It’s the All Star break and the Baltimore Orioles are entrenched in the cellar of the American League East. With the trading deadline looming and a big offseason ahead for Camden Yards renovations and upgrades, Luke Jones and Nestor discuss what’s happening off the field and how this woebegone franchise will sell credibility for the moves ahead given the disastrous early ownership tenure of David Rubenstein and the evaporating leadership of the front office.
Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the Orioles’ off-field issues and trade prospects. They highlighted the team’s struggles, including a 9-game losing streak and the need for a new team president to improve public relations. They debated potential trades, such as Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins, and Dean Kremer, emphasizing the importance of club control and future value. They also mentioned the impact of Brian Baker’s trade for a high draft pick and the need for a strategic approach to rebuilding. The conversation included personal anecdotes and plans for upcoming events, including a Live Aid-themed gathering in Eldersburg.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Orioles, trade deadline, Brian Baker, Adley Rutschman, Ramon Laureano, bullpen flexibility, club control, rebuild strategy, ownership issues, community engagement, Live Aid, Eldersburg event, Baltimore Sun, baseball operations, fan expectations.
SPEAKERS
Speaker 1, Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
Welcome home. We are W, N, S T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive. Positively into an all star game week. All Star break. Little weird, this whole battery thing down at Lance, the only stadium I’ve never been in. I’ve even been in Arlington. Almost got thrown out at one point, but I did go into the new Arlington stadium. So Luke and I in the, you know, in previous years we’d be down there be 112 degrees hotter than Georgia asphalt, but there would be Waffle House involved, and probably some really good peaches, although my wife’s been getting some really good peaches here at the farmers market. I tell you who’s a peach. Mike McKellen, over at 1623, brewing walk to w, b, a, l, with Vince Bagley and all that. I love getting together with him, telling some old Chris Thomas stories. We’re gonna be doing that over some ice cold refreshments on the day after the all star game. Wednesday, we will be in Eldersburg at 1623, I got a handful of these Back to the Future scratch offs. I’m kind of waiting out the Ravens wins. I’m going to get the Roz over to Maryland lottery. Friday, we’re going to be doing breakfast at Zeke’s coffee in laraville, I will have a full house there. Cal former, deposed cartoonist for the Baltimore Sun, as well as Dan Rodricks, deposed columnist from the Baltimore Sun, as well as we’re seeing always welcomed cartoonist and coffee drinker and Thomas Rhodes, we’re going to talk about coffee. We’ll be at six coffee on Friday, and my Eldersburg show is going to be great because I’m wearing my Getty Lee Major League Baseball I know you dig this shirt. I mean, some people think this is a little freaky, deaky, but it’s cool. I’m a Getty guy. And, you know, I think about this Eldersburg thing and the Live Aid, the juice was getting squeezed out of that all day, Sunday, Luke, you were born the year before, live eight or a year and a half for life. Does Live Aid mean anything to you? Being a rock and roll guy, or it’s just, did you watch the oz fest from Wildwood? I mean, I need to know, because you do have a little bit of a musical heart. I did not, but I will tell you what, what in was it? Oh, five that they did live eight. Live eight. Was an eight. I thought, right? So was it eight or five? I don’t even want I’m pretty sure 05
Luke Jones 02:07
okay, right? Because I guess it was at that point, it would have been, what the 20th anniversary, 20th, right, right? So I’ll tell you, I It’s funny because I was actually getting to Wildwood. It was that Saturday, and if you recall Pink Floyd played Roger Waters reunited with Gilmore and Richard Wright and Nick Mason, and they played. And that was the summer my father had passed away the previous November, and you know, July
Nestor Aparicio 02:33
2, 2005 you are. You’re always right about dates. I never argue a date with Luke Jones.
Luke Jones 02:38
But because it resonated so much with me, because this was the first time, this is the first time that Roger Waters had played with the rest of Pink Floyd. My goodness, you would know better than I would Nestor had been decades, right? I mean, so they played together, and that was what, eight months after my father had passed away. I mean, it was emotional for me sitting there watching it on TV, but it was for my mom and my brother and sister too. So, yeah, I remember that, you know, but, yeah, but Live Aid the original I was not quite two years old, but I do remember that 20 years later, because of that being the very, very, very rare time, yeah, really, maybe the only time in my lifetime that, you know, we’ve, we’ve seen Pink Floyd reunite and and so obviously that ship long sailed long ago, but it’s pretty special. But yeah, the original, I don’t have any memories of. Unfortunately,
Nestor Aparicio 03:32
I went drinking with Joe Buck the night before. Strangely enough, I was supposed to see Brian Adams play at the Camden shed, and I spent the night in Philadelphia, and we walked up to the Four Seasons and went into the bar. It was all rock stars, Dave Matthews Band. All these people were in there, and Joe Buck walks in, and I’m the only guy in the room Joe Buck recognizes, and Joe Buck’s the only guy in the room I recognize in Philadelphia. And we wind up sitting down, and my wife looked at him and said, slam a lamb, a ding dong. She said that to Joe Buck over after he bought his beer and a charcuterie as I remember. So last time I saw Joe Buck in a while, that’s not true. I saw Joe Bucha at the night that Bucha D and Eric the Costa ran for me out on the veranda. Joe Bucha came out of that kickoff video and said to me, did you see that? Were you in there? Because he didn’t understand the new kickoffs we’re gonna kick off football season right now. We’re gonna kick off all star game week. We’re gonna have some fun, some beer. I just bring up the live eight story, a live age story, because I attended Live Aid. My dear friend Richard Abrahams and his brother David Abrahams are going to be coming over to 1623 with all of their London paraphernalia. They were at the London Live Aid. I was at the Philadelphia Live Aid. John Allen was probably on a stage at scandals in Ocean City, playing with Child’s Play at that point, but we’re all going to get together and talk some rock and roll out in Eldersburg on Wednesday, so day after the all star break, why not have some rock and roll conversation out in Eldersburg? Probably talk about some beer and crab. Takes in Carroll County as well. All right, um, you and I did the Kyle sours thing. We did the Elias kind of sort of trade thing, maybe, and O’Hearn a little bit. If there’s anything you want to get on the All Star game or Atlanta. Let’s do that now, because we got Raven starting in a week, and that’s going to, like, overshadow all the trade deadline deals and whatever happens. Because, to your point, nobody here is expecting a blockbuster, right? Like we’re not expecting ruchman and cowser to be dealt off for Bobby Witt, right? I mean, we’re not. There’s none of that that’s going to happen next week. It’s going to be piecemeal. O’Hearn for a bag of donuts. Sagano, if ethylene selfie, if somebody wants to bet on him, take his money like there the fire sale part of where it began with Brian Baker. And we analyzed that one for longer. They probably should have, but it’s the beginning of the rebuild for opening day of next year. And I’ll tell you what, dude, if there’s nothing else that I’ll kick off after the Kyle Stowers thing here during an extended all star break in Rogers. That would be a reason to keep Elias ran to think he’s a genius, because Rogers might be their opening day starter next year. He might go eight and two the rest of the year with a two and a half era, and be Dallas cycle. He might be,
Luke Jones 06:16
yeah. I mean, I and I think it’s important not to try to look at the all this as a binary kind of thing, yes or no. I mean, it’s always
Nestor Aparicio 06:24
moving. It’s moving right now. Kyle Stowers is moving right now.
Luke Jones 06:28
And I mean, going back to when Brandon Hyde was traded, I I said to you, I wrote it at the time at Baltimore positive.com I mean, for me, from that point when, you know, they weren’t 18 under 500 at that point, but they’re what, 14 under whatever it was when they when they can hide, I looking at it realistically, understanding that they weren’t going to save their season at that point in time, I said all along, you know, my biggest objective, forget about the trade deadline or anything like that. Get your young core pointed in the right direction the rest of the way. And you know, Trevor Rogers wasn’t someone that I had in mind, but there’s a perfect example of something that isn’t saving their season, but can make you feel better about 2026, right? So,
Nestor Aparicio 07:10
so Brad is coming back and making seven starts with that too, right?
Luke Jones 07:13
Exactly. You know, Kyle Bradish, or, you know, we’ll see where Grayson Rodriguez is. I mean, all of that, right? I mean, how about Adley rutschman coming back and continuing where he left off in June, where it was the best he’d looked at the plate in about a year. So so there’s a lot with that, but you know one thing, I want to go back to the baker thing, just for one, one element of it that you and I didn’t touch upon in our previous discussion. It has nothing to do with Brian Baker himself, but it has to do with the fact that there was club control left with him. So as much as we’ve all talked about O’Hearn Mullins, you mentioned Sugano and effer Charlie Morton in there, because Charlie Morton pitching way better than either of those guys right now, and is also a pending free agent. You know, we’ve talked about the relievers, whether we’re talking about Dominguez or Soto or or Andrew Kittredge, who there’s a team option attached to him. But, you know, you look at his age, you question, is he going to be back? So I think those are the obvious names that we point to as it pertains to the trade deadline. But with Baker being someone being dealt that has club control, I think that’s where it is a little interesting. And look, I wholeheartedly agree with you, you know, they’re not going to trade, you know, and you and I, you know, it almost became a running joke that we would keep bringing up Colton cowser as the example. They’re not going to trade anyone like that. I don’t think, right? I mean, they make a trade of that magnitude. It’s probably something in the off season, right? It’s probably you’re dealing a couple young position players to get pitching right, something of that nature, which I just don’t think that’s going to come to fruition in the next couple of weeks. I think that’s going to be a over the winter proposition, if anything. But if you deal Brian Baker, you know what’s not to say that in the right for the right offer, Ramon Laureano could be traded, right? I mean, look, Laureano has been a fantastic addition. Of all the signings that they made that didn’t work out this past winter, Laureano at $4 million and that was great, and they’ve got an option. So that said, Do we all look here with full conviction that he’s going to duplicate what he did this year next year, and that’s where you look at it and say, Look, I’m not, let me be clear. I’m not looking just to trade them, just for the sake of doing it. But if there’s a team that has a real need for an outfielder and they’re willing to give you something that’s quite attractive for Ramon Laureano, then I’m probably doing it, right? I mean, it’s, again, not something middling, something where you say, oh, basically what they did with Baker, where they say, the rays, want to give us the 37th overall pick. I get it. That’s not going to be something that helps us next year, but that could be really, really attractive for us two or three years from now. So, you know, I think Laureano is. That category. I think Ramona RIAs is in that category. You know, even though he’s not a pending free agent, I think Dean Kramer I’d put in that group. I’m not saying I’m inclined to trade them, but if there’s some team that wants to, wants to value Dean Kramer for more than what he is, I’m at least listening and, you know, I think the name that’s on the higher end, that I’m not buying for a second, that they would actually do, but, you know, some people have mentioned Felix Bautista again through the lens of, if someone absolutely overwhelms you with an offer, do you consider it, right? So I just think that
Nestor Aparicio 10:37
they got Cano and Povich out of, you know, picture two years ago, yeah, who’s been
Luke Jones 10:43
DFA multiple times since then, right? I mean, there’s volatility there. So, so I’m not, I’m not. This is not me advocating to deal those guys that I just mentioned. But I think the fact that they did deal Baker, I think, tells you where their head space. It at least tells you they’re willing to listen on guys be that are under team control beyond this year. And
Nestor Aparicio 11:04
I just think that, well, that’s why I brought up even cows are in Richmond. I mean, let’s play a game here that if I were over 1057, and trying to get phone calls today, and I had to, you know, stir things up all star break week. It’s slow. I had to stir things up here this week. If I were, like, locking four and just shooting off my mouth all day, really a pot stir if all the general managers got together and they they decided to disband the union and put all the players out, and they had a new draft, a draft for players, not money, but a draft for players you’d want to have on your team. Adley rutschman was a one one as a 20 year old player, 21 year old player, competing with 17, 1819, year old players. They said, you’re the best player. Unquestioned. Everybody loved to pick all that. Not everybody liked this kid that the Nationals took as well. And all the money and the slotting and all the the ghost of Mike Flanagan and Peter Angelo’s come back to me when the worst teams aren’t getting the best players, and that’s a whole that that was all I gathered from watching the draft on Sunday night, is how broken this the sport is when the worst teams don’t pick the best players and because they can’t afford them, or feel like they want to be Cheap, or the pool money, whatever the excuse is, the Nationals did not get the best player. Now that being said, Where would Adley ruchman get picked if all the general managers could get together right now and pick players, whether it’s Mike Trout, whether it’s Otani, whether it’s Aaron judge, whether it’s Bobby Witt, because you’re buying, you know, green bananas and take the neck. What am I buying the next five years out of this player? I mean, Richmond’s 2627 right in the middle of the wheelhouse, wherever you think he is. He’s got next five years. Got tread on him, wherever you are. Dude, I think he has played himself back to being a third round draft pick, a fifth round, you know, Nick, not even one, one or first round, but he’s not an aircraft carrier. I love that that I heard all that jargon that’s for the first time in a while. Yeah, that’s I heard that jargon on Sunday night for the first time in a while. Aircraft who are the aircraft carriers? Now, Henderson would get picked. Westburg Would you pick? I mean, watchmen will be sitting around like the left handed kid in my little league wiffle ball. He’d be sitting up against the wall, because no one would pick him right now. And that’s what you’re talking about with trades, right like, who’s going to pick that player for this player? How do I trade you this for that? I mean, it’s really no different than Little League pick them. And if Richmond were involved, he wouldn’t, even if stocks way, way, way down, there’d be people would say, give me Mayo first over the next five years. I’ll fix him. Give me Stowers. I’ll fix him. I
Luke Jones 13:52
think it’s always more complicated when you are talking about a catcher, because, you know, for me, look, let’s, let’s look at Adley rutschman For what he’s actually been this year. His defense has been better than it was last year. The metrics support that. So the defense has trended up. Offensively. Has he been better than he was in the second half of last year? No question. But has it been what he was in 20, you know, 22 through the first half of last year. No, you know, I think you still have to recognize catcher being a premium position in terms of, there aren’t a lot of catchers that give you a whole lot offensively. So I think he would still be more highly regarded than you might think. But yeah, I’m not going to sit here and try to say, oh, one, one, you know, yay, yay. You took him over. Bobby Witt, right? With hindsight, being 2020, so, you know, as far as your exercise, I mean, it’s tough because, you know, I mean, are we looking at looking at it through the lens of an Expansion Draft, or, you know, trying to look at what he would project as, what would he be drafted? I mean, he, you. I think we also need to understand what the baseball draft is, right? We talk about this with every sport where there’s an unknown, there’s a certain element of art that still goes with it. As much as you try to make it a science, you know that that that’s the kind of language the Ravens have used for years and years and years. As much as they look at analytics and they have player tracking data and they have modeling, and they look at 25 years of past drafts to try to look at what works, what doesn’t work, what’s a smart thing to do, what’s not a smart thing to do. I mean, it’s one reason why the Ravens hardly ever trade up anymore, because history suggests, unless you’re doing it to get a quarterback, it’s a losing proposition more often than not so, and it is even when you take a quarterback, when you need a quarterback, you need a quarterback, right? So that the rules kind of go out the window under that scenario. So, but I guess the point I’m trying to make is think Adley rutschman still has value. I think he’s still perceived favorably, but not where he was two years ago. I mean, that’s that’s all schemes for him. Dog, yeah, you know, it’s a captain obvious statement. So, you know, and that’s where I think it’s kind of interesting, where they’re going to be not so much the trade deadline, because, again, I fully expect we’re going to see them make multiple trades, but I don’t know if they’re going to be able to trade F Lynn. I don’t know if they’re gonna be able to trade Sagan. Now, you know, Charlie Morton, I think they can trade all thing be all things being equal. But is a team going to want to take on the money or the Orioles? Are the Orioles going to be willing to throw in an extra $1.5 million in the deal, and they might get a better prospect in return? So, you know, O’Hearn will absolutely be dealt. You know, barring something bizarre happening Cedric Mullins, I think some team will take them on. But let’s face it, Let’s call a spade a spade. Cedric Mullins has not played very well since what the second week of May. Go look at his number. Since then, they’re ugly. So you know, you go down the list. I mean, Kittredge, Dominguez and Soto can they? Will they be able to deal, say, at least one or two of those guys? Sure. I would venture to say they can, will they trade all three of them? I don’t
Nestor Aparicio 17:03
was Austin Hayes hitting the cover off the ball when they dealt him off last year. No, no, no. I mean, so like, you know a little bit of it is you’re buying potential. Is all you’re buying. If you’re independent race here, you’re not buying a sure thing no matter what.
Luke Jones 17:16
Oh, and that’s and that’s why, and obviously it’s not something we touched on, because it happened a little while ago, but the knee injury for Gary Sanchez, I mean, say what you want. I mean, I don’t think anyone wants to see Gary Sanchez as their full time catcher, right? And the Orioles were in the position that he was their starting catcher, because Adley rutschman was on the i l but until he got hurt, the one thing you can say is what he was hitting the heck out of the ball. So, was there something? Was there a deal to be made for him? You know, where, if the Orioles, again, if they’re willing to throw in a million dollars with, you know, with Sanchez, could you have gotten something for him? Sure, I think that would have been plausible. But now, when he’s out, as long as he’s projected to be out, I assume that’s not going to happen. Now, you know, Ryan mountcastle, there was a scenario two months ago where I would have said, maybe mount Castle can get on a heater, the way that he’s apt to do, and you can deal him at the trade deadline, but he’s been hurt, you know, he’s been out two months with a hamstring injury, and wasn’t hitting before then, so he has zero trade value right now. So, you know, you kind of look at it through that lens. I just think it’s interesting, you know, because of what they did with the baker trade, that the fact that he was, he wasn’t nailed, you know, he wasn’t someone that was coming off the books, right? I mean, he was a, not a pending free agent, but they, they got something in return that they said, Hey, this is worth it to do this. Well, these guys that don’t have options to become a lot less valuable. And that’s the other thing too. I mean, especially in the bullpen Nestor, we’ve seen this, and we even saw this at times with the buck Showalter era, where the and obviously things were different than you couldn’t option guys, or you could option guys that will then now you have a limit on the number of times you can send one, someone to the miners and all that. But we know we all talked about, that’s when we first started talking about the Norfolk shuttle. I Norfolk shuttle. I mean, do cat and Buck would have, you know, they’d have guys on the taxi squad, they’d have a reliever staying in a hotel in whatever city they were playing, knowing that they were gonna had every intention of activating that guy a day or two later, just because they did it from a strategic standpoint. So it’s nice to have optionable pieces in your bullpen. And at times, the Orioles, when they’ve had flexibility, generally speaking, their bullpen has been, I say, better, but it’s, it’s had more flexibility, and it’s, you’re able to maintain it better. You’re probably able to sustain betters because you have, you know, you can cycle in some long relievers that can give you innings when you’re in a position where you know you have a blowout, you know what, good or bad, but, but when you have a bullpen full of guys that are out of options, and it makes it tough. I mean, it’s one reason we saw them option yen, your Cano a few weeks back, right? I mean, I don’t think they option Cano because they thought he was pitching horribly, even though he. Hasn’t had the year that he had a couple years ago. Of course, that was way more that their bullpen was fried, and they needed a fresh arm at the time, and and he was kind of not pitching great, and they said, Okay, let’s send them to Norfolk for a respite, and we’ll get a fresh arm, and he’ll be back up here in two weeks, and that’s how it ended up playing out. So I just think you have to keep an open mind with the trade deadline. I mean, all the guys that are on expiring deals, it’s easy to say, trade those guys, right? And they’re going to trade those guys, and, you know, if they come away with a few pieces that can help them over the next couple years, then great. But I think it is interesting to at least entertain the possibility of, some team comes calling and really needs a right handed hitting outfielder, because their guy just went on the i L right, and I don’t know who that team is. I’m just, I’m speaking in generalities, but Ramon Laureano, he’s batting 284, he’s got an 860, 7o, p, s. He’s been fantastic Nestor. I’m not going to bet my mortgage that Ramon Laureano is going to do that again next year, as he’s going to be in his age 31 season, based on how he’s performed over the last three or four years. So but do you
Nestor Aparicio 21:07
think he’s a pile diver? Do you think he’s a fourth outfielder? Is he a guy you want to keep around in case, whatever, guys have been getting hurt? Cows are all this stuff. Let me be clear,
Luke Jones 21:16
all things being equal, I’m fine if you want to do that, and I’m fine planning on that. My point is sign another one in the office. If the phone rings and someone wants to give you way more than what you think Ramon Laureano is actually worth, then I think you need to do it. That’s what I’m saying here. I’m not eagerly seeking out trading Laureano or Arias or Dean Kramer or certainly not Felix Bautista, but I’m at least taking the phone call, is what I’m saying, right? I mean, this, this, this organization’s not in the position. I mean, it’s a last place team. They’re nine games under 500 there are only a few guys on this roster right now where I’d say, No, I’m not trading that guy, right? I mean, very few guys on this roster, I’m saying, No, I’m not trading it that guy. My whole thing with our, you know, our banter that we’ve had about Colton cowser has been much more anchored in the thought process that I don’t think that’s the kind of deal you’re going to make at the trade deadline. I think that’s a deal that’s made in December, if there’s a deal to be made, where you trade Colton cowser for a pitcher, right? So that’s where more So my argument has been, but other than gunner Henderson and Jackson holiday, and I’d be in agreement with you. I mean, I think Jordan Westberg is really, really close to that category, too. I mean, the only thing holding me back is just needs to stay on the field and stay healthy, right? And you think about his injuries, other than the hamstring, last year, he had the broken hand hit by a pitch. I mean, that’s not like, Oh, that guy’s in bad shape. He’s injury prone, you know, Snake bitten, maybe, but not something where I question his health and conditioning and all that, and the same thing with him sliding head first. But you know, other than those three guys you know, out here an offer for just about anyone, right? But that said, realistically speaking, that doesn’t mean they’re going to trade a dozen guys from the roster, right? I mean, I think if I had to set an over, under and, you know, go, go, look at the the obvious ones. Oh, Hearn Mullins, Morton, Sagano, Eflin, Kittredge, Dominguez, Soto, guys that you would trade if you get in any kind of an okay offer for, you know, that’s eight guys right there. I’d still set the over, under on trade. You know, those guys being traded probably, what, four and a half maybe, right? I mean, you, I think you said five guys being traded. I mean, I think that sounds about right, because it’s not easy to do it, right. I mean, it’s, it’s tough to make trades. I mean, there are a lot of, a lot of moving parts, and you gotta, you have to find a partner. The finances have to work out the way that. You have to know what you want to write exactly so, so there’s just, there’s what you don’t want, right, exactly. So, and that’s my point with like Laureano, like, don’t trade loriano, just for the sake of doing it. If you don’t get a great offer for for him, by all means, hold on to him next year, and he’s your fourth outfielder. Awesome, right? I’m, I’m not in well, you get Tyler O’Neill under contract, you better have some other options. Oh, no question, no question. And that’s part of, that’s why, that’s why I want to see Dylan beavers up here perhaps in August, right? And look, take a look at him. He’s had a really nice year triple A. That’s why I’m hoping Heston kerstad can get going and you can get him back in the major leagues to see if some of the swing adjustments he’s made have taken and lead to hopefully him being Kyle Stowers, only you didn’t trade him, right? So, you know, there’s a lot that goes into this, and you know, I think it’s but I just think it’s important to recognize it’s not going to fix all that ails them, right? This trade deadline is not going to fully optimize whatever their 2026 roster is going to look like. I mean, maybe they get a couple couple high minor league arms that that project is bullpen pieces for them the next year or two. You know, maybe you get, maybe you get some teams. Uh, you know, a guy that projects is a fourth outfielder for you, and maybe that empowers you to trade Laureano then or or maybe you get some team that wants Ramon Arias, and you get something that can be maybe a fifth starter for you come the second half of next year, right? I mean, you know, so, you know, there’s a lot to this, but all that being said, I mean, these aren’t blue chip trade chips that the Orioles have here, right? I mean, even Ryan O’Hearn is a early 30s. DH, right. I mean, and I think they can get something nice for them, but you’re not going to get a guy that’s going to be, you know, a top two or three prospect in your system, right? I mean, you’re, you’re going to get some guy that maybe will be in your top 10, right? And you say, hey, that’s an interesting that’s that’s an interesting prospect that they got. So, so I think it’s just important to set reasonable expectations. Understand that a lot goes into making these trades. Understand that every name that we’re talking about right now is not going to be dealt. I mean, heck, you and I, I don’t know if you and I mentioned Brian Baker as a trade possibility once, and he ends up being the first one being dealt again. To your point, it’s a unique circumstance, because it was a, it was a draft pick that they were able to get for him, and they needed, they needed to do it before the draft, obviously, to for that to work. But, you know, I think, I think that’s where just keep an eye on, you know, the Kramers, the laureanos, the reuses, the guys that aren’t free agents, but if a team makes a good enough offer, I think, yeah, at least need to have to consider it. But just knowing where they are, of those guys I just mentioned Kramer, it’s got to be something where I say, Wow, you kind of have to do that, because Dean Kramer is a fourth or fifth starter, and that team’s giving you a an offer that feels like they think Dean Kramer’s more like a second or third starter, right? Any of
Nestor Aparicio 26:53
these things are plausible that you’re bringing up, right? Like the notion that Brian Baker was going to get dealt when you were in Wildwood now, was taking a nap. Talk about that once. Yeah, I mean and, and the thought that something like that could be offered to get him a high, second round draft pick, where he could go out and take another apple Bob at a young player, it is indicative that michaelias feels like he’s going to be running the franchise, and is running the franchise and is buying green, but very, very green bananas when you’re buying 37 draft picks and and think that that’s more important than having Brian Baker have 40 innings of relief pitching for you this year and for three more
Luke Jones 27:31
years. Yeah, right. And look, I mean, it’s, and we talked about this, so I don’t, I don’t want to repeat myself too much, you know, from a previous segment. But you know, you also have to recognize, you know, Brian Baker doesn’t have the this isn’t a guy that’s been an all star reliever twice, you know. And the way that you would think about Felix Batista right now, who has two more years of Team control, Batista, when he’s been healthy, has been dominant, you know, going back to 2022 you know, when he was a setup man that year as a rookie. So, you know that that’s a that is a way different entity, you know, it’s a way different asset than Brian Baker, who’s had three good months, right? And, you know, Baker was, he was solid two years ago, you know, three years ago. So, you know, but, but you have to at least look at it, right? You have to at least consider it. And I’m in agreement with you. I mean, I don’t think that means Elias is safe for three years, but I’m inclined to think, and I’ve always been inclined to think, he’s probably going to get this off season to try to write the ship, and then if you and I are having the same conversation a year from now, then Mike Elias, if he’s not Mike Rizzo in DC, he’s heading that way, that direction, at that point in time, if they haven’t turned things around, And we’re not talking about a team that’s in playoff contention, serious playoff contention, not not on the fringe or anything like that. You know, a team that’s in first or second place a year from now. You know we’re talking way differently about that. So, yeah, I mean, I think it probably reflects that Elias, you know, is going to be around at least for one more winter, and let’s see what happens. Right? They drafted a couple pitchers earlier than they have in the past, not in the first round, but in the second and third round. You know, they talk about that. And we’re going to see what this off season looks like. You know, does the approach change for the pitching? I’ve said it to you over and over, this isn’t this has never been about for me go give a pitcher an eight year deal, or that you have to draft a pitcher in the first round every year. But that middle ground has to be firmer footing than one year deals and reclamation projects. You can do those things, but you need to play
Nestor Aparicio 29:37
the middle. That’s where Rodriguez and Bradish didn’t bloom, and Kramer’s here and there. Trevor Rogers was a piece this time last year that they were very enthusiastic about, that they’re once again enthusiastic about. So they’re, look, I’m not gloom and doom, but to your point, there’s a lot of work. I don’t have to bring it up. You bring it up. Their last place baseball team with a neophyte owner that looks. Lost. Did you see him speak last week about it was like he never read Lords of the Realm? Yeah, you know what I’m saying, like he is such a naive man for being a billionaire about any of this, and the people around him are naive, and Greg Bader is destroying the broadcasts. I mean, I just, I mean, Kevin Brown’s terrible. All of a sudden, Ben McDonald feels disinterested in anything other catching his flight. They’re doing last place baseball. It’s one giant sales piece. Melanie’s running around on MLB doing a draft. I just the whole presentation is, is the television set. For me, I don’t go down there and give money. And if I did that, would have a higher expectation if I spent 200 hours to go down on a Tuesday night to get a bobble head stand out, 94 degrees, 15,000 people out on the walkway sweating their asses off to get a t shirt. I mean, I don’t there’s so many things fundamentally wrong with this franchise right now. I mean, really, in a lot, a lot of ways, including the 600 million they’re about to spend, and how, where Katie Griggs is hiding, and Elias firing the manager in last place and high there’s a lot of really effed up things. We you, and I just you like to keep between the lines. And I look at the greater picture, how empty the stadium is, how empty their soul is, how empty it sort of is when I get outside of white people who like baseball, that they’re just not an entity. They’re not not a thing in this city, in a lot of places, and how they sought to be, how they won two years ago, how they sort of screwed this part of it up. You know, they burped all this up now, the honeymoon and all that. But more than anything, I now have the tea leaves on the new ownership, and it stinks. This guy’s terrible. And when he sits in front of cameras, not me, because they won’t put him in front of me, because I’d ask real questions, and they’d be they he can’t talk about baseball because he doesn’t know anything about baseball, and it comes really clear when he does open his mouth talking about, well, we all seem to come to the realization that, you know, we need a salary cap and we need some costs, dude. Dude, I’m 50 years into this. Are you aware how stupid you sound when you say these things? As a billionaire that’s supposed to be the smartest guy in the room that you clearly you’re in as over your head as as Shitler is running the country. Just no idea, like what the job is and what the thing is with baseball, other than make me a bobble head, I’ll sign autographs and I’ll find capable, competent executives to come in, and it’s the Orioles, and everybody’s just going to come back at full price. I I mean, I could go on and on, and I will, and I’ll write about it, because Elias looks like he’s going to survive this, you know, through all of this, but they’ve got so much work to do on how awful a lot of it is. And you’ve talked about streaming and, you know, direct and like all of that, that’s great, but when you got a last place baseball team, the bobbleman T shirt thing is really amazing. How many I called them sheeple over the weekend, and someone took a umbrage with that. I’m like, I’m a lifer fan, but I’m not going to stand in 100 degrees for two and a half hours out in the sunlight to get a shirt or a hat that they’ve been promising for three months that you have to queue up like a farm animal to even get their giveaways. I mean, it’s just a, it’s a crazy concept, but it’s just the way we do things around it’s way baseball does things is it’s, it’s our Come on, I don’t I really try to think hard about what they do. Well, like it, they have a great ballpark that’s sort of 30 years old and whatever, and that’s the draw and all of that. But I’m trying to think of what Baltimore offers to someone from Hagerstown that comes down here on a Tuesday afternoon, and why people were lined up to get the T shirts last Tuesday when I had a dentist appointment downtown, and I just I see the Atlanta thing and the all star game this week, and they’re about to get the all star game right, like that’s going to happen soon. They’re going happen soon. They’re going to get a 2820 they’re going to get a date. They’re going to get a year that’s going to happen probably this calendar year,
Luke Jones 34:09
right, post renovations, right? I mean, it’ll be five years from now, 2829
Nestor Aparicio 34:13
whatever year they’re going to get, it hasn’t been given away. You’re going to have a North Star in all of this. And they had a good team for a couple of years. But I’m going to tell you what, and this is what I would tell Rubenstein. I would tell that prick Whistler, who I haven’t talked to in 15 months after he shouted at me on the phone and refused to meet with me, this has just been poor. I mean, it’s just been I’ve talked to Jim Palmer. I know how poor it is. I’ve talked to people on the inside and how poor it is, and it’s, it’s last place in a lot of ways, a lot of ways, firing your manager on a Saturday and hide until Tuesday. You can’t keep my job. But then again, Greg Bader, Jennifer grand all has a job, and she chased Jim Palmer out of the locker room. So I mean, I, I mean, I. Who’s running the joint over there? Katie, where are you hiding? And they’re gonna have to go sell this business, sell these trades, sell the players, all of that. And I’ve got several friends that gave them money this year for the Birdland Birdland thing. Ain’t giving them no Birdland money next year?
Luke Jones 35:19
Yeah, I I’m going to sum up a lot of what you just said with one thought, and it’s pretty direct and clear cut, this team needs a Larry Lucchino or Dick Cass and I’m just, I’m not saying specifically either of those individuals, but they need that Nestor. You and I both know there are plenty of owners in across sports who don’t know a lick about the sport in which they own a franchise and that, and that can be totally fine, but that means you need a team president or a figurehead. And I don’t mean this. This isn’t me saying hire someone that is then in charge of baseball ops over Mike Elias no Larry Lucano didn’t pick baseball players Dick casting signed free agents, but they were the face of the franchise. From a business all encompassing standpoint, Katie
Nestor Aparicio 36:15
Griggs and failure band and I do good, no good. It’s year into this. This this is, I’m
Luke Jones 36:21
not even trying to make a commentary on her, just she
Nestor Aparicio 36:24
is the dick cash she was hired to be. That she’s
Luke Jones 36:27
not the team president, though, I mean, but my point is they need that, whatever that looks like. They need that because I think that’s something that would improve the rough edges of what Mike Elias is as a general manager, which to your point, not having a press conference for three days after firing a manager. That’s something that Larry Lucchino in Boston or Dick Cass for years and years and years running the Ravens. Or go back to David Modell prior to that, that wouldn’t have happened, right?
Nestor Aparicio 36:56
So I think model is really underrated. Dude, I’ve sat here and watched 50 years man David Modell, put some respect on his name. A lot of what I you know, a lot of what you just mentioned. And I walked into rooms 30 times a year and bumped into him. Just bumped into him because he was out doing roost, he was out doing fans. He was out meeting people, like just, I mean, it was really amazing. And I don’t mean concerts or social events. I mean, thanks selling his football community. Yeah, I think a lot of what you just mentioned, and look, you make a lot of very cogent, direct, good points, and what you say there that I think having that person in place, you know. And I said this my expectation, and it ended up being kind of, sort of Katie Griggs, but that wasn’t even her job description. Isn’t exactly what we were talking about there. Dude, I know it’s better people on this radio station the last four months, like if, if he had any stones, and he really thought something Louis Aparicio and thought of me, it sat with me for two hours. I would have written down. Call Charles Steinberg, call Rick Vaughn, call John maroon, call Janet Marie Smith, probably call Theo, right, because Theo’s got some Baltimore call Cal and Billy and sit with them. And it’s nice. You want to make nice with Kurt Schmoke. I do too. He wanted to legalize weed 40 years ago. He’s at 50 years ahead of time. Um, look, that’s all great that you want figureheads and Grant Hill, and you want black and white and female, and you want pride, and you you want to get someone competent. How about that? I don’t care if they’re orange with purple specs. You need boots on the ground. Bring some bring a leader in. Go hire molar. For crying out loud. He knows everybody in the community. He’d be, he’d be, and, I mean, he would never say a bad word about the Orioles. So, but, but there, there is a, there’s a point where angelos, when he bought the team, you know what? You probably don’t know this. Maybe you do. He hired Ernie. Of course, he for five minutes. Do you know
Luke Jones 38:58
that I’ve you told me that at some point in time. So Ernie
Nestor Aparicio 39:02
and corsi and Grant Hill and these guys came in, and this is after he can Lucchino mistreated like Peter. Lied to Peter. Was just a horrible human, I mean, like, lied to everybody, including me, about everything. And there’s an owner that never, by the way, I’m going off the rails. But I was sitting at Cooper’s north on Sunday to watch the Sunday game, and it got rained on, right? So the rain delay, they showed the Frank Robinson statue speech. So it was 2012 April of 12. Lou Angelos is up on the podium. Peter never, ever, ever showed his face again after he got booed on the Ripken. 2131 night, 95 never, I never, ever ever stood at a podium, showed up at a civic event, but shared and have never did anything in this community for 30. Years, and now Money Bags has come in, and he gives papal waves, and he sits at $200 a dinner and night and night things, and sits in front of people with his little fisherman’s cap on, looking like he’s in going in style. But what Larry Lucchino did, and what Dick cast tried to do, and what David you get in front of this man, you absolutely get in front of this and you’re out at those things. And Peter didn’t even do that when the statues were built. I saw Chana Marie. Her hair was a little up. She’s 13 years ago. She had a little older style hair. She looks more hip now. Uh, work maybe to LA, the Hollywood thing out in LA and all that. But dude, I have a Rolodex that if I own the team, and he put me in charge of the vice president of something, operations, of the community, of the thing, of the thing, I could bring him a dozen high integrity, high credibility, high intelligence, high emotional intelligence, high community knowledge, high baseball knowledge, high industry knowledge, high marketing knowledge, high media knowledge,
Speaker 1 41:08
and I could put together in I would hire Buck.
Nestor Aparicio 41:13
Buck would bring credibility, even though he’d be a pain in the ass. You know, I love you, Bucha, but, but, dude, there are so many incredible people who care. Rick Vaughn cares so much that every time I call him, he comes on for an hour and offers free advice. Of 40 years of doing this, every time I reach the Charles Steinberg he comes on, he’s running his own baseball team up in Worcester, John Maroon. He didn’t like talking about it because he hates last place. And he’s running the golf tournament this week. Added to BMW. I saw him two weeks ago. These are competent, incredible, incredible people, and none of them have gotten a phone call from anybody and and meanwhile, they’re running Jim Palmer ragged and mistreating him. I mean, it’s just, it’s lousy, Luke, and I’m going to continue on. It’s not just last place on the field, it’s last place off the field, and that’s got to change. And Mr. Rubenstein is not the guy who’s going to change. I
Luke Jones 42:18
mean, no, and that, and that’s why I said, look, there are plenty of owners over the history of professional sports who don’t really know their sport. They don’t really know what they are owned, but some of them have had success. You know why? Because they hire the right people and they get out of the way. And that’s where I kind of look at where the Orioles are putting aside fans being ticked off right now. Look, fans have every right to be ticked off, right? I’m not trying to belittle that, but putting aside, if we’re going to say Mike Elias is going to keep his job at least one one more off season, right? He’s gonna get one more year. Let’s just humor me if you’re listening right now, that idea of hiring a CEO, team president, a Larry Lucchino, Dick cast. David Modell, whoever that is, that truly is in charge of everything. That doesn’t mean Mike Elias is being his legs are being No, he’s still going to be in charge of baseball operations, but you have someone at the very top who then knows the sport a little bit more, Larry Luke. Larry Lucchino was not the Orioles General Manager once
Nestor Aparicio 43:20
Katie Griggs was running, but under five years ago. But he understood the sport. He understood David Rubenstein sat in front of a camera and talked about busting the union like, you know, seriously, that’s what he talked about last week, was changing the structure of compensation in Major League Baseball and acting like it’s his idea, yeah, like, this is the new idea. Let me be like, it’s insane, how naive and and, and the wander the whistler doesn’t want to put me with this guy. He’s a billionaire, but he ain’t a genius well, and
Luke Jones 43:55
that right there just shows. Look, every owner is going to have that position. Just about every owner is going to have that position. Am I right? I mean, we’re talking about billionaires here, but from a front facing public speaking standpoint, that’s probably not what you want to be the lead for. So that’s where
Nestor Aparicio 44:12
Angelo’s was calling. See, like a used car salesman. You know, Angelos came in and to everyone who talked to me at that point in time. For everyone who talked to me about Peter principles back in the day, and there were many people the inside people said Peter had no idea how acrimonious the for being a union guy and being a guy who was a union guy all the way, he had no idea of the history. Peter bought the team to be the big dick in the city. That was his deal. He wanted a statue. He wanted to be Peter G I’m rich, and I own the Orioles, and I’ll mess him up as much as I wanna. And that’s the way he lived his life, and he’s dead. And you know, it is what it is. But I watched it all, and from the beginning, he never really understood baseball, and he certainly didn’t understand at all the act. Ceremony of the work stoppage, and he was in it and owned the team, and he was only in it 100 million deep, not 2 billion deep, the way this guy is. And it really scares me that this guy bought the team and has never read Lords of the Realm Like, seriously, knowing that everyone I talk to smart, including you, we’re all like, oh, Michaelia, is next year, and all that, everyone tells me the same thing. Baseball is going to stop in 15 months, and there’s going to be a war. Right? Most everyone, everyone believes that right, beyond all this drafting and all that right, seems to
Luke Jones 45:29
be, I mean, I don’t want to say 100% but it sure seems like everything is pointing to that. Sure,
Nestor Aparicio 45:34
yeah, okay, well, I I hope Mr. Rubenstein has been briefed on that, because that’s the big problem. Fair enough. That’s a bigger problem
Luke Jones 45:41
than every but again, I’ll, and this is all I’ll have to say on it, and I’m just repeating myself. But everything you just mentioned lends itself to the idea of boy, a team president that Mike Elias is accountable to, who is not, again, not going to be his boss, in the sense that he’s, like, making trades going over his head or anything like no one’s talking about that. You know, Dick cast did not overrule Ozzie Newsome on trades or drafting guys or anything like that. But when you looked at their chain of command, he was a team president, the Orioles boy, it feels like they could really stand to have that. And again, I don’t know who that person is you would you’ve already thrown out names that you know. You would know better than me, but it feels like that would help them so much, from a messaging standpoint, branding standpoint, certainly, from a business standpoint, overseeing what’s going to be $600 million in ballpark renovations, all of that that you know right now, it just that that is lacking. There’s no doubt
Nestor Aparicio 46:42
about that. I could put together a dream team by Monday morning of six executives who would come in and fumigate the place and know everyone in the city and be instantly respected, instantly respected. I could do that. I could do that on my own if I had $2 billion and you gave me the kind of money it would take to hire the right executives. And I don’t mean gunner Henderson money. I just mean credible money, whatever it takes to get Janet Marie out of LA. We’re doing it, whatever it takes to get people back here who care about the Orioles, to run the Orioles and want to run it in Baltimore, for Baltimore for Baltimore people, because that’s primarily what it is, and that’s what it needs to be. Um, it’s just It breaks my heart. That’s all I’m going to say. It’s the all star break Luke’s here. We’re watching baseball. I’m wearing my major league baseball Getty Lee shirt. I’m excited about drinking some beer out at Eldersburg on Wednesday at 1623 my man, Mike McKelvin, makes a delicious stout. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll be out of Carroll County with lots of friends. John Allen, my longtime rock star buddy, will be out talking some music, and also my two pals, David Abrahams and Richard Abraham, who attended Live Aid in London 40 years ago. This week, I attended Live Aid in Philadelphia. We’re going to come together and tell some stories about David Bowie and I, by the way, I reposted the Thomas Dolby story about David Bowie. And a lot of people don’t know Thomas Dolby lives here in Baltimore. He’s a Baltimore guy, but he was the band leader for David Bowie at Live Aid in 1985 he got called in on assignment, and he tells the most amazing stories. It’s part of his act. He is touring. He’s going to be at ramset. So if you’re a Live Aid fan at all, you’re really going to dig the programming that I got at Eldersburg. Also gonna talk beer and Vince Bagley, Chris Thomas and sports and Eldersburg and all that good stuff as well. Friday, we’re going to talk about journalism with some deposed journalists. Cal, the recently fired cartoonist to the Baltimore Sun that you no longer subscribe to is now doing cartoons out on the internet. He’ll be with us on Friday as well. My cartoonist pal, we’re seeing my life for PAL whose children named me nasty Nestor. You can see that in the doc. And also on Friday morning, a visit from from an old old friend, Jan Dan Rogers, gonna join us on Friday. We’re talking about the city, talk about journalism. I’m probably going to turn it down to a decaf on Friday to be honest with you. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland lottery. Back to the Future scratch offs. We will have these to give away as well. I am Nestor. We are W, N, S T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. It’s the all star break. Dream a Little Baltimore. You.
