O's @ Jays---7/10

[MurphDogg]

Yeah, but wouldn't he be better off just going for the steal and hoping for an errant throw? He was halfway to 2nd, he wouldn't have gotten back even if if Barajas had thrown to 2nd. Plus, If I have Roberts' speed, I treat every hit & run as a straight steal.

No. If there was an errant throw he likely would have gotten back to first anyway or if the ball went in to center he would have gotten to second. Further it allowed for a potential errant throw from the shortstop throwing back to first if the throw went to second. Did you see the replay? He got a terrible jump, there was no way he was going to make it to second.

[ccbird]

Guthrie is pitching great, but my karma-meter says we need to score 2 more runs to stomp all the life out of Toronto. I hate it when a team scores runs early and then goes to sleep. That never seems to work out.

4 run cushion is enough for you after whats happened the last two nights??Let's make it 6 and then I won't start to sweat unless DT goes to Sarfate again.

[El Gordo]

Yeah, but wouldn't he be better off just going for the steal and hoping for an errant throw? He was halfway to 2nd, he wouldn't have gotten back even if if Barajas had thrown to 2nd. Plus, If I have Roberts' speed, I treat every hit & run as a straight steal.

What do you know about base running that BRob doesn't?:rolleyestf:

[J.D.]

How can you defend all of Hernandez's problems?

Terrible arm He's 32. That's not that old, but as a catcher... it's getting up there. His arm's never really been supergreat.

Jogs out ground balls If he's guilty of that, then so's Millar and Huff. They all run at about the same speed. Heck, I've seen Brian loaf a few grounders, but no one's ready to beat up on him.

All the passed balls See above. He's 32 and a catcher. Is it really out of the realm of possibility that he's just getting old and doesn't move as quickly as he used to? No... he's just not trying.

Lack of power hitting Umm... doesn't he have 7 homers this year? He's not a power hitter. His career high's 23. He's broken 20 twice.

Terrible batting average His career average is .262. So this isn't something new.

Doesn't call a particularly good game That's fairly subjective. I don't think he's the greatest at it. I don't think he's the worst catcher in the bigs at it, either.

What I get sick of, more than anything, is the bashing of Ramon for a "lack of effort." If you honestly don't think he's trying then that's a personal opinion. He's a fairly laid-back baseball player. Always has been. I think his speed and quickness are declining because he's getting older. And I think that makes him appear to be loafing it more than he really is.

[Coker]

Haha. Huff had a keg party in HS

[J.D.]

I'm really ot a Ramon basher. I think he's getting old and his legs are going It's all footwork for a C. That's why his throws are bad and he can't get in front of the ball in the dirt. He would be a good back up C and RH DH.

I 100% agree with this. It's not a lack of effort. He's getting old. He doesn't move as well as he used to.

[Coker]

And Dempsey continues to talk of himself.

[J.D.]

I really hate seeing teams chip away at small leads of ours with ground outs that score runs. I don't know why, but this drives me insane.

[Coker]

Rios singles and steals 2nd.

[MurphDogg]

Ramon showed his detractors there making that pointless throw to second after bobbling the ball...

[El Gordo]

What I get sick of, more than anything, is the bashing of Ramon for a "lack of effort." If you honestly don't think he's trying then that's a personal opinion. He's a fairly laid-back baseball player. Always has been. I think his speed and quickness are declining because he's getting older. And I think that makes him appear to be loafing it more than he really is.

I agree. If Ramon was loafing DT would be on him about it, and would have no problem starting Quiroz more.

[Why Not?]

What I get sick of, more than anything, is the bashing of Ramon for a "lack of effort." If you honestly don't think he's trying then that's a personal opinion. He's a fairly laid-back baseball player. Always has been. I think his speed and quickness are declining because he's getting older. And I think that makes him appear to be loafing it more than he really is.

I'm not a chronic Ramon-basher. But some of the stuff he does behind the plate could lead to a diagnosis of laziness. Oftentimes he just throws his glove at a ball in the dirt instead of moving his body over to block it. Obviously he knows that's not the right play, but he does it with some consistency.

I'm not in his head, so I don't know if it's laziness or just a player making a bad play.

[micahl69]

while everyone is pressed on ramon hernandez, i think that mora needs to go this off season. trade him, do something. he is awful and does not deserve to be in the lineup every night. its getting old.

[J.D.]

I'm not a chronic Ramon-basher. But some of the stuff he does behind the plate could lead to a diagnosis of laziness. Oftentimes he just throws his glove at a ball in the dirt instead of moving his body over to block it. Obviously he knows that's not the right play, but he does it with some consistency.

I'm not in his head, so I don't know if it's laziness or just a player making a bad play.

Or if he just doesn't move as quickly and tries to compensate by blocking things with the glove. Personally, I don't think he gets enough rest.

[Pickles]

I'm not saying Ramon's a great player, but he's still servicable, and I'm sure it isn't a lack of effort on his part that has caused his decline. However, jumping on him for getting crossed up on the first pitch after the first runner reaches second in a game is just way over the line. If you're going to jump his a--, wait until he's done something to deserve it, otherwise its just hateful.