Quote (Frazzles @ Feb 11 2012 02:46pm)

dat pitching staff

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Defending the Orioles
  The Orioles had one of the lower-tier defenses in 2011.  Some of this is due to poor fielders around the diamond. However, one could argue that the club also had too many shifting pieces at positions such as left field and second base. One could also argue that Mark Reynolds existed at third base.

They ranked 21st in errors with 110 (tied with the  Jays and Indians).
69 of those 110 were fielding errors, which ranked dead last in the league. They had 40 throwing errors, which surprisingly ranked 9th. I am not quite sure where the missing error went (69+40=109...).

We can get a better idea at how the Orioles fared defensively by looking at some advanced statistics as well:



As you can see, the Orioles had some positives, and a ton of negatives.

  -It really is not too much of a surprise that the Orioles ARM (Outfield Arm Runs) ranking is so good. They have strong arms in players such as Nick Markakis and Adam Jones. Markakis had a 1.8 ARM ranking last season, while Jones had a 5.4 ARM ranking. They also tend to place high in assists each year in the league. Jones ranked third with 16 assists, while Markakis ranked fifth with 14 assists.

  -DPR (Double-Play Runs) might be a little more surprising, but JJ Hardy and Robert Andino are two above-average fielders in my eyes. Hardy had a 1.5 DPR in 2011, while Andino had a 2 DPR.

  -Once we get down to RngR, you start to see where the Orioles go wrong. The advanced ratings really do not favor the Orioles defensively when it comes to range. Mark Reynolds was dead last in RngR with -15.2. Following close behind him was Adam Jones at -13.2, and Felix Pie at -13.3. Even Nick Markakis is not favored in these ratings, as he owns a RNgR of -8.6. Only three players with significant time had + RngR ratings; Nolan Reimold at 0.7, JJ Hardy at 1.3, and Derrek Lee at 4.8.

  -UZR and UZR/150 tell the same story. While the Orioles outfield defense seems better on the field, it is rated poorly. Felix Pie had a UZR of -13.4, Adam Jones -8.7, Nick Markakis -5.0, and Nolan Reimold 1.4. Obviously those are terrible, but I do have to point out the age-old myth of Camden Yards hurting a players' advanced defensive metrics. I took a look at that here. On the infield, players such as JJ Hardy, Derrek Lee, and Robert Andino did wonders for the defense. Hardy had a 10.7 UZR, Lee 3.4, and Andino 0.4. Andino was not excellent, but he was probably better than what Brian Roberts would have been defensively. It really came down to Mark Reynolds at third. His -22.8 UZR was near worst in the league. He also had a -5.3 UZR at first in his time there.

  -Also, everyone at this point knows that Matt Wieters is one of the top defensive catchers in baseball. I am not going to go in-depth with him, but he clearly helps out the defensive perspective of the team.

  After looking at the above statistics, you can see where the Orioles struggled defensively in 2011. Unfortunately for the Orioles, it really does have a lot to do with one player. That player is Mark Reynolds. But it is important to remember that he was not the only player that was viewed as a negative defensive player. Even the usual top defender Nick Markakis had a terrible year defensively. So with the above mentioned in mind, how can the Orioles get better defensively for 2012? Clearly they need to cut back on fielding errors. Here is my projected defensive team:

C: Matt Wieters
1st: Chris Davis
2nd: Robert Andino
SS: JJ Hardy
3B: Mark Reynolds
LF: Endy Chavez/Nolan Reimold
CF: Adam Jones
RF: Nick Markakis

  At this point, I see no reason to believe that the Orioles' defense improves in any significant aspect besides LF. It is certainly possibly that Mark Reynolds comes into this year with better discipline and footwork at third. It is also possible that Nick Markakis has a bounce-back season in right field. But overall, I see no reason to be overly optimistic about the defense going into 2012.

  It is bothersome to watch this team struggle defensively though, when teams such as the Rays and Royals have an excellent defensive club behind their young pitching. Meanwhile, the Orioles rank near the bottom of the league. The Orioles' young pitching staff is going to need all the help they can get in 2012, so hopefully the defense plays much better.

*credit to fangraphs as usual*

Quote (Minestrone @ Feb 15 2012 08:20am)

Oh Christ, Zach Britton is still injured.

Quote (kargus @ Feb 15 2012 06:03pm)

According to MASN's Roch Kubatko, Major League Baseball will void the contract of Seong-Min Kim.
The Korean Baseball Organization issued a permanent ban on Orioles scouts and filed a complaint with MLB earlier this month after the 17-year-old left-hander broke protocol and signed a contract state-side. O's executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has called the whole ordeal a mix-up, but Major League Baseball is clearly trying to do its part to patch things up with the KBO. Kim is expected to hit the free agent market again at a later date.

Os BM as fuck

Quote (Wine @ Feb 16 2012 12:23pm)

http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/7582769/640/7582769.jpg

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Prospect Watch: Ryan Adams
  After a 36 save season, BJ Ryan left the Orioles via free agency and signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles were compensated with a supplemental pick for their loss and took Ryan Adams in the 2nd round of the 2006 draft out of Jesuit High-school (New Orleans, Louisiana).

    Adams, 24, has slowly worked his way through the Orioles minor league system. At rookie ball in his age 19 season, he put up a respectable .256/.361/.376 batting line in 156 plate appearances. His second season in A- ball, he struggled with a .236/.296/.329 batting line in 272 plate appearances. It wasn't until his age 21 season at A ball where he really started to find himself.
  Adams put together a terrific season in Delmarva, with a .308/.367/.462 batting line in 497 plate appearances. The next season he was moved up to A ball in Frederick, and hit .288/.349/.381 in 235 plate appearances. In his age 23 season at AA Bowie, he arguably had his best season yet. He posted a .298/.365/.464 batting line with 15 HR (a career high) in 594 plate appearances. He followed up this great season with another respectable season at AAA Norfolk. He posted a .284/.341/.454 batting line in 415 plate appearances before he was finally summoned to the majors.

  With Robert Andino taking most of the reps at second, Adams only saw sporadic playing time at the big league level. In this sporadic time, he managed to put together a respectable line of .281/.333/.326 in 96 plate appearances. But with the recent acquisitions of Matt Antonelli, and Ryan Flaherty (Rule 5 pick), it seems the Orioles have made it difficult for Adams to break camp with the club. Is it because they do not believe his bat is strong enough? Is it because his defense has not improved in the manner they want it to? These are some questions that Adams enthusiasts have wondered over the past year or so.

  In reality, it may be a little mix of both questions asked. His glove is clearly below-average and has been the deciding factor for a lot of scouts on whether he can play at the major league level. While Adams has shown he can be a reliable bat at times, he has not stood out in any aspect. He has decent power for a second baseman, but nothing overly special (44 HR in six seasons). His average and on-base percentage have been good in the minors, but not without flaws. Take a look at the K% of Adams throughout his minor league career:


    I have a tough time believing a hitter can get away with these K% levels once they reach the majors. The way Adams plays his game, he needs to put the ball in play, and get on base to be an effective major league hitter. When you are striking out 20% or more of the time, it is going to hurt your game. Unless you have some form of extreme talent in an area like Mark Reynolds does with HR, it is going to be tough for that player to stay at an expected level of major league performance. Adams still has time to work on this at the AAA level this season, as I expect him to start there after the additions mentioned earlier. However, with the K% trend above, it would be reasonable to believe that he may never cut back on them. Maybe with some more practice it is possible, but probably not likely at this point.
Take a look at a few second basemen that I believe have some similar skills and statistics as Adams:


    As you can see from above, most of these players have their career K% below the 20% mark. They all are flawed players in some aspect, but have that one common denominator. Robert Andino was able to drop his K% in 2011 down to a respectable enough number. Brian Roberts has always had a low K%. Neil Walker probably fit the bill of Adams the best under my impression, and he has been able to keep his K% hovering around the 16-17% mark. Jason Kipnis is a top talent coming up through the Indians system, and has kept his K% below 20% except for his cup of coffee in 2011 in which it was 22.7. That was the outlier of his career so far. Finally, Howie Kendrick has kept his below 20% each year besides 2011. That was an extreme outlier for his career, as his next highest K% was 17.8% in 2009.

  The point is, these players have found ways to keep their K% below 20%, and thus have been successful in some form. I think Adams will need to do this as well, but the trends do not favor this. It will be an interesting season for him, as he most likely gets stuck in AAA to start the season. Can he force his way to the pros?

Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus ranked Ryan Adams the Orioles 9th best prospect in 2011.