One thing I'd like to see the O's do more: Steal

[interloper]

STEAL DANG IT.

Good lord y'all. I was yelling at the TV last night at the weird lack of aggression at times.

-Mullins worked a leadoff walk in the 7th and just stayed there as we hit into a DP. 

-Holliday reaches on an error to lead off the 8th and stayed there (granted it was a lefty on the mound), and we nearly hit into an inning ending DP if not for the safe call at 2B.

-Mullins walks with 1 out in the 9th against Jansen who can't hold runners at all, and he never moved. He reached 2B on the walk to Westburg with 2 outs, but Mullins absolutely could have swiped both 2B and 3B in that inning against Jansen. 

I'm not sure what the hesitancy was about, especially on the road. Just let it rip out there boys. 

Edited April 12 by interloper

[RZNJ]

16 minutes ago, interloper said:

STEAL.

Good lord y'all. I was yelling at the TV last night at the weird lack of aggression at times.

-Mullins worked a leadoff walk in the 7th and just stayed there as we hit into a DP. 

-Holliday reaches on an error to lead off the 8th and stayed there (granted it was a lefty on the mound), and we nearly hit into an inning ending DP if not for the safe call at 2B.

-Mullins walks with 1 out in the 9th against Jansen who can't hold runners at all, and he never moved. He reached 2B on the walk to Westburg with 2 outs, but Mullins absolutely could have swiped both 2B and 3B in that inning against Jansen. 

I'm not sure what the hesitancy was about, especially on the road. Just let it rip out there boys. 

Mullins was running one of those times and Cowser swung at a 2-0 pitch 6 inches outside and fouled it off.  Ben assumed it was a hit and run.

[interloper]

Just now, RZNJ said:

Mullins was running one of those times and Cowser swung at a 2-0 pitch 6 inches outside and fouled it off.  Ben assumed it was a hit and run.

True. I feel like that happened so late in the AB though. JUST GO MAN! The Sox will probably throw it to the outfield and then kick it around for 30 seconds. 

[RZNJ]

3 minutes ago, interloper said:

True. I feel like that happened so late in the AB though. JUST GO MAN! The Sox will probably throw it to the outfield and then kick it around for 30 seconds. 

I don’t know.  I think they look for favorable matchups like the pitcher is slow to the plate AND the catcher has slow pop times.   Definitely not as aggressive as last year in the early going.   Of course, Mateo hasn’t played as much and Mullins hasn’t been on 1B that much.   Keeping Mullins healthy might also have something to do with it.

[Filmstudy]

34 minutes ago, interloper said:

STEAL.

Good lord y'all. I was yelling at the TV last night at the weird lack of aggression at times.

-Mullins worked a leadoff walk in the 7th and just stayed there as we hit into a DP. 

-Holliday reaches on an error to lead off the 8th and stayed there (granted it was a lefty on the mound), and we nearly hit into an inning ending DP if not for the safe call at 2B.

-Mullins walks with 1 out in the 9th against Jansen who can't hold runners at all, and he never moved. He reached 2B on the walk to Westburg with 2 outs, but Mullins absolutely could have swiped both 2B and 3B in that inning against Jansen. 

I'm not sure what the hesitancy was about, especially on the road. Just let it rip out there boys. 

The Cowser hit-and-run play with a 2-0 count had me screaming at the TV.  If it WAS truly a H&R, it's a bad play because it creates a DP opportunity for a runner who was ready to eat Jansen alive with a huge lead.

[interloper]

1 minute ago, Filmstudy said:

The Cowser hit-and-run play with a 2-0 count had me screaming at the TV.  If it WAS truly a H&R, it's a bad play because it creates a DP opportunity for a runner who was ready to eat Jansen alive with a huge lead.

Plus I'm pretty confident Cowser would have taken that pitch for a ball AND that Mullins would have successfully stolen the bag. 

[Say O!]

Was the H/R confirmed or perhaps Cowser was just trying to wave swing at the pitch to prevent quick transfer/release from C and give Mullins more time?  I’m speculating a bit bc Cowser swing was so late and as others mentioned the ball was well off the plate. 

[emmett16]

Stealing puts a lot of wear and tear on the body.  So many things can go wrong and it's an incredibly long season.  Keeping their bodies in best shape to perform is very challenging.  I'd like to see them steal, but I think they need to pick their spots.  

[spiritof66]

I had hoped that, with so many young players starting or about to start their ML careers, some of them would learn how to bunt in a close game (seemingly all of them) when there's a need to move a runner, including scoring one from third.

I long ago accepted, reluctantly, the fact that veterans who can't bunt won't learn even if adding that skill  potentially would help the team. Is there a chance that the incoming generation of Orioles, who we're told, and I believe, have a we-rather-than-me mentality and want to do whatever it takes to win, are willing and able to learn how to bunt.

[CallMeBrooksie]

2 minutes ago, spiritof66 said:

I had hoped that, with so many young players starting or about to start their ML careers, some of them would learn how to bunt in a close game (seemingly all of them) when there's a need to move a runner, including scoring one from third.

I long ago accepted, reluctantly, the fact that veterans who can't bunt won't learn even if adding that skill  potentially would help the team. Is there a chance that the incoming generation of Orioles, who we're told, and I believe, have a we-rather-than-me mentality and want to do whatever it takes to win, are willing and able to learn how to bunt.

I disagree with the implication that not bunting=selfish.

The average fan grossly underestimates how difficult it is to bunt a Major League pitch.

Besides, the disappearance of bunt plays has more to do with the fact that it's not a good baseball play in most situations, analytically speaking.

[RZNJ]

10 minutes ago, spiritof66 said:

I had hoped that, with so many young players starting or about to start their ML careers, some of them would learn how to bunt in a close game (seemingly all of them) when there's a need to move a runner, including scoring one from third.

I long ago accepted, reluctantly, the fact that veterans who can't bunt won't learn even if adding that skill  potentially would help the team. Is there a chance that the incoming generation of Orioles, who we're told, and I believe, have a we-rather-than-me mentality and want to do whatever it takes to win, are willing and able to learn how to bunt.

No.  Bunting, obviously, isn’t as easy as everyone thinks.  I learned the proper technique in HS and thought it was pretty easy.  Of course, I wasn’t squaring up against 95+ mph fastballs.    The Red Sox gave us an out, I believe, on Wednesday night.   The worst bunt attempts I’ve ever seen.   The technique is not complicated.  I’m sure every player in MLB has been shown and even had bunting practice at some point.   The worst managerial move in baseball is asking a player who can’t bunt to bunt.   It’s amazing to me that Cora didn’t take the bunt off after seeing how pitiful the first attempt was.

Edited April 12 by RZNJ

[DrungoHazewood]

17 minutes ago, CallMeBrooksie said:

I disagree with the implication that not bunting=selfish.

The average fan grossly underestimates how difficult it is to bunt a Major League pitch.

Besides, the disappearance of bunt plays has more to do with the fact that it's not a good baseball play in most situations, analytically speaking.

But what about non-analytically speaking? How good a play is it if you're just making stuff up and telling stories?

[Malike]

Mullins definitely had 2B stolen when Cowser flicked a ball 20 inches off the plate away during what people were speculating was a hit-and-run. If Cowser lets that get to ball 3 instead of 2-1 who knows what happens next. If the result was the same, he rolls over to 2B and Mullins is on 3rd with 1 out.

[interloper]

2 minutes ago, Malike said:

Mullins definitely had 2B stolen when Cowser flicked a ball 20 inches off the plate away during what people were speculating was a hit-and-run. If Cowser lets that get to ball 3 instead of 2-1 who knows what happens next. If the result was the same, he rolls over to 2B and Mullins is on 3rd with 1 out.

Yeah that was pretty frustrating. 

The one that really got me was the leadoff walk to Mullins and then the 1 out walk to Mullins against Jansen, which would have been like a 99% SB chance. 

Edited April 12 by interloper

[Malike]

5 minutes ago, interloper said:

Yeah that was pretty frustrating. 

The one that really got me was the leadoff walk to Mullins and then the 1 out walk to Mullins against Jansen, which would have been like a 99% SB chance. 

That was in the 9th. Mullins had a huge jump and would have easily been on 2B but this was the pitch Cowser fouled off.