now

Just for the record, I'm guessing the T. Wells reference (soft-tossing lefty?) was supposed to be A. Wells.

Irvin, Hall and Zimmerman, move over. Let's have a look at this guy in Oriole orange.

Let's hope you mean Seth Johnson and not Seth Smith!

With that lineup, who needs pitching?

Wow, how quickly things change in Baseball land. A month ago Rutschman and Henderson were our Trout and Ohtani, now they're Wieters and Markakis (i.e., mere mortals).

I agree. Steady and solid overall, plus he does seem to have a knack for those big oppo-field doubles with runners on.

Yep, that's the big question. Key info this year is how it goes for all those guys. I'm currently most concerned about Henderson. And remember Norby and Mayo and Westburg clamoring at the edges of that SS spot (maybe even Prieto).

Seems that teams (Rays foremost) generally are plucking reliever gems out of thin air, kind of goes with the territory. In the Orioles' case it's great to see Hyde & Co. going with the hot hand so readily, whereas in the past (like Buck) I think they would lean more on past success. Still surprised when Hyde throws Voth and Perez out there in key situations, but then every game has been close so there's merit in trying to get them back on track too. Overall the bullpen usage has been good, IMHO.

... before the end of the season."

Palmer recently commented on the different "clock" between playing third and short; so it seems that is part of the problem. I guess we got spoiled seeing Machado make the same switch but at a Platinum level, and JJ Hardy so impeccable on fundamentals.

Okay, time for a rant about Gunnar's arm. They say it's a 70, but how come the majority of his throws are off line or in the dirt? It's happened at short and at third, basically every game. What's the deal with his defense--rookie jitters? Too much hype?

Sure, that's true, but it's not just about the save. It's also about using your best "closer" anytime before a lead or save situation.

Well, it wasn't a big game (except IMO it was), but Hyde passed your Ubaldo/Britton test this time, using his closer, Bautista, for a shutdown ninth inning in a tie game.

Brian Matusz says hi.

I'm sure you're right, but for now I retract all the negativity I was throwing at Hays and Mountcastle all offseason. (I also wasn't gushing over Mullins, Santander or Henderson). While we're at it I may as well predict now how they'll all shake out by season's end: Mountcastle, Santander, Henderson, Hays, Mullins.

Just for kicks, I looked up the 2003 Royals and 1987 Brewers, the previous teams that started like this year's Rays (9-0). They both finished third in their division those years, with 83 and 91 wins, respectively.

Sorry to have to repeat this point: It's no knock on Adley, just a built-in handicap when your best player is a catcher. Yes he may be the best in the game at his position, but the hidden cost is having to allot significant AB's for a backup catcher and a roster spot for a third-string catcher. For an analogy, what if your best starting pitcher could only pitch 4 innings/start or 100 innings per year? He might be the best in the game, but his ceiling is effectively lowered by the limit on innings and the extra tax on the bullpen. It's baked into the Orioles roster for the long term now, so we have to live with this hidden downside of having your superstar and franchise player playing behind the dish. But who knows, maybe Rutschman is so unique that his total skills package makes up for the handicaps.

What an atrocious strike zone by the ump. As bad as I've ever seen. A Cortes fan, it seems.

Reading all the hype about GRod this morning, a lot of it points to his cool, calm demeanor on the mound. What strikes me about Hall is his rapid, shallow breathing, almost hyperventilating. To this fan's eye, he needs to ground himself, be more solid and settled out there. Last year in Balt I thought it was just rookie jitters, but he looked the same in this AAA start.

The guy I saw last night looked an awful lot like... Matt "24K" Riley.

And MLB.com has Gibson as the O's starter, a few hours from game time.

Amazing that you remembered or researched all the above. The disgraceful outfield defense exposes miscommunication as the unfortunate side effect of having so much touted "flexibility."

Here's an interesting snapshot, with single-season WAR: 2016 Orioles: Machado 7.3, Bundy 1.6, Wieters 1.9 (10.8 total) 2022 Orioles: Kremer 2.9, Bradish 0.4, Rutschman 5.2 (8.5 total) Oddly, 2016 was the only year all three of those top draft picks played together in Baltimore (except 2012 when Bundy had a sip of coffee, 1.2 innings).

Shoulda-woulda-coulda... but you make a good point.

This. It could start a skid like that Chisox game last year; or it could steel some resolve to correct immediately. At least they won't be getting all overconfident from being 2-0. Having "better talent" on the team only gets you halfway there. Let's hope this self-created adversity builds some character.