Jorge Lopez is Back

[Ven6]

25 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I think we all know that Elias didn’t acquire Lopez to improve team chemistry.  We also can be pretty sure, based on his prior tenure here, that Lopez won’t hurt the team chemistry.   He was widely regarded as a good guy.  

We acquired Lopez because we think he’s underperformed this year and we are hoping to restore him to something resembling the pitcher he was when we traded him away last year, using the coaches and analytic techniques that helped him previously.  It’s about that simple.  

Watching him last night, his velocity seemed down a couple of ticks and his command kind of came and went.  Hopefully we can get him on track; and if not, hopefully we’ll use him in a way that doesn’t cost us any games.  

 

Ah, there it is. The Voice of Reason. And who’s surprised it comes from @Frobby?

[BRobinsonfan]

3 hours ago, Orioles Jim said:

I’m only reading what he says and taking him at his word. If you wanna bury your head in the sand and be a sort of reverse OldFan and think you’re somehow more attuned to what Elias is doing than his own public comments, that’s your prerogative.

Ouch!  The OldFan jab hurts!    Well played! 

[Natty]

Is anyone shocked or surprised that Lopez pitched better than Cano yesterday? 

[dystopia]

9 minutes ago, Natty said:

Is anyone shocked or surprised that Lopez pitched better than Cano yesterday? 

Not that surprising. Anything can happen in a sample size that small. 

[Natty]

I was hoping our coaches could look at Lopez and straighten him out. 

So far so good.

[e16bball]

56 minutes ago, Natty said:

Is anyone shocked or surprised that Lopez pitched better than Cano yesterday? 

Did he?

Cano threw a terrible change-up to Walker (after getting two whiffs on the same pitch, better executed, earlier in the at-bat), but otherwise induced weak contact on 3 pretty routine groundouts against pretty good hitters. 

Meanwhile, every ball put into play against Lopez was scalded (97.1 EV was the lowest).

I think we would all agree, based on his performance so far this season, that a shutout debut inning is a huge win for Jorge Lopez. But I’d be very hesitant in treating it as though he instantly found something — they were still pretty much teeing off on him.

[dystopia]

Lopez shouldn't be given any high leverage situations right now. Give the Orioles' pitching coaches time to work with him first. I don't know why Hyde insists on throwing reclamation projects into the fire right away. 

[Emory Eagle]

Needed to bury that curve, but left it up just a tad too much.  Does he still have years of control left if he remains on the roster to the end of the season?

[Brian88]

16 minutes ago, dystopia said:

Lopez shouldn't be given any high leverage situations right now. Give the Orioles' pitching coaches time to work with him first. I don't know why Hyde insists on throwing reclamation projects into the fire right away. 

Well you can’t really hide anyone in the pen when you use 7 relievers in a game. 

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, dystopia said:

Lopez shouldn't be given any high leverage situations right now. Give the Orioles' pitching coaches time to work with him first. I don't know why Hyde insists on throwing reclamation projects into the fire right away. 

What choice did he have?  We used all 7 available pitchers last night.  

[LookinUp]

2 hours ago, dystopia said:

Lopez shouldn't be given any high leverage situations right now. Give the Orioles' pitching coaches time to work with him first. I don't know why Hyde insists on throwing reclamation projects into the fire right away. 

He should have a very short leash. I think there's a fair chance we put him into waivers assuming he will not be claimed by competitors, put him in AAA and hope we can fix him by next year.

I say he has max 2 weeks before he shows out or is sent out.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

2 hours ago, Brian88 said:

Well you can’t really hide anyone in the pen when you use 7 relievers in a game. 

Plus there was no way Cano was going to be used a third day in a row. The good thing is Cano should be available tonight and tomorrow is an off day.

Would help if Gibson can rebound with a quality start tonight so Hyde doesn't have to cycle through the whole bullpen again.

[dystopia]

8 minutes ago, Frobby said:

What choice did he have?  We used all 7 available pitchers last night.  

Fair, though maybe if he used more reliable relievers it wouldn't have gone to extras. Seems Jorge wasn't the only one off his game last night though.

[Frobby]

10 minutes ago, dystopia said:

Fair, though maybe if he used more reliable relievers it wouldn't have gone to extras. Seems Jorge wasn't the only one off his game last night though.

Yeah, not the best night for our pen.  Glad we persevered.  

[Brooks The Great]

1 hour ago, dystopia said:

Fair, though maybe if he used more reliable relievers it wouldn't have gone to extras. Seems Jorge wasn't the only one off his game last night though.

Webb should have been used in the spot that Hyde went to Lopez. Doing so may have prevented the game from going into extras, although of course it's not certain. I think it was a really poor move to use Lopez in a high leverage situation, and I question Elias bringing Lopez back at all if it's going to put Hyde in situations like last night.

This is a playoff run. Bringing Lopez back as a reclamation project would have made sense in 2021, but not this season.