Buy-low fourth starter candidates I like better than Cashner

[LookitsPuck]

Velocity by month vs. SO/9

By month (average FB velocity):

• April: 92
• May: 94
• June: 94
• July: 94
• August: 94.5
• September: 95

Corresponding SO/9 by month:

• April: 4.7
• May: 3.6
• June: 5.3 
• July:  5.1
• August: 5.0
• September: 4.6

Digging in more at Brooks Baseball, it looks like he went to using his 4 seam fastball much less in 2017 versus 2016 opting to focus more on his sinker. In 2016, he was throwing a 4 seamer on average around 40% of the time. In 2017? Roughly 20%. He cut his 4 seam usage in half instead of focusing much more on his sinker. Sinker usage 28% in 2016, 40% in 2017. He also threw his changeup more.

So maybe Texas was worried about him pitching in the bandbox in Arlington in the summer months and having a high HR/9...they had him focus on his sinker and change to get more grounders/weak contact as opposed to trying to blow it past hitters? 

[SteveA]

Vance Worley signs a minor league deal with the Reds.

Dan Duquette takes out a red marker and crosses a name off his list.

[SteveA]

Now they are floating trial balloons via Roch about the possibility of converting Yacabonis to a starter.

All 190 of his minor league appearances and all but one of his college appearances were in relief.

Buy he started in high school.

[Yardball85]

6 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Now they are floating trial balloons via Roch about the possibility of converting Yacabonis to a starter.

All 190 of his minor league appearances and all but one of his college appearances were in relief.

Buy he started in high school.

The media is literally resorting to articles eliciting LOL responses.  Heaven forbid they actually suggest the Orioles sign a legitimate starting pitcher.

[clapdiddy]

1 minute ago, Yardball85 said:

The media is literally resorting to articles eliciting LOL responses.  Heaven forbid they actually suggest the Orioles sign a legitimate starting pitcher.

The Baltimore baseball media is afraid of Angelos or the Orioles for some reason.   Say what you want about Mike Preston, but he does call the Ravens out when he sees fit.   It's a shame we don't have that type of baseball columnist.

[Yardball85]

Just now, clapdiddy said:

The Baltimore baseball media is afraid of Angelos or the Orioles for some reason.   Say what you want about Mike Preston, but he does call the Ravens out when he sees fit.   It's a shame we don't have that type of baseball columnist.

Agreed.  Every day, and actually every day, the media tries to sell the fans (so it seems) on the idea of another relief arm being in this year's rotation.  Apparently that is superior to potentially upsetting Mr. Angelos.

[Frobby]

8 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

The media is literally resorting to articles eliciting LOL responses.  Heaven forbid they actually suggest the Orioles sign a legitimate starting pitcher.

Who cares what the media suggests?    It’s not going to influence what the Orioles do.

[interloper]

1 hour ago, Yardball85 said:

Agreed.  Every day, and actually every day, the media tries to sell the fans (so it seems) on the idea of another relief arm being in this year's rotation.  Apparently that is superior to potentially upsetting Mr. Angelos.

 

1 hour ago, Yardball85 said:

Agreed.  Every day, and actually every day, the media tries to sell the fans (so it seems) on the idea of another relief arm being in this year's rotation.  Apparently that is superior to potentially upsetting Mr. Angelos.

Schmuck did at one point, but I get the impression he's kinda over it in his half-retirement. Don't blame him. 

[SteveA]

5 hours ago, interloper said:

 

Schmuck did at one point, but I get the impression he's kinda over it in his half-retirement. Don't blame him. 

He laid it out there today pretty well.

[weams]

6 hours ago, Frobby said:

Who cares what the media suggests?    It’s not going to influence what the Orioles do.

Absolutely factual. 

[SteveA]

7 hours ago, Frobby said:

Who cares what the media suggests?    It’s not going to influence what the Orioles do.

It wasn't the "media" per se.   It was Roch.   When I see him floating the idea of Yacabonis as a starter, I don't think of it as just some random media member saying something that has no influence on the Orioles.   I think perhaps that he has been fed that possibility by the team.

[ScGO's]

Sign Travis Wood with a promise at cracking the rotation. Worst case scenario, he's a left for the bullpen.

Offer John Lackey and Vargas strong one year deals.  Lackey had a great second half last year. Vargas a great first half, and maybe the second half floundering was fatigue after his first full season after Tommy John.  Could have a strong full season this year after building back his stanima.

Try to sign some sort of grab bag of arms like Bucholz, Holland, Bartolo Colon, Jake Peavy, and/or maybe even Ubaldo again (ehh maybe not)  on a minors deals hoping one clicks.

Bundy

Gausman

Lackey

Vargas

Wood/someone out of the grab bag that shows up in spring training 

That's the best thing I can realistically come up with based on the financial limitations (we think have been) placed on Dan by ownership.

[Il BuonO]

10 minutes ago, ScGO's said:

Sign Travis Wood with a promise at cracking the rotation. Worst case scenario, he's a left for the bullpen.

Offer John Lackey and Vargas strong one year deals.  Lackey had a great second half last year. Vargas a great first half, and maybe the second half floundering was fatigue after his first full season after Tommy John.  Could have a strong full season this year after building back his stanima.

Try to sign some sort of grab bag of arms like Bucholz, Holland, Bartolo Colon, Jake Peavy, and/or maybe even Ubaldo again (ehh maybe not)  on a minors deals hoping one clicks.

Bundy

Gausman

Lackey

Vargas

Wood/someone out of the grab bag that shows up in spring training 

That's the best thing I can realistically come up with based on the financial limitations (we think have been) placed on Dan by ownership.

Pretty good, but I’m not sold on Vargas. He was awful in the second half, but yeah, it could have been fatigue after TJ. I would add Tillman and Gonzalez in that group, too.

[Il BuonO]

28 minutes ago, SteveA said:

It wasn't the "media" per se.   It was Roch.   When I see him floating the idea of Yacabonis as a starter, I don't think of it as just some random media member saying something that has no influence on the Orioles.   I think perhaps that he has been fed that possibility by the team.

He said as much in the story, didn’t he?

[murph]

8 hours ago, clapdiddy said:

The Baltimore baseball media is afraid of Angelos or the Orioles for some reason.   Say what you want about Mike Preston, but he does call the Ravens out when he sees fit.   It's a shame we don't have that type of baseball columnist.

 I agree they (Baltimore media) are mostly passive when It comes to the Orioles, but I do have to give some credit to Ken Wyman of the fan at least, he did a nice diatribe about why the Orioles needed to trade which auto and get the best package possible and not let him walk for a pic a week or so ago. It was a fantastic outburst.

 

But yea,  generally speaking I would like to see the media hold the front office’s feet to the fire little bit more or maybe a lot more.