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Feting Macdonald without questioning Minter while awaiting Lamar to sign

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We’re onto next season! As the Seahawks were crowned Super Bowl LX champions, Luke Jones and Nestor marinate beyond a boring game and honor the Mike Macdonald defensive show in Seattle while acknowledging it’s now “go time” for Eric DeCosta to get a deal done with Lamar Jackson as rookie head coach Jesse Minter settles into his new role in Owings Mills with the NFL Combine less than two weeks away.

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the aftermath of the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl win, highlighting the Seahawks’ defensive prowess and the New England Patriots’ struggles. They analyzed the AFC’s offseason, noting the potential for teams like the Ravens, Bills, and Chiefs to improve with new coaches and roster adjustments. The conversation emphasized the importance of extending Lamar Jackson’s contract, with Luke suggesting a restructure to make him the highest-paid QB. They also touched on the challenges of first-time head coaches like Jesse Minter and the need for a smooth offseason to avoid distractions.

  • [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Promote and provide additional on-air information about new sponsor Farnand Dermer (HVAC/plumbing/comfort services) in upcoming shows and segments
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Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl Victory and Initial Reactions

  • Nestor Aparicio welcomes listeners to WNST AM 1570 and introduces the new sponsor, Farnand Dermer, an electrical, plumbing, and HVAC contractor.
  • Nestor mentions his discomfort during the Super Bowl, describing the game as forgettable compared to past Super Bowls.
  • Luke Jones discusses the Seattle Seahawks’ dominance, highlighting their defense and the struggles of the New England Patriots’ offense.
  • Nestor and Luke reflect on the AFC’s performance, noting the lack of competitiveness and the unexpected success of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Analysis of the Super Bowl and AFC Teams

  • Nestor and Luke discuss the defensive performance of the Seattle Seahawks, comparing it to the 2000 Baltimore Ravens’ defense.
  • Nestor mentions the AFC’s current state, with teams like Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Kansas City facing significant changes.
  • Luke highlights the importance of having a franchise quarterback, mentioning Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Justin Herbert as key players.
  • Nestor and Luke debate the long-term prospects of quarterbacks like Drake May and Sam Darnold, noting the challenges they face in the AFC.

Challenges and Opportunities for AFC Teams

  • Luke discusses the challenges of repeating as Super Bowl champions, mentioning the quick turnaround and the demands of the offseason.
  • Nestor and Luke reflect on the success of the Baltimore Ravens’ defense under Mike McDonald and the potential for Jesse Minter to replicate that success.
  • Luke emphasizes the importance of having a balanced roster and a franchise quarterback to sustain success in the AFC.
  • Nestor and Luke discuss the potential for the Ravens to improve under Jesse Minter, given the defensive talent already in place.

Jesse Minter’s Role and the Ravens’ Offseason Strategy

  • Nestor and Luke discuss Jesse Minter’s experience and the challenges he will face as a first-time head coach.
  • Luke mentions the importance of having experienced coaches on the staff to support Jesse Minter, similar to the setup in Seattle.
  • Nestor reflects on the Ravens’ history of winning with different coaches and the potential for Jesse Minter to succeed.
  • Luke highlights the need for the Ravens to address the offensive line and other roster needs to support Lamar Jackson and the defense.

Lamar Jackson’s Contract and the Ravens’ Offseason Priorities

  • Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of extending Lamar Jackson’s contract and the potential challenges in negotiations.
  • Luke explains the benefits of having a pre-existing contract structure and the potential for a simpler restructure.
  • Nestor emphasizes the need for the Ravens to avoid drama with Lamar Jackson and focus on building a competitive roster.
  • Luke highlights the importance of addressing the offensive line and other roster needs to support Lamar Jackson and the defense.

The Importance of a Smooth Offseason for the Ravens

  • Nestor and Luke discuss the need for a smooth offseason to avoid distractions and focus on building a competitive roster.
  • Luke emphasizes the importance of getting Lamar Jackson’s contract extension done before the start of free agency.
  • Nestor reflects on the potential for the Ravens to address other roster needs and improve their overall competitiveness.
  • Luke highlights the challenges of the offseason, including the combine, free agency, and the draft, and the need for a well-prepared organization.

The Role of Experience and Leadership in Coaching

  • Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of experience and leadership in coaching, noting the challenges faced by first-time head coaches.
  • Luke mentions the need for Jesse Minter to command a room and handle the responsibilities of a head coach.
  • Nestor reflects on the importance of having experienced coaches on the staff to support Jesse Minter.
  • Luke highlights the potential for Jesse Minter to learn from experienced coaches and improve his leadership skills.

The Impact of Coaching Changes on Team Dynamics

  • Nestor and Luke discuss the impact of coaching changes on team dynamics and the importance of a smooth transition.
  • Luke emphasizes the need for the Ravens to support Jesse Minter and Declan Doyle to ensure a successful transition.
  • Nestor reflects on the importance of maintaining team cohesion and avoiding distractions during the offseason.
  • Luke highlights the potential for the Ravens to improve under new leadership and build on their defensive success.

The Importance of a Strong Offensive Line

  • Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of a strong offensive line to support Lamar Jackson and the Ravens’ offense.
  • Luke emphasizes the need for the Ravens to address the offensive line in free agency and the draft.
  • Nestor reflects on the challenges faced by the offensive line and the potential for improvement.
  • Luke highlights the importance of having a balanced roster to support Lamar Jackson and the defense.

The Potential for a Successful Offseason

  • Nestor and Luke discuss the potential for a successful offseason for the Ravens, given the defensive talent and the new coaching staff.
  • Luke emphasizes the importance of getting Lamar Jackson’s contract extension done and addressing other roster needs.
  • Nestor reflects on the potential for the Ravens to improve under new leadership and build on their defensive success.
  • Luke highlights the challenges of the offseason and the need for a well-prepared organization to succeed.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

NFL offseason, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson, Mike McDonald, Jesse Minter, Super Bowl, defense, quarterback, free agency, coaching staff, cap space, franchise quarterback, offseason challenges.

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SPEAKERS

Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S T. Am 1570 to Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive, positively into the next season. The other seasons over with. Now the Seattle Seahawks are the champions, and they’ll have their parade and do all of that. We’ve got a new sponsor here in farnand Dermer, I promise not to mispronounce it more than once a week. And I did promise them that if they gave me the new hat, I would put it on, because Luke doesn’t wear such things. So I’m having some fun. Electrical, plumbing, eating, air conditioning contractors. They are the comfort guys. I’ll be telling you more and more about them. I am going to take the silly hat off, although I do like the Kelly gold and the green here for my my gun dog, high compatriots. Luke Jones joins us now. He will be wearing the foreign and Dermer gear as we gear up for let’s see here ravens, real off season with a new coach and new everything except same players, same general manager, same owner, same reporters, except for me and baseball season, which is getting going Sarasota as pitchers and catchers report and new facilities in Florida, we hope to facilitate to Florida. But thus far, it’s unconfirmed. But what is confirmed is that was full disclosure, Luke, I spent most of Sunday projectile vomiting. I got sick. It’s why I don’t. I fist bump people and don’t. People should be glad to not shake my hand, because you don’t know what I got but, but I watched the game Sunday night in like sort of I wasn’t well, I wasn’t together. I was hoping for a better game. And I tell you what, man, it was pretty forgettable from a 60 Super Bowls from the last 40 or so that I’ve witnessed as a grown up and and watched, boy oh boy forgettable. And I don’t even know an hour after the game if we’d have much to say about it, other than, you know, Don’t bet on a quarterback that’s going to wet himself before the game begins. Well, I mean,

Luke Jones  02:01

Seattle was just better. I mean, we talked about it throughout the week. I think while I wasn’t being completely disrespectful to the New England Patriots for the year that they had, we all talked about their schedule. We all talked about the quality of play in the AFC compared to the NFC. I think there are many people and I certainly shared this sentiment from about mid November on, I thought Seattle and the Rams were the two best teams in football. I think that kind of played out the way we thought it would. When you look at how the NFC Championship game was, where that was a much more competitive game. But give Mike McDonald and that Seahawks defense a lot of credit, right? I mean, they completely shut down New England until early in the fourth quarter. The final numbers did not really if you look at the final yardage and things of that nature, this was much more. It was on a path at one point in that game to being 2000 ravens, like as far as Super Bowl, 35 now New England opened things up and got some yardage and scored some points in the fourth quarter. That changed that a little bit, but it was, I mean, there wasn’t a touchdown scored until the fourth quarter, right? I mean, you’re, you’re talking about a Ford Myers field goals, and a lot of Seattle defense and Drake may really struggled, and their own line really struggled.

Nestor Aparicio  03:21

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It was amazing how Collins were just gave up on in the third quarter. This guy, this guy’s not, he’s not ready to win today. And, and I felt like it’s a case study on how something could be really big, man, you know what I mean, like, and it felt really big. And, you know, I’m sitting to my wife at one point, I’m like, it’s kind of shame Denver didn’t win, you know, but then they would have been playing with their backup quarterback anyway. And then I think about the A F C, and where the A F C is right, Pittsburgh, new coach Buffalo, New coach Baltimore, new coach, same players. Kansas City, injured quarterback, legendary this and that and all the other things. The other hard balls out in San Diego. His kids got a second ring. So that’s Jay har ball, two rings. John Harbaugh, one ring. Jim Harbaugh, no rings. I think is where we are. So I looked at it and thought about the A, F, C, more like, you let this you let this happen. Sam darnold won the Super Bowl like, literally, and they didn’t turn the ball over, and they played defense, and they did all of these sort of smart old football things like kick and field goals when they needed to, not going on fourth down and doing stupid stuff and turning the ball over. It’s some unfortunate part on the field cup, because they could play defense. They punted, and they got this guy from Australia. They bring in that bangs it, and nobody can catch it, let alone run it back. So really weird dude, like, weird up there with, like, maybe the Buccaneers 25 years ago, and that was more of a walkover game because of mistakes and stuff like that. But I don’t know that we’ll think about this game much, or that the game had. Like a highlight,

Luke Jones  05:01

yeah, well, and let’s call a spade a spade if, if the Ravens hadn’t been the team responsible and winning the game, it’s kind of how people the outside football world perceive Super Bowl 35 I mean, other than a recognition of that being an all time great single season defense. No one ever named Super Bowl. 35 is one that people enjoyed whatsoever, right, other than Ravens fans, and that’s fine, like in the same way

Nestor Aparicio  05:30

Seattle fans, and I’ll never let you forget it, 25 years later,

Luke Jones  05:35

of course they did, but I’m not going to sit here and say that if I hadn’t been a Ravens fan 25 years ago watching that that I necessarily would have enjoyed that game all that much. And I think it’s the same story here for everyone that’s not a Seahawks fan, but again, a hat tip of the cap to Mike McDonald. To your point, they very much played a game that aligned with what their strengths were and what New England’s weaknesses were. Sam darnold didn’t do a whole lot in this game. I mean, he did, I don’t know if you’d call it Trent dill for like, but he didn’t make mistakes, right? He completed 50% of his passes. He missed a couple throws. Trent dill for missed a couple throws in that Super Bowl, 35 pick six that got called back. That’s true, that’s true, but, but you just looked at it in terms of, what does your offense need to do. What do you need to do as a football team to support your real strength, which is your defense? And that’s what Seattle did beautifully look I’m not going to sit here and say that it was a game that I thoroughly enjoyed. It wasn’t at the same time I appreciate how terrific Seattle’s defense played for at least the first three quarters of that game. And, you know, you kind of look at it through that lens and say, Well, it’s a reminder of just how great the Ravens defense was in 2000 that even with the lead in the fourth quarter, the Giants still weren’t getting anything in garbage time, right? I mean, you look at the fine, I think the Ravens gave up, what 11 first downs in that game total. We all know how many punts all of that so, but it was very much like that in looking through the lens of just from an entertainment standpoint, if you love defense, you certainly appreciated that. And it’s not as though New England’s defense was bad in that football game either. It’s just clear there was clearly a have and a have not there, and Seattle’s defense just completely overwhelmed New England’s offense. And you know, for Drake may he’s not the first one that goes to his first Super Bowl and is overwhelmed, and certainly his offensive line didn’t help him very much either. So we’ll see how he responds in that way. And that kind of goes back to your point about the A F C in general, like, who should be the favorite in the AFC next year? I don’t think it’s necessarily New England. I don’t, I wouldn’t necessarily rule them out either. I think it’s very wide open. I think you have the teams that made an impression this year, like New England, like Denver, Jacksonville, to a lesser degree, but still give them credit. And then you have your Mainstays, and you’re going to see how they bounce back, right? I mean, in the Ravens case, still have Lamar Jackson, still have talented players on both sides of the ball, but how does Jesse Minter and a new coaching staff do same story in Buffalo, right? How does a new coaching staff do in Kansas City’s case, it’s going to all, it’s all going to come down to what is the state of Patrick mahomes knee? Is he ready to go for week one? Is he ready to go for week two? Is he ready to go for week three? Whenever he does play, how effective is he going to be? What roster tweaks Have they made? So I mean, this AFC going into 2026 I mean it’s certainly still a

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Nestor Aparicio  08:38

quarterback guy, so I’m still a borough guy, a Lamar guy, a Josh Allen. I’m still that guy. And for that, Pittsburgh’s going to have a quarterback, right? I mean, like they’re going to have somebody, I don’t know who that’s going to be. We’ll judge that when the time comes. But Denver getting their quarterback back, and Kansas City getting their quarterback back, I can’t count on the Raiders. I can’t believe in the Jets. There’s some teams you bury, yeah, but it is astonishing that Denver showed up with a backup quarterback. The Patriots showed up with an MVP on a soft schedule that will look Drake may can be seven and one at Halloween next year. You know, against the first place schedule, and we’d still look at it and say, I remember what he did in the Super Bowl, and he’s gonna have to live with that until he gets another opportunity. If there’s another opportunity. And that’s my point. Is there an IF Are we really a Drake? May believer now all of a sudden, or we really believe more? Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin herb, other guys that are more flashy, that have done more things. He got into a Super Bowl. I just there was nothing about it, in retrospect, especially the run of all of it, that gives me a lot of confidence with the Patriots that I’m going to be in five out of the next. Super Bowls, or that he’s the next Tom Brady in some way well,

Luke Jones  10:03

and I think I mean, any second year quarterback should be in that space, right? You’re not, you’re not going to sign when Tom Brady beat when the Patriots beat the Rams in 2001 No one at that point in time thought that Tom Brady was going to have seven Super Bowl rings.

Nestor Aparicio  10:21

Field goal went before the weather got bad. Yeah, right. I mean, I mean, for me, he’s backed into the Super Bowl because there’s no such thing. But it really was a weird, weird, weird playoff side for the A, F, C and help out on Sunday night because they were uncompetitive. Yeah. I mean,

Luke Jones  10:41

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you made mention, what if Denver had won? I mean, for me, it’s much more What if Bo Nix hadn’t gotten hurt in the final minute of the divisional round, then I’m more intrigued that said, Do I think Denver was going to beat Seattle? No, I think Denver would have had a similar outcome. Because I just think Seattle was that much better than anything we saw in the AFC this year. I mean, I just think that’s the truth. All we just

Nestor Aparicio  11:03

talk about quarterbacks, and as it turns out, defense showed up, right?

Luke Jones  11:06

Well, I think, look, and it’s funny to hear that, because now everyone’s like, Oh, you know, is defense back yada yada yada? I mean, one, it never left. Two, I don’t think this necessarily means that quarterback plays any less important, but I think it’s refreshing in the sense that teams that don’t necessarily have a top four or five quarterback in football, this is another way that you can win Now that said, it’s easier said than done to say, Okay, well, do we have a Do we have a defensive mind like Mike McDonald’s to Mike Tomlin? Yeah, exactly so. But it is refreshing looking at it from the standpoint of it’s another way that a team can have some hope, right? And you know the idea that it’s not just Patrick mahomes Every single year, the same way that it wasn’t, you know, that you thought about it being Tom Brady every single year for a long, long time. So, but But to your point, and I agree wholeheartedly, I’m still going to default to teams that have a franchise quarterback. And, I mean, like, legitimate, like you even mentioned Justin Herbert. I have questions about Justin Herbert. I mean, you know, I I’m not ready to put him above Drake May. I mean, when does Justin Herbert had a regular season like Drake may had, necessarily? Now that doesn’t mean that, like Drake May is way up here and Justin Herbert’s way down here. My point is, I still put them into the less proven category.

Nestor Aparicio  12:28

By the way, Sam darnold Was that last year and Matt Stafford was that eight years ago, right?

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Luke Jones  12:33

Well, I mean Sam darnold, no, I mean Matthew Stafford, at least it had regular season success. I mean, Sam darnold had never even had regular season success. So point is, every year is different, but when you’re trying to size it up, when you’re trying to handicap it right now, when you’re already seeing the early odds for 2026 generally speaking, yes, you’ll see Seattle there because of what they just accomplished, and understandably so. But generally speaking, you’re still seeing buffalo there. You’re still seeing the Ravens there right teams that have franchise quarterbacks, Kansas City is lower right now, and I think that’s solely because of mahomes is uncertain status going into the beginning of the season. So but, but, yeah, all things being equal, if you’re going to ask me to kind of size it up, I’m still going to side with the teams that have a franchise quarterback and more balanced rosters. I mean, that that’s just the reality and and that’s where I’d still as much as, I think highly of Joe burrow, until Cincinnati fixes that defense to any meaningful degree. And you know, looking at it now, they’re probably not going to have Trey Hendrickson, right? I mean, I’m still going to put them lower on the list, not not because of borough, but because of what’s not around him. So, you know, I mean, it’s the AFC is going to be very interesting, and that’s why, if you’re a Ravens fan, you kind of bring this full circle to the idea that, okay, the offseason is now officially upon us. The ravens are still filling out their coaching staff. It’s mostly done, even if not official, I would expect we’re going to see it made official here in the coming days, because we’re only about two weeks out from the combine, believe it or not. I mean, that’s just where we are. It speaks to how quickly this goes, and you don’t want to go. I mean, it’d be interesting this year, I guess, just to hear Jesse, Jesse mentor, but, but, but, I think when you look at it for Seattle, for example, and I know Mike McDonald was even reminded that the Combine was in two weeks, and he kind of just rolled his eyes, in a way, like, Oh my gosh. Like, we just finished. We just finished yet, I’ve got to replace my offensive coordinator, and we’ve got to get ready for the combine. That right there speaks to the challenge of repeating the challenge of getting back to the top of the mountain and defending that territory because of how long that offseason is. One you know, one of the narratives you heard about Kansas City this past year. Even heard it last year when by the. Time they got to the Super Bowl, people opined that Kansas City’s played deep into January and into February all these recent years, at some point in time that catches up with you. So I don’t I think there’s something to that. I don’t want to say that that’s just like a you know, that that covers everything, because I think Kansas City had some real roster flaws, too, this past year, even before the mahomes injury. But it does speak to how challenging it is to repeat and to sustain that level of success, because you play until the first Sunday in February, or in next year’s case, it’ll be the second Sunday in February Super Bowl is on Valentine’s Day next year, which will spark some interesting discussion at the Super Bowl party that I had, but, but, but at the same time, you look at that quick turnaround for combine, then free agency right after that, then the draft a month after that, for these teams that make it that far, it’s set up to fall the next year because of the cap, because of the offseason schedule being as busy as it is, because of playing a first place schedule, because everyone is gunning for you, right? So that’s where you know, as much as we kind of, you know people don’t like dynasties, that that’s where you can have some appreciation for it, because it is very, very difficult to try to sustain that. So you know how many teams win a Super Bowl and then you know they’re they’re waiting a long time to even get back to one. I mean, the Ravens fit that category, certainly 13 years after their their heroics in New Orleans. But it’s tough to do. I mean, it really is, but that said, again, props to Mike McDonald what he was able to do in his second year. And if you’re a Ravens fan, looking at Jesse Minter and this new coaching staff, you’re hoping for something similar, right? That the Ravens can get to the top of the mountain either this year or at some point here in the next couple years, under a new head coach,

Nestor Aparicio  16:58

Luke Jones is here. It is all brought to you by our friends at the Maryland lottery, we had a cup of soup or Bowl last week, we did 32 still unburying from 32 conversations last week. They’re all up in Baltimore positive right now, as well as that in our audio vault, you can check all that out. We do have a new sponsor in foreign and Dermer. They’re the comfort guys. I keep my H back together. They took care of my HVAC recently, and can take care of yours as well. We’ll be telling you more about them. And Luke, I gotta transition this because you mentioned Jesse Minter and Jesse Minter, you got me looking up flights to Indianapolis, and Lord knows, I’d rather go to Sarasota weather permitting. But Mike McDonald won the Super Bowl dude, and he was a guy you were in front of. I was rarely in front of, but you were in front of a lot you. And I had a really nice, spirited conversation with him two years ago, right when he took the job down in Orlando, the same night that Steve bishady and Eric dicostal ran from me. And he clearly liked you, and I know you like him. I didn’t know him, but I liked what I knew of him. I liked the fact that he liked you. I liked the fact that he seemed like an honorable dude and seemed like a decent dude. He didn’t have guard up on me or anything, and was easy to talk to. Winds up married a cheerleader who was a Ravens cheerleader, Redskins, cheerleader, Titans, cheerleader, they had a baby. I saw that in the aftermath. I, to be honest, I hadn’t thought much about him or him departing, other than when Ravens fans make a big deal about it. And then there’s some sour grapes today, especially with our ball being shown the door anyway. Um, Mike McDonald as the next genius. What do you what do you make of that? And also, pretty much of the ravens are trying to do here, right? They brought a defensive coach in to say, if we could get the defense better, we can make some more mistakes on offense, or punt a little bit more on offense, or not. Have to be so aggressive the way John was, or the way they Lamar was when he was 22 or 23 because they’re gonna have to live with Lamar, right? Lamar is the guy for three or four years here. Like not having him run around, not having those fourth and what? Like all the things that it didn’t feel like Seattle did with a much lesser quarterback, but also the genius of Mike McDonald and the tree of the hardball group, yeah.

Luke Jones  19:20

I mean, that was one of the points that I kept making with you as we were kind of debating, you know, is Jesse Minter just a hardball duplicate. And I, you know, one of the points, in contrast to that, is, well, how do you view Mike McDonald then he worked, he worked for both hardballs For a long time, right? It’s worked out well for him in Seattle. So, I mean, I think as much as, yeah, there is that obvious, horrible connection. I said it, and many people said it at the time of mentors hiring, this felt more like an attempt at a mulligan, at the fact that Mike McDonald got away and look, I’ll continue to say this. I mean, the Ravens had gone 13 and four they were in the. AFC title game. They were hosting the AFC title game. They are owned by the pago’s. I mean, it just came down to, like Steve a shot. He was not going to fire John Harbaugh there. And I don’t know if there was anything they could have done. I think Mike McDonald would have stayed with them, making it the highest paid coordinator in football. They probably would have

Nestor Aparicio  20:21

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done it right. Seattle. Job wasn’t attractive. If only chance he had was the Raiders, maybe he would have taken that.

Luke Jones  20:27

And that’s the other thing too. I mean, you look at you look at Schneider, and what he’s done there now in different eras with different head coaches. I mean, give him his flowers, right? I mean, he’s a guy that should be as highly regarded as any general manager in football at this point in time, including Eric da Costa, and

Nestor Aparicio  20:44

he’s a Hall of Fame general, right? I mean, at this one three times, quite frankly, if not for that, run the ball at the goal line, right? But, I mean, he doesn’t have roots back to oh six. He came after that. He came with Carol, right? Who built the oh six team? Yeah.

Luke Jones  21:00

Well, wait a second, that might have just been Holmgren, right? Because Didn’t he have complete control at that point in time? I believe, yeah.

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Nestor Aparicio  21:08

So, I mean, he took over a good program and kept it going in the way that Eric would be perceived with Ozzy, but not in the same tree, right?

Luke Jones  21:16

Yeah, I believe. So John. I’ll

Nestor Aparicio  21:19

give the Patriots flowers too, if they were to win again with this, this, you know, this iteration of things, because one of the impressive things about the Steelers is they won over three coaches, right? One of the impressive things about the Ravens is they’ve won over two coaches, damn near one again with hardball, getting to a championship game a couple years ago. So yeah, the Eagles have won twice with two completely different administrations at this point. So, you know, there’s something to be said for that. For me, sure, sure.

Luke Jones  21:49

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I mean, well and again, that that goes to ownership, that goes to an organizational vision, it goes to a culture for a team, and look, that’s going to change, and it doesn’t mean every year is going to go perfect and all of that. I mean, that’s why I said over and over, as much as Yes, I thought it was time for John Harbaugh and the ravens to go in different directions. That’s why I didn’t balk at the idea of Jesse Minter, because I didn’t think it was a case where their entire football culture was broken beyond repair and you had to completely start from scratch. And No, for me, it felt like you need a reset and a refresh and that. And that’s what it was more so than getting someone that was entirely different, right, someone who had no connections whatsoever to the organization, which, by the way, sometimes that is warranted when you have organizations that have been bad for a really long time. So, you know, looking at it through that lens, I mean, it’s that’s where it’s going to be fascinating. To see where Jesse Minter makes his mark. One thing that I would say, and it’s funny because you brought up having the conversation, you know, and not, not going to disclose too much of that, but I remember one thing that Mike McDonald said in the in the weeks after he became the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, one of the first things that resonated with him that he wasn’t aware of because John Harbaugh, at that point, had long since had that taken out of his contract, was the idea that he had to do a weekly radio show as the head coach, and not so much that he complained about having to do that. It was more a surprise. It was something that he said, I wasn’t aware I’d have to do something like that, and that speaks to just the general adjustment that you make from going to defensive czar, head coach or defensive head coach, defensive coordinator, where you’re just in charge of one side of the ball, you’re singularly focused on your guys on the defensive side of The ball. But when you become a head coach, that the CEO part very much is there, even if you continue to call the defense, you’re still going to have so many more responsibilities. And I think that’s the challenge for Jesse Minter, that’ll be the challenge for anyone who’s a first time Head Coach, when whether you’re an offensive mind or a defensive mind, that’s not the gig moving forward that Yeah.

Nestor Aparicio  24:04

So Mike McCarthy took the gig in Pittsburgh, and I, you can totally correct me and say, I’m out of my mind. Okay, I’ve been doing this a long time, 31 years. I’ve been in the league, around the league, he is a Chief of Staff. Now, I don’t know, like, from a title standpoint, yeah, that like that matters, or who it might have been. I mean, har ball secretary was, at various points, some of the people that were creepy in Michigan, quite frankly, with his brother in the whole chain of Minter and McCart McDonald, right? But a chief of staff, I thought that that was like grown up of him. In regard to I’ve done this couple times. I’ve done it for jerra. I’ve done it for a board out in Green Bay, where it’s three below, and it looks like it’s looked here the last two weeks, like the frozen tundra. And I’m going to Pittsburgh, and I’m God. I’m God. Jerry’s not here anymore. You know, like I get to be God in Pittsburgh. How am I going to do it? That’s a fascinating thing to think he could rebuild that, because I’ll go back to what Marvin told me late in his career, he’s smarter than a lot of the rest of them. And I think Peyton played that out a little bit. I think for Abel is playing that out from a second standpoint around the Jesse Minter, unless he’s a genius, is going to make mistakes, and Mike McDonald made mistakes the last two years that all get washed away when he takes the trophy back for the parade this week. But we’ll be watching mistakes that are made and things that happen. I think it’s fascinating to think that the Ravens could have hired someone with and by the way, my guy, Schwartz, walked away from Cleveland right to say, I’m not doing it like could have hired someone that would know more about how all the donuts are made than somebody like Jesse mentor that’s figuring it out as he goes along.

Luke Jones  25:55

I hear you at the same time. Mike Vrabel kicked an extra point when he should have gone for two. Sean Payton should have kicked the field goal in the AFC Championship game. I mean, experience, longtime head coaches make the same kind of mistakes. I hear you, and let me be clear, I’m not. I don’t want to be too dismissive of your point, because there’s, there’s something to be said for experience. There’s no question about that. But I reject the idea that experienced head coaches don’t make mistakes too because I see them make mistakes all the time. And I just, you know, I just cited up a guy who, Sean Payton, who, you know, bounty gate aside, has kind of a Hall of Fame like profile, or is on his way to potentially having that kind of profile, and they still make mistakes so, But your point is well taken. And you know, to go back to the point I was making about Mike McDonald. You know, whether you’re talking about having to a weekly coaches show or just the idea of commanding a room. I mean, I know one thing that was spoken about with Mike McDonald probably a year before he became the head coach in Seattle, when he was still with the ravens, but he was already starting to get some talk as far as a future head coach, I think the question was given his given his demeanor as he, at least, was perceived to be a quieter guy, there’s always the question of, can you command a room in the way that a head coach is going to command a room? I think he certainly answered that question, because you saw how that team responded to him in not just, not just this year, but, I mean, they were 10 and seven last year, coming off of a not so great year, and, you know, they narrowly missed the playoffs. Jesse mentors kind of in the same category right now. I mean, I think a few years back, I mean, and Eric da Costa even talked about this at his press conference. I mean, years ago, going back to when he was in Baltimore. One of the more refreshingly honest moments from that introductory press conference was Eric admitting that he never really thought of Jesse Minter when he worked with him, albeit not worked with him extensively back in 1718, 1920, and at that point, Jesse was lower on the totem pole, and was doing pre draft evaluations of defensive backs in the draft and all that, the right last name, though, which Eric didn’t have, right he did, but, but the point that Kubiak had, there was guys have the right last name, but, but there was no Eric flat out, said like he never won any point. Thought, oh, man, that guy, that guy’s gonna be a future head coach in the NFL, like he flat out admitted he didn’t think of him in that way. And I thought that was, you know, that was refreshingly honest to hear. Because, you know, you hear these stories. And look,

Nestor Aparicio  28:34

I sat in a room with Jim Schwartz for two years breaking down film, and it never occurred to me that he was going to coach. You know what I mean, like, it is, it’s funny how you know when you you don’t perceive it that way, you don’t perceive it that way, right? Sure.

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Luke Jones  28:48

And that’s where you kind of look at it through the lens of not really caring that much about the opening press conference. Like, I don’t know how, how many coaches over the years won the press conference, and then you don’t remember it because they end up being a very forgettable head coach and then. But we also have examples of individuals who Dan Campbell, right, Nick Sirianni, first impression in their opening press conference was not very good, and yet we’re talking about in the case of siriannis won a Super Bowl, right? And Dan Campbell’s case has had more success than most have had in Detroit over the years. So you never really know, but I think it’s always a reminder that the job is different, and just because someone handles an OC or a DC job a certain way doesn’t mean that that’s exactly what you’re going to get from them. As a head coach, you and I have talked about it a lot with Jesse Minter. He’s going to call defensive plays right now. Is that going to be the case two years from now? Is that going to be the case three or four years from now? Who knows? Right? I mean, at some point. I mean, there’s a lot of talk right now, and I don’t know if I’ve heard a definitive resolution, so I apologize if it’s out there, but the Broncos, they promoted Davis Webb to offensive coordinator, there’s been some talk of whether Sean Payton’s. To relinquish play calling duties to him, and that might have been the carrot that got Davis Webb to stay. Because Davis Webb was someone that was a lot of teams like the Ravens were interested in him, you know, either in a an OC or a head coach capacity, even, so, you know, so. But you never really know, right? I mean, I always I use Ray Miller, you know, the late Ray Miller, as a great example of someone who was a tremendous Hall of Fame pitching coach. Did it ever work for him as a manager, really? And look, I mean, there are always variables at work. There your players, the makeup of your players, the makeup of your coaching staff, ownership. So many of

Nestor Aparicio  30:42

these days we lost Ray Handley the other day. I think a bud Carson. I think of Richie Pettibon. I mean, I go through the list of people that were, you know, good lieutenants, not the greatest captains, right? Yeah. And then Josh McDaniels almost won another Super Bowl. I mean, Josh, Josh

Luke Jones  30:59

McDaniels is a Hall of Fame offensive coordinator. When you look at the success he’s had Now granted, Tom Brady makes a lot, made a lot of people look smart over the course of their career. But the point is, it is a different job then on the flip side, you had the Ravens who tried to hire Jason Garrett. Once upon a time, he balked, his wife balked, and they pivoted to the special teams coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, that worked out pretty well, regardless of how anyone feels about John, horrible in the present. As far as fans being excited,

Nestor Aparicio  31:28

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I got a letter coming to him. I’ve been I’ve been too sick and busy to but I got a three quarters of a letter for John. I’m not the forward to doing, but the overall Valentine’s Day.

Luke Jones  31:37

But the overall point with that is that worked out way better than anyone would have fathomed at that point, at that moment in time. So you never really know. So that’s where you look at this thing, and you say, Yeah, I have questions about Jesse Minter that aren’t any different than I would have that I would have about any first year head coach. Because to go back to your point about the experience thing, yes, there’s going to be a lot of new for him to navigate. Declan Doyle, the offensive coordinator, there’s going to be a lot of new for him to navigate. So normally, with most teams that are hiring a head coach, that doesn’t really matter a whole lot, because the expectations aren’t going to be very high in year one, as long as you don’t go two and 15, generally, that’s not going to matter if you have some hiccups or some moments where inexperience bleeds through. That said, in the case of the ravens, in the case of the bills, to a lesser degree, because I just don’t think they’re a roster and they’re in the same place the Steelers, to a lesser extent. But still applies. They were a playoff team this year, but these teams, the expectations are higher, especially for the ravens and the bills, where they have a franchise quarterback, but they’re both coming up on age 30 and not getting any younger, looking at it through the lens of trying to make the most of their prime years. And Michael

Nestor Aparicio  32:58

Florida don’t have to win 10 games now, exactly,

Luke Jones  33:00

whereas Joe Brady and Jesse Minter man 1010, wins kind of feels like, yeah, if you do, if you do less than that, that doesn’t mean you’re going to get fired, but people are going to be really, really disappointed in you. So that’s not easy for first time head coach. I mean, there’s and that’s not to say that they won’t succeed. Let me be clear. I’m not. This isn’t me being down on Jesse Minter. It’s just recognizing the reality of when you are doing it for the first time, there is, you know, there is some, some waters to navigate that you’re just not used to. And that’s where I think it’s even more pronounced when you are going to call plays. And that’s why I’ve said that. Ideally, I look at what Mike McDonald did in Seattle, and he brought Leslie Frazier on that staff, and I think that’s something that would be very helpful and and I get it. I mean, the Ravens have added some experienced guys to the mix. I mean, you know, they, they are hiring Joe Lombardi as a senior offensive assistant, for example, they have some others on the staff that have some experience that will help. But you know, Rick Minter being one of them. You know, he a consultant for Jesse, but that’s where I look at it, and say, Man, you’d really like, in an ideal world, to have someone on staff who’s been an NFL head coach at some point in time, just to know, even if it was someone who failed miserably. I mean, think about hardball. He had cam Cameron on his staff. Cam Cameron had literally been the head coach of the dolphins the year before. It was a disaster, but I guarantee you, along the way that cam warned John not the cam Cameron was the head coach in the NFL. I mean, literally the year before, yeah, but, but, but the idea was, Cam Cameron, I’m sure, at a couple different points in those first couple years probably alerted John of Hey, watch out for this. Like, we also had Spagnola for a minute. He had guys in there that were all a part of that, right? Caldwell, I just, I think it’s nice to have a little bit of that you don’t need, like, you don’t need six former head coaches on your staff, but I think it is nice to have a couple, one or two guys that kind of. Bit that mold to your point. You made the point about the Chief of Staff for for McCarthy. And I think that’s probably semantics. I think, you know, some people nekia, by the way, yeah, but, but some people would call that an assistant head coach. Some people call, you know, some kind of quality control, senior offense, you know, senior investor, football operator, yeah. I mean, there’s lot, there are lots of different titles. I mean, it is funny to kind of hear all the different titles that are thrown out there now that you have

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Nestor Aparicio  35:24

staff, kind of means to me, in a political sense, somebody that takes all the Cabinet members and brings them together, which is really an interesting title. That’s all and I’m like, dude, you’ve known a lot of people in life. There’s, there’s nobody who takes titles less seriously than me, but, but I think that that’s an interesting way of putting it, sure, because if Jesse Minter had a chief of staff who was Jim Schwartz, who or who was, name any of the coaches that are at name any of these Adam case I saw signed up to go with harbors brother, right? So I don’t know who that would be, some Vic Fangio type, literally, who’s a pretty good defense coordinator right now. But just, yeah, I’ll hear any of that. Luke Jones is here. He’s Baltimore. Luke I before we fly off to Sarasota here, or don’t fly off to Indianapolis, just a quick primer, just for everybody, just tuning in, what’s next, where Lamar, Lamar, Lamar, for me, for me. Forget the draft and the combine. That’s all bull shot. That doesn’t happen till the end of April. What’s going to happen between now and what is it? March? 11, 12th, 13th. When’s our free agent date? Yeah.

Luke Jones  36:39

I mean, they have about a month. I mean, when you look at the start of free agency and wanting to get your ducks in line in terms of the cap and all of that, I mean, the NFL, it’s March 11. But we know it’s really what March 9, and really it’s before the tampering period. Yeah. I mean, march 11 is, I know you wouldn’t want to be down in Sarasota during the tampering period. Yeah. I mean, but we also, but we also know the tampering period really begins during the combine.

Nestor Aparicio  37:05

So let me ask you this, the 11th of March comes along, which is blink. It’s a short month. It’s February, right? We’re not in a leap year. Are we? No, I don’t think we are, even though there is Olympics, and I’ve lost my wife for like, a month. She just, like, just really into the Olympics. By the way, if anybody knows my girl, britcher, summer britcher, who lives apparently, I thought all you people in the farm knew each other. I told my wife, I’m like, how can he not know summer butcher, younger than me too, but that’s all right. Y’all know each other. Your brother, older brother, sister, pub, mama, papa. Sister, you got younger. You got siblings that may go to scooter. So nonetheless, somebody at the bake sale up there, I don’t know. It’s Pennsylvania, it’s PA. What do I know about it? Beside you, a month from now, we’re gonna get together March 11. I’m just literally asking this not to be the jerk that I am, but like, literally, are we going to be drama free? I don’t, and I don’t mean like, this is where, like, Justin Tucker was alligated and all of this. And look, John Harbaugh’s boss is a pedophile, so, like, he’s got his own issues going on, taking over up there, as to why the mirrors were around, but the tissues weren’t. And I don’t think anybody’s getting arrested here or whatever, but are they going to be a drama free organization? What that would mean for me is they get Lamar done tomorrow or like that, and it’s a nice Valentine, and they get to come back to you and tell you all of that, and when they get to the combine in two weeks, di Costa doesn’t look he’s constipated the way he’s looked the way he’s looked the last three or four times he’s been in front of us that there’s detente, there’s peace. The new coach is on, and they could get on the football business March 11 and sign the guys that in the market that they’re going to need to sign, knowing they’re already going to have drama with Linder Linder, but, I mean, they have real drama already, sure. In Do we have enough money or not? But by March 11, are you and I have going to have five morning fires here? About Lamar? Would be five fires alone? If Lamar were to say, I want to play for the Raiders, they’ll pay me more. I want to go play for the dolphins. Because, like, I don’t know. I have no idea. I hope that’s not the case. Everybody’s assuming it’s not the case. People like Mike Florio brought up like this, you know, Billick would always say, I’m sure he said it on the Ryan Ripken show last week. It’s a time for pay and a time for play. This is the time for pay. And I don’t know what that means for the organization with new everything, but I would like to think that they could, this could be peace time with Lamar and with everything else that they want to say, flowers, whatever they want to get done, that they could start getting that done peacefully and not be at war with their quarterback over another 100 million dollars. Yeah.

Luke Jones  39:54

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I mean, you’d certainly like to be. I mean, one thing that I’ve talked about, and other people have talked about, the difference here compared to where they were three. Years ago is you already have a contract and a structure in place. It’s always easier to extend and add on to a pre existing deal than starting from scratch, right? And when you have nothing in place, and that’s when your quarterback is looking at the time, what Deshaun Watson got from Cleveland and you know the fully guarantee, like all of that, right? Whereas you did a deal three years ago as as as Rocky as it was getting to that point, you got to that point, Lamar was the highest paid quarterback in football at that point in time. There’s, you know, Steve bashati has already said, like indicated, they know that they’re gonna have to make Lamar the highest paid quarterback in football game, because it’s his turn, right? In the same way that when it’s Alan’s turn, when it’s Joe burrows turn, when it’s my home’s turn, like, go down the list, whoever’s next in line, it’s their turn to be the highest paid for the next three months, or whatever it ends up being. So it helps from that standpoint. It helps from the standpoint of, you know, the indications are that whether, even if Lamar wasn’t there physically, it does sound like he was involved in talking and communicating with them during the hiring process for Jesse Minter, during the Declan Doyle hiring process. You know that there was input there. So it’s not as though Lamar has gone dark, so to speak, in that way. So you’d hope that said I also lived what happened a few years back. So for me to just sit here and be flippant about it and say, Oh, they’re gonna get something done, no problem. No, they’ll hammer it out by Thursday, right? I mean, they’ve got a month, they’ve got a month to get this done. Now, if both sides are motivated. And Steve bashati flat out said, Look, we’d like to do this. We feel that the structure that’s in place now, we adjust it to adjust lamar’s salary accordingly, to make him the highest paid, because he’s down to, like, what 10th right now, or whatever it is that we’re ready to do that. You know we can do.

Nestor Aparicio  42:00

He’s an interesting cat. And I don’t want to get too far backwards into radio row last week in San Francisco, and who was there, and who’s pimping, and who’s on TV and who’s getting a gig and who’s in a commercial, or who’s in a dozen commercials, or, you know, the Kelsey family making all their money. You know, good job, Emily Lamar only makes his money. This way, right? I mean, maybe a Gatorade commercial here and again or whatever. But this is lamar’s chance to get money, whatever money is, because he doesn’t get money any other way, like other people. Tom Brady’s into everything at this point. So you know, when it comes to negotiating money, this is his time, too, for whatever that is to get, whatever the maximum, maximum, maximum he can get. And that’s kind of the weird part for me, that if somebody else coveted him, this is their time to put a buzz in an ear, that if he’s going to disappear or be a hard ass one way or another, or not, negotiate something that is cookie cutter, the way Steve bishati would make it to be cookie cutter, and tell you how he’d like to have it done. Lamar has never done it the way Steve bashati wants to have it done, you know. So that’s why I’m only asking about this over the last month. And I know you’ve got night sweats and you know about the way it went last time. I would think they probably do too, until it’s done, as a fan, as a media guy, as an observer here, as a guy who knows about people that fight for money. You know, this is his month to go make money.

Luke Jones  43:30

Well, I mean, until it’s done, until you have an agreement in place, you don’t right, and there’s, there is the reality. And Florio has mentioned this a lot, as he’s kind of been the, you know, the proverbial figurehead in terms of talking about trades or scenarios that of that nature. I mean, the reality is, if Lamar doesn’t like how negotiations are going, he can just flat out say, look, I’ve got two years left on my deal, and if you guys aren’t going to give me what I want. I’ll play out the last two years, and I’ll become a free agent, because you can’t tag me, you know, right? I mean, all those provisions were in

Nestor Aparicio  44:07

place, but that also doesn’t get him fresh money, though it doesn’t at the

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Luke Jones  44:11

same time, he’s still, you know, his salary is still over $50 million for this year, so it’s not as though he’s making nothing, either, so, but, that’s, that’s the the other side of this. But if you’re the ravens, their their play is, if Lamar is hypothetically, and I’m not saying that he’s doing this, let’s say, just for argument’s sake, that Lamar went back to the 2022 early 23 playbook of winning a fully guaranteed deal like Deshaun Watson. If you’re the ravens, you’re looking at it and saying, Well, Lamar, we can take your 50 plus million dollar salary for 2026 and we can take 30 million of that, or whatever the number would be. You know, I’d have to figure it out, because you’d have to add void years all that that you can do. A simpler restructure. You can lower his cap number for this season. You know, you’re not going to lower it down to $15 million or anything crazy, like two left on the deal. There’s two years left on the deal, right, next year, right? So, but you can lower that and then kick the can down the road to next off season. And then, if you’re the ravens, you evaluate, does Lamar stay healthy this year?

Nestor Aparicio  45:21

So what does he want? Then? What? What? What would he want? Would he want $50 million of now money and then two years added at the end of the deal, at 72 million you like, I’m trying to figure out what his play in this is. What’s going to make him if he wants to be here, what’s going to make him happy and feel whole and current?

Luke Jones  45:44

I mean, I mean, obviously, you kind of look at these, the current deals. I mean, right now, Dak Prescott is making his average annual value is tops in the league at 60 million. So to me, you’re, you’re looking at it on a simplistic level, his average annual value, 61 $62 million per year, obviously. What’s the fully guaranteed number? What’s the total gain? I think Dak Prescott was at 231 for his total guarantee, fully guaranteed. It was like 130 something like that. So there, there are different, different players have different preferences in that way. I mean, I know one thing that Eric to Costa contracts have looked good from a player’s perspective is what’s the payout over the first couple years of the deal? Like Mark Andrews when he did his last deal, one of the things that looked really good relative to other tight ends in the league was how much money Andrews took took away in the first two years of that deal. That was really high, you know? And that’s something that a player likes. Because, generally speaking, even if you’re a great player, it’s only the first couple years of that deal that are truly, truly guaranteed. So you want to get your biggest cash payout over that period of time. So without knowing that, it’s tough for me to, you know, I can’t read lamar’s mind in terms of what he’s looking for, because you go back to what he originally was looking for, he was talking about the Watson deal, right? I mean, that, you know, whether he publicly said that or not. So you know, budget

Nestor Aparicio  47:07

8

trade into the raiders for Mendoza. No,

Luke Jones  47:09

all right, no, yeah. I mean, I look and look, I I think for man

Nestor Aparicio  47:15

dollars a cap room, maybe mentor says, Give me three players and we’ll go do what McDonald didn’t take a quarterback. I don’t know. I’m making that up. I just, I don’t know what the Ravens Trump word. I don’t know. I don’t know what their alternatives

Luke Jones  47:29

would be. I mean, you know, I mean, like I said, the alternative is you just kick the can down the road and you say, Look, if Lamar has another injury plagued year this coming year, then we might be having a different conversation. One, in terms of the money, you know, because that if he has another injury plagued year, you’re starting to question the value a little bit more. And two, whether you’re going to continue your partnership long term, right? I mean, so. And look, I’m not saying that that would be my first choice, but if, from the Raven side, how they if Lamar isn’t being reasonable, from their perspective, there are worse outcomes than just kicking the can down the road, I suppose, but I think ideally, and this goes back to what I said, it’s always easier to do an extension when you’ve got a structure in place already and you’ve got a couple years on that, right? He’s not a pending free agent. This isn’t a clean slate like it was three years ago, where you’re trying to create a deal out of nothing, right? So, so I think from that standpoint, you’re hoping that it goes more smoothly.

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Nestor Aparicio  48:33

So a lot of tickets for the Raiders. You know, you got me thinking silly now, but I’m just, you know, because the Raiders are crazy enough to do that deal. The Ravens aren’t. But the Ravens could sell it to me. The Ravens could sell it to me with a new coach in a new thing, that they’ve got the best quarterback coming out of the draft, the Ravens could sell that to me. They could sell me Kirk Cousins. They can’t. They’re going to sell Malik Willis or something like that in Pittsburgh. I get I get it. But don’t look at me like I’m crazy, because it’s just, just remember, I said on February 10 that they can’t find day pub, you know, I

Luke Jones  49:09

just, I like Fernando Mendoza, I don’t think he’s going to be a top five quarterback in the National Football League. I think, I think he’s going to be, I think he’s going to be a starting quarterback in the league, like in the way that you perceive, like what Sam darnold just did, not Sam darnold The last few years, but what Sam darnold

Nestor Aparicio  49:27

did this year two is, you know, when his head was right and wasn’t hurt, he was making strides as a quarterback Justin Herbert, you’ve already peed upon in this segment.

Luke Jones  49:37

8

I mean, I think, I think Justin Herbert’s really talented, but what has he done? I mean, he, you know, as if we’re going to talk about lamar’s performance in the playoffs. I mean, Justin Herbert’s

Nestor Aparicio  49:46

been Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson just got their coaches fired. So, I mean, when, not directly, but their teams did, sure, yeah, you know. So there it is. Hey, you know, we, we talk a lot, and anything else you got, I mean, I’m just. Doing sugar plums. I want to talk.

Luke Jones  50:01

No, I mean, I think, I mean, we kind of covered it. Look Linder bomb is going to whether Lamar is extended or not Linder bomb, that’s going to be tricky, because I think he’s going to be in high demand. So that’s a tough one. But this all begins with getting this worked out with number eight. You don’t want this to linger into, into March, into the start of free agency, because then you’re in a position. And it’s not that they don’t have any cap space. They have some cap space, and the caps going up to what 300 million, or somewhere in that neighborhood. So it’s not as though they won’t but keep in mind, you can talk about it a higher cap. It’s more cap space for everyone else, too. So it’s very relative. When you look at it in terms of how teams are going to spend. I just think this offseason becomes much more opportunistic. If you can get something done with Lamar that pacifies him, that pacifies the organization, you are now in a position where he’s locked up for the next three or four years without any drama, and you can just get back to, hey, let’s build the best possible roster we can. Let’s go. Let’s go take a swing at an edge rusher. Let’s go take a swing at a starting guard that that we desperately need. You know, like that. That’s what Eric That’s how Eric to Costa can think about it. In the alternative is, if you only, if you can’t get something done and you have to do a simpler restructure, you’re kicking the can down the road. You’re wondering what that means in terms of lamar’s level of happiness, you know, in terms of what the spring is going to look like in a year where OTAs are way more important with the brand new coaching staff and all that you don’t want to deal with that. You know, you want to get this done. You want to get this

Nestor Aparicio  51:44

done 30 days for detente. I’m just hoping that, because the things that are problems are going to be problems, they’re going to draft money’s a problem for years like they got they just don’t need the quarterback to be a problem. No question. 1,000% Fair enough. Fair enough. All right, we’re two weeks out on the combine, a month out on free agency. Football season’s over. Foreign Dormer, our new sponsors, they are the comfort guys. I’ll be telling you more about that, HVAC, plumbing and worried about air conditioning right now, but we’ll be worried about that come April or May as well. He is Luke. I am Nestor. We are W NST am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. Hope you’re enjoying our cup of soup or bowl all week long. Community charity. Help these people out. Man, we’re trying to lift the city. We’re Baltimore positive. Stay with us. You.

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Akin, Kittredge go to 15-day injured list as Orioles set Opening Day roster

Akin, Kittredge go to 15-day injured list as Orioles set Opening Day roster

Baltimore will be down an additional bullpen arm with lefty Keegan Akin going on the IL with a groin strain.
Swinging for the fences and a shot at October magic

Swinging for the fences and a shot at October magic

Luke Jones and Nestor discuss bad defense and many hopeful bats of Orioles as Opening Day awaits.

  • [ ] @Nestor Aparicio - Write and send letters to key Orioles front-office executives (including Craig Albernaz, Katie Griggs, Mike Elias, and others) expressing concerns and expectations about the team’s direction ahead of Opening Day.
  • [ ] @Nestor Aparicio - Write and send a letter to Mike Elias this week outlining concerns about the Orioles’ offseason moves and roster construction, ensuring the tone differs from Jason Lockman & Forest’s approach.

Defense and Pitching Leading to Offense

  • Nestor Aparicio discusses the importance of defense in setting up the pitching, mentioning the team's focus on pitching in previous discussions.
  • Nestor highlights the defensive capabilities of players like Kobe Mayo at third base and expresses concerns about Gunner Henderson's defense.
  • The conversation touches on the impact of injuries to key players like Holiday and Westburg on the team's defensive performance.
  • Nestor emphasizes the need for the team to hit well to compensate for any defensive shortcomings.

Kobe Mayo's Role and Defensive Challenges

  • Luke Jones discusses Kobe Mayo's defensive transition from third base to first base due to the signing of Pete Alonso.
  • Luke mentions Mayo's experience playing third base in the minors and his adjustment to first base.
  • The conversation covers the impact of Westburg's injury on Mayo's role and the potential for Mayo to play third base if Westburg doesn't return.
  • Luke highlights the importance of Mayo's work ethic and raw abilities, comparing him to Mount Castle in terms of athleticism.

Defensive Improvement and Coaching

  • Luke Jones emphasizes the need for the coaching staff, led by Craig Albernaz, to improve the team's defensive fundamentals.
  • The conversation touches on the importance of proper footwork and consistent play for defensive improvement.
  • Luke mentions the role of Miguel Cairo and Jason Bourgeois in working with the infielders and outfielders.
  • The discussion includes the need for the team to be at least average defensively to compete effectively.

Offensive Potential and Player Development

  • Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discuss the offensive potential of players like Kobe Mayo, Sam Besayo, and Gunnar Henderson.
  • The conversation highlights the importance of these young players hitting well to compensate for any defensive shortcomings.
  • Luke mentions the need for players like Colton Kauser and Cedric Mullins to step up defensively.
  • The discussion includes the potential for players like Taylor Ward and Tyler O'Neill to contribute offensively.

Health and Injury Concerns

  • Luke Jones emphasizes the importance of the team staying healthy, especially after the injuries that plagued them last year.
  • The conversation touches on the need for the team to address any issues with their strength and conditioning program.
  • Luke mentions the importance of players like Grayson Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman staying healthy.
  • The discussion includes the potential impact of injuries on the team's performance and the need for depth in the roster.

Leadership and Team Dynamics

  • Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discuss the importance of Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso as the heart and soul of the team.
  • The conversation highlights the need for these players to set the tone for the rest of the team.
  • Luke mentions the importance of Adley Rutschman's leadership and durability behind the plate.
  • The discussion includes the potential for other players like Sam Besayo and Kobe Mayo to step up and contribute.

Team Expectations and Potential

  • Nestor Aparicio expresses optimism about the team's potential to be a playoff contender.
  • The conversation touches on the importance of the team getting off to a good start to build momentum.
  • Luke Jones mentions the need for the team to address any question marks, such as the bullpen and the defense.
  • The discussion includes the potential for the team to surprise people with their performance.

Community Impact and Fan Engagement

  • Nestor Aparicio emphasizes the importance of the team's success in revitalizing the city and engaging fans.
  • The conversation touches on the need for the team to create a positive atmosphere at the ballpark.
  • Luke Jones mentions the importance of the team's performance in driving fan interest and attendance.
  • The discussion includes the potential for the team to have a significant impact on the local economy and community.

Final Thoughts and Future Outlook

  • Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discuss the importance of the team's performance in the early part of the season.
  • The conversation highlights the need for the team to build momentum and maintain consistency.
  • Luke mentions the importance of the team's performance in shaping public perception and expectations.
  • The discussion includes the potential for the team to surprise people with their performance and exceed expectations.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Orioles, defense, pitching, Kobe Mayo, Gunnar Henderson, Pete Alonso, bullpen, injuries, offense, spring training, coaching staff, health, lineup, potential, Opening Day.

SPEAKERS

Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones

Nestor Aparicio  00:02

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 to Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. We are getting ready for opening day with our friends, the comfort guys at Farnham and Dermer as well as the Maryland crab cake tour. Get back out on the road Koco's. I see you. I'm coming to see you. Marcella, it is spring. Is sprung. We'll be at the ballpark to Camden Yards. We've been talking about all things pitching here, and I think now we're going to let the pitching lead to defense, because Luke, I inked My dear Craig Albernaz or Albie, and I'll be writing letters to all of the wrasse including Pete Alonso. A little welcome to to well, you know, we've had nicknames around here. We've never had one quite as good as the polar bear. I don't think, but, but defensively and how that sets up the pitching. Because we went soup to nuts on pitching, we did an hour on it, you know, from Bradish and Rogers through what Boz is and where the bullpen is, and where Tyler Wells is it even Batista, maybe later in the year. The concern of the bullpen is one thing, concern of the defense and how it gets stressed, and this really leads into our offense and saying, when you strike out this much, the biggest thing you do when you strike out is you don't put the ball in play. You don't tax the defense. They can't make an error if you strike out right? So for me, with defense on this team, I guess it starts with Kobe Mayo at third base. I don't know that there's anyone with a glove in the field. I don't love gunner Henderson's defense. Be honest with you. You know, I'd like to see that improve. Holiday out westburg, out I like both of those guys a lot. That's a massive blow to them and how long they're out and whether they blossom holidays, one, one. I mean, you got to get them a lineup. It's less than ideal, I would say, to start the year, and that doesn't curb my optimism or my enthusiasm for what this can be. But we did talk about, well, you blow two run lead late in the game in a bullpen. Yeah, we're going to pick on some Nestor Herman or some guy we've never heard of in a button that won't be him, but somebody in the bullpen. Yeah, Tyler wells comes in, and the seventh inning, he looks fine. The eighth inning, and somebody kicks it around, and next thing you know, somebody throws the ball into the dugout, and the six four leads evaporated, and the fans are upset, and but kicking the ball around is something that it's hard to win, and it's hard to have a lot of confidence. When the defense isn't great, they'll hit their way out of this, and that's what we're going to get to in a minute. Kobe Mayo is probably citizen a for all of this, because big bat completely playing out of position. I mean, right? I mean, and at least we think it's temporary, and a lot of this really is the backdrop of Westberg and holiday when they're coming back.

Luke Jones  03:02

Yeah, yeah. I mean, a couple things holiday, holidays hitting already. He's going to, he probably is going to be in the lineup for triple A Norfolk for their first game. I think you're going to see him on a similar timeline to gunner Henderson last year. I think he's going to, you know, he's going to have to be in the on the IL for a certain number of days anyway, but it'll give him a chance to ramp up. I'd be kind of surprised if we don't see holiday by mid April. Now, what that will look like in terms of his power and all that that's that's a different discussion point is, I think we're going to see him very soon. Westburg, Mike Elias already confirmed that he's not going to be ready may 1. Right? It's going to be even in the best case scenario, we're probably looking closer towards best case scenario later in the month, right? I mean, who knows? I mean, we just don't know right now. So yeah, you look at Kobe Mayo right now. And one thing I'll correct you on, I mean, yes, he's in, he's out of position compared to what we were perceiving him to be last summer, in a world where we didn't know that the Orioles were going to go sign Pete Alonso, but they had said, Okay, he's going to be a first baseman. He played a lot of third base in the minors, right? I mean, this is not a position that he is, that he's foreign to, right? This is something that where he's worked quite a bit. The difference is you went from and when was it June of last year to basically saying, all right, Kobe, you know, put the third baseman. Glove away. First base is your spot. Moving forward, then you get Pete Alonso. You think, all right, well, Kobe Mayo is probably going to be traded. Kobe Mayo himself even admitted, like, I didn't know what my fate was going to be. Like, I certainly wasn't mad or like, didn't understand the organization going and signing Pete like he's a great player, but it's common like, it's common sense to you as a young, unproven player, to wonder, like, what that means for you, right? So they get to spring training. Obviously, everything happened with Westberg, and now Mayo is back at third base. Now, the good thing is, if there. One silver lining to the Westberg injury is that was right off the bat. He's had an entire spring training, and I had a chance to talk to him, you know, he talked to some of the reporters, but prior to Sunday's exhibition game, and he flat out like he had a good mindset about it, and he said, Look, I know that I'm going to make some errors, right? Albernaz has talked about this with me. I mean, Miguel Cairo is their infield coach. They've worked with him, as I said to you, going back to last summer. I mean, he was out on the field with John Mabry every day, working at first base. Sunday morning before the exhibition game, I saw him at third base taking ground balls and working. I mean, this kid works. I don't question his work ethic at all, and I don't question his ability at all, his raw abilities. And he's an athlete,

Nestor Aparicio  05:45

right? I mean, he's a good basketball player,

Luke Jones  05:46

looking dude, like, he runs well, like, you know, it kind of reminds me of Mount Castle a few years you know, when mount Castle first arrived, like, he kind of thought, Oh, well, he's just this big, plodding guy. And then you realize he's actually relatively fast, like, not stealing bases fast, but could go first to third. Can score from second, right? I mean, like that kind of fast. So he has ability. But, you know, now it's a case of, all right, you've been afforded this opportunity. You've been gifted this opportunity because of where we are roster wise, knowing that westburg best case scenario is maybe, you know, maybe Memorial Day, something like that, right? Maybe mid May at best case scenario, he might not come back at all. If he does come back, third base might not be an option. It might for Westberg, it might be he's a DH or he can only play second base. Or, who knows, right? I mean, we'll find out. But point is, you can't plan definitively that Westbrook is going to be in the lineup at third base for them. So Kobe Mayo has got quite a runway here to you know, and I'm not, let me be clear, that's not unconditional. If he's booting two balls a game, then yeah, to me, you're going to have to pivot. And you know, whether it's Blaze Alexander there, and Mayo's back on the bench or or whatever, but he's going to get an opportunity here, and I think where you look at him, he's going to make some errors. And even talking to Craig Albernaz, you know, I asked him about Mayo's defense, they know he's going to like they know he's not going to be Manny Machado there. They know he's not going to be Brooks Robinson there. But can he show the proper footwork, right? Can he fundamentally do what he needs to do which? If you do that, and you do that on a daily basis and a regular basis, and you do that rep by rep, chances are, over time, those mistakes will start to dissipate a little bit, and you will get more consistent. So he's got to hit, right? I mean, like, part of this equation is you can deal with some shoddy defense here and there. Like, not like, you know, it can't be all the time, but you can deal with some hiccups here and there, if you're going to hit the ball. And that's where you look at Mayo, and you say, he had a great September last year. Again, I get it. It's September, right? I mean, we're, we're skeptical of September anyway, but especially for a team that's that's playing out the string. But he had 300 last September. He had five home runs. He had a 941 ops. He was playing every day at that point, and he did a nice job. What has he done since then? Well, he's been working at third base every day and in spring training going into, you know, like the final exhibition with the Nationals in DC, sitting 389 he's got five extra base hits. He has a 1039 ops. It's spring training, right? I'm not, not trying to make more of it than what it is, but the point is, since September one of last year, Kobe Mayo has really looked like someone who can really be a legitimate part of your lineup. Now, doesn't mean he's gonna believe

Nestor Aparicio  08:49

that two years ago, right? He He's a serious, he's a serious prospect in an organization with all these one ones who haven't really blossomed yet, right? Right? I mean, he's got a bat.

Luke Jones  08:59

I mean, this is the kind of guy, I think, for for all the talk of the young guys that have been in the mate, you know, some of them aren't that young anymore, like Adley rutschmann, he's 28 now. He's not young. That's not young for baseball anymore. But in terms of their core, you know, their core position, guys that have been there now for two or three years, or in the case of rutsman and gunner, a little bit longer than that, even. But you look at Mayo and bisayo, and to me, those are the two guys that, if you want to talk about this lineup going from good, because I think this lineup, borrowing a ton of injuries, is going to be good at at the very least, but what can take them from good to great is guys like mayo and besayo at the bottom of the order, who suddenly are hitting the ball to the point where you say, Oh, are they going to stay at the bottom of the order? Do we need to move those guys a little bit higher in the order? They have that potential. Now, are they both going to realize that this year? I don't know, right? They're young ball players, but they have that kind of upside. With the bat. So for mayo, yes, he's going to have to hit, there's no doubt about that. And yes, he's going to have to defend at least well enough, because I'm going to use a reference that you'll certainly be familiar with, and many listeners will be you can't have him be Mark Reynolds. Which Mark Reynolds in 2011 and 2012 go look at his offensive numbers. I know he struck out a lot at a time when striking out wasn't as well, I don't want to say well received wasn't as accepted as it is today, compared to fifth, you know, 15 years ago. But for what he did with the bat, all of it got wiped out by how bad his defense was at third base. I mean, go, Look. I mean, he, he ended up being slightly above replacement level, or, you know, around there, because everything he did with the bat was just given away by his glove and his arm, right? I mean, so Mayo can't be that. So, I guess you know to, kind of, you know, to then pull back and kind of look at the rest of their defense. Here's what I'm looking for. These guys are athletes, right? These are, these guys are good athletes. It's not as though these guys are a bunch of stiffs that can't move right. This isn't, you know, you kind of think back to Money Rayford, yeah, or look at Billy Dean with, like, in the early 2000s with the A's, like, like, those guys could get on base, but they weren't good athletes, right? So they didn't steal bases, because they weren't really capable of it anyway. And analytically, they said, Well, we're not going to be good at that anyway. We can't be successful 80% of the time. We're not going to try to steal bases, and we don't care as much about our defense, because we want you to get on base. And that was kind of the money ball formula. That's why Scott hattenberg could move from catcher to first base, because they didn't need them to be a good defensive first baseman. They wanted them to get on base. This isn't that these guys are athletes to the point that, let me be clear, this isn't me saying they all are going need to be, or should be, Gold Glove caliber fielders, but I'd like to think these guys can, at least, like, they can be together an average defense, like, just be average, right? Because I think the profile works if it's more closer to average than, like last year, and you know, the second half of 2024 where, you know, they profiled more as bottom 10 in baseball kind of defense. So that is where, you know, not just talking about working with Kobe mayo, but working with all these guys. That's where I am looking at Miguel Cairo, who's their infield coach, Jason bourgeois, who's their first base coach, but also their outfield coach, like I want to see these Craig Albernaz, just overseeing all of it. Generally speaking, I want to see this coaching staff produce a defense that is crisper, doesn't look as sloppy, knows where to throw the ball, all of that, those things that you and I were talking about last year early on, where my biggest criticism of Brandon Hyde was not the failures of all the players, like individually, it was how sloppy that it came out of the gate. You know, you should be at your sharpest coming out of spring training when it comes to, you know, your bunt plays and who's covering where and where to throw the ball and all those different things, right? And they were just so sloppy doing that. It was like, Man, did you guys even go through spring training because you

Nestor Aparicio  13:08

haven't played like it sometimes the fundamentals

Luke Jones  13:11

aren't fun, right? But to me, that was an indictment, not just on the players, but big time on the coaching staff. So if there's something I'm going to judge, Craig Albernaz And this coaching staff on early on, beyond just wins and losses, but looking at the game within the game, it's, are they throwing to the right base? Are these guys running the bases properly, like all those fundamentally, you know, all those fundamental things I want to see, though, those things tightened up. And if they can do that, then I see no reason why this defense, maybe not Mayo at third base, but this defense collectively, why it can't be at least average, right? And you have that, then I think they'll be in position to win a lot of ball games, because, again, these guys aren't stiffs like Colton kauser is a great athlete. Colton kauser should be able to play a solid center field. I'll have some questions about his bat, right, especially going up against lefties. Although it was nice to see a left on left home run from Him on Sunday. That was good to see,

Nestor Aparicio  14:08

but it will get you gunner Henderson in the WBC, because we haven't talked

Luke Jones  14:12

about that either for him too. Yeah, I said to you, like for me, look, I wanted to see gunner play every day in the WBC, but I get it. He hasn't been good historically against lefties. And let's be clear, it was Alex Bregman playing in his place, not Jorge Mateo, you know. So I get it. Orioles fans were mad about that. I understand, hey, he was one of the few guys hitting for them, but I understood that. But to bring it back to the defense, I look position by position. Look Pete Alonso is not a Gold Glove first baseman, but scoop balls in the dirt, especially for Kobe mayo, that's going to be a big thing for them, right? You're going to have to help out your young third baseman, and he knows that, Gunner Henderson, I thought gunners defense was better as last year went on compared to the year before. You know, I thought his defense was trending up for me last year, I want to see that. Continue second base. You know, we haven't mentioned his name yet, Blaze Alexander, for the time being, whether he's playing second or when holidays back, they bump him over to third. If Mayo is having issues defensively, they need him to catch the ball right whatever he gives you with the bat. I think I want to say his bonus, because I think they like his bat. But he needs to get them solid defense. If you're the utility guy, you need to be a solid defender, right? So, and I think he can be that for them. So, you know, that's the infield and then the outfield. I mean, they need cows or whatever the bat looks like. They need him to defend. If he can defend and be solid and be dependable in center field, then I'll live with whatever else he's doing with the bat for the time being. But they need that, because if it's not him, I don't know who it is like, okay, they have leoty Tavares, who's going to be, presumably, the backup center fielder. He's been replacement level the last couple years with the bat. So if it's not him, then you're talking about, okay, Dylan beavers. You know, to me, I think they very much would like to keep Dylan beavers as a corner outfielder. I don't think they feel he can play center field, at least right now. And you know, beyond that, then you're talking about like Enrique Bradfield, who needs to have some success at triple A before we're ready to talk about him as a candidate. So they need kaliser to play center field, and they need them to play it well, because there's not a slap you in the face alternative right now that that makes sense, right? All the all the other alternatives have even more question marks, so they need him to be that they'll play Taylor Warden left I think he'll be fine out there, right field you know, Tyler O'Neill, like our perception of what he was last year. You have to this is a guy who was a Gold Glove outfielder earlier in his career, like he should be able to play solid, a solid right field for them when he's out there. Same with beavers, right well, him and

Nestor Aparicio  16:56

Ward are like these. I don't barely talk about them, but they know. But like, six weeks from now, they might be the two best players, and like, they have that kind of potential, but I just see them as just names, until I watch them five nights a week go out with an Oriole crest on and get two or three hits and win a ball game and hit a home run on opening Day or whatever, because they're these are really capable, big bat 30 home run kind of guys, and they need to be given the bats. They're going to strike out, they're going to pop out, they're going to hit the double play. They do all that. But along the body of the work, we can wake up on, I don't know, Preakness day one of might have 12 home runs by then, because they're, they're that kind of same thing with mayo. I mean, they all have that possibility about them, in addition to gunner Henderson and Pete Alonso,

Luke Jones  17:47

right, yeah. And I'm going to continue to say Sam basayo, okay, no. I mean, I'm

Nestor Aparicio  17:52

just saying he reminds me, and this makes me a really old guy, by the way, of when Manny Ramirez came to the Indians in 90,

Luke Jones  18:01

batting eighth or something

Nestor Aparicio  18:02

like that. I mean, that team by Eric and Lofton,

Luke Jones  18:07

Jim Tony and Manny Ramirez were hitting seventh and eighth for that team. I mean, it was,

Nestor Aparicio  18:10

it was ridiculous, well, and Ramirez was this big bat guy that was young and dumb and and, you know, had Hall of Fame potential and Triple Crown kind of potential, you know, I sort of the bicycle thing, the fact that they rushed him, they gave him the money they he's a catcher, but he's not really a catcher, but we're going to make him a catcher, and then we give $150 million to a first baseman, but he's so young, right? Yeah, and I think the same things Jackson holiday so young that giving these guys chances at that age, like they did with Gunner Henderson, two, three years ago, right? That this will be who them in the long run. And he certainly was the FLA of all the things we've talked about here. He was the flash in spring training, right? Yeah.

Luke Jones  18:58

I mean mayo and beside Oh late. I mean, they hit for, I mean, I watched Kobe Mayo hit a long two run homer off Max free to the Yankees. I mean, you're talking about like their opening day starter, you know, their ace, until Garrett Cole returns and reestablishes himself as the ace. I mean, you know, these guys were, these guys have really capable bats. I mean, it's and again, we're going through all these names. You and I both know. Every single name that we just rattled off is not going to have a

Nestor Aparicio  19:27

great Tyler O'Neal's Museum. He'll be heard around. He hit 201 and he had a whole maybe two years ago, cows or he's a strike out. You know,

Luke Jones  19:38

Bowser will strike out, but he might, he might hit 25 home runs also, right?

Nestor Aparicio  19:43

So then there's the fact whether Gunnar Henderson and Adley rushman are going to be MVP caliber performers in the way that we see their ceilings in their best light, in their best light, in Adley Richmond's best light. This year, he's going to hit 282 with 23 home runs, driving 90 runs. Catch it on your plane. 380 on base percentage.

Luke Jones  20:03

Give me a 380 on date. Look, they don't need Adley rutsman To be an MVP, right? I will take like, just get back to the guy you were two years ago, three years ago, right? Like, I don't need the you're gonna become Johnny Bench or anything. I think that ship has sailed right, at least in that right? Which is, when you compare these young catchers to Johnny Bench, it's always so unfair, right? But we do it, not we. I just in general

Nestor Aparicio  20:29

one, it's even different than weeders for me, no doubt.

Luke Jones  20:32

Oh, I agree. That's That's why I've been so hard on Adley rutsman In terms of how I've talked about him the last year and a half. But, but, yeah, it really is amazing. When you look at the state of this 26 man roster, the position side. I mean, you and I haven't even mentioned Ryan mountcastle. Now, part of that is I don't know if, especially if, these young guys emerge, you know, when we're talking about mayo and SiO. Like, I don't know where the at bats are going to be for Mount castle in that scenario, but point is, there are a lot of different lineup combinations here, and, yeah, they're gonna have to find it. But I'm not sure what's going to happen, right? I mean, I think gunner Henderson is going to be this team's best player, because that's just been the case for the last three years now. I mean, even last year is even a down year for gunner. He still was, you know, their their best position player, I guess, you know, with a nod to Ramon lauriano Before he was traded at the deadline. But I expect Pete Alonso to hit 35 to 40 home runs, because that's just who he's been, right? That's who he was with the Mets. Why the Orioles are giving them $30 million a year, $31 million million dollars a year. You know, Taylor Ward's coming off of a career year. I don't know if he's going to match that in terms of home runs, but he should be a guy that is going to give solid production. He's going to strike out, but he's going to hit for power and do that. But, man, there's also a scenario Nestor, where like Kobe mayo or Sam besayo, one of those guys, like, I'm not going to say both of them, but if there's a scenario where in August, one of those guys is hitting cleanup for this team at that point, because they're just that guy, right, which would be amazing for The overall ceiling and potential for this offense. I mean, there's a lot to like, but I will also say, and just like I talked about the defense, I will go back to the approach and the coaching. You know, Dustin Lynn, their new hitting coach, Brady north, their new assistant hitting coach. We talked a lot about the hitting coaches last year, remember, and that's not to say that the players didn't need to be accountable, because they did, but we kind of talked about it in terms of, this feels broken. So I'm hoping, with all the changes, you know, with the new coaching staff, even if at the end of the day, they're they're preaching something very similar to what the previous coaching staff was seeing was saying they're saying it in a different voice. They're saying it in a different way. They're connecting with players in a different way. And I'm hoping that's going to lead to some more success and some more consistency. Because, man, you kind of look at it and again, people are listening. People are more skeptical right now. They're like, Oh, well, Luke and Nestor are drinking the orange Kool Aid. Yeah, I kind of am right now in terms of just looking at what these guys are capable of being, I'm not saying it's going to work in every single way. I mean, there's a scenario where Colton cows are get sent down the triple A because he's completely lost at the plate. I don't know, right? I mean, there's, scenarios like that for three or four different guys, right? But there are also scenarios that, Hey, young players get better, right? We've seen plenty of young players good, and then scuffle and struggle, and then they're better, and then, boy, before you know it, then they're just an everyday player. And you know, you you don't really think about it anymore. They're not a prospect, they're a they're a definite like, Hey, you're a legitimate Major League hitter. So that's where I look at this team and say, That's why I say, if the bullpen can just be solid, right? It doesn't need to be the best bullpen in baseball. Just don't be a bottom five bullpen. And if the defense doesn't need to be gold gloves across the board, just be average. Don't be a detriment, right? Don't be a liability. Just be solid. If you can do that, then, yeah, that's why I go back to the offense, having the upside it has. And the starting rotation, maybe not the same level of upside there as the offense, but seeing a lot of upside there. You and I spent half a segment talking about that. So there are things to like about this club. Yeah, there are things to not like or things to question as well. But man, I just, I look at this lineup, one through nine, and man, if you can, you know, some of these young guys take the next step. And. Veteran players kind of maintain health is going to be a big part. You know, I've gone a long way in our discussion here. As we're going in opening day, health needs to be there, and that's why I'm a little they're right off the bat in spring training with holiday in westburg, there was very much a sense of, here we go again.

Nestor Aparicio  25:18

Grayson Rodriguez isn't hurt here. Yeah,

Luke Jones  25:20

right, I mean, but they need to stay healthy. That's a big part of this. I'm hoping that through all the changes they made with the manager and the coaching staff, and taking a look at everything that went wrong in 2025 I'm hoping there was some introspective work done on do we need to tweak our strength and conditioning? You know, because, man, we had a lot of hamstrings last year, a lot of obliques, lot a lot of stuff like that. Where you would say, okay, yeah, some of that is part of the game. But, you know, you shouldn't have 25 and 26 year old guys going down with those kind of injuries all the time that that to me, tells me there, there's something going on there. So I'm hoping that they will be a healthier team this year. You know, kind of tough saying that right off the bat, because they do have some injuries here out of the gate, but over 162 Yeah, they've got to stay healthier. There's no doubt, because we can talk about all that kind of potential, like Tyler O'Neill, you and I just said it. Guy has 30 home run potential. He's done it before. He's hit 30 home runs in the major leagues in a season, but he's got to play more than 54 games to do it, so, you know. And part of that is also, hey, he doesn't have to play every day, because hopefully Dylan beavers is going to be a, I don't know if that'll be a straight platoon by any means, but it could be something in that, you know, that looks like that, and that will give you some opportunities to keep Tyler O'Neill healthy. You know, I'm guessing the Orioles are going to try to convince Pete Alonso to DH a dozen times, you know, this year, to to get off his feet a little bit more and give him a little bit of a breather every now and then. So, but they've got to stay healthy. There's no doubt that's a big part of it. I will continue to say about the story of the 2025 team. Yes, there was a lot of underperformance and problems like that. There's no question, but injuries were a big part of what happened last year. That it's undeniable, right? I mean, it absolutely was part of their story last year. So if they're going to bounce back, they've got to stay healthier, which, again, the way it looks on March 26 or April 1 isn't exactly the way you wanted it to start. But over the long haul, you know, we'll see about westburg. But beyond that, this is a team that you hope can stay healthy and keep most of these guys on the field, because I think they've got the potential to be pretty darn good if it can all come together in that way. Luke Jones

Nestor Aparicio  27:41

is here. It's all brought to you by our friends at the comfort guys at Farnan and Dermer, as well as our friends at the Maryland lotto. Be getting the Maryland crab cake tour back out on the road after opening day we get home. I'll wrap up with this. I mean, we sit here, we talk about mayo and cowser and rushman and the question marks and injuries and holiday and Westberg and defense and all of that. What do we really know? It to me, Gunner Henderson and Pete Alonso, they really have to be the heart and soul of this thing. I'll give Ward and O'Neill some oxygen for where they are, and then all the rest of the names, the one ones and the young guys and the potential of this and the the that can all come. But to me, Alonzo and Henderson, as I wrote to Craig Albernaz, that's really where it starts, and Henderson being a lead off guy in this new age of lineups, and the way al bumry doesn't hit lead off anymore, although Weaver had something with singleton back in the 70s, which

Luke Jones  28:42

he was on to, something with that

Nestor Aparicio  28:45

on base percentage he was, he was very much on to that because he had his little note cards. But, but Henderson and Alonso, if I'm putting them both in at 36 and 38 home runs and 111 RBIs and 107 RBIs and I have them both playing 154 games. And like, if that part of it works out, pitching aside for what Rogers needs to be in Bradish and who steps up, and how good effing can be, and when Dean Kramer gets back and all of that stuff, it's one thing, bitching about Dean Kramer, who's a league average starter, and saying, well, will he make it? Will he not? Will he give him the ball? Beat the two guys, Henderson and Alonso, they, they are your engine for me, and they are the biggest part of the engine. Because I'm not counting on Richmond anymore. You can't count on mayo. We're not going to count on kauser. We don't know enough about Ward, but I'll take him over and injure Grayson Rodriguez, I mean, for all of the complaints about Elias, and I have not been hard on Elias, and he's gonna get a letter from me this week, and it won't be written Jason lock and forest style, don't worry. Henderson, I need to step up from where he was last year. And. To look again, like the leader of the team, even though they've imported leadership and give it a lot of money to Pete Alonso that needs to play like Batman and Robin and peanut butter and jelly. For me, it really does.

Luke Jones  30:14

Yeah, no, 1,000% agree. I mean, there's no, no doubt. I don't want to put too much pressure on them, but you know, Cal and Eddie, like, they need to be this, right? Yeah. I mean, that, like, it's, that's what it needs to be, you know, I think gunner, we've talked about it. I mean, he had the, had the rib cage issue right out of the gate last year, and then he had the shoulder impingement, which we never really, you know, didn't find out about that till after the season. That zapped him of his power. He still had a pretty good year, you know, in a vacuum, it just wasn't what it had been the year before.

Nestor Aparicio  30:46

Then I hear that all day long. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Luke Jones  30:49

Right, right. So, but yeah, they need him to be a guy that I'm not saying he needs to win the MVP, but if Gunnar Henderson's right, like he's a top five to top eight MVP candidate in the American League. That's the kind of player he is. So they need that from him. And I think he'd be the first to tell you, like, he would agree with it us. He would say, Yeah, I got to be that guy for my team. And Pete Alonso same way, like, that's why you gave Pete Alonso $155 million they need to, they need to be the tone setters for this offense. I will say this. I agree with what you said about Adley rutsman from an offensive standpoint, where they do need Adley rutschman to bounce back unequivocally, like an undisputed point is he can't miss two months with oblique issues, like they need him at a minimum to be behind the plate five days a week, or whatever it's going to be all season long, because he's that important to managing the pitching staff right? Because as much as I love besides upside with the bat, if you're in a position where rushman is on this shelf, I don't have the confidence in beside, oh, to handle a pitching staff that regularly, like on an everyday basis. You know, he's the backup catcher for a reason. He's going to be backup catcher, slash DH, for a reason. So they need rutsman For that, that leadership element. They absolutely need whatever he does with the bat. Beyond that, we're going to see, right? I mean, I hope, I hope the guy that he was in 2023 is still in there somewhere, but he's got to show it like that guy's got to return. And until he does, I'm skeptical, regardless of the of what his spring numbers might look like. But yeah, they need gunner and they need Pete Alonso to be the guys, right? They need to be the guys. And it's not to say other guys in this lineup can't have great years. And like I said, if, if, beside hits 30 home runs, or Kobe Mayo hits 30 home runs, and suddenly we're talking about them, one of those guys being hitting fourth or fifth and great, right? But yeah, and I don't know exactly what the lineup is going to look like. I think Taylor Ward, I don't sleep on him as potentially being the lead off guy, and some, you know, especially in some certain matchups. But point is, whether they're hitting first and second, or second and third, or first and third, Gunner Henderson and Pete Alonso need to be those guys, those dudes, right? Baseball, they talk about dudes. Those guys are dudes. They're established dudes at this point in time. So they need to go out there and be on the field every day, which you expect. I mean, Pete Alonso one of the biggest, you know, his calling card, beyond the home runs, has been he's very durable and plays and posts up every day and go ask Buck Showalter, like getting them to take a day off in New York was, was not a fun experience for the managers there, because he just wants to play like he's that he's that old school Cal Ripken kind of guy in that way. But, yeah, if those guys set that, you know, they need those guys to set the tone, and if they do, then it's it's up to everyone else to follow, right? They have to follow the lead. Alonso is going to be the veteran guy, and gunner is the emerging young guy that needs to be more of a leader in that way. So, but it begins with how they play on the field, right? Ultimately, Pete Alonso, you love the leadership, no doubt. But he needs to hit 35 or 40 bombs like that. That's what they're that's why they paid him, right? So, and he knows that, he understands that. So, yeah, those guys have to lead the way. And if they do, if those, if those two guys are the All Star, you know, if not MVP candidate, kind of players that they have proven in the past capable of being then, and that's a heck of a start for your offense, then to just fill in the gaps after that and and see what you can do one through nine.

Nestor Aparicio  34:33

So I'm writing these letters to all the brass. Katie Griggs is going to get hers. My Craig Albernaz is up. Mike Elias, I'm coming for you too. For all of this, Eric Getty, especially, more so than Rubinstein, who is the face and Eric Getty's the person really doing he's the baseball nerd. I would just say this if Eric Getty hears this piece or it gets to me at this point. Or Rubenstein, and this is where the people who hate me, and they're plenty of them, because they still voted for Trump. I see it all over social media, if you're the guy that hates me for saying I've been the guy here for 35 effing opening days doing this job in front of everyone with a radio station that the FCC is gonna come take my license if I, if I criticize our dear leader and the nonsense that's going on. But I've done 35 opening days here now, and you've done a good 17 with me, or whatever it's been. How many years we've had this? There have been so few times where I want to wake up at five in the morning and Medellin, Colombia on the Monday before opening day, and sit and have a legitimate, honest conversation about their potential to be a playoff team, let alone a division winning team or World Series winning team or whatever just to be, I don't have to bullshit anybody to think that they Could even be fundamentally sound, or a 500 team, 25 if not 28 of the 35 years I've been on the radio, they've been a freaking joke. They've been a disgrace, and they're not anymore. And the off season was real, and they signed the $19 million pitcher on Valentine's Day. And they spot. They signed $155 million real dude, not a chump to be their next Frank Robinson or their next star. They gave bisayo money. They they took our money and built a scoreboard and threw you out of the press box and moved it to the left, which moving to the left is a good place to move. It's better than moving to the right. And I mean, even though the thing looks like an airport lounge or whatever, and God bless them. So I would just say this. I wouldn't be such a jerk and such an ass and so angry, and I certainly would have my press pass if, over the last 30 years, they put a credible, honest, big league full effort organization together to give people a reason to be excited. You're excited because you're a baseball nerd. I'm excited. Look at my last name, right? I mean, I love baseball, but what we've endured here over the last 35 years is disgraceful, and the fact that this is one of the few opening day weeks where I can honestly say, if I give them 75 bucks on Thursday and go down there, run around that it's not opening day, and it falls off the table, and we're wondering when lacrosse starts, or if the caps are playing hockey, or who the ravens are drafting, or who got arrested, or who Terrance West punched last week, or whatever, whatever happened, right that this is a credible layoff caliber. They've had an offseason where they've done things you hated their pitching last year. Alan hated their pitching last year. I mean, I've tried to be more balanced, because I have sat here for 35 years watching this disgrace, and this is not that anymore. And for that, I'll tip my cap to arroghetti, and I've talked a lot here with Marty Conway and Eric Fisher about the labor situation, and you and I have done an hour and a half here to start the season where it's Baseball, baseball, and it's Ken Kobe Mayo pick up the glove, and it's can they get Westberg real baseball, things that lead to playoff baseball and a chance to win a World Series, not how much money is Fredo making in being a jerk with the community. Now I want Katie Griggs to step up. Mark. Fine. You're disgraceful that I don't have a press pass at the ballpark on Thursday. Disgraceful. But that being said, I'm covering the team. You're covering the team. You'll ask questions. I'll be out here being the jerk that I am, because it's a response mechanism for me to say I've been through all this shit the last 35 years, and the losing and last year imploding immediately. I hope that doesn't happen again, because I love baseball. You love baseball. It's a long season. We put a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of my life, I've forgotten more about baseball than most people certainly over at the fan. So for me, it is, this is a go time for the city, for downtown, for the money we've spent on the ballpark, for new ownership, for all of that. So I'm watching whether they let me in or not. They're going to hear from me, and they're going to know from me, and they're going to know from you. Know from you, and I hope they're as vibrant and as important and as valuable as I've made them out to be most of my life. That's all I'm going to say.

Luke Jones  39:54

My final point, everything you just said, I fully acknowledge, but more specifically. The after the season they had last year on the heels of what had happened at the

Nestor Aparicio  40:04

end of a half a million people going away from the ballpark, right? Last year, it

Luke Jones  40:08

is so incredibly important for this team to get off to a good start this year. No, it doesn't need to be 35 and 10, right? But just get off to a solid

Nestor Aparicio  40:20

start, dude, seven and 14 and 1016,

Luke Jones  40:26

I'm fine with any of that, right, right, right, right. Look at the schedule. How it sets up. Minnesota and the rangers to start off at Pittsburgh, at the White Sox. Then you come home and you play the Giants and the Diamondbacks. Then you go to Cleveland, all right, Cleveland playoff team. Then you go to Kansas City, Rhett, then you come home at the end of the month and you host the Red Sox and the Astros. All right, that last home stand there. But you look at the first four weeks of the season, they're not playing a ton of teams that made the

Nestor Aparicio  40:54

playoffs last year. Yeah, they could play 700 ball the first month, right? Yeah. Get off to a

Luke Jones  40:58

good start. And then I said all the stuff about the Mojo and the chemistry and the guys being more upbeat in the clubhouse, and all a good spring, if you can, if you can springboard into a good start coming out of Sarasota, and start off well, and you're 13 and seven, then you set up really nicely for to have a really good playoff Season, you know, and then, you know, you get to October, then who knows what will happen? I mean, this team could look, at least be perceived a lot differently than how we're perceiving it right now, when you have so many young guys that you're kind of looking at and envisioning the possibilities. But man, just get off to a good start. This city needs it. On the heels of the Orioles last year and the Ravens last fall, dude,

Nestor Aparicio  41:44

drop the mic on that city. Needs it like last that's where I am on it. Get people downtown. People steal their money, get their ATM out. Let them buy truest club. Whatever it is, success has been something that we have not smelled here, and it's pissed me off so much that I walked out on them 20 years ago because they were creeps. They were liars and and I'm not going to defend that, and I'm not going to, I'm not going to advertise it for them, but this team should be a playoff team, and it has all the potential to be that. And I'm bullish on the team so, and I know you are as well. Yeah, yeah.

Luke Jones  42:21

I mean, they have question marks. Most teams have question marks. I think there's a lot to like about this club. And again, get off to a good start, which, Hey,

Nestor Aparicio  42:29

man, you and I don't like about it, like the bullpen. Elias is apparently okay with this, right? It's his job, right? If he, if he thought the bullpen needed more he would go get some more spice, or go ask daddy for more money. And Michael era Getty and, you know, and get it, and that's still all might happen, but it all might happen under the guise of Kobe Mayo has got 20 home runs in June, and they can't figure out where to put Westberg and holiday looks like a one, one, and Richmond bounce back, and Albernaz is manager of the year, and they have five, if not six, starting pitchers. So we'll have to talk about Jim Palmer joining the rotation at some point. He's leaving the boots. Same thing with McDonald all right. He's Luke Jones. We're done with baseball. We'll talk more baseball in October. Now. We'll be back on Friday morning here without question. It's opening day. It's baseball week. My last name still Aparicio. We still love baseball around here. He's Luke. I'm Nestor. Big thanks to all of our sponsors. I'm coming home from Medellin. I hope they let me in back for more. We are Baltimore positive and W NSD stay with us. You.

Can Albernaz manage the Orioles arms into October?

Can Albernaz manage the Orioles arms into October?

We love the starting rotation but about that untested bullpen? Luke Jones and Nestor get you ready for Opening Day and beyond with a full preview of the 2026 Baltimore Orioles and where the Birds will be flying in the American League East this summer – and hopefully, into the fall.
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