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Thoughts at the spring training “break”


Frobby

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8 hours ago, wildcard said:

I am a fan of Wells and Baker.   But I have seen both pitch this spring and they do not look like they did last year.   Wells gets two strikes and can't get the batter out.  He throws too many pitches and it wears on him.  Baker's control is just not there right now.

I said the next two week will tell.  Can they pull it together?  

Elias/Hyde/Holt do not want a repeat of last April's 7-14.  The games in April are as important as the ones in Sept.   So if Wells and Baker do not put it together by OD there are alternatives.   And I think the O's brain trust are not afraid to sent guys to AAA to get their act together to begin the season.

Hopefully Wells and Baker pitch better and avoid all this.

Watkins is a starter. With Voth in pen there would be no need for Watkins. Zimmerman and Watkins have no fit in the pen. 
 

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9 hours ago, RZNJ said:

Ha.  I’d hate to be in that clubhouse if Wells, a guy who pitched well as a starter and reliever for two years, was sent down in favor of Bazardo, Gillaspie, or whoever.  Wildcard, you’re in an alternate universe.   Baker and Wells are in.   Wells is a lock.   Baker is a lock but he might have a short leash if the season starts and he’s still struggling.   There’s one spot open.   Here are the candidates.

Hall

Politi

Krehbiel

Vespi

 

Have to agree here. I still think Hall starts at AAA. That said if there is a need he will be up. Already have two LHP in pen, not sure I like odds for Vespi. 
 

Perhaps Politi gets a look. It may not be a long one. Can always react to need later on. 

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My thoughts are the same..why are wasting our time with some of these vet guys when the young players are as good or better and ready to be here.

Im concerned about the bullpen. One of the things that happened last year was guys coming out of nowhere and being really good. The pen had several of those guys. Can they hold up again?

The flip side is the rotation looks better.

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21 hours ago, Frobby said:

On the pitching side, it’s interesting that Zimmermann (12 IP) and Povich (6) have gotten a lot of innings.   Povich has no chance to make the team, but the fact that he’s gotten so much work tells me the O’s must think highly of him.  Rom, by contrast, got 2 innings in the opening game and never pitched again.  Zimmermann is like a bad penny, he keeps showing up every spring.  

The two pitchers who have stood out to me are Bradish and Akin.   Both looked really sharp when I saw them in person.   
 

I do think the Orioles think highly of Poovich, but the amount of innings is more about preparing him for his minor league season as a starter. When his games start in the minor league camp, he'll get reassigned.

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10 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I do think the Orioles think highly of Poovich, but the amount of innings is more about preparing him for his minor league season as a starter. When his games start in the minor league camp, he'll get reassigned.

Povich was reassigned on March 10th.

 

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1 hour ago, eddie83 said:

Not a ton of news in there, but I appreciated the comments/context on Wells.  

Then there's this:

Givens was called for three balks in his first two appearances. A teammate who witnessed the last one, which didn’t appear in the box score, mentioned how the umpires are cracking down.

 

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1 hour ago, Sports Guy said:

My thoughts are the same..why are wasting our time with some of these vet guys when the young players are as good or better and ready to be here.

Im concerned about the bullpen. One of the things that happened last year was guys coming out of nowhere and being really good. The pen had several of those guys. Can they hold up again?

The flip side is the rotation looks better.

You talking about Zimmerman, Voth etc?

 

They are giving starters starts and relievers one inning work. All the starters are on 5 day workloads.  
 

Bullpen is something to keep an eye on. 

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56 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I do think the Orioles think highly of Poovich, but the amount of innings is more about preparing him for his minor league season as a starter. When his games start in the minor league camp, he'll get reassigned.

Also keep in mind Kremer left team. Split squad days necessitate someone has to start. 

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9 minutes ago, btdart20 said:

Not a ton of news in there, but I appreciated the comments/context on Wells.  

Then there's this:

Givens was called for three balks in his first two appearances. A teammate who witnessed the last one, which didn’t appear in the box score, mentioned how the umpires are cracking down.

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10065693-mlb-plans-to-crack-down-on-balks-ahead-of-2023-pitch-clock-debut

Quote

"Already the balk was going to see a significant increase because of the new rules. One of them, which limits a pitcher to two 'disengagements' during an at-bat—either pickoff moves, step-offs or a combination of the two—calls for a balk if a pitcher disengages a third time and does not record an out. MLB's new edicts, which also include limiting defensive shifts and larger bases, will be implemented during spring training games."

Gausman's delivery is problematical under the new guidelines.

https://www.mlb.com/news/kevin-gausman-adjusting-to-mlb-2023-rule-changes

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1 hour ago, eddie83 said:

What is Voth?  Already have that type. Plus Wells.  Redundant. 
Nice to have him at AAA ready for rotation whenever there is a need. 

A current need in the bullpen is greater than a potential need later in the season as a SP. Plus, as you said, we already have Voth and Wells as replacement SP, not to mention Hall. 

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