TT: Hyde's bullpen management is going to sink this team unless he changes

[Fiver6565]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Was this a good plan?

Kremer 1-6

Coulumbe 7

Cano 8

Bautista 9

Funny how that happens…

Yes last night really underscored the importance of even a 6 inning start. Makes BP management a lot easier!  And more effective. 

[Fiver6565]

Particularly impressed by Coulombe last night. Not only did he strike out the side, it was all against RH batters thanks to the pinch hitting they did. They looked pretty much helpless against him. 

[Frobby]

19 hours ago, banks703 said:

 

It kind of is... they got exposed by Texas and Cleveland. Don't get me wrong, I am thoroughly enjoying this season's success and I didn't think they were going to win 100+ games this year but I just don't think that they have enough to compete for a playoff spot with the current roster, specifically the pitching and hitting against LH pitching. 

 

Overall they are so much better than last year but the bullpen is already showing signs it may not hold up over 162 games (they're over worked because the starters aren't consistently going deep enough into games) and while the offensive numbers were encouraging in April, they tailed off a lot in May as they ran into some good teams with good pitching and Jorge gave them virtually nothing over the 28 games. Mostly though, I just don't have confidence that management is fully committed to doing what would be required to win this year.

 

They only have to play .500 baseball the rest of the way to finish the year 88-74. That's pretty outstanding considering that they lost 110 games two years back. If they're two games better than that they'll win 90 games, which will probably not be enough to get them into the post-season, which was supposed to be the goal this year...but I don't see them making any moves to further the improvement. 

 

So, on some level the sky is falling @Frobby

They “tailed off” in May to a 16-12 record, which is .571 baseball.  A team that does that all year wins 92-93 games.   But the O’s also have a head start from their April performance.  

I don’t claim to know how the rest of the season will go.   We’ve all seen teams have a hot start and fade, or have a slow start but finish strong.   But I think this team has a very good chance to make the playoffs, based on where they are now and the strengths the team has.  We’ll see.  
 

[Aristotelian]

13 minutes ago, Fiver6565 said:

Yes last night really underscored the importance of even a 6 inning start. Makes BP management a lot easier!  And more effective. 

Plus coming off an off day. Today is where things get interesting. Do you pitch both Cano and FB in a close game? Seems like Cano still isn't as sharp as he started off. Is that from overuse or just normalization? I'm guessing something like Baumann Baker FB today, rest Cano because he needs it plus keeps him available to close if needed Sunday.

[banks703]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Was this a good plan?

Kremer 1-6

Coulumbe 7

Cano 8

Bautista 9

Funny how that happens…

The starters have to go at least six to pace the way for the Bakers, Perezes and Coulumbes of the roster. 
 

After a dreadful start (in which I was critical of him) Kremer has been pretty good. I’ll take the six innings but in order for Dean to take the next step he has to start pitching into the 7th. 

[wildcard]

32 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Plus coming off an off day. Today is where things get interesting. Do you pitch both Cano and FB in a close game? Seems like Cano still isn't as sharp as he started off. Is that from overuse or just normalization? I'm guessing something like Baumann Baker FB today, rest Cano because he needs it plus keeps him available to close if needed Sunday.

I think Hyde manages to win 2 of 3.  If he can get the 3rd that is a bonus.  If they are ahead by 1 to 3 in the late innings tonight I think he uses Cano and Bautista.  If that happens they rest on Sunday.

[Jagwar]

4 hours ago, ChuckS said:

You can never have too many shutdown bullpen arms but Bautista is our closer and he’s been excellent. 

I'm just thinking it would be good to have an additional wipeout reliever to take some of the pressure off of Cano and Bautista because otherwise Hyde is going to make their arms fall off. 

[banks703]

8 minutes ago, Jagwar said:

I'm just thinking it would be good to have an additional wipeout reliever to take some of the pressure off of Cano and Bautista because otherwise Hyde is going to make their arms fall off. 

This for sure. And as I’ve complained in this very thread, I just don’t have confidence that management will part with prospects or even surplus ML talent to acquire reinforcement(s). I think that is in part to the overall success of the pen guys (namely Baumann and Danny) who I think have been excellent in their roles, especially big Mike). It seems at least suggestive that they either think they have enough in the pen already or they just won’t let go of talent in other areas to acquire more ‘proven’ ML talent for the pen. 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

I think Hyde manages to win 2 of 3.  If he can get the 3rd that is a bonus.  If they are ahead by 1 to 3 in the late innings tonight I think he uses Cano and Bautista.  If that happens they rest on Sunday.

I think you are probably right.  Might depend exactly how close the game is.  

[NCRaven]

Will Andrew Miller be available at the deadline?  Who wants to trade Povich for that last piece in the bullpen?

[banks703]

1 minute ago, NCRaven said:

Will Andrew Miller be available at the deadline?  Who wants to trade Povich for that last piece in the bullpen?

I could see a guy like Chapman complimenting the RH power arms in the pen now. Admittedly I have no idea how he is performing at this point but he started off the year pretty strong if I recall. 
 

If he is performing (still) at the deadline, a guy like that would a nightmare with our other guys. 

[banks703]

6 minutes ago, banks703 said:

I could see a guy like Chapman complimenting the RH power arms in the pen now. Admittedly I have no idea how he is performing at this point but he started off the year pretty strong if I recall. 
 

If he is performing (still) at the deadline, a guy like that would a nightmare with our other guys. 

Chapman’s WHIP is a little high right now but he’s K’ing close to 15 per 9 and has allowed only 2 HRs in 21 IP. 
 

I think the challenge with him is motivation but if he’s throwing that well at the deadline he’s going to be a highly sought after arm. I wonder what the O’s could do with him. On paper he would definitely mix in well with FB and YC at the back end. 

[Billy F-Face3]

Considering who we traded away to get Povich last season, does anyone think they would really trade Povich?

[Aristotelian]

3 hours ago, Jagwar said:

I'm just thinking it would be good to have an additional wipeout reliever to take some of the pressure off of Cano and Bautista because otherwise Hyde is going to make their arms fall off. 

Givens was supposed to be that guy but he doesn't look like he's anywhere close to himself. Doesn't look like Baker or Perez are going to step up. Hall could maybe be that guy if he gets his act together.

[Chavez Ravine]

3 hours ago, Jagwar said:

I'm just thinking it would be good to have an additional wipeout reliever to take some of the pressure off of Cano and Bautista because otherwise Hyde is going to make their arms fall off. 

It’s like the proverbial NBA where you need three complementary studs. If you find three outstanding bullpen guys you are halfway there. Unlike the NBA, the bullpen guys don’t need to actually work effectively together.

Edited June 3, 2023 by Chavez Ravine