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Measuring the value of Eflin and Suarez in October as lead arms for Orioles right now

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With the choppy nightly performances and results over the past two months, so much has changed about the roster. Especially the starting pitching. Luke Jones and Nestor measure the Oriolesโ€™ rotation and hopes for a better run of luck heading into this drive to win the division and find October health and prosperity.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

orioles, game, year, week, team, win, pitching, baseball, month, october, monday, day, injuries, yankees, bullpen, chicago white sox, felt, player, healthy, point

SPEAKERS

Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T am 1570 Taos in Baltimore and Baltimore, positive. Itโ€™s finally that time football season. Weโ€™re into September. We are post Labor Day. I promise I will have the Raven scratch off soon. I still have this pile of gold rush sevens doubles that Iโ€™m going to be giving away on Wednesday. Iโ€™m wearing my Cocoโ€™s gear kicking off the season. Mark Viviano will be that. Mark Viviano, the retired one, yeah, lured him out of retirement, his first ever appearance on my show. Now, Mark hosted radio on my station years and years ago, before the fan started blowing. I think itโ€™s the first time Iโ€™ve said that. Um, thatโ€™s pretty funny. I should have used that all along. Uh, itโ€™s like Preakness. Iโ€™ll come up with these things. Uh, weโ€™ll be at Cocoโ€™s this week, and then the crab cake tour really kicks off. And the oyster tours kicking off on Thursday, with my cousin John shields at Gertrude stand at the BMA. Weโ€™ll be doing that on Thursday. And I have no idea what kind of oyster sheโ€™s giving me. I donโ€™t know what anybodyโ€™s gonna give me. I do know that for the first time in a long time, since I was a young old man, Iโ€™m going to the pepper mill this week. So have that. Iโ€™m going to have a proper bowl of oyster stew. Our friends at Liberty pure solutions are sending us out on the oyster tour to keep our water clean. Thatโ€™s what they do for you. Itโ€™s what they do for me. Liberty, pure solutions, my friend Doug, they do it in North Baltimore County, but they do it all over the state, and they keep well water clean, and they keep pipes clean. And then I had a little pipe issue in my bathroom that came out took care of my plumbing needs as well. Thatโ€™s liberty, pure solutions, as well as Jiffy Lube, MultiCare. Donโ€™t need to tell you about that. Iโ€™ll haunt my horn. Stop by. By the way, my little yellow lights on. Iโ€™m coming to see you over Timonium Jiffy Lube. Come see me. Luke is busy, as I wrote this week in my independence day screed, he is doing double duty all week long. We just went through our work schedule. We set a work meeting. Would you want to come on Friday? And youโ€™re like, I got practice. Itโ€™s football season around here and itโ€™s baseball season around here, but weโ€™re going to talk some baseball. And I know, you know, come Friday, kind of like the Jimmy Buffett song, come Monday, come Friday. Weโ€™ll have some football information with this baseball team. Every single day, something kind of goes wrong, right. You know, after everything went right, we know how right felt back in April and May and into June, and boy, I leave you for like, 48 hours, and pitchers get contusions and get line drives on the wrist, and other guys get i L for the year, and hereโ€™s Kobe Mayo again, and what the hell happened to Urias, and what a weekend we had there in the thin air of Colorado now to be home against the lowly White Sox. Yeah.

Luke Jones  02:39

I mean, it some, some good, some not so good. A series win against the Rockies and coming home and facing the White Sox, who are so, so, so bad. But you know, the big story over the weekend was Dean Kramer line drive off the forearm. Heโ€™s doing better. It doesnโ€™t sound like itโ€™s a catastrophic kind of injury, but Whenโ€™s he going to make his next start? You know, Brandon Hyde said the other day heโ€™d be surprised, if itโ€™s, you know, in five days, you know, at regular turn. So how are they going to adjust there? And unfortunately, Ramona Reus, who, as you and I have been talking about here in recent weeks, he was their best hitter in the month of August, sprains his ankle as of Labor Day, still on crutches. I mean, heโ€™s, heโ€™s gonna be be out for a while here. And thereโ€™s really no timetable. So you hear that, youโ€™re starting to wonder if itโ€™s way more weeks, rather than just the 10 day i l periods.

Nestor Aparicio  03:34

Was there any point in May where I ever when they had the six man rotation where I thought, hey, theyโ€™re pretty healthy, like I never thought even Westbrook could get hurt. You know, it didnโ€™t baseball players donโ€™t get hurt. They do, but they donโ€™t. Itโ€™s not like football, where weโ€™re always crossing their fingers. This has been, I mean, by any stretch of any season, good, bad, young, old players. This has been a wild two months. It really has been. I

Luke Jones  03:56

mean, itโ€™s been difficult. Thereโ€™s no question about it. But look, I mean, go, go. Look at the Atlanta Braves right now, and look at some of the position player talent theyโ€™ve lost long term. It happens. And one thing that Brandon Hyde even addressed before Mondayโ€™s game, as the Orioles came home and beat the pants, beat the tar out of the White Sox was we were really healthy. Other than Batista last year. He said we were really healthy the year before that. Sometimes this is how it plays out. And marques thing felt like it was

Nestor Aparicio  04:28

the only thing that went wrong that year. Was the only thing you could go wrong. It really like I still will look back if I donโ€™t know Nick Marquez, I donโ€™t think Iโ€™ve ever met Nick Marquez. Honestly, he he kind of came in right around then, when they threw me out. If I ever met him, I always think of him and that season and our night with that giant rat in New York at Yankee Stadium, which feels like a minute ago, but it was 10 years ago. You know, one thing can be a huge difference maker in any of it. And obviously the thing here is rushman not hitting the ball right now. And. Team not hitting the ball and but the injuries will be and I said this before they had the two injuries over the weekend. I said this, you on Friday, I said they already got it built in. If they take a face or three, four games next month, I mean, they theyโ€™re not supposed to win the World Series now, as constructed now, they really are. I donโ€™t think the fan base has changed its sort of expectations of weโ€™re great in June to we were great, and now weโ€™re just kind of slapping along a little bit, yeah. I

Luke Jones  05:27

mean, I guess I think thatโ€™s a little defeatist, though, because who is winning the World Series in the Al right? I mean, who do you love? Like, who do you think is this amazing team? And when I say this

Nestor Aparicio  05:38

moment, there are three starters could be healthy burns on target, healthy Rodriguez rested it on target, and effin looking like Evelyn. And if they would, Kramer, and thatโ€™d probably be okay by the middle of October. I so as defeatist as we are, Westbrook could be, I mean, we could talk about it in those terms of itโ€™s a month from now. Think about a month ago. Think about two, you know, give it a month. Let it settle in. Let them play these bad teams. Let them just get to the finish line. Your game, upper game back on the Yankees. Theyโ€™re going to play big games two weeks from now. The other Yankees games coming up on Yankee Stadium after the Dallas game here in the third week of September. I mean, and to your point, all along, I sound like you now, and they could stumble into October like Colorado did 30 years ago, or Arizona did last year, even Texas a little bit, and just catch fire and just win two out of three for a couple days. Itโ€™s all they need to do. They need to win two out of three in October, two out of three, two out of three, two out of three, and they win the World Series.

Luke Jones  06:37

Literally. Yeah, couple things. I mean, you said a month, and itโ€™d be apropos to mention this. I think back, and itโ€™s a different sport, but things can change a lot in a month. And I think back to last Christmas and what the Kansas City Chiefs looked like that day, right? Sure, but Iโ€™m talking specifically last year. I mean, Kansas City looked how they looked, and then a month later, they were beating the Ravens on their home field. Ravens looked like the best team in football. Had been for weeks. You never know. I mean, thatโ€™s why they play the games. But I want to go back to something you said, because you mentioned burns, you mentioned a healthy, healthy Grayson Rodriguez, we need to start mentioning Zach Eflin first right now, because what he did on Sunday, albeit I get it, itโ€™s the Rockies, but itโ€™s still pitching at Coors Field, thin air coming off of an IL stint with shoulder inflammation. You donโ€™t really know what youโ€™re going to to get. And he was fantastic. He was outstanding in that performance. So I look at this right now, and Iโ€™m even going to put Grayson Rodriguez aside for the moment, because again, we donโ€™t know, right? We we think heโ€™s throwing heโ€™s making progress. Thereโ€™s still optimism that heโ€™s going to be back later in the month, but itโ€™s still going to be later in the month, so you donโ€™t know exactly how itโ€™s going to look. So even if we put him aside right now, you give me a healthy Zach Eflin, who has been outstanding for the Orioles, you give me Corbin Burns, who was better on Monday? Was it peak Corbin burns? No, but certainly an improvement over what weโ€™d seen here in recent outings. And Albert Suarez. Letโ€™s letโ€™s start calling it what it is. Albert Suarez has been that good, you know, right now, if the Orioles started a playoff series today, heโ€™d be one of their top three. I mean, no questions asked. So

Nestor Aparicio  08:24

Venezuela, you canโ€™t let him in. Oh, Iโ€™m sorry, thatโ€™s so itโ€™s media pitching,

Luke Jones  08:29

so you just look at that, and then, okay, yeah, Grayson Rodriguez, Iโ€™m, you know, I think theyโ€™re still optimistic. He canโ€™t have any setbacks. Thatโ€™s obvious, right? He you donโ€™t want him tweaking his hamstring cover in first base and a PFP or anything like that. But theyโ€™re in a position where the rotation looks better than it did a few weeks ago. The bullpen is still a major question, but you know it in fairness, the bullpen the last week to 10 days, itโ€™s been better, and theyโ€™ve gotten some decent performances. And even someone like a Gregory Soto has looked better. And even closed out the win on Sunday, what you know, wasnโ€™t a high leverage situation, but was higher leverage than heโ€™d been pitching. So thatโ€™s looked a little bit better. And you know, they need to get the bats going. And Monday was a great, a great start in that and certainly facing the Chicago White Sox helps who Iโ€™m just astonished, Nestor, we, weโ€™ve watched so much bad baseball, specifically the rebuild era of Orioles baseball. And three, you know, 100 well over 100 lost teams, the White Sox, having lost 41 of their last 45 games. Itโ€™s just that blows my mind just how bad they are. And this is truly one of those series. And you and I talk about this a lot when, whenever the Orioles are going up against a bad team, you say, Man, youโ€™d really like to sweep. This is one of those series where, if they donโ€™t sweep, and they only get. Two out of three, itโ€™ll kind of feel like a series loss, right? I mean, thatโ€™s how it felt,

Nestor Aparicio  10:03

like a stumble, and they were losing two nothing in the first inning, and theyโ€™re getting all around again and sure, and the fans are all there, itโ€™s a perfect day, and theyโ€™re finally home, and, um, yeah. And it was giveaway, you know, like all that stuff going on. They answered the bell on Monday, and, quite frankly, they answered the bell with the Grand Slam last week. Um, you know, there has been theyโ€™ve had moments. Because I remember last week and a half ago, before I left for vacation, Iโ€™m like, they havenโ€™t had a moment since July 4. You know what I mean? It felt like they had had a walk off and had a win. They hadnโ€™t had a I hadnโ€™t seen them do that or come back, and there had been a lot of bad bullpen efforts, in addition to a lot of injuries. Just a lot of bad news. Um, the good news comes every day. When you look at the standings, though, right? Like, really, that is the saving grace is, yeah, the skyโ€™s falling. The skyโ€™s falling. Theyโ€™re half game out of first place. So, like, the standings help them a lot. And the notion that there is a Calvary where weโ€™ve talked about this forever and ever, about calvaries, like, if what you have now isnโ€™t good enough, whatโ€™s coming over the hill? Well, you know, they they have some prosperity coming over the hill that will make them a better baseball team on October, the second, third, whatever day theyโ€™re going to play a month from now, they should be a better team than what they were last week, if that just from a composition standpoint. And dude, Slater, you know, Rivera, these guys that they brought in that always feel like an afterthought, and somebody else is paying them in a lot of cases, that could be helpful too. And mayo coming up and having his wind again and maybe hitting the ball a little bit holidays organized things that we would have questioned back in April and May. If we took person by person, player by player, position by position, and had our questions of April and May answered in October, they can still ring the bell in October, right? And I love when I put a status up. People think that Iโ€™m down on the team. Iโ€™m like, people donโ€™t listen to the show like I thought this team was great all year. I think itโ€™s tragic that theyโ€™ve had part of the Mojo taken away. But Iโ€™m not Lamar is not gone, and they have to play playoff games with Snoop. Theyโ€™re not at that level yet. Now, if they have to go, they have to go into October and Dean Kramerโ€™s their number one starter. They got problems.

Luke Jones  12:18

Or if, heaven forbid, Gunner, Gunner Henderson gets hurt, or something like that, right? So, yeah, Iโ€™m with you on that, and I think we need to continue to remember, like Monday is a great example of it. The Orioles were the first team to 80 wins in the American League on Monday, early evening. Now the Yankees won later in the day to stay a half game ahead, but you really just have to, I canโ€™t stress enough the importance of continuing to look around, and I donโ€™t mean that in a sense of scoreboard watching, but Iโ€™ve talked about this a lot as it pertains to the offense Nestor. Weโ€™ve talked about this for two or three months. You know, I was talking about this back in April and May, when, even back then certain segments of the fan base. And look, Iโ€™m not picking on Orioles fans here. I think itโ€™s the same way everywhere, because our country has become such an NFL football culture as it pertains to sports fandom, I think we lose sight of just how baseball works and understanding that, yes, the Orioles had a very rough month offensively in the month of August, but you still look at their stats compared to a lot of teams out there, it still wasnโ€™t that bad. It wasnโ€™t as bad as people wanted to make it out to be. And look when theyโ€™re only getting three or four hits in a night. I get it. Itโ€™s frustrating. Those guys are more frustrated than anyone when thatโ€™s happening. I asked Brandon Hyde about Adley rutschman on before Mondayโ€™s game, and he gave a two and a half minute long answer, talking about the work heโ€™s putting in and understanding that heโ€™s a catcher, and at times, theyโ€™ve got to kind of pull the reins back on him and say, Hey, you got a game tonight, right? I mean, so itโ€™s not about guys.

Nestor Aparicio  14:02

Those bank commercials are real, huh? Heโ€™s underneath just catching the 200 ball. Yeah, you know, the wall sit, or whatever. I do worry about anytime they start making commercials and theyโ€™re 21 years old, I get that RG, three Baker Mayfield thing, and Iโ€™m thinking, yeah, youโ€™re selling a lot of pizza, and youโ€™ve been in the big leagues a minute and a half and, you know, and youโ€™re boring, and you catch the ball and youโ€™re boring, and youโ€™re hitting 115 this month. So, like I always, the commercials can be a little weird in the modern era, I think. And they havenโ€™t had star players. Adam Jones, never had a commercial. No, none of them. They havenโ€™t had commercials here for players in years, because my buddy that gives all the money to Papa Johnโ€™s for that awful pizza. They didnโ€™t have a player they could even give the money to they didnโ€™t have a player that ate pizza.

Luke Jones  14:44

So when you look at all that, and you remind yourself that 2024 is not the year of offense in Major League Baseball, and Iโ€™ll continue to say that the numbers donโ€™t lie, and I get it, the Orioles are up and down and can. Are inconsistent at times. Thatโ€™s baseball again. Whenever I ask posed this question to people, no one really gives me an answer. And I donโ€™t mean you specifically, Nestor, just in general, say, what offense Do you covet? Like? What offense would you want the Orioles to be more like? And sometimes people will mention offenses, and Iโ€™m like, theyโ€™ve scored fewer runs in the Orioles this year. So look, theyโ€™ve got to be better. They know that you made this point, and I think itโ€™s a good one. About two weeks ago, we were looking at that stretch of Houston and the Dodgers. A week long stretch, the Astros clearly have played a lot better. Theyโ€™ve seized control the Al West. I think if thereโ€™s any team, and Iโ€™m going to include the Yankees in there, the Astros are the team they theyโ€™ve got the pedigree. Say what you want about their past and cheating and all that, but theyโ€™ve been there, and theyโ€™ve won World Series. They played deep in October of this current playoff field, the way itโ€™s shaping up to be. They are the team in the Al that has the pedigree, right? But we were talking about that stretch, and we were even saying, I think I even said to you, before you departed for your respite, I said, Man, we could be talking about a very different story here if the Orioles go one in six over that time, and thatโ€™s where Iโ€™m going to stick up for the Orioles a little bit here, as choppy as itโ€™s been since late June, and itโ€™s been very choppy, they still have not been in a position where theyโ€™ve been so woeful for three weeks, and suddenly they look up and the Yankees are six games up on them, and theyโ€™re clinging to the final wild card spot or something like that, for as much as

8

Nestor Aparicio  16:30

11 and 612, and five football team, right? Thereโ€™s still a very still. Theyโ€™re still very formidable, and theyโ€™re still as good as anybody else over three games, if they can get three of their best starters to the post in the most important games, wherever those games are, where, I mean, wherever they play them, whoever the draw is, I will still take my chances that if they get Westbrook back in the lineup and holidays healthy and available, and, you know, still a phenom, I thereโ€™s some pile divers in there. I have listen. I wrote my screed about you being asked to do double duty and me being locked down. By the way, I do appreciate that. Wnst got a question in on the on the baseball manager the other day, but I the the notion that the team canโ€™t win, or that there is some negativity in regard to the baseball team not being good enough at this point. This is, this is baseball. The injuries are part of this, other than the 84 tigers. You know, I havenโ€™t seen anybody just run away. And the Yankees, when they were $100 million better than everybody else, just run away and hide. And the Yankees arenโ€™t running away and hiding either. And I think the the interesting point you mentioned is the balance of all of this is that thereโ€™s not even any super team in the tournament. On the other side, right? Thereโ€™s no super team here. Itโ€™s literally going to be game one, your pitcher, my pitcher, whoโ€™s healthy, whoโ€™s not, where are the shadows, whoโ€™s going to score four runs today instead of three? Because thatโ€™s what playoff games are. Thatโ€™s what they always are, yeah,

Luke Jones  18:01

and I mean, on the other side of it, I mean, okay, the Dodgers, the Dodgers have come on. Arizonaโ€™s Come on, as much as I was really dismissive of the Diamondbacks, and I kept using them as an example, because they were so mediocre. The first half of the season, they played really good baseball. Since then, Padres have played good baseball, but the Dodgers have come on, but your point still stands. I mean, weโ€™re not talking about any teams here at this rate. Itโ€™s not looking like weโ€™re going to have 100 win team in Major League Baseball this year. So look when we when we say these things, weโ€™re also projecting out here, right? You just said it. Some of the guys are going to get back from injury. Now those guys need to come back, and they need to look like themselves. If Jordan Westbrookโ€™s a 200 hitter coming back the last week of September, because heโ€™s not 100% then you donโ€™t really have Jordan westburg back. Same with Danny Coulomb. Go down four

Nestor Aparicio  18:50

hits in an October game theyโ€™re gonna lose, you know what I mean, or unless they win one to nothing, but they need to hit the baseball and knock first. Yeah, every every team

Luke Jones  18:59

does. No one of the biggest misconceptions, and Iโ€™ve seen people write articles about this, is this constant thing that people say, well, that teamโ€™s too reliant on the home run. Go, look at teams that have won in the postseason in recent years. Theyโ€™ve hit home runs. Go, look at how many home runs the Texas Rangers hit last year. Look, Iโ€™m not saying thatโ€™s the only way to score runs or or that you want. You donโ€™t want to be more versatile in how you score runs, but you better be able to hit some home runs, because I just donโ€™t think youโ€™re winning in October if you donโ€™t hit home runs well. And

Nestor Aparicio  19:28

this team has capacity to do that, and thatโ€™s success, yes, but,

Luke Jones  19:32

but they have to be better, right? I mean, Gunner Henderson has to get back to more the player that he looked like the first half of the season. Weโ€™ve talked at length about Adley rochman, and Iโ€™ve asked about Adley rutschman, and Adley rutschman on Monday got on base three times. Now do I think that means heโ€™s fixed? Well, check back with me in a week, check back with me in two weeks. We need to see a better version of Corbin burns on the pitching side. And yes, it was better on Monday, albeit against the Chicago White Sox. They need Zach. Shoulder to continue to feel good, and so we could pitch like he did on Sunday, which was fantastic. So yes, there are questions. Yes, there are warts. Yes, the injuries are such a big part of this. Thereโ€™s no doubt about that Kyle Bradish isnโ€™t walking through that door. And the same with John means, and the same with Tyler wells, even though I saw Tyler wells and John means in the clubhouse, and was good to see them, but you know that theyโ€™re not pitching in 2024 so yes, thereโ€™s so much attrition that theyโ€™ve dealt with, and thatโ€™s part of it. Itโ€™s not an excuse. Itโ€™s literally part of their reality, right? I mean, to ignore it is, as you mentioned a few minutes ago, itโ€™d be like saying, Why arenโ€™t the Ravens winning when Tyler hutleyโ€™s at quarterback rather than Lamar Jackson, itโ€™s like, what do you expect? So again, as weโ€™ve said, itโ€™s baseball. You let it play out. Yes, this teamโ€™s been mediocre since late June. At the same time, while weโ€™ve talked about the fact that they havenโ€™t won three in a row since right coming out of the all star break, they won the last game against the Yankees. Had the break, and then they won two in Arlington. Thatโ€™s the last time they won three in a row. However, they also havenโ€™t lost three in a row since, I think, July 24 through the 26th something like that point is they havenโ€™t, you know, for all the injuries theyโ€™ve had, for all the mediocrity that weโ€™ve talked about, for all the pitching concerns and and flat out woeful stretches of pitching that theyโ€™ve had over the last two months, theyโ€™ve still hovered right around where they are right now, which is 2021, games over 500 you know, theyโ€™ve dropped down to 19 or 18, a couple at a couple points, but theyโ€™ve kept themselves in position where, you know, there are 9293 94 win team, which is Not last year, I get that right. Itโ€™s not 101 wins. Itโ€™s not 106 or seven, like they were on the pace to do in late June, but itโ€™s still right there. And as I said, as they come out of Labor Day, they and the Yankees are the only two teams in the Al with 80 wins. And Iโ€™m not saying throw a parade, but it just means who are the dominant teams? You know, we can go through every single contender in the Al right now and they have question marks. I mean, even the Astros, who I just mentioned, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, their health. I mean, theyโ€™ve lost guys over the course of the year. You know, Iโ€™m not saying the Orioles are going to be the favorite. Iโ€™m not saying the Orioles are going to look like the best team going in October, or arenโ€™t going to have question marks, even when they get some of these guys back, because I still have my major doubts about their bullpen, for example, but let it play out, see if they can get themselves healthy. My goodness, you canโ€™t lose anyone else to injury at this point, and if that happens now weโ€™re talking about whether that personโ€™s coming back, as I mentioned, remote remote areas, whoโ€™s still on crutches, but you know, weโ€™ll see how this plays out. We know their schedule until they play the Yankees. You know, when weโ€™re heading into the final month of the or final week of the regular season, their schedule is very favorable on paper. Letโ€™s see what they do. You know, Iโ€™m not expecting them to go nuts, but I certainly fully expect them to one hold on to a playoff spot at the very least. And two, you know, I think the Yankees are a lot like the Orioles in the sense that I donโ€™t think theyโ€™re good enough that theyโ€™re going to run away with it, even if they end up taking the division. I think the Orioles are going to stay right there with them. So letโ€™s see how it plays out. You know, letโ€™s, letโ€™s keep in mind this is also supposed to be fun for as much as itโ€™s felt not so fun the last couple months, theyโ€™re still right there. Everything is still in front of them. As far as what they can theyโ€™re capable of potentially doing. They need to get healthy. They need guys to start their stars, to start playing like stars again. And if they do that, then hey, Buck Showalter always used to say itโ€™s all about getting October. And then you roll the dice and you see who gets hot. And at this point, I donโ€™t know who that hot team is in the Al, so letโ€™s see it play out. And to your point, things could look a lot different a month from now. As weโ€™re talking about the Orioles getting ready to play October baseball, weโ€™ll

Nestor Aparicio  23:53

get to the bullpen in a minute. We got a lot of football to talk about. Lukeโ€™s going to be covering the game on Thursday night. We have full coverage all week long, as weโ€™ve always done here from the very beginning, whether Weโ€™ve accessed or not. And Iโ€™ve written about that, and Iโ€™ll continue to write about that. Eric decostas Getting a love letter for me this week that heโ€™ll love in advance of the Pearl Jam show next week as well. Iโ€™ll just say this before we break, because I want to do bullpen with you. And weโ€™ll weโ€™ll talk some more baseball, for sure. Weโ€™re going to mix in some ravens, get some chiefs in here. Barry Bloomโ€™s going to join us this week. Matt scurra came on to talk about Joe DeSantis and his loss and the importance of offensive line. Heโ€™s doing well down in Charlotte. So we got a lot of things going on here. Iโ€™ll just say this about Monday, and Iโ€™ll probably begin with this. We talk about pitching, but Monday, Iโ€™m watching the game on TV, because thatโ€™s how I watch it. You were at the game, because thatโ€™s how you watch it. Look like a lovely day. I didnโ€™t know anything about the giveaway and the lines and all that. When the game started, it felt like a playoff game. I looked at it on TV, and the shadows were weird because it was a three oโ€™clock game. I looked at it. Iโ€™m just where the shadows were with the pictures in the box. Iโ€™m like, it looks like playoff baseball, like a time of it. And then the vibe when burns took the ball the first couple of pitches, like. Like it, and then if it went to poop, because they gave up a couple runs and threw the ball around, but it had a little pepper, did it not? Or Am I nuts? On Monday TV, it

Luke Jones  25:08

was a nice atmosphere. And Iโ€™ll tell you another recent game, I mean. And it sounds kind of funny to say it, but that Santander Grand Slam game against Houston, the Orioles gave fans nothing to cheer about over the first six, seven innings of that ball game, until, of course, the big blow in the eighth inning. The crowd was electric that night. I mean, has it been a sell out every night? No, of course not. And they had 35,000 there on it was itโ€™s a nice crowd, but it doesnโ€™t look that way, because they donโ€™t open the left field, upper deck right. So those

Nestor Aparicio  25:38

are the free the bird seat. So theyโ€™ll be the first gone once.

Luke Jones  25:41

But no, you said it. I mean, it was a nice atmosphere. And you could, you can tell, you know, again, how many people in the in the stands on a given night and schools back in session, all that, Iโ€™ll hear all that, right, but for the fans that are there, good atmosphere was a fun, fun day, way easier playing the Chicago White Sox than anyone else right now. I mean, my goodness, I canโ€™t stress that enough, that team is Iโ€™ve watched a lot of bad baseball, going back to 2018 specifically, but boy, that is just another element, and the Orioles acted accordingly after a slow start and win 13 to three. But, yeah, it was a fun day. It was a giveaway all that. But

Nestor Aparicio  26:25

I feel bad for Larry sheets, his kid, to be honest with you, sitting there next to Cal poor guy. Hey,

Luke Jones  26:30

heโ€™s one of the few legit major leaguers they have, right? I mean, he is, and he swung the bat well against the Orioles on Monday. So, but, but yeah. I mean, itโ€™s good day for Orioles fans. And you know, nice to see the Orioles come home on a high note after winning the series in Colorado. So, you know, up and down over the weekend with the injuries and all that also got Zach Eflin back, Jacob Webb started a rehab assignment. So some positives as well. But, but, yeah, uh, down to what weโ€™re down to under 30 games to go, you know. So itโ€™s go time, itโ€™s sprint time, and the Oreos are hoping to get some guys back here. But most of those guys, Iโ€™ll just point this out, and Iโ€™ll leave you with this, most of those guys still talking about the second half of September. So itโ€™s still going to be, still going to be a couple weeks for some of these guys, which just means itโ€™s even more important for none of these guys to have any setbacks.

Nestor Aparicio  27:25

You know, I had Larry sheets on my stratamatic team back in 87 and 88 you donโ€™t remember Larry sheets. Do you like? You know, you you always feel like youโ€™re as old as me, because youโ€™re like smart and wisdom and all that, and you have books, but you donโ€™t remember Larry sheets. You were like a tie. You were a little tyke. We see where your favorite Oriole in 1987 when you four?

Luke Jones  27:48

I mean, no, I remember Larry sheets.

Nestor Aparicio  27:52

Larry sheets, I never met Larry sheets, which is even crazier, like Iโ€™ve never crazy. Itโ€™s weird, you know,

Luke Jones  28:03

Iโ€™ve said that. Iโ€™ve said this to you though my my wheelhouse, where I really, consciously, really start remembering day to day baseball is right around 8990 you know, when I was six, seven years old, I remember I had memories before that, but thatโ€™s when I remember day to day following.

Nestor Aparicio  28:18

Ray, hold on. Do you remember the devil percentage? Deborah? Stadium. You remember that the foul ball, fair ball? Yes. So you remember that? Okay, thatโ€™s good. Thatโ€™s a thatโ€™s a mark of delineation that Joe Enoch will appreciate if he hears this piece, uh, heโ€™s Luke. Iโ€™m Nestor. Weโ€™re gonna continue baseball, football, football, baseball, ravens, Orioles television at the practices. Heโ€™s Luke. Iโ€™m Nestor, a.

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