The upcoming 2nd half: What are you looking forward to? (no trades)

[El Gordo]

Mouncastle is learning OF/1B? Seems like he's getting ready to take Mancini's place when he's traded.

[Moose Milligan]

2 hours ago, rudyrooster said:

Fewer OH threads devolving into pissing contests between certain posters.

I can pee farther than CoC can.  Just sayin.

[LA2]

15 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I can pee farther than CoC can.  Just sayin.

Can you pee into the can?

[sportsfan8703]

Continued success from Means and Nunez. The hope that some other players put it together. Like a Tanner Scott. Maybe a debut for Harvey out of the pen. 

[Curse of the Bamdino]

I’ll be:

- anxious as to whether Cash, despite his apparent wishes, is going to continue performing to the point that he pitches himself right onto a new team by month’s end. (I am decidedly conflicted about this.)

- hoping that there’s a chance that we’re going to catch a glimpse of Crush over these next 70+ games. Maybe, just maybe, this recent road trip turns out to be the catalyst. Perhaps I'm stubborn, but I continue to hold out hope.

- curious to see whether we really have something in Means, or if he eventually turns into a pumpkin.

- see above, but re: Wilkerson (to a much lesser degree, obviously). It’s been fascinating watching his OJT CF progression, I’ll say that.

- anticipating getting a sustained look at Stewart once he returns from his rehab stint. Extremely SSS this season, but I like his approach at the plate and his surprising (to me) nimbleness with the glove. (BTW, upon Stewart’s return, I’d like to think that’d mean Broxton can be sent packing.)

- wondering if Mark will make a cameo before season’s end.  I’d like to see him back, even if only for a few ABs. I won’t delude myself into thinking he’ll return next season, but that said, he represented the franchise well and contributed mightily to a postseason-qualifying team. It’d be nice if he can say he went out on his own terms.

- looking forward to seeing continued hustle and development out there. I can tolerate the occasional gaffe as long as the effort’s there. From this vantage point, that’s been the case so far.

[wildcard]

11 minutes ago, Curse of the Bamdino said:

I’ll be:

- anxious as to whether Cash, despite his apparent wishes, is going to continue performing to the point that he pitches himself right onto a new team by month’s end. (I am decidedly conflicted about this.)

- hoping that there’s a chance that we’re going to catch a glimpse of Crush over these next 70+ games. Maybe, just maybe, this recent road trip turns out to be the catalyst. Perhaps I'm stubborn, but I continue to hold out hope.

- curious to see whether we really have something in Means, or if he eventually turns into a pumpkin.

- see above, but re: Wilkerson (to a much lesser degree, obviously). It’s been fascinating watching his OJT CF progression, I’ll say that.

- anticipating getting a sustained look at Stewart once he returns from his rehab stint. Extremely SSS this season, but I like his approach at the plate and his surprising (to me) nimbleness with the glove. (BTW, upon Stewart’s return, I’d like to think that’d mean Broxton can be sent packing.)

- wondering if Mark will make a cameo before season’s end.  I’d like to see him back, even if only for a few ABs. I won’t delude myself into thinking he’ll return next season, but that said, he represented the franchise well and contributed mightily to a postseason-qualifying team. It’d be nice if he can say he went out on his own terms.

- looking forward to seeing continued hustle and development out there. I can tolerate the occasional gaffe as long as the effort’s there. From this vantage point, that’s been the case so far.

I think Stewart's return would impart Smith or Wilkerson more than Broxton.  Hays' call up would impart Broxton's playing time IMO.

[Number5]

The playoffs.

 

 

 

[Frobby]

Really, I just want as many young players as possible to play well and look like nuggets, regardless of where they’re playing.    And while I accept that the team will continue to lose a lot, I’d like to avoid protracted losing streaks, which depress me and tend to lead to deterioration of the quality of discussion here.    

[foxfield]

I'd like to see development.  At all levels.  Signs indicating hope.  Marked improvement.

[wildcard]

20 minutes ago, foxfield said:

I'd like to see development.  At all levels.  Signs indicating hope.  Marked improvement.

And World Peace.

[foxfield]

8 minutes ago, wildcard said:

And World Peace.

I was trying to be realistic!!  

[clapdiddy]

I'd like to see an outfield of Stewart, Hays, and Santander on a regular basis.

[mdbdotcom]

I'd like to see Austin Hays stay healthy, regardless of whether he's on the O's or an affiliate.

[ScGO's]

1. Rotation - Let's find out if Means is for real.  It would be nice to see one or two of Wojo, Eshelman, Strailey, Ynoa, Ortiz, Brooks, etc can figure it out enough to be a place holder in the 2020 rotation.  I'm also wondering when Keegan Akin gets his shot. 

2. Bullpen - This is getting frustrating.  There is enough young talent here that somebody needs to figure it out.  I'd like to see a commitment to youth here.  I'd like to see more of Kline, Tayler Scott, Tanner Scott, Harvey, Tate, Phillips, Yac, Castro, Hess, and Fry in the 2nd half.  If the starters continue to falter I would like to see a bigger bullpen and a commitment to the opener for a while to get these guys some innings.

3. Battle of the Place Holders! - Out of Nunez, Santander, Martin, Ruiz, Sisco, Smith Jr, Wilkerson, Severino, Alberto, Broxton, maybe even Mullins again, who will earn the opportunity to hold a spot in 2020 as well!  I don't think any of these guys will be here when we are winning again, but if they can carve out another decent season or two, these could be guys that develop into trade chips in the future, or at least can create a stable environment for the player development happening around them.  Can guys like Santander, Nunez, Severino, Alberto, Sisco, and Smith Jr build on a decent first half?  Can Ruiz, Martin, Wilkerson, Broxton, and Mullins pick it up enough to earn another shot next year?  I'm hoping Martin can improve after her first half struggles as we have no options for SS next year.

4. Youth movement? - Probably not happening until September, but I hope we see some Sept call up production from Stewart, Hays, Diaz, Harvey, Tate, Akin, Mountcastle, Zimmerman, Lowther, Kremer, and/or Wells.  Maybe none will get the call, maybe they all will, but if I was Elias I would run these guys out there to see if they should be considered for the 2020 season.

5. Player Development and more talent acquisition - I will be following the minors like a hawk to see how our current prospects are developing, how our college draftees and J2 signs are doing, and if we sign anymore intl guys or acquire any talent via trade.  How many top 100 prospects can we have by the end of the season?

6. A conclusion to the Chris Davis Saga? - I would hope by the end of the season his fate is determined.  Even if he is staying another year, tell us.

7. Better fundamental baseball - Can the O's get sharper on Defense?  Hit your cuts, better baseball IQ, player a better defensive line up.  More small ball: put more bunts down, steal more bases, productive at bats (see more pitches), etc.

8. Can we play the spoiler?  It would be great to have another Curse of the Andino moment by the end of the year.  We are in Boston to finish the season...

[BohKnowsBmore]

4 minutes ago, ScGO's said:

 

6. A conclusion to the Chris Davis Saga? - I would hope by the end of the season his fate is determined.  Even if he is staying another year, tell us.

I know this will be an unpopular opinion among a lot of posters here, but I would like to see him have some modicum of success down the stretch.  He's always seemed like a good guy and he was one of my favorite players during the Buck era of winning baseball.

As far as needing to know right now what his future will be, I'm not sure I agree with the sentiment.  I like that Elias and Hyde are being deliberate in their actions.  We have to pay him regardless (i.e. no money saved by jettisoning him now), so why not see what the roster looks like, Davis included, at the conclusion of the season?  If at that point he's truly blocking someone who absolutely needs to be on the 25, then there's a decision to be made.  I don't personally have any visceral need to see him cut, though.