My Thoughts on Today’s Game

[RZNJ]

1. Great win.  Again a little luck doesn’t hurt.  The McCann bunt?  Haha 

2. O’Hearn comes up clutch again

3. Fujinami can be a weapon but the confidence is fragile.  He looked like he was unraveling.  The time out strike tonFranco helped us from a total meltdown and helped him back into the inning.   I had a feeling of de ja vu on the play Mateo didn’t make.  I feel like I’ve seen it too many times this year.  Maybe not an error but we need a big time play there.  I honestly feel like Gunnar makes that play and one earlier in the game when, instead of planting and gunning the throw, Mateo prefers the flashier on the the run one bounce throw.

4.  I’m starting to question GRods mental toughness.  He had three pitches working.   Henderson bailed him in the 4th or 5th with the line drive DP after a bad walk.   He’s in the dugout joking and laughing.  I guess it’s good that he was relaxed but it took me aback.  I like all business until your job is done.   He had a low pitch count, all 3 piches working and I believe the bottom of the lineup in the 6th and 5-0 lead.    Lead off walk on a 3-2 changeup?   Really.    A great job to get the two outs with 2nd and 3rd.  A chance to make a statement.   A back door breaking ball on 3-2?    That’s not a swing and miss pitch.  That’s maybe I‘lol catch him looking pitch.  Blow the mf away with your 97 mph fastball.   At least the previous pitch, a slider that bounced was thrown with bad intentions.

5.  Hyde comes up smelling like roses again.  Quick hook on Coulombe.   I get that you want to show confidence in Fujinami but perhaps giving a little more rope to Coulombe would have made more sense.   That is alll.  In the end it’s still a great win.  I just feel like it should have been a 5-2 or 5-3 type of win.  Ho, ho, ho!

[dystopia]

A bad bullpen is always going to make the manager look bad. I thought it was questionable not to have Bautista up in the 8th so he could come in for Arozarena, but at the end of the day, when your bullpen sucks, your options are limited. 

[Uli2001]

4 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

1. Great win.  Again a little luck doesn’t hurt.  The McCann bunt?  Haha 

2. O’Hearn comes up clutch again

3. Fujinami can be a weapon but the confidence is fragile.  He looked like he was unraveling.  The time out strike tonFranco helped us from a total meltdown and helped him back into the inning.   I had a feeling of de ja vu on the play Mateo didn’t make.  I feel like I’ve seen it too many times this year.  Maybe not an error but we need a big time play there.  I honestly feel like Gunnar makes that play and one earlier in the game when, instead of planting and gunning the throw, Mateo prefers the flashier on the the run one bounce throw.

4.  I’m starting to question GRods mental toughness.  He had three pitches working.   Henderson bailed him in the 4th or 5th with the line drive DP after a bad walk.   He’s in the dugout joking and laughing.  I guess it’s good that he was relaxed but it took me aback.  I like all business until your job is done.   He had a low pitch count, all 3 piches working and I believe the bottom of the lineup in the 6th and 5-0 lead.    Lead off walk on a 3-2 changeup?   Really.    A great job to get the two outs with 2nd and 3rd.  A chance to make a statement.   A back door breaking ball on 3-2?    That’s not a swing and miss pitch.  That’s maybe I‘lol catch him looking pitch.  Blow the mf away with your 97 mph fastball.   At least the previous pitch, a slider that bounced was thrown with bad intentions.

5.  Hyde comes up smelling like roses again.  Quick hook on Coulombe.   I get that you want to show confidence in Fujinami but perhaps giving a little more rope to Coulombe would have made more sense.   That is alll.  In the end it’s still a great win.  I just feel like it should have been a 5-2 or 5-3 type of win.  Ho, ho, ho!

#4: nervous laughs, immaturity. He will outgrow it.

[Uli2001]

2 minutes ago, dystopia said:

A bad bullpen is always going to make the manager look bad. I thought it was questionable not to have Bautista up in the 8th so he could come in for Arozarena, but at the end of the day, when your bullpen sucks, your options are limited. 

Bautista should definitely have been up and throwing at the start of the eighth. Has baseball gone crazy, that you can't even warm up a pitcher to protect his arm? I don't think I like this version of the game.

[SteveA]

Let's not overlook the fact that we FINALLY got to McClanahan.   They could pay dividends in September and October.

Remember how Jon Lester completely owned us for about 3 years, dominated us every time.   Then we broke through and had a good game against him, and about the next 6 or 7 times we faced him we pounded him.

Coming into this game, the starting pitching felt like a mismatch in Tampa's favorite.   They were a -190 betting favorite.

If we face them in the ALDS or ALCS, I don't think that a Rodriguez/McClanahan matchup is going to feel hopeless at all.

[RZNJ]

1 minute ago, dystopia said:

A bad bullpen is always going to make the manager look bad. I thought it was questionable not to have Bautista up in the 8th so he could come in for Arozarena, but at the end of the day, when your bullpen sucks, your options are limited. 

I wouldn’t call our bullpen bad.   BTW, Cionel looked very good the last two days.  Cano is no longer dominant but still gets the job done.  Coulombe is solid.  Baumann and Baker are good or bad.   Fujinami could be really, really good IF he can get ahead with his fastball.

[Roy Firestone]

I think Cano is looking more and more hittable...but he does get the outs...if you stay with him...im not sure how good he'll be from here on...needs more rest.

[Malike]

I agree with most of what you said. I'd probably quibble about doubting the mental toughness of GRod because he was laughing in the dugout. Gunnar was laughing a lot in the dugout despite screaming F-Bombs at the top of his lungs when he struck out every night early in the season. GRod is 23, baseball should be fun and as long as he's not smoking and joking on the mound, I'm okay. I don't think there is any evidence that sitting alone in the dugout with a cold silent stare equals mental toughness.

[Moshagge3]

11 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

2. O’Hearn comes up clutch again.

Great at-bat for O'Hearn, but I gotta give it up for Adam Frazier, too. An outside breaking ball that Frazier pokes to LF for a hit. Great leadoff appearance coming off the bench for a team that didn't have a hit since the 4th inning.

[Ven6]

 My take on this game: this is the kind of game that winners win. Blow a 5-0 lead on the road and still pull it out. 
 

How many times in the dark years were we on the other side of a game like this?

[Chavez Ravine]

I actually thought he made a big stride forward today  in the “toughness” category. He didn’t implode like McClanahan did. He can Instagram cat pictures in the dugout for all I care.

[banks703]

I’d like to remind everyone that they’re playing a game as a profession. I have no problem with a 23 year old kid smiling and joking with a 5-0 lead. Baseball is hard and can be intense and humbling but it’s also very fun. I would prefer to watch more games with the O’s dugout smiling and laughing. 

[Moose Milligan]

[Malike]

The worst thing GRod did tonight was say Um 67 times in his post-game interview. Markakis even thought it was too much.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Malike

[banks703]

3 minutes ago, Roy Firestone said:

I think Cano is looking more and more hittable...but he does get the outs...if you stay with him...im not sure how good he'll be from here on...needs more rest.

He looks gassed to me. Arm angle is dropping more and more with the recent outings. They need more help in the pen not only because they need help but because they need to save guys like Felix and Cano. I’d offer that Baker also looks overused. 
 

Hopefully Fuji settles in because they need someone to take some pressure off of the pen or it’s going to collapse on them.