Shintaro Fujinami

[Sports Guy]

11 minutes ago, dystopia said:

No you can’t. Some decisions are pretty clearly bad ones. This one wasn’t. 
 

You really think there’s a big discussion about pulling him the next day if Fuji does his job? 
 

The real problem is who he chose to bring in the replace him  

 

I think there is a discussion. I can’t say the size of that discussion though.

[Moose Milligan]

1 hour ago, DirtyBird said:

Correct. If you can read the future and see that Fuji was going to throw like a low A prospect with a heater that he has no control of, leaving Grayson in would have been the better option.

I can't read the future but I read the book on Fuji and knew that control has been an issue for him.  And while he's had some electric moments here, he's prone to not being able to hit the zone.

[Moose Milligan]

48 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

And Vlad was late on all of them. He didn’t want to throw something to speed up the bat. They tried the cutter (for some reason) and he missed badly on it but that’s probably his worst pitch. 
 

 

Vlad was late, but I think the speeding up the bat argument is a little lazy, and Palmer relies on it all the time.

By all accounts, G-Rod's changeup is a weapon.  I'll agree on speeding up the bat is a bad idea when the MPH difference is, like, 3 or 4 off but if you've got a changeup and can get someone like Vlad way out in front for a swing and a miss or induce weak contact, that's not a bad thing.  Plus from what I've seen, G-Rod's changeup has some nice action on it.  I wouldn't have been mad if they decided to use it in that sequence.

[Sports Guy]

8 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Vlad was late, but I think the speeding up the bat argument is a little lazy, and Palmer relies on it all the time.

By all accounts, G-Rod's changeup is a weapon.  I'll agree on speeding up the bat is a bad idea when the MPH difference is, like, 3 or 4 off but if you've got a changeup and can get someone like Vlad way out in front for a swing and a miss or induce weak contact, that's not a bad thing.  Plus from what I've seen, G-Rod's changeup has some nice action on it.  I wouldn't have been mad if they decided to use it in that sequence.

Me either but reading the bat, it tells you that Vlad wasn’t catching up to it and he wasn’t squaring it up.

That said, the cutter was an awful call. CU would have been much better in that situation.

[Moose Milligan]

33 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I would like to see him working in some low leverage situations.

They said last night that’s how they wanted to use him at first but it just hasn’t worked out that way with the way the games have been played.

We just don’t have enough really good relievers right now. The possibility exists that this won’t be an issue in a few weeks but right now, it’s a problem. 
 

 

It sucks because Fuji has a prototypical high leverage arm.  But I agree, I don't know how much he's cut out for it (I'd prefer to see him in low leverage situations) and it is a problem that we don't have a bullpen corps that can carry us when necessary.

[baltfan]

If Fuji can be shutdown when you give him clean innings he has plenty of value.  What we are missing in this discussion is why they had to use Fuji.  Everyone else in the pen is awful with guys on too and can't be counted on to throw strikes.  This spot was a Cano spot in the past.  They could have used Columbe.  Springer actually is worse vs. lefties this year to the tune of a .203 batting average.  

[dystopia]

I thought it may have been a good spot for Baumann, honestly, but that could have easily ended badly as well. 

[drjohnnyfever1]

I think the reason we saw Fuji is because of Cano's recent history.  Probably evaluating if Fuji is a reasonable replacement in that setup spot.  Didn't go well last night, but that does happen.  Not often as spectacularly bad as last night, but it does happen.  I'm wondering with Fuji if he was being asked to do something different and it just failed.  It was just bizarre.  Mateo has to make that play, but it didn't matter, ultimately because we just weren't good at the plate last night.  Hopefully this performance refocuses them.

 

[dzorange]

30 minutes ago, drjohnnyfever1 said:

Probably evaluating if Fuji is a reasonable replacement in that setup spot. 

 

Exactly. What's the point of making a speculative add if you don't see what the guy has?

His issue in Baltimore hasn't been his stuff, it's been mental. I forget where I read or heard it, but there was a report that he was nervous to play for Baltimore. Or at least in his first game. There's definitely a role for Fujinami in an Orioles uniform, I just don't have what kind of high leverage situations he can be trusted on in important games. The answer may be none.

Edited August 3, 2023 by dzorange

[Aristotelian]

47 minutes ago, drjohnnyfever1 said:

I think the reason we saw Fuji is because of Cano's recent history.  Probably evaluating if Fuji is a reasonable replacement in that setup spot.  

 

Agreed, I think it helps that we already won the first two of that series. In Hyde's mind it may not have been "must win" game so it was an opportunity to challenge the new guy. When he challenged Fuji in the Rays series we had also already won the first two. 

[clapdiddy]

1 hour ago, dystopia said:

I thought it may have been a good spot for Baumann, honestly, but that could have easily ended badly as well. 

Seems like all the relievers struggle when they enter in the middle of an inning.  

[Roy Firestone]

4 hours ago, baltfan said:

This team could really use a healthy Dillon Tate.  Not sure that will be a thing this year though. 

May not be a thing any year as it looks now...

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, clapdiddy said:

Seems like all the relievers struggle when they enter in the middle of an inning.  

We could find the Frazier of relief pitchers but he'd have an ERA of 8 if he got a clean inning.

[dystopia]

3 minutes ago, clapdiddy said:

Seems like all the relievers struggle when they enter in the middle of an inning.  

Yeah and it’s a big problem. 

[lfallo1]

I dunno enough about the pitching, but his delivery seems jerky with a lot of moving parts.. I wonder if there's something there to adjust.  Either way, it's not great that we've already seen the "really bad" Fuji twice.