Is it time to bring in a "Davis Whisperer"?

[atomic]

3 minutes ago, interloper said:

There's really no other choice. He's untradeable, the FO won't flush that much money down the drain... he's either got to accept a minor league assignment, get seriously hurt, or retire. Otherwise, he's at least going to platoon at the bottom of the lineup for the next 5 years.

Who is going to retire when you make 23 million dollars a year? I am sure he will gladly look at third strikes right down the middle for the next 5 years.  

[24fps]

8 minutes ago, VaBird1 said:

Fair enough.  You still have to bench him if he can play well, right?.

No.  You have to keep putting him in the lineup so he can play his way out of it.  It's an indestructable rule that applies only to players who have cripplingly bad contracts.  And favorites of the manager...

[weams]

28 minutes ago, atomic said:

It isn't a real union.  If it were all the players would make the same amount of money.  The agents run the union. 

That's not how unions work. 

The agents do run the players though.

Just not their union.

[gmelson26]

Does anyone have any knowledge as to whether or not Davis is willing change his approach?  Is he resistant to cutting down on this swing.. or use a lighter bat? Anything really.. it's probable that he's made changes, and I just haven't recognized them, but I feel like I've been watching him for 3 years, not change anything and continue to fail spectacularly.  Ripken changed his stance 3 times an at bat.  Like does he refuse to change things? 

[Natty]

Since my other post flew over everyone's head...

Someone with the information please check on this...

When did Davis stop chewing tobacco? 

When did he stop hitting? 

Any correlation? 

[Il BuonO]

34 minutes ago, interloper said:

You gotta do something with him. 

What have other teams done in this situation?

 

32 minutes ago, atomic said:

Ryan Howard?  The Phillies became a perennial loser and continued to play him.  

Yeah, not the best solution.

[MDtransplant757]

What about Rafael Palmerio? 

[interloper]

Major Leaguers and MLB coaches/FO are too hesitant to make big, risky, wholesale changes. What're Davis/the Orioles afraid of by changing his batting mechanics? That he'll hit WORSE? If it doesn't work, you can always go back to your original mechanics. 

If the team continues to tank, I propose that sometime before the All-Star break while the O's are selling off Manny et al, Davis accepts a minor league assignment to rebuild himself. Take a month or 6 weeks. Play games at Norfolk or Bowie while completely rebuilding his mechanics to compensate for his slower bat. Simplify everything.

Come back in August or September and see if it translates. Take the full offseason to really hone the new mechanics. What do they have to lose? 

[Ripken]

1) Not that he should ever stop trying to improve... but Davis has had ample time to "work on things".  This is who he is, terrible swing, mental issues, and all.

2) The org has to pay him over $100M still, regardless of whether he plays or not, sucks or not.  It was a horrid contract and 98% of fans knew it beforehand.  This is the price you pay for not running an MLB organization properly.

3) Salary should not make a damn difference when determining his playing time.  Put the best guys on the team/field.  Speaking of which, we should have Hays and Scott up here and get rid of Pedro and Gentry.  Davis should be part of a time share at 1st with Mancini and, if that doesn't help, he should be moved off the team (in whatever fashion works best).  I'm no Trumbo fan, but I'd take him over CD at this point, so that should probably be the length of time Davis has to stop being terrible, if that's even possible.

The 1-5 start has not ruined this season but they have to start playing the right guys in the right spots (DHing Rasmus while putting Mancini in the OF may have cost us a game already).  And hopefully Cobb (for Tillman, who must go), Britton, and (possibly) Harvey will really help.

[clapdiddy]

58 minutes ago, Natty said:

Since my other post flew over everyone's head...

Someone with the information please check on this...

When did Davis stop chewing tobacco? 

When did he stop hitting? 

Any correlation? 

I hear you, but no tobacco product is going to speed up his bat.

[weams]

1 hour ago, Natty said:

Since my other post flew over everyone's head...

Someone with the information please check on this...

When did Davis stop chewing tobacco? 

When did he stop hitting? 

Any correlation? 

When did he slim down? When did he marry? When did be become Big Poppa.  When did he go off his meds? When did he go back on them?  When did he get a Phat contract?  All these things. Some of them. Maybe none. 

[weams]

13 minutes ago, clapdiddy said:

I hear you, but no tobacco product is going to speed up his bat.

He was never a wristy guy. So I think bulking down slowed the speed. And maybe age. 

[survivedc]

9 minutes ago, weams said:

When did he slim down? When did he marry? When did be become Big Poppa.  When did he go off his meds? When did he go back on them?  When did he get a Phat contract?  All these things. Some of them. Maybe none. 

Probably none but I'd be willing to look into everything. If he has the pride in his craft he professes he should, too.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Ripken said:

1) Not that he should ever stop trying to improve... but Davis has had ample time to "work on things".  This is who he is, terrible swing, mental issues, and all.

2) The org has to pay him over $100M still, regardless of whether he plays or not, sucks or not.  It was a horrid contract and 98% of fans knew it beforehand. This is the price you pay for not running an MLB organization properly.

The statement that “98% of fans knew” that Davis’ contract was “horrid simply isn’t true.   When a poll was taken at the time, only 22.5% said it was terrible, while another 16.9% said they were “worried.”

Even among those who thought it was terrible, it’s probably turning out worse than they thought so far.

I should add, I think the 22.5% number includes some people who voted last Fall.     There’s a post from me from last September in that thread saying only “one in six” posters thought it was terrible.    Either I messed up the math (unlikely), or some people voted after I made that post.  The poll is locked now.   

[OsEatAlEast]

1 hour ago, Natty said:

Since my other post flew over everyone's head...

Someone with the information please check on this...

When did Davis stop chewing tobacco? 

When did he stop hitting? 

Any correlation? 

Interesting thought! I remember raising concerns that he was going to burn himself out on stimulants a few years ago. Adderall with tobacco on top of it and probably the addition of caffeine will leave your adrenal gland flat as a pancake in most cases. But I really have no idea about Davis' habits. He could have quit all that stuff. It also could have absolutely nothing to do with anything.