Elias Mid-Game Interview 5/17

[DirtyBird]

11 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Why?  If he’s an upgrade over whoever he’d be replacing, that only helps us. 

If they felt he is definitely an upgrade, why isn’t he already on the roster?

[Billy F-Face3]

15 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Elias was asked about the draft and essentially said he’s not as involved in directly scouting the guys we might pick in the first round and is leaving it to the scouts, “who have been killing it.”

I think this is probably a function of the fact that we’re no longer picking in the top 5, so there are too many variations on who might be available for Elias to go out in the field and see them all.  And, since it’s a middle-round pick, it’s not quite as critical to the future of the franchise (though certainly you might still find an excellent player there.  But also, it’s a sign that five drafts in, it’s time for Elias to take a step back on things like direct scouting and trust the guys he’s hired and worked with closely the  last four years.  

I believe the expression he used was that he didn't want to "muddy up the waters" by being too involved. That said, he did mention that he still likes to go out and scout potential prospects on occasion because it's one of his passions. But yeah, he wanted to count on his scouts too and not complicate the process.

[sportsfan8703]

12 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

The options for this team really are incredible and they are about to have the #1 prospect for 3 years in a row.

If only they could find some starting pitching…

We have some food arms. We all know we need that stopper/ACE whatever people want to call him. Also, there’s room for Cowser and Westburg to get ABs. Vavra and O’Hearn could go down. Means will be back. Hopefully Givens can be useful, but he doesn’t hurt the Norfolk shuttle of fresh arms. Tate seems like he’s a ways away and has some things to figure out.

I’d really like to call up Cowser and Westburg for the Toronto and Yankees games because we need our best lineup out there. We know we need to our runs up against them. 

[btdart20]

11 hours ago, Brooks The Great said:

I'm still a major believer in Gunnar. I love his plate discipline, which he's always displayed even when he's struggled batting average wise. 

If/when Gunnar gets hot, which I think he will, he'll help carry the offense.

When we have Adley, Gunnar, Cowser, and Westburg in the lineup later this season, we'll really be in business in terms of getting on base and having a great offense.

Me too.  And I think the defense (especially the OF) will be better too.

10 hours ago, Frobby said:

Elias was asked about the draft and essentially said he’s not as involved in directly scouting the guys we might pick in the first round and is leaving it to the scouts, “who have been killing it.”

I think this is probably a function of the fact that we’re no longer picking in the top 5, so there are too many variations on who might be available for Elias to go out in the field and see them all.  And, since it’s a middle-round pick, it’s not quite as critical to the future of the franchise (though certainly you might still find an excellent player there.  But also, it’s a sign that five drafts in, it’s time for Elias to take a step back on things like direct scouting and trust the guys he’s hired and worked with closely the  last four years.  

That makes sense.  Scouting dozens of potential mid-round picks individually is much more cumbersome than a handful of 1.1 potentials.  (I also wouldn't be shocked if there are a 2-4 individuals he wants to see in person too.  Especially if he wants to compare his observations to various scouting write-ups - kind of a management oversight development of the scouts.)

 

Let's go O's!!!

[Tony-OH]

13 hours ago, George Zuverink said:

I loved watching his reactions to Cano’s filth. He was thinking, “I bet many people think I’m brilliant. I know I’m  just a lucky SOB.” After The Mountain’s performance, he doubled down.

Maybe, but I think he was just genuinely enjoying the stare down moment at the end by Cano. It's hard not to smile by what Cano is doing right now. It's pretty incredible.

[George Zuverink]

2 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Maybe, but I think he was just genuinely enjoying the stare down moment at the end by Cano. It's hard not to smile by what Cano is doing right now. It's pretty incredible.

Agreed. I’m sure there was a bit of “I did that” feeling in there.

[Tony-OH]

11 hours ago, Frobby said:

Elias was asked about the draft and essentially said he’s not as involved in directly scouting the guys we might pick in the first round and is leaving it to the scouts, “who have been killing it.”

I think this is probably a function of the fact that we’re no longer picking in the top 5, so there are too many variations on who might be available for Elias to go out in the field and see them all.  And, since it’s a middle-round pick, it’s not quite as critical to the future of the franchise (though certainly you might still find an excellent player there.  But also, it’s a sign that five drafts in, it’s time for Elias to take a step back on things like direct scouting and trust the guys he’s hired and worked with closely the  last four years.  

I think this is a pretty good synopsis but he did say the draft is a passion of his so I expect he will still be there to make the final calls on at least the first few draft picks. I would also imagine he's involved in any draft strategies that involve going under slot to get an overslot later.

[crowmst3k!]

14 hours ago, RVAOsFan said:

Elias spoke for an entire inning about everything going on in the organization.  Couple big take aways I had, feel free to add on.

- really impressed with what Jackson Holiday is doing, performing above expectations 

- Westburg sounds like the next man up, mentioned ability to play 3 spots on the infield and corner outfield (see ya Vavra)

- DL Hall pitching much better this year, going to dial back innings while they focus on building strength in the weight room to ramp up velo

- called out the good start from Basallo and Willems(sp) catchers in A ball

- said Mateo is best defensive SS in the system but Ortiz not far behind him 

Really unfortunate about Vavra.  Dude has a great batting eye, but absolutely no pop.  

[interloper]

1 minute ago, crowmst3k! said:

Really unfortunate about Vavra.  Dude has a great batting eye, but absolutely no pop.  

Meh, we don't know that Vavra is going anywhere. If anything, all signs would point to O'Hearn going down for Cowser, rather than Vavra for Westburg. Toronto series is coming up and they have a nice new LHH-friendly fence. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by interloper

[sportsfan8703]

We’re in a really good spot with the pen. Remember that Perez was filthy last year. He’s starting to show some signs of life but right now he can basically be a middle inning loogy. Baker can flash some nights. Coloumbe has an insane k/BB ratio. Voth and Irvin are innings eaters. We’re rocking and rolling.

The reality is that we need to start thinking about matching up for a playoff run. 
 

We could really shorten the game with a dominant pen the way the Yankees did with Rivera and Wetteland , they way we did with Miller, Brach, O’day and Britton, and what the Royals did as well. 
 

We just need more production from whatever position Santander isn’t playing in RF/DH. Likely Cowser. Then possibly Westburg in the mix as well but Urias is that guy too.

Obviously we need a TOR starter. 

[Hank Scorpio]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

Meh, we don't know that Vavra is going anywhere. If anything, all signs would point to O'Hearn going down for Cowser, rather than Vavra for Westburg. Toronto series is coming up and they have a nice new LHH-friendly fence. 

Who gets DFA'd for Cowser?

[Bemorewins]

6 minutes ago, crowmst3k! said:

Really unfortunate about Vavra.  Dude has a great batting eye, but absolutely no pop.  

And that doesn’t play on this type of team. We already have one of those players in Frazier who is much better than Varva. 

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, Hank Scorpio said:

Who gets DFA'd for Cowser?

There's an open 40-man spot already from Luis Torrens DFA. 

[foxfield]

These are just great times.  We need to appreciate what we are seeing and have a bit of patience.  This team is good and it is deep and it is backed by a system that is literally bursting with talent.  Having the 2nd best record in all of baseball is only partially deflated by still being in second place.  Such is life in the AL East.

It is still early. And the schedule over the next few weeks will give us both a challenge and a chance to get closer to the 54 game 1/3 mark on the season.  But the Orioles have been more than competitive since the day Adley arrived.

I can't wait to get my first look at these guys later this summer.

[Sports Guy]

1 minute ago, foxfield said:

These are just great times.  We need to appreciate what we are seeing and have a bit of patience.  This team is good and it is deep and it is backed by a system that is literally bursting with talent.  Having the 2nd best record in all of baseball is only partially deflated by still being in second place.  Such is life in the AL East.

It is still early. And the schedule over the next few weeks will give us both a challenge and a chance to get closer to the 54 game 1/3 mark on the season.  But the Orioles have been more than competitive since the day Adley arrived.

I can't wait to get my first look at these guys later this summer.

What do we need to be patient about?