3634 replies to this topic

[jamesdean]

We have too many hitters who lack the ability to shorten their swing and simply poke the ball into the OF. Get a single. Especially important when there's runners in scoring position.

 

For postseason success, that's integral. Instead, we're swinging for the fences. Every at bat. Honestly, I don't think the organization values it. Perhaps the analytics weigh against it over the long term. But the playoffs aren't the regular season - you have to find a way to get on base against elite pitching and shortened games with relievers who have built-in off days for rest. Swinging and missing won't cut it. And that's what we are.

That's not just the Orioles hitters.  It's baseball in general.  There are how many .300 hitters in the game today?  10?  Nobody cares about just making contact and putting a ball in play.  Or trying to hit line drives instead of elevating the ball for a potential homerun.  Obviously, the pitchers throwing 95-100 MPH make it challenging for any approach to hitting but these guys just make it too easy for them.  Pitchers love to see guys swinging from their asses.  They don't have to worry about anyone shortening up their swings with two strikes because no one cares if they strike out.  It is what is.  It's baseball 2024.  Attendance seems to be fine around the sport so apparently, most fans are digging the scene. 

[jamesdean]

Not gonna lie I kinda checked out on them over the weekend.  They'll make the playoffs but even the division race isn't much fun to watch when the only reason it's still a race is because neither of them are playing very well. 

 

Plus, a team scuffling this much on offense is just tough to follow.

The whole sport is tough to follow. 

[russsnyder]

Russ the problem is that they really haven't rested Adley that much. Shoot half the time he gets a day off he ends up as a ph.

Steve, I understand that DHing does nothing for the mental break. However, it should help with the nicks and bruises that catching everyday brings.

As I stated earlier, Adley's lack of offensive production has been the undoing of this plan.

At the end of the day, this guy was a number one pick, top prospect in baseball and people are making all kinds of excuses for him and are suggesting that he should've ILed for "rest"? (LOL)

I'm guessing, however, perhaps he trained differently last winter and this is why he is wearing down. Hopefully, He's having a bad year and he snaps back sooner than later.

[makoman]

He hit two homers in July, one in August, and none so far in September. He's slugging .398, and his OPS has dropped 100 points since June 30. I really hope it's an injury, because he's 26 - this is supposed to be his prime.

I said I think in the game thread, he had a .810 OPS his first two full years, I don’t think you do that if you simply aren’t that good, plus the entire pre-MLB career is obviously good. So if he’s not hurt at all, combined with the obvious swing/approach change—maybe go back to the old swing/approach, even if it worked at the start of the year.

Some people are tinkerers like Cal was, but some people need to make sure they always repeat everything the same way. Maybe he feels he can’t go back right now and that’s an offseason thing. Or maybe he thinks the swing/approach is fine.

[jamesdean]

Steve, I understand that DHing does nothing for the mental break. However, it should help with the nick and bruises that catching everyday brings.

AsI stated earlier, Adley's lack of offensive production has been the undoing of this plan.

At the end of the day, this guy was a number one pick, top prospect in baseball and people are making all kinds of excuses for him and are suggesting that he should've ILed for "rest"? (LOL)

I'm guessing, however, perhaps he trained differently last winter and this is why he is wearing down. Hopefully, He's having a bad year and he snaps back sooner than later.

Even through his abysmal stretch, he's hit well while DH'ing....324 avg./.934 OPS/.394 OBP.  Maybe they should just DH him for a week and see if that brings him around.  McCann can handle the work for that amount of time.  As a catcher, Adley is a .223 hitter.  Maybe he just has one of those bodies that can't take and wear and tear without it affecting his offense. 

[BSLSteveBirrer]

Even through his abysmal stretch, he's hit well while DH'ing....324 avg./.934 OPS/.394 OBP. Maybe they should just DH him for a week and see if that brings him around. McCann can handle the work for that amount of time. As a catcher, Adley is a .223 hitter. Maybe he just has one of those bodies that can't take and wear and tear without it affecting his offense.

I'd be fine with that too. But Hyde just sends him out there everyday in the 2 hole and expects a switch to flip. How about trying something different!!

[mdrunning]

For all of their struggles, the Orioles are now 29-18 against the AL East.

[mdrunning]

That's not just the Orioles hitters.  It's baseball in general.  There are how many .300 hitters in the game today?  10?  Nobody cares about just making contact and putting a ball in play.  Or trying to hit line drives instead of elevating the ball for a potential homerun.  Obviously, the pitchers throwing 95-100 MPH make it challenging for any approach to hitting but these guys just make it too easy for them.  Pitchers love to see guys swinging from their asses.  They don't have to worry about anyone shortening up their swings with two strikes because no one cares if they strike out.  It is what is.  It's baseball 2024.  Attendance seems to be fine around the sport so apparently, most fans are digging the scene. 

As Eddie Murray once told Adam Jones: "The first two strikes are yours, but the third belongs to the team."

 

Not sure that resonates with a lot of hitters today.

[fishteacher]

Man, when Ceddy gets going, he's a lot of fun to watch.  He's a perfect ball player when he's hot.  He can hit, hit with power, he's got speed, he's a great defender (okay....not so great of an arm, but who cares)....He's been one shiny bright spot on this team the past few weeks!

[jamesdean]

As Eddie Murray once told Adam Jones: "The first two strikes are yours, but the third belongs to the team."
 
Not sure that resonates with a lot of hitters today.

It resonates zero today.

[makoman]

BR only has pitch by pitch data since 1988. I recognize that this takes out the best part of his career, but even so Eddie Murray had a .571 OPS with 2 strikes. Adam Jones had a .545 OPS. The AL in 1988 had a .536 and seems to be in the low .500s every year, including lately. Hitting with 2 strikes is hard. 

[jamesdean]

BR only has pitch by pitch data since 1988. I recognize that this takes out the best part of his career, but even so Eddie Murray had a .571 OPS with 2 strikes. Adam Jones had a .545 OPS. The AL in 1988 had a .536 and seems to be in the low .500s every year, including lately. Hitting with 2 strikes is hard. 

Yes, it's always been hard, which is why pitchers want to get a hitter behind in the count as much as possible.  I would imagine the OPS was similar before 1988.  What I'd be more interested in is how many hitters were still putting a ball in play with 2 strikes back in 1988? Instead of striking out and heading back to the dugout with a useless at bat, did they move runners along, hit a SF, foul off numerous pitches to make a pitcher work, etc.. doing things that manufacture runs and help a team win. 

[makoman]

Yes, it's always been hard, which is why pitchers want to get a hitter behind in the count as much as possible.  I would imagine the OPS was similar before 1988.  What I'd be more interested in is how many hitters were still putting a ball in play with 2 strikes back in 1988? Instead of striking out and heading back to the dugout with a useless at bat, did they move runners along, hit a SF, foul off numerous pitches to make a pitcher work, etc.. doing things that manufacture runs and help a team win. 

This year with 2 strikes: 18431 K in 43804 PAs, or 42%.

 

1988: 12323 K in 36098 PAs, or 34%.

 

The 2 strike GIDP rate, one of the justifications for Ks being fine, is a little higher in 1988 but not terribly so (like 1.3% vs. 1%).

 

But my understanding (which could be wrong or outdated) is that productive outs have little correlation with winning. Don't know.

[jamesdean]

This year with 2 strikes: 18431 K in 43804 PAs, or 42%.

 

1988: 12323 K in 36098 PAs, or 34%.

 

The 2 strike GIDP rate, one of the justifications for Ks being fine, is a little higher in 1988 but not terribly so (like 1.3% vs. 1%).

 

But my understanding (which could be wrong or outdated) is that productive outs have little correlation with winning. Don't know.

You could be right but who knows.  Hard for me to believe that making contact with 2 strikes isn't more productive than just striking out. The Orioles are becoming the poster child with striking out and leaving RISP.  At least lately it seems to be the case. 

[Pedro Cerrano]

Got the post season email. They’re letting my level (orange) but up to 3 games between the ALWC ALDS and ALCS

I also think last year I was allowed to buy one more seat per series — they lowered that by 1 this year

[PrimeTime]

How about this quote from Kremer....

What can be done to get the Orioles in sync on the mound, at the plate and in the field?

“I wish that was my job to tell you, but that's not my job," Kremer said. "My job is to go out there and pitch. That's a question for the higher-ups, the guys who make the decisions of who plays, who doesn't play and all that stuff. So I wish I could tell you but I got no answer for that.”

What do we suppose Dean is getting at here?

[BaltBird 24]

My gut and from watching the product on the field is that something isn't right in the clubhouse. Maybe it's a coaching issue. Maybe it's a higher up issue.

Hays was the only ML player of significance traded, but I doubt moving him caused a ton of strife in the clubhouse. Maybe it did.

[Mackus]

My gut and from watching the product on the field is that something isn't right in the clubhouse. Maybe it's a coaching issue. Maybe it's a higher up issue.

Hays was the only ML player of significance traded, but I doubt moving him caused a ton of strife in the clubhouse. Maybe it did.

 

I think its challenging to try to equate performance to quality of leadership.  It often doesn't go hand-in-hand.  Mullins and Hays were best friends and Mullins has been fantastic since Hays was dealt.

 

Don't disagree with the idea that there could be something awry in the clubhouse possibly with both the coaching staff or the player leadership, but its nearly impossible to have meaningful things to say about that from the outside.  Need to hear some whispers from reporters, because for whatever little that may be worth its orders of magnitude more valuable than our opinions of it from watching the games.  Its vitally important, but its way beyond the scope of things we can have informed opinions about aside from just seeing the end result and hypothesizing that something must be wrong.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

My gut and from watching the product on the field is that something isn't right in the clubhouse. Maybe it's a coaching issue. Maybe it's a higher up issue.

Hays was the only ML player of significance traded, but I doubt moving him caused a ton of strife in the clubhouse. Maybe it did.

I mean its not like any AL teams have really took the bull by the horns the 2nd half but those that say the team looks lifeless are right.


The D played a big part in the loss yesterday. Its a big part of why we cant find an consistency. Always an overlooked aspect by casual fans. Its easy to see and understand when you arent scoring enough or are giving up too many runs. The extra outs you allow on D often fly under the radar.

[PrimeTime]

I mean its not like any AL teams have really took the bull by the horns the 2nd half but those that say the team looks lifeless are right.


The D played a big part in the loss yesterday. Its a big part of why we cant find an consistency. Always an overlooked aspect by casual fans. Its easy to see and understand when you arent scoring enough or are giving up too many runs. The extra outs you allow on D often fly under the radar.

It seems as if errors have been a nightly occurrence since the ASB, which has been strange to watch. Particularly for an organization that has stressed defense so much during this competitive rebirth.

Anecdotally speaking, we might be up 2-3 games in the East had we simply defended better since mid July.