PiR: Adjust the Strike Zone? What’s the Point?

Reality: The Baltimore Orioles have won nine of their 14 series in 2016.

The #Orioles are 9-4-1 from their first 14 series' of the season.

— Dan Clark (@DanClarkSports) May 22, 2016

Perception: The O’s continue to find ways to win, and frankly that is all the matters. 26-16 is a great record as we head for the final week of May. Anytime that you can be 10 games over .500 it is a great place to be. Yes, Sunday wasn’t pretty…but when have the Orioles been pretty on Sundays in the last five years? They won Friday and Saturday, and if they keep winning two out of three, this team will be headed to the playoffs.

Reality: The Orioles went 11-7 in their first 18 games, and 12-6 in their second 18 games.

Perception: A few weeks ago, I wrote about breaking down the baseball season into nine 18-game segments. I mentioned that if you can win six of those segments that your team would be in the playoffs. Well, the Orioles are now 2-0 in the first of those nine segments.

After opening the season 7-0, the Orioles went through a stretch of playing .500 ball. But then the Orioles went on another seven-game winning streak. All of that has added up to being 10 games over .500 and a first place team in the AL East.

Looking at the division, it’s not what we thought it would be. Who had the Toronto Blue Jays under .500 and the Orioles in first place? Not many, but the Birds continue to play good defensive baseball, get quality starts from their pitchers (not named Ubaldo), and are tied with Tampa for the most home runs in the game. If they can keep doing that throughout the season, you’ll continue to see the Orioles win series, 18-game segments, and likely the division or at least a Wild Card spot.

Reality: The Orioles have one of the top TV commentator teams in baseball.

Gary Thorne & Jim Palmer are fantastic and if you disagree you're wrong.

— Orioles Fan Problems (@OriolesFanProbz) May 22, 2016

https://twitter.com/GuidoGrappler13/status/730916592335376384

Perception: There is obviously a difference in opinions on this topic. But as was reported in our own Friday O’s Links from last week, FanGraphs ranked all 30 TV broadcast crews in baseball and the Orioles team of Gary Thorne, Jim Palmer, and Mike Bordick made the list at #5.

FanGraphs ranked Vin Scully as the #1 commentator and I’m not going to complain about that at all. He has been, is, and will be one of (if not) the best of all-time. The Giants, Mets, and Cubs TV teams were ranked second, third, and fourth respectively, and those could be argued.

Personally, I love Thorne and Palmer, but I could go without Bordick. He was a great player and one that I was proud to have be an Oriole, but he just doesn’t add much to the broadcast. He has a lot of knowledge, but he doesn’t share it in a way that seems to show it. When graphics are put up on the screen, he reads them like the old high school guest speaker who read every bullet point in their presentation on the projector. Instead of summarizing the graphic, he just reads it.

Thorne is awesome. Yes, he has his quirks, but don’t we all? Put a mic in front of you every day for three to four hours, and you’ll say some silly things too. I worked in live TV and Radio for 13 years…it’s easy to get caught saying something quirky in front of a live camera/mic. But overall, Thorne is a true professional and that’s why he also does work nationally with FOX. And like it or not, Thorne is fairly neutral with his call of the game, which can make it more enjoyable for everyone to watch.

Palmer is a delight. He is brilliant when it comes to baseball knowledge. I learn something from every broadcast, and not just about baseball, but what the players are thinking as they play the game. And I love his brutal honesty. He doesn’t hold back with his immediate thoughts and it’s refreshing to listen to him.

Reality: It appears baseball will be changing the strike zone next season.

MT @SportsCenter: A new strike zone coming & the old-fashioned intentional walk could be a thing of the past. https://t.co/vvJ8qdyVsD

— Joe Polek ????????⚾????⚽???? (@JoePolek) May 21, 2016

Perception: Major League Baseball is trying to do what they can to speed up the game. That’s why they are going to allow pitchers to just send the batter to first base, instead of throwing four pitches, for an intentional walk. They are also going to shrink the strike zone, in an effort to get more balls put into play, which would also speed up the game.

Do they really think this will accomplish anything? Basically, the lower part of the strike zone will move from the bottom of the knee cap to the top of the knee cap. With human umpires, this will change nothing. Baseball’s strike zone is a floating zone based on the home plate umpire of that game. What is a strike in Baltimore tonight is not a strike in Baltimore tomorrow night. So adjusting the strike zone a couple of inches around the knee is not going to change anything. But hey, at least they are trying.

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