A Tale of Two Orioles

Roch Kubatko details the recent futility of Chris Davis:

Davis hasn’t collected a hit since his double in the second inning of a Sept. 14, 2018 game against the White Sox. His streak of 45 plate appearances and 38 at-bats without a hit are club records for non-pitchers and threaten the major league marks dating back to 1974.

According to STATS, the Indians’ Tony Bernazard holds the major league record for position players – again, going back as far as 1974 – with 57 hitless plate appearances in a row in 1984. Eugenio Velez played for the Giants and Dodgers while setting the record for most consecutive at-bats with 46 from Sept. 14, 2010-Sept. 28, 2011.

MASNSports.com

There is a complete list of hitters with a streak of at least 45 PA without a hit at the link. There are some very good players on the list, so a 45 PA stretch in itself is not a sign of total collapse. I would note that Joe Morgan‘s streak came at the end of his career.

When you look at the streak (including the game with his last hit), it becomes fairly obvious that Davis’s career is in real trouble. He’s not hitting into bad luck. He struck out in 25 of his last 46 PA. He’s either not seeing the ball well, or his bat just can’t keep up. That last bit is reinforced by pitchers no longer throwing change ups to Davis. He can’t hit the heat, so there is no reason to fool him with different speeds.

I suspect the Orioles will release him soon. They are giving him every chance to live up to his contract, but his career appears to be over. It’s time for Baltimore to recognize the sunk cost and move on.

The Orioles did let a player go who looked like he was declining. Adam Jones wound up with the Diamondbacks, and it turned out so far to be good for the team and the player. With Steven Souza, Jr. going down with an injury, Jones is playing every day and playing well. He’s collected 14 hits in eight games, eight of those hits going for extra bases. This may not last, but Jones is showing the teams that took a pass on him that they might have missed an opportunity.

from baseballmusings.com http://bit.ly/2VqF6f5