Proof of how much the offense misses Cruz and Markakis

[weams]

That word, "stylish", seems to get used a lot to describe Nick in the last year on this board. I am not sure what it implies...Nick was more concerned about how he looked than catching the ball? His speed diminished from his early years, but I believe he made plays look "stylish" or easy because he was almost always in the right place. Unlike the ..umm...adventurous play of our current platoon. And DeAza's play was a mental mistake, not a physical one. The fact that we got out of it is completely and totally irrelevant. A Felix Pie kind of mistake. One likely to be repeated in the future because it demonstrates a misfiring of baseball "thinking" at key moments.

I think Nick was very "Athletic" as opposed to "stylish.

He always appeared to have good body control. He was never awkward.

[CA-ORIOLE]

http://www.skidubai.com/

Yeah, Dubai was definitely a poor choice by Steve. They have just about everything.

[tntoriole]

This memory of Nick being perfect is intriguing. If you think Nick never got a bad break on a ball, God bless you. He was very sure handed and was fundamentally very sound. I'll agree with you there. He caught what he got to.

Didn't say perfect. Far from it. I was far more critical of Nick than many. But there were very few instances where Nick made the mistake DeAza made. It was a Felix Pie mistake. I hope I am wrong but I think the current platoon has already made and will continue to make mental and physical errors in right that Nick did not make. But I still would not have resigned him.

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[VeveJones007]

(Raises hand) I'll argue that 2015-16 was a poor risk. Cruz was a 1-win player or so from 2011-13.

So far it looks like you would've been wrong.

[Old#5fan]

I am conviced that you do not realize the lack of range from our former right-fielder. He is very graceful, smart and athletic. But terribly slow.

Yeah I totally agree as that running catch Delmon made in the gap the other night that Buck said was the play of the game - no way Markakis makes that catch as he wouldn't be fast enough to get a glove on it. I was watching a game which Atlanta lost by a run when the Nationals catcher hit a high fly ball to rf and any right fielder with average speed would have caught and Markakis was playing towards the gap and looked like he was running in sand and was a step short of catching it and that ended up winning losing the game. So while he catches everything he gets to he isn't getting to as many fly balls as a good outfielder should as he is really really s l o w!

[Old#5fan]

That word, "stylish", seems to get used a lot to describe Nick in the last year on this board. I am not sure what it implies...Nick was more concerned about how he looked than catching the ball? His speed diminished from his early years, but I believe he made plays look "stylish" or easy because he was almost always in the right place. Unlike the ..umm...adventurous play of our current platoon. And DeAza's play was a mental mistake, not a physical one. The fact that we got out of it is completely and totally irrelevant. A Felix Pie kind of mistake. One likely to be repeated in the future because it demonstrates a misfiring of baseball "thinking" at key moments.

Interesting you compare DeAza and Pie. I was just thinking the other night how much DeAza resembled Felix with the bonehead plays and overall game!

[BohKnowsBmore]

I disagree. The numbers don't back that up and our outfield defense minus a game or two hasn't been the problem this year. As many people have said already, our starting pitching, particularly Tillman and Norris have been the problem. You can't win consistently when 2/5s af your starting rotation have been pretty awful.

Their track records suggest they'll get better, and for the all the Orioles problems this year they are just four games back and no team in tha AL East looks dominant. It's not fun being under .500 at this time of the year, but I think the Orioles are positioned pretty well to be in the mix at the end of the year.

Tillman and Norris's lines (Tillman in particular) would look far better were it not for some ill-timed defensive miscues in the outfield. So those go somewhat hand-in-hand I would think.

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[DrungoHazewood]

So far it looks like you would've been wrong.

Six weeks. Last year Cruz was hitting similarly, if not quite as well, then hit .200 for three months. We'll see how the rest of the year goes. And the next. And the next. And the next.

[weams]

Tillman and Norris's lines (Tillman in particular) would look far better were it not for some ill-timed defensive miscues in the outfield. So those go somewhat hand-in-hand I would think.

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You are right about a couple runs for Tillman. Of course the reason it was ruled a hit was that with normal effort, that ball is not off the glove, it is over the fielder's head. It is still my belief that Nick never gets to it. Drop step or not. Nick always broke well, but he really have very limited range. Which right field in Baltimore camouflaged well. At this point we need to be looking at Tillman and getting him right. It is not the outfield I fear.

[weams]

Six weeks. Last year Cruz was hitting similarly, if not quite as well, then hit .200 for three months. We'll see how the rest of the year goes. And the next. And the next. And the next.

Chris Davis out hit him for those three months. The first and last sure were super though. SUPER.

[byrdz]

And their team is losing too.

And the blue jays have a great offense and aren't doing so hot either. Pitching wins.

[AlbionHero]

Didn't say perfect. Far from it. I was far more critical of Nick than many. But there were very few instances where Nick made the mistake DeAza made. It was a Felix Pie mistake. I hope I am wrong but I think the current platoon has already made and will continue to make mental and physical errors in right that Nick did not make. But I still would not have resigned him.

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DeAza made a mistake, sure. But in many cases where DeAza would easily get to the ball for an our, Markakis wouldn't come close and allow an extra baserunner to get on.

It all balances out in the end... both mental mistakes and physical limitations are part of defense.

[DrungoHazewood]

And the blue jays have a great offense and aren't doing so hot either. Pitching wins.

Playing good baseball wins. Pitching only takes you so far. The 1972 Orioles allowed 430 runs all season (let that sink in for a minute - I'm pretty sure the '96 Orioles had allowed 430 runs by late June). And they finished with the 11th-best record in baseball.

[neveradoubt]

Should win Division by at least 13

[osfan83]

Not every thing that goes wrong isn't because of clubhouse chemistry or lack thereof, but it's really damn hard to win without it. I honestly can't think of a team that didn't get along/was dysfunctional that won it all in any sport.

Look at the '04 Lakers. They were the best team in the league, but they hated each other and eventually imploded in the finals (against a Pistons team that played together and was extremely close).

How did a team that hated each other make it all the way to the finals?