After 6 games

[tntoriole]

3 hours ago, Master Guns said:

I agree that it’s been atrocious, but we have faced 2 fantastic pitching staffs. 
 

Using last year’s stats, TB was #2 in the AL regarding opponent’s OPS and MIL was #4 in the NL. There may be better stats to use to show this, but it’s better than ERA. 

 

https://www.covers.com/sport/baseball/mlb/statistics/team-pitching/2021

And whenever there were RISP those pitchers turned it up just a little bit and struck us out at will and we were exposed as the not good hitters we are 

[Aristotelian]

Overall, pitching has been a pleasant surprise. Also at an individual story level, Santander getting off to a good start is very good news, Akin and Baumann are looking much improved, Baker and Perez look like potential keepers. It's not translating to wins but I actually feel better about the roster than the last couple years in terms of most guys having at least some major league level talent rather than just filler (Odor probably the biggest exception along with Lyles). 

[owknows]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Well hopefully they get Adley, Stowers, Bradish, GRod and Hall up here quickly..and maybe Westburg too.  That should ramp up the excitement.

Agree... and I think Westburg might be one of the more important of the bunch.

You can afford a no-hit player on the left side of the infield...  but not 3 of them.

And get Diaz healthy and throw him in too. Maybe it'll light a fire under Hays.

[Aristotelian]

32 minutes ago, owknows said:

Agree... and I think Westburg might be one of the more important of the bunch.

You can afford a no-hit player on the left side of the infield...  but not 3 of them.

And get Diaz healthy and throw him in too. Maybe it'll light a fire under Hays.

I noticed Westburg has only one start at SS vs three starts at 2B (one at 3B), vs last year played majority at SS with a few games at 3B. Gunnar has 4 of 5 starts at 3B. Is it too soon to say Westburg is no longer being though of as a SS?  

[OriolesMagic83]

6 hours ago, Matt Bennett said:

The RISP average will revert to the mean and it will all come in like back to back games before going deathly cold again. 

The O's are due for a 20-2 win, no doubt following by some 2-0 and 3-1 losses.

[wildcard]

1 hour ago, Aristotelian said:

I noticed Westburg has only one start at SS vs three starts at 2B (one at 3B), vs last year played majority at SS with a few games at 3B. Gunnar has 4 of 5 starts at 3B. Is it too soon to say Westburg is no longer being though of as a SS?  

I think O's management likes what they see in Mateo at SS but they have a hole at 2B with Odor.  Jones and Vavra are also auditioning for 2B.

 

[waroriole]

2 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I think O's management likes what they see in Mateo at SS but they have a hole at 2B with Odor.  Jones and Vavra are also auditioning for 2B.

 

I think it has more to do with Ortiz being the best SS at Bowie. 

[interloper]

21 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I think O's management likes what they see in Mateo at SS but they have a hole at 2B with Odor.  Jones and Vavra are also auditioning for 2B.

 

Jones has played really well so far, but I just sorta feel like he's one of those guys that won't be good in the majors. But his AAA season was pretty weak last year, too, so hopefully he's improving. 

[Aristotelian]

41 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I think O's management likes what they see in Mateo at SS but they have a hole at 2B with Odor.  Jones and Vavra are also auditioning for 2B.

 

I think we could see Vavra sooner rather than later. Jones had his chance.

[Frobby]

50 minutes ago, waroriole said:

I think it has more to do with Ortiz being the best SS at Bowie. 

Agreed.   They’re all going to play SS some in case Ortiz doesn’t hit enough to be a starting SS in the majors, but purely on defense, Ortiz is the best of the three so it won’t be surprising to see him get the most reps there while they’re all still on the same team.  

[Sports Guy]

14 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Agreed.   They’re all going to play SS some in case Ortiz doesn’t hit enough to be a starting SS in the majors, but purely on defense, Ortiz is the best of the three so it won’t be surprising to see him get the most reps there while they’re all still on the same team.  

But if you know that and you don’t know if the other guys can play the position, why not give them the at bats   There?

Or move someone to AAA.

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

But if you know that and you don’t know if the other guys can play the position, why not give them the at bats   There?

Or move someone to AAA.

As I’ve said elsewhere, I think either Westburg or Ortiz will get moved to Norfolk within two months.   

It is a tricky juggling act the O’s have with these three guys, but it’s a nice problem to have.   I just hope all three stay on track.   

If all three of these guys were good enough to play in the same infield in the majors, I’d have it Westburg 2B, Gunnar 3B, Ortiz SS.   But the odds that all three will be major league starters is probably 10% at best.   So, you want to preserve as much flexibility as possible defensively.  

 

[Jammer7]

After 6 games, please, some of my fellow fans, come down off the ledge. We have been competitive in every game so far. Even the 8-0 game against the Rays was 4-0 until Fry came in. We have had opportunities to win every other game. A little luck, and we probably have two more wins. Would you be as upset at 3-3? Small sample and all. 

The two biggest problems for me, so far. 1) We strike out far too often. We are pressing at the plate, badly. It appears some guys are trying to take some pitches and improve their swing decisions, while others seemingly swing at anything. We have to get more…something…from Odor/Gutierrez, Chirinos/Bemboom and Owings. The main hitters will be fine soon. They are all pressing right now. 2) Injuries to Kremer, which led to that awful game by Watkins, and John Means give me great concern for our starting pitching. Lyles should be fine, and I expect a lot better from T. Wells too. As bad as Watkins pitching was, he was still decent if he does not make two bad throws to bases. If Alex Wells can just give us decent starts until Means returns, that would really help stabilize things. We deserve some good luck at this point.

Starting off against the Rays certainly did not help. We’ll snap out if this skid. Mancini, Mountcastle, Hays, Mullins, Urias and Santander are all better hitters than they have started out. They are all adjusting to new hitting coaches and preparation. That might take a little time to adjust to, and we’ll be better off for it long term.

No excuses, but a younger team like this one really needs a full Spring training. Veteran teams are better equipped to deal with the individual preparation needed.

I know, some here just want to find reasons to rant against ownership and/or Elias. I’m not going to change your minds, and I’m not going to try. But this team is better than 2021, and it’s going to get much more exciting as time goes by with young talent coming, albeit not quick enough. These close losses have been painful, sure. But young teams have to learn how to prepare and how to win games at the major league level. Try to enjoy the ride. 

[Aristotelian]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

As I’ve said elsewhere, I think either Westburg or Ortiz will get moved to Norfolk within two months.   

It is a tricky juggling act the O’s have with these three guys, but it’s a nice problem to have.   I just hope all three stay on track.   

If all three of these guys were good enough to play in the same infield in the majors, I’d have it Westburg 2B, Gunnar 3B, Ortiz SS.   But the odds that all three will be major league starters is probably 10% at best.   So, you want to preserve as much flexibility as possible defensively.  

 

If the best hitter can play SS, shouldn't he play SS? Why are they determining Westburg and Gunnar's positions based around what's best for Ortiz? 

[OriolesMagic83]

15 hours ago, milbest77 said:

The 1941 St Louis Browns hold the all time record for LOB in a season with 1,334. If I’m not mistaken, they moved to Baltimore later on…
 

https://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/left_on_base_records.shtml

You have to get on base to be left on base.  With all the O 's low obps the record should be safe.