If, IF, if Ubaldo continues to dominate?

[Larry18]

No homers allowed. There was a double that was pulled down the RF line past a dividing Christian Walker.

Stupid math ruining the game:cussing:

[OFFNY]

No homers allowed.

I have to stop posting ???

[mcpd]

If anyone watched the game, they'd have a different opinion. I think he looked good. There was a lucky bloop that scored a run. There really was only 1 hard hit ball off of him (the double that scored two). Other than that? Good sink. Good control.

The first thing he does after getting a two run lead is hit the first batter. He might have looked better, but that's not a good way to start the inning.

[Oriole1940]

The first thing he does after getting a two run lead is hit the first batter. He might have looked better, but that's not a good way to start the inning.

Agreed. No one is pulling for Ubaldo more than I am. And compared to his other Spring outings, one could say he was somewhat better. Two WP and 1 hit batsman in 4 innings, plus, I do not know how many pitches he made, but it was a bunch, shows that the control is still not near what it should be. I was just glad he was facing a few, less than real good major league hitters. Hang in there, Ubaldo, and prove you belong on this team.

[waroriole]

ST is the time to get yourself together. Piece together your control. But, if the season started today, I'd put Ubaldo in the pen and it would be an easy decision.

[Nevermore]

Agreed. No one is pulling for Ubaldo more than I am. And compared to his other Spring outings, one could say he was somewhat better. Two WP and 1 hit batsman in 4 innings, plus, I do not know how many pitches he made, but it was a bunch, shows that the control is still not near what it should be. I was just glad he was facing a few, less than real good major league hitters. Hang in there, Ubaldo, and prove you belong on this team.

I'm with you. Most people here know that I'm a big Ubaldo fan. I like his work ethic. I like that he's not complaining about "committment to winning" or about anything else -- I don't think that he's complained about anything since he got here, even when he got demoted to the pen last year or when he wasn't used during the Post Season. At Fanfest, when asked about the pitching coaches, he said that they are "everything."

The guy is trying his best. He's got some distance to go,and it may involve some more time in the pen, working with Wallace and Chiti. He's got some serious control problems. One inning, he's really sharp and the next inning, he almost knocks Bautista out of the game, hits another batter, uncorks a couple of wild pitches. But he also picks off one of the Blue Jays to get a needed out. I don't think that the Orioles thought that they were getting a reclamation project when they signed him. I'm not sure if "reclamation" is quite the correct word here, but essentially, that's what they got. There was a time when his control problems didn't hurt him that much in his career, but those times are gone. Now he has to deal with these control problems. It's almost as if he is learning to pitch all over again.

No other organization seems to want him in trade, so the Orioles and their fans are going to have him with us for quite a while. He might be a very expensive long reliever for a while. But it certainly could be a lot worse, we could have gotten some tempermental sort doing his soap opera thing, yapping to the press about "committment" or whatever. Instead, we have a guy willing to work and not complain. He'll claw his way back into the rotation, perhaps by the end of ST or perhaps not until later in the year or next year or whenever.

Hang in there, guy! :thumbsup1:

[El Gordo]

Will be good!

[mdbdotcom]

He threw 63 pitches in four innings. I'd take that kind of efficiency from any of our starters. He has a few more things to iron out and he will have three or four more spring training starts in which to do that. There are no guarantees, but I am optimistic.

[FanAddict]

ST is the time to get yourself together. Piece together your control. But, if the season started today, I'd put Ubaldo in the pen and it would be an easy decision.

I know Ubaldo's #'s look the worst so far this spring and it isn't even close but what about Bud Norris? He seems to be pitching something awful himself and at least Ubaldo is improving start to start.

[Nevermore]

Buck had some thoughts about Ubaldo's progress and work ethic:

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2015/03/showalter-on-jimenez-im-okay-with-where-he-is-right-now-but-well-see-what-the-end-product-is.html

From the article:

"He put in a lot of work this offseason. Did a lot of things that he hasn't (done before). ... He's been real open to a lot of things. Top to bottom, he's done a lot of things in the offseason that he hasn't done before. I won't get into exact things, but he's given it every possible (effort). ... Usually, guys doing the things that he is trying to do get a return for it. I couldn't be happier with his effort and the want-to part of it."

After his outing, when asked about trying to get better results as he compete for a rotation spot, Jimenez said he is approaching this spring training the way he has every other one in his career.

Is that the best move for him or should he concentrate on better results right now?

"I think mentally, yeah, it is," Showalter said. "We'll find out. The end product is down the road. Believe me, there are a lot of things that he has been very open about and very comfortable with. I'll be real impressed with his openness on things.

"(Working with) Wally (Dave Wallace), Dom (Chiti) and Ramon (Martinez), he's been very cooperative on everything. We're listening to him a lot, too. He knows he's capable of better."

One thing I noticed is that Ubaldo doesn't seem to be worrying about competing for a rotation spot. He'll pitch wherever Buck decides to put him.

[weams]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Orioles?src=hash">#Orioles</a> starters for first series in Tampa Bay could be set by matchups so it could be an unexpected mix.</p>— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) <a href="

">March 14, 2015</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Ubaldo! Opening Day.

[LA2]

No homers allowed. There was a double that was pulled down the RF line past a dividing Christian Walker.

Holy Mitosis Batman!

[Nevermore]

Best I've seen him look as an Oriole. He looked different. He threw mostly fastballs. I didn't see one fastball with that crazy run on it where it moves from left to right and out of the zone. He had a good down hill plane on his pitches and they were straight to the extent that they didn't cut or run. The hitters did not square him up much. The numbers probably were not quite this good but it seemed like 75% of his pitches were strikes. Almost everything, fastballs and sliders were right around the zone. I am very encouraged off of this start. He looked like a new and different Ubaldo to me. Would love to know the velo readings. He seemed to have a good crisp fastball.

Just as I thought. He's getting better.

And he still has said nothing about the club's "committment to winning."

[O-The-Memories]

I think he'll be a little better than last year overall. He's definitely the best pitcher ever with a first name that starts with U. That's gotta count for something, right? Urbano Lugo can't hold a candle to him man!

If he can keep the walks down he'll be a good 4/5.

[Can_of_corn]

I think he'll be a little better than last year overall. He's definitely the best pitcher ever with a first name that starts with U. That's gotta count for something, right? Urbano Lugo can't hold a candle to him man!

If he can keep the walks down he'll be a good 4/5.

Urbain "Urban" Shocker says hi!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/shockur01.shtml