Since the injury to Zach Eflin last week, the Baltimore Orioles have been cobbling together innings from Norfolk call-ups and Dean Kremer hasn\u2019t even gotten the call just yet. Luke Jones and Nestor talk pitching depth and bullpen taxing by Orioles bad starters after Pittsburgh sweep and some innings eaters in Cade Povich and Brendan Young in the chill of Chicago.<\/p>\n
[ ] @Nestor Aparicio \u2013 Attend the Maryland Crab Cake Tour events on Friday, positioned behind the wall at Camden Yards on Utah Street and then at Lexington Market, to promote Baltimore Positive.<\/p>\n
[ ] @Nestor Aparicio \u2013 Host Stephen L Miles as a guest on an upcoming Baltimore Positive show segment.<\/p>\n
[ ] @Nestor Aparicio \u2013 Schedule and host Baltimore Positive segments at Costas in Timonium on the 16th of the month, at Koco\u2019s on April 23, and at Pizza John\u2019s in early May once the exact date is confirmed with Michelle and Brett.<\/p>\n
[ ] @Nestor Aparicio \u2013 Feature Dwayne Reader from the Clemente Museum as a guest on this week\u2019s Baltimore Positive segment.<\/p>\n
[ ] @Nestor Aparicio \u2013 Have Jesse Minter appear on the show later in the week after returning from injury, running around the complex and working on strength and conditioning.<\/p>\n
Orioles Pitching Performance and Upcoming Events<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio introduces the show, mentioning upcoming events like the Maryland crab cake tour and appearances at various locations.<\/p>\n
Nestor discusses the Orioles\u2019 recent performance, particularly the struggles of the pitching staff.<\/p>\n
Luke Jones highlights the inconsistency of Orioles\u2019 pitchers, mentioning Trevor Rogers\u2019 good starts and the disappointing performance of Kyle Bradish.<\/p>\n
Nestor and Luke discuss the impact of injuries and poor performance on the team\u2019s pitching depth.<\/p>\n
Concerns About Kyle Bradish and Chris Bassitt<\/p>\n
Luke Jones expresses disappointment with Kyle Bradish\u2019s performance, noting his lack of effectiveness in his first two starts.<\/p>\n
Nestor and Luke discuss the high expectations for Bradish, given his past performance and potential.<\/p>\n
Luke highlights the issues with Chris Bassitt, including poor command and lack of strikeouts, comparing his performance unfavorably to Charlie Morton\u2019s early struggles.<\/p>\n
Nestor emphasizes the importance of consistent pitching performance for the team\u2019s success.<\/p>\n
Impact of Injuries and Bullpen Strain<\/p>\n
Nestor and Luke discuss the impact of injuries to key pitchers like Dean Kramer and John Means on the team\u2019s pitching depth.<\/p>\n
Luke mentions the increased workload on the bullpen due to the lack of reliable starters, leading to concerns about their sustainability.<\/p>\n
Nestor and Luke discuss the upcoming series against the White Sox, expressing concerns about the team\u2019s ability to perform well in cold weather conditions.<\/p>\n
Luke highlights the need for better performance from the bullpen and the starting rotation to alleviate the strain.<\/p>\n
Team Performance and Leadership<\/p>\n
Nestor and Luke discuss the team\u2019s overall performance, noting the lack of consistent contributions from key players.<\/p>\n
Luke emphasizes the importance of leadership and the need for players to step up and perform better.<\/p>\n
Nestor mentions the impact of new leadership and the need for the team to show improvement to justify the investments made in players and staff.<\/p>\n
Luke expresses concerns about the team\u2019s ability to perform consistently and the need for a collective effort to improve.<\/p>\n
Future Outlook and Team Needs<\/p>\n
Nestor and Luke discuss the team\u2019s future outlook, expressing hope for better performance but acknowledging the challenges ahead.<\/p>\n
Luke highlights the need for the team to address their pitching issues and improve their performance in key areas like hitting and defense.<\/p>\n
Nestor mentions the importance of the upcoming draft and the need for strategic acquisitions to strengthen the team.<\/p>\n
Luke emphasizes the need for the team to show improvement quickly to avoid a prolonged period of underperformance.<\/p>\n
SUMMARY KEYWORDS<\/p>\n
Orioles pitching, bullpen taxing, Chris Bassitt, Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Dean Kramer, bullpen workload, offensive struggles, Pittsburgh sweep, White Sox series, Adley Rutschman, leadership, injury concerns, rotation depth, defensive issues.<\/p>\n
SPEAKERS<\/p>\n
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 00:01<\/p>\n
Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 to Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. Click on us. Like us. Subscribe to us. If you\u2019re around. We\u2019ll be subscribing to some crab cakes on Friday, the Maryland crab cake tour, getting back out on the road. I\u2019m looking forward to it. I\u2019ll be right behind the wall at Camden Yards on Utah Street. We\u2019re going to be up the road at Lexington market having some delicious crab cakes. Stephen l miles are stopping by. I\u2019ve got some other great guests. Luke\u2019s going to be in the neighborhood with the San Francisco Giants in town. Gave me a chance to text with John Miller. Next Thursday, will be at Costas. That\u2019s the 16th of the month, and then the 23rd at Koco\u2019s, and I should say Costa said Timonium at the racetrack. How soon they forget about the Dundalk location? I do not the 23rd will be Koco\u2019s, and I\u2019m getting back to Pizza John\u2019s, which early May so Luke and I\u2019ll get on that once I get that day confirmed with Michelle and Brett and everybody in Essex. And I\u2019ve been hanging out in Essex. Couple of my best pals were together last week. We went pizza John\u2019s and had some proper vegetarian pizza for all my friends there, Luke, how are you, hopefully better than the Orioles pitching has been here. I know you had an Easter weekend thing going on, and the Orioles had a sweet thing going on in Pittsburgh and but the pitching, as much as we\u2019re worried about the bats and the defense and all that. It\u2019s been very disrupted here by the Chris Bassett thing, certainly by the efflin thing, where Kramer is what happened to Povich on Sunday. Craig Albernaz has his hands full when he\u2019s not getting himself thrown out.<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 01:37<\/p>\n
Yeah. I mean, right now you say all right, Trevor Rogers has been very good his first two times out. So check there. I mean your ace or, you know what regard, regardless of whether you were more Bradish or Rogers, he\u2019s been the guy, right? And Bradish has not been very good so far. Buzz, I thought looked good over the weekend, so I\u2019m feeling better about him. And I even thought if you went back and if you watched his start and didn\u2019t just look at the numbers. His first start, he had one bad inning. I thought he was pretty good the rest of the way, and but, man, you look at the rest of this right now. I mean, as I mentioned, Bradish has been disappointing so far. I mean, there\u2019s just no no ifs ands or buts about it. I mean, it\u2019s two starts, but we\u2019re talking about Bradish. I mean, someone that<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 02:21<\/p>\n
he\u2019s got to give you a chance to win Well,<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 02:23<\/p>\n
I mean, he\u2019s got to be better than that. I mean, like you, you want this guy to be a guy that is at least somewhere on that, somewhere at least down the Cy Young ballot, right? I mean, he was fourth in 2023 and we talked about it even with his, you know, pre Tommy John elbow situation, and then coming back late last year, he looked great. I mean, didn\u2019t just look good, he looked great. So that\u2019s where it is, a little disheartening here. And you say, Okay, well, hopefully, you know it obviously, when he pitched on the first Saturday of the season, it was cold in Baltimore, and you know, the Velo ticked a little bit down late in that start. I thought his Velo looked better in Pittsburgh, you know, at least, certainly early on so, but it\u2019s just, you know, again, they need him to be at least a number two starter, right, or at least an excellent number three, if we\u2019re going to say Shane Boz becomes the two. But I\u2019m still not. I\u2019m more so disappointed with what Bradish has looked like. Bassett has been off. I mean, you go back to Sunday afternoon and, you know, you kind of look at how the top of the first and the bottom of the first started for the Orioles, you know, Taylor Ward singles gets thrown out trying to steal, right? So you think you have, you know, Guy on nobody out chance to score some runs early, and he gets erased on the basis it happens whatever. But then Bassett, oh, two pitch to O\u2019Neill Cruz, and he clips his elbow guard. I mean, it\u2019s just he, his command just has not been there. You know, he\u2019s not not commanding his pitches. He\u2019s walking people, which, you know, it\u2019s not something you really think of Chris Bassett doing. It\u2019s not striking anyone out. I mean, it\u2019s, it\u2019s been, been really bad. Even Charlie Morton early last year, as bad as he was, I could at least point to some peripherals that he was still getting swing and miss. He was still getting some strikeouts. There was some path there for him to be better, and he did, and he was better after the first five weeks, when, you know there was such a correlation with how he pitched and how how bad they were in the games he pitched. So I\u2019m not saying he salvaged his season, but he pitched better like Bassett. I don\u2019t see what the good sign is right now, other than, okay, he\u2019s got a track record. He\u2019s still pitched well, last year, he\u2019s 37 but he\u2019s not 41 like Charlie Morton was. But, man, it\u2019s been<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 04:50<\/p>\n
really bad. Well, they\u2019ve really been out on him, the amount of money, just the whole, yeah, I mean, where I was in there, in the whole ecosystem of. Whether they can be a playoff team or not. To me, that hinged on, you know, 27 really decent starts from him, yeah, in a general high three, low two kind of way for that kind of money. For me, yeah. I mean,<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 05:14<\/p>\n
I, I don\u2019t know if he was going to be that good, but he needed, he needs to go out there and just give to what you said about Bradish, I think certainly applies to Bassett. Give them a chance to pit to win every time he pitches right, whether that means three runs in six innings. I mean, that\u2019s a four and a half era, but if you do that consistently, you\u2019re giving your team innings. You\u2019re making it easier to manage the bullpen. You\u2019re giving your team a chance to win, assuming the Orioles are going to swing the bats better than they better than they have to this point, right? But he he hasn\u2019t been competitive. I mean, and I know he got hit with the smash on the back of the leg, right, but wasn\u2019t going well, even before that happened. You know, I\u2019m not going to sit here and say that that\u2019s the reason why he was out after two innings. He threw 62 pitches, right? I mean, he threw, he threw 100 pitches in his first start, and didn\u2019t even get through five innings, right? I mean, you look at that and you just say, that\u2019s, it\u2019s really below the bar. You know, zero raise 14.21 through two starts. I mean, there\u2019s just, there\u2019s just not a lot that I\u2019m saying. I mean, at zero strikeouts, right? He walked to, as I mentioned, he he hit O\u2019Neill Cruz on the no two pitch to start the game, right? I mean, it\u2019s just just been really bad. It\u2019s been more Kyle Gibson like, and again, Kyle Gibson from last year, not the Kyle Gibson who was an important part of their pitching staff three years ago. So, you know, I\u2019m not not panicking that that that his career is over, but at the same time. And I think you made the point last week in talking about this with older pitchers, when you\u2019re talking about someone who\u2019s 37 or, in the case of you know, Morton was an extreme last year because he was 41 but you kind of go down the list of and this is how the Orioles have operated with some of their pitching acquisitions in recent years. Right? They go for that guy to try to squeeze one more good year out of an accomplished pitcher who\u2019s in the, you hope the November, but could be the the December 30 of their career. Right? Where you\u2019re looking at it and saying, Okay, we think he\u2019s got one more good year left in him. But we also know sometimes when it goes it goes quickly for a pitcher, so I\u2019m a little concerned with what I\u2019ve, you know, to put it, to put it lightly, even though it\u2019s only been two starts, I\u2019m really concerned with what I\u2019ve seen from Chris Bassett, and he\u2019s got to be a lot better, because this is, this hasn\u2019t just been where you say, Okay, well, they, you know, they dumped a couple balls in, you know, they blew up a couple balls. You know, the defense didn\u2019t. And, you know, I\u2019ll hear the defensive part, you know. And what happened with Jeremiah Jackson not being able to get his foot on first base, but, man, it just, it\u2019s been ugly, you know, in terms of the command, the stuff, not being real crisp, not getting any swing and missing, not saying, Chris bassett\u2019s This major strikeout pitcher, but you got to strike out a few guys here and there. So it\u2019s just that\u2019s been really ugly, right? I mean, you know, and that\u2019s a different story. I mean, that\u2019s when it\u2019s hurt, right? I mean, that\u2019s, unfortunately, that\u2019s the that\u2019s the risk you run with any pitcher. And, you know, I don\u2019t know exactly what caused the elbow. I mean, I talked about the arm slot, and maybe that had something to do with it, you know, what? With making some adjustments there, because he was feeling better with the back. But in the case of Bassett, it\u2019s been so bad these first couple starts, you wonder, like, Is he okay, physically, right? Is there anything going on there that we\u2019re not quite sure about? I mean, I don\u2019t think the, don\u2019t think the stuff has been, you know, I don\u2019t think his Velo has been way down that you would say that screams like arm issue or anything. But at the same time, sometimes when pitchers are having an issue, the first thing that really shows up is actually the command. And, I mean, he just isn\u2019t command. Is commanded his pitches very well. I mean, hit, hit O\u2019Neal cruise with a oh two pitch. I mean, right off the bat, and walk a couple other guys. You know, you\u2019re hitting batters. I mean, walked guys in his first start. I mean, it\u2019s just that\u2019s the one to me. You know, I\u2019ve been more disappointed in what I\u2019ve seen from Bradish more than alarmed or panicked Bassett. Oh, that\u2019s been really, really bad. Luke Jones.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 09:29<\/p>\n
Here he is, Baltimore. Luke the Orioles are headed to Chicago, Illinois. It\u2019s gonna be very chilly on Monday and Tuesday, maybe a little better on Wednesday, and they now go to very, very quickly, a bullpen night and Suarez to save them. Povich not to pitch. Cano got a little work in on Sunday because he hadn\u2019t worked the bats are weird because they haven\u2019t seen left handers in a lineup, but they\u2019re. Own pitching situation leaves a lot to be desired as they enter this series, waiting on Rogers every fifth day kind of, sort of at this point, maybe boss.<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 10:11<\/p>\n
Yeah. I mean, that\u2019s not where you want to be, right? You don\u2019t want to be in a position where it\u2019s like, All right, here\u2019s the guy that\u2019s going to give us a great you want to have a few guys that do that. No, that you\u2019re not going to have five number one starters. We understand that. But right off the bat, again, when you have the issue with efflin and then you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen team Kramer made a start for Norfolk on Friday. It sounds like they want to give Kramer one more start. I mean there, I think some of that is also a byproduct of he pitched in the WBC for Israel, the he gets optioned, right? I mean, the start of the season\u2019s weird. I mean, who knows what they told they might have even said, Look, we\u2019re going to slow play you a little bit here. You know, before effing got hurt, they might have told him, Hey, we\u2019ll slow play you. We know you haven\u2019t been a guy that necessarily gets off to awesome starts in April anyway. So, you know, they thought they could, kind of, I don\u2019t know if I would say, like, ramp up Dean Kramer, but I think there was an idea of, get him a couple starts, get him into a regular routine, and then he\u2019ll be ready to go, I don\u2019t know, mid April, 3 week of April, whatever. And obviously, when you lose efflin, that\u2019s, you know, that becomes expedited. And even, you know, they call up Kade Povich, and you know that they wanted cover for him, but I think the thought was he was going to start Monday, right? I think that\u2019s probably what they had in mind. And then they\u2019re in a position where they need someone to give them length on Sunday. And then they said, Okay, well, it\u2019s going to be Cade and, you know, presumably, and you know, I don\u2019t want to make any assumptions, because even after the game on Sunday, Albernaz didn\u2019t confirm 100% that it\u2019s going to be Suarez, but you would think it\u2019s probably him, unless, unless there\u2019s another roster move to be made that we don\u2019t know about. And obviously we\u2019ll, we\u2019ll monitor that with the wnst tech service, but it\u2019s just, again, this isn\u2019t where you wanted to be 10 days into the season, right? You didn\u2019t want to be where you\u2019re on<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 12:07<\/p>\n
the losing streak, going into the cold, yeah?<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 12:12<\/p>\n
Just, you know, it\u2019s just, it\u2019s unnerving. It\u2019s unsettling, right? And that\u2019s the best way to put it, you know, I\u2019m not, I\u2019m not panicking, but, man, you just that that\u2019s not what you want. And you don\u2019t want to be in a position where you\u2019re already like, okay, when\u2019s the next off day? Are we going to reset here all that? Like you don\u2019t<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 12:26<\/p>\n
want to be feeling that way. Well, they\u2019re playing lunchtime Wednesday, so they\u2019re really condensing a lot of baseball that if they go fall down the mountain on Monday, you know, yeah, listen, when you think you\u2019re going to be good, you can give games away, or you can have a rough day, or just say we\u2019re not. We\u2019re going to give 80% today. We\u2019re going to give everybody the day off. We\u2019re going to rest up to go fight harder tomorrow, because we have a pitcher pitching or whatever they they\u2019re not in any it felt like they were reeling after the game on Sunday. I didn\u2019t like the body language and the kinds of answers that the Dylan beavers and the Chris Bassetts were giving they looked a little deer in the headlights. Certainly, Albernaz looked, it looked a little large for him when he\u2019s out there. MF and the umpire about the fast pitch, quick pitching going on. I don\u2019t, I don\u2019t, it didn\u2019t light a fire. You know what? I mean, it wasn\u2019t that kind of managerial, you know, we\u2019ll show them. I it just seemed a little silly. And then on top of that, I don\u2019t know what the White Sox have under the hood at this point, but I know it\u2019s going to be unpleasant baseball. It\u2019s going to be cold and raw.<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 13:37<\/p>\n
Yeah, I mean, it\u2019s, it\u2019s Chicago in the first, the first or second week of April. I mean, it\u2019s just bundle up. It\u2019s going to be chilly. I mean, there\u2019s no other way to put it. So the good news is, you do have Trevor Rogers going in game two. You\u2019re really hoping that Kyle Bradish. And, you know, I think, with Wednesday being an afternoon game, I think it\u2019ll be a little more pleasant, right? I mean, you would assume, but you want, going into the season, we thought, hey, that\u2019s the one two punch. That\u2019s, those are the two guys along with you, hope maybe buys right, going into the season, that by the end of the year, you\u2019re talking about them feeling like, you know something that will play in terms of a playoff series. All that, right, all that optimism you\u2019re, you\u2019re just, you\u2019re having in February, in the first three weeks of March, until, well, you roll the ball out and you play, right? So, but I mean, when the first game is, you know, presumably Albert Suarez, and presumably, you know the bull, you know, I don\u2019t think Suarez gonna throw 110 pitches for you. So you\u2019re gonna be relying on your bullpens. So that\u2019s even against the White Sox, right? Who have been really bad the last couple years. That\u2019s still not where you want to be and and the White Sox in the second week of April, that\u2019s not the same animal as the White Sox in the third week of June, right? They\u2019re four and five. They\u2019ve actually. One three straight coming into this series. So, you know, you\u2019re getting a version of the White Sox that feels better about itself than you normally would expect. So just need to go out there and play, you know, I\u2019m not, I\u2019m not as concerned about the body language. You know, what they say in post game like I think you can. There are lots of games where you look at a loss of a post game clubhouse, and you know you<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 15:22<\/p>\n
can say anything to hang their hat on.<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 15:25<\/p>\n
No, no, I hear you.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 15:26<\/p>\n
That\u2019s they\u2019re they\u2019re hanging on to Pete Alonso\u2019s contract and his leadership writer, that the leadership that they\u2019ve imported into this or the leadership of Craig Albernaz, to get involved and get in the middle of this and start thinking baseball when you\u2019re out there hitting the cut off, man, fielding your position and work in a count and not getting thrown out on the base pass, and playing heads up ball and giving yourself a chance to win. Man, sure, I<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 15:57<\/p>\n
hear you. I mean, I really do. I mean, I I, I\u2019ll say, I\u2019ll go back to what I said at the end of the end of the homestand, and that was before the sweep, and it still applies. I\u2019m not panicking by any means just yet, but, man, I wish there was more I could point to and say I\u2019m impressed by that, right? I mean, there are only a few guys right now, and that\u2019s what that sounds a lot like, what we were saying last year at this time, right? I mean, okay, Easter Sunday wasn\u2019t as bad. I mean, they didn\u2019t lose 24 to two on Sunday. Thank thankfully. But it\u2019s not like, eight to two feels a<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 16:28<\/p>\n
whole lot better. It wasn\u2019t pitching, but what about the hitting, right? Like, to your point, like, what about working counts? What about getting on? What about not striking out 14 times in a game?<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 16:39<\/p>\n
Well, and that. And, I mean, look, they fell behind early on Sunday, and that\u2019s going to happen sometimes, where you fall behind at six, nothing in the third inning. You\u2019re probably most teams in that instance, probably are not going to have their best at bats. But prior to Sunday\u2019s game, the walk rate had actually been solid overall. I mean, they\u2019ve had some games where they\u2019ve worked some walks, and they\u2019ve worked some counts, even when they haven\u2019t gotten a return in terms of lighting up the scoreboard. But, yeah, I mean, you look at Sunday, I mean, strike out 14 times and they don\u2019t walk a single time. I mean, that\u2019s, that\u2019s not good enough. I mean, and give, you know, give Braxton Ashcraft credit. I thought he I thought he had good stuff, like I he was impressive to me. I mean, as I said, it\u2019s not just schemes in their rotation. I think the pirates have some talented arms in that rotation. And you know, Jared Jones is someone that they don\u2019t even have right now, as far as you know, a guy who\u2019s coming back from injury and everything, who I thought a couple years ago looked really impressive. So, you know, we\u2019re seeing an Orioles team that\u2019s trying to feel it out right now. I mean, it\u2019s new. We pointed to the new in terms of hoping that would equal being better, and so far, it hasn\u2019t been that right through nine games. So just go out and play better. I mean, it\u2019s that Buck show. Walter would say this right at times, it would just, you know, Buck would have his buck isms and, you know, clever things. He\u2019d say, I don\u2019t believe in the same role, but you know, all the different cliches and Buck Buck talk that we all appreciated until, probably until the end, and then you\u2019re kind of sick of it. But at the same time, he would just say, Look, you just have to play better. And they\u2019ve got to do that. I mean, they\u2019ve got to be fundamentally much better. I mean that that, if you remember my biggest criticism of Brandon Hyde and the coaching staff last April and leading into mid May, when he was dismissed, it wasn\u2019t, well, Brandon Hyde, you know? I mean, he wasn\u2019t going up there and swinging the bat, right? He didn\u2019t throw a pitch for the Orioles last year. But when you saw how sloppy the play was, that, to me, was a reflection of the coaching staff, and for as much as they talked about spring training, I mean, that being such a point of emphasis, and Albernaz talked about that a lot, even addressed it on Sunday after the game. We haven\u2019t seen that carry over to real games. So then when I see that, I start to question the players way more so than because we\u2019re talking about a different manager and a different coaching<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 19:20<\/p>\n
staff, we\u2019re going to say important leadership for $150 million in addition to trying to get 38 home runs out of all of that. Where, where is that step up to say we\u2019re not going to play sloppy ball.<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 19:33<\/p>\n
But at some point in time, if that doesn\u2019t happen, then you just start pointing to the players and say, well, they\u2019re just not good enough, right? I mean, like at some point in time that\u2019ll<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 19:43<\/p>\n
bear itself out at 16 and 34 right down the mountain that then it becomes obvious, yeah, and,<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 19:48<\/p>\n
and it doesn\u2019t even have to be that extreme, but if they just, you know, if you\u2019re just middling and middling and middling and middling, well that\u2019s just what you are. After a while, you know that? That\u2019s why, for me. Me, I used Adley rutchman As an example, you know, in this discussion, you know, his strong start this year aside, we saw Adley rutchman look phenomenal for the first two calendar years of his big league career, from you know, and he he scuffled his first month, right, as as many players do. But basically, for his first two calendar years, Adley rutsman was as advertised. And the last year and a half, you know, going back to July of 24 we saw a very different Adley rush. What happened to that guy?<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 20:33<\/p>\n
I mean, I\u2019m assuming he\u2019s injured. Do you feel that way?<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 20:37<\/p>\n
I think that\u2019s part of it, but I think there\u2019s more than that going on. But the but, but the point I was trying to make is, at some point in time, the timeline is so extended where he\u2019s not playing well, you can\u2019t just say it\u2019s a slump, and at some point you start to ask if that\u2019s who he actually is. Now that\u2019s where I kind of look at the Orioles and say, Look, if you start considering you have a new manager and a mostly new coaching staff, and you brought in Pete Alonso, and you brought in these other veteran players, and you see too much of the same story as what we saw last year. That\u2019s when I just look at this core and just say, maybe these guys just aren\u2019t good enough, right? And we knew all along that not every single guy in that core was going to become an all star, right? We need to be realistic in that way. But that said, going back to last year, we haven\u2019t seen a big enough percentage, a big enough portion of that young core trending in the right direction, right? So that\u2019s where you look at it, and say, if they don\u2019t look better this year, if it looks a lot like last year, considering the other variables, they changed, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a manager thing. I think that\u2019s these guys not being good enough and and, you know, and you\u2019ve talked about this, I know you\u2019ve made that point as well, maybe then you just have to say, well, it\u2019s Michaelia and this infrastructure then, because, like, they have the conviction to believe in what they do. And you said, Okay, a new manager, new coaching staff, and these guys look the same way. Well, either the players aren\u2019t good enough, and that\u2019s on like Elias, or they\u2019re the way they do things, their process overall isn\u2019t good enough, and they never have<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 22:21<\/p>\n
enough pitching, and that\u2019s that\u2019s a baseball issue, but certainly here, it feels like a week and a half into the season they don\u2019t have enough pitching, and I know that because they they\u2019re already going bullpen days and they\u2019re already thin, and what they bought doesn\u2019t look like what they thought they bought.<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 22:39<\/p>\n
I mean, I\u2019ll say this, I I still want to be more bullish on this rotation than what it\u2019s looked so far, because of, you know, the upside that you have with Bradish. You know the signs that we\u2019ve already seen from Boz, but you know efflin is out of the picture now, you know, at least for the time being, whether it\u2019s going to be for two months or for the season, right? I mean, TBD, typically, when you\u2019re getting a second opinion, that\u2019s usually not great, but there are instances where they say, you know, hey, this is, you know, PRP injection. Maybe he\u2019s back by June. I don\u2019t know. Point is you were looking at him, you were looking at Bassett to obviously be a major innings eater for them, and two starts in. I mean, it\u2019s been woeful. And you know, no idea what you\u2019re going to get from Dean Kramer. I mean, part of that, we haven\u2019t talked about that element a whole lot, and especially now knowing he\u2019s absolutely going to be back here sooner than later, how did he mentally handle how that played out at the end of spring training. And let me be clear, this isn\u2019t me accusing the Orioles of, you know, like not shenanigans, but like doing him wrong, but because it\u2019s competition, and if you\u2019re not deemed one of the best five, then and you have an option left, but they still, you know, they don\u2019t want to just get rid of you. That\u2019s what happens, right? I mean, look at how the Dodgers have kind of the Dodgers who are an abundance of riches in terms of their depth and not spending and all that. But go, look at how they\u2019ve handled some of their pitching the last couple years. Now, sometimes it\u2019s just a guy that\u2019s been hurt, but they\u2019ve slow played guys, they\u2019ve stashed guys, they\u2019ve put guys in different roles. I mean, look at what their rotation was at the end of last year compared to what it wasn\u2019t on opening day, right? I mean, there\u2019s a team that has, you know, you see firsthand depth and all that, and it\u2019s why they\u2019ve been so good, because they\u2019ve been able to spend to have that kind of depth. But, you know, in the case of Kramer, I want to see between the ears how he handled this, right? You want to see, hopefully, a renewed, you know, kind of ticked off for greatness, kind of Dean Kramer, you hope. But what if it\u2019s the opposite? What if he went in the tank after this? I don\u2019t know. I mean, we don\u2019t know. It\u2019s kind of a unique circumstance. I can understand. He was probably not. I\u2019m sure he was ticked right to go to the miners. I mean, he\u2019s probably thinking, oh. Mean, what the heck I led this team in innings last year, you know, I, I get it. I\u2019m not an all star pitcher, but I post up, you know, I\u2019m sure he was ticked. I I\u2019d kind of be a little concerned if he wasn\u2019t ticked. But does he channel that in a positive way, or do we see a dean Kramer that comes back and is not the best version? I don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know, like that. I\u2019m just being rhetorical, rhetorical and asking that. But you know, right off the bat, the rotations taken some hits. And you know how I felt about the bullpen, every concern I had about the bullpen has pretty much reared its head to this point, right? So I don\u2019t know, they\u2019ve got to hit better, and they\u2019re starting rotation needs to be better. I said it to you when they kind of had the they haven\u2019t checked the box.<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 25:42<\/p>\n
They\u2019re not having that. Literally, there\u2019s not a box they\u2019ve checked a couple<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 25:47<\/p>\n
individuals have checked boxes, right? I mean, I\u2019ve seen a couple individuals pitch Well, or I\u2019ve seen a few guys in the lineup swing the bat well, but collectively, No, it hasn\u2019t been very good. And and to go back to the bullpen for just a moment, I talked about this when you know the day that efflin got knocked out or had to leave the game early because of the injury at that point in time, that happening, on top of how much work the bullpen had had to cover the previous two days, that\u2019s when you just looked at the bullpen and say, yeah, it\u2019s going to fall apart. I mean, these guys are overworked. We talked about it. This is going to work as they\u2019re constructed on paper right now. You know, just just going off of what we think this group should be. The way it was constructed was the offense and the rotation are going to need to lead the way, at least to a degree that the bullpen is not being asked to cover five innings, right? Is not being asked to protect one run, you know, two one leads every single night, right? I mean, they, they need to be. I jokingly said this to you a couple years ago, and I know it\u2019s something that resonated, because you brought it up. You need to have some blowouts mixed in there, but to kind of save your bullpen in that way, right? And good teams, Good to Great teams, are able to do that. You know, that\u2019s that\u2019s why you see great teams end up having a run differential of plus 150 when you\u2019re in August and September so but to your point, I mean, none of that\u2019s really happened so far. I mean, it\u2019s just even the games they\u2019ve won, the other than the the finale against the Rangers, their two other wins were grind, kind of games. I mean that that Sunday win against Minnesota, I mean, that was a slog. I mean, that was, I described it as laborious. You know, the way they had to win that game. That\u2019s not the like. That\u2019s not a sustainable formula, right there. So even two of their three wins to this point<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 27:45<\/p>\n
them through the bullpen is not gonna go I mean,<\/p>\n
Luke Jones\u00a0 27:47<\/p>\n
it\u2019s just not good. I mean, they\u2019re just not built in that way. So, you know, I mean, they just, it has to be better. It just has to be better that I know I\u2019ve said that probably 25 times in our two, you know, our two pieces kind of talking about the Pittsburgh sweep, but just has to be. I mean, this was this weekend. Was below the bar. There\u2019s no doubt about that. And there wasn\u2019t a whole lot you could hang your hat on. Baza start a couple guys swinging the bat, not much beyond that to write home about. And they, they they earned the sweep that they that they received at the hand of the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates<\/p>\n
Nestor Aparicio\u00a0 28:24<\/p>\n
over the weekend. Never feels good after 79 and 71 but I am going to have Dwayne reader on from the Clemente museum this week. So if you hear that, I might break out my other Chicago like the powder blues from 68 he is Luke. I am Nestor. We have a little football this week too. Jesse mentors going to be out with a whistle running around a little bit in the complex, I think, by the end of the week, and strengths and conditionings. And we even have a draft in Pittsburgh coming up in a couple of weeks. He\u2019s Luke. I\u2019m Nestor. Stay with us. We are W N, S T am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore positive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Since the injury to Zach Eflin last week, the Baltimore Orioles have been cobbling together innings from Norfolk…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2374],"tags":[143,47,2538,5,4,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-668562","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-baltimore-orioles","8":"tag-baltimore","9":"tag-baltimore-orioles","10":"tag-baltimoreorioles","11":"tag-baseball","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-orioles"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116364057620241392","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}