Jonathan Villar- Our new 2B?

[weams]

8 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Whatever.    Their 3 stolen base leaders were all drafted by them.   Three excellent draft picks — Betts, Benintendi, Bradley.    All drafted in 2011 or later, and better than any position player we’ve drafted in that time.  

Betts - 33.3 WAR

Bradley - 12.8 WAR

Benintendi - 7.1 WAR

Our top position player drafted in that time is Trey Mancini, 2.1 WAR.

Agreed. They finished last twice. I'm sure we will do better up top. 

[Frobby]

1 minute ago, weams said:

Agreed. They finished last twice. I'm sure we will do better up top. 

Benintendi was a no. 7 overall pick.    Bradley was no. 40.   Betts was no. 172, chosen several picks after our famous 5th rounder, Matt Taylor.

We had the no. 4 overall pick in 2011 and 2012.    Used them on Bundy and Gausman.     I’m not complaining about those picks, just saying it’s not like Boston has had a single pick that high.   The three times they came in last they picked 7th, 7th and 12th.

[Ruzious]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Depends on your definition of a running team, I guess.   But Boston is 2nd in the AL in stolen bases this year, and was 3rd last year.   A team can run and be good at other things at the same time.   

Yeah, I would say there really haven't been any real running teams in the AL East for many years - though Boston is a good running team with a tremendous lineup.  But whether the O's run or not - they're not going to be good for at least a couple years.  

Without doing any research, my guess is that KC was the last real running team in the AL - particularly remembering when they beat the O's in the playoffs with a team that was among the worst in power, had a so-so starting pitching staff, and a great bullpen.  

 

[weams]

14 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Benintendi was a no. 7 overall pick.    Bradley was no. 40.   Betts was no. 172, chosen several picks after our famous 5th rounder, Matt Taylor.

We had the no. 4 overall pick in 2011 and 2012.    Used them on Bundy and Gausman.     I’m not complaining about those picks, just saying it’s not like Boston has had a single pick that high.   The three times they came in last they picked 7th, 7th and 12th.

Yes. You are very right. The Orioles last pick that high was Guasman I think.  He gone. It's been a while. 

[Redskins Rick]

9 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

Yeah, I would say there really haven't been any real running teams in the AL East for many years.  But whether the O's run or not - they're not going to be good for at least a couple years.  

Without doing any research, my guess is that KC was the last real running team in the AL - particularly remembering when they beat the O's in the playoffs with a team that was among the worst in power, had a so-so starting pitching staff, and a great bullpen.  

 

The NL, used to be none for running, is slightly behind Boston in SB, this season.

 

[weams]

I also think it is easier to pick a position player at 1:7 than 1:1

[weams]

10 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

Yeah, I would say there really haven't been any real running teams in the AL East for many years - though Boston is a good running team with a tremendous lineup.  But whether the O's run or not - they're not going to be good for at least a couple years.  

Without doing any research, my guess is that KC was the last real running team in the AL - particularly remembering when they beat the O's in the playoffs with a team that was among the worst in power, had a so-so starting pitching staff, and a great bullpen.  

 

Yes. This. And KC was a fluke. 

[Frobby]

6 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

Yeah, I would say there really haven't been any real running teams in the AL East for many years - though Boston is a good running team with a tremendous lineup.  But whether the O's run or not - they're not going to be good for at least a couple years.  

Without doing any research, my guess is that KC was the last real running team in the AL - particularly remembering when they beat the O's in the playoffs with a team that was among the worst in power, had a so-so starting pitching staff, and a great bullpen.  

 

The 2014 Royals stole 153 bases, more than any team since then.  The highest since then was the 2017 Angels at 136.    At the start of the decade, Tampa stole 172 and two other teams were over 153.    Cleveland leads the AL right now and is on pace for 132.

[Frobby]

4 minutes ago, weams said:

I also think it is easier to pick a position player at 1:7 than 1:1

Why?   A pitcher has gone 1:1 17 times out of 53.    A pitcher has gone 1:7 30 times.    

[now]

30 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Why?   A pitcher has gone 1:1 17 times out of 53.   

One out of three sounds about right.

[TonySoprano]

Quote

This is the third time you have been traded. Is that difficult for you to handle?

My first time I played for the Phillies and I was traded to Houston in 2010 (in a package) for Roy Oswalt. And then in 2015, we go to the Brewers (for minor-league pitcher Cy Sneed) and I stay there for two years. And now I am here. But that’s OK because I love this team, the Orioles. You know why? Because your first time when you come into a new team, the players are talking to their friends, not talking to you. But I came in here my first time and they talked to me (immediately). I feel like I had been here a long time with everybody in here. That’s how I feel. It was like, “Wow. I’m happy.” The team here is talking to me all the time.

Is it difficult going from a contender to a rebuilding team?

I feel comfortable here. I feel like I could stay here for a long time. I see the guys right here, they really want to play. And I feel like next year we could (make) preparations to go to the playoffs, because I feel like we can have a good team. I see a lot of good players like Tim (Beckham), (Adam) Jones, (Trey) Mancini, (Cedric) Mullins, he’s a speed guy. I love his energy. And I love the bullpen with more guys that can throw 97, 98, 99 (mph). That’s unbelievable. I’ve seen something like that in Milwaukee. So, I feel like these guys are hungry to play baseball.

 

[O-The-Memories]

I think he is the best player we have right now. 

[LA2]

On 9/6/2018 at 11:30 AM, Ruzious said:

Yeah, I would say there really haven't been any real running teams in the AL East for many years - though Boston is a good running team with a tremendous lineup.  But whether the O's run or not - they're not going to be good for at least a couple years.  

Without doing any research, my guess is that KC was the last real running team in the AL - particularly remembering when they beat the O's in the playoffs with a team that was among the worst in power, had a so-so starting pitching staff, and a great bullpen.  

 

KC wd have never won the play-in game against Oakland that year without unleashing their running game in the 8th inning down 7-3 against Jon Lester and a catcher with a poor throw-out percentage (Derek Norris, 17% that year). Four stolen bases that inning (7 for the game!) were absolutely necessary to KC tying the score and knocking Lester out. Intelligent speed, stolen bases, wild pitches, walks, and sacrifice bunts stole the game from the A's.

[Ruzious]

1 hour ago, LA2 said:

KC wd have never won the play-in game against Oakland that year without unleashing their running game in the 8th inning down 7-3 against Jon Lester and a catcher with a poor throw-out percentage (Derek Norris, 17% that year). Four stolen bases were absolutely necessary to KC tying the game that inning and knocking Lester out. Intelligent speed, stolen bases, wild pitches, walks, and sacrifice bunts stole the game from the A's.

I heard on the radio the other day that Lester's really taken that aspect of the game to heart.  He used to be among the worst in holding runners on base, and he's worked hard every year to improve at it.  And it definitely helps having a better throwing catcher now. 

I think there will be a competitive advantage to the team(s) that make a concerted effort to run a lot.  Otoh, if other teams put more emphasis to stop the running game, it'll likely lessen the benefit.

  

[LA2]

2 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

I heard on the radio the other day that Lester's really taken that aspect of the game to heart.  He used to be among the worst in holding runners on base, and he's worked hard every year to improve at it.  And it definitely helps having a better throwing catcher now. 

I think there will be a competitive advantage to the team(s) that make a concerted effort to run a lot.  Otoh, if other teams put more emphasis to stop the running game, it'll likely lessen the benefit.

  

It would be interesting if opposing managers keep good-hit, bad-D catchers out of the lineup because of concern about baserunners. Gary Sanchez immediately comes to mind, although he had problems even hitting this season. Or they might follow Buck's example and maybe screw up their pitchers' deliveries with concern about TTTP.