Whether that’s a good thing or not is to be determined
Hello, friends.
The Orioles! Sometimes it feels like they can’t make it easy on us even when they’re winning. We got another round of that on Wednesday afternoon when a 6-0 lead in a game where starting pitcher Dean Kremer struck out 10 Angels batters still ended up as a 6-5 squeaker. All it really meant was Craig Kimbrel got a chance to keep marching up the saves leaderboard, which he did, now tied with John Franco for sixth place at 424 saves.
Check out Andrea SK’s recap of the win, which also saw Gunnar Henderson get on base five times and drive in three runs. I think he might be pretty good. The Orioles continue to have a 108-win pace through just about 15% of the season. They remain a half-game behind the Yankees for first place in the division after the Yankees beat the next Orioles opponent, Oakland yesterday, 7-3. The O’s chance to gain games directly will come next week, and the O’s get their chances to beat the Athletics this weekend.
We got some news yesterday even as the Orioles closed out this road trip by winning the series against the Angels. Before Wednesday’s game, the O’s listed their probable pitchers for this weekend’s series back in Baltimore against the Athletics with Sunday’s game – which would, on current regular turn, be Albert Suárez – as a TBA.
Manager Brandon Hyde indicated to reporters that the O’s are discussing having John Means return from his rehab assignment to start that game, which would also be regular rest for him. Of Means and his most recent outing, Hyde said:
He feels really good after that start. He gave up seven singles, they were not very well hit, the stuff is much improved. He’s really encouraged about how he felt during the outing and today.
“You can’t just scout the box scores” is one of those frequent reminders one needs to have when looking at minor league results. Things get weird for a variety of reasons and one thing Norfolk manager Buck Britton offered to The Virginian-Pilot (local paper to Norfolk) is that the Tides defense kind of sucks. Those weren’t the exact words he used but that’s the gist. They’ve made a lot of errors and there are always misplays that never register as errors. So, maybe there’s something to Hyde’s comment about Means being fine as long as he’s not giving up hard hit balls.
It’s surely bruising for anybody who’s been out here penning paeans about Suárez and how great he is going to continue to be. His two games worth of results are what they are but the first chance the Orioles get they might be shoving him out of the rotation in favor of a guy whose rehab results have been not very good. That tells you what they think of him.
On one hand, of course it would go like this. It’s Means. His track record is what it is, even if nearly all of it was prior to his surgery. On the other hand, it stinks to see Suárez not getting an opportunity to fail his way out of the rotation with even one single bad game. I think that with the team having the choice of letting Means make one more rehab start on Sunday before the assignment is required to end, they should have done that and then decided what to do with that turn in the rotation a week from now.
The thing is not settled yet. Maybe it will end up being that Suárez just gets pushed back a day and it’s actually Cole Irvin that gets bumped from the rotation. The bullpen could use a long man and Yohan Ramírez hasn’t done much to show he deserves an extended look. Mike Baumann is not very high in my esteem just now either. Suárez would certainly be getting a big test if he pitched on Monday against the Yankees. I’d probably rather see him stay than Irvin.
Maybe the Orioles will just show once again that Mike Elias isn’t a sentimental guy and he will go with his analytically-driven plan no matter what other narratives might intrude on them. It’s a plan that has worked out in the aggregate even as it’s not always satisfying in the moment and not every move made turns out perfectly.
Whatever happens, we’ve got today’s off day to think about it. The Orioles will be back in action against the Athletics at 7:05. Corbin Burnes is set to start the opener for the O’s, with Ross Stripling pitching for Oakland. Stripling has a 5.34 ERA in five starts this season.
Around the blogO’sphere
Why the Orioles’ latest scouting triumph is a 34-year-old journeyman pitcher (The Athletic)
Ken Rosenthal’s article arrived before it looked like the O’s might be shifting Means into the rotation in favor of Suárez. Still an interesting story.
Analyzing the factors driving Colton Cowser’s breakout in April (The Baltimore Banner)
Cowser is being more aggressive and hitting the ball harder when he does make contact. Naturally, Cowser drew three walks in yesterday’s game after this was published.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
The Orioles were last victorious on this day three years ago. Of the players who appeared for the O’s as they beat the Athletics, 8-1, just three remain on the active roster – Cedric Mullins, Ryan Mountcastle, and Ramón Urías. Two others – Austin Hays and John Means – are on the injured list. A lot has changed.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2011 Red Sox destroyer Robert Andino, 2000 five-game pitcher and later pitching coach Darren Holmes, and 1955 pitcher Art Schallock.
EDIT Thursday afternoon: My wife has brought to my attention that Schallock turned 100 years old today and also that he is the oldest living former MLB player. A happy century mark to him!
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: English Civil War figure Oliver Cromwell (1599), radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi (1874), jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald (1917), actor Al Pacino (1940), actor Hank Azaria (1964), and actress Renée Zellweger (1969).
On this day in history…
In 404 BC, the Peloponnesian War came to an end after more than 25 years when a Spartan blockade captured Athens.
In 1792 AD, France employed the guillotine for the first time in executing a highwayman named Nicolas Pelletier.
In 1898, Congress declared war on Spain, beginning the Spanish-American War, or more specifically declaring that a state of war had existed since four days earlier.
In 1915, a British and French force that included a large number of overseas troops, especially Australians and New Zealanders, launched an ill-fated invasion of Gallipoli, Turkey.
In 1953, scientists Francis Crick and James Watson published their landmark paper in which they described their discovery of the double helix structure for DNA.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on April 25. Have a safe Thursday.