Will Mora Be This Season's OH Tejada?

[El Gordo]

Wow, the Orioles Higher up's agree with almost everyone who knows baseball and believes that good pitching beats good hitting......

Yes, but apparantly they are mistaken. The OH cognoscenti believe it's the other way around.

[Old#5fan]

Not very fair to compare a 3B year old Mora (who didn't play the position regurlarly until 32 to Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken, and Doug Decinces. Just not fair. He is an average 3B. We can hope for him having a decent year and getting traded to a team in need.

Okay, how about Craig Worthington and Leo Gomez? Both as I recall were clearly better at charging dribblers, barehanding them and firing for the out. Forget I even mentioned the three you are complaining about. I was just giving examples of some of the better all around Orioles thirdbasemen in the past but even though Worthington and Gomez weren't all that much, they could still handle dribblers down the third base line much better than Mora!

[Moose Milligan]

Well I am sorry for you you are in for a lot of disappointment, because the powers that be on the O's disagree with you. They believe that good pitching trumps good hitting and when you don't have a $200 mil budget pitching is the way to go.

Wow, the Orioles Higher up's agree with almost everyone who knows baseball and believes that good pitching beats good hitting......

I never said that...

I said you need to be good in ALL facets of the game. You need to find out if Hanley Ramirez brings more to the table because of his offense.

You don't need 200 Million to build a good offense. We've got Markakis and hopefully Jones pans out. We've got Wieters, Snyder and Rowell in the system and if two of those pan out, we're in good shape.

If the baseball minds think that we can develop great pitching through the minors, then it's only logical to be able to develop great hitting as well....right?

I don't get why you guys are making it seem like you can have great fielding or pitching at the cost of hitting. A good team needs to be able to do it all.

[Sports Guy]

Are you trying to tell me that you think Scott Moore is a better defensive option at SS than LH? Do you seriously believe that Scott Moore is even an adequate SS at the ML level? Scott Moore is a valuable potential role player on a contending team. He is no long term option as a starter at any position.

Wow...No, Moore at third and Mora at SS means no LH at all.

Moore has a much higher upside and likelihood of being here long term than Hernandez does.

[DrungoHazewood]

Wow, the Orioles Higher up's agree with almost everyone who knows baseball and believes that good pitching beats good hitting......

That's true, except in the cases where good hitting beats good pitching. The 1972 Orioles allowed 430 runs the entire year, and yet finished in 3rd place with a 80-74 record.

[Frobby]

That's true, except in the cases where good hitting beats good pitching. The 1972 Orioles allowed 430 runs the entire year, and yet finished in 3rd place with a 80-74 record.

That wasn't Earl Weaver's finest season, apparently. Their pythagorean record was 90-64.

I hadn't remembered how awesome their pitching was that year. EVERY PITCHER ON THE STAFF, except one, had an ERA below 3.00. That's unbelievable. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/1972.shtml

[El Gordo]

Wow...No, Moore at third and Mora at SS means no LH at all.

Moore has a much higher upside and likelihood of being here long term than Hernandez does.

Mora at SS makes less sense than Moore at SS. Go look for your ruby slippers fast.

[El Gordo]

I never said that...

I said you need to be good in ALL facets of the game. You need to find out if Hanley Ramirez brings more to the table because of his offense.

You don't need 200 Million to build a good offense. We've got Markakis and hopefully Jones pans out. We've got Wieters, Snyder and Rowell in the system and if two of those pan out, we're in good shape.

If the baseball minds think that we can develop great pitching through the minors, then it's only logical to be able to develop great hitting as well....right?

I don't get why you guys are making it seem like you can have great fielding or pitching at the cost of hitting. A good team needs to be able to do it all.

Of course you'd like a balanced team ultimately, but in rebuilding you have to set priorities. Pitching is harder to come by, you can't have too much of it, so it makes sense to get as much as you can. Once it starts to develop then you can trade some for bats. Good defense helps it develop. If you want offense like Ramirez now, then you will have to sacrifice a lot of your young pitching before you even know what you have. A power hitting SS is not as an immediate priority as a good defensive one. We have one of those already.

[Tx Oriole]

old 5 it was the first game of the season. Do you ahve to judge him already? I guess you do. All players make errors sometimes. I have an idea but i know you wont do it. How about giving Mora a break.

[Fairfax Bird]

Okay, how about Craig Worthington and Leo Gomez? Both as I recall were clearly better at charging dribblers, barehanding them and firing for the out. Forget I even mentioned the three you are complaining about. I was just giving examples of some of the better all around Orioles thirdbasemen in the past but even though Worthington and Gomez weren't all that much, they could still handle dribblers down the third base line much better than Mora!

That's fine. I think the stats show Mora to be average defensively and in watching him that is what I see. He is declining in both phases and I would rather watch Scott Moore play every day on a rebuilding team, but we gave him a big contract, so he is going to have to be worse than average offensively and defensively for him to lose the everyday job.

[Old#5fan]

That's fine. I think the stats show Mora to be average defensively and in watching him that is what I see. He is declining in both phases and I would rather watch Scott Moore play every day on a rebuilding team, but we gave him a big contract, so he is going to have to be worse than average offensively and defensively for him to lose the everyday job.

I want to see Moore as well. In fact, the next time Mora boots a dribbler the OH fans in attendance ought to start a:

"We want Moore" chant. The only problem with that is Melvin may think we are saying "Mora" instead of "Moore.":p

[RShack]

Wow, the Orioles Higher up's agree with almost everyone who knows baseball and believes that good pitching beats good hitting......

That's true, except in the cases where good hitting beats good pitching. The 1972 Orioles allowed 430 runs the entire year, and yet finished in 3rd place with a 80-74 record.

Sure. I wonder what the extreme cases are each way. In 1974, only 3 teams in the league has a worse offense than the O's, but the O's had the best record in the league anyway. There's probably more extreme examples in both directions than '72 and '74...

[Moose Milligan]

Of course you'd like a balanced team ultimately, but in rebuilding you have to set priorities. Pitching is harder to come by, you can't have too much of it, so it makes sense to get as much as you can. Once it starts to develop then you can trade some for bats. Good defense helps it develop. If you want offense like Ramirez now, then you will have to sacrifice a lot of your young pitching before you even know what you have. A power hitting SS is not as an immediate priority as a good defensive one. We have one of those already.

I think the priority in rebuilding should be to be a balanced team, well rounded in all facets of the game...don't you? Don't you want to be a team that doesn't have any holes? Great starters and bullpen, an offense that can mash and a good defense?

A power hitting SS like Ramirez might not be a priority right now...but a SS that can field well AND provide SOMETHING on offense is a priority. I'm not saying he has to hit 30 homers, but if he can get on base at a .380 clip and steal a few bases, that'd be great. Even Ozzie Smith had on base percentage years of .360 and higher.

I'm sorry, but the game has changed. Offense CAN beat good pitching.

[El Gordo]

I think the priority in rebuilding should be to be a balanced team, well rounded in all facets of the game...don't you? Don't you want to be a team that doesn't have any holes? Great starters and bullpen, an offense that can mash and a good defense?

A power hitting SS like Ramirez might not be a priority right now...but a SS that can field well AND provide SOMETHING on offense is a priority. I'm not saying he has to hit 30 homers, but if he can get on base at a .380 clip and steal a few bases, that'd be great. Even Ozzie Smith had on base percentage years of .360 and higher.

I'm sorry, but the game has changed. Offense CAN beat good pitching.

I don't know what game you're watching.How come the Yankees haven't wn in a while? It's not because they don't have a great offense. You have a much better chance of winning with great pitching and OK offense than the other way around.

[Moose Milligan]

I don't know what game you're watching.How come the Yankees haven't wn in a while? It's not because they don't have a great offense. You have a much better chance of winning with great pitching and OK offense than the other way around.

I dunno, but they've been in the playoffs every single season which is a lot more than we can say.

Find me a team that's won it all lately with an OK offense.