2016 Baltimore Orioles Thread - I would post something witty, but sports suck

[Hersh]

Because you were acting like the Orioles offense last year was something great when in reality it wasn't.  They scored the league average in runs per game and were extremely prone to long stretches of not scoring much at all.  There was no consistency on the mound or at the plate and when you're not consistent you wind up 81-81.  

 

I'm sorry Hersh but it's not a well rounded lineup.  It's mashing and bashing.  Aside from Machado and Davis, there's not anyone that gets on base at a good clip.  There's no speed anywhere except for Manny who proved to be an adept base stealer.  It's a slow, dumb, lumbering station to station team.  Sure they got more power but it's not power that was needed.  It's not an upgraded lineup, you just said it yourself when you said you weren't happy with those slash lines.  How are you going to tell me this lineup is upgraded when you just got more guys that'll slash the same?  The Orioles added more guys to the problem, they didn't find any solutions.  Truth is you are happy with those slash lines because you're happy with the Orioles getting more .250 BA .310 OBP guys in the lineup and don't see why it's a bad thing.  Who cares?!?! MOAR POWERRR!!!!

 

I love Schoop but he'll be lucky to walk 30 times this year.  He has't even walked 30 times over the past two years combined.  The fact that you're arguing about Wieters' .320 on base percentage being better than .299 is laughable.  It's like being happy with your C- on your math test because the kid next to you got a D.  

 

In what way should I be excited about Gallardo?  Is it the increasing Hits/9 that have increased every year since 2013?  The declining k/9 rate?  The declining strikeout to walk rate?  In what way does Gallardo offset Chen?  They don't even throw with the same hand.  There's no way Gallardo offsets Chen at all.  Even if he did somehow magically offset Chen, you're still talking about offsetting a pitcher for a .500 team.  That spot in the rotation didn't get any better, it probably got slightly worse.

 

I do agree about having a full year of Gausman being good but I'm not sold on Tillman.  Fastball is still straight as an arrow and he's gotten by on middling stuff for years. Maybe he bounces back but I'm not holding my breath.  

 

I'm going to destroy your OBP argument now so brace yourself.

 

I already pointed out that the teams ranked 11th and 21st in OBP were in the world series last year.

 

Here is another stat. KC, in 2014, had an OBP of .314 and was 16th in the league. Right behind them at 17th was...you guessed it, the O's. But I thought you had to be awesome at OBP to make the WS. WHAT A SECOND, the Giants, who beat the Royals must have had an awesome OBP, right? No they did not. In fact, they were ranked 18th right behind the Orioles.

 

As far as Wieters with a career .320 OBP and you give it a C- shows you really have no idea what you are talking about. A .320 OBP as a team would have been tied for 9th in MLB in 2014 and 15th in 2015. Given the OBP of those teams in the WS the last two years, that is more than good enough.

 

Yes, Schoop can improve his OBP and he can do it without walking a significant amount. How do I know that?? KC last year had the 2nd FEWEST walks yet still was 11th in OBP. Schoop improved dramatically in Average and OBP last year. There is no reason to think he has maxed out.

 

Yes, it does help having Hardy go from a .250 OBP last year to over .300 this year when one talks about the team OBP going up. Now you can pretend it doesn't, but I've already destroyed your OBP by pointing to the last two World Series teams.

 

As far as an upgrade, for anyone to suggest that Trumbo and Alvarez being in the lineup is not an offensive upgrade over Parades and whichever corner outfielder from last year, really must not know anything about baseball. It is not even close. I'm not even going to waste time showing the stats. It's a fact that cannot be disputed or replaced with an opinion.

 

With respect to pitching, Gallardo was great against the AL East last season and he has had one year with an ERA over 4 in his career. Not to mention his ERA over the last three years has gone down. There is nothing to suggest that replacing Chen with Gallardo represents a downgrade. Please, continue to cherry pick your stats to stick with your argument.

 

When looking at career numbers, Tillman does not even need to be an Ace caliber pitcher, as returning to his career average would be a big upgrade.

 

The funniest thing about your entire argument is that you point out how inconsistent the O's were in hitting and pitching, YET THEY STILL WON 81 GAMES. You conveniently fail to acknowledge all the injuries last year on top of that.

 

A return to being slightly more consistent and being a healthier team all year should naturally lead to a winning record. Or you can keep pretending getting an all-star catcher back for a full season is not an upgrade.  

[TheDoyler23]

Did they win today???

Nah.

[GOSKINS_08]

Did they win today???

Nah.

Nevermind delete

Lol wrong day

[TheDoyler23]

They won!!!!

And Wheets left the game with a sore elbow. So... That sucks. Hopefully just a precaution. Ugh.

[abdcskins]

I saw on the ESPN bottom line literally 20 seconds ago that Wieters had reconstructive elbow surgery in 2014.

Could possibly be a big problem.

[Hersh]

I saw on the ESPN bottom line literally 20 seconds ago that Wieters had reconstructive elbow surgery in 2014.

Could possibly be a big problem.

 

If he has another long term elbow issue, he is done as a catcher. I am definitely worried about this one but hopefully it's not worst case scenario.

[pjfootballer]

1-11-2. Yeesh!

[Hersh]

It's meaningless. The only two concerns right now are Gonzo cause he sucked at the end of last year and Wieters' elbow. Beyond that, records are meaningless, batting averages, etc., are all meaningless in spring training.

[pjfootballer]

True, but still...yeesh!

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'm going to destroy your OBP argument now so brace yourself.

 

I already pointed out that the teams ranked 11th and 21st in OBP were in the world series last year.

 

Here is another stat. KC, in 2014, had an OBP of .314 and was 16th in the league. Right behind them at 17th was...you guessed it, the O's. But I thought you had to be awesome at OBP to make the WS. WHAT A SECOND, the Giants, who beat the Royals must have had an awesome OBP, right? No they did not. In fact, they were ranked 18th right behind the Orioles.

 

As far as Wieters with a career .320 OBP and you give it a C- shows you really have no idea what you are talking about. A .320 OBP as a team would have been tied for 9th in MLB in 2014 and 15th in 2015. Given the OBP of those teams in the WS the last two years, that is more than good enough.

 

Yes, Schoop can improve his OBP and he can do it without walking a significant amount. How do I know that?? KC last year had the 2nd FEWEST walks yet still was 11th in OBP. Schoop improved dramatically in Average and OBP last year. There is no reason to think he has maxed out.

 

Yes, it does help having Hardy go from a .250 OBP last year to over .300 this year when one talks about the team OBP going up. Now you can pretend it doesn't, but I've already destroyed your OBP by pointing to the last two World Series teams.

 

As far as an upgrade, for anyone to suggest that Trumbo and Alvarez being in the lineup is not an offensive upgrade over Parades and whichever corner outfielder from last year, really must not know anything about baseball. It is not even close. I'm not even going to waste time showing the stats. It's a fact that cannot be disputed or replaced with an opinion.

 

With respect to pitching, Gallardo was great against the AL East last season and he has had one year with an ERA over 4 in his career. Not to mention his ERA over the last three years has gone down. There is nothing to suggest that replacing Chen with Gallardo represents a downgrade. Please, continue to cherry pick your stats to stick with your argument.

 

When looking at career numbers, Tillman does not even need to be an Ace caliber pitcher, as returning to his career average would be a big upgrade.

 

The funniest thing about your entire argument is that you point out how inconsistent the O's were in hitting and pitching, YET THEY STILL WON 81 GAMES. You conveniently fail to acknowledge all the injuries last year on top of that.

 

A return to being slightly more consistent and being a healthier team all year should naturally lead to a winning record. Or you can keep pretending getting an all-star catcher back for a full season is not an upgrade.  

 

The funniest thing about you thinking that you pointed out the funniest thing about my entire argument is that exactly is what an inconsistent team does.  They win one, they lose one.  They win two, they lose two.  They win 2, lose three, but then win four more.

 

That's the definition of inconsistency.  It's not winning a lot, it's not losing a lot it's just....inconsistent.  And .500 (winning 81 games BUT ALSO LOSING 81 GAMES) would be the very definition of inconsistent.

 

You seem pretty satisfied with winning 81 games.  After all, it's technically 4 years in a row without a losing season (but last year wasn't a winning season, either.)  Still another season removed from the dreaded run of losing seasons, so that's fine.  But the failure to point out that they ALSO lost 81 games last year shows that you like to ignore the bad things and keep the orange tinted glasses on.  As pointed out before, I wish I could also be that optimistic.

 

Yes, I failed to acknowledge injuries last year.  Know what?  They'll probably have some this year.  Unless you're Cal Ripken Jr, injuries happen.  Can we both agree that no team makes it 100% of the season without injuries?  I know Wieters' elbow is already sore, thank goodness the test results are negative but you can't tell me that a sore surgically repaired elbow isn't a cause for concern.

 

Furthermore:

 

Mark Trumbo 2015 OPS:  .759

Jimmy Paredes 2015 OPS:  .726

 

Better, but not better by a ton.  

 

Pedro Alvarez was .787 so that's better.  Still, not a world beater.  I hate using this logic but there's a reason we got him on a 1 year deal so late in the offseason.  How come there weren't other teams lined up to sign him?  One reason, he's terrible with the glove.  So does Alvarez REALLY make us better?  He doesn't allow for any defensive flexibility.  Trumbo is, by all accounts, average in the field.

 

But, more power.  Awesome.  

 

baseballreference.com has Schoop's projected at a .306 OBP, Fangraphs has his projected at .288.  So unless there's some magical reason besides the fact that you reallyreallyreallyreally like Jonathan Schoop, can you tell us your logic and reasoning behind the fact that you think he can take a giant leap in OBP this year?

 

Also, I never said that you had to be awesome at OBP to win a World Series, those were your words that you tried to put in my mouth.  I merely wanted to point out the fact that it was a reason that this teams offense was so inconsistent last summer.

 

You love bringing up the Royals for some reason, so let's look at their slash lines from last summer:

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/split.cgi?t=b&team=KCR&year=2015#month

 

 

The only bad month you could really point to there was their May where they were .253/.297.  Other than that, they don't come anywhere close to having bad months like the Orioles did.  But as I mentioned our offense last summer was extremely prone to long slumps and this proves it.  

 

Do you know why KC's offense was better than ours from this perspective?

 

2015 Orioles Team batting average and on base percentage:  .249/.306  (.057 difference)

2015 Royals Team batting average and on base percentage:  .269/.322   (.053 difference)

 

I feel like this should be pretty obvious to most but there's not much of a difference (as you noted) between the our walk rate and theirs.  The difference is that their on base percentage was propped up by a better overall team batting average.  They hit 20 points higher so their on base percentage was obviously higher than ours.  If our value as a complete offense is tied to batting average propping up what we can do to get on base, we'll always be behind and inconsistent.  KC, overall, was more consistent last summer.  Therefore, they made the playoffs and won the World Series.

 

It's as simple as that.  If we're not getting hits, we're not getting on base.  And if we're not getting on base, we're not scoring runs.  And if the team goes into a collective slump, we're ****ed. 

 

The separation in batting average and on base percentage is an important one.  It's what separates offenses like ours and KC's in comparison to Toronto's (.269/.340 for a difference of .071).

 

By the way, that pesky power number?  KC slugged .412 last year, we slugged .420.  BUT MOAR HOMERZZZZ!!!  Exactly what we need.

 

Yeah, but maybe JJ Hardy comes back and has a great year at age 33 and vaults his on base percentage to over .300 (career .307) and maybe Schoop makes a drastic improvement.  Hopefully everyone stays healthy.  

 

In regards to Gallardo/Chen, I don't see how you can accuse me of cherry-picking stats when that's exactly what you're doing.  If you want to hoist up ERA as the end all/be all stat, that's fine.  I'll prefer to look past that at other stats that show a different story such as the aforementioned declining BB/K ratio, and Gallardo's higher WHIP (1.416 to Chen's 1.218).  

 

(This is the part in the argument where you should tell me that my flaw in my argument here is that Chen pitched in front of a better defense last year allowing him to take away more hits from the opposition where Gallardo pitched in front of a worse defense.  Still doesn't make up for the declining bb/k ratio there. You're on your own for that one.)

[DM72]

It's meaningless. The only two concerns right now are Gonzo cause he sucked at the end of last year and Wieters' elbow. Beyond that, records are meaningless, batting averages, etc., are all meaningless in spring training.

Do you really think Gonzo is the only concern in our rotation?

[Hersh]

The funniest thing about you thinking that you pointed out the funniest thing about my entire argument is that exactly is what an inconsistent team does.  They win one, they lose one.  They win two, they lose two.  They win 2, lose three, but then win four more.

 

That's the definition of inconsistency.  It's not winning a lot, it's not losing a lot it's just....inconsistent.  And .500 (winning 81 games BUT ALSO LOSING 81 GAMES) would be the very definition of inconsistent.

 

You seem pretty satisfied with winning 81 games.  After all, it's technically 4 years in a row without a losing season (but last year wasn't a winning season, either.)  Still another season removed from the dreaded run of losing seasons, so that's fine.  But the failure to point out that they ALSO lost 81 games last year shows that you like to ignore the bad things and keep the orange tinted glasses on.  As pointed out before, I wish I could also be that optimistic.

 

Yes, I failed to acknowledge injuries last year.  Know what?  They'll probably have some this year.  Unless you're Cal Ripken Jr, injuries happen.  Can we both agree that no team makes it 100% of the season without injuries?  I know Wieters' elbow is already sore, thank goodness the test results are negative but you can't tell me that a sore surgically repaired elbow isn't a cause for concern.

 

Furthermore:

 

Mark Trumbo 2015 OPS:  .759

Jimmy Paredes 2015 OPS:  .726

 

Better, but not better by a ton.  

 

Pedro Alvarez was .787 so that's better.  Still, not a world beater.  I hate using this logic but there's a reason we got him on a 1 year deal so late in the offseason.  How come there weren't other teams lined up to sign him?  One reason, he's terrible with the glove.  So does Alvarez REALLY make us better?  He doesn't allow for any defensive flexibility.  Trumbo is, by all accounts, average in the field.

 

But, more power.  Awesome.  

 

baseballreference.com has Schoop's projected at a .306 OBP, Fangraphs has his projected at .288.  So unless there's some magical reason besides the fact that you reallyreallyreallyreally like Jonathan Schoop, can you tell us your logic and reasoning behind the fact that you think he can take a giant leap in OBP this year?

 

Also, I never said that you had to be awesome at OBP to win a World Series, those were your words that you tried to put in my mouth.  I merely wanted to point out the fact that it was a reason that this teams offense was so inconsistent last summer.

 

You love bringing up the Royals for some reason, so let's look at their slash lines from last summer:

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/split.cgi?t=b&team=KCR&year=2015#month

 

 

The only bad month you could really point to there was their May where they were .253/.297.  Other than that, they don't come anywhere close to having bad months like the Orioles did.  But as I mentioned our offense last summer was extremely prone to long slumps and this proves it.  

 

Do you know why KC's offense was better than ours from this perspective?

 

2015 Orioles Team batting average and on base percentage:  .249/.306  (.057 difference)

2015 Royals Team batting average and on base percentage:  .269/.322   (.053 difference)

 

I feel like this should be pretty obvious to most but there's not much of a difference (as you noted) between the our walk rate and theirs.  The difference is that their on base percentage was propped up by a better overall team batting average.  They hit 20 points higher so their on base percentage was obviously higher than ours.  If our value as a complete offense is tied to batting average propping up what we can do to get on base, we'll always be behind and inconsistent.  KC, overall, was more consistent last summer.  Therefore, they made the playoffs and won the World Series.

 

It's as simple as that.  If we're not getting hits, we're not getting on base.  And if we're not getting on base, we're not scoring runs.  And if the team goes into a collective slump, we're ****ed. 

 

The separation in batting average and on base percentage is an important one.  It's what separates offenses like ours and KC's in comparison to Toronto's (.269/.340 for a difference of .071).

 

By the way, that pesky power number?  KC slugged .412 last year, we slugged .420.  BUT MOAR HOMERZZZZ!!!  Exactly what we need.

 

Yeah, but maybe JJ Hardy comes back and has a great year at age 33 and vaults his on base percentage to over .300 (career .307) and maybe Schoop makes a drastic improvement.  Hopefully everyone stays healthy.  

 

In regards to Gallardo/Chen, I don't see how you can accuse me of cherry-picking stats when that's exactly what you're doing.  If you want to hoist up ERA as the end all/be all stat, that's fine.  I'll prefer to look past that at other stats that show a different story such as the aforementioned declining BB/K ratio, and Gallardo's higher WHIP (1.416 to Chen's 1.218).  

 

(This is the part in the argument where you should tell me that my flaw in my argument here is that Chen pitched in front of a better defense last year allowing him to take away more hits from the opposition where Gallardo pitched in front of a worse defense.  Still doesn't make up for the declining bb/k ratio there. You're on your own for that one.)

 

One thing is certain, you do hate using logic. (Your words)

 

You brought up OBP and stuck to it. I crush you and you switch to batting average.

 

I don't particularly care what sites project players to do. They projected the O's to suck in 2014 and they won 96 games.

 

Who cares if Alvarez is on a one year contract? So was Cruz when no other teams wanted him. He was not exactly known for defense but Alvarez is definitely worse.

 

The good thing about Trumbo, Alvarez and Wieters is that they are all on one year contracts so if they don't work out, the O's can try again with all that money coming off the books.

 

The O's tried to get Fowler and he changed his mind. As I said, I'd rather have Fowler but that ship has sailed. Trumbo has a track record, Parades had one or two good months.

 

Gallardo, why does it matter if he K/Walk ratio has gotten worse? One of the most important stats for Gallardo is that his ground ball/fly ball ratio keeps going up which is great for Camden Yards. So yes, give me a guy that has one losing season out of ten while having an ERA over 4 only once in his career.

 

 

What's the point of being a fan if you just assume everything negative will happen before a season starts? We are all aware of potential weakness but why assume that's how it will definitely be two weeks into spring training games which mean nothing. How about we look at the O's track record under Buck and the fact that they have more regular season wins than any other AL team since 2012?

 

That sounds a lot more fun than being negative before they have played a meaningful game.

 

Again, last year they had bad starting pitching and tons of injuries. If those thing happen again, the O's won't be that good. If the O's have decent starting pitching and limited injuries there is no reason they won't win more than 81 games and contend for the playoffs. That is simple logic.

[Hersh]

Do you really think Gonzo is the only concern in our rotation?

 

Tillman doesn't worry too much unless he is pitching against Toronto. I would think the O's may set the rotation around that to start the season. If my math is right, eliminating the Toronto starts puts his ERA from nearly 5 to around 3.83. That's how terrible he was against the Jays.

 

I think Gausman and Gallardo will both be good. I think Ubaldo will be his normal inconsistent self where he dominates a few games then is incapable of throwing a strike for a few games. Gonzo does worry me. He's been really good for the O's but maybe his time has come. I definitely wish there was another option ready but I don't think there is outside of Worley. Maybe that guy will turn into a big time steal?

[Spaceman Spiff]

One thing is certain, you do hate using logic. (Your words)

 

You brought up OBP and stuck to it. I crush you and you switch to batting average.

 

I don't particularly care what sites project players to do. They projected the O's to suck in 2014 and they won 96 games.

 

Who cares if Alvarez is on a one year contract? So was Cruz when no other teams wanted him. He was not exactly known for defense but Alvarez is definitely worse.

 

The good thing about Trumbo, Alvarez and Wieters is that they are all on one year contracts so if they don't work out, the O's can try again with all that money coming off the books.

 

The O's tried to get Fowler and he changed his mind. As I said, I'd rather have Fowler but that ship has sailed. Trumbo has a track record, Parades had one or two good months.

 

Gallardo, why does it matter if he K/Walk ratio has gotten worse? One of the most important stats for Gallardo is that his ground ball/fly ball ratio keeps going up which is great for Camden Yards. So yes, give me a guy that has one losing season out of ten while having an ERA over 4 only once in his career.

 

 

What's the point of being a fan if you just assume everything negative will happen before a season starts? We are all aware of potential weakness but why assume that's how it will definitely be two weeks into spring training games which mean nothing. How about we look at the O's track record under Buck and the fact that they have more regular season wins than any other AL team since 2012?

 

That sounds a lot more fun than being negative before they have played a meaningful game.

 

Again, last year they had bad starting pitching and tons of injuries. If those thing happen again, the O's won't be that good. If the O's have decent starting pitching and limited injuries there is no reason they won't win more than 81 games and contend for the playoffs. That is simple logic.

 

 

You crushed my argument?  I guess that's your perception. I don't see anyone else around here agreeing with you.  I think you're the one who was acting like an 81 team is a consistent team.  Actually, they are.  They're just as consistent at losing, too.

 

No, I only started talking about batting average in how in relates to on base percentage.  If you don't understand the correlation and how it works, I can't help you.  I'm not surprised that you didn't choose to tackle the stats that I provided that spoke about the Royals offense and our offense last year and the differences between the two.  No, you just said that you "crushed" my argument.  Just because you said something doesn't make it true.

 

You are right, it's good that those players are all on one year contracts because if they suck, they come off the books.  But I think you're the one who downplayed the farm system for the next three years....wasn't this you?

 

 

 

Who cares about the farm for the next 3 years? A lot of guys are under contract for the next 2-3 years so a deep system isn't needed.

 

If you don't care about not having a farm system, I don't know what to tell you.  It means we'll probably be plugging away next year at another stopgap guy for one year.  I don't know about you, but that's not how I want to build my team.  I'd prefer two or three more Manny Machado types. 

 

Why does it matter if Gallardo's BB/K rate has gotten worse, are you kidding?  C'mon.

 

A pitcher has 4 outcomes for when he's throwing to a batter:  walk, strikeout, home run or a ball put in play.  Ok, there's also HBP, but that doesn't happen a lot in comparison.  

 

Out of those 4 outcomes the pitcher really only has control of two of them:  Walks and strikeouts.  

 

Strikeouts are great because it counts as an out that he can do 100% by himself.  If the strikeouts are down but the walks are up or staying the same, it means he's relying more on his defense to do the work behind him while putting the same amount of batters on base by himself.  I don't need to explain why walks are a bad thing.

 

Now Gallardo is in a good situation because he's pitching in front of a good defense this year but our defense can't control where those balls in play are hit and how hard they're hit.  As great as Jones is, it doesn't matter if balls are getting hit to the gap.  

 

Declining K rate also means his stuff isn't as good as it once was.  Either he's lost velocity, movement or both.  He's not fooling anyone as much.

 

Does that make sense?  

 

I'm not assuming that everything that'll happen will be negative, I just don't see how this team is leaps and bounds better than it was last year.  It COULD be better, but I don't see how this team is as good as the 2014 team.  

 

As far as your simple logic, I think you're confusing hope with logic.  I, too, am hoping for a better pitching performance, but I don't think it's a given that we'll get it.  I'm hoping for limited injuries.  And you're right, if we have those two things we should be better.  However, hope isn't logic.  

[Hersh]

You crushed my argument?  I guess that's your perception. I don't see anyone else around here agreeing with you.  I think you're the one who was acting like an 81 team is a consistent team.  Actually, they are.  They're just as consistent at losing, too.

 

No, I only started talking about batting average in how in relates to on base percentage.  If you don't understand the correlation and how it works, I can't help you.  I'm not surprised that you didn't choose to tackle the stats that I provided that spoke about the Royals offense and our offense last year and the differences between the two.  No, you just said that you "crushed" my argument.  Just because you said something doesn't make it true.

 

You are right, it's good that those players are all on one year contracts because if they suck, they come off the books.  But I think you're the one who downplayed the farm system for the next three years....wasn't this you?

 

 

If you don't care about not having a farm system, I don't know what to tell you.  It means we'll probably be plugging away next year at another stopgap guy for one year.  I don't know about you, but that's not how I want to build my team.  I'd prefer two or three more Manny Machado types. 

 

Why does it matter if Gallardo's BB/K rate has gotten worse, are you kidding?  C'mon.

 

A pitcher has 4 outcomes for when he's throwing to a batter:  walk, strikeout, home run or a ball put in play.  Ok, there's also HBP, but that doesn't happen a lot in comparison.  

 

Out of those 4 outcomes the pitcher really only has control of two of them:  Walks and strikeouts.  

 

Strikeouts are great because it counts as an out that he can do 100% by himself.  If the strikeouts are down but the walks are up or staying the same, it means he's relying more on his defense to do the work behind him while putting the same amount of batters on base by himself.  I don't need to explain why walks are a bad thing.

 

Now Gallardo is in a good situation because he's pitching in front of a good defense this year but our defense can't control where those balls in play are hit and how hard they're hit.  As great as Jones is, it doesn't matter if balls are getting hit to the gap.  

 

Declining K rate also means his stuff isn't as good as it once was.  Either he's lost velocity, movement or both.  He's not fooling anyone as much.

 

Does that make sense?  

 

I'm not assuming that everything that'll happen will be negative, I just don't see how this team is leaps and bounds better than it was last year.  It COULD be better, but I don't see how this team is as good as the 2014 team.  

 

As far as your simple logic, I think you're confusing hope with logic.  I, too, am hoping for a better pitching performance, but I don't think it's a given that we'll get it.  I'm hoping for limited injuries.  And you're right, if we have those two things we should be better.  However, hope isn't logic.  

 

2 or 3 Manny Machado type players?? Are you kidding? This guy is a generational talent. They don't come 2 or 3 at a time on one team.

 

I honestly have no idea what you even mean when I suggest that an 81 win team is consistent. The logic, once again, is that they managed to be an 81 win team with bad starting pitching and lots of injuries. If the starting pitching is marginally better and the team doesn't have the same amount of injuries, it is better than last year. That is all I ever said it would be. That is logic. I hope you understand what logic means. Logic says they will be better than last year based on the two principles I cited.

 

Gallardo is not fooling anyone anymore yet continues to win and have sub-4 ERAs as a ground ball pitcher. On this very site and during O's games, there is constant talk about the O's pitchers nibbling to much instead of pitching to contact. There is no reason based on his track record to think that this pitcher will continue to perform at the level he has been at over the years.

 

I laugh at your weak sauce comebacks like "how come you didn't address this or that?" Yes, the Royals were a better hitting team average wise. The less Caleb, Flaherty, and the rotation of last season corner outfielders play, the better for the O's batting average as well. Here where that silly logic thing comes into play. Logic says that the better players the O's have and with improved health, the batting average will be around 2014 levels.

 

Simple logic that you can't seem to grasp.

[pjfootballer]

Hey, hey, we got win number 2 today. Progress.

[Spaceman Spiff]

2 or 3 Manny Machado type players?? Are you kidding? This guy is a generational talent. They don't come 2 or 3 at a time on one team.

 

I honestly have no idea what you even mean when I suggest that an 81 win team is consistent. The logic, once again, is that they managed to be an 81 win team with bad starting pitching and lots of injuries. If the starting pitching is marginally better and the team doesn't have the same amount of injuries, it is better than last year. That is all I ever said it would be. That is logic. I hope you understand what logic means. Logic says they will be better than last year based on the two principles I cited.

 

Gallardo is not fooling anyone anymore yet continues to win and have sub-4 ERAs as a ground ball pitcher. On this very site and during O's games, there is constant talk about the O's pitchers nibbling to much instead of pitching to contact. There is no reason based on his track record to think that this pitcher will continue to perform at the level he has been at over the years.

 

I laugh at your weak sauce comebacks like "how come you didn't address this or that?" Yes, the Royals were a better hitting team average wise. The less Caleb, Flaherty, and the rotation of last season corner outfielders play, the better for the O's batting average as well. Here where that silly logic thing comes into play. Logic says that the better players the O's have and with improved health, the batting average will be around 2014 levels.

 

Simple logic that you can't seem to grasp.

 

 

Logic I can't grasp?  Dude, your "logic" is based on hope.  You hope that the pitching is better and you hope that we're injury free.  Yeah, you're right, if the pitching is better and there's no injuries we should be better.  However there's nothing outside of hope to suggest the pitching will be better and that we'll be injury free.  Injuries happen, unfortunately.  All teams have to deal with them.  You seem to think that the pitching with automatically be better.  I hope you're right.

 

Yeah, 2 or 3 Manny Machado types.  2 or 3 guys we drafted, developed, are cheap and under team control for several years.  You know, like Strasburg and Harper.  It's not completely out of the question.  It'd be a miracle if this team could scout, draft and develop properly, they've sucked at it for years.  

 

Speaking of, here's a good article on Gausman:  http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/springtraining_kevingausman/baltimore-orioles-hope-kevin-gausman-pick-clicks touches on how bad this team has been at drafting over the years, specifically with pitchers.  

 

Keep up hope, Hersh.  It's all we've got. 

[pjfootballer]

It's bad enough that we know about the pitching failures over the years. It's worse when you see it on paper.

[rictus58]

All this talk about OPS and BA and bla bla bla. Are we a better team this opening day than we were last year on opening day?

I vote yes. Marginally. But still better.

[Hersh]

Logic I can't grasp?  Dude, your "logic" is based on hope.  You hope that the pitching is better and you hope that we're injury free.  Yeah, you're right, if the pitching is better and there's no injuries we should be better.  However there's nothing outside of hope to suggest the pitching will be better and that we'll be injury free.  Injuries happen, unfortunately.  All teams have to deal with them.  You seem to think that the pitching with automatically be better.  I hope you're right.

 

Yeah, 2 or 3 Manny Machado types.  2 or 3 guys we drafted, developed, are cheap and under team control for several years.  You know, like Strasburg and Harper.  It's not completely out of the question.  It'd be a miracle if this team could scout, draft and develop properly, they've sucked at it for years.  

 

Speaking of, here's a good article on Gausman:  http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/springtraining_kevingausman/baltimore-orioles-hope-kevin-gausman-pick-clicks touches on how bad this team has been at drafting over the years, specifically with pitchers.  

 

Keep up hope, Hersh.  It's all we've got. 

 

It's not based on hope, it's based on the history of some of these guys. Tillman, had a really good three year run and was a solid pitcher in his two full seasons as a starter prior to last year.  

 

Gausman has less of a track record, but he has shown very well his first two years. I thought at the time if was a major mistake to put him in the bullpen and not start him last year at the beginning of the season. There is more hope built into him than the other players but so far so good. 

 

Gallardo has a history to rely on even if you want to dismiss it.

 

Ubadlo is totally inconsistent

 

Gonzo has a history, but he legitimately worries me.

 

Bullpen will be great again this year led by Britton and O'Day.

 

Trumbo and Alvarez, despite any flaws, have really good offensive track records compared to the players they are replacing. Hope would be me hoping Parades could hit again.

 

While I don't put much stock in spring training stats, it's good to see JJ hitting the ball. He doesn't need to be great but give me his regular .250-.260 with gold glove defense.

 

Kim is a total unknown. Maybe is he figuring it out with hits in his last three games and Reimold would be a "hope" guy.

 

Lastly, as I said before, look at the record under Buck. Every other year the O's have been great and the off years they still have not had a losing record. Is that a track record or just about hope?

 

No point in not having hope based on Buck alone. No reason not to believe based on the job he has done so far.

 

If Gausman and Schoop develop, you'll have your young players to go along with Machado.

All this talk about OPS and BA and bla bla bla. Are we a better team this opening day than we were last year on opening day?

I vote yes. Marginally. But still better.

 

In a division with all flawed teams, that may be all it takes.

[Hersh]

It's bad enough that we know about the pitching failures over the years. It's worse when you see it on paper.

 

It is brutal. The worst of the article is the 1999 and 2000 picks. 0 for 6. Hobgood as a pick is up there as well as one of the worst all time.

 

Bundy has been the biggest disappointment for me because of the injuries. Hunter Harvey still has time as he is only 21 and had his velocity back this spring. He's a couple of years away after missing all of last season.   

[Hersh]

Walker starting in LF today.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Whupped up on the Pirates today.  9-3.  

 

Their starter struck out 10 in 4 innings though.  Trumbo and Jones twice.

 

Kim had two hits.  5 for his last 10.  Schoop and Walker homered.

 

Gausman had a 3 run 4th.  

[lovetoaster]

Whupped up on the Pirates today.  9-3.  

 

Their starter struck out 10 in 4 innings though.  Trumbo and Jones twice.

 

Kim had two hits.  5 for his last 10.  Schoop and Walker homered.

 

Gausman had a 3 run 4th.  

 

Gausman was really good before that though. And that is big, IMO. He was cruising through three and gave up a homer to McCutchen in the fourth. He said he was getting a little tired in the fourth, which is to be expected this time of year. 

 

Bundy also looked good in two scoreless innings after Gausman, so that is nice to see as well. 

[Hersh]

One interesting thing Gausman said right before Schoop crushed a HR is that he isn't throwing is split change up yet in games. He said that will come next week.