TT: Is it time to try Mancini in the OF at Norfolk?

[weams]

So you're not debating the opinion, just pointing it

I'm not sure what your point here is? Do you think this would prove something about analytics or our outfielders?

I think Camden yards has something to do with the fact that the outfield metrics are poor for Orioles.

[SpinJr]

Is Mancini better than Pedro Alvarez right now?

Legit question but no way to find out unless you bring him up. I'm not adverse to letting Reimold go (again) as Kim and Rickard are fine to cover.

[Redskins Rick]

Legit question but no way to find out unless you bring him up. I'm not adverse to letting Reimold go (again) as Kim and Rickard are fine to cover.

Im really opposed to this type of roster activity, when a team is winning, especially, since he doesn't have any game experience in COF, do the experimental in AAA and then bring him up in Sept.

[higgybaby]

Not to forget the fact that a move to the outfield with at least moderate success would boost his value for potential trades.

[esmd]

Good to know that he's doing well. Can't hurt to try him in LF. I get the feeling he and/or Walker are Trumbo and/or Alvarez's replacements next year.

1B - Davis

2B - Schoop

SS - Hardy

3B - Manny

C- Caleb Joseph

CF - Jones

LF - Kim/Rickard/Reimold/Walker

RF - Rickard/Reimold/Walker?/Mancini?

DH - Walker/Mancini

That assumes Walker doesn't get moved for a pitcher in the next month or over the offseason, and that we don't re-sign Trumbo, Alvarez, or some other corner OFer. There's also the question about whether Walker and/or Mancini are really ready to be major league hitters, but obviously the organization has their own feelings and plans on that.

[Phantom]

I think Camden yards has something to do with the fact that the outfield metrics are poor for Orioles.

IIRC, they normalize them against how all the road teams play in our outfield so that this type of thing doesn't happen. Is there an O's fielder you think has been treated particularly unfairly?

[Tony-OH]

Would you trust a pitcher that was 10-0 with a 6.50 ERA going forward simply because he had gotten lucky in the past?

Also, judging OF defense with your eye is a fools errand. Defensive metrics may be flawed in such a small sample but they are far better than the alternatives.

I believe defensive metrics have a place in the evaluation, but when you start judging a player solely be them I think you lose some objectivity. No one is arguing that Trumbo is not a below average outfielder, my argument is, I haven't seen any games this year we lost because of Mark Trumbo's defense. Did he cost us runs here and there with misplays, yep, but at the end of the day, the Orioles are 47-30 with him RF. That tells me by playing him out there he's not killing the team.

[weams]

IIRC, they normalize them against how all the road teams play in our outfield so that this type of thing doesn't happen. Is there an O's fielder you think has been treated particularly unfairly?

I believe that Young Markakis, and Younger Jones were wildly underestimated. And I believe that outfield metrics as a whole are still a poor substitute for their offensive brethren.

[Tony-OH]

No harm in letting Mancini try it in AAA. My only concern is that we finally get a "prospect" hitting in AAA, that never happens, then risk messing up his head by moving to the OF. But he's going to have to be mentally tough to play in the MLB anyway.

As for the future, I wouldn't have a problem with Mancini being a cheap DH for 6 years. Rickard and Kim are at least two good platoon guys in the COF. Maybe a Kim/Reimold,D.Alvarez platoon in LF and a Avery,Yaz/Rickard platoon in RF would work.

Definitely something he could at least try in the AFL or another winter league. We have to get creative. If we re sign MW, I'd expect Sisco to start playing some OF.

Thanks for getting back to the topic at hand instead of the nitpickers who want to worry about what I mean by "doesn't kill the team out there!" I do think Mancini will be the Orioles DH next year if he's not traded, but this lineup is already pretty right-handed heavy. Unless Trumbo is replaced by a left-handed hitting outfielder, I think it would be tough to have a right-handed DH everyday in this lineup. That's why you try him in RF and see what you got. Nothing to lose but some AAA games.

[El Gordo]

I wouldn't; say are better in that SSS. You really need 2 years of numbers to get a read . So far there is no indication that Trumbo has hurt us with hi glove..

[Carllamy]

I believe next year is JJ Hardy's last guaranteed year under contract (there is an option year). Start playing Mancini at 3rd in Norfolk, see what happens. There are a lot of guys who play 1st and third. If he can handle it, next year he comes up, DHs, plays some 1st, plays some 3rd while Manny slides over to SS, and the year after that Manny is your SS and Mancini is your 3rd baseman.

[maybenxtyr]

Thanks for getting back to the topic at hand instead of the nitpickers who want to worry about what I mean by "doesn't kill the team out there!" I do think Mancini will be the Orioles DH next year if he's not traded, but this lineup is already pretty right-handed heavy. Unless Trumbo is replaced by a left-handed hitting outfielder, I think it would be tough to have a right-handed DH everyday in this lineup. That's why you try him in RF and see what you got. Nothing to lose but some AAA games.

I agree with trying him out in AAA because it would be a shame to trade him without seeing what the options are. I don't know how minor league numbers translate exactly, but his bar seems pretty dang good.

[Bazooka Jones]

The Orioles are 47-30. I'm not a big believer in defensive metrics when it comes to actually affecting a team negatively. Is Trumbo a below average outfielder, absolutely, but I can't remember a time this year where I've said, "he just cost a ball game."

Feel same way, Tony. No argument against Trumbo in RF from me.

[Aristotelian]

Between Trumbo and Pedro both free agents, the Orioles could still make room for Mancini at DH. Still, it couldn't hurt to try him in the OF, otherwise he is going to have to wait around for Davis to get injured to play 1B. Alternatively, play him at his best position and trade him. That may be the best way to maximize value on him.

[Aristotelian]

On the issue of Trumbo, OK, he has not made a mistake that directly led to a loss in a one run ballgame. By the same token, very few individual plays by any player have won or lost a ballgame. Trumbo has certainly made mistakes that made it less likely for us to win. He has three errors, several catchable balls he let go off the wall, and others that have dropped in front of him. He does have a great arm and hits the cutoff man. I wouldn't say he kills us defensively but his -1 dwar halfway through the season feels about right. I still think our optimum lineup is Trumbo at DH and Rickard in RF.