Happy Monday, Camden Chatters!
It was a pretty lousy weekend for baseball as the Orioles got beaten up pretty good in New York. Yesterday’s game was the latest in a string of ugly losses. Trey Gibson made his Major League debut and held his own, but the rest of the game was a bust. The offense did more against Max Fried than I expected, but they missed out on some big chances. And the bullpen fell apart big time in the late innings, leading to an 11-3 loss. You can get the full details in my game recap.
If only I could say that after the terrible weekend, the Orioles are headed to a new city to start fresh. But they have one more game in New York tonight before they can finally leave. They have one chance to get a win before their road trip takes them down to Miami for three games. Tonight, Shane Baz will do his best to stop the losing streak at four. Baz’s most recent start against the Astros was a good one, with just one run allowed in 5.2 innings. If he wants to repeat that performance tonight, that would be fine by me. Game time is 7:05 if you can bear to watch.
There isn’t one thing to point to about what is going wrong with the Orioles right now. There are lots of cries to fire Mike Elias, and at a certain point it will be hard to avoid that conclusion. I’m not there yet, but it does seem like this season should be his last chance to prove his mettle.
I do not blame Elias or the coaching/front office for the rash of injuries. The number of players who have had injuries does feel a little absurd. But injuries, especially to pitchers, are just part of the game. Some years you get more than average, some years you get fewer than average. It happens all over baseball.
But if you take the injuries out of the equation, there are still a lot of things for Elias to answer for. He failed to address the starting rotation concerns in a way that got the job done. He didn’t go after any of the biggest names available; instead going after bigger question marks while relying on the pitchers already in the organization to be better than they have been so far.
Then there is the defense. Oh my, the defense. Unlike the rotation changes, which do have potential, everyone saw the defensive issues a mile away. Specifically, the outfield. Losing a defender like Cedric Mullins puts strain on the entire outfield, especially when the corner outfielders Taylor Ward and Tyler O’Neill are known liabilities.
Finally, there are his guys. Elias has made a lot of high draft picks since coming to Baltimore. There are always busts, but his strategy was based around tanking to get the picks. And a lot of those guys just aren’t panning out.
I am not a person who thinks it’s time for Mike Elias to go. But maybe it’s time to think about what needs to happen to make it a good idea for him to stay.
Links
For parents and high school coach, Trey Gibson’s Orioles MLB debut is ‘amazing and crazy’ – The Baltimore Banner
I love a good “how they got here” story. Here’s hoping Trey’s time in the majors is lengthy.
High-pressure setting doesn’t faze O’s Gibson in solid MLB debut – MLB.com
Three runs in 4.2 innings isn’t going to cut it in the long haul. But for an MLB debut against the Yankees? Not bad. Gibson’s grin when his manager came to get him was nice to see.
Calling the Pen: Yankees are exposing Orioles’ flaws – Baltimore Baseball
Ain’t that the truth
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have two Orioles birthday buddies. Ryan Meisinger (32) pitched in 18 games for the 2018 team, and Joe Borowski (55) kicked off his 12-season career with six games with the Orioles.
Not much Orioles history listed on this date, but here are a few general baseball fun facts:
- In 1966, Willie Mays hit his 512th home run, which set a new record for most career home runs in the National League
- In 1975, Bob Watson of the Astros scored the one millionth run in Major League history
- In 2002, Barry Bonds hit his 400th home run
- In 2018, Albert Pujols became the 32nd member of the 3,000 hit club
One year ago today, the Orioles lost to the Royals, 11-6. The two teams combined to hit 11 home runs. Unfortunately, only four of them were by the Orioles. Cedric Mullins, Jackson Holliday, and Ryan O’Hearn all went deep. Holliday did it twice. Kyle Gibson started and allowed three runs in four innings, while relief pitchers Bryan Baker, Matt Bowman, Charlie Morton, and Yennier Cano each allowed two runs in their one-inning appearances.
