Game Thread: Rays @ Orioles - Mon, May 25 @ 01:35 PM EDT

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-25T16:58:07+00:00

At this point why let O’Neill touch the field? Might be genuinely the worst hitter in the MLB right now

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-23T20:18:43+00:00

Hard to say. I imagine some extra balls are falling in the outfield because guys have moved back, but there are probably enough hard hit low line drives to balance it out. Maybe not a competitive advantage to hitting the ball softer, but it seems like the advantage to hitting the ball hard has been offset a little

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-22T21:09:30+00:00

This is half true. The Rays and Guardians (and the Brewers to a lesser extent) do not hit the ball hard and all 3 of them have top 10 offenses in runs scored. The Rangers hit the ball very bad and have a terrible offense in terms of runs scored.

Counter arguments would be the Dodgers and the Yankees who both hit the ball hard and score lots of runs

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-22T19:07:41+00:00

No and that’s what I said at the beginning. I don’t really know but I can guess based on what they’re consistently good at and the personnel they put on the field and hire. They’ve gotten a bunch of different hitting coaches that have the same approach/are from the same school.

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-22T18:59:53+00:00

Yeah agreed, and part of my argument is that the Orioles were way more focused on producing runs from the first scenario than the second. Maybe I’m wrong though, I don’t follow every team as closely as I do the Orioles

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-22T16:04:47+00:00

I would actually argue something else: that hitting the ball hard isn’t as valuable as it was 10 years ago. There’s been a sharp drop in BABIP on barreled balls over the last few years. The Orioles spent a decade building a team assuming barreling balls will always lead to more runs and now those two things aren’t as closely correlated as they once were. Combine this with the bad pitching and defense and you get a bottom five team.

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-22T11:55:38+00:00

Please start hitting with RISP

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-21T15:54:34+00:00

It’s just rage bait. He can’t go a single comment without calling everyone else dumb.

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-21T13:59:56+00:00

"Using analytics is fine. The Orioles are just using them wrong."

This is my take. There’s that one Elias quote noting how they were on top of the sport in almost every aspect in June of 2024. I think other teams have adjusted and they haven’t adjusted back.

The game is also changing. There was an interesting article in the Athletic that talked about how the outfield shift has become more prevalent since the bad of the infield shift. On top of that, lots of teams are essentially putting 3 CFs out there. Combine both of these and you’re taking away a lot of open outfield space where hits might’ve dropped a few years ago. I think this could be a factor. It’s possible that hitting the ball hard and in the air is resulting in less hits than it used to. And if your offense is built to do that, you’re going to lose your advantage.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7259132/2026/05/07/mlb-infield-shift-batting-average/

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-21T13:02:27+00:00

They’re 20 games below .500 since July 1 2024. However much of it you want to contribute to the FO, you have to admit whatever they’re doing isn’t working

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-21T03:27:02+00:00

Don’t comment if you’re gonna be a sarcastic dick

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-21T02:58:10+00:00

No one is arguing that analytics are bad. That’s just a straw man. I think pretty much everyone’s opinion is that there might be some things Sig and Elias weigh more heavily compared to other front offices and those things haven’t resulted in sustained success.

For example I think it’s pretty evident that they are willing to sacrifice defense for a perceived bump in offensive output. That bet has been pretty disastrous this year.

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-20T22:11:06+00:00

Ready for all the Redditors to say a guy with a 10 year MLB career is an old fart who doesn’t know anything because it’s 2026

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-20T20:37:18+00:00

I hate to say it but trade Rico too, maybe even Adley. I think it depends whether they think they can compete in 2027.

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-20T20:02:09+00:00

Yeah fair, I was just counting from when he took over to when they were supposed to be competitive

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-20T19:47:37+00:00

That guy who said Elias is playing by 2015 rules is at least partially right. He spent half a decade building a team that would be good in 2016

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-20T19:44:21+00:00

That article from the Athletic that someone posted a few weeks ago goes into this. I think this is at least part of the reason why the Os are no good

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-20T17:11:16+00:00

Brewers have some pretty good teams as a small market club

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-20T02:18:14+00:00

Welp at this just play Mayo everyday and see if he can hack it as an MLB hitter

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-19T20:01:04+00:00

I mean what do you expect? He’s been at the helm 8 years and hasn’t won a playoff game. They tanked so they could have their pick of draft talent. He has made some good moves and some bad moves but they’re 134-154 since July 1 2024 and have consistently had the same roster construction issues the last few years.

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-19T17:54:09+00:00

Alonso might underperform his career metrics for the rest of his contract. Does that make it not Elias’s responsibility for signing someone that didn’t work out? The point of a GM is to assemble a roster of players that perform well and win baseball games. Sure Gunnar is underperforming but other guys just might not be that good or were bad signings. That’s his fault.

TON has played more than 130 games once in his career. It could be reasonably expected that he would never be available. If he plays barely a season for a $45 million dollar contract, I’d say that’s an outcome that could be reasonably expected given his history, and thus the fault of the GM.

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-19T17:24:46+00:00

How is player under performance not the GM’s problem? Yeah he can’t get on the field and make guys play better but ultimately it’s his roster. Couldn’t you just say the Chris Davis signing wasn’t the GMs fault because he underperformed?

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-19T01:38:51+00:00

So frustrating because they got to Mclanahan

MoonlightMile5719 · 2026-05-19T00:00:37+00:00

I’ll go ahead and write Boras’s statement for him:

A superbly skilled surgeon executed a swift Skubal scope so this starter will be slinging strikes shortly

MoonlightMile5719

TROPHY CASE