Chris Davis 2019 and beyond

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

41 minutes ago, Enjoy Terror said:

With three more plate appearances last night, Chris Davis crosses over the 200PA threshold. He's up from .480 to .483, but moves from 40th to 39th lowest OPS by any player with 200PA in the last 50 years.

Some other notable Oriole performances:

• Mark Belanger's 1972 season is 35th (.482)
• Rick Dempsey's first year joining the Orioles in 1976 is 25th (.466)
• Juan Bell's 1991 as a utility infielder for the O's is 12th (.450)
• Angels top prospect (and former Oriole farmhand) Brandon Wood's 2010 with the Angels is the absolute worst; .382 OPS over 243 PAs.

I would use OPS+ to normalize for ballparks and league averages. Using that measure Davis is only ahead of Bell and Wood.  Unlike them Buck seems determined to let Davis get enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.

[Frobby]

On 5/30/2018 at 11:16 AM, Burg said:

In addition to being completely inept at his job, the money CD is making is money we could (and SHOULD) have used to try and sign Manny.  

I acknowledge that CD can't be blamed for taking the money.  However, all I can think about when watching this atrocious player is that he likely cost us the ability to make a competitive offer to Manny.  Cut him and cut him now.

Back when we signed Davis, I made the comment that this better not leave us with insufficient resources to sign Manny.    And I would have felt that way even if Davis was still playing decently.    

But at this point, the team is so bad that I’m relatively apathetic about the fact that we probably won’t re-sign Manny.   Having a great player on a bad team doesn’t do that much for me.    

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

1 minute ago, Frobby said:

Back when we signed Davis, I made the comment that this better not leave us with insufficient resources to sign Manny.    And I would have felt that way even if Davis was still playing decently.    

But at this point, the team is so bad that I’m relatively apathetic about the fact that we probably won’t re-sign Manny.   Having a great player on a bad team doesn’t do that much for me.    

The day Davis was signed, I was pretty much resigned to Manny leaving the team.  

[Enjoy Terror]

Chris Davis' money has nothing to do with Manny Machado leaving the team.

[Ripken]

For crying out loud, blow this up already.  What an embarrassing franchise.

[GoldGlove21]

He should say "Thank you for asking me a question everyone already knows the answer to. So many guys on the team (including myself) are underperforming at high levels. The team is like 22 games out of first even though we have only played like 60 games. There is no way for us to compete this year and feel embarrassed by my play. I am taking myself out of the lineup because I think a replacement player is a better option. I will also be giving the Orioles back upwards of $60M of my total contract because I have underperformed."?

I just don't know what good is coming out of sticking a hot mic in the face of a players that clearly cannot fix what is wrong thus far. I promise you that Davis is not happy about his performance. Because he brushes it off publicly does not mean that he is doing it privately. The comment about working with Coolbaugh a ton when he didn't is much more damning if true, IMO.

[Aristotelian]

1 hour ago, thezeroes said:

To me it has less to do with the Money which is/was a sunk cost when he was signed but the roster spot because of his lack of ownership for how bad he is playing. 

Belle played two years of a five year deal and cost the Orioles the options of signing/trading for the fortieth spot on the roster all three of his winters here just to save the money of the contract through insurance.  He also sued the Orioles for Meal Money for the three years he was DL'd and sitting home.  So no, the Orioles did not get Their money ALL back from the contract but a prorated percentage that was insurance covered and lost out on the potential of three added players to the roster.

Yeah, but Davis is taking up a roster spot, too, and will be for a long time. Longer than Belle.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Three Run Homer said:

Translation:  we may lose 100 games, but that's not important.  What's important is that we maintain a positive mental attitude and encourage our teammates.  

Perhaps the Orioles can pass out participation trophies at the end of the season.... 

Seriously, I don’t really have a problem with what Davis said.    He was asked a question — I’m sure he’s not actively seeking out reporters to talk about what a supportive teammate he is.     I guess he could say “I won’t talk to you unless I’m hitting better,” but that’s kind of a cowardly thing to do.

[Roll Tide]

I have no faith in anything Chris Davis has to say. His drop off the cliff means he’s not investing money in his baseball skills which reports confirm.

Chris shut up and play better

by the way, does anyone know if he’s gotten an exemption for Adderall? Davis made his contract by being able to focus due to the medication. If MLB is not allowing him to use it is just screwing the Os. Just my .02 cents

[thezeroes]

39 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Yeah, but Davis is taking up a roster spot, too, and will be for a long time. Longer than Belle.

This is why I stated in the earlier post that the Orioles need to go forward with the concept that the Active Roster is set at 24 PLUS CHRIS DAVIS and the winter 40 Man ROSTER is set at 39 Players plus Chris Davis.

[NashLumber]

Davis' statement sort of reminds me of some of those junior high or high school graduation speeches made by the valedictorian or class president, full of homilies and well-intentions and lofty platitudes, but far short of any real meat or "here and now" relevance.

Hey Chris, I know you and Buck "don't live in that world" (ie The Real World), but throw us a bone for those who do, ok?

 

[Dark Helmet]

1 hour ago, ORIOLE33 said:

And those guys are what you would call in the NBA “role players.” Davis on the other hand, is getting paid like a superstar and is batting in the 150’s. The players you mentioned can be released today. Davis? We’re unfortunately is stuck with.

And who's to blame for that? Not Davis. He had all the signs of a bad signing. Yet Angelos, Buck, and Brady didn't care.

[Yardball85]

2 hours ago, Dark Helmet said:

Yeah, cause God forbid we don't have the room on the 40 for the Danny Valencia, Craig Genry, and Jace Peterson's of the world. Oh and those 2 or 3 Rule V guys.

This team has more than enough waste of space on the 40 before carrying Davis becomes a roster crisis.

Valencia is good.  He just doesn't fit with what the Orioles are doing now.  But otherwise  yes, I do agree.

[SteveA]

On 5/30/2018 at 1:17 PM, osfan83 said:

They need to try and fix Davis....my suggestion is good old incrementalism. Davis needs his confidence back, and doing that against the best pitchers in the world is not easy. Send Chris down to Bowie for a month, let him regain his confidence. If he does well, then move him to Norfolk. 

He needs to feel like he can hit again. Find a level where he can hit....let him get comfortable, then challenge him at a higher level. 

I think we've seen a bit of improvement, regardless of the stats.

He has CLEARLY been trying to hit tot he opposite field on this homestand, and I believe he has 3 opposite field hits.   He wasn't doing that earlier in the season.

At this point, just let him continue to try for a sample size longer than 6 or 7 games and see where it leads to stats wise.   (But I would much rather see him doing it from the lower third of the order).

And enough with the talk on unrealistic stuff that keeps popping up on these threads:

   -- "send him down" -- he can't be sent down without his permission, and the Players' Union would be extremely unhappy if he gave it

   -- "renegotiate the contract" or "negotiate a buyout" -- not gonna happen either

He will get every penny of the $161 million.    And we might as well keep him this year because it's a lost cause anyway.   So the earliest we are going to DFA him would be after the season.

[SteveA]

3 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

Valencia is good.  He just doesn't fit with what the Orioles are doing now.  But otherwise  yes, I do agree.

So good that none of the 30 teams in baseball offered him a major league contract in the offseason.