521 replies to this topic

[Matt]

I think he's had a bad year. Without researching the specifics I remember a lot of head scratching at some of his decisions (stuff like not bringing in Matusz for a lefty, refusing to pull Johnson when he clearly didn't have it, batting Davis 5th, etc.). I don't think you fire him but I think if it continues next year he's on thin ice.

[Oriole85]

I think he's had a bad year. Without researching the specifics I remember a lot of head scratching at some of his decisions (stuff like not bringing in Matusz for a lefty, refusing to pull Johnson when he clearly didn't have it, batting Davis 5th, etc.). I don't think you fire him but I think if it continues next year he's on thin ice.

He's not on thin ice unless he has a disastorous year next year. We've had TWO winning seasons in the past 15 years (I'm making the assumption we'll win one of our final seven games). Let me know you think we can get that's going to do a better job? If so, I'm all for hiring someone else. This isn't a situation where new blood is needed because we didn't do as well as we wished.

[Oriole85]

Also, he signed that deal through 2018. I think minus a new owner, Showalter isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

[Matt]

Not sure who would be better. He has a track record of being able to build teams and being unable to win championships though. If he struggles next year and does a lot of the same stuff he did this year he should definitely be on thin ice.

[Oriole85]

Not sure who would be better. He has a track record of being able to build teams and being unable to win championships though. If he struggles next year and does a lot of the same stuff he did this year he should definitely be on thin ice.

Well unless you have someone better, I don't think you make a change just for change sake. It could very well backfire. If you have someone better in mind, sure, go for it.

 

I believe he's mellowed down from his previous stops. He wasn't supposed to be such a players manager, everyone seems to like him unlike in previous stops.

 

I don't think they signed him to that kind of contract without viewing him as the long-term answer. I don't think he was looking elsewhere and I believe he would've signed less years.

 

So no an ~85 win season and a 3rd place out of the WC finish won't land him on thin ice. Fair or unfair, he gets a lot of credit for turning this club around. Also, it's been widely reported that he has a good relationship with Angelos, so that matters.

[Matt]

Lost in the Machado injury last night was Buck once again costing the Orioles a shot at winning by letting Hunter pitch to a left handed batter in a tie game.

[BSLChrisStoner]

NY Times: The O's are Wired for Winning
http://www.nytimes.c...nning.html?_r=1

 

More base runners, of course, would help the Orioles take better advantage of their power. Their .313 on-base percentage last season was five points below the major league average. Cruz, 33, is their oldest everyday player, so perhaps a young team can learn better plate discipline. But Manager Buck Showalter does not want his hitters to lose their aggressiveness.

 

“If you’ve ever been in the batter’s box in the major leagues or the minor leagues, you cannot take until you hit — you hit until you take,” Showalter said. “It’s ‘Hit, hit, hit’ — and then some mechanism says, ‘Take.’ You can’t go, ‘Take, take, take,’ and try to hit. You can’t do it.”

[BSLChrisStoner]

Camden Depot: How many games is Showalter worth?
http://camdendepot.b...lter-worth.html

[BSLChrisStoner]

Sports on Earth: Curious Buck
http://www.sportsone...-buck-showalter

[JeffLong]

The first 300 words or so was kind of annoying (author used big words to prove he could) but the balance was great. Really enjoy reading these deep pieces about guys like Showalter.

[DJ MC]

That was great.

 

The first 300 words or so was kind of annoying (author used big words to prove he could) but the balance was great. Really enjoy reading these deep pieces about guys like Showalter.

 

1) I'm not sure what you mean by big words.

 

2) It's Pat Jordan. He's earned the right to use all of these if he wants

[Mackus]

That was great.

 

 

1) I'm not sure what you mean by big words.

 

My guess is somnambulant!

[Russ]

I like these pieces (the creative non-fiction) that treat their subjects like characters.  Even if Buck came off a little like Captain Queeg.

[JeffLong]

That was great.

 

 

1) I'm not sure what you mean by big words.

 

2) It's Pat Jordan. He's earned the right to use all of these if he wants

 

Talmudic, strictures, somnambulant, Machiavellian

 

It's not that those words don't make sense in context (they do) but it just read like he was trying to throw in big words whenever he could. Throwing in "somnambulant" to describe how laid back Buck is at the end of a sentence is like saying "look how smart I am, I know a fancy word for laid back!" If it doesn't flow with fancy language then it seems out of place, that's all.

 

Regardless, I really enjoyed it and Pat Jordan is clearly an excellent writer, though I'm not familiar with any of his other work.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Was a great article... another great glimpse into Buck. This franchise was so dysfunctional until he arrived.

I'd celebrate an O's World Title with a Pet Rock as the Mgr., but I'd love to see a Championship with Buck at the helm.

[McNulty]

I thought this was really lacking in a few aspects.  It painted him as a manager destined to fail, and got no perspective from his current players on how this tenure was going.  I felt like it was borderline attacking him.  

 

The general tone that I get from every player on the O's is one of great pride, respect and love for Buck.  However, if you were a fan of another team and read that article you'd think that in short order he'd be out the door.

 

I did enjoy getting to know him a little better but that article was very unbalanced.

[BSLChrisStoner]

I thought this was really lacking in a few aspects.  It painted him as a manager destined to fail, and got no perspective from his current players on how this tenure was going.  I felt like it was borderline attacking him.  

 

The general tone that I get from every player on the O's is one of great pride, respect and love for Buck.  However, if you were a fan of another team and read that article you'd think that in short order he'd be out the door.

 

I did enjoy getting to know him a little better but that article was very unbalanced.

Interesting, I didn't feel that.  I felt it painted the perceptions that have existed about Showalter... perceptions the author may have felt prior to going through the research... and then articulating how Showalter has often been misunderstood.

IMO, Buck came off awfully well with all of the included quotes from numerous sources who praised him.

When Buck was hired, I certainly had the perception that the article started with... that he would be a Drill Sgt. type... fix some things with the organization, and that his message would stop being heard within a few years.

I think it's clear that Showalter has learned from his past jobs and adjusted. Maybe the article could have further articulated those changes. It did include the quote from Showalter about him and Angelos... "I didn't get the same owner that others (previous O's Managers had), and he doesn't have the same Buck that previous Owners had either."

[McNulty]

Interesting, I didn't feel that.  I felt it painted the perceptions that have existed about Showalter... perceptions the author may have felt prior to going through the research... and then articulating how Showalter has often been misunderstood.

IMO, Buck came off awfully well with all of the included quotes from numerous sources who praised him.

When Buck was hired, I certainly had the perception that the article started with... that he would be a Drill Sgt. type... fix some things with the organization, and that his message would stop being heard within a few years.

I think it's clear that Showalter has learned from his past jobs and adjusted. Maybe the article could have further articulated those changes. It did include the quote from Showalter about him and Angelos... "I didn't get the same owner that others (previous O's Managers had), and he doesn't have the same Buck that previous Owners had either."

 

Maybe I'm off but I really felt like the author had those notions you mentioned already in his head and was looking to reaffirm them (and did so).  I didn't get Buck evolving into anything more lovable at all from the writer.

 

I dunno, maybe I just 'like our guys' too.

[Icterus galbula]

I thought it was a good read. I get where JeffLong thought it was a little purple, and McNutty thought it had a sharp angle, but good insights all the same.

 

I really want to know what bourbon brand he introduced to Buck.

[Markus]

Buck and Riggo