Jorge Mateo 2023

[emmett16]

I think the main question here is are we actually allowed to have nice things?  
 

Graphs above show a clear trend of improvement.  

Edited April 17, 2023 by emmett16

[RZNJ]

I don't want to jinx Mateo.   The good sign with him as that while he pulls the homers to LCF and doubles down the line, he continues to get hits to RF.   He still swings at the high fastball almost never see him fishing for the slider out of the zone anymore.   He's just waiting longer to identify the pitch and he still has enough bat speed to catch up to most fastballs and adjust to the breaking pitches.    I agree that he was hot for almost 2 months last year but he looks even better this time.   As I said before, he looks like he put on some good weight this offseason and just looks stronger.   Fingers crossed.

I will say this.  Mateo deserves a ton of credit but this is a gold star for the hitting coaches.   Also, the way Hays his hitting to RF as well this year.   The hitting coaches seem to have a really good grasp of each hitter's strengths and weaknesses.    I saw Matt Borgschulte  interviewed and was impressed.

[AnythingO's]

3 hours ago, RZNJ said:

I don't want to jinx Mateo.   The good sign with him as that while he pulls the homers to LCF and doubles down the line, he continues to get hits to RF.   He still swings at the high fastball almost never see him fishing for the slider out of the zone anymore.   He's just waiting longer to identify the pitch and he still has enough bat speed to catch up to most fastballs and adjust to the breaking pitches.    I agree that he was hot for almost 2 months last year but he looks even better this time.   As I said before, he looks like he put on some good weight this offseason and just looks stronger.   Fingers crossed.

I will say this.  Mateo deserves a ton of credit but this is a gold star for the hitting coaches.   Also, the way Hays his hitting to RF as well this year.   The hitting coaches seem to have a really good grasp of each hitter's strengths and weaknesses.    I saw Matt Borgschulte  interviewed and was impressed.

I absolutely agree with all of this but they also need the player to buy in and commit to the new plan. At age 26 last summer Jorge did and it worked until old habits resumed. Muscle memory is a bitch. He APPEARS to have bought in and worked on this offseason. He wasn't 9 times on the top 100 lists for lack of talent and a key piece in the Sonny Gray deal. Didn't work out for NYY (suck it) lol but may for us. We are overdue for some nice things.

[emmett16]

11 hours ago, RZNJ said:

I don't want to jinx Mateo.   The good sign with him as that while he pulls the homers to LCF and doubles down the line, he continues to get hits to RF.   He still swings at the high fastball almost never see him fishing for the slider out of the zone anymore.   He's just waiting longer to identify the pitch and he still has enough bat speed to catch up to most fastballs and adjust to the breaking pitches.    I agree that he was hot for almost 2 months last year but he looks even better this time.   As I said before, he looks like he put on some good weight this offseason and just looks stronger.   Fingers crossed.

I will say this.  Mateo deserves a ton of credit but this is a gold star for the hitting coaches.   Also, the way Hays his hitting to RF as well this year.   The hitting coaches seem to have a really good grasp of each hitter's strengths and weaknesses.    I saw Matt Borgschulte  interviewed and was impressed.

A friend of mine is a D1 hitting coach.  He also runs a hitting consulting firm whose clients range from D1 athletes to MLB GMs.  He’s done research over the last decade on specific physiology of performance athletes and how different body types can be optimized.  It’s kind of like the opposite of some of the driveline stuff (very broad statement here) of doing things a certain way, one way, and not deviating from that to have success.  Side note - His opinion is driveline & other performance outfits out there are ruining the game as a one size fits all approach. He puts players through an extensive testing regimen to learn specifically how their bodies operate mechanically and how their body type, approach, and training routines can best be optimized.  Are you right or left  eye dominant, are you slightly bow legged, are you slightly pigeon toed, does your body weight fall on inside or outside of your foot, how long are you arms compared to legs and torso.  He runs a long diagnostic system and then provides feedback on things a player should and should not do to reach their peak athletic potential.  The Orioles are one of the teams he has worked with.  Lotta cool new stuff coming out.  With the amount of money in sports more and more research will continue to be pumped into maximizing these organization’s assets.   Long winded reply to say that, I think what we are seeing with this offense is only the tip of the iceberg. 

Edited April 18, 2023 by emmett16

[Ripken]

16 hours ago, banks703 said:

If Jorge puts up a .750 OPS with his defense and speed, he's going to be one of the six or eight best SS in the game. 

And several of the SSs ahead of him are on massive contracts.  He'd likely be the best cost/production SS in the game.

[banks703]

4 minutes ago, Ripken said:

And several of the SSs ahead of him are on massive contracts.  He'd likely be the best cost/production SS in the game.

No doubt. 

 

Wasn't it Cakes who said on TV that if Mateo could hit that the O's couldn't afford him? LOL I fully believe that to be true. 

[CaptDbog]

2 hours ago, banks703 said:

No doubt. 

 

Wasn't it Cakes who said on TV that if Mateo could hit that the O's couldn't afford him? LOL I fully believe that to be true. 

The way JA talks, the O's can't afford anyone. 

[Bemorewins]

31 minutes ago, CaptDbog said:

The way JA talks, the O's can't afford anyone. 

What did we ever do to deserve the terrible reign of the evil Angelo’s empire??

If we thought that the father was awful, it looks like the son is even worse. If that’s possible. I keep holding on to a dying hope that they won’t mess it up this time. But the signs are pointing to an inside-job sabatoge.

Every year I keep telling myself, “I’ll give it one more year”. But here I am again…..

[joelala]

15 hours ago, emmett16 said:

A friend of mine is a D1 hitting coach.  He also runs a hitting consulting firm whose clients range from D1 athletes to MLB GMs.  He’s done research over the last decade on specific physiology of performance athletes and how different body types can be optimized.  It’s kind of like the opposite of some of the driveline stuff (very broad statement here) of doing things a certain way, one way, and not deviating from that to have success.  Side note - His opinion is driveline & other performance outfits out there are ruining the game as a one size fits all approach. He puts players through an extensive testing regimen to learn specifically how their bodies operate mechanically and how their body type, approach, and training routines can best be optimized.  Are you right or left  eye dominant, are you slightly bow legged, are you slightly pigeon toed, does your body weight fall on inside or outside of your foot, how long are you arms compared to legs and torso.  He runs a long diagnostic system and then provides feedback on things a player should and should not do to reach their peak athletic potential.  The Orioles are one of the teams he has worked with.  Lotta cool new stuff coming out.  With the amount of money in sports more and more research will continue to be pumped into maximizing these organization’s assets.   Long winded reply to say that, I think what we are seeing with this offense is only the tip of the iceberg. 

 Very very cool. Mind if I ask what the company is called? I fully agree that a one size fits all approach makes absolutely no sense. 

[CaptDbog]

21 minutes ago, Bemorewins said:

What did we ever do to deserve the terrible reign of the evil Angelo’s empire??

If we thought that the father was awful, it looks like the son is even worse. If that’s possible. I keep holding on to a dying hope that they won’t mess it up this time. But the signs are pointing to an inside-job sabatoge.

Every year I keep telling myself, “I’ll give it one more year”. But here I am again…..

I am at the same point with this franchise.  I hate that I love this team so much. It's depressing knowing that Adley will only be here for 5 more years. It is complete BS that we have to act like we are the Rays.  

[btdart20]

15 hours ago, emmett16 said:

A friend of mine is a D1 hitting coach.  He also runs a hitting consulting firm whose clients range from D1 athletes to MLB GMs.  He’s done research over the last decade on specific physiology of performance athletes and how different body types can be optimized.  It’s kind of like the opposite of some of the driveline stuff (very broad statement here) of doing things a certain way, one way, and not deviating from that to have success.  Side note - His opinion is driveline & other performance outfits out there are ruining the game as a one size fits all approach. He puts players through an extensive testing regimen to learn specifically how their bodies operate mechanically and how their body type, approach, and training routines can best be optimized.  Are you right or left  eye dominant, are you slightly bow legged, are you slightly pigeon toed, does your body weight fall on inside or outside of your foot, how long are you arms compared to legs and torso.  He runs a long diagnostic system and then provides feedback on things a player should and should not do to reach their peak athletic potential.  The Orioles are one of the teams he has worked with.  Lotta cool new stuff coming out.  With the amount of money in sports more and more research will continue to be pumped into maximizing these organization’s assets.   Long winded reply to say that, I think what we are seeing with this offense is only the tip of the iceberg. 

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[Frobby]

1 hour ago, CaptDbog said:

The way JA talks, the O's can't afford anyone. 

To me, this is a distortion of what he said:

“They’re going to do what they can within the system that they’re in,” Angelos said. “Does that mean extensions? Absolutely, I would hope so. But you gotta go with the system you’re in.”

https://fansided.com/2023/03/31/orioles-owner-adley-rutschman-extension/amp/

It’s fine to say those are waffle words and Angelos hasn’t committed to extending anyone.  But he didn’t say we can’t afford to extend anyone or that we won’t.  There are plenty of smaller market teams that have extended players “within the system that we’re in.”

[AnythingO's]

Well John Angelos also said (on 3/31 "And the last thing is, we should be measured by how much we drive all of our profits back into the product on the field. And I think Mike Elias, Brandon Hyde, and this partnership group—of all local people—have done that." Then Forbes came out and showed Operating Income (Profit) of $83M and $67M the last 2 years. I guess he has a different view of driving all the profits back into the product on the field. I can't believe JA isn't getting roasted for that comment after failing to open the books.

[jamalshw]

If he's still producing (obviously not to this level) by June or July, I would think it would make it MUCH easier to trade away someone like Westburg, Ortiz or Norby in a deal for pitching. 

[Too Tall]

To extend any player, it takes both parties to agree. I'm not ready to roast JA yet but I ain't got long to watch either. I'm not going to adjust my blood pressure meds with every interview. What we would like and what may be are two different things. It's like howling at the moon and expecting an eclipse. 

JA has done some things his father never did and wouldn't do. I'm willing to (hopefully) see how the next few years play out. I'd rather spend my energy rooting for wins than worrying about what JA may or may not do. 

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the ride Mateo is on. If it's a short one, many will say - expected. If he can sustain, wow we have developed a special player at very critical position and really have an abundance of riches from which to potentially deal.