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Ryan Flaherty
#101
Posted 09 June 2016 - 08:56 AM
#102
Posted 09 June 2016 - 08:59 AM
He's been great defensively and now his bat is coming around too. As much as I railed on the guy he's been doing a good job filling in for Hardy. In fact over the last 2 weeks he's been better than JJ.
#103
Posted 09 June 2016 - 09:03 AM
Hes a solid UTI guy at his salary. I still think there is an outside chance that he can be a league average-ish second baseman.
#104
Posted 09 June 2016 - 09:04 AM
He's been great defensively and now his bat is coming around too. As much as I railed on the guy he's been doing a good job filling in for Hardy. In fact over the last 2 weeks he's been better than JJ.
His defensive versatility helps a lot as a 25th guy. He does have some pop.... I wish he would take a more line drive approach vs. the upper cut. He should be a better average hitter imo.... of course when his play is sporadic, I basically understand how difficult that is... but every year he seems to wind-up getting a fair amount of consistent playing time at some point... and that's more what I'm talking about.
Of course to be fair to him, when he starts getting regular time... I don't think it's a coincidence that he starts looking better at the plate. Hits in 7 of his last 10 games, hr, and double the last two nights.
And most importantly like you said... he really is a solid glove guy.
#105
Posted 09 June 2016 - 09:40 AM
Hes a solid UTI guy at his salary. I still think there is an outside chance that he can be a league average-ish second baseman.
If he had an everyday job at 2B, I bet he could be... Schoop is keeping his career limited to a UTI job... good for the O's, but not optimal for Flash...
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
#106
Posted 09 June 2016 - 09:50 AM
I guess I've been disappointed in the times he has gotten regular time and not taken advantage of it. I agree with Rob about the potential to be an averagish second baseman though. I have thought the same for awhile. He's a pretty good defender there. That said. He just K's too much and has never really adapted to the changeup/splitter very well. Gotta think mid 600 OPS is his landing spot at this point. Too bad. He has a pretty good batting eye imo.
#107
Posted 09 June 2016 - 11:41 AM
I think Flaherty's inability to hit anything not a fastball is what limits him.
If it breaks he is in trouble.
#108
Posted 14 June 2016 - 09:36 AM
It takes him some time to get going... Classic slow starter. His OPS for June is over 800. I realize it's a small sample, but with Ryan, it's always a small sample because he doesn't have the luxury finding a home in the lineup before getting the rug pulled out from under him. So it becomes a catch-22 situation.
I firmly believe this infield configuration is better than the one that awaits us when Hardy reappears.
#109
Posted 14 June 2016 - 09:40 AM
It takes him some time to get going... Classic slow starter. His OPS for June is over 800. I realize it's a small sample, but with Ryan, it's always a small sample because he doesn't have the luxury finding a home in the lineup before getting the rug pulled out from under him. So it becomes a catch-22 situation.
I firmly believe this infield configuration is better than the one that awaits us when Hardy reappears.
I feel like a Flaherty fan, but I don't agree there.
#110
Posted 14 June 2016 - 09:41 AM
Holy shit that's crazy.
#111
Posted 14 June 2016 - 09:58 AM
I'll walk that statement back somewhat. The current configuration is not better than at least having Hardy available. Not that I think this will happen, but I think there should be a way to get Flaherty some regular play at 3B against righties. IMO that would be preferable to having Manny at 3B 100% and Hardy at SS 100%. If Buck could come up with an alignment that works, you might win more ballgames. Looking back to when Hardy went on the DL, the Orioles went 19-8 in the games Flaherty started at 3B. It could be a coincidence or maybe not.
#112
Posted 14 June 2016 - 10:25 AM
It takes him some time to get going... Classic slow starter. His OPS for June is over 800. I realize it's a small sample, but with Ryan, it's always a small sample because he doesn't have the luxury finding a home in the lineup before getting the rug pulled out from under him. So it becomes a catch-22 situation.
I firmly believe this infield configuration is better than the one that awaits us when Hardy reappears.
Every time he does something good, I say "That's my boy Flash..."
I think if not for Schoop, he could be a perfectly fine everyday Oriole 2B-man... I have no doubt that he would hit a lot better if he had a regular job... but I can't see how having him in there is better than having Hardy back... that's pushing it too far... even for me
EDIT: I just saw your follow-up post... and I'm afraid I don't buy that either... when your L side of the IF consists of Manny and Hardy, the last thing you need to do is screw that up by platooning guys, moving Manny back and forth, etc. When both Manny and Hardy are in there, just pay attention and enjoy it... because when it comes to the L side of the IF, being able to watch those 2 makes for the upcoming good old days...
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
#113
Posted 14 June 2016 - 10:36 AM
Keep walking back much, much further.
I really like Flaherty as a solid-glove utility guy. And if he happens to be going well he's perfectly acceptable as an injury replacement for a few weeks or even a couple months if needed.
But there is no way we're better off with him than Hardy, even if it's one of those seasons where Hardy is struggling offensively like last year (he's been fine this year with the bat). I'm fine with using Flaherty to give Hardy a little more rest than he may need from solely a freshness standpoint in an attempt to keep him injury-free, but I completely disagree with the idea of a partial platoon as a strategic decision.
#114
Posted 15 June 2016 - 11:50 AM
The 564 OPS Hardy posted last year was shockingly bad.... not just "struggling". Everyone likes to believe that Hardy is some kind of "anchor" of the infield and that his presence keeps everything intact, at least defensively. But the Orioles have not exactly fallen off a cliff in his absence, in any aspect of the game, most notably wins and losses. I guess this is a wait and see what happens, and I think we'll be re-visiting this at a later time.
#115
Posted 15 June 2016 - 12:04 PM
The 564 OPS Hardy posted last year was shockingly bad.... not just "struggling".
His hurt shoulder meant that last year he couldn't even swing a bat normally...
Everyone likes to believe that Hardy is some kind of "anchor" of the infield and that his presence keeps everything intact, at least defensively. But the Orioles have not exactly fallen off a cliff in his absence, in any aspect of the game, most notably wins and losses. I guess this is a wait and see what happens, and I think we'll be re-visiting this at a later time.
Saying we're doing fine without Hardy is like saying we're doing fine with only 2 legit ML SP's... it's completely true, we're in 1st place...
So, the question to ask yourself is, "Do I feel lucky?"
"The only change is that baseball has turned Paige from a second-class citizen to a second-class immortal." - Satchel Paige
#116
Posted 15 June 2016 - 12:27 PM
Flaherty's probably better than Hardy when he's got a 575 OPS. I think Hardy is better than that the vast majority of the time, though, and I would expect better offensive numbers from Hardy than Flaherty in any given sample. Hardy's defense is probably worth at least 50 points in OPS over Flaherty's and Flash is about a 625-650 OPS guy. I don't think Flaherty would put up better offensive numbers than his career averages if he was given a job full-time. While I do think he'd benefit from everyday opportunities and be more comfortable than when his plate appearances come sporadically, that also gives opposing pitchers more chances to see him and gameplan how to best exploit his weaknesses.
#117
Posted 20 June 2016 - 01:26 PM
Bill James fielded a couple of O's-related questions (Flaherty and Ubaldo) on his website. Nothing Earth-shattering, but I thought I'd post them.
#118
Posted 07 February 2018 - 06:50 PM
Flaherty signs with the Phillies..
Good luck to him!
#119
Posted 07 February 2018 - 07:49 PM
Best move we've made all offseason.
#120
Posted 07 February 2018 - 08:53 PM
Best move we've made all offseason.
So you say now. Wait until we see who they replace him with!
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