After back-to-back gems from the hill to start the Orioles 2024 campaign, Luke Jones and Nestor rethink the starting rotation and the potential dominance and friendly competition between Burnes and Rodriguez as a season to dream begins.
SUMMARY KEYWORDSorioles, pitching, pitcher, burns, point, corbin, talked, year, baseball, grayson, kyle gibson, watching, bullpen, win, palmer, clubhouse, craig kimbrel, rodriguez, team, daySPEAKERSLuke Jones, Nestor J. Aparicio Nestor J. Aparicio 00:01Welcome home we are wn St. am 5070, Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive. We’re taking the Maryland crabcake Tour presented by our friends at the Maryland lottery back out on the road beginning on the ninth of April. That’s next Tuesday. The Orioles will be opening things up at Fenway at 2pm. That day, we’re going to begin in the morning, we’re gonna be talking a lot about the Key Bridge and a lot about the peninsula and Sparrows Point and now being really trapped. Guests I never really thought about that a whole lot as a kid because the bridge came and now the bridge is gone. And we’re going to be talking a lot about the bridge. We’re talking us a football here a little later on the Kansas City Royals in town. And then the Orioles go to Pittsburgh here this weekend. Obviously the weather is clearly a factor will not be a factor next Friday on the 12th. We’ll be inside at the brand new families and well my favorite t shirt in our previous segment with Luke Jones will be there on Friday from two until five live. That rhymes. I like that so brought to you by the Maryland lottery, Liberty pure solutions, keeping my water clean as well as our friends at Jiffy Lube multi care. Look, Joe joins us now we’re gonna talk to baseball here, although I don’t know from running through the raindrops in the forecast and the rain and the Royals in the rain. And here we go. It’s no fooling. And April and April Fool’s that was lightning and thundering when you and I were doing radio on Monday morning. This is gonna be a weird couple of days for pitching baseball and getting Games in. Yeah, Luke Jones 01:33I mean, what what to see how it plays out? I mean, I’ve looked at it the forecast and some periods of rain but sometimes in the morning, and it looks like it could clear up. I mean, who knows? I mean, we it’s the Chesapeake Bay, right? I mean, if you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes and see what happens. So we’ll see. It’s always tricky when it’s a team that’s coming in for its loan visit, right. I mean, it’s a little bit different when you’re playing an ALS team early in the year knowing they’re coming back for another series. So we’ll see how it plays out. But you know, I mean, you have certain number of off days and all that. But I think beyond just the challenge of the weather and obviously what that can mean for fans and all that you’re challenging for baseball team early in the season when you’re trying to settle into just playing right. I mean, we we look at the first series of the season, Craig Kimbrel. Kind of waiting the pitch, right? Yeah. And you’re Cano warmed up a little bit Saturday. But you know, you haven’t had those high leverage situations for the back end of your bullpen. And we’ve talked a lot about that. You’re starting pitchers, you know, you want to keep them. Certainly you’re in a position where early on, you’re probably taking advantage of off days to give your pitchers an extra day. You know, I I don’t think you go to a four man rotation just because you have off days in April. At least the Orioles aren’t approaching it that way, knowing that they have a long season ahead. But you also don’t want guys to be going 678 days in between starts. I mean, that’s that’s counterproductive as well. So, you know, you always have that challenge early in the season, the weather’s not great. You know, you and I talked briefly in a previous segment about some of the attendance I mean, it’s for you remind yourself, okay, we’re finally in the April. But these are games that started in late March, and especially considering the climate, you know, it can be brutal in some of these cities. So you have some of those challenges. But for the Orioles, you know, series win coming off of the first series of 2024 going up against the Kansas City team that in some circles, you know people think will be better than then it’s been recently but certainly not a team that I’m viewing through the lens of being any kind of a serious contender or anything like that. So you want to take advantage right. We talked about this before the season started, how these first couple weeks look, you want to get off to a good start. I mean, you know, you don’t want to be swimming upstream or early on. I mean, you can do it. Yeah, it’s a long season and a good start doesn’t promise anything either. But yeah, the last thing you want us to get off to the kind of start that say the Astros got off to over the weekend against the Yankees is their swept at home and a four game set. So for the Orioles, it’s a matter of great start from burns. Great start from Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler wells choppy final results didn’t look great. But he did set down the last 14 that he faced on Sunday. So he kept them in the game after the rough start. So now it’s the same thing for challenge for Dean Kramer for Cole Irvin. While we’re monitoring John means and Kyle Bradish rehabbing in Sarasota is this is where we get to the point in the rotation where you have a few more questions. You know, you love Corbin burns, you know, great said Rodriguez. Kind of look like Corbin according burns impersonation on Saturday night. In fact, he even said that burns was talking some trash to him playfully after opening day said Hey, what are you going to do? And Grayson Rodriguez being the competitor that he is, he said I really love that that’s gonna make me better. You know and you can kind of see that there’s some healthy competition with these guys Nestor J. Aparicio 05:05but it’s a new two if they’re fishing together hunting together doing crosswords together, I covered baseball long time that you know that camaraderie and the things that Gibson brought last year as a veteran guy that all of that changes when you import a one right literally you import one. I saw them in poor Kevin Brown here 25 years ago and David Wells and Jimmy key and some days it worked. And some days it didn’t and some days it meshed with rip skin and some days Alomar Ripken, it didn’t mention to you know, like their factions in a lot of these places. But this has been a real together group, they were all drafted into this they know one way you import the best pitcher, and, you know, it feels bought in and all that and he wanted to be in a place like this. But it is different, right? I mean, it is. Yeah, it’s different. Luke Jones 05:55And I mean, especially through the through the lens of he’s in a contract here, you know, whether he’s going to be in Baltimore or wherever he’s going to get paid. I mean, he’s going to be the top pitcher on the market come this fall, whether the Orioles pony up and resign them or whether he’s pitching for I don’t know, the Yankees next year or the Dodgers next year because the Dodgers sign everyone. But I mean, it’s big for him, you know, big stakes for him high stakes for him and for the Orioles. It’s bringing in a pitcher of that magnitude. And I’m glad you brought up Kyle Gibson, because you look at the acquisitions they made in recent years. It was Gibson last year, it was Jordan Lyles, before that who didn’t see the competitive success on the field in terms of wins and losses quite as much. But you ask any of those young pitchers in that clubhouse they’ll tell you Elias was was helpful to them. Yeah, he was someone that certainly shared some lessons and imparted some some wisdom. Nestor J. Aparicio 06:48cliffie. Right. You know what you seen? Donald, right. Tell you the same thing in the early 60s. And Palmer was that guy from McGregor for Dennis Martinez, for Scott, for all for all those guys. And they important to Steve stone. Right. I mean, they it’s really a mix. In every case Verlander going places and winning and being perceived as that guy. Same thing was Schilling and Randy Johnson at you know, during their careers moving around, and moving into different situations where they can win that chemistry and that camaraderie is a little different here. Because of how much bass this has. And guys, to your point. I mean, you know, I guess Mullins and Hayes these guys were around when things were really bad, you know, coming in and oh, well 101 wins. You’re the number one starter you’re gonna get the ball. Now you’re not I’m gonna be the guy chasing you. Mussina certainly felt that way about Sutcliffe and McDonald. You know, Messina was always sort of chasing because he wasn’t the golden boy. Right? Right. Luke Jones 07:55I mean, it’s it really is. You want a mix of that. And I think that’s where look it with analytics, and Mike Elias and sigma Dell and everything the Orioles are doing from a development standpoint and the technology they use. I mean, you know, if anyone has been listening to the broadcasts, I mean, talking about now, they even have programs and cameras that will actually take the profile of a pitcher, everything about him is you know, arm angle, velocity, you know, all those different things spin rate, and they can basically, you know, allow their, their hitters to face that guy, so to speak in a simulated sense to get an idea. I mean, it truly is remarkable, everything they have that said, there is still a place for chemistry, there’s still a place for veteran influences. You can’t quantify it. It shouldn’t be what drives your decision making. But it’s absolutely a part of it. Remember, a couple years ago when we would kind of say okay, why Lyle’s, you know, to last year, it was why Kyle Gibson, I mean, you know, Gibson had pitch for the Phillies, who had been to the World Series, but wasn’t great for them, you know, by any stretch of the imagination. But clearly, this baseball operations department, which is so smart, and relies on technology, and relies on data, and player tracking, and all those different things, they still recognize the need for positive veteran influence. Again, it’s not something that you can quantify and put into a statistic, you know, and spit, put it into a computer and you spit out a number. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. That doesn’t mean it isn’t part of the equation. So that’s where you bring in a Corbin Burns, who isn’t a veteran, the same veteran of Kyle Gibson in terms of age, you know, but, boy, he brings a cachet brings a legitimacy to better pay attention to this guy and I get it. He’s 29. It’s not 38 You know, he’s not a grizzled veteran by any means. But it’s one of the young it’s pitched in some playoffs in some big games. You know, he’s been arguably the best pitcher in the National League over the last five years. So if you’re Grayson Rodriguez, there’s absolutely a legitimacy there that it brings and You know, I think one of the all time best examples, it’s not a pitcher. But Palmer to this day talks about Frank Robinson. You know, when the Orioles in the early to mid 60s Were on the rise, you know, they had to had good teams. They had had close calls, they had had teams that in today’s format would have been in the postseason, but they weren’t quite there yet. And he said a lot about Frank Robinson, he taught us how to win. Now he came in and everything changed from that moment, the expectation change from that moment, and I’m not here to suggest that Koren Burns is Frank Robinson. I mean, far from it, but he can be the kind of guy that you hope gets Grayson Rodriguez to the next level. I mean, anyone who watched that started on Saturday, Grayson Rodriguez wasn’t quite as dominant as Corbin burns, but it was just really close. It was like one in one day. Nestor J. Aparicio 10:50I mean, I tell you why. Two games into the year yeah, they’re beating the brains out of the angels and whatnot. They stink. Dude, this is what was missing. When you had to go play Texas, back in October is dreaming and thinking of that and thinking of what this is going to look like if these guys stay healthy and make 3132 Start whatever the numbers gonna be for them at the end of the year, that they’re making their start every six day this week, it burns goes on Wednesday afternoon, we keep the weather together, but that they not just giving them a chance to win, but almost expecting them to win with them like gambling and all that. Like every night there’ll be a favorite to win with those guys pitching. And they’re gonna have a chance to win a World Series because of those guys. Now, Henderson rutschman Those guys got to play 140 games get their 600 bet like all of that. But and and produce and holiday needs to come up and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The bullpen, bullpen bullpen? We talked about that all day long. I’ve talked so much about the bullpen if these guys are gonna go out and give you six and two thirds every fifth day and it’s gonna look like two three run balls, some lights, it might look better than that. Yeah, Luke Jones 12:00I mean, I think and look, it’s not it’s not even a knock what where they were last October, Kyle Bradish. Could be that guy, you know? And look, I mean, his health is such a big question mark. But I’m just in general, what they had last year, that Dec can turn it into a dynamic. You know, you’re mentioning Grayson Rodriguez through a different lens. He’s another year older. He went through that experience. He talked about it after Saturday night. Sorry, I was sitting there at his locker, where he said I was really eager to get back out on the mountain. The last time I was out there, it was game two, and the Rangers knocked me around. And that wasn’t a good feeling. But he said that that really was the driving force for my entire offseason. And some of that is just experience, right? I mean court and it’s not like Corbin Corbin burns hasn’t pitched in a World Series, for example. So there’s always some unknown unless you’re talking about overland or a masters or guys that have done it. You know, guys that have postseason pedigree, you know, but it’s but it’s not easy. I mean, Clayton Kershaw is one of the greatest pitchers of the last quarter century first ballot Hall of Famer slam dunk. What do we remember about Clayton Kershaw on October, it’s typically ugly. So it’s not easy to do. But the point is, with the experience, with Rodriguez being another year older, the experience of last year, both the successes and the failures of his rookie year, and now you throw Corbin burns and into the mix that, you know, now you’re not in a position where Grayson Rodriguez has to be the ace, you know, Kyle Bradish, if and hopefully when he comes back, he doesn’t have to be the ace Corbin Burns is that guy, so everyone else, slots down one spot. And I think that just not that it eliminates the pressure. But I do think it takes some of the pressure off a little bit. But in the meantime, to your point, and I think you you really hit on it during the game on social media on Saturday night. You know, it’s like Grace Rodriguez. Hey, don’t forget about me. You know, I was the last couple years I was considered the best right handed pitching prospect in baseball, you know that that hasn’t changed. And I had a heck of a second half. Just because Corbin Burns is here. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t high expectations for me. But the point is, there’s not quite the same spotlight of expectations where oh my gosh, he has to be the one or they’re in trouble now. He now it’s a case of you thought it was going to be easy to three because you had radish but at the very least now let’s go out and be the two and Corbin Burns is going to talk some smack in a playful friendly competitive environment. And you pitchers are all gonna say hey, I’m gonna try to one up the next guy mean that’s what you want. You know to your point way back when it was Rick Sutcliffe setting the setting the bar for Mike Mussina and then McDonald and you know it comes full circle and eventually you become that veteran guy five years from now. Grayson Rodriguez is going to be the guy for some pitching for some 23 year old the Orioles call up Nestor J. Aparicio 14:49five years using stuff that Gibson told him last year short Luke Jones 14:52Gibson and stuff that Corbin burns told him this year. So I mean, that’s how this works. I mean it you have these whole circle moments, right? Cal Ripken was one time the guy that was learning from the the other vets in the clubhouse. And then cow was the guy for so many. You know, Adam Jones now is, you know, he was the young guy that I can oh eight 910 Nestor J. Aparicio 15:16I think Nelson Cruz was a great great great for them. Luke Jones 15:21Oh for from especially for Manny Machado Jonathan scope Machado would tell you to this day, what kind of positive influence Nelson Cruz was for him. Nick Marcus, JJ Hardy. I mean, those were really those guys. And you know, but and now and look, many people feel a certain way about Manny because some of them go through Nestor J. Aparicio 15:39bad sick guys. It’s created fine. Luke Jones 15:42But the point is, he’s at a different stage in his career where good or bad. He’s influencing younger players in that San Diego clubhouse. So I mean, that’s just that’s how this works. You know, it’s, it sounds corny, I’m not trying to go on Lion King on you, but it’s the circle of life. Nestor J. Aparicio 15:58I mean, that’s really how Ray Lewis on the football side, right, you know, that we tell me, the greatest leader you’ve ever we’ve ever seen, like I you know, and I will say that to this day, you know, but it wasn’t for everybody all the time. But it did develop and change, you know, through the course of time. And that would happen here. Freshmen sticks around, because watchmen still the guy who deer, you know, left, you know, I think it all goes through him. Yeah, Luke Jones 16:20I mean, I think so. I mean, I don’t think it’s all him. But it’s certainly, you know, for someone who is only in his second full season in the majors, you know, thinking about it like that. I mean, it’s, it’s definitely, it’s a catcher, catchers there, whether they’re a rah rah guy like Rick Dempsey, or whether it’s a likable guy, they’re they’re the the ones are touching the ball, they in the in the pitcher touching the ball, every single play when they’re out on defense. So there’s inherently going to be that leadership quality. And that’s something that I know, and I’ll go back to those traits that you can’t quantify. When you’re Mike Elias, and sigma Dell in the front office and the analysts, you know, the analytics department, you can’t put a number there. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. So and I think that’s where the Orioles To their credit, as much as we’ve talked about, you know, the numbers and player development and all the different things and how Scouting has changed. You still do have those intangibles, and I think, for the most part, and as we get deeper into this over the next couple years, time will tell but I think they’ve been mindful of that. And that’s why there’s been some benefit. I mean, look, we’ve talked about the bullpen and I haven’t talked about the bullpen in the most flattering terms because I am I do have concerns about the bullpen. But I think Craig Kimbrel is going to be a good influence. Maybe not to the same magnitude of Corbin burns with these young starters. But I think Craig Kimbrel will bring certainly brings a lot of experience. He’s pitched in big games. He’s not the guy he was with the Red Sox or the guy who was with the Braves years ago. He’s, you know, he’s not going to be Felix Batista. Even, even as Mike Elias friend, they ran their different projections. Probably the best case scenario for kick, Craig Kimbrel is still not going to be what Felix Batista was through the first five months last year. I mean, what Batista did was historic. He was having that kind of year before he got hurt. But you’re hoping what Craig Kimbrel can bring is that positive influence and instilling some confidence in Guys and to leadership for the bullpen. And hopefully, yes, still be someone who can get guys out in the ninth inning. I mean, that’s ultimately what he’s really being paid for. But you get those other qualities along the way. So, you know, I think that’s what’s exciting about this team is that they have the kind of mix that they do that they’re not like the Yankees, where, boy, you’re just relying on so many veterans, you know, I mean, I’m not I’m not anti veterans, but when that’s all you have, basically, you know, although certainly Juan Soto is not not an old guy by any stretch of the imagination, but when you’re counting on that many guys to stay healthy that many guys to kind of reverse some recent decline. You know, that’s where I think, you know, people who aren’t as bullish on the Yankees chances are pointing to that so you’re the Orioles. Oh, my goodness. I mean, okay. Craig Kimbrel is old, you know, by baseball standards. I mean, who else is old on that roster? I mean, even guys that we can you mentioned Mullins and Hayes and Santander I mean, those guys are late 20s You know, they’re not 36. So that’s where it is interesting for the Orioles coming off of their first postseason experience, albeit a disappointing one where it didn’t go well, but it’s still a learning experience. And you know, that’s part of what I talked about late late in spring training and Sarasota with Austin Hays just you know, wasn’t some you know, his thought on it was it’s not like we were you know that we did something specifically wrong. We just got beat. You know, that was a team that clearly ended up being pretty good because they won the World Series. In the Texas Rangers, but they got beat and probably Nestor J. Aparicio 20:03would like run into North Carolina State this week. Yeah, right. I Luke Jones 20:07mean, oh, my goodness. I mean, right. You know, I, you and I didn’t watch a whole lot at the beginning of the tournament. But what a story they Well, I’ve watched Nestor J. Aparicio 20:13a lot of basketball in my lifetime. And you know, it’s the last time North Carolina State did this, I watched it. But that, Luke Jones 20:20but it really is an example of it’s all about getting hot at the right time. You know, you and I, boy, we’ve spent the last two and a half months talking about the Ravens lost in the AFC title game. And I’ve said this somewhat flippantly. But I don’t mean it to just be a complete joke. I do wonder at this point, for the ravens, if it’s gonna be that team that is not the best team in the AFC or the best team in the NFL. And maybe there, there are a few more question marks about them, and maybe even a wildcard going on the road the entire time. Maybe that’s the team that has to break through that’s going to break through for them. So the point is, you can play six months of 101 and 61. Baseball like the Orioles did this past year, and they were done in four days, right? Eliminate this dad, who’s starting game one, I’ll Nestor J. Aparicio 21:10always go to that. And when you see burns, and when you see Rodriguez on, you know, as you pointed out last week, Buck would say, you know, that’s what it looks like, you know, it looks like that’s what it looks like. Look challenges here. Yeah, I want to go back to this because I’m promoting our 25th anniversary documentary. I’ve been putting a lot of time into this last couple of weeks. To make it right on behalf of Greg Landry has got his name on it over Blue Rock productions. And it was his idea last year. So now I have to sort of follow through and make it good. But I found these pictures that I went to Venezuela in 1986. Winter of 86. I just gotten my job at the Baltimore Sun. I’d saved enough money to get the Caracas on American Airlines and events which I don’t know how that plane didn’t go down over Angel Falls back in 86. And I perish but I was America IBO and I went to Louis Aparicio stadium and I watched I Gillis play and pitch. And I have pictures from that game and almost the stadium looks like it looks a little bit like seeing a game at the old Arlington Stadium was one flat sort of sort of aluminum thing in Maracaibo put the pitcher out on the mound. You can see it up on the scoreboard, and a d d u x, Greg Maddux. And there’s also pictures of me with him on the field and Atlanta with Nagle and bulaki when they pitch there in the 90s. And Liam was only you. I made a note I gotta call Leo and get him on every time I hear John Smoltz John Smoltz used to do nasty nationwide every week. He was like sort of the paid guest. We had a real major league player that would come on every week. It was always John Smoltz now he’s on and Glavine was my all time favorite dude. So I start to see like I measure everything against that I know around here my dad would say well, you weren’t around for quite er adoption McNally. Yeah, you know, I know about all that but in my era of pitching and I think of luck man, I DJ shillings wedding right so in Dundalk so shilling moving around from the Phillies to the Diamondbacks to the to the Red Sox. I was a part of all of that and saw all of that from the inside his politics and, you know, Hispanic players and Pedro Martinez and him moving around and how all of this Albert Belle clubhouse chemistry, and we talked about all of this stuff. But those Braves guys, they golf together, they were friends together, they stuck together. There were contracts there was negotiating with Ted Turner’s people there on national TV when there was no such a thing on TBS every night. And when I think about what they accomplish there, and I think about what you really need to do to win, right, like Henderson’s nice regiments, but I saw Palmer McDonald, pitchers, the smart guys pooping on the angels. Yeah, he had Otani. They had trout and run. And what a thing. They named their pitchers during this era, um, they had a scandal, they had death. They had draw, they, they had awful talk about awful stuff happening in an organization. And they had all of that there, and they have won anything and without pitching. And without that thing without those couple of guys. I remember when it was going to be Pulsipher and isringhausen. And I mean, I I go through all of these young guns where you have that era. And, you know, it burns goes out the back door and lines up with the Yankees and comes in here, and they have to face him. And we’re going to find out about Rubinstein’s ownership we’re going to find that about money to your point and for me, and I told the nice man that I met from Mr. Rubinstein’s team in regard to as I stood underneath the Louis Aparicio picture in the hall Same wing of the club level. And someone that didn’t know a lot about the history, baseball, like all of this, I’ve been here for all of this. And I’m gonna bring all of my wisdom, all the things that Peter hated the most about me and John and TJ Brightman, because I understand the business, I know what they’re doing. But they have to do all of this well to be able to afford good pitching. You know, it’s not gonna be, well, he’s just a billionaire, he’s gonna throw a $280 million, but no, he’s not, he’s gonna run a business. And the $9 tickets, and nobody’s buying them, because it’s raining, and the Royals are in town. And the seats are empty. You know, I say I take it personally, every seat that’s empty, but they gotta get their revenue somehow. And it can’t just be from the Coors Light deck in the outfield. And I’m appreciative because I prefer Coors Light at any price, cold beer at a reasonable price. But the business of this is what’s going to finance the pitching of this. And it’s what’s going to keep guys around because they’re all there. This is like Lamar, and 19, and 20 and 21. They’re all cheap right now. And they can’t be cheap for more than 10 minutes. Because once Henderson wins the MVP this year, and if they actually have a parade, if they actually have a parade, they have to keep these guys around. This can’t be what the Royals did where it’s one and done. And, and they were late getting there. I mean, they lived through some some lumps that Molins and maybe haze lived through. But 101 wins happened quick here. And the expectations have happened quicker for you and me. The ownership change happened super quick, dude. Peters death. I mean, after sitting around 15 years waiting for Peter to change, die glaslough Bad, John to be normal, the run that none of that happen. And then boom, we have new owners, and boom, the team is awesome. And boom, we have like a real pitcher. Because we have a real baseball development team here. Now Great. How do we become the Cardinals? How does this thing rebuild my city? Instead of just make a billionaire, a billionaire, or when he sells it? 10 years now for 4 billion or his kids do? Or Eric Daddy gets a hold of it? Who I did meet the other day. And? Well, I’ll just leave it at that. But I would just say I’m watching all of this dude, more than anybody else is watching it in a different way. And I keep thinking like these pictures, and Rodriguez and burns even saying there’s a healthy thing. I don’t have a press pass you do and apparently if I had one, I’d be getting stopped signs and dirty looks and like all that crap that I don’t really feel like dealing with because I’m a grown ass man. But I’d like to see relationships and I remember what it looked like when Rick Sutcliffe came in. And Mike Messina and Ben McDonald were there watching that. And Elrod Hendricks was watching that and Mike Flanagan was watching that and Palmer was on the broadcast watching that and Cal SR was in the corner watching that, and tick. Bosman was watching that. And so it was Chris Moyles. And so as Jeff Tackett, who went you know, and or excuse me, I’m thinking, I’m thinking Mark parent, Bernie parent, washed up catcher like McCann came in, catch it, and went up being a manager for 1520 years, you know, because they like great baseball minds. And to your point, like minded individuals, the growth mindset, people are not going to come in and poison the water, and be Scott Erickson or Albert Bell and say, Why are we playing the Cubans? Let’s take the day off. Let’s shake it. Let’s make everybody look foolish. You know, I was around for that. And cow couldn’t do anything about it. And cow was a part of it too. And palmiero And like, you know, like all of that. Good. Chemistry matters. It’s how you win championships. And I loved reading over the weekend, that my tweet in the middle of the game about Rodriguez, that I’m smart enough to know, from the outside haven’t been around it for 22 years with a media pass that it matters. It matters a lot that that relationship, and that’s why I brought up Maddox and that’s why I brought up Smoltz and Avery and Glavine and anybody else that ever got into that mix that for that period of time. How about this book? That’s what it looks like. Luke Jones 29:19Yeah, and look, I mean, it has to be with winning, right? I mean, it’s the old is winning breed chemistry, there’s chemistry bring breed winning, winning. I think it’s a give take I think that I really do think it’s a two way street. I I think you can have the most influential, good hearted, willing to help kind of guy in your clubhouse. He goes out there and gets his brains beat in. Nestor J. Aparicio 29:45I’m not saying there’s not come back and washed upside onto your Luke Jones 29:50face. But I but I think when you have and this is where Corbin Burns is. I look at the progression look where Lyles was a couple years ago. Kyle Gibson, I think was viewed through a lens of 2.0 of that, you know, a little bit improved from you know, I think they projected slightly better results. I think I don’t want to I don’t want to compare guy’s character I think they they’re different individuals, but I think they’re both respected and well light in that Orioles clubhouse. But now you bring in Burns who, okay. He’s not the grizzled guy in his mid 30s like Kyle Gibson, you know, he’s been around and pitch for different teams and kind of, for lack of a better term was kind of a journeyman at that at this point in his career, but he’s the guy who’s still going to give you that foreign influence but oh, yeah, he’s gonna go out and shove every fifth day to you know, he’s going to go out and be awesome every fifth day and give you a great chance to win. Not a good chance to win a great chance to win anyway to be Nestor J. Aparicio 30:52room at Curt Schilling but they loved him when he took the ball. Luke Jones 30:56It’s going to be it’s going to be hit when he pitches it’s an event you know, think back over the last 25 years of Orioles baseball, you know, from the end of Mike Mussina So 2024 years, how many pitchers have they had, where it felt like an event when they were taking the mount Erik Bedard for maybe about half a season remember he had that unbelievable year and that’s when the oils dealt him then Dylan Bundy when he first came up, remember he was kind of had that two month run where it’s like, holy cow. This is what we’ve been hearing about for the last five years. It was fleeting, but But you saw that, you know, Grayson Rodriguez being caught up, you know, anytime that these young pitching prospects have been caught up, it’s been exciting, but in terms of debt, you know, every five days week in and week out for the course of a full season, you know, in Burns case or if if Grayson Rodriguez ends up becoming a Cy Young candidate, which I think he can be, if not this year, certainly in the near future, where you flat out say they’re pitching Tuesday, okay, it’s a Grayson Rodriguez day, you know, we’re, we’re saying we’re gonna say that about Corbin burns on Wednesday, weather permitting. It’s a Corbin burns day, you know, you think about it through the different lens in the same way you’re talking about the Braves pitchers Pedro Martinez in the late 90s and early 2000s. My goodness, whether you’re a Red Sox fan, or whether you were just a baseball fan, you knew when Pedro was pitching, you made sure you’re watching Sports Center that night because you wanted to see something special potentially and Nestor J. Aparicio 32:22man, you I cannot I have to interrupt you because as my dad, you know, like I wrote the book on my dad and release that. My dad in the 70s. We literally would, if Tenaa. Orion were pitching if split or for pitching, like whoever was pitching for the other team. But also, hey, I want to see Palmer pitch or I want to see McGregor pitch or I want to see Flanagan pitch, I want to go out there when Steve stones pitching, I want to go out when Fernando’s pitching, right? Like, I want to see Ohtani pitch, how about that? talk bad about him before? But like, that’s the thing about seeing Clemens or Ryan or any of these special guys when you’re that guy? Hey, how about this when the Brewers would come to town here for three or four games in a season if that never happens anymore? Because of the National Week? We see him once now right? But if they came in, you would want to pick the game that burns pitched right out of their rotation because I would only go to Philly when Steve Carlton pitched or went dark Yeah, pitched Luke Jones 33:20and look, there’s a difference between being a good pitcher and I’m gonna use a wrestling term for you here Yeah, cuz you know, you love Nestor J. Aparicio 33:28Come on. Luke Jones 33:29There is a difference between being a Main Event talent, meaning you can, you know, especially in this day and age where you’ve got a pay per view, got five hours live, main roster, live TV and up and I’m just using WWE because it’s more popular than Aw. But there is a difference between being a main event or where you say Yeah, that guy can be in the main event of the show, and will do a good job might even win the title at some point. There is a difference between that and being a true draw a true attraction, right haco you know, Andre the Giant way back when it’s a ration the role wherever he was going, what, but the territory system Andre moved all around and Vince rented them out for lack of lack of a better term. But Andre went all over the world and he was such a novelty here. And obviously his size was the reason why but you wanted to pay to see him Hulk Hogan same way in the mid 80s. Stone Cold Steve Austin and the rock in the late 90s into the early 2000s John Cena for about a decade in WWE. Those guys that yeah, they are there are plenty of other main inventors. There are plenty of other Hall of Famers. But there’s that select group where you just say, oh my gosh, I gotta stop everything and make sure I’m watching that guy. And look, I’m not comparing Corbin burns to Pedro Martinez, because Pedro might from my generation that I really truly remember. Pedro peak Pedro kind of feels like that in the most way in the biggest way in terms of Through Nestor J. Aparicio 35:00Fernando mania. Right. Right. Luke Jones 35:02But the point is are plenty of other great but and Randy Johnson, I would say too, I mean, right. The big unit was just stopped. Right. But the point is when you have that guy in the Orioles have had I mean even Mike Mussina and you can speak to this better than I can I can just speak to it as a fan growing up in my in my teenage years. He was never appreciated for being as great as he actually was. You know, I would I would venture to say there were plenty of Orioles fans in the mid to late 90s. Who didn’t even consider Messina true ace because by then guys weren’t pitching complete games as frequently as Palmer did 20 years before that Nestor J. Aparicio 35:45pitch every night, dude, what do you want to know? Oh, the greatness that bringing in wells and key and starting with suck that he was never until the end out on an island where it was him? And for many Mo and Curtis. Sure, sure. And you know, Mike like, Luke Jones 36:04yeah, my point wasn’t the performance whatsoever. The perception is what I’m saying. Probably wasn’t perceived as highly as he should have been being as good as he was because everyone deals with this to some degree, the Nakoda I remember God rest their souls. I remember my grandparents that Mussina is good. He’s no Palmer, no, Palmer. And it wasn’t in the sense of either restoring Davis, by the way is to throw him in there. Right. But and it wasn’t in the sense of just ranking Palmer ahead of Messina, because I would still do that. But it was in the sense of being more flippant about it in the same way today that, oh, these pitchers today, they only go five or six innings while we lose the plot point that they’re also throwing as hard as they can. And it’s a different mentality of how they’re pitching. Good or bad. Whether you like it or not, it’s different. Palmer would even tell you they’re Nestor J. Aparicio 36:55comparing Lamar to Joe Flacco or Johnny Unitas, right. Yeah, Luke Jones 36:59I mean, right. Right. But but you know, just to bring it in, because I’m, I’m going off on a tangent here a little bit. Yeah, but but the point is with burns, and I think Grayson Rodriguez has that potential. It has the potential to really be where it’s, Hey, when’s burns pitching. I want to go to the ballpark or I better make sure I don’t have any plans at night. Even if I’m not gonna go. I want to be in front of my TV watching him because he could also No, no, I mean, I’m not saying he’s going. Nestor J. Aparicio 37:25I felt that way about Messina every night. I did too, but, Luke Jones 37:29but it’s just there have been so few pictures for the Orioles over the last 25 years. And even the ones that I would say like I’d mentioned Bedard, that was for a few months right he was that great for a few months where like the stuff was like ridiculous Bundy at the end of his rookie, you know, his rookie year for for the Orioles where he was, you know, doing some pretty, pretty impressive things. But, you know, by and large, they’ve had, they’ve had good pitchers, you know, that it’s not as though they’ve been completely devoid of good starting pitching, but you haven’t had those guys where you just, you say, I gotta stop everything, make sure I’m watching every fifth day, I better watch burns. I can’t watch all 162 But I sure as heck wanna watch burns, and they haven’t had that kind of an ace. Even Nestor J. Aparicio 38:16when they were good, they’re banging around Miguel Rodriguez and who went you know, whatever it is at that point, way and Chen, you know, fine, good, but gotta really be good the next couple of years, they’re going to these guys are going to need to be dudes because they’re at that point in their career, and they’re going to need to be paid. You know, like, that’s, that’s because they’re going to be that good. If they’re going to be that good. They’re going to they’re going to warrant that sort of an investment from the team at the same time when Henderson rutschman and holiday are going to warrant that and that you know, that warrants Skybox sales that warrants figuring out the economics of the team, which I’ll be here watching the whole time. Luke is Luke at wn St. dotnet. We’re gonna continue baseball conversation your after games will be in most days Luke’s in the locker room most days wasn’t on Easter but we’re trying to figure it all out and the Fresh Start Orioles and sort of learn a little bit. We are doing the Maryland crab cake tour on the knife. We’re gonna kick it off at cost this talking about the Key Bridge. We’re gonna be there during the day. I’m trying I don’t want to say I’m started 11 I think it may start a little earlier based on guest it’s next Tuesday tonight. Then on the 12th we will be live from two until five at fade Lee’s family’s Fridays it’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery awesome Pac Man giveaways as well as 10 times the cash. Luke will be joining me from 2003 on those Fridays Dan fade these oh man the new fade Lee’s is beautiful. And on there and Alicia is like I want you to set up over here. I’m like I’ll be in the middle of the way to look great. Are they? Okay, I’m gonna set up wherever you tell me to set up so I said do I get the crab cake and a shrimp salad? Yes. Then I’ll sit up wherever you told me to set up. So look, it’s gonna be all you can do to not have to have them in a nice cold beer before you go over work because like that setting in that in Lexington markets beautiful. So that’s next Friday the 12th will also be there on the 26th and I promise you Marcel and I are getting together over Coco’s. I will get the Coco’s for the month is over. We’re gonna do some football we don’t baseball you got anything else you want to add. Before I end this. Luke Jones 40:15I think we covered it for the most part. Good opening series when lost on Sunday. Disappointing and you’re back back at it and see the rest of the rotation and see what the bullpen looks like. And some close games. You know, we still haven’t really seen that just yet. But hey, when you win your first series of the year, you’re off to a perfectly fine, acceptable start talking Nestor J. Aparicio 40:37baseball, Jones and Aparicio. I should do that we should say now I get Eddie Lauer to do that. I am Esther he is Luke we are wn St. am 1570, Towson Baltimore. We never stop talking Baltimore. Positive
