now

My bad. Just reviewed it and it was O'Hearn missing the cutoff catch by the mound. I thought it was Kimbrel there.

I hear you... but also note that the Yankees in August lost series to the Angels and Nats, and a game to the White Sox 12-2, and they're still ticking along.

I do. He seemed pretty lackadaisical (likely pissed off) at that moment. Just another in a litany or O's plays lately that aren't necessarily listed as errors, but are also far from "heads up" baseball that winning teams demonstrate. I guess we got spoiled to expect that standard now.

Memo to Orioles draft room: Jesus was not a switch-hitting catcher.

With Westburg, Mountcastle, and Urias all hurt, it appears the baseball gods (or Roy Firestone) have removed all excuses not to play Mr. Mayo. We're in sink or swim mode anyway as a team now, so why not?

As the franchise player goes, so goes the franchise (sadly, in this case).

Here's a good one from @LookitsPuck (following Mullins CS at 3rd):

With the blunders in last night's game, it seems baserunning has joined defense, pitching, and hitting as team liabilities. And another contrast to the early part of the season when smart aggressive baserunning was one of the hallmarks of the team's winning character.

I didn't laugh, rather groaned to see the younger'un picking up that bad habit so quickly, of doing everything yourself on the run, rather than steady synchronized teamwork. Oh well, growing pains all around.

Ugly win beats ugly loss... by a nose.

How the mighty have fallen (in the eyes of us fans). No more sacred cows left on this team (except possibly the bovine with the inside track).

I think Gunnar should get the JJ Hardy memo: Steady trumps flashy.

I guess the acc in your username doesn't stand for "accurate." I mean, it's a valid point that Cal was error prone then, with 25-26-26 errors in 1983-4-5. So why hyperbolize to "twice as many"? Gunnar's on pace for 24. (ugly loss overreaction alert): Ortiz gone, I'm on Griff O'Ferrall watch now. Or voting Mateo '25. Yes, even though Cal improved. Machado is the better comp.

Funny, I remember thinking, "That's a pretty good line," without ever realizing (until now) that he was plagiarizing.

Great, join the party! Looking at that bullpen depth chart, it looks like the B team if we have a lead tonight (Akin, Kimbrel, Soto).

Agree. And Palmer works too. But is it just me, or is Palmer losing patience and tolerance for the off the wall smart aleck from time to time? Like saying, "Okay, whatever, Kevin..." lol

Sorry what's the logic that taking Gunnar depended on taking Adley? Why not Witt plus Gunnar? BTW (not to you), what is the problem with "Monday morning quarterbacking"? Isn't that all we get to do, as fans not actual quarterbacks?

I don't really buy the injured cavalry narrative. We don't really know if or when some of these guys are coming back or how they'll perform. Plus, we don't know who else will replace them on the injured list. Mountcastle, Mullins and Rutschman already not full strength, for starters...

What a great trigger for a potential turnaround. And not just by Anthony the Great, but other key underachievers of late. Just barely, that is, but that's baseball. Notably, Burch Smith rebounding to good form; Kimbrel's escape from the 7th after two hits; Rutschman's squeaker through the infield to fuel the rally; and Ser-Anthony keeping the ball in the yard. About time this supporting cast all succeeded for once. Or maybe it's finally our turn on the wheel of good fortune.

I've switched from caring about the MFYs to Boston. There's no other real competition for the last wild card spot, but they're only 4 behind us in the loss column. And losing along with us again today, while NY cruises. Edit: 2 innings later, make that a win for us and BOS 5 behind. I stand corrected. Go reverse jinx!

I was going to qualify that "just fine" with some of Urias's fielding lapses (along with a few gems), then remembered that Westburg had his own defensive miscues start to happen with more regularity.

Good answer, thanks for elaborating. Besides, I can relate to your illustration, having just sold a Mercedes I got on a good deal two years ago, for the reasons you mention (notably, high potential repair bills in future, and present lack of "payroll flexibility").

Yeah, what they said. It's not just the injuries, and it's not all on Elias or Hyde. It's the players who have either regressed, failed to step up, or booted games away with shoddy fielding and failures in clutch situations.

Why would Elias be the tightwad? It's not his money, right?

The defense is the underrated part of this recent mess, and it does explain the K data above. Especially the infielders are better than this, at the individual skill level (Urias, Henderson, Holliday). Maybe it's just a matter of time together to gel. You can see the lack of synch in the missed double plays. So many of these innings and games have slipped away from missed chances on grounders and relays and poor throws. I imagine if our defense was normal/average over the last 6-8 weeks, we'd have 2-4 more wins in our pocket and no one would be in panic mode, despite the injuries and inconsistent pitching and hitting.