The Oriole Model- Three run homeruns and defense is it changing?

[FanSince88]

Come one, come all to the Camden Yards Big Top! Watch the Orioles corner outfielders kick, juggle and bounce the ball around in the outfield while opposing batters round the bases! And when our batters aren't striking out, they might hit a solo home run or two! We might even put an actual elephant in right field as a "defensive replacement" for Mark Trumbo in the 9th inning!

[Frobby]

I'm not that worried about the strikeouts. This team should score a sufficient number of runs to contend, anywhere from 20-50 more runs than last year, I would guess. However, I am worried about the OF defense and the starting pitching (and those two are not unrelated).

[24fps]

OF defense worries me too. If the bench is Reimold, Rickard, Flaherty and Joseph, I think they're all going to see a lot of playing time which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

[Spy Fox]

"Pitching, defense, and the three-run homer" is now "Relief pitching, infield defense, and three home runs."

The Oriole Way isn't changing, it's just getting more specific.

[BohKnowsBmore]

I would not mention these two in the same vein in this regard. Adam is a veteran who is on record as saying he isn't going to change his approach, and fairly consistently swings at lots of balls out of the strike zone. If he would try to change that, he would take his game to another level.

IMHO Schoop made great strides last season in pitch selection. Manny made tremendous improvements, and he clearly went to another level. Schoop missed a good part of the year and hasn't been in the majors as long, but he clearly improved and he is clearly interested in improving in that area. If Schoop and Machado can control the strike zone and not give away strikes on pitches which are balls, they will both be perennial all-starts.

I know it's a cliche that I overuse, but to me the most important attribute of a hitter is the ability to control the strike zone: not swinging at non-strikes, being able to defend against tough pitches in the zone, and being able to drive pitches in your sweet spots in the zone.

I don't think it's that simple.