Brandon Hyde 2024

[LookitsPuck]

6 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Akin has had fairly even splits in recent years but he was amazing against lefties in his last good year. They want to get him back to that because that is the job they need him to do. You are also overlooking the hitter's splits. Even if you have a lefty with even splits, they may be a better choice vs a hitter with bad splits. I think it is fair to say Akin was a better choice than Baker who also sucks, had already thrown 24p and allowed 3 baserunners, and is right handed. Akin is not an elite LOOGY, but he also isn't a Coulombe type who can get anyone out (as we saw against Garver in the very next AB). The bottom line is both Akin and Baker suck and Hyde did not have a lot of options after winning two close games.

If that’s the case, Akin was brought in to face JP Crawford who has reverse splits and has crushed lefties this year to the tune of a 284 average and a near 800 OPS while vs righties he’s hitting 174 with an OPS under 600.

It seems Hyde falls in love with lefty/righty matchups and going with his gut when the data doesn’t show that being the case.

So many things against Akin tonight:

• Runners on 
• Top of the lineup with a hitter with reverse splits
• Tie game

All of those show that Akin wasn’t a great choice.

And, yeah, I get it. His choices are limited. But I’ve seen enough about Akin over the years to know that he isn’t good in high leverage situations (the numbers show that) and with runners on. 

The O’s need bullpen help.

 

 

[Aristotelian]

3 minutes ago, LookitsPuck said:

If that’s the case, Akin was brought in to face JP Crawford who has reverse splits and has crushed lefties this year to the tune of a 284 average and a near 800 OPS while vs righties he’s hitting 174 with an OPS under 600.

It seems Hyde falls in love with lefty/righty matchups and going with his gut when the data doesn’t show that being the case.

So many things against Akin tonight:

• Runners on 
• Top of the lineup with a hitter with reverse splits
• Tie game

All of those show that Akin wasn’t a great choice.

And, yeah, I get it. His choices are limited. But I’ve seen enough about Akin over the years to know that he isn’t good in high leverage situations (the numbers show that) and with runners on. 

The O’s need bullpen help.

 

 

Crawford has traditional career splits. I fully agree Akin sucks. I was on an island wanting to option him to keep Baumann. Where I disagree is the idea that Baker was a better option. He sucks too and he is right handed.

[Moose Milligan]

I thought Baker had a better chance of getting a strikeout. Even though he created that mess it looked like he could have worked out of it. 

Generally not in favor of bringing in guys for bases loaded situations unless they’re absolute nails and have an extremely high K rate. 

Akin’s K rate is higher this year but I still don’t believe he was the better option than Baker. 

[OnlyOneOriole]

6 hours ago, VanceWilder said:

Dude, I've played, coached, watched, analyzed baseball all my life and have been an Orioles fan since around 1970. My opinion is that Baker and Akin should not be used in high-leverage situations, period. Elias is brilliant but the lack of optionable relievers was not addressed in the offseason and this was a bit predictable (see Mike Baumann DFA). Don't imply I can't have a useful opinion based on my number of posts. There are plenty of useless posts on here so if you want me to build up my "posting count" to give credibility, well, keep waiting.

You will get used to that around here.  The people saying you can't say anything about the Os unless you have played baseball for 20 years or been an Os fan for 50 years.  

Bottom line is Baker, as mediocre as he is, was actually throwing the ball pretty well.  His pitches has spin and velocity and he had just struck out his last batter.

To take him out for a complete and utter scrub?  And I say scrub in the best way possible?  Was ridiculous.

Hyde was playing text book/by the book baseball instead of actually MANAGING BASEBALL by instinct and feels.

And he got burned for it.  And it has not been the first time. 

[OnlyOneOriole]

6 hours ago, OHearn4Prez said:

No one is blaming Hyde for playing the guys he is given, he is just terrible with when to bring in guys vs when to leave guys in. Is Burnes not our ace? He just had a 10 pitch inning and was at 93 pitches. When trying to save your bullpen, could he have not gone out and tried to get another clean inning? Heaven forbid our ace get to 100 pitches.

Then you have his insistence on playing lefty/lefty, righty/righty match ups and he ignores the actual numbers. Akin isn’t great against lefties and Crawford is better against lefties. Baker just K’d 2, he was better off leaving him in. 

Agree.

[OnlyOneOriole]

5 hours ago, LookitsPuck said:

Now do with runners on. It’s the combination of the two: Akin awful with runners on, righties hitting worse even if lefties are hitting 200.

The place for Akin is in a new inning or if the O’s are getting blown out or are blowing out somebody else. He’s not a leverage guy.

If they had 5 relief arms, Akin is literally the last with runners on. He’s that bad. Tate hasn’t been good this year with runners on, too, but career he’s been great.

Webb is great against lefties. Solid with runners on.

To me none of that matters.

Baker was throwing the ball well.  Had spin and velocity.  Go with that.

Again, goes to show how many managers don't go by feel anymore and instead just go by what the book says.

Edited Friday at 05:37 by OnlyOneOriole

[phxosfan]

6 hours ago, VanceWilder said:

Dude, I've played, coached, watched, analyzed baseball all my life and have been an Orioles fan since around 1970. My opinion is that Baker and Akin should not be used in high-leverage situations, period. Elias is brilliant but the lack of optionable relievers was not addressed in the offseason and this was a bit predictable (see Mike Baumann DFA). Don't imply I can't have a useful opinion based on my number of posts. There are plenty of useless posts on here so if you want me to build up my "posting count" to give credibility, well, keep waiting.

Well said! Like you, I go back to about 1970 and the # of posts someone has is irrelevant to me. The fact that so many on here think there you know what don't stink keeps me, and I'm sure others from joining in more. I know what I know about this team and I don't feel the need to prove myself. And btw the closest that I've ever lived to Baltimore is the very most western part of Illinois.

[eddie83]

8 hours ago, LookitsPuck said:

Inherited runners scored (not counting today), Keegan Akin is the 12th worst in all of the AL. In 36 games, he’s allowed 21 inherited runners to score. That is abysmal. And now it’ll be 24 in 37 games. That’ll bump him to 9th worst.

Cano hasn’t been great, either. He’s allowed 27 in 41 games.

This is wrong. Going into yesterday he inherited 21 runners and 5 scored. Now it’s 24/8. 
 

You are looking at the number of inherited runners as a negative. 

[DrungoHazewood]

7 hours ago, LookitsPuck said:

If that’s the case, Akin was brought in to face JP Crawford who has reverse splits and has crushed lefties this year to the tune of a 284 average and a near 800 OPS while vs righties he’s hitting 174 with an OPS under 600.

In his career Crawford hits righties better to the tune 70 points of OPS (737 to 667). That's the better metric to use than extremely noisy one-year splits.

Crawford is not a reverse-platoon hitter, those essentially don't exist. He's a normal hitter with SSS data this year.

[DrungoHazewood]

5 hours ago, OnlyOneOriole said:

To me none of that matters.

Baker was throwing the ball well.  Had spin and velocity.  Go with that.

Again, goes to show how many managers don't go by feel anymore and instead just go by what the book says.

Thank God. Who wants a manager who gets an itch on his is nose or some advice from a fortune cookie and uses that to make decisions instead of real, hard information?

[Aristotelian]

 

5 hours ago, OnlyOneOriole said:

To me none of that matters.

Baker was throwing the ball well.  Had spin and velocity.  Go with that.

Again, goes to show how many managers don't go by feel anymore and instead just go by what the book says.

Hyde determines bullpen matchups prior to the game. He does not use subjective eye tests in the moment. It's a good system that did not work in this case.

No eye test can convince me that Baker is a better option than anyone, ever. He is a replacement level pitcher, at best.

[glenn__davis]

Baker has come up small time and time again.  I'd rather he not be on the team, but he is, so at some point Hyde has to use him.  When you play a lot of close games you eventually have to pitch guys you'd rather not pitch in tight spots.

[glenn__davis]

7 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

 

Hyde determines bullpen matchups prior to the game. He does not use subjective eye tests in the moment. It's a good system that did not work in this case.

No eye test can convince me that Baker is a better option than anyone, ever. He is a replacement level pitcher, at best.

Yep - now given up runs in 4 of the past 5.  ERA of 5.91.  Don't worry his FIPs a lot better though, 4.94.

But for some reason Elias just can't quit this guy.

[RZNJ]

3 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

 

Hyde determines bullpen matchups prior to the game. He does not use subjective eye tests in the moment. It's a good system that did not work in this case.

No eye test can convince me that Baker is a better option than anyone, ever. He is a replacement level pitcher, at best.

I think Hyde makes some bullpen decisions based on feel and gut.   There’s nothing wrong with using the book and your eye test.  First, neither Baker or Akin was a good option so I’m not going to kill him over it and plenty of times I’m wrong and he’s right when I second guess him before the results are in.

Having said that, I preferred the pitcher who was warmed up, in the game, just striking a hitter out to Akin, who has spit the bit to LH hitters before and is coming in cold.  Plus, I believe other posters have mentioned “hard facts” such as Crawford’s splits, Akins’ splits, and Akins numbers in these types of situations.

[Aristotelian]

5 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

I think Hyde makes some bullpen decisions based on feel and gut.   There’s nothing wrong with using the book and your eye test.  First, neither Baker or Akin was a good option so I’m not going to kill him over it and plenty of times I’m wrong and he’s right when I second guess him before the results are in.

Having said that, I preferred the pitcher who was warmed up, in the game, just striking a hitter out to Akin, who has spit the bit to LH hitters before and is coming in cold.  Plus, I believe other posters have mentioned “hard facts” such as Crawford’s splits, Akins’ splits, and Akins numbers in these types of situations.

Both Crawford and Akin have traditional splits if you look out farther than this year. Sure, Akin has crap numbers in similar situations but Baker has crap numbers, period. In AAA.