1909 replies to this topic

[PrimeTime]

This all walks approach can't continue, so something will change.  Frazier has played better than Gunnar so far this season, but I'll happily bet on Henderson being better than Frazier from today onward.  And I'd make that bet every day for the rest of the year, Henderson would have to really faceplant to change my outlook on that at some point.

 

The walks thing is weird because it's not necessarily a product of plate discipline per se. Henderson is swinging a lot less than last year, so it may be a product of happenstance.

 

And I'm still really high on Henderson but the eye test (albeit that of a humble fan) shows me a kid that is searching and pressing a bit at the plate. Maybe it would be worthwhile to give Henderson a few days off in a row and let Urias hold down 3rd base?

 

Or, I could just be panicking. It's been so long since we've been competitive out of the gate like this that I think I'm getting jumpy.

[makoman]

The walks thing is weird because it's not necessarily a product of plate discipline per se. Henderson is swinging a lot less than last year, so it may be a product of happenstance.

 

And I'm still really high on Henderson but the eye test (albeit that of a humble fan) shows me a kid that is searching and pressing a bit at the plate. Maybe it would be worthwhile to give Henderson a few days off in a row and let Urias hold down 3rd base?

 

Or, I could just be panicking. It's been so long since we've been competitive out of the gate like this that I think I'm getting jumpy.

It's hard to say. These games matter, but so do the ones in September. Urias I think you can pencil in like a 100-110 OPS+, Frazier a bit less. If you can unlock good Gunnar you will do better than that, enough to overcome defensive differences IMO. So you have to decide which approach is more likely to get you that good Gunnar in the second half: take your lumps now or send him down to regroup. That's probably a mental thing as much as a physical thing the way his approach has been, so I have no idea which is better, only people around him could guess. 

[CantonJester]

The red flag with Gunnar is he consistently swings through hittable pitches: that he should either be driving or fouling off. He’s just too often not putting the bat to the ball. 

 

Sounds to me a great reason to send him down to Norfolk or Bowie (he might have a preference to work with a particular instructor) to get that ironed out. He’s too good to scuffle like this. 

[BobPhelan]

With getting off to the hot start and having a season full of promise, how far down the road do we go with some struggling players? The guys that come to mind are Stowers, Henderson and Cionel Perez.

 

With Perez in particular, he's looking more like afterthought waiver claim, 6 plus ERA guy from 2021 than the dominant late inning reliever of last year. I'm guessing the return of either Tate or Givens will be the end of the road for Perez. Unless being left handed somehow buys Perez more time, carrying a late inning reliever with a 2 WHIP on a contending team is an untenable situation.

 

Regarding Stowers and Henderson, I understand that they're young players but again, this isn't 2019 where the standings don't matter. Specifically to Henderson, I know he's has been drawing walks but outside of that, he's been mostly unproductive. His SLG% is way down from last year, his OPS+ is below league average. His swing % is down from last year and his contact rate is down across the board. So Gunnar is swinging at less pitches and when he does swing, he's making contact less, both inside and outside the strike zone. I think Henderson is capable of getting through his but how long of a leash does he have before we give him a trip to Norfolk to sort things out? 

 

With Stowers, perhaps he's the proverbial 4A guy and we overestimated him. Again, I know development and success isn't linear but an .095 SLG% isn't getting it done. Could it be time to give Cowser a shot?

 

I'm not pretending to have the answers here but it's winning time. Every at bat matters now, we can't afford to waste any.

 

Henderson - Keep running him out there, sit him against tough lefties.

 

Stowers - He's had 18 plate appearances since coming back up. Keep playing him against most RHP and give him a real chance to establish himself.

 

Perez - He has looked much more like the 2022 version of himself his last couple appearances. Givens will be back first, send Akin down for him. When Tate is ready, re-evaluate.

[Mike B]

Henderson - Keep running him out there, sit him against tough lefties.

 

Stowers - He's had 18 plate appearances since coming back up. Keep playing him against most RHP and give him a real chance to establish himself.

 

Perez - He has looked much more like the 2022 version of himself his last couple appearances. Givens will be back first, send Akin down for him. When Tate is ready, re-evaluate.

Agree on all 3.

[Mike B]

Yesterday was the first day, that I did not think Stowers and Henderson had good AB's.  Both looked lost at times yesterday, but so did others in the lineup.  

They are young and trying to find their way.  It will happen.  I think if Gunnar and Stowers have one big day, the pressure will lessen and more will follow.

 

BTW, Gunnar is playing better defensively.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Henderson - Keep running him out there, sit him against tough lefties.

Stowers - He's had 18 plate appearances since coming back up. Keep playing him against most RHP and give him a real chance to establish himself.

Perez - He has looked much more like the 2022 version of himself his last couple appearances. Givens will be back first, send Akin down for him. When Tate is ready, re-evaluate.

You cant have 2 or 3 struggling rookies giving you zero every night. Stowers has to step it up or he will get left behind. Also why Im against calling up a AAA guy for 2b right now

[Mike B]

Henderson - Keep running him out there, sit him against tough lefties.

 

Stowers - He's had 18 plate appearances since coming back up. Keep playing him against most RHP and give him a real chance to establish himself.

 

Perez - He has looked much more like the 2022 version of himself his last couple appearances. Givens will be back first, send Akin down for him. When Tate is ready, re-evaluate.

The Orioles lineup group agrees with you too.

Henderson and Stowers both down against McClanahan, who is the definition of a tough lefty.

[PrimeTime]

It's equally fun and frustrating to care this much again.

 

With that said, I'm about up to my eyeballs with Hyde. The decision to sit Mullins last night is simply indefensible. Then, you compound that bad decision by pinch hitting him in the 9th inning, down 3, with no one on base? Seriously? Look, I get it if you want to get Mullins a night off but that night could've been tonight. He absolutely mashes McClanahan and considering how tough it was going to be to get any offense going against one of the best pitchers in baseball, how you can leave a favorable matchup like that on the bench defies any and all logic.

 

The other thing that's been getting to me is the patented Hyde method for pulling starting pitchers. If you decide your starter is done after 6 innings, why send him back out there, only to pull him as soon as a runner gets on base? Why not just let the relief pitcher start with a clean inning? 

 

Specifically to last night, Gibson was rolling along and in control; other than the solo home run, there may have been 1 or 2 other hard hit balls. On pitch 93, Gibson gives up a weak single to right center. Rather than go to the bullpen, why not let Gibson continue? He's a ground ball pitcher and has a knack for inducing double plays.

 

Hyde clearly has a system for puling starting pitchers but pay attention to what's going on in front of you.

 

Thanks for letting me rant.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Totally get being frustrated with giving the guys days off.

 

I don't get disliking pinch hitting them late in the game -- they're baseball players -- this is what they do.

[BSLMikeLowe]

I just knew the Orioles' entry for this whole City Connect uniform thing would end up sucking. Think I'll ride over to the Nike campus and burn one of these in effigy. Hopefully the loser who designed it will see.

 

[TwentyThirtyFive]

It's equally fun and frustrating to care this much again.

With that said, I'm about up to my eyeballs with Hyde. The decision to sit Mullins last night is simply indefensible. Then, you compound that bad decision by pinch hitting him in the 9th inning, down 3, with no one on base? Seriously? Look, I get it if you want to get Mullins a night off but that night could've been tonight. He absolutely mashes McClanahan and considering how tough it was going to be to get any offense going against one of the best pitchers in baseball, how you can leave a favorable matchup like that on the bench defies any and all logic.

The other thing that's been getting to me is the patented Hyde method for pulling starting pitchers. If you decide your starter is done after 6 innings, why send him back out there, only to pull him as soon as a runner gets on base? Why not just let the relief pitcher start with a clean inning?

Specifically to last night, Gibson was rolling along and in control; other than the solo home run, there may have been 1 or 2 other hard hit balls. On pitch 93, Gibson gives up a weak single to right center. Rather than go to the bullpen, why not let Gibson continue? He's a ground ball pitcher and has a knack for inducing double plays.

Hyde clearly has a system for puling starting pitchers but pay attention to what's going on in front of you.

Thanks for letting me rant.

The feeling is he panics when it comes to the pitching. As soon as 1 runner gets on or especially 2 he warms someone up. You saw that with Baker last night. So he was about ready to be willing to again use 3 guys in one inning. He does that a lot. Either actually uses 3 guys or is warming a guy up preparing him to enter.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I just knew the Orioles' entry for this whole City Connect uniform thing would end up sucking. Think I'll ride over to the Nike campus and burn one of these in effigy. Hopefully the loser who designed it will see.

My friends and I have been talking about these. Almost feel like they’re trolling us with how bad they are

[BSLMikeLowe]

I don't know why Nike doesn't go to the cities and find a local designer who knows the place to do these, instead of some dude sitting in a cubicle in Beaverton who couldn't find Baltimore on a map.

 

At least they did a decent job on Pittsburgh's jerseys, which just makes it feel all the worse.

https://twitter.com/...767468365828096

[You Play to Win the Game]

I just knew the Orioles' entry for this whole City Connect uniform thing would end up sucking. Think I'll ride over to the Nike campus and burn one of these in effigy. Hopefully the loser who designed it will see.

 

Just gross. That's awful.

[Mackus]

Is any part of this "Baltimore = Under Armour so Nike intentionally makes it look bad"?  Gotta be some external reason that Nike is producing something that resembles the shirts my Aunt designed on Vistaprint for my Grandpa's 90th.

[DuffMan]

Those are bad, but I'll improve the grade if they wear them with Orange Pants

[BSLMikeLowe]

Is any part of this "Baltimore = Under Armour so Nike intentionally makes it look bad"?  Gotta be some external reason that Nike is producing something that resembles the shirts my Aunt designed on Vistaprint for my Grandpa's 90th.

 

You're being pretty rough on your aunt.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Is any part of this "Baltimore = Under Armour so Nike intentionally makes it look bad"?  Gotta be some external reason that Nike is producing something that resembles the shirts my Aunt designed on Vistaprint for my Grandpa's 90th.

That was my first thought.

[BobPhelan]

Heard it will be Vavra. And Drew Rom for a fresh arm.