What are the odds of a modest Chris Davis comeback in 2018?

[Frobby]

19 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

It’s about time. Although to his credit his defense has been good. I wonder if he’d accept an assignment to A ball. 

Actually, all of the advanced metrics have Davis playing below average defense so far this season.   I haven’t watched nearly as much as I usually do, but from what I’ve seen, those metrics are right.    He’s slipped a lot the last two seasons on both sides of the ball.    

I don’t find “get back to being a baseball player” to be very meaningful advice.    Do we think he’s trying to play football?

[amdcpus]

19 minutes ago, tntoriole said:

I guess if I was Davis I might have been thinking  "Or else what?"   lol.  

Seriously lol. They can't make him do jack, he's getting paid no matter what.

[mdbdotcom]

Brooks Robinson at the unveiling of his statue - for a little context.

"And Cal Ripken, what do you say about Cal Ripken? I was talking to Buck Showalter here a year ago and we were talking about someone, but he said, ‘You know, that guy’s just a baseball player’ and I said, ‘Buck, I haven’t heard that term in 40 years’. But back when I was growing up, that was the term someone used all the time, “That guy’s just a baseball player”. That is Cal Ripken, he was just a baseball player."

[Finisher]

1 for 18 against lefties. Finally starting to bench him against lefty starters.

Should pretty much only play against righties and non hard throwing righties at that. Just cherry pick who he faces to minimize his negative impact.

 

[weams]

21 minutes ago, amdcpus said:

Seriously lol. They can't make him do jack, he's getting paid no matter what.

They can make him do all kinds of things.  He can play shortstop. 

[SteveA]

51 minutes ago, weams said:

Or else?

Make him pitch. Like Sandoval.

I believe with his scoreless inning yesterday, Sandoval has more WAR as a pitcher than as a position player for the duration of that huge contract he signed.

[weams]

44 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Actually, all of the advanced metrics have Davis playing below average defense so far this season.   I haven’t watched nearly as much as I usually do, but from what I’ve seen, those metrics are right.    He’s slipped a lot the last two seasons on both sides of the ball.    

I don’t find “get back to being a baseball player” to be very meaningful advice.    Do we think he’s trying to play football?

I will disagree with you.

The things that made him "a ballplayer" may currently be taking a second, third or fourth prioroty behind other interests for Chris Davis. Obligations, time sinks.

He may not spend as much time in the gyms as he once did. He may feel that he has other 'gods" before his work. A higher responcibility than to the game.

I have an issue with performers under contract not fullfilling their contracts to the best of their abilities. Even if it cuts into vacation time when they are young. Think of these men as olymic athletes and tell me how many hours of each work day they should spend at work to be among the best 700 on the planet. 

 

 

[eddie83]

1 hour ago, RZNJ said:

Back to being a baseball player seems to imply something more. Like, get your priorities straight.  Not sure what it means exactly, but it strikes me as out of the ordinary Buck speak.

It is a curious comment. 

[maybenxtyr]

If the 20+  million dollars doesn't motivate him, I doubt anything said by his manager will. 

Ownership and one of the 3 or 4 GM's and decision makers got taken to the cleaners by Davis and super agent Scott Boras.

[OsEatAlEast]

Oriole Town!

But with Chris Davis playing the part of Billy Young

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, weams said:

I will disagree with you.

The things that made him "a ballplayer" may currently be taking a second, third or fourth prioroty behind other interests for Chris Davis. Obligations, time sinks.

He may not spend as much time in the gyms as he once did. He may feel that he has other 'gods" before his work. A higher responcibility than to the game.

I have an issue with performers under contract not fullfilling their contracts to the best of their abilities. Even if it cuts into vacation time when they are young. Think of these men as olymic athletes and tell me how many hours of each work day they should spend at work to be among the best 700 on the planet. 

 

 

Do you have any reason to think Davis isn’t putting in sufficient work?    Or are you just drawing inferences from the fact that Davis has a wife and kids?

If what Buck meant is, “you’re not working enough,” that’s obviously a perfectly good message if warranted.   

[Can_of_corn]

49 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Do you have any reason to think Davis isn’t putting in sufficient work?    Or are you just drawing inferences from the fact that Davis has a wife and kids?

If what Buck meant is, “you’re not working enough,” that’s obviously a perfectly good message if warranted.   

He appears smaller and he's demonstratively slower.

[atomic]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

Actually, all of the advanced metrics have Davis playing below average defense so far this season.   I haven’t watched nearly as much as I usually do, but from what I’ve seen, those metrics are right.    He’s slipped a lot the last two seasons on both sides of the ball.    

I don’t find “get back to being a baseball player” to be very meaningful advice.    Do we think he’s trying to play football?

The games I have seen he has been pretty bad. 

[atomic]

3 hours ago, weams said:

They can make him do all kinds of things.  He can play shortstop. 

I said before bullpen catcher.   

[Frobby]

29 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

He appears smaller and he's demonstratively slower.

I’m looking for something more direct than that.     Like if weams has heard reliable rumors from inside the organization that Davis isn’t putting in enough work.  

Meanwhile, here’s an article on what Buck had to say about Davis. I found this part interesting:  “He’s just trying to step back and start again.  He can’t continue down the path and expect different results if we don’t try something to fix something that isn’t working as well as it should be.”      Sounds like they’re working on something pretty fundamental.   https://www.mlb.com/orioles/news/buck-showalter-talks-chris-davis-struggles/c-274398754