Givens And The Art of Deception

[Il BuonO]

Mychal Givens has had a great deal of success since being moved permanently into the the Orioles' bullpen. Much of that can be attributed to his release point and arm slot which the team never tried to change and only tried to develop after it was determined he wouldn't be going forward in the system as a shortstop.

Givens delivers pitches from the same "three-quarters sidearm slot" he used when winging balls across the infield. According to the righty, he threw from the identical angle as a high school hurler in Tampa. He wasn't about to change when the Orioles opted to have him try his hand at pitching.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/sunday-notes-heaney-givens-dombrowski-lefties-vs-lefties-more/

Relievers are a volatile bunch and it's folly to allocate too many resources to this part of a team when it can be handled by qualified guys within an organization. Givens should be able to step into O'Day's shoes.

[Il BuonO]

Buck finally using Givens tonight. Seems like he's having a hard time getting into games lately.

[Can_of_corn]

Buck finally using Givens tonight. Seems like he's having a hard time getting into games lately.

Buck wants to save him for high leverage situations.

[Il BuonO]

Buck wants to save him for high leverage situations.

He may never pitch again.

[weams]

He may never pitch again.

Maybe with Hardy injured, we are having second thoughts about returning him to his natural "preferred" position.

[Can_of_corn]

Maybe with Hardy injured, we are having second thoughts about returning him to his natural "preferred" position.

I think he prefers to be in the majors.

[Il BuonO]

I think he prefers to be in the majors.

Yes, I'm sure he likes the paycheck.

[Il BuonO]

A nice outing tonight. All four hitters converted to outs.

[weams]

A nice outing tonight. All four hitters converted to outs.

I really like his stuff. And his poise.

[allquixotic]

Not that I'm complaining, but it seems that this organization is great at building bullpen arms. Every time I turn around another great 'pen guy is falling in our lap. It'd be amazing if we could do the same with hitters or SPs. But I'll take 1 out of 3.

[Il BuonO]

A little shaky to start the 6th giving up a lead off double but he sure did finish nicely.

[sportsfan8703]

Not that I'm complaining, but it seems that this organization is great at building bullpen arms. Every time I turn around another great 'pen guy is falling in our lap. It'd be amazing if we could do the same with hitters or SPs. But I'll take 1 out of 3.

DD is really good at manufacturing a good bullpen. But it takes money or the success of high draft picks to build a good rotation consistently. With DD we should always have a pen on the cheap and spend our money on SP's or every day players.

[Il BuonO]

Givens is good, really good. I'd like to see him brought in when we're still in it instead of Finger Licking Roe. It might have been a 5-5 or 6-5 game by the time he left.

[Can_of_corn]

Unicorn.

[Can_of_corn]

I wonder if they can teach him a change to help keep lefties honest?