Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the Oriolesโ momentum and Tigers and Yankees after Santander walkoff win.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
orioles, game, pitching, win, thursday, bullpen, weekend, bats, happen, thursday afternoon, talking, team, yankees, baseball, ninth inning, good, week, rangers, santander, dominguez
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S T, Towson, Baltimore, Baltimore, positive. We are positively into a weekend where hope abounds for the Baltimore Orioles and certainly hope better abound for the Baltimore Ravens. Weโre going to be doing the crab cake tour. The Maryland crab cake tour will return next Friday at Faith, these were, excuse me, fates, this week it cost us next Friday on the 27th uh, we will be in Dundalk. Thatโs a guest book for that. John Sarbanes going to join us at fadelies. Youโll be hearing that into next week as well. Hope you enjoyed our our conversation with Dave shining as well as my dear friend Chad weasling, whoโs running back, Josh Jacobs, did the the dirty work last week in the backfield that we hope that Derek Henry does Meanwhile on the baseball diamond. And Luke, you and I, almost like Adam, wanted to talk baseball this week because itโs been so morose, so defeatist. So how in the world they gonna win two weeks from now? And lo and behold, thereโs, uh, some late afternoon excitement some after some very bad things happened in the bullpen, but the Orioles had an exciting win for the fans. I donโt know. We always think that one walk off win, itโs going to change everything. Itโs going to go back to being May. I donโt think itโs going to be but for one afternoon, Tony taters got the job done. Yeah.
Luke Jones 01:17
I mean, it was roughly a month ago when he hit the big grand slam against Houston, and, you know, in what was at the bottom of the eighth. So it wasnโt a walk off, but it might as well been, in terms of excitement. And I mean, it didnโt really produce the spark or the resurgence that the Orioles were hoping to have. But I mean, you just kind of said it. I mean, I think the term I used in my piece at Baltimore positive.com was, itโs kind of felt like a doom spiral the last two weeks where, I mean, they lost the last game of the White Sox series, they lose the rays series, they lose the Boston series, they lose to Detroit last weekend, they lose two out of three, and are in danger of being swept on Thursday afternoon. They get a pretty good performance across the board, until Sir Anthony Dominguez, who had walked a total of four batters since becoming an Oriole in late July, walks the first two batters of the top of the ninth inning. A weird fly ball that, I mean, Brandon high talked about it. The wind kind of took it in a weird direction. And, you know, Cedric Mullins and and Austin Slater collide the tying run scores, but Gregory Soto comes in, gets a big time double play ball to keep the game tied. And then Anthony Santander, I mean, say what you want about the overall offensive struggles of this club. I mean, they entered Thursday last in the American League and run scored for the month of September. Say what you want about gunner Henderson, who absolutely is the MVP of this team. I will not waver from that whatsoever. The numbers donโt lie. But if you want to talk in terms of whoโs been the most clutch, whoโs come through the most in these types of situations, itโs been Anthony Santander, and he came up with a huge blast on Thursday afternoon. And as I wrote, and as Zach Eflin said in the post game, it was a breath of fresh air for this ball club that really felt, I mean, really spiraling here over the last couple of weeks. You know, theyโve struggled the whole second half. We get that, but itโs really been bad the last two weeks. So is it a breath of fresh air, just for a day where you exhale and then, oh, you remember the Tigers are coming to town and how red hot they are, or could this be the spark? Was that the day that gets this team going. Keep in mind some other good news on Thursday as well. Jordan westburg began his rehab assignment. Ramona Reus began his rehab assignment. Danny coulam could be activated this weekend. We could be seeing him pitching in Baltimore this weekend. Ryan mountcastle could be joining the tides this weekend. So other than you know, the Grayson Rodriguez, murkiness in terms of whether heโs going to be available, if heโs going to be available, what capacity we donโt know, but in terms of everyone else that we knew had a chance to come back, it feels like thatโs imminent. So itโs go time see what happens. Itโs a long shot for the division. We know that even with three in the Bronx, I mean, that itโs going to be a tall order to do that, but they maintained a three game lead as far as the top wild card with their win on Thursday, and weโll see how these final nine games go. But boy, that that just felt like a game they absolutely had to win, even before what happened in the top half of the ninth inning, but Anthony Santander came through in a major way for the Orioles
Nestor Aparicio 04:41
feels to me like just the fact that weโre like counting, doing the math as to whether what theyโre going to have to do to clear it when theyโre actually going to clinch, you know, the actual playoffs, given the fact that the Yankees appear to be better than them now, winning games there feels tough and. Then this Detroit train company, if they win five of six, theyโve done something against good team that would change things or change perception. But I canโt. I once I get this close to it, Iโm going to be very prickly about this and just say, yeah, they lost 10 to nothing the other night. They won itโll walk up. None of that matters. What are they going to do against the Royals? And I think one thing we could discuss all next week is, what are they capable of doing. And I think what are they capable of doing becomes what we need to talk about from a hope perspective, from a ceiling perspective, and what theyโre capable of doing is winning any night, right? They really are, if they get the three pitchers they need to the post. Um, theyโre capable. I mean, even Dean Kramer, you know, like I Iโm not down on the pitching the way I thought I would be in July, or down on the bullpen. Iโm down on the hitting, as you predicted I would be if they got eliminated, that if their hitters donโt hit, theyโre going to get eliminated. You said that before effluent was here. You said that before Bradish was hurt. You know what I mean, like so now that we get up on it. Yeah, I want to see this weekend, and I want to see walk offs, and I want to see pat on the backs, just for their morale. Because I do think you were saying it was a death spiral. I think you you use the term. Thatโs pretty good. I think they went home feeling good about themselves on Thursday, and itโs been a while since that happened. And to your point, they won a lot of games. You went down that club as you know what their victory song is in the clubhouse. You heard it enough. Youโre down there, you see that look, and thatโs who the team was for a year and a half, two years, they did a lot of winning, and then all of a sudden, it just the spigot stopped. So I think that feeling of winning that Hyde had in the post game, that the fans had, a little bit thatโs a good endorphin, thatโs a good feeling. But at the end of the day, whatever Sir Anthony Dominguez did on Thursday walking guys, as long as he doesnโt do that two weeks from now with one run lead in the ninth inning. And I donโt know that the past equals to, you know, no situations equal, but I do know they have capable ball players. They have they have capable players to win a three game series against the Royals two weeks from now.
Luke Jones 07:11
Yeah, and even with what happened on Thursday with the bullpen. I mean, look, I mean, if Sir Anthony Dominguez starts walking people now, in addition to what weโve seen, which is a propensity to give up a home run, and, you know, give up a solo home run. I mean, he had been perfect, what in his first nine save chances. But there was some good news from the bullpen, and that yanir canoe came in and pitched and looked good, struck out a couple V Low. Was good. Remember, there they he had acknowledged a couple days ago that he was dealing with some forearm tightness. Thatโs why we we had talked about it at the time. He only threw two pitches in that last appearance at Fenway, and he was pulled then. And we were kind of wondering, you know, how that was? You know why that was the case? Turns out he was dealing with a little bit of a forearm tightness. Says heโs good, like I said velocity was good. I think a big key will be, how does he feel Friday? How does he feel Saturday? Because they need him. I mean, I hear what youโre saying, and I agree in principle, as it pertains to cordon burns, Zach, Eflin, and then Suarez or Kramer or whoever, right? I
Nestor Aparicio 08:17
mean, the rotation as youโre convinced of that? Yeah, I
Luke Jones 08:22
mean, if he pitches, it feels like itโs going to be some kind of hybrid bullpen role. And I donโt know if heโs, I donโt know if thatโs gonna be the wild card round. I donโt know if that would be the Division Series. I donโt know if thatโd be the ALCS. I mean, heโs, heโs not throwing the live hitters yet. I mean, heโs not throwing live batting practice yet, let alone putting together a sim game. Iโm not saying itโs impossible. Iโm not saying he wonโt pitch, but where he is right now, with a little over a week to go in the regular season does not equate to starting game three of a wild card series. I mean, thatโs just, thatโs just not going to happen. So so it is very much a case of, how does the rest of the rotation kind of play out? If you look at the calendar, if everyone stays on turn, Zach Eflin would go game one, and Gordon burns would go game two. Iโll take that with the way theyโre pitching. I mean, Zach Eflin really good again on Thursday. I mean, heโs been everything the Orioles could have asked for in terms of coming in and helping to stabilize that rotation. But like I said, the bullpen. Do I like it more with Jacob Webb back and with Danny cool on presumably being activated this weekend? Yeah, absolutely. But does that mean itโs optimal? Does it mean I feel as confident about it as I did say the 2014 Orioles with Zach Britton and Darren OโDay and Andrew Miller and Brad Brock and Kevin Gosman, no, so thatโs still a question and but to your point, and look at anyone thatโs going to be in the postseason at this point in time. This applies, right? I mean, you can win games. Itโs baseball. The high day to day variance of baseball is. Know why so many have kind of looked at expanding the playoff field, and then we wonder why the number one seed doesnโt get to the World Series, or we wonder why the number two seed doesnโt get to the World Series. Itโs because when you add more teams to it, it becomes more random. Because baseball is just a very random game when you look at a very small sample of games, right? Especially a three game series, you know this wild look at
Nestor Aparicio 10:20
last year, all the effort they did last year, all the traveling, all the money, all the everything, and then it pissed a drop in October, if somehow somebody hits a three run home run in the first inning next week, theyโre already in better shape than they were. Winning 101 games last year. Just having a lead in game one is better than anything they did last year, even though they did a lot of walking off and had a lot of fun, and everybody, you know, like all of that, that itโs itโs so judgmental in October, right? Like the success of this team is not going to be judged Until next month, and all of this lack of success the last eight weeks, and the hardships of the injuries, all that goes away if you win a game or two next week and two weeks from now, and theyโre capable, and I think Tony Santander hitting that home run. Anytime anything good happens, youโre like, Oh, this is that feeling theyโre capable of doing this in game one. And Iโm not gonna, over the next 10 days. Youโre gonna, Iโm gonna wear you out on that, because I Iโve seen it so often. I canโt be morose about October and September. You know what I mean? I I canโt think Octoberโs often, not in September, especially when most of this conversation has been good news about per key personnel coming back thatโs going to change the team thatโs on the field two weeks from now, as opposed to what was on the team two weeks ago.
Luke Jones 11:44
Yeah. I mean, and thatโs a huge part of it. It has to be, I mean, the fact that Jordan westburg was playing in a professional game on Thursday afternoon, that was a good thing to see committed an error in the first inning. And some Orioles fans joked and say, Hey, heโs ready, right? I mean, thatโs what the Orioles do with the second half. But in all seriousness, just seeing him get those at bats, I mean, heโs going to need some at bats this weekend, and then I assume weโre going to see him, you know, the final week of the regular season, because Norfolkโs not playing anymore. So you kind of get to the point where you say, Well, if he was healthy enough, and the wrist or or the hand feels healthy, then you bring him back, and he just gets at bats against the Yankees and against Minnesota the last weekend, and you try to get them in a groove. You try to get Ramona Rios in a groove. In the same way theyโve been trying to get so many guys in their current lineup going. Iโd be remiss if I didnโt mention before what happened with Dominguez in the ninth inning. I mean, Jackson holiday was shaping up to be the hero, one of the heroes. On Thursday afternoon, I had a real nice two run single and a you know, despite it being the fourth inning, felt like a big spot as the Orioles went from trailing to to leading three to two, he had two hits the night before. So I used Evan Carter as the example of what he did for the Rangers late last year as a rookie. Nothing says Jackson holiday canโt be one of the guys that gives them a spark, right? I mean, it could be anyone. I mean, weโre talking about a franchise where Rick Dempsey won the MVP the last time they won the World Series. You brought
Nestor Aparicio 13:11
that up. Itโs been 40 years since I brought that up. Thatโs pretty good, that Rick Dempsey would be the star. Who is the Rick Dempsey, you know, James
Luke Jones 13:18
McCann. And letโs be clear, it doesnโt have to be that guy, but itโs got to be somebody. You know, you need at least a few It canโt just be and weโve talked about this the last few weeks, it canโt just be gunner Henderson and Cedric Mullins. And hopefully Cedric Mullins is okay after that nasty collision on Thursday afternoon. The early indications, you know, he stayed in the game, sounds like heโs okay, but you never it looks awful, no, but, yeah, it was such a bizarre play. I mean, again, it was one of those, the ball just the wind was just kind of odd, and it just took it to this. Mullins looked like he was going to have a beat on it, and he just kept running, and it just kept carrying. It was so high up in the air. Is one of those plays where itโs like, how does no one get under this? But it just me, even tracking it, just watching it from the press box. It, it was a really bizarre fly ball, like it, like I said, the wind kind of just took it in a way that you typically donโt see it Camden Yards, but again, added to whatโs felt like just such, you know, I didnโt call it a death spiral, but a doom spiral, right? I mean, just how the last couple weeks have gone for them, where theyโve been bad and unlucky at times too. So, so, so you really hope that this is the turn. You hope that this is the spark that they need. You never really know itโs as good as the next dayโs starting pitcher, Corbin burns goes in the opener. The teamโs magic number is down to six. So hypothetically, that you know they they could clinch by Sunday. You know, theyโre playing the Tigers. Who are that, you know, that team thatโs trying to scrap and you know, theyโve been really good. But you know, I want to go back to something that you just said. And Brandon Hyde even addressed this. He was asked about this on Thursday, late morning before their one oโclock game. He was at. About the Rangers last year, and he flat out said, Look, if anyone knows that a team can get hot after an unimpressive second half or a frustrating September, the Orioles know it, because they were victimized by that last year. I mean, think about it. The Rangers, I think, were one game under 500 in the second half of the season. Okay, the Oriole has been a little worse than that, but not dramatic. You know, itโs very comparable. In that way, the Rangers, even in late September, had taken the Al West lead again. They had had kind of an up and down September with losing streak, winning streak, losing streak. They take the lead and then they lose the division the final weekend of the season, which sounds as deflating as it can possibly get. And then they go down to the trop, and they sweep the rays, and they come to Baltimore, and the Orioles are puffing out their chest as a 101 win team, and Iโm not, I donโt mean puffing out their chest like you know that Iโm degrading the Orioles. Just talking about it in terms of a narrative, right? I mean, AI remember
Nestor Aparicio 15:56
you say, beware the Rangers. I remember your you. There was something about the Rangers you didnโt like
Luke Jones 16:02
well, I mean, because they had played so well at times. I mean, and the Orioles are a great example. You know, the Orioles, it was a long time ago, but Nestor, as you and I are talking, Friday, the 20th marks, exactly three months since you and I were sitting at Costas in watching the Orioles absolutely bludgeon the Yankees, I mean, just destroyed them in the Bronx and the Orioles at that point were 24 games over 500 they had just finished a four and two stretch against the Phillies and the Yankees, who had been the two best teams in baseball at that point in time, everything about the Orioles looked like they were on their way to not just matching what they did last year. But who knows? Maybe challenge the 69 or the 70 Orioles for the number of wins in a season. But we know how itโs gone since then. I mean, theyโve been an operation seven games under 500 since then. Over the last three months, itโs been, at best, mediocre and at times worse, a little worse than mediocre, so, but all you need is a spark. All you need is to get on a roll. All you need is to get a few guys back healthy, and thatโs happening now. Now for them, doesnโt mean that theyโre the favorite. Theyโre far from the favorite at this point in time. I mean, theyโre a lot of those injured guys arenโt coming back, right? So we understand that. But in terms of looking at this field in terms of trying to try, trying, trying to handicap who the favorite is. I mean, even the Yankees, okay, they, they theyโve played better, and theyโve taken this lead over the Orioles. And the Orioles have some work to do if they even want to make this series in the Bronx, even have a chance, give themselves a chance here. I mean, theyโve got to do some work this weekend, and hope that the Yankees scuffle in Oakland against an Aโs team thatโs actually been pretty decent in the second half. Go look at their second half record. Theyโre slightly above 500 so itโs not a complete lost cause, but this is all so fragile for anyone. I mean, Juan Soto, I was listening to the Yankees mariners game on my way home from the ballpark on Thursday evening, Juan Soto makes a kind of a diving play down in foul ground, and then he was down for a few moments. Looked like, you know, he stayed in the game. Looks like heโs okay. You know, youโre not wishing an injury on anyone. But yes, something like that happens over the last week of the season to any of these teams. You know, a key player gets hurt, you know, Aaron judge turns an ankle, or, heaven forbid, Gunner Henderson, or go through the list, you know, Altuve, or whoever you want to name for the Astros, it can change the complexion of the postseason field in the Al so you still donโt know, you know, we can still look at this and try to say, Okay, well, the Yankees are they have the best record. The Astros have the best pedigree out of all these teams in the Al field. You know, the Orioles have struggled mightily in the second half of the season, but they showed what theyโre capable of doing in the first half of the season, and theyโre capable of swinging the bats at a much higher level than they have, they than they have for the last six weeks, especially, who knows? I mean, I like to think I know a little bit about baseball Nestor, I
Nestor Aparicio 19:03
donโt know. You donโt know that much.
Luke Jones 19:05
I donโt, right? I donโt, I mean, itโd be boring if I knew that much, right? You know? I mean, Buck Showalter used to always say, if we knew what was going to happen, no, no one would watch the games, right? I mean, thereโs still that unknown. So if you ask me, do I think theyโre going to make a deep October run at this point in time, probably not based on what weโve seen, and a lot of it happened to do with the injuries and do they have enough pitching depth? Do they have enough in the bullpen? I have my doubts about that. That doesnโt mean it canโt happen now, and certainly, when you get a moment like they had on Thursday, you hope that galvanizes these guys. Because, as I noted. I mean, Brandon Hyde even acknowledged before Thursdayโs game that itโs hard right now. I mean, he said that itโs hard right now to be patient and to be positive when youโre scuffling like this. Gunner Henderson, just a couple nights ago, called it kind of weird that they havenโt been able to snap out of it. Said that theyโve just kind of been out of sync. The pregnant pauses. When you ask players in recent games, how they turn this thing around, what needs to happen for them to start playing better baseball again, you can tell theyโre searching for the words, not that they donโt care, not that theyโre not putting in the work. But when you struggle, when you scuffle, as long as they they have, of course, youโre going to doubt yourself. Weโve been talking about these same things. If the ravens, heaven forbid, fall to zero and three on Sunday, you know, weโre going to be talking about some of those same storylines for them, and itโs not even October yet, but at the same time, you get a big moment, you get a big win. You have your ACE going on the Hill The following night. You hope that one win turns into two, and then that turns into a series win, at the very least, against the Tigers. And then you see what happens with the Yankees out west, and then see what happens in the Bronx this week. And you know, if youโre within three games, youโve got a shot and and, you know, so you really do have to try to compartmentalize as much as you can I mean, I I talked about this when you and I talked about the Ravens the other day that you know, thereโs no three win play, right? I mean, thereโs no three win play that suddenly erases the first two win or the first two losses that the Ravens had. Thereโs no 10 win performance that the Orioles can put out there on one night where all is forgiven, and the right back where they were back in June. But
Nestor Aparicio 21:24
one thing being said this weekend, with the Tigers in and a competitive team, and the last home games, and then theyโre going to go to Yankee Stadium, where theyโre going to theyโre going to get a good punch right there. I call this fall training, is what Iโve called it, and I guess in the case of Jordan westburg to try to get back on the field, and Grayson Rodriguez to try to get back up to 40 pitches, or whatever they think that they could get out of him. Or maybe, in your case here, maybe itโs 18 pitches, and just trying to use it for an inning or two. But where would you trust him if you havenโt seen it? But all of this ramp up is good fall training for them, and better than the preseason games were for the ravens, you know, real tests, real big leaguers, a chance for West Bergen, you know, Reus, some of these guys to maybe shake off some ring rust and play a little bit. But Iโm not beholden to the outcomes. And I said that earlier in the week, I Iโm much more beholden to health and CRISPR baseball, and thatโs just across the board. And I guess that means not running into each other in the ninth inning, creating an error that probably should have been two runs and put them behind and getting hurt. You know, thereโs the freakish things that can happen. Letโs not have those happen the Soto thing in New York. Letโs not have that happen here again. Letโs, letโs get ready to play a playoff game in two weeks. Thatโs how I feel. Letโs get ready to play a playoff game. I would almost feel like when Joe Flacco came up to me at the Harriman house and said, Youโre not going to Cincinnati this week, Rick, because Iโm not playing week 17. You know, Iโm not. Itโs not going to be a real game. Um, these games are real, but Iโm not as married to the outcome as I am to no errors. Howโs my pitching looking? They lose three two games every night for the next week. I can live with that. I really can.
Luke Jones 23:14
I would say, Yes, I do want to see some of these guys start swinging the bats better, though. It doesnโt mean you got to score nine runs, but, I mean, Natalie rochman had a really nice at bat with his RBI double on Thursday afternoon. Was down, oh, two worked a three two count that looked a little more like Adley rutschman. Want to see that Iโve said it over and over. I mean, Iโve talked about this for weeks. You need your stars to be like to be stars, right? I mean, Corbin burns the last time out. Weโll see how he looks this weekend, the last time out that looked like elite Corbin burns that looked like Milwaukee Brewers. Corbin burns striking people out, missing bats and looking like a bona fide ace. Not to say that he hasnโt been really good for August aside, but he hasnโt necessarily looked like that elite Cy Young Award winner from three years ago. If you get elite Cy Young Award caliber Corbin burns for the next three and a half, four weeks, we might be talking about the Orioles in the ALCS at the very least. Well, youโre talking
Nestor Aparicio 24:14
about five starts, right? Five, six starts, where he can be really good,
Luke Jones 24:20
right, right. So, but, you know, but Iโm just talking about anyone whoโs been scuffling, anyone that you count on, right? I mean, Adley rutschman. I mean, I mentioned Jackson holiday, not that theyโre counting on Jackson holiday, but they meet. They need some more guys to be swinging the bat, other than gunner Henderson and Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander, the way he hit the home run on on Thursday, even though Santander overall hasnโt necessarily swung the bat at his best in recent weeks. But you know, can you see some individual performances like that? Obviously, they need to take care of the of sewing up the the wild card spot. You want to, at the very least hold on to this top wild card spot. This Best of three is. A tricky proposition for anyone, let alone you donโt want to be going on the road to do it. So, you know, at least have home field advantage there. See what happens in the Bronx. Again, if youโre within three games, youโve got a shot. Now, Iโm not saying that going to the Bronx and being being in a position where you need to sweep the Yankees is a, you know, a high probability outcome, but give yourself a chance, and then, you know, you see what happens. And even at the division, which the division statistically is absolutely a long shot at this point. But with their win on Thursday, I think fan graphs had them at like 99.4 baseball reference had them at 99.5 I think ESPN had them at 99.6 I mean, well, coach, win a game playoffs now
Nestor Aparicio 25:42
is a game or two.
Luke Jones 25:47
Yeah, Iโm right, right, exactly. Yeah, you canโt if you lose out, then, yeah, you are starting. Youโre at the mercy of looking at the scoreboard, sure, of course. But what makes these tigers games? Thatโs why Thursdayโs win was so good. I mean, Tigers will help them to exhale. One of the teams chasing Right, sure. I mean, theyโre playing really good baseball. Theyโre very theyโre theyโre playing really good baseball. We saw this firsthand. I mean, the fortunate thing for the Orioles, they missed tare scuba again, he pitched on what, Wednesday, so he wonโt be pitching in this series. But, you know, we saw this. I mean, with the Tigers, whether they were using an opener or whatever. I mean, theyโve theyโve got arms that certainly showed theyโre capable of shutting down this Orioles lineup. Although, you know, the the skeptic would say, the cynic would say, Well, everyone shut down this Orioles lineup this month, and theyโre not. They wouldnโt be wrong when they said that. So Iโm in agreement with you. I donโt need to see the Orioles go eight and one over these last nine games. I donโt even need to see them win every single series over these last three. But show some signs. Show some signs, show some some positives here, getting guys back healthy. Westburg looking like the guy that was an all star you know, that would be huge by next weekend, if he, you know, has a couple doubles and a home run. I mean, that would be great to see, you know, thatโd be great to see Adley rutschman swing the bat better over this final week of the season. Itโd be great to see Jackson holiday turn these two games into maybe a stretch like he had in early August, where he won a won the Orioles some games at that point in time. You know, it doesnโt mean, you know, heโs really scuffled, but itโs a talented kid. I mean, you donโt become the top prospect in baseball by accident. Clearly, there are people that have seen this from him and seen it at a high level. So you go through the list to your point, hope everyone stays healthy. I mean, again, one of the more understated developments from Thursday was seeing yen your canoe look, right? I mean, he threw the ball well, Filo wasnโt down again. You hope he feels good the next day, the day after that, because heโs huge for their bullpen, right? I mean, Dominguez is the closer we think, and has been, and until Thursday, had been quite good in that role. But Iโve said it, you need four or five guys in the bullpen that that that can do real work for you in October. And you know, Dominguez, Cano, Jacob Webbโs back, CNL, Perez, I mean, Gregory Soto, big double play ball that he got on Thursday. Maybe thatโs the start of him helping you out a little bit more than he has. I mean, these are a lot of ifs and buts I understand. Well, that was something for the playoffs necessarily. Talking about all these you come out in a tight
Nestor Aparicio 28:29
game, sure, Anthony canโt get it done, and heโs going to Soto, and weโre like, okay, you know, and they win the game
Luke Jones 28:38
it. I mean, even if they make a deep October run, something like thatโs going to happen. I mean, some pitcher will get in a in a jam, and youโre going to have to go to someone that you donโt feel great about going to, and then they have to do the job. I mean, thatโs how this works, even, you know, I mean, the Rangers last year, and thatโs why, you know, people talk so much about the Orioles and relying on the home runs so much. And look, I get it. They havenโt slugged nearly as well in the second half of the season. I understand all that, but go look at the Rangers. Yeah, they had Jordan Montgomery and yeah, they had evaldi and their bullpen, but their bullpen, which was not all that highly regarded, kind of did a heck of a job for them and probably pitched a little bit above their heads in October, and they got a bunch of home runs. I mean, itโs not, itโs not that complicated. What needs to happen for the Orioles to make a run doesnโt mean itโs easy. Doesnโt mean itโs likely to happen. But the path is, you know, itโs still the same game at the end of the day, and thatโs where, again, you hope the Santander home run just reminds these guys that, hey, itโs all still sitting right there for you. And you know whether theyโre going to finish with 90 wins or 89 wins or 91 wins. I mean, to your point, who cares about that element of it? As long as youโre in no itโs go time. Get these guys back healthy that are coming back. And, you know, two. To put together some good performances, some good at bats, some good pitching. Keep everyone healthy. You know, if you get to a point where you have nothing to play for the last game or two next weekend in Minnesota, then rest a couple guys, you do that. And then, hey, itโs play ball early next week or early the following week. So, and like I said, their calendar currently sets up for Eflin game one burns Game Two, if they are indeed pitching in the wild card series, which, you know, barring amazing, an amazing run here over the last week, thatโs what itโs going to be. So it sets up there. And there you go, your top two starters in the first two games of a best of three. It canโt get better than that, because Kyle Bradish isnโt walking through that door. Grayson Rodriguez isnโt ready to start a game one or a game two at this point in time. John means isnโt walking through that door. So Felix Batista is not coming out of the bullpen in the ninth inning. So and Palmer
Nestor Aparicio 30:55
at this point I know this. So, right, right.
Luke Jones 30:59
Exactly, exactly. So. Mike Messina, right? I mean, so you go with what you have, and you roll the dice, and, you know, finally, the Orioles got something good to happen for them on Thursday. And again, is it just a temporary respite from from this doom spiral that it feels like theyโve been on, or will it truly represent a spark for them to perhaps make some noise in October. Weโll find out very quickly, because the Tigers are coming to town with plenty to play for, and theyโve been playing really good baseball. So this will be to your point, whether youโre September training, October training, however you want to call it the these last couple series will certainly be a nice tune up. And if you want to call it a litmus test for where the Orioles are, well, so be it, the Orioles havenโt played well even against mediocre teams. So maybe theyโll elevate their play a little bit facing some tougher competition. Who knows? You
Nestor Aparicio 31:52
think gunner Henderson will ever go six for six with 10 RBIs and three home runs in a game?
Luke Jones 31:57
Oh, my goodness, Iโm glad you at least brought that up. You know that Iโve, Iโve talked so fondly of Shohei Otani the last few years now. I mean, itโs just, itโs remarkable what heโs doing. And I mean, the fact that he hasnโt even been able to pitch this year because of elbow surgery, and then suddenly he invents something new, that some new amazing accomplishment for someone to go 5050, I mean, I remember Jose Canseco going 4040, you know, when I was a kid, and how big of a deal that is. And this guy 5050, and, oh yeah, heโs an ace on the hill when heโs healthy. I mean, itโs just it truly is remarkable. And I hope baseball fans young or old, those who are just new to the game, or those who are cranky and donโt like war and ops and weighted runs created and analytics and the pitch timer and all the thing you know, all the all the old school fans, things that they might complain about, appreciate what youโre seeing From this guy, because this is so incredible, and as a baseball fan, you know, there are plenty of greats. We talked about this not long ago with the passing of Willie Mays, and I told you the reverence I have for him as someone who wasnโt born for another decade after he played his final games in the major leagues. But Shohei Otani, I mean, you know, Babe Ruth is this mythical, you know, the one, of course, one of the greatest players of all time. Iโm not saying he isnโt, but also as a folk hero, right? Heโs this mythical creation, you know, the called shot and a two way player. Ruth as a two way player, that was a very fleeting thing. He did it for a couple years and wasnโt really, truly a two way player, meaning, like, did both full time. Ohtani has done that for a couple seasons when heโs been healthy, and now heโs, oh yeah, the powerโs gone up. Stolen bases have gone up. And, you know, I mean, I think whatโs fascinating is the Dodgers pitching situation. Nestor, is there a pathway for Shohei Otani to throw a couple innings from the mound before itโs all said and done in October? I mean, Iโm not, I am not going to cap anything that that guy can do. Iโm not going to say that he canโt do anything, because he is just absolutely remarkable. And again, as someone who loves baseball, loves the history of baseball, itโs I feel pretty privileged, pretty fortunate to simply get to say that Iโve Iโve been able to watch Shohei Otani play. Iโve seen him play in person. Iโve seen him pitch. Iโve seen him hit a home run in right center field at Camden Yards that few people reach that kind of territory there. So, I mean, what he did on Thursday to join the 5050 club, and then what, I guess itโs the 5151 club now, and he still has a little over a week to go. I mean, I. Guyโs unbelievable and really, really fun to watch. And like I said, baseball fans, young and old, appreciate what youโre seeing, because we use the term generational talent very loosely in across sports. I think itโs probably something we we overuse. But if it doesnโt apply to Shohei Ohtani, that it doesnโt apply to anyone. Because you might very well be looking at, I donโt even want to say White might, if weโre talking just in terms of true, pure talent. What he is is doing. How can you argue against him being the most talented player in the history of the game? Doesnโt mean the best longevity and all those things. I mean, you know, Iโm not not saying heโs the greatest of all time, but in terms of talent, what he is doing, itโs absolutely extraordinary. Itโs
Nestor Aparicio 35:51
freakish. I donโt know what else to say. And maybe weโll get to Dodgers next month in the World Series when we get there. Luke Jones, weโll be monitoring all things. Orioles, weโll be watching the Ravens in Dallas this weekend. Weโll be back after it, during the games, after the games, early in the morning. Follow us out on social media. Weโve been doing a Maryland crab cake to represented by the Maryland lottery. Iโll have the Raven scratch offs beginning today and moving forward. So donโt forget the 27th weโre Costas on the 11th. Weโre going to be a pizza Johns. Youโll hear all about that. My oyster tour has taken on new dimensions. I went out and had another oyster shooter in Columbia the other night on the way to DC. All of it brought to you by friends at Liberty. Pure solutions, one 800 clean water, if you have well water, if you need a plumber, if you have water issues, you need liberty. Pure solutions. They do great work. Theyโve done great work by me. I am Nestor. Heโs Luke. We are wnst am 1570 Taos in Baltimore. Yankees are up next for the Orioles and the bills are up next for the Ravens. Gonna be long weekend around here for sports, stay with us. You.