Connolly: Cruzing

[weams]

http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2017/08/30/three-years-later-nelson-cruz-still-impact-orioles-still-slugging-homers/

 

[weams]

Just now, weams said:

http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2017/08/30/three-years-later-nelson-cruz-still-impact-orioles-still-slugging-homers/

 

Quote

 

 

 

Cruz continues to have an impact on the Orioles. He’s still in close contact with several players including Jonathan Schoop and Manny Machado, who followed Cruz around faithfully during the 2014 season.

“Almost every day (we text). We’re always messing around, joking around,” Cruz said. “Especially with the year Jonathan is having and as many RBIs as he has and all that, we’re always talking crap about how he’s following me (in the RBI race). But I’m really proud (about) the years they are having, especially Jonathan. He has definitely come up a lot this year. And Manny, the bounce back he has had in the second half has been awesome.”

When he talks about Schoop and Machado, Cruz beams like an older brother.

“I’m really proud. I thought it was part of my job, even though they are great kids,” Cruz said. “It was part of my job to teach them a little bit how to prepare for the game.”

Schoop... said Cruz made the biggest impression.

“Nelson meant a lot to me. He taught me a lot of things,” Schoop said. “He taught me the way to play the game, the way to handle myself, the way to prepare myself to be better, to be better when I’m older. To get your body stronger and work hard and get loose, He taught me a lot. I have no (sufficient) words to say thank you to him.”

 

 

[clapdiddy]

Loved Cruz when he was here.   Who would have thought he would continue to get better with age?  I thought the Mariners overpaid for him, but I'd much rather have him with one more year left on a contract than that albatross of a contract that is Chris Davis.

[Tx Oriole]

8 minutes ago, clapdiddy said:

Loved Cruz when he was here.   Who would have thought he would continue to get better with age?  I thought the Mariners overpaid for him, but I'd much rather have him with one more year left on a contract than that albatross of a contract that is Chris Davis.

Me too.

[murph]

1 hour ago, clapdiddy said:

Loved Cruz when he was here.   Who would have thought he would continue to get better with age?  I thought the Mariners overpaid for him, but I'd much rather have him with one more year left on a contract than that albatross of a contract that is Chris Davis.

Hindsight is 20/20 but man how much better off would we be with Cruz over Davis or even Trumbo.   

[wildcard]

1 minute ago, murph said:

Hindsight is 20/20 but man how much better off would we be with Cruz over Davis or even Trumbo.   

I wonder if Cruz and Big Poppy were enhanced.  Time seems to have no effect on them.

[murph]

49 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I wonder if Cruz and Big Poppy were enhanced.  Time seems to have no effect on them.

 Unfortunately you can't not wonder that 

[bpilktree]

Cruz is still playing great but I also understand why we didn't add an extra year.   People seems to forgot how bad he was here most of 2nd half of the season.  In June, July and August he hit .215,.211,.216  with a OPS .646, .671,.725.   That had to give the front office some questions.  He bounced back in September but still those three months and him with age and no actual position had to throw up some red flags.

[Frobby]

I'm not sure if they showed this on TV, but on Monday when the O's removed Tillman, Cruz was on 2B and Manny and Schoop spent the whole time that Givens was running in from CF and warming up hanging out with Cruz and joking around with him.    It's pretty cool to see the impact he had on them in his short tenure here.    

[Tbone83]

You could tell in 2104 how much of an impact he had on the young guys. I hated to see him go for his clubhouse presence almost as much as his bat. Glad the O's at least attempted to sign him. If they had, perhaps the Davis and Trumbo signings- which appear as of now to be big mistakes- never happen. 

I also wonder if him still being here would have in any way influenced Manny to sign an extension, assuming he has been offered one. He and Schoop and Cruz were quite the little clique. 

 

[Tx Oriole]

1 hour ago, murph said:

Hindsight is 20/20 but man how much better off would we be with Cruz over Davis or even Trumbo.   

A lot better I think.

[Sanfran327]

39 minutes ago, bpilktree said:

Cruz is still playing great but I also understand why we didn't add an extra year.   People seems to forgot how bad he was here most of 2nd half of the season.  In June, July and August he hit .215,.211,.216  with a OPS .646, .671,.725.   That had to give the front office some questions.  He bounced back in September but still those three months and him with age and no actual position had to throw up some red flags.

Could have been different if he was our full-time DH instead of playing RF every night in the steaming hot Mid-Atlantic summer.

[Frobby]

7 minutes ago, Sanfran327 said:

Could have been different if he was our full-time DH instead of playing RF every night in the steaming hot Mid-Atlantic summer.

I'm pretty sure Markakis was the one playing RF every night in the steaming hot Mid-Atlantic summer.    Like he did every summer for 9 years.   Cruz played the OF in 70 games that year, mostly in LF (he did play RF in 10 games; Markakis played 147).    He DH'd in 89 games.   

[25 Nuggets]

The legacy of Nelson Cruz as an Oriole won't be complete until we find out how Ryan Mountcastle pans out.

[Frobby]

1 minute ago, 25 Nuggets said:

The legacy of Nelson Cruz as an Oriole won't be complete until we find out how Ryan Mountcastle pans out.

He's starting to hit AA pitching, and headed to the Arizona Fall League.   I'm pretty confident he'll be a good big league hitter, maybe as soon as 2019.     Still waiting to see where he winds up defensively.