Jorge Mateo

[waroriole]

1 hour ago, MurphDogg said:

I kept forgetting to throw this into this thread. I know how divisive many here find Keith Law, so I thought people would enjoy this.

In a chat on August 1st, Law was asked whether Mateo's success should be a factor in the long term positions of Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg. Rather than simply answering no (which is in my opinion the obvious correct answer), He  goes out of his way to say how little he thinks of Jorge Mateo.

"Jorge Mateo is not a major league caliber regular. He's roster chum.

The best SS currently playing in the Orioles' system is Ortiz. The best 3b is Henderson. Westburg could move to 2b or slide around multiple spots."

I admit that I am more down on Mateo than others in this thread as I don't see him as a long term regular on a competitive team, given that he is already 27-years-old. However, he is certainly a Major League player, would be an elite utility infielder / pinch runner on any playoff bound team and wouldn't kill a team's chances if he were penciled in as option A at shortstop and as a #9 hitter in the short term (over the next couple seasons). The idea that he is roster chum is laughable at best.

Keith Law digs his heels in and continues to be obnoxious and abrasive. Yawn…

[tntoriole]

2 hours ago, MurphDogg said:

I kept forgetting to throw this into this thread. I know how divisive many here find Keith Law, so I thought people would enjoy this.

In a chat on August 1st, Law was asked whether Mateo's success should be a factor in the long term positions of Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg. Rather than simply answering no (which is in my opinion the obvious correct answer), He  goes out of his way to say how little he thinks of Jorge Mateo.

"Jorge Mateo is not a major league caliber regular. He's roster chum.

The best SS currently playing in the Orioles' system is Ortiz. The best 3b is Henderson. Westburg could move to 2b or slide around multiple spots."

I admit that I am more down on Mateo than others in this thread as I don't see him as a long term regular on a competitive team, given that he is already 27-years-old. However, he is certainly a Major League player, would be an elite utility infielder / pinch runner on any playoff bound team and wouldn't kill a team's chances if he were penciled in as option A at shortstop and as a #9 hitter in the short term (over the next couple seasons). The idea that he is roster chum is laughable at best.

Keith Law is baseball analyst chum. 

Edited August 15, 2022 by tntoriole

[Fiver6565]

The statement that Jorge Mateo is not a major league caliber regular is so wrong it’s laughable. 
 

we can debate his ceiling but he’s very much holding his own as a regular all season. What reason is there to believe that Ortiz will hit any better than Mateo has?  A 50 game track record at AA?  If you’re going to play better D than Mateo, than you’re winning multiple good gloves. Is Ortiz definitely going to do that?  

[Frobby]

I feel the need to comment on the stupidity of Mateo’s dash home last night.  He was safe by inches, but that’s beside the point.   Down 4-0 in the 9th, you don’t risk making an out to make the score 4-1.   He really needs to be aware of the situation there.  

[InsideCoroner]

Show us on the doll where the Orioles hurt you, Keith Law. 

Mateo has held his own this year against the likes of Correa, Bo Bichette, Tim Anderson, J.P. Crawford, and other highly valued shortstops. I guess Law is saying his 2022 performance is a fluke, because his value has been undeniable. And he has consistently been one of the most exciting players to watch that we have had in years. 

[DrungoHazewood]

2 hours ago, MurphDogg said:

I kept forgetting to throw this into this thread. I know how divisive many here find Keith Law, so I thought people would enjoy this.

In a chat on August 1st, Law was asked whether Mateo's success should be a factor in the long term positions of Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg. Rather than simply answering no (which is in my opinion the obvious correct answer), He  goes out of his way to say how little he thinks of Jorge Mateo.

"Jorge Mateo is not a major league caliber regular. He's roster chum.

The best SS currently playing in the Orioles' system is Ortiz. The best 3b is Henderson. Westburg could move to 2b or slide around multiple spots."

I admit that I am more down on Mateo than others in this thread as I don't see him as a long term regular on a competitive team, given that he is already 27-years-old. However, he is certainly a Major League player, would be an elite utility infielder / pinch runner on any playoff bound team and wouldn't kill a team's chances if he were penciled in as option A at shortstop and as a #9 hitter in the short term (over the next couple seasons). The idea that he is roster chum is laughable at best.

I think Law's assessment was pretty harsh.  But on July 1st Mateo's career OPS was .611, and as you noted he's 27.  At that point he's, at best, a Cesar Izturis, Belanger-lite kind of player.  Someone who could stick around for a while as a glove-only SS, or a utility player.  But probably not a regular on a good team.

His last six or seven weeks have been much better, but we'll see.  He had a .748 OPS for 32 games for the O's last year sandwiched between a few hundred PAs of sub-.600.

[RZNJ]

51 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I feel the need to comment on the stupidity of Mateo’s dash home last night.  He was safe by inches, but that’s beside the point.   Down 4-0 in the 9th, you don’t risk making an out to make the score 4-1.   He really needs to be aware of the situation there.  

Not a good play percentage wise.  Not supposed to risk it there.   With that being said, the announcers kind of said the same thing but much nicer.   However, earlier in the year when McKenna tried taking 3rd with 2 outs and made it in a very close play as well, he was praised for his hustle.

On the wild pitch it's a instinct split second decision but he should have thought about it before the pitch.  Can't go there unless you are guaranteed to make it standing up with no play on you.

Edited August 15, 2022 by RZNJ

[ShoelesJoe]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

I feel the need to comment on the stupidity of Mateo’s dash home last night.  He was safe by inches, but that’s beside the point.   Down 4-0 in the 9th, you don’t risk making an out to make the score 4-1.   He really needs to be aware of the situation there.  

I think he was trying everything humanly possible to fire up his team. Despite the near perfecto that was still a winnable game which is why we had Omar warming in the pen just in case.

[Aristotelian]

14 hours ago, Frobby said:

I feel the need to comment on the stupidity of Mateo’s dash home last night.  He was safe by inches, but that’s beside the point.   Down 4-0 in the 9th, you don’t risk making an out to make the score 4-1.   He really needs to be aware of the situation there.  

On the other hand, his dash home in *last* night's game was nothing short of sensational. Infield in, Nevin smashes it on a hop right to the drawn in SS. Mateo goes on contact, SS makes a great throw that nails 99% of baserunners.

That play in the prior game looked close but that was only because the pitcher covering never caught the ball. The ball got behind the catcher. We are 99-to-1 to lose that game whether he gets thrown out or not. I know it's not the smart play but I'm really not going to beat him up for going on that one. More like "if you're going to run you better make it." 

[Number5]

3 hours ago, Aristotelian said:

On the other hand, his dash home in *last* night's game was nothing short of sensational. Infield in, Nevin smashes it on a hop right to the drawn in SS. Mateo goes on contact, SS makes a great throw that nails 99% of baserunners.

That play in the prior game looked close but that was only because the pitcher covering never caught the ball. The ball got behind the catcher. We are 99-to-1 to lose that game whether he gets thrown out or not. I know it's not the smart play but I'm really not going to beat him up for going on that one. More like "if you're going to run you better make it." 

I wonder why the SS would be drawn in in that situation.  An out seems more important than a run there.  In fact, why throw it home?  Seems like a defensive lapse in judgment, imo.

[interloper]

17 hours ago, Frobby said:

I feel the need to comment on the stupidity of Mateo’s dash home last night.  He was safe by inches, but that’s beside the point.   Down 4-0 in the 9th, you don’t risk making an out to make the score 4-1.   He really needs to be aware of the situation there.  

In the post-game interview, Hyde says "we run on contact a lot" due to the team speed. So I wouldn't blame Mateo on this one - it's likely he was told to run on contact regardless of where the ball was hit. 

Edited August 16, 2022 by interloper

[RZNJ]

38 minutes ago, interloper said:

In the post-game interview, Hyde says "we run on contact a lot" due to the team speed. So I wouldn't blame Mateo on this one - it's likely he was told to run on contact regardless of where the ball was hit. 

Frobby was talking about the wild pitch in the 9th inning of Sunday's game not running on contact last night.

[interloper]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

Frobby was talking about the wild pitch in the 9th inning of Sunday's game not running on contact last night.

Ah jeez, woops. Thanks!

[Aristotelian]

34 minutes ago, Number5 said:

I wonder why the SS would be drawn in in that situation.  An out seems more important than a run there.  In fact, why throw it home?  Seems like a defensive lapse in judgment, imo.

As long as the infield is drawn in, going home is definitely the right play. They got exactly the ball they wanted there just as the defense was designed to do. Problem was, the O's had the wrong guy on third and he flat out beat it. 

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

As long as the infield is drawn in, going home is definitely the right play. They got exactly the ball they wanted there just as the defense was designed to do. Problem was, the O's had the wrong guy on third and he flat out beat it. 

If the defender fields and throws cleanly he's out.