O's Review: 2011's Most Pleasant Surprises
by J(O's)elskIL on Sep 18, 2011 3:06 PM EDT
Email
Print
If there was ever a season in need of a silver lining, it's this one. A season that started with expectations of grand mediocrity crashed and burned into another wasted season. Yet, to the optimistic (and slightly delusional) observer, a ray or two of sunshine can be seen.
2nd Base: When it became obvious that Brian Roberts was going to be out for the rest of the season, Birdland suffered from collective heartburn. The travesty that was SS and 2B last year was flashing before my eyes. I couldn't take another year of that. Luckily, we had new/old JJ at short (we'll get to him soon), but 2B has not only not been the black hole of sucktitude I was expecting, but gave Robert Andino, and later Ryan Adams, to get extended looks at the keystone. They certainly made the most of it. Andino was solid all year, and while he isn't starter material, I think that he will be a very valuable back-up at 2B, SS and 3B. Adams also has a shot at the starting job next year, even if his batting stats are buoyed by a .383 (!) BABIP.
J.J. Hardy: AM might suck at signing good free agents, but no one can complain about his trades. Getting J.J. for two minor league scrub relievers made this entire season watchable (imagine 2008 happening at shortstop again). Even with a .272 BABIP indicating some bad luck this year, J.J. put up good numbers at the plate, and can handle himself in the field. His plate discipline needs a lot of work (although he was pretty far off his career norms) and his hitting swings wildly from month to month, but the FO made a good decision to wrap him up at a below-market price to hold the fort until Machado is ready. If he stays healthy, he'll be fun to have around.
FanPosts are user-created content and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors of Camden Chat or SB Nation. They might, though.
24 comments
|
1 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I'm confused.
The two biggest knocks on his game before this season were his defense and his right-handed hitting.
Wasn’t his defense already being praised after last season?
He did have a high rating, but I read in quite a few places that it was unsustainable.
Apparently, they were wrong
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Vlad is good.
by J(O's)elskIL on Sep 18, 2011 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Ugh, and by high rating I mean he had 5 fRAR in fielding alone
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Vlad is good.
by J(O's)elskIL on Sep 18, 2011 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions
The Hardy trade was a steal, but..
….no one can complain about his trades? I can…
David Hernandez/Kam Mickolio for Mark Reynolds and his contract looks pretty bad right now. Gregg Zaun for Rhyne Hughes was a shitty deal, since Zaun netted a draft pick. Tejada for Luke, the ghost of Troy Patton, Albers, and Costanzo was not a very good deal. Bedard for Jones, Tillman, Butler, Sherril and Mickolio was definitely a good deal, but a lot less good than we once thought. Same for the Sherrill deal that brought over Josh Bell and Steve Johnson. I still think the Uehara deal deserves a lot of questions too.
His trades haven’t been horrible, for sure, but they haven’t been Anthoupolous good either.
To be understood is to be a prostitute. ~ Fernando Pessoa
No one is AA good.
But I stand behind the Tejada trade for sure. The book hasn’t closed on that one.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Vlad is good.
by J(O's)elskIL on Sep 19, 2011 3:01 AM EDT up reply actions
I also think it’s important to judge the trades given what was known at the time and process behind it.
Kevin Gregg-"You obviously haven't acquired my taste for pitching yet"
Even more important to judge the Tejada trade on the fact that he was named in the Mitchell Report like 48 hours later!
And aged two years overnight at some point that same offseason too, if I’m remembering right.
"So I said, 'Looks like they've finally got Ogea in the pen. I wonder if the glove fits.' I thought I was going to get fired." - Mike Flanagan, RIP
by Eat More Esskay on Sep 20, 2011 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Here's an interesting thing...
…in both the Tejada deal and the Uehara deal, the key piece in the deal (Patton and Davis) had a torn labrum, which the Orioles didn’t know about when the deal was made.
To be understood is to be a prostitute. ~ Fernando Pessoa
did the astros or rangers know?
Kevin Gregg-"You obviously haven't acquired my taste for pitching yet"
actually according to here. the o's did know about patton
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/319117-orioles-top-prospect-no-8-troy-patton
of course, it’s the bleacher report. but they say his season ended early with a torn labrum, but andy took him always due to promise.
Kevin Gregg-"You obviously haven't acquired my taste for pitching yet"
correction: O's knew he was injured but not that extent.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3281512
Patton was shut down in Houston last September with left biceps tendinitis, so the Orioles knew there was a chance he would have problems with his left arm this spring. Before the trade with the Astros was completed, Baltimore was provided an MRI of Patton’s left shoulder.
“It’s pretty much what I expected. I could’ve gone a different way (but) sometimes you’ve got to go the high-risk, high-reward type deal,” said Andy MacPhail, president of baseball operations. “I could’ve had a different player in there, but (Patton is) 22, left-handed and already worked his way to the big leagues. I can wait.”
Kevin Gregg-"You obviously haven't acquired my taste for pitching yet"
Friedman could give AA a run for his money
So could Cashman. The Cleveland GM has made some great moves too, picking up Choo, Cabrera and Santana for spare parts, although fleecing Bavasi and Coletti isn’t exactly rocket surgery.
To be understood is to be a prostitute. ~ Fernando Pessoa
I voted J.J.
Because Wieters wasn’t a surprise to me. I’m thrilled he’s doing well, but I always thought he would.
Giraffes have absurdly strong necks.
Late entry, but I agree here
Wieters’s continued development was the most pleasant thing about the whole season, to me, but it wasn’t that much of a surprise. Hardy’s performance was both pleasant and surprising — it wasn’t completely out of nowhere but it was above even my most optimistic estimation of what was realistic to expect.
by Joltin Joe Orsulak on Sep 22, 2011 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Great fanpost!
Gotta go with JJ Hardy though. I also do like the work that Robert Andino has done all season, especially against LHP (758 OPS!), so maybe we only need to find half a platoon at any of several positions…
If you look at those UZR ratings or whatever
I went with 2B.
I might even throw in Jim Johnson into the conversation.
Kevin Gregg-"You obviously haven't acquired my taste for pitching yet"
I thought about it, to be honest, but decided against it.
Koji overshadowed him and we already knew he was good. On another note, are you also really worried he’s going to get injured because of all his innings? He’s second among relievers in IP, and he had that long injury last year.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Vlad is good.
by J(O's)elskIL on Sep 19, 2011 4:29 AM EDT up reply actions
JJ had a nice jump in performance
nothing terribly unusual though.
Kevin Gregg-"You obviously haven't acquired my taste for pitching yet"
I don't quite understand what you're talking about.
Either “JJ had a nice jump in performance, nothing terribly unusual though” and shouldn’t be in the conversation or “I might even throw in Jim Johnson into the conversation”.
Or are you talking about IP? because last year’s injury was after an increase of only 5 IP between 08 and 09. So it’s (probably) not the increase, but (maybe) the overall workload. Either way, I’m worried about an injury next year.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Vlad is good.
by J(O's)elskIL on Sep 19, 2011 4:52 AM EDT up reply actions
Sorry, a 1.1 IP increase from '08 to '09
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Vlad is good.
by J(O's)elskIL on Sep 19, 2011 4:53 AM EDT up reply actions
I was looking at ERA and fWAR
Nice improvements from last year, thus we might be someone interesting to talk about. At the same time though, the improvements aren’t that dramatic. If people want to talk about him, fine, but personally, I wouldn’t vote for him. OK?
Kevin Gregg-"You obviously haven't acquired my taste for pitching yet"
JJ more pleasant
Andino more of a surprise. I think he easily wins the “most improved Oriole” poll, and I’m not convinced he isn’t starter material.
he's no pedro strop! - j.q. higgins
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Camden Chat
Related FanShots on Camden Chat
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Official Sponsor of Camden Chat GameThreads
