Chris Davis, 2020

[interloper]

12 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

I really do not remember that many fly balls "dying on the warning track."  I remember a lot of swinging and looking strike outs.  Which adding 25 pounds of weight won't help avoid.  

Yeah. There's a lot of just kind of not looking the problem in the eye here. Like I've said before, he's just grasping at whatever he thinks might help that isn't a full rebuild of his swing (which has helped other veterans). 

Being stronger can't hurt, I guess. If it helps his confidence, then that might help with some of the called 3rd strikes (maybe), but even that is a long shot and based on not a lot of hard facts. But power really isn't the issue, it's good contact. 

This reads as a last hurrah. I don't know what other avenues besides strength and conditioning he would be keen to take after another failed year. The full article from Roch mentions "eye stuff" - not sure what that means. Other than that, this seems to be the only change he's willing to make before just calling it a career.

If I'm Elias - it's a tough call. Do you hang onto him hoping he retires at the end of the season? I would guess, at this point, absolutely yes. And if he decides to not retire, that's when you may be forced to cut him. Hopefully they've had this conversation. 

[Tony-OH]

Sometimes people talk to their wives and get great advice that really focuses them on what's important, sometimes you decide collecting a pay check is the most important thing despite having enough money to live of for three generations. Sorry. I don't buy this is anything but a money grab. This is a guy who has convinced himself that he was "underpaid" during his big years so he's just collecting now.  He has no role on a rebuilding team or really any major league team. 

In his last two seasons he's slashed an embarrassing .172/.256/.308/.564 over 874 PAs. His legacy will not be the guy once know as Crush to Orioles fans, but one of a guy who was paid a ridiculous contract by a frail old owner and who has done nothing but embarrass himself on the field since.

Walking away was the only thing he had left to save some type or f grace or legacy.

[TheOtherRipken]

8 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Sometimes people talk to their wives and get great advice that really focuses them on what's important, sometimes you decide collecting a pay check is the most important thing despite having enough money to live of for three generations. Sorry. I don't buy this is anything but a money grab. This is a guy who has convinced himself that he was "underpaid" during his big years so he's just collecting now.  He has no role on a rebuilding team or really any major league team. 

In his last two seasons he's slashed an embarrassing .172/.256/.308/.564 over 874 PAs. His legacy will not be the guy once know as Crush to Orioles fans, but one of a guy who was paid a ridiculous contract by a frail old owner and who has done nothing but embarrass himself on the field since.

Walking away was the only thing he had left to save some type or f grace or legacy.

I remember when the line wrapped around the stadium over an hour before the game to get a Crush Davis jersey.  I can’t blame him for trying to recapture his legacy, but also can’t forget the last two seasons where Geronimo Gil would have been more productive at 1st.

[Frobby]

31 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

I really do not remember that many fly balls "dying on the warning track."  I remember a lot of swinging and looking strike outs.  Which adding 25 pounds of weight won't help avoid.  

He’s not completely wrong.   Average fly ball distance, and rank:

2015: 215 feet, 5th in MLB

2016: 212 feet, 9th

2017: 202 feet, 20th

2018: 189 feet, 50th

2019: 193 feet, 50th

 

 

[Yardball85]

37 minutes ago, interloper said:

Yeah. There's a lot of just kind of not looking the problem in the eye here. Like I've said before, he's just grasping at whatever he thinks might help that isn't a full rebuild of his swing (which has helped other veterans). 

Being stronger can't hurt, I guess. If it helps his confidence, then that might help with some of the called 3rd strikes (maybe), but even that is a long shot and based on not a lot of hard facts. But power really isn't the issue, it's good contact. 

This reads as a last hurrah. I don't know what other avenues besides strength and conditioning he would be keen to take after another failed year. The full article from Roch mentions "eye stuff" - not sure what that means. Other than that, this seems to be the only change he's willing to make before just calling it a career.

If I'm Elias - it's a tough call. Do you hang onto him hoping he retires at the end of the season? I would guess, at this point, absolutely yes. And if he decides to not retire, that's when you may be forced to cut him. Hopefully they've had this conversation. 

Good post.  I agree with all of it.

Chris is a good guy, and it sucks that this is happening to him.  But I think the problem is mainly between the ears: (1) not wanting to change and (2) whatever is causing him to look at so many called third strikes/not see the ball.

I hope when it is said and done, we will be able to remember him fondly for 2012, 2013, and 2015.

[Can_of_corn]

10 minutes ago, Frobby said:

He’s not completely wrong.   Average fly ball distance, and rank:

2015: 215 feet, 5th in MLB

2016: 212 feet, 9th

2017: 202 feet, 20th

2018: 189 feet, 50th

2019: 193 feet, 50th

 

 

I'm expecting them to detune the rabbit ball and cancel out any gains made.

[Frobby]

3 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I'm expecting them to detune the rabbit ball and cancel out any gains made.

Interestingly, there wasn’t much change in the average distance of a fly ball last year.    Here’s no. 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50:

2018: 231, 212, 206, 201, 189

2019: 233, 209, 207, 203, 193

I guess small differences in the average can reflect big increases in the ones that are well hit.   

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

12 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

Good post.  I agree with all of it.

Chris is a good guy, and it sucks that this is happening to him.  But I think the problem is mainly between the ears: (1) not wanting to change and (2) whatever is causing him to look at so many called third strikes/not see the ball.

I hope when it is said and done, we will be able to remember him fondly for 2012, 2013, and 2015.

I think it’s mainly the lost muscle mass. Why Davis lost that muscle after he got his contract is for you to decide. 

[interloper]

3 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I think it’s mainly the lost muscle mass. Why Davis lost that muscle after he got his contract is for you to decide. 

I'm about as easy on Davis as they come around here and even I can't reconcile the ridiculousness of "I purposefully lost weight after my career years because I was getting older even though I admit now that having that weight helped me in said career years". It doesn't really hold up. 

[Morgan423]

1 hour ago, interloper said:

The full article from Roch mentions "eye stuff" - not sure what that means.

I've been thinking that a lot of the problems are just that he is not physically seeing the ball.

How many times have we seen a pitcher groove a mistake fastball to him, straight as an arrow down the dead center of the plate, where the vast majority of AA players would have hit it to the moon... only for him to not even twitch or bat an eyelid as it screams past him to the mitt? A hundred? A thousand?  

Just his routine late reactions to the vast majority of the pitches thrown to him the last few seasons have convinced me that he is commonly having issues visually picking up the baseball.

[AuburnAL]

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/orioles-chris-davis-considered-walking-away-from-baseball-after-2019-season/

"Right now I want to be an everyday player," Davis told Trezza. "I consider myself an everyday player and I think it's the case until its proven otherwise."

[Aristotelian]

8 minutes ago, Morgan423 said:

I've been thinking that a lot of the problems are just that he is not physically seeing the ball.

How many times have we seen a pitcher groove a mistake fastball to him, straight as an arrow down the dead center of the plate, where the vast majority of AA players would have hit it to the moon... only for him to not even twitch or bat an eyelid as it screams past him to the mitt? A hundred? A thousand?  

Just his routine late reactions to the vast majority of the pitches thrown to him the last few seasons have convinced me that he is commonly having issues visually picking up the baseball.

There were some clips in recent years of his eyes staring off into space as the ball is crossing the plate. More like a concentration issue than a literal eyesight issue, but maybe both.

[Aristotelian]

2 hours ago, LTO's said:

I'm sure they talked about it. I'm even more sure it was about how stupid it would be for him to do. I really wish he would stop trolling O's fans with this "i'm thinking of retiring" garbage. We have it bad enough as it is, we don't need to hear how Davis is seriously considering throwing away 10s of millions of dollars when we all know that will never happen.

This is the first time he has said anything about retirement, as far as I am aware. I would not expect him to make that decision overnight, so this is a positive step, IMO. Probably the best news we have had this spring.

[wildbillhiccup]

2 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Sometimes people talk to their wives and get great advice that really focuses them on what's important, sometimes you decide collecting a pay check is the most important thing despite having enough money to live of for three generations. Sorry. I don't buy this is anything but a money grab. This is a guy who has convinced himself that he was "underpaid" during his big years so he's just collecting now.  He has no role on a rebuilding team or really any major league team. 

In his last two seasons he's slashed an embarrassing .172/.256/.308/.564 over 874 PAs. His legacy will not be the guy once know as Crush to Orioles fans, but one of a guy who was paid a ridiculous contract by a frail old owner and who has done nothing but embarrass himself on the field since.

Walking away was the only thing he had left to save some type or f grace or legacy.

In all honesty Tony, I think that ship has already sailed. 

[wildbillhiccup]

1 hour ago, Aristotelian said:

This is the first time he has said anything about retirement, as far as I am aware. I would not expect him to make that decision overnight, so this is a positive step, IMO. Probably the best news we have had this spring.

I mean, he had the last 3 - 4 months to contemplate it. If he needs more time they can let him weigh the pros and cons while seated on the very end of the bench. If I were the Orioles I wouldn't give Davis a single start for the first few months of the season. Let's see who blinks first.