipper9]

Unfortunately, this will cost about $7 million for Nelson; $3 million each for JJ and Tillman; $1-2 million each for Norris, Wieters, Davis, O'Day, and Britton; plus taking on $5 million for De Aza. That's an increase of $27 million over 2013 just to return the same team minus Miller.

I don't think ownership is going for that, so once again I am back to trading Norris and non-tendering Matusz for starters and maybe non-tendering Davis and rolling with Pearce as our 1B.

The same team that won 96 games WITHOUT Wieters, Manny, and Davis for significant portions of the season. I'll take that for an additional $27 million.

I don't agree with rolling with Pearce. He's one of my favorite players, seems like a great guy, and had one hell of a season, but to expect a 31 year old to replicate that kind of a career year may be asking too much.

[DrungoHazewood]

...he still had an OPS of .871 on balls he pulled in 2014.

Can you put that in context? What were his numbers in prior years? What is the league average? What do similar players hit?

[DrungoHazewood]

It's a little early to proclaim the Royals as the new way of constructing a ball club. It may be, but just way too early.

There is no one way to construct a team. There a lots of ways. Three months ago the Tigers and A's were all about loading up on TOR starters, because everyone knew that's how you get through the playoffs. And it could be. But it all comes back to building a good team. There's no secret sauce, there's no combination to unlock the One True Way to win in 2015. It's like it always was: get better players than the other guys.