Jump to content

Impressions from my one and only Camden Yards trip this year

InsideCoroner

By InsideCoroner
in Orioles Talk

Recommended Posts

InsideCoroner All-Star

InsideCoroner

Posted
Posted

In town to see my family this week, and had one free evening so I bought tickets for the game earlier tonight. Part of the visit was to see my grandfather as he’s 98 (great guy, built the house he still lives in with his own hands 70 years ago, served in the Navy in WW2), and he coincidentally just went into the final stretch of hospice care when I got here. Which is a good thing, he’s done all he needs to do in this life and I’m glad I’m here for it. As a brief respite, my uncle and I went to the game and shelled out for first row seats in Section 24. And although I wasn’t really in the mood, the game itself was fun — words I seldom uttered during games last year. 

Means pitched a great game, I’m glad they held the lead so he could get the win. Some timely hits, some hustle, some good defense, some iffy relief pitching working out of a lot of trouble. Sparse crowd, as expected (10,500 announced but it looked like less). And the new safety netting didn’t bother me as much as I expected. But I just liked watching some young guys with few expectations giving their best and working/reacting as a team. They’re still going to lose a ton of games, but I find this team eminently more watchable and less frustrating than what preceded it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing


  • Posts

    • e16bball
      Walltimore

      By e16bball · Posted

      I don’t like the wall. I think it’s affecting our hitters. I’ve mentioned before that I think it has totally warped Mountcastle into something he was never really meant to be. The guy came up as a pull-heavy HR hitter, and in his first season-plus (725 PAs), he puts up 38 HRs and a 116 wRC+. Since then, the wRC+ is down to 110, and his approach has totally changed, with his pull numbers plummeting (down from 39% in 2021 to less than 28% this year). He still hits the ball hard, but constantly underachieves his batted ball data — probably because he’s trying to avoid the pull field and hitting balls to the deepest parts of pretty much every other park. Will the same thing happen to Mayo? Maybe he has more pure power, but it’s always going to be a challenge for a RH slugger to survive with that wall. So much harder to do damage.   Beyond that, I think it’s also creating a serious risk of changing our LH hitters’ approaches too. These guys (Henderson, Holliday, Cowser, 2/3 of Adley) have come up with a reputation for being able to drive the ball to all fields. But how long does that continue when they just can’t hit it out to the opposite field? Our LH hitters had a combined 44 wRC+ at OPACY, and only one HR. They had the 3rd most balls hit to LF at home by LHHs, but the lowest wRC+ of any team on those balls (for the second straight year). The Royals, ironically enough, were the only team that was lower than a 70 wRC+ — that’s how much worse our lefties fared going oppo (at OPACY) than everyone else’s. By player: Gunnar Henderson: 112 wRC+ / .160 ISO (51 PAs) Adley Rutschman: 10 wRC+ / .026 ISO (38 PAs) Anthony Santander: 14 wRC+ / .095 ISO (43 PAs) Colton Cowser: 58 wRC+ / .057 ISO (36 PAs) Ryan O’Hearn: 47 wRC+ / .091 ISO (55 PAs) Cedric Mullins: 23 wRC+ / .100 ISO (41 PAs) Jackson Holliday: -72 wRC+ / .000 ISO (16 PAs)   On the road, they had a combined 126 wRC+ (with 9 HRs) going to left field, so it’s not like they’re bad at it. It’s just Death Valley out there in LF for them at OPACY.  How long will it be until these LH guys just start going full pull-happy? Essentially, the opposite of what’s happened with Mountcastle. When (a) your team’s philosophy is to focus on doing damage and (b) you can’t DO damage to the opposite field — the rational endpoint is just to try to pull everything. I don’t think that’s a good outcome. I think it makes them much worse hitters in the other 81 games, and I think it’s a terrible waste of a bunch of really talented hitters with all-field abilities.
    • Pickles
      Elias: Hyde will be back

      By Pickles · Posted

      Which core players beside Adley Rutschman struggled?
    • Pat Kelly
      Elias: Hyde will be back

      By Pat Kelly · Posted

      The entire commentary on Hyde and the team seems odd but have to admit there does seem to be something off.   Team seemed adrift for most of the 2nd half.  A very talented team went off the rails midway through the season mostly due to core players struggling and rookies not performing or filling in adequately for a few injured starters.    None of the position player trade line acquisitions performed that well.     Hyde seemed in over his head or at a loss on how to correct things, but he must have convinced Elias that he has a plan to fix things.  Curious to see what happens with the coaching staff.  
    • Allan Bryant
      What about Tomoyuki Sugano for 2025?

      By Allan Bryant · Posted

      And or give up picks for QO pitchers 
    • Pickles
      Elias: Hyde will be back

      By Pickles · Posted

      They've averaged 92 wins a year the last 3 years in the most difficult environment in the sport with basically the greatest disadvantages in the sport. Something tells me they know a hell of a lot more about this than you do.    
    • Baseball fandom
      Elias: Hyde will be back

      By Baseball fandom · Posted

      Not when they aren't worthy. At minimum the hitting coaches should be el gonezo
    • Pickles
      Elias: Hyde will be back

      By Pickles · Posted

      That is the sign of a stable and successful organization.  Firing people.  Who could argue that?

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...