It’s never bad when the Orioles are in the win column, but they had a lot of bad stuff happen before they won
Hello, friends.
The Orioles…? They didn’t make it very easy on us on Wednesday night, but they did come out on top in the end. The sweepless streak lives, now numbering 103, after a 12-inning donnybrook that the O’s ended up winning over the Nats, 7-6. The game saw the Nationals tie it up in the ninth, both teams score two runs in the 11th, and both teams score again in the 12th – just, that time, the O’s scored two while the Nats only got one. A win is a win, but my goodness.
Check out Stacey’s recap of the game for more of the lovely totals from this one. And also some of the not-so-lovely parts along the way, namely: Craig Kimbrel. What the heck are the Orioles supposed to do with this guy now? The handy excuse in his recent bad outings was that he would just need more rest.
Last night, Kimbrel entered a game after having three days off. He had to face the 6-7-8 hitters in the Washington lineup, who have not been good so far in 2024. Despite this, and despite getting the first two outs without letting anyone on base, he was not equal to the task of completing a save with a two-run cushion. Yet again, he was yanked before the inning could veer even further into disaster in his hands.
Many of the comments being made about Kimbrel look past the fact that he was pretty darn good in the month of April. This is not a guy who was obviously and permanently cooked from the get-go in this season. If that is what he is now, then the sooner the Orioles decide this, the better. The reality is that he is probably not, in the long run, going to be as bad as he has been over the last two weeks or so.
Perhaps the back issue that was apparently at the root of one of his bad Oakland games has not been fully cleared up yet. That would be the most elegant solution, if Kimbrel can just be placed on the injured list, rested for a while, eventually rehabbed to see if he looks like he’s come back from being toast.
Kimbrel would have to agree that he is hurt enough to be put on the injured list. Maybe he won’t do that. Struggling players nearly always believe they’re on the verge of turning the corner. You don’t rack up 425 saves without being confident in yourself and in your ability to bounce back if things aren’t going well.
For me, last night was the tipping point for Kimbrel. After the Oakland series, you could say, maybe he just needed some more rest. After he got some rest and looked good in one game but then blew the next game when he pitched back-to-back days, you could say, maybe he just can’t do consecutive games. Blowing it on three days rest against bad hitters, that’s something else, and I’ve had enough of it.
Manager Brandon Hyde did not offer the kind of statement you or I might want to hear on the Kimbrel matter:
Brandon Hyde on Craig Kimbrel: “We’re gonna stick with him. This guy’s got a big-time track record.” He wants to get him right.
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) May 9, 2024
More than five years into Hyde’s tenure as manager, one thing we can be sure of is that the skipper is not just going to go into a post-game press conference and throw a guy under the bus. It’s not what he does, and I think it’s part of why he’s made the leap from rebuilding manager to where he is now.
That being the case, this statement is not, on its own, cause to be mad at Hyde or to panic. He can say whatever right now. His actions the next time there is a save situation will tell the tale. If it’s Kimbrel, then the Orioles are really going to keep fighting on that hill. Maybe he gets one more chance or maybe he gets a lot more chances. I don’t know. Maybe he won’t even get another chance until he demonstrates himself in lower-leverage situations, regardless of what Hyde said after Wednesday’s game.
I think Kimbrel looks like a guy where you have to start thinking about the sunk cost fallacy. His salary for 2024 is $13 million. It’s not great if 80% of that gets flushed down the drain. It’s even worse if the idea of not “wasting” roughly $10 million leads to the 2024 Orioles potentially losing games that they might otherwise have won.
The wins matter more than the money, now. The Orioles are tied with the Yankees (well, leading by percentage points) in the AL East and the Yankees look like they’re going to make like the Rays a year ago and make it a fight all year long, for as long as the Orioles can keep up. Mike Elias and Hyde apparently aren’t ready to throw in the towel yet on Kimbrel. I don’t know what else they need to see before they do it.
Though the Orioles are off today, the Yankees are not, so the tie will be nudged one way or the other by game’s end. The Yankees have one last game against a surprisingly woeful Astros team, whose butts they kicked, 9-4, on Wednesday. That game is scheduled for a 5:05 start, with New York’s offseason pitching signing, Marcus Stroman going for the Yankees and no-hitter thrower Ronel Blanco pitching for Houston.
Around the blogO’sphere
Orioles confident closer can get back to being ‘nasty Craig Kimbrel’ (The Baltimore Banner)
This article was published YESTERDAY MORNING. Hyde’s post-game remarks don’t give any clue that the team may have deviated from this thinking.
Pitching with passion and emotion, Jacob Webb having a strong year out of O’s pen (Steve Melewski)
Webb ended up getting the save after pitching the 12th inning last night. Whatever happens with Kimbrel, it seems Webb may be in line to get some more high-leverage chances going forward.
‘The Pasture’: Cowser’s fan section to bring ‘moos’ to Camden Yards (Orioles.com)
One Orioles fan Twitter personality is organizing a cow-oriented section for next Tuesday’s game against the Blue Jays. I’ve loved seeing how fans have embraced the cow stuff.
Updates on Rodriguez, Wells, Hays, and more (School of Roch)
The pregame information dump yesterday included a note that Grayson Rodriguez has done his first throwing off of a mound since hitting the IL. Hays has homered in consecutive games for Bowie. After watching McKenna last night, I’m ready to see Hays back here and McKenna off somewhere else.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1987, Eddie Murray hit a home run from each side of the plate for the second straight day, becoming the first player in major league history to ever do so.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2018-19 infielder Jace Peterson, 1979 reserve Tom Chism, and 1984 infielder Ron Jackson. Today is Jackson’s 71st birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: abolitionist John Brown (1800), actress Candice Bergen (1946), musician Billy Joel (1949), baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn (1960), and hockey Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman (1965).
On this day in history…
In 1671, a discontented former Cromwell supporter named Thomas Blood, along with three accomplices, attempted a theft of the English Crown Jewels. Many items were actually taken from the premises, though the thieves did not get out of London before being captured with their loot. King Charles II pardoned Blood of the crime and granted him land in Ireland.
In 1941, Britain’s Royal Navy captured a German submarine, U-110. The sub was equipped with an Enigma machine, Germany’s device for encrypting communications, which aided the Allies throughout World War II after they cracked the code.
In 1974, impeachment proceedings were opened against President Richard Nixon over his role in the Watergate break-in and cover-up.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on May 9. Have a safe Thursday.