MLB 2014 Season

[JLee9718]

Well, now that Matt Williams has learned that there is regular season baseball strategy and playoff game strategy, will he make any decision changes next season or will he stick to the same old script, "We did it that way all season long..."? Just call me a sore loser, but really, Williams needs to take some lessons from Buck Showalter, the Baltimore Orioles' manager. In the third game against Detroit, in the 9th inning with one out, Buck walked to the pitcher's mound and didn't summon for another reliever, he just said, "Okay, I want you to walk this guy you're facing and put him on first (and yeah, I know it's putting the winning run on base and smart baseball strategy tells you to never do that, but this is the playoffs), and then the next batter will hit into a double play and we can go home." The pitcher nodded to his manager, walked the guy at the plate, and then the next batter, as Buck had predicted, hit into a game-ending double play! The Orioles beat the Tigers 3 games to none in their playoff series! Now that's what I want Williams to do when he's faced with some hard decisions in the playoffs. Actually, I'd rather he go somewhere else to manage.

[JLee9718]

And how come Jason Werth wouldn't talk to the press? Not that he had anything to say, but he could at least say something to give us hope.

[BaltimoreSkins]

Originally Posted by JLee9718

Well, now that Matt Williams has learned that there is regular season baseball strategy and playoff game strategy, will he make any decision changes next season or will he stick to the same old script, "We did it that way all season long..."? Just call me a sore loser, but really, Williams needs to take some lessons from Buck Showalter, the Baltimore Orioles' manager. In the third game against Detroit, in the 9th inning with one out, Buck walked to the pitcher's mound and didn't summon for another reliever, he just said, "Okay, I want you to walk this guy you're facing and put him on first (and yeah, I know it's putting the winning run on base and smart baseball strategy tells you to never do that, but this is the playoffs), and then the next batter will hit into a double play and we can go home." The pitcher nodded to his manager, walked the guy at the plate, and then the next batter, as Buck had predicted, hit into a game-ending double play! The Orioles beat the Tigers 3 games to none in their playoff series! Now that's what I want Williams to do when he's faced with some hard decisions in the playoffs. Actually, I'd rather he go somewhere else to manage.

Buck has continued to make quality decisions in the ALCS too bad the players are no longer executing properly.

[over the mountain]

you knew that 3rd base was a defensive liability without machado and the error was due to happen.

the Os starting pitching just hasnt been that good through 2 games. the bullpen allowed the winning runs through 2 games. the long ball was falling a little short through 2 games.

going into the KC series, i thought we matched up well and did things just a little bit better than KC but through 2 games, they've been the slightly better and more fortunate team. KC has had 2 run scoring bloopers in 2 games.

Os have to get it back to 2-2.

lets go Os.

[BaltimoreSkins]

Originally Posted by over the mountain

you knew that 3rd base was a defensive liability without machado and the error was due to happen.

the Os starting pitching just hasnt been that good through 2 games. the bullpen allowed the winning runs through 2 games. the long ball was falling a little short through 2 games.

going into the KC series, i thought we matched up well and did things just a little bit better than KC but through 2 games, they've been the slightly better and more fortunate team. KC has had 2 run scoring bloopers in 2 games.

Os have to get it back to 2-2.

lets go Os.

Buck let Gutherie go for a reason. Hopefully tonight we see why.

[over the mountain]

Originally Posted by BaltimoreSkins

Buck let Gutherie go for a reason. Hopefully tonight we see why.

yeah, i loved guthrie when he was here. at that time, he was a decent pitcher surrounded by the brad bergensons of the world.

hopefully guthrie is still prone to elevating his fastball and allowing our guys to get some good swings on the ball.

do they still have bruce chen as well? would love to see that guy tomorrow.

im worried about our current chen. i think his arm is showing fatigue.

im not used to feeling like the Os wont win a series.

real nervous about tonight.

just worried that KC's destiny is stronger than ours.

another late inning blooper by KC to bring in a run will kill me.

f/u: well that just sucks.

[BaltimoreSkins]

Chen pitched well. Some manufactured runs on dying quails. Gausman has been lights out coming in some tough situations in the playoffs. Game 2 ALDS and Game 3 ALCS dude must have ice water in his veins.

[over the mountain]

tough game.

we are coming up just a bit short in every department.

tip your cap to the royals. theyre the better team in this series.

playing monday quarterback - a true no. 1 pitcher would have been nice. i like tillman but he is inconsistent and every couple games will have a bad one.

unfortunately for us, his bad game was game 1 of the ALCS. but if he didnt have a bad game in game 1, he would have in game 6 so ...... i would like a true no. 1 ..... but we gave no.1 money to jimenez who isnt even on the ALCS roster but will be on the books for 3 more years .... yesh.

[Chico23231]

Surprised Baltimore offense was no where to be found this series

[Chico23231]

So O's and Nat's wont get to the World Series after going into the playoffs with expectations one at least would.

Whats the problem with both teams? I think the coaching on both sides is legit.

The Orioles need to lock up Cruz and they need to find a two starters. I knew that Chris Davis contract was a bad idea, FO couldnt help themselves but he can still bounce back. I hope that wont stop them from locking up Cruz. How are they gonna handle the disappointment which is Matt Wieters? He needs to stay healthy and produce period.

The Nats have less problems in my opinion. I think they need to find a leader in the bullpen, couple of those guys who are suppose to be the top arms couldnt handle pressure playoff situations. Ive kept repeating this from day one, Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth and Laroche are not the answer at 3-4-5 in the line up. The FO made terrible decisions in those contracts. Nats pitching is tops in the league and they have outstanding young talent with Rendon, Bryce, Ramos, Desmond and I hope they keep Asdrubal Cabrera around. Span does a good job as well, but you could get more at the top of the order.

The future is bright for both, but there need to be some obvious changes.

[mooby]

Our bats were mostly silent in the whole series against the Giants, so it starts there. I don't see major lineup changes coming for the Nats, I think Zimmerman moves to first and idk whether we bring back Cabrera (I think I would given the lack of replacement options). Sucks for the O's, I didn't have a horse in this fight but I'll be rooting for the Royals to beat the Cards or Giants.

[over the mountain]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

So O's and Nat's wont get to the World Series after going into the playoffs with expectations one at least would.

Whats the problem with both teams? I think the coaching on both sides is legit.

The Orioles need to lock up Cruz and they need to find a two starters. I knew that Chris Davis contract was a bad idea, FO couldnt help themselves but he can still bounce back. I hope that wont stop them from locking up Cruz. How are they gonna handle the disappointment which is Matt Wieters? He needs to stay healthy and produce period.



The future is bright for both, but there need to be some obvious changes.

the Os didnt sign Davis to a huge long term deal. He is on arbitration. his arb number should be manageable given his disappointing 2014 campaign.

cruz is good but his legs are going, so he is starting his decline. everyone is saying it will take a 4 year deal, but will he take DH money instead of RF money?

weiters is not a disappointment. this was his first injury. he is one of the best defensive catchers in the league. his bat was doing very well before the injury. some speculate that his pitch calling isnt as great as thought bc the joseph/hundley duo did very well with our starters.

no weiters and machado was the difference against KC. hundley wasnt tested but he has a throw out rate of 15%. both put up paltry hitting numbers. joseph's error yesterday would not have been made by weiters.

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by over the mountain

the Os didnt sign Davis to a huge long term deal. He is on arbitration. his arb number should be manageable given his disappointing 2014 campaign.

cruz is good but his legs are going, so he is starting his decline. everyone is saying it will take a 4 year deal, but will he take DH money instead of RF money?

weiters is not a disappointment. this was his first injury. he is one of the best defensive catchers in the league. his bat was doing very well before the injury. some speculate that his pitch calling isnt as great as thought bc the joseph/hundley duo did very well with our starters.

no weiters and machado was the difference against KC. hundley wasnt tested but he has a throw out rate of 15%. both put up paltry hitting numbers. joseph's error yesterday would not have been made by weiters.

With all the hype, Wieters has been a disappointment...I thought they got a deal done with Davis...my bad. Cruz easily was the reason the O's won the east, I wouldnt break the bank but he was the difference maker. Machado needs to stay healthy, he could be great

So your good with the starting pitching? hmmm, i think its suspect.

[BaltimoreSkins]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

With all the hype, Wieters has been a disappointment...I thought they got a deal done with Davis...my bad. Cruz easily was the reason the O's won the east, I wouldnt break the bank but he was the difference maker. Machado needs to stay healthy, he could be great

So your good with the starting pitching? hmmm, i think its suspect.

Here is my off season wish list: Bull Pen, I don't want them to throw money around for a No. 1 starter the current trend is teams over paying for their services. I think Gausman is going to be the guy next year for our no. 1. We need a quality infielder that can play 3rd base and spell Schoop at second in short I don't trust Manny to stay healthy. First base I am cool with giving Davis the spot and letting him hit 7th. Cruz is tough because we also have Miller and Markakis as free agents. Markakis is the better all around ball player but Cruz at the plate is great, but for how long? He is 34 and will be 35 most of next year. Miller is going to be offered closer money after his playoff performance.

[over the mountain]

SP - im not okay with not having a ace, i just dont see us adding one given our approach to stay away from expensive pitchers and our maxed out salary. we kinda screwed ourselves with thinking Ubaldo was going to be our true no 1 with that 4 yr 50 mil contract. only 3 more years to go.

angelos broke his rule of offering a pitcher more than a 3 year deal and it has come back to bite us. i doubt he will offer another hefty contract to any SP this offseason. he just doesnt believe in paying pitchers.

orioles execs are "anonymous source" saying the Os are going to keep building the team with the goal of a WS ... but the Os payroll this year was 111 mil which is 11 mil more than angelos usually allows so i highly doubt they exceed 111 mil next year (despite PR machine already out spreading hope).

gausman is suspect to me. i dont see ace stuff from him. he can become the Os best pitcher, but i dont see him as an ace.

bundy should get a long good look next year and hopefully he will live up to the hype.

weiters - i just dont see him as a bust. he is a gold glove catcher with defensive metrics through the roof. the only disappointment was that he was supposed to swing a 30 hr bat. this season his hitting really came around (which wasnt all that bad to begin with).