36 pitchers are due to report to O's ST today

[Frobby]

4 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

In his defense, the traffic down there really, really sucks during this time of year. Now, Sarasota weather in February and March is pretty much perfect besides some rain showers, and yes, I used to love going down there during this time, but man travel anywhere near Tampa and Sarasota just absolutely sucks.  

Just curious, Tony.   Which is the tougher gig, 6 weeks in Sarasota or six months in Afghanistan?  

[NCRaven]

9 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Just curious, Tony.   Which is the tougher gig, 6 weeks in Sarasota or six months in Afghanistan?  

It's hot in Afghanistan, but at least it's a dry heat.

[Can_of_corn]

13 minutes ago, NCRaven said:

It's hot in Afghanistan, but at least it's a dry heat.

It also gets cold in Afghanistan and a dry cold sucks.

[interloper]

7 hours ago, Frobby said:

It really is annoying.   Every year he has to give this shpiel.   We don’t care how hard you think you work, Roch!   Just go get some quotes.

Every single year, it's the same blog post. 

"BuT thE dRiVE to dUnEdIN!!!"

God damn, dude. I'm not saying it's an easy gig down there because it's clearly not, but maybe take a year off complaining about it. A whole blog post being PREEMPTIVELY defensive about anyone WHO MAY AT SOME POINT call it a vacation. 

Meanwhile, chill reporters like Andy Kostka have stuff like this, which is lovely. Lol.

 

[Can_of_corn]

If Roch had an ounce of honest wit to him he'd copy/paste the same article every year.

[OriolesMagic83]

9 hours ago, jamalshw said:

Not that it matters, but I thought the report date was tomorrow, not today. 

I saw report day is today, 1st workout is tomorrow.

[OriolesMagic83]

6 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

In his defense, the traffic down there really, really sucks during this time of year. Now, Sarasota weather in February and March is pretty much perfect besides some rain showers, and yes, I used to love going down there during this time, but man travel anywhere near Tampa and Sarasota just absolutely sucks.  

Besides, I'm sure he's burnt out a bit after so many years of the same gig. Trust me, once the shine wears off, it's just work. Basically he's down there to collect the same old quotes from the same old manager, coaches and players that really don't mean much outside of injuries or truly fantastic or terrible performance. 

 

Is it the traffic or the Florida drivers.

[Can_of_corn]

14 minutes ago, OriolesMagic83 said:

Is it the traffic or the Florida drivers.

Yes.

And the construction.  Any piece of road construction takes forever down here.

[Just Regular]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

If Roch had an ounce of honest wit to him he'd copy/paste the same article every year.

I do feel like the Roch Kubatko portfolio would be one of the easiest for ChatGPT to emulate.

[Tony-OH]

6 hours ago, Frobby said:

Just curious, Tony.   Which is the tougher gig, 6 weeks in Sarasota or six months in Afghanistan?  

lol. I try to keep everything in perspective. The only time it irks me is when I hear a professional athlete making 10s of million of dollars talking about how hard it is to be away from his family during his season. 

 

[Il BuonO]

9 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

I think Akin's 2nd half being bad is a little bit overblown. Yes, he had a 4.53 ERA in the 2nd half, but he had a 2.89 FIP and his ERA was inflated by a few bad outings. I don't see any way besides getting hurt or completely imploding this spring with a drop off of stuff that Akin would not make the team in his same role. Now Wells or Voth could also be out there in an extended role.

Good points, but I’m more concerned with his pitch sequencing and his execution. I had held out hope at one time that he’d get another shot at the rotation, but I really do think he is better suited to the bullpen. 

I don’t know if you think his FB is a bit underrated as I do, but when he works at the top of the zone and locates it’s a tough pitch to handle. He should focus on that especially in shorter outings and incorporate his CH less. The fastball and his slider is a solid combination. 

To me though, the raw stuff off Hall is on another level. 

[Bmorebirds24]

3 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

lol. I try to keep everything in perspective. The only time it irks me is when I hear a professional athlete making 10s of million of dollars talking about how hard it is to be away from his family during his season. 

 

Players do this?

[Can_of_corn]

3 hours ago, Bmorebirds24 said:

Players do this?

Jones when he blocked the trade.

[LookinUp]

18 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

I know Baker has better stuff, but why are we just assuming that Baker beats out Khriebel?  

I think there's a feeling that Baker turned a corner toward the end of last season. With his plus arm, there's some drooling over what he could be in the bullpen. 

[Tony-OH]

10 hours ago, Il BuonO said:

Good points, but I’m more concerned with his pitch sequencing and his execution. I had held out hope at one time that he’d get another shot at the rotation, but I really do think he is better suited to the bullpen. 

I don’t know if you think his FB is a bit underrated as I do, but when he works at the top of the zone and locates it’s a tough pitch to handle. He should focus on that especially in shorter outings and incorporate his CH less. The fastball and his slider is a solid combination. 

To me though, the raw stuff off Hall is on another level. 

There is no doubt Hall is on whole 'nother level!

I like Akin in the role he's in and I don't see any reason he can't continue to be successful. His fastball up in the zone is big part of his success. He gets a 27% WHIF rate on his fastball which is the among the best on the team last year.

His change works pretty decently against right-handers but his slider was also decently effective against them. The slider is a real weapon against lefties.