20-15 since May 19th

[RZNJ]

7 minutes ago, interloper said:

Maybe. He'd at least prop up someone like Voth who isn't fully stretched out. I'm all for that.

But let's say someone like Watkins gets injured. Who are you calling up to replace him? Basically all of Norfolk's starters have a 6-7 ERA right now. They've all just been really terrible. Now, they're not all top prospects or anything, but surely SOMEone could be posting a 4.50 ERA down there. It's really been a hot mess. 

I don't have a good answer.   You could put Hall into Akin's role and try to stretch Akin out to 5 innings.  Matt Harvey is pitching for Bowie tonight so that's probably the actual answer.  haha

[interloper]

4 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

I don't have a good answer.   You could put Hall into Akin's role and try to stretch Akin out to 5 innings.  Matt Harvey is pitching for Bowie tonight so that's probably the actual answer.  haha

Yeah I mean. Unless Zimmermann turns it around down there, we're 100% going to need Matt Harvey's services this year. 

[NCRaven]

At this point, I'm glad Harvey is going to be available.  I don't think that the current starting pitching will hold up.  Harvey isn't likely to be good at all.  But, he could put up a Lyles-like innings eating type performance and help save the bullpen - the strength of the pitching staff for half a season.

[RVAOsFan]

33 minutes ago, interloper said:

And to think we were like 4 days away from a Grayson promotion. Gahhh.

I love watching this team, but I can't help feel like the starting pitching isn't sustainable. We're having this stretch on the backs of:

Wells, the Rule 5 ace
Lyles, innings guy
Kremer, who knows how long that lasts
Voth, the reckoning is coming at some point
Watkins, lucky to go 5 most nights
 

Obviously the bullpen is the difference. But this team neeeeeeds 2 starting pitchers. And Hall is not the answer, sadly. Not yet. Who else can we turn to? Well, basically Matt Harvey once he gets to Norfolk. No one else in Norfolk is an upgrade over Watkins, honestly. Which is a significant problem. 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Elias trade for a middling SP, not because of any wild card race, but just to prop up this rotation that seems extremely tenuous right now.

I couldn't agree more.  I wonder if Santander / Mancini have enough value to bring back a halfway decent starting pitcher if Elias could work out a 3 team trade? Maybe throw in a prospect in our 15-30 range for someone under contract a couple years?

[btdart20]

3 hours ago, oriolediehard said:

The O's are in the wild card race.  They are 6.5 games out. You never know what may happen. I'm rooting for them as contender.  

As of today, 4 of the 6 playoff teams are from the AL East too.  We'll have to earn it in division.  And I doubt the calvary is coming in the form of a trade.

[interloper]

15 minutes ago, RVAOsFan said:

I couldn't agree more.  I wonder if Santander / Mancini have enough value to bring back a halfway decent starting pitcher if Elias could work out a 3 team trade? Maybe throw in a prospect in our 15-30 range for someone under contract a couple years?

Yeah, any trade of someone like Mancini or Santander needs to include at least a AAA level SP who can help right now/next couple years. Hopefully you get one younger, high ceiling prospect and one guy you can plug in right now.

[spiritof66]

Maybe this has been posted, but if so I missed it.

The Orioles have a scoring differential of -18 for the season so far, and + 25 (121 to 96) for June. I think it's been a while since those season or monthly  numbers were that good. 

[Frobby]

I have zero lllusions that the Orioles will contend this year.   The team has played better than I expected, and if I strain really hard, I can imagine them finishing at .500.   But I’d say the odds of that happening are under 10%.    

The thing I’m wary of is a sudden losing streak that erases a lot of apparent progress.  We’ve seen that happen several times in the past.   I don’t take it for granted that it won’t happen again.  I just hope it doesn’t.  
 

[Just Regular]

Sometime in the last couple games was my first time hearing Kevin Brown in broadcast name drop the Pitching Strategist in the dugout.    I'm still not fluent who he is in the college of coaches, but somebody's doing something right in that general arena this year.    Googling I think it was Ryan Klimek.

https://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2021/12/14/orioles-finalize-2022-coaching-staff-gonzalez-hernandez-shift-roles-wiedman-bucko-new-strength-coaches/

I feel like there can't not be a turn through the rotation sometime soon where in 5 games the SP let in a big bunch of runs, but I also feel like the Bats have a shot to keep up occasionally in a game like that.

We do enjoy the nice off day before the Twins series, and the Twins are grinding through 5 games in 4 days with Cleveland Monday-Thursday.   Their bullpen looks like it may be fraying some.

[justD]

50 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

We do enjoy the nice off day before the Twins series, and the Twins are grinding through 5 games in 4 days with Cleveland Monday-Thursday.   Their bullpen looks like it may be fraying some.

It's going to be interesting to see how the Twins handle their pitching coach abandoning them this week. Will they rally, or falter, or will it have no impact at all? 

As a fan, I'd be kinda crushed. And ticked off, to put in nicely. As a pitcher? I wonder.

[justD]

53 minutes ago, Just Regular said:

Sometime in the last couple games was my first time hearing Kevin Brown in broadcast name drop the Pitching Strategist in the dugout.    I'm still not fluent who he is in the college of coaches, but somebody's doing something right in that general arena this year.    Googling I think it was Ryan Klimek.

A couple of games where Adley was stuck in the dugout, I'd watch him sticking really close to a guy in the dugout who always had a clipboard with him. I think Frobby told me he was Ryan Fuller, but if Klimek has been in the dugout, I wonder if it was him? I can't find a good photo of him.

Either way, I found it fascinating that even when he wasn't playing, he was soaking up whatever it was that this coach had to offer, throughout an entire game it seemed. Like, you almost wondered if the coach was going to tell him to please leave him alone LOL

[interloper]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

I have zero lllusions that the Orioles will contend this year.   The team has played better than I expected, and if I strain really hard, I can imagine them finishing at .500.   But I’d say the odds of that happening are under 10%.    

The thing I’m wary of is a sudden losing streak that erases a lot of apparent progress.  We’ve seen that happen several times in the past.   I don’t take it for granted that it won’t happen again.  I just hope it doesn’t.  
 

They've been pretty good at avoiding lengthy losing streaks so far, but all you have to do is look at the starting rotation. When Dean Kremer is your third best pitcher, a pitching collapse is likely if not inevitable. Now, if they can hold it together long enough for a reinforcement or two...

[Just Regular]

40 minutes ago, justD said:

Either way, I found it fascinating that even when he wasn't playing, he was soaking up whatever it was that this coach had to offer, throughout an entire game it seemed. Like, you almost wondered if the coach was going to tell him to please leave him alone LOL

Last night during Red Sox-Blue Jays when they were hashing Caleb Joseph, Kevin Gausman and bad coaching, one of the guys in the booth had I thought a good take, one I hadn't ever heard put quite this way, that each individual ballplayer is their own #1 coach, and everyone else, even the guys with MLB titles, are just a support network.

I feel in the last decade better data available to Sig-type people has probably given Clubs some tactical knowledge the Players individually can't get (or don't want, or can't believe, or don't like), and communicating that kind of content well to your thoroughbreds is an important part of success.    I hope if we pick a high school guy they go right to the FCL or Delmarva because baseball players playing baseball games to grow skills feels correct, but wouldn't be shocked if it is Sarasota and orienting to pro tools.    If so, I at least hope they get access to some technocratic goodies some of the other 29 Clubs don't have yet.    The Gunnar and Mayo early results are promising!

[justD]

Don’t know where else to post this but since there was talk of Harvey, wanted to note he has 9Ks through 5IP so far tonight, no walks, two solo home runs. I know, it’s AA, but still. 

[Jagwar]

Even If the O's are actually in the wild card race, I don't expect Elias to trade away prospects for any help. I just think we are going to live and die with who we have on the ML club and in the system.