O's 2nd in the AL with a 3.04 team ERA

[now]

24 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

Do you mean it was a bad idea to take away Bundy's best pitch even though the most successful teams were featuring the cutter?

Really crazy what they were doing back then. The good news was the 85 Cardinals would steal fewer bases against us than just about anyone, so there's that.

When SG said CU I think he meant ChangeUp, not CUtter.  Anyway I agree on all counts: more changeups, stupid to ban cutters (Bundy and Arrieta), and the other issue you refer to, obsessing over time to the plate.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Jammer7 said:

I agree, mostly. My perception is that passed balls (and wild pitches) are down now that Seve has moved on

Last year we had 13 PB and 88 WP.   So far this year we are projected at 18 PB and 36 WP.  It’s too small a sample to draw any conclusions.  Heck, just getting rid of Tanner Scott probably cuts the WP significantly.  

[Too Tall]

To paraphrase what other's have said, it's a looooooong season. While I try to be optimistic and like to dream, let's see where we are in August/September. Now the hitting...........

[Moose Milligan]

23 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Yep, and if our ERA was really bad right now, because that would mesh with expectations, a lot of the same people who are cautioning small sample size now would NOT be mentioning SSS, they would be piling on about what a disgraceful pitching staff we have.

Well that's because they'd be living up to expectations.

[jabba72]

1 hour ago, now said:

When SG said CU I think he meant ChangeUp, not CUtter.  Anyway I agree on all counts: more changeups, stupid to ban cutters (Bundy and Arrieta), and the other issue you refer to, obsessing over time to the plate.

Yeah I thought SG meant Changeup too since thats what Zimmerman was throwing with much success. Thats always been a pitch that starters need to try and develop. If only to flash something different at the hitter. 

[Roll Tide]

8 hours ago, wildcard said:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  SSS.   But its phenomenal to even think the O's could get off to that kind of a start to the season.  

The relievers are 3rd in the AL with a 2.66 ERA.

The starters are 6th with a 3.50 ERA.

That is something to build on.

Truly Shocking

[Just Regular]

Oakland is 1st in the AL with 53 runs, so something's gotta give.

[waroriole]

40 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

Oakland is 1st in the AL with 53 runs, so something's gotta give.

Just what everyone expected out of this series. The best offense vs the second best pitching. 

[Jammer7]

8 hours ago, Frobby said:

Last year we had 13 PB and 88 WP.   So far this year we are projected at 18 PB and 36 WP.  It’s too small a sample to draw any conclusions.  Heck, just getting rid of Tanner Scott probably cuts the WP significantly.  

Ok, that PB number seems really low. Obviously, I believe you. It seems like it was around 100 with all of the times Seve would have balls go off of his glove and roll to the backstop. And all of the balls that would bounce off his glove, some were called strikes. 

[Sports Guy]

7 hours ago, Jammer7 said:

Ok, that PB number seems really low. Obviously, I believe you. It seems like it was around 100 with all of the times Seve would have balls go off of his glove and roll to the backstop. And all of the balls that would bounce off his glove, some were called strikes. 

Well that’s always the problem with these types of discussions.  People remember the negative plays and it blows up in their minds that things were worse than they thought.

 

[Frobby]

54 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Well that’s always the problem with these types of discussions.  People remember the negative plays and it blows up in their minds that things were worse than they thought.

 

True.   Also, he played worse in the early part of the season and that always leaves a bad impression that’s hard to erase.   Of the 10 passed balls he allowed, 7 were in the first three months of the season.  He actually didn’t have any passed balls after August 11.

I also think it’s true that there are a lot of pitches that aren’t passed balls but where poor catching leaves a bad impression.   Pitches that get past the catcher when nobody’s on base.   Pitches scored as wild pitches that could have been prevented by a good catcher. Dropped borderline pitches that get called balls.   Foul tips that aren’t caught.  They’re hard to quantify but they add up.  

[Jammer7]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Well that’s always the problem with these types of discussions.  People remember the negative plays and it blows up in their minds that things were worse than they thought.

 

That’s true, sure. The timing of many of them was with runners on late in the game. Sometimes, it was as simple as him dropping a ball that trickled a few feet from him and the runner would move up. Not a PB, goes down as a stolen base.

I did like Seve early in his days here. I took some heat for it here. I liked his energy and athleticism. He grew lazy and disinterested over his time here. The difference between Chirinos/Bemboom and Severino/Wynns/Sisco is huge.

I am not looking at stats in this SSS, but I believe the difference will be significant. We may not have a 15 win difference, but I expect our run differential and pitcher ERA to have a significant impact. I expect us to be in many more games with a chance to win. 

[Sports Guy]

3 hours ago, Jammer7 said:

That’s true, sure. The timing of many of them was with runners on late in the game. Sometimes, it was as simple as him dropping a ball that trickled a few feet from him and the runner would move up. Not a PB, goes down as a stolen base.

I did like Seve early in his days here. I took some heat for it here. I liked his energy and athleticism. He grew lazy and disinterested over his time here. The difference between Chirinos/Bemboom and Severino/Wynns/Sisco is huge.

I am not looking at stats in this SSS, but I believe the difference will be significant. We may not have a 15 win difference, but I expect our run differential and pitcher ERA to have a significant impact. I expect us to be in many more games with a chance to win. 

Btw, what I said is something we all do.  After rereading what I wrote, I didn’t and that to come off the wrong way.  I just think we do those things.

Its like Jack Cust falling down.  All of a sudden he’s a bad baseball player because he stumbled at a bad time.

I think we are better off at C too.  I just don’t know that the difference will be measurably that much different over time.

[Moose Milligan]

I don't think Cust was a bad baseball player because he fell down.  I think that's just a memorable blooper that might have unfairly defined a career, especially by Orioles fans because he didn't get much playing time here...there's nothing else to remember his time in Baltimore by. 

He didn't get much of a chance here but went on to have some good seasons in Oakland.  I wonder how A's fans remember him.  

Robin Ventura unfairly gets remembered for tangling with the wrong hombre in Nolan Ryan.  That's the biggest memory from a great overall career.  

Similar to @Jammer7, I liked Severino at first but grew tired of him, especially his defense.  I think we're better off at C this year even if AR for whatever reason doesn't come up simply based on the fact that Chirinos and Bemboom seem more engaged.  Chirinos seems like a Sal Fasano type, grizzled vet that everyone respects and likes.

[Jammer7]

4 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Btw, what I said is something we all do.  After rereading what I wrote, I didn’t and that to come off the wrong way.  I just think we do those things.

Its like Jack Cust falling down.  All of a sudden he’s a bad baseball player because he stumbled at a bad time.

I think we are better off at C too.  I just don’t know that the difference will be measurably that much different over time.

All good. I think I took out of that what you meant. I look forward, like everyone else, to see Adley come up and take over the starter position. He’ll have some speed bumps, but his play will help in the same ways. And with a much better bat. 

It is interesting to see what their change in philosophy will have over 162 games. And, will Zimmermann, Akin, Baumann, Tyler Wells, Kremer, Alex Wells and Zac Lowther benefit from the new philosophy and improved catching. Will they cement themselves as major league pitchers, finally? I don’t expect all of them, maybe 4-5 of them. The others will move to make way for Bradish, Rodriguez, Brnovich and perhaps, DL Hall. Will the Orioles actually develop young pitching? That is the biggest curiosity for me.