Duquette: "We will have more than enough offense"

[rolliefingers]

Obviously Markakis wouldn't start (m)any games in CF. He'd be there to finsih out the game Patterson got hurt in and then Payton would probably play there once healthy, or you put Bynum on a plane and have him come start in CF.

Having Bynum on the team solely to backup Patterson is about as smart as having a 3rd catcher solely for the scenarion where Hernandez is DHing and Bako gets hurt.

Exactly, well-said.

[NewMarketSean]

Our offense will be fine 2-3 times a week when everyone is putting the ball in play. But they can't draw walks to save their lives which means that there will be plenty 7-8 run games followed up by 1-2 run games where we strand 10-15 runners on base.

And reading into the tea leaves, it sounds like the FO is pizzed about the way Perlozzo has organized his roster. Why else would Duquette say those things? They signed Knott, House and DuBois for a reason, right?

IMO, it's Perlozzo. I've never been high on him and I definitely am not any higher on him now the way he's organized the roster.

[Sports Guy]

When it comes to scoring runs, this team will be in the Great Middle. If you look at last year, there were 10 AL teams who scored between 756 and 835 runs. The AL average was 804 and the median was 805. I think you'll see the Orioles right around that number. Back in January I pegged them for 815, plus or minus 25. I might have been slightly high there, but that's the ballpark.

On the pitching side, the teams tend to be spread out further. On offense, the best and worst teams were separated by 241 runs, the 2nd and 13th place teams were separated by 114 runs. But for pitching, the best and worst teams were separated by 296 runs, the 2nd and 13th by 216 runs.

So my bottom line is that Duquette's sentiment is correct: pitching will decide how successful this team is.

The problem is, with the way they are using the bench and picking the roster and how they don't want to platoon, they are going to cost themselves probably 25-50 runs and that is a huge amount of runs.

To say this team will score plenty of runs is BS to me. I get what you are saying but i don't agree with you entirely.

Yes, pitching is the key, no doubt. BUT, this team, because it has some weaknesses everywhere, needs every run they can get and they are not planning that way.

[Frobby]

The problem is, with the way they are using the bench and picking the roster and how they don't want to platoon, they are going to cost themselves probably 25-50 runs and that is a huge amount of runs.

To say this team will score plenty of runs is BS to me. I get what you are saying but i don't agree with you entirely.

Yes, pitching is the key, no doubt. BUT, this team, because it has some weaknesses everywhere, needs every run they can get and they are not planning that way.

I could not agree more that this team needs every run it can get. I didn't hear exactly what Duquette said so it is hard for me to criticize or defend it without knowing what he said and the context. I doubt he was dismissing the importance of scoring runs, though.

[Sports Guy]

I could not agree more that this team needs every run it can get. I didn't hear exactly what Duquette said so it is hard for me to criticize or defend it without knowing what he said and the context. I doubt he was dismissing the importance of scoring runs, though.

He isn't dismissing the importance but he is saying they will score enough runs. He thinks everything will be fine offensively.

[Sports Guy]

So, if Patterson tweaks a knee or strains a quad or gets the flu and has to miss 2-5 games, you think the right thing to do would be to make a corresponding roster move to get Bynum on the ML roster? OK, you can go that way, but I don't think it makes much more sense than having him as a utility IF/OF back up on the roster while Payton is on the DL

If this happens, you just put Nick in CF. It likely won't cost you anything and it almost certainly won't cost you more than having no pinch hitting option off of the bench. Plus, Bynum is known for his defensive lapses, so i am not sure you want him out there anyway.

[El Gordo]

I agree. I would have skip his first start. That would seem to be the answer. I know that we like to assume these guys are stupid, but they're not based on the totality of what they've done over the last 3 years so they must know something we don't about the skipping Traschel thing. I keep telling myself that anyway.

I'm not sold on Markakis in CF in place of CPat. If you did that, it would be because Bynum wasn't on the team so the outfield defense would be something like Knott in left, Markakis in CF, and Gibbons in RF. That would be by far the worst range of any outfield configuration in the majors IMHO. I wouldn't want to do that to my pitchers. Like it or not, these guys are serious about pitching and defense. I happen to agree with that sentiment, but maybe not to the same degree that they do.

They aren't just worried about Trax early on, they are worried about DCab, Wright, and Loewen as well.

[Mackus]

So, if Patterson tweaks a knee or strains a quad or gets the flu and has to miss 2-5 games, you think the right thing to do would be to make a corresponding roster move to get Bynum on the ML roster? OK, you can go that way, but I don't think it makes much more sense than having him as a utility IF/OF back up on the roster while Payton is on the DL.

With Payton still on the DL, if Patterson is going to miss 2-5 days then you go with Markakis in CF, Gibbons in RF, and Knott in LF. The real grey area is the 7-10 day Patterson absence, any longer and you DL him and bring up a true CF, shorter and you suck it up and go with the poorer defensive OF (but probably better offensively).

Once Payton is back, which should be in a week or two, then it becomes a much easier scenario to deal with.

[Tx Oriole]

This team is better than it has been in awhile. But why not let the season play out before you hang Sammy and Duq SG?

[wildcard]

If this discussion is really going on between Sam and Duke, I may have to sided with Sam on this one.

The FO gives Sam three DHs (Huff, Gibbons and Millar) and now wants to give him a fourth in Knott or DuBois. Sam appears to be saying 'No. Give me someone who can catch the ball in the OF. I'll take Bynum until you can get me someone better.'

Sam asking for four OFs with some range that can catch the ball is not unreasonable. He has evaluated Knott and DuBois and they came up short on defense.

If that is the discusion, I think Sam has a point.

[Sports Guy]

If this discussion is really going on between Sam and Duke, I may have to sided with Sam on this one.

The FO gives Sam three DHs (Huff, Gibbons and Millar) and now wants to give him a fourth in Knott or DuBois. Sam appears to be saying 'No. Give me someone who can catch the ball in the OF. I'll take Bynum until you can get me someone better.'

Sam asking for four OFs with some range that can catch the ball is not unreasonable. He has evaluated Knott and DuBois and they came up short on defense.

If that is the discusion, I think Sam has a point.

Knott and Dubois are better than Conine in LF i would bet.

[Sports Guy]

I wouldn't want that defensive alignment for 5 games. I stick by my earlier assertion that it would be the worst range of any OF defense in the league. For those who thought this is hyperbole, I'm open to suggestions of an OF defense with less range. I can't think of any.

BTW, how often do you know when someone tweaks something that it will be 5 or less games versus 5-10 games? I can't recall that this is ever completely evident at the time of the initial injury. There are forecasts, but that is all.

Exactly. Until then, it makes sense to me at least to have Bynum on the roster. Payton's injury reduced our flexibility to the point that Bynum is a needed right now.

I don't agree with this.

Even if you had to have Bynum or Stern on this team in case of a CPat injury, there is no logical reason to not go with Knott on the bench and then have 12 pitchers(like every other normal team) and skip Trax or Wright.

Anyway you slice it, the Orioles decision on their OD roster is terrible.

[Mackus]

I wouldn't want that defensive alignment for 5 games. I stick by my earlier assertion that it would be the worst range of any OF defense in the league. For those who thought this is hyperbole, I'm open to suggestions of an OF defense with less range. I can't think of any.

BTW, how often do you know when someone tweaks something that it will be 5 or less games versus 5-10 games? I can't recall that this is ever completely evident at the time of the initial injury. There are forecasts, but that is all.

If after 5 games he's still going to miss more time, then you throw him on the DL retroactively and bring up a legit CF.

[wildcard]

Knott and Dubois are better than Conine in LF i would bet.

That's not the point. The point is the O's now have three good young starters and a bullpen full of decent pitchers. They need a defense behind them that has range and can catch the ball. Comparing Knott and DuBois to someone who helped the team finish fourth is not a good yardstick.

[rolliefingers]

I stick by my earlier assertion that it would be the worst range of any OF defense in the league. For those who thought this is hyperbole, I'm open to suggestions of an OF defense with less range. I can't think of any.

Without doing any research, how about Lee, Berkman and Lane? Of course, that OF is pretty good offensively, and they play in a small park, so it's not as bad in real terms. But defensively, in a neutral park?

On second thought, I think they have Burke in CF now, and I don't know how good he is on defense. I do know he's a converted 2B, though.