Walltimore

[eddie83]

My only real point is this. If you are playing a team with a good lefty starter it can be a detriment come October. 

[Sports Guy]

4 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

How has it been a huge positive?

I'd like some actual data that supports the claim.

Something beyond "This pitcher said the wall was keen so he signed here." please.

From what I've seen the effect is pretty symmetrical.

If you want data, plug it into google and go look for it.  

[Sports Guy]

5 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

My only real point is this. If you are playing a team with a good lefty starter it can be a detriment come October. 

Elias has done a great job of constructing a lot of this organization. He has not done a good job of building a complete roster. He has ignored too many important things…things that can be a detriment in October. 
 

It’s like the Ravens. You can build a team that wins a lot of games in the regular season but you have to do a lot more than that to win in the postseason. This is also something the Yankees have learned for most of this century.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

If you want data, plug it into google and go look for it.  

So you don't actually have any.

If you make a claim you should be ready to defend and support it.

 

[Sports Guy]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

So you don't actually have any.

If you make a claim you should be ready to defend and support it.

 

I’d be ok discussing it with most of the people on this site. You are one of those I don’t care to discuss this or really anything with. 

[e16bball]

I don’t like the wall. I think it’s affecting our hitters.

I’ve mentioned before that I think it has totally warped Mountcastle into something he was never really meant to be. The guy came up as a pull-heavy HR hitter, and in his first season-plus (725 PAs), he puts up 38 HRs and a 116 wRC+. Since then, the wRC+ is down to 110, and his approach has totally changed, with his pull numbers plummeting (down from 39% in 2021 to less than 28% this year).

He still hits the ball hard, but constantly underachieves his batted ball data — probably because he’s trying to avoid the pull field and hitting balls to the deepest parts of pretty much every other park. Will the same thing happen to Mayo? Maybe he has more pure power, but it’s always going to be a challenge for a RH slugger to survive with that wall. So much harder to do damage.

 

Beyond that, I think it’s also creating a serious risk of changing our LH hitters’ approaches too. These guys (Henderson, Holliday, Cowser, 2/3 of Adley) have come up with a reputation for being able to drive the ball to all fields. But how long does that continue when they just can’t hit it out to the opposite field?

Our LH hitters had a combined 44 wRC+ at OPACY, and only one HR. They had the 3rd most balls hit to LF at home by LHHs, but the lowest wRC+ of any team on those balls (for the second straight year). The Royals, ironically enough, were the only team that was lower than a 70 wRC+ — that’s how much worse our lefties fared going oppo (at OPACY) than everyone else’s. By player:

Gunnar Henderson: 112 wRC+ / .160 ISO (51 PAs)

Adley Rutschman: 10 wRC+ / .026 ISO (38 PAs)

Anthony Santander: 14 wRC+ / .095 ISO (43 PAs)

Colton Cowser: 58 wRC+ / .057 ISO (36 PAs)

Ryan O’Hearn: 47 wRC+ / .091 ISO (55 PAs)

Cedric Mullins: 23 wRC+ / .100 ISO (41 PAs)

Jackson Holliday: -72 wRC+ / .000 ISO (16 PAs)

 

On the road, they had a combined 126 wRC+ (with 9 HRs) going to left field, so it’s not like they’re bad at it. It’s just Death Valley out there in LF for them at OPACY. 

How long will it be until these LH guys just start going full pull-happy? Essentially, the opposite of what’s happened with Mountcastle. When (a) your team’s philosophy is to focus on doing damage and (b) you can’t DO damage to the opposite field — the rational endpoint is just to try to pull everything.

I don’t think that’s a good outcome. I think it makes them much worse hitters in the other 81 games, and I think it’s a terrible waste of a bunch of really talented hitters with all-field abilities.

Edited 11 hours ago by e16bball

[foxfield]

14 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Elias has done a great job of constructing a lot of this organization. He has not done a good job of building a complete roster. He has ignored too many important things…things that can be a detriment in October. 
 

It’s like the Ravens. You can build a team that wins a lot of games in the regular season but you have to do a lot more than that to win in the postseason. This is also something the Yankees have learned for most of this century.

I think this is correct but I would say it differently.  I think Elias has done a great job constructing the organization and making it one of the top teams, complete teams, in baseball.  That was a huge hurdle from where he started and that has been a major success.

Getting from a top MLB team to a successful playoff team may seem like a small jump but it is pretty large.  And Elias has been tentative at best at trying to make those changes.  He has taken an incremental path in hopes of maximizing his long term potential.  So far that really hasn't had much success.  

But like Elias, we really should not assume that the changes needed to make that seemingly small jump from AL East contender to WS contender will not require some pretty big things.  I don't know if that is really different than what you are saying.  

[Allan Bryant]

15 hours ago, eddie83 said:

My only real point is this. If you are playing a team with a good lefty starter it can be a detriment come October. 

So why can’t Elias sign a good lefty starter or two free agents ?  Angelos is gone and we have bottom 5 team payroll, so what is their excuse ? 

[Il BuonO]

5 minutes ago, Allan Bryant said:

So why can’t Elias sign a good lefty starter or two free agents ?  Angelos is gone and we have bottom 5 team payroll, so what is their excuse ? 

This is the first off season for new ownership. 

[Allan Bryant]

8 minutes ago, Il BuonO said:

This is the first off season for new ownership. 

You’re correct but some folks believe that new ownership is just follow the same process as old one . I hope not 

[emmett16]

Just so we are clear….

Folks want us to have a contact and OBP approach & not rely on the HR as our only way to score AND folks think the wall is forcing hitters to work oppo and to have a contact OBP approach and therefore want the wall changed to make HR more easily attainable and more of a focus? 
 

 

[OriolesUpAndDowns]

1 minute ago, emmett16 said:

Just so we are clear….

Folks want us to have a contact and OBP approach & not rely on the HR as our only way to score AND folks think the wall is forcing hitters to work oppo and to have a contact OBP approach and therefore want the wall changed to make HR more easily attainable and more of a focus? 
 

 

That about sums it up.  

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, emmett16 said:

Just so we are clear….

Folks want us to have a contact and OBP approach & not rely on the HR as our only way to score AND folks think the wall is forcing hitters to work oppo and to have a contact OBP approach and therefore want the wall changed to make HR more easily attainable and more of a focus? 
 

 

Might even be the same people.

[emmett16]

Just now, OriolesUpAndDowns said:

That about sums it up.  

 

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

Might even be the same people.

Got it.  Just wanted to make sure I was keeping up.  
Carry on. 

[Il BuonO]

Just now, Allan Bryant said:

You’re correct but some folks believe that new ownership is just follow the same process as old one . I hope not 

Until it’s shown that DR is not willing to spend, Elias is the guy seemingly out of excuses.