Opinions that didn't age well: 2023

[Jammer7]

2 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Ehhh..maybe.  Muscle memory could be kicking in. Is that mental or physical?  Kind of both I think.

There is also just maybe not seeing that pitch recognition.  Again, mental or physical? 
 

He’s just not a very good baseball player no matter how much you want it to be true. He does certain things well and he has value in certain ways but overall, he’s just not good.

You are right. At this point, he is what he is. I was just saying that his physical attributes are as good as any middle infielder I have ever seen. Coaches hate to give up on players with that ability. 

Those are mental things. They are decisions. Muscles do not have a “memory,” despite what people say. It is a learned behavior, over thousands of reps. It can be learned over, new responses to stimuli can be created. It just takes work, a lot of work.

I am ready for what is next. Mateo is just a role player, not because of his talent, but likely because of his work ethic and coachability. We have other talented options, and it’s time to move on. Too bad, but that’s reality. 

[RZNJ]

Last April, Jorge Mateo was one of the best players in baseball.  He hit for power, stole 10/11 and controlled the strike zone (6 walks/12 strikeouts in 82 PA).   He had the stretch in 2022 where he resembled a plus player.   There is a ton of talent there and the Orioles must feel he’s worth keeping around.  I’m not defending him.  Besides those hot streaks he’s been one of the worst hitters in baseball and his defense slipped, noticeably, last year.

It’s hard to fathom.  He hit 13 homers in 22 and looked stronger last April but from May onward he couldn’t reach the fences anywhere.   I thought about injury or steroids trying to make sense of it.  It’s a mystery to me.

[Jammer7]

20 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Last April, Jorge Mateo was one of the best players in baseball.  He hit for power, stole 10/11 and controlled the strike zone (6 walks/12 strikeouts in 82 PA).   He had the stretch in 2022 where he resembled a plus player.   There is a ton of talent there and the Orioles must feel he’s worth keeping around.  I’m not defending him.  Besides those hot streaks he’s been one of the worst hitters in baseball and his defense slipped, noticeably, last year.

It’s hard to fathom.  He hit 13 homers in 22 and looked stronger last April but from May onward he couldn’t reach the fences anywhere.   I thought about injury or steroids trying to make sense of it.  It’s a mystery to me.

Yes, a mystery indeed. In ‘22, they opened his stance, probably in an effort to get his lower involved better and in sync with his upper half. Mateo, at his best, has good posture, stays inside the ball and does not swing at pitches he cannot hit well. His hand path is good, and his hands do not drift. Of course, when he is bad, none of those things are true. Nuance seems to be something that escapes Jorge, at least when he has a bat in his hands.

In ‘22, he had a freak injury, In Milwaukee, maybe? He ran into a fielder along the 1B line, IIRC. He had been on a hot streak, and driving the ball well. I think it was a neck injury, my old man brain not really working yet this morning. He immediately went into a slump, but continued to play through the injury after a day or two off.

He is quite the conundrum. Ah well. 

[RZNJ]

 

[Jammer7]

1 hour ago, RZNJ said:

 

I thought you were gonna quit watching highlights?

The ball can really jump off the bat when he is in rhythm and gets extension through the ball. 

[spiritof66]

20 hours ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Same. I also thought Mateo could hit enough to remain a useful piece. Outside of Mateo’s April he might have been the worst hitter in MLB. 

I was close to certain that Mateo would become an effective hitter, slapping ground balls for singles and occasionally driving the ball to that spacious left field for doubles and triples -- an ideal #9 batter who would open up the right side for (and induce fastballs  to) Mullins and occasionally bat lead-off against LHers -- and would be a Gold Glove contender at SS. My concern was with how his improvement might complicate the SS situation over the next couple of years..

[InsideCoroner]

Personally, I was sold on Mateo after mlb.tv did the breakdown on his surge in April and the “toe tap” they credited for his success. He might have just run into a bunch of fastballs or guessed lucky for a month, I don’t know. 

I thought Mountcastle was toast before hearing the vertigo diagnosis (and even then was skeptical). And I fully expected MLB to hammer Cano after that amazing first half, but he kept opponents below a .700 OPS after July. He wasn’t Bautista, but he was still dependable. 

[MCO'sFan]

On 12/30/2023 at 8:52 AM, spleen1015 said:

I thought the team as a whole would regress from '22. I didn't think they improved much over the offseason and thought for sure they would end up under .500. I was about 25-30 games off.

This was me also. I was certain that there would be regression. Glad I was wrong.

[interloper]

On 12/31/2023 at 9:54 AM, RZNJ said:

 

I don't understand why he can't be just SLIGHTLY more consistent. Such a bizarre player. Surely if you can be as hot as he was at times at the ML level, you have the ability to even just put up below league average offense, rather than WAY below league average offense. Seems like he works really hard, too, according to the hitting coaches. 

[forphase1]

9 hours ago, interloper said:

Seems like he works really hard, too, according to the hitting coaches. 

Maybe.   But when is the last time you heard a coach say this guy is lazy or doesn't work hard?  Sure MAYBE after a guy is out of an organization or something, otherwise everyone works hard and tries their best and are always the first to the ball park and the last to leave.   

Just have to take things said by the staff with a huge grain of salt,  especially positive things about the struggling players.   It's always fluff about working hard and veteran presence and chemistry because what else can they say?  Yeah this guy is a boat anchor for the team right now and isn't doing the things needed to improve?  Or he just sucks,  has little talent and should be thankful to just be drawing an MLB paycheck?

[Can_of_corn]

10 hours ago, interloper said:

I don't understand why he can't be just SLIGHTLY more consistent. Such a bizarre player. Surely if you can be as hot as he was at times at the ML level, you have the ability to even just put up below league average offense, rather than WAY below league average offense. Seems like he works really hard, too, according to the hitting coaches. 

What are you talking about?

Last year from June- August his OPS spread was only 124 points.   That's a pretty tight spread.

[sportsfan8703]

Pat Connaughton will never make it in the NBA…

that dude is still knocking down 3’s. 

[Gurgi]

On 1/2/2024 at 9:51 PM, forphase1 said:

Maybe.   But when is the last time you heard a coach say this guy is lazy or doesn't work hard?  Sure MAYBE after a guy is out of an organization or something, otherwise everyone works hard and tries their best and are always the first to the ball park and the last to leave.   

Just have to take things said by the staff with a huge grain of salt,  especially positive things about the struggling players.   It's always fluff about working hard and veteran presence and chemistry because what else can they say?  Yeah this guy is a boat anchor for the team right now and isn't doing the things needed to improve?  Or he just sucks,  has little talent and should be thankful to just be drawing an MLB paycheck?

Things kind of used to be like that.  I remember reporters airing out more grief on the players.  I remember a relentless drumbeat about Eddie Murray not working out in the offseason.  I think Stan the Fan was on of the biggest Anti Eddie clowns.   But honestly it has been so many years I am not certain I remember things correctly anymore.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

“The Rangers hot start to the season is just a fluke, they won’t even make the playoffs.”

[Just Regular]

10 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Pat Connaughton will never make it in the NBA…

that dude is still knocking down 3’s. 

He's only 31 - maybe the arm will be fresh when the legs go.

We ended up doing okay his draft class with John Means and Tanner Scott.