Jackson Holliday spring training watch

[Just Regular]

2 hours ago, baltfan said:

Don’t get too giddy.  He struck out on three straight breaking pitches from the same lefty in his next at-bat.  

Toronto's Sigbot being systematic - here is how Holliday responds to Kikuchi fastballs, here is how Holliday responds to Kikuchi breaking balls.

I do believe in these throwaway practice games information is simply being gathered by established MLB veterans like Kikuchi.

[bobmc]

13 hours ago, NashLumber said:

In 2001 in Cal's last ever game at Fenway, I was waiting next to the dugout and he stayed a good while and signed for fans after the game. As I recall, I was wearing my O's windbreaker, thought that I was pretty visible as a fan, and was ready to hand him my ball when he stopped. It was foul ball he hit my way the year before that I saved. He stopped signing literally right before me. I figured that since I was a grown man of almost 40 at the time, he assumed I was a card dealer. Oh well. 

On the drive home, we stopped at the State Theater in Fairfax VA to see a Ray Davies solo performance and I reached in my jacket for the same ball to see if Ray would sign after the show, and doggone it, he stopped right before me. 

So my assumption from that weekend onward is that folks like bartenders, etc,. whose attention I'm trying to get, is that I'm The Invisible Man. 

Love the Ray Davies affirmation!  Know the venue and love me some Kinks.  Great memories.

[NashLumber]

11 minutes ago, bobmc said:

Love the Ray Davies affirmation!  Know the venue and love me some Kinks.  Great memories.

It was a 10 day baseball trip. We saw Cal's last game in Fenway, Yankee Stadium, Camden Yards, plus stops to see games in Philly and Pittsburgh. In between, we went to that Ray Davies concert and the Martin Guitar Factory. I want to say on that trip, we started it with a Camden Yards game where we saw Cal's last career HR, too, but I don't know if I am conflating that with another trip. I just know it was late in the season. 

Edited March 11 by NashLumber

[RZNJ]

Going into this spring the two knocks on Holliday were that he hit too many ground balls and that the power might come later.  So far this spring, 5 of his 8 hits are for extra bases and, it seems, that most of his batted balls are in the year.

So instead of the patient version serving a lot of balls to LF, I see a max effort swing looking to pull in the air.  The kid is talented and knows how to make adjustments which is why the high strikeouts and mostly futility against LHP doesn’t concern me too much.  As is, he’s a dangerous hitter if the pitcher makes a mistake but he should evolve into much more than that as he gains experience.

[Sports Guy]

 

[forphase1]

Man I hope he makes it.   This place will burn to the ground if/ when he's sent to AAA.

[foxfield]

2 minutes ago, forphase1 said:

Man I hope he makes it.   This place will burn to the ground if/ when he's sent to AAA.

If he is healthy he is not going back to AAA. 

[forphase1]

6 minutes ago, foxfield said:

If he is healthy he is not going back to AAA. 

I hope so.   I'm still skeptical.  Until the rosters are finalized I'm expecting him to spend some time in AAA to start the season for service time reasons.   He's ready, as is Mayo IMO, but right or wrong there are considerations beyond being ready that are going to factor in.  I want an OD lineup with Holliday at 2nd and Mayo at 3rd, but I expect to see Westburg and Urias instead on OD.

[interloper]

1 minute ago, forphase1 said:

I hope so.   I'm still skeptical.  Until the rosters are finalized I'm expecting him to spend some time in AAA to start the season for service time reasons.   He's ready, as is Mayo IMO, but right or wrong there are considerations beyond being ready that are going to factor in.  I want an OD lineup with Holliday at 2nd and Mayo at 3rd, but I expect to see Westburg and Urias instead on OD.

His competition - Maton and Wong - both look terrible, so that helps. Holliday has no real competition, honestly. Norby isn't getting much playing time, so he's not a threat either. 

Edited March 12 by interloper

[Sports Guy]

22 minutes ago, forphase1 said:

Man I hope he makes it.   This place will burn to the ground if/ when he's sent to AAA.

Not according to the poll I made last week. 70% were ok with sending him down.

[Three Run Homer]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

His competition - Maton and Wong - both look terrible, so that helps. Holliday has no real competition, honestly. Norby isn't getting much playing time, so he's not a threat either. 

Isn't his real competition Urias starting at 3B and Westburg playing 2B?  

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, Three Run Homer said:

Isn't his real competition Urias starting at 3B and Westburg playing 2B?  

Maybe, but that's not the way I see it at the moment. Westburg starts at 3B, Urias is on the bench. 

[Hank Scorpio]

23 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Not according to the poll I made last week. 70% were ok with sending him down.

People are fickle 

[ShoelesJoe]

Two months ago I was sure Holliday would make the opening day roster, but after some back and forths in my brain I think they'll start him at AAA. First off, I have the feeling it's either him or Mayo on the team to start the season (not both), and even though Jackson may have more value in the long run I think Coby has the leg up in earning the promotion right now given what he did at AAA last year and has done in Sarasota this spring. Second, it looks like we'll be seeing a lot of LH pitching this season, and while Holliday hasn't been a slouch vs southpaws I just think Mayo will prove to be more of an impact bat against them. And third, our schedule is soft to begin the season and I expect the team to get off to a fast start. Promoting Holliday at a point when the games start to get tougher (say the third week of April) would provide an emotional boost to the team when we're likely to need it. 

[maybenxtyr]

46 minutes ago, ShoelesJoe said:

Two months ago I was sure Holliday would make the opening day roster, but after some back and forths in my brain I think they'll start him at AAA. First off, I have the feeling it's either him or Mayo on the team to start the season (not both), and even though Jackson may have more value in the long run I think Coby has the leg up in earning the promotion right now given what he did at AAA last year and has done in Sarasota this spring. Second, it looks like we'll be seeing a lot of LH pitching this season, and while Holliday hasn't been a slouch vs southpaws I just think Mayo will prove to be more of an impact bat against them. And third, our schedule is soft to begin the season and I expect the team to get off to a fast start. Promoting Holliday at a point when the games start to get tougher (say the third week of April) would provide an emotional boost to the team when we're likely to need it. 

They could potentially lose the year of control like that, and not receive any draft comp if they call him up that soon. He either starts the year in Baltimore or stays down until summer is in full swing.