GCL Orioles lost, 6-1.
- I spoke with Mychal Givens after the game, and his thumb is back to normal. He will play his first game in over 2 months tomorrow. He said he expects to finish out the season in the GCL — but a few more games in Delmarva isn’t out of the question.
- Kenny Wise showed up towards the end of the game, but won’t play this season.
- Connor Narron went 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts, both of which were terrible calls by the umpire. He has a good eye and a very nice line drive swing. I’ll have video up within the next few days.
- Manny Machado will report to the GCL Sunday.
- There has been some talk that instructionals may be canceled this year, but as of now nobody seems to know what’s going to happen. I’ll keep everyone updated.
Does this mean Machado is going to the Arizona Fall League?
Doubt it. I believe the Orioles are going to keep him in the GCL until it ends (August 31), and then send him to Aberdeen.
I wondered at draft time if Narron’s eye was actually better than most of the umpires at the HS level, and some of his strikeouts should have been walks. Seems like that was definitely possible, and maybe it’s still better than some of the umpires in the GCL.
Definitely. There are more K’s looking than there are at Bowie, Frederick etc. Narron has a very sharp eye from what I’ve seen. The umpires probably expand the zone by about 4-6 inches on both sides of the plate.
4-6 inches! That’s massive! Seems like that could be pretty darn detrimental if players start making adjustments so they can have more success.
Could happen. You can see three pretty bad calls here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzo6eWrnuzo
Guess it is just the pitcher in me, but “you throw em’ … and hit ‘em … where the blue calls ‘em…”
Baseball is all about adjusting. If you cannot do it, you will not last long in the game.
You are absolutely right…but, some of the calls being made here are absolutely ridiculous. Yesterday, there was a pitch maybe 4-5 inches off the ground and it was a called strike. I don’t think players can adjust to such an inconsistent strike zone.
I’m not going to compare him to Ted Williams, but you know who else had a batting eye better than most umpires? Ted Williams.
mychal givens is a star, that young boy will make it, WITHOUT A DOUBT HIS HEART IS ALL FOR THE GAME. He is a great person on and off the field. overall outstanding man