Chris Davis, 2020

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

6 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

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. 

I think Davis will gladly collect his $23M while not having to do anything for it. 

[MurphDogg]

32 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

I think Davis will gladly collect his $23M while not having to do anything for it. 

We'll see. Athletes tend to be prideful and many players have retired with time left on their contract leaving money on the table. 

It is easy for us to say that we would be fine traveling with the team, getting booed when we play and playing well below our historical standard in exchange for $23 million. But the calculus is a little different if you have already made $130+ million.

One could certainly come to the conclusion that the extra $23 million won't meaningfully change your life and isn't worth being away from your kids and being miserable for another year when you could stay home and be happy.

I think this likely ends in a buyout situation.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

Just heard Davis turned down an opportunity to get his swing examined this off season by state of the art software, and Davis just wants to stick with what he has been doing.

I appreciate his charity work, but please finally end this. He’s stubborn as a mule and won’t accept help from the team. Make Davis start pitching if he isn’t going to work with the team in good faith. Elias seemingly wants to help, but Davis has no interest in changing. 

[Mr. Chewbacca Jr.]

28 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

We'll see. Athletes tend to be prideful and many players have retired with time left on their contract leaving money on the table. 

It is easy for us to say that we would be fine traveling with the team, getting booed when we play and playing well below our historical standard in exchange for $23 million. But the calculus is a little different if you have already made $130+ million.

One could certainly come to the conclusion that the extra $23 million won't meaningfully change your life and isn't worth being away from your kids and being miserable for another year when you could stay home and be happy.

I think this likely ends in a buyout situation.

I never would have imagined in a million years that he'd take a buyout, but it does seem like a possibility now.

That being said, I think it depends on how bad he gets. Last year, he hit .179 AVG, .326 OBP with 12HR. In 2014, the year between his two biggest seasons, he his .196 AVG, .300 OBP, and 26 HR.

I think for him to take a buyout, he'll really have to play like a dead dog.

[interloper]

Posting this almost feels like trolling. But hey, just in case anyone cares. 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

Posting this almost feels like trolling. But hey, just in case anyone cares. 

Is Davis back on the juice and bulked up? That’s the only way I could see him rebounding and even the he’s probably a .230 hitter with 35 home runs. 

[interloper]

At least maybe it won't be as painfully sad to witness a weirdly thin/gaunt Davis fail over and over. At least he'll look good doing it this time around. 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

19 minutes ago, interloper said:

At least maybe it won't be as painfully sad to witness a weirdly thin/gaunt Davis fail over and over. At least he'll look good doing it this time around. 

 

[Moose Milligan]

59 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Just heard Davis turned down an opportunity to get his swing examined this off season by state of the art software, and Davis just wants to stick with what he has been doing.

 

Where'd you hear this?

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, interloper said:

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. 

To be fair, last offseason was the first time I heard Davis say he’d intentionally tried to lose weight over the winter:

To do so, Davis huddled in the batting cage with instructors from his prospect days as a member of the Rangers. In between sessions, he tweaked his exercise regimen to add extra emphasis on conditioning and flexibility ("I can't go in the gym and crush arms all the time anymore," Davis said. "Everybody tells me I look skinny."). 

https://www.mlb.com/news/chris-davis-eyes-2019-as-redemption-season-c303225758

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

1 minute ago, Moose Milligan said:

Where'd you hear this?

On 105.7 today. The Orioles asked Davis if he wanted to get his swing bio- mechanically analyzed this off season and his answer was he preferred to do his own thing.

I’m going to look for more information on this when I get home tonight. I accepted Davis for what he is now, but it pisses me off that he wouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t be surprised since Davis has shown little interest in fixing his game the past few years. 

[interloper]

Just now, Frobby said:

To be fair, last offseason was the first time I heard Davis say he’d intentionally tried to lose weight over the winter:

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/chris-davis-eyes-2019-as-redemption-season-c303225758

True, but it seemed like he was thinner the last few years, not just 2019. It really doesn't matter, though, and I have no interest in participating in the steroid speculation other than the weight thing seems a bit silly. But then the whole thing is pretty silly. 

That said, I'm very curious how things play out over the next few months. 

[Going Underground]

Last season ended with the perception that Davis and the team had worked out an offseason plan aimed at altering his approach at the plate and cutting down on strikeouts, but Davis said on a radio show last month that he resisted any “drastic” changes in his hitting mechanics. Though that was interpreted by some as an inexplicable resistant to change, Davis clarified the comment on Monday.

“I was referring to the mechanics of my swing and I think that was something that everybody was kind of curious about was, ‘Are you going to do anything drastic in the box?’ And the answer is ‘no,’ Davis said. “I’m not going to crouch down in my legs. I’m not going to spread out and hit like Albert Pujols. I hit the way that I hit.

“I think a lot of the deficiencies over the past few years have been due to strength. I mean, seeing some of the balls that I’ve hit either be caught at the warning track or at the wall or not even get to the warning track, I think just getting my strength up and being in a better physical position is going to help me with that.”

Instead, Davis spent part of the offseason working with close friend and former Orioles teammate Craig Gentry. He said he hopes that the work he did and the bulk he added will allow him to show some results this spring.

 

https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-chris-davis-weight-20200217-hfhyr2fqhrdo3bjv77fxwfjxyi-story.html

[Frobby]

3 minutes ago, interloper said:

True, but it seemed like he was thinner the last few years, not just 2019. It really doesn't matter, though, and I have no interest in participating in the steroid speculation other than the weight thing seems a bit silly. But then the whole thing is pretty silly. 

That said, I'm very curious how things play out over the next few months. 

As I’ve said numerous times, I’m done analyzing every little thing Davis says (or what others say) about what he did in the offseason or what adjustments he has or hasn’t made.    It’s results, period.    

[Going Underground]

Never the same after this.