The Baltimore Orioles are suddenly winning the battle of the race to the bottom of the top of the American League. Luke Jones and Nestor discuss a blazing weekend against the first-place Rays in Tampa and the big home stand ahead as the New York Yankees arrive on Tuesday at Camden Yards. Yes, we have real pennant race baseball in the Charm City!
The discussion focused on whether the Orioles’ recent sweep in Tampa is the start of a real late-season wild-card push or just another short-lived stretch in a weak American League race.
Playoff Race
- Luke argued the AL wild-card chase is a “race of the undead,” with multiple sub-.500 teams still alive; despite not being above .500 since April 15 and not even at .500 since May 1, the Orioles would currently hold the third wild-card spot.
- Both agreed the weekend sweep of the Rays was meaningful, especially because Baltimore played better overall baseball and produced its biggest inning of the year on Sunday.
- Open question: Can the Orioles finally push through the repeated two-games-under-.500 barrier and sustain momentum?
Key Drivers
- Luke said the Orioles’ path depends on core players performing like stars: Pete Alonso has largely delivered since May 1, while Gunnar Henderson has only recently started to look closer to expectations over the last week to 10 days.
- They also cited improved offensive signs from Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, and several newer contributors, while noting Baltimore’s recent pitching from Bradish and Rogers has been good enough to support a run.
- Open question: Can the lineup and rotation maintain this level, especially with durability concerns for multiple pitchers late in the season?
Upcoming Test
- The next homestand against the Yankees and Rays was framed as the clearest measuring stick of whether this is real; Nestor emphasized that meaningful late-August home games against New York are rare for Baltimore.
- Luke noted even a poor week might not eliminate the Orioles because the rest of the field, including Texas, Toronto, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, and Seattle, has also been inconsistent.
- They also discussed fan access issues created by streaming-exclusive broadcasts such as Peacock, with Nestor arguing that hard-to-find games hurt fan engagement at a key moment.
- Host a live appearance at Fishmonger’s Daughter in Catonsville on Wednesday and run the scheduled giveaway of Maryland Lottery ‘Kiss Face Bird’ Ravens scratch-off tickets. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Invite Joel Poilly onto this week’s show and address his comments about your bowling shirt outfit during the segment. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Host a special show at Koco’s Pub in Baltimore next Wednesday as part of the ongoing series of events. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Return to Costas in Dundalk next month for another segment of the Maryland Crab Cake Tour. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Appear at the State Fair as part of the current promotional tour activities. (@Nestor Aparicio)
- Plan and schedule additional tour locations and appearances for September through November, including new placements. (@Nestor Aparicio)
Outline
Orioles Position
- The Orioles swept the Rays and moved into current wild-card position despite remaining under .500.
- Luke stressed this reflects the weakness of the AL wild-card field as much as Baltimore’s improvement.
- Nestor argued that being in position now is what matters, regardless of how unconventional the path looks.
Performance Factors
- The conversation centered on whether better offense from Gunnar Henderson, Pete Alonso, Colton Cowser, and Jackson Holliday can continue.
- Luke said Baltimore needs its best players to perform like franchise pieces, not just role players getting hot.
- They also noted contributions from recent additions and depth arms, including bullpen help that has stabilized close games.
Pitching Outlook
- Recent starts from Bradish and Rogers were cited as examples of the level Baltimore needs.
- Both raised concerns about innings, fatigue, and durability across the staff as the season moves deeper into August and September.
- The Orioles may compare favorably to other wild-card teams in starting pitching, but depth remains uncertain.
Competitive Context
- Other contenders discussed included the Rangers, Blue Jays, Guardians, Tigers, Twins, and Mariners.
- The consensus was that none of these teams looks especially strong, which keeps the Orioles viable.
- The main unresolved issue is whether Baltimore can string together multiple strong series instead of falling back after reaching the edge of .500.
Fan and Market Context
- The Yankees and Rays homestand was described as a major opportunity to prove legitimacy and drive local interest.
- Nestor criticized streaming-only distribution on Peacock as a barrier for fans trying to follow an important stretch.
- Both agreed the coming week will be highly revealing, even if it does not fully decide the race.
Nestor Aparicio 0:01
Welcome home. We are WNST AM 1570 Towson Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive. We call this the playoff edition. We call this the pennant race edition. Maybe by Wednesday they’ll be have a game and a half lead. I don’t know. We will be at Fishmonger’s Daughter, where I was for brunch on Sunday morning with all my pals out in beautiful Catonsville, what are three Dundalk guys doing in Catonsville on a Sunday? I’m not sure. On Wednesday we’ll be giving these away. These are the scratch offs in the Maryland lottery. They are the Ravens kiss face bird. We were down in Ocean City at Mako talking to our Senator Chris Van Hollen as well as the mayor of Ocean City as well as the mayor of Frederick, the former mayor of Hagerstown. Had a lot of great guests on. All of it brought to you by our friends at GBMC as well as Farnan and Dermer. They are the comfort guys. I threatened Zach that I look better in the bowling shirt, the the Farnan and Dermer bowling shirt, but I did not wear that. I went Costas today. It is a bit of an apricot, a peachy orange for me, Luke. I didn’t bury them, and I’m inviting Joel Poilly on this week. Who sassed me over the weekend, said I embarrassed myself talking about this ragamuffin outfit as a potential playoff outfit. I think he wrote to me that I was smoking crack. I think is what he said to me. So I’m going to take that upon him now that the third place in the wild card race, but the first place in the wherever we think it is, dude. You keep telling me they were this close to being a playoff team, and you weren’t wrong.
Luke Jones 1:37
I wasn’t wrong, and it’s not that I believe in this team. It’s looking at the nature of this. It was really funny. I, I’ve coined this, so bear bear with me for a moment. But as the Peacock telecast was coming on Sunday afternoon, the the play by play guy made a comment of all these teams that are still alive in the wild card race, and I got to thinking about the word alive. What this should be called from this point on is the race of the undead. These are a bunch of zombie playoff contenders in the American League who are under 500. I mean, think about this: the Orioles have not been above 500, Nestor, since Tax Day, April 15th. They haven’t been 500 since May 1st. Yet, if the season were to end right now, they’d be the third wild card of the American League. Reminds me of a
Nestor Aparicio 2:30
good NFC South battle to seven and nine, is what it reminds me.
Luke Jones 2:34
Or the NBA or the NHL playoffs, right? Where where they’ve just gotten to the point where they’ve expanded so much. I’ve
Nestor Aparicio 2:40
had a lifetime of baseball playoff teams where there’s either you’re either a good team or you’re not, and that’s been going on since the back of my 1966 baseball cards. Where I’m like, “Pop, they didn’t have it like you had to win the whole thing to get into the playoffs. You know, like what happens if you’re eight games back, six games back the whole year? Well, you’re six games back the whole year. They’ve changed all of that, and I don’t know that it’s not the get off my lawn part of this in any way. Because I think once the games start in October, it becomes very interesting. Even if you have to play all the games on the road, you’re at least in. I’ll get to that, and you’re not in like that wild card tip in or the 65th team in March Madness where you play on Tuesday night or something like that in Toledo. Like when you get in, you get in. It’s not one game or one game on the road or whatever. Like you got a chance, you’re gonna get to play some baseball.
Luke Jones 3:30
Sure. Yeah. I mean, you might as well embrace it, right? Trying to
Nestor Aparicio 3:34
find some validity in this. I called it the race to the bottom of the top. That’s kind of what I. Yeah. I mean,
Luke Jones 3:40
I. I mean, I don’t validity. I mean, I don’t even know what that means, right? I mean, we can go back in the history of baseball. I mean, the 1980 Orioles won 100 games and they didn’t make the playoffs, right? I mean, that’s how different the current environment is. I mean, even think back to two wild cards. You know, the the Orioles back in in 12 when they go to Arlington and beat the Rangers, right? I mean, we’re not even talking about that anymore. But look, I’m not going to sit here and say the Orioles are a good team. The Rangers aren’t a good team either. The Blue Jays aren’t a good team either. Cleveland has been awful since the All-Star break. Detroit sold off their two-star pitchers at the trade deadline, and until this weekend, they were swept by the White Sox at home-they’ve been looking like the team that was going to grab the brass ring. Minnesota-we just saw them beat the Orioles in a series, and then they lose three in a row to the Phillies. Right? I mean, like we’re just seeing a bunch of teams that aren’t good, but someone has to win. And if you’re in that spot and you’re looking at it in the micro and putting aside all the big picture issues of Michaelias and where this team’s going, just where it is right now in the micro, why not embrace having some weird fun without making it too deep? You know what I mean? Like I’m not going to sit here and say that a team that hasn’t been five. Since may 1 is suddenly a good team. What I will say, however, and that’s where we bring the focus into the weekend, they’ve had a hell of a series down at the drop this weekend. I mean, they’ve they played really good baseball. It was dicey on Friday and Saturday, but then you look at Sunday and two outs, nobody on in the top of the sixth inning, and they have their biggest inning of the year with some absolutely phenomenal at bats. So you give them all the credit in the world for what they’ve done over these last three days. We’ll see what happens in the finale. We’ll see what happens in this huge home stand as they’re coming home for six against the Yankees and the Rays, and then they go back on the road for nine more. But for where it stands right now, dude, they don’t have to be
Nestor Aparicio 5:40
a good team. If they’re a good team this week, they’re going to put themselves in a position to be to play in October. I mean, the Reds have a position three weeks, right? Really good for three weeks, and it defined their season. the The Rays were really good in May, right? Like, I mean, the
Luke Jones 5:57
Rays have been good. I mean, the let’s keep in mind the Rays just won nine in a row. I mean that fair one makes fair. Yeah, I mean to me. But when
Nestor Aparicio 6:02
you’re when you’re a good team, and I will use the team three years ago for the Orioles, the 101 win team, as you know, you go 15 and 12 the first month, you go 17 and nine the second month, you go I don’t know 14 and 11 in June because it’s tough. You know what I mean. You you you know, like July, you take a couple injuries, you play 500 ball. Well, I look up and I’m like, well, that’s seven over, eight under, nine over, two under, 500. Well, hell, you’re 12, 1316, over 500. That’s the way you have to break. That’s the that’s not the Earl Weaver way, but that’s the Nestor way. That that’s the way to me. If you’re going to be a consistent team, because those kinds of teams don’t put up eight and sixteens in April and then another, you know, 11 and 17 in May, and then wake up and say, “Well, I’m 10 games under 500 on june 1, and figure it out. Like that’s that that’s usually a sign you’re awful. Now every year there’s one of those teams that gets up and moves. This team has been somnambulant most of the year, and for all the reasons we discuss every day, which are defense, defense, defense. But the one thing you bitched about for two years, and we bitched about Ruchman right out the door, is they don’t hit, they don’t hit, they don’t hit. But when they hit, and it’s 10 to one in in the dome, on a Sunday afternoon, we wake up and say, “Oh, Kowzer’s capable of hitting a home run. Yeah, he was a first-round draft pick. We haven’t seen it a couple weeks or whatever. You know, however you would look at it, same thing with Gunner Anderson. I mean, we sat here and said at some point he’s going to have a week or two. You know, he’s he’s Gunner Anderson. We’re not talking about Rio Ruiz here. You know, we’re talking right. So I, I’m not stunned that the bats went on at some point. Maybe I’ll tell Joe Poila that when I have him on here and he makes fun of me. Yeah,
Luke Jones 7:51
I mean, look, we’ve talked about this in spring training, and I used the comparison then. And as much as it’s made me look foolish for most of the season, at least on one side, I said if this team were was going to be as good as you and I and so many other people thought they were going to be, thought they could be, they needed Pete Alonso and Gunner Henderson, or let’s say Gunner Henderson and and Pete Alonso to be Cal and Eddie for for this iteration of the Orioles. And Pete Alonso since may 1 has done his end of the, you know, he’s held up his end of the bargain. I mean, look at his numbers since may 1. He’s been everything you would have hoped him to be in year one of his five-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles and his defense. We’ve talked about that. It’s been even better than what it was in New York. Gunnar Henderson has been nothing close to what we thought he was going to be, or what the Orioles have needed him to be. However, and really, this goes back the last week to 10 days. You’re starting to see a better version of Gunnar Henderson. I mean, obviously, he had the the four hit night, yet they finally dropped him in the order for a couple games, and that seemed to have done the trick on Sunday. I mean, he got robbed a couple times on Sunday. I mean, blistered a couple balls that that the the Rays defense did a nice job running down, but it it really is that simple. And of course, when you have a day like they had on Sunday, you know you’re not going to expect that. But when you get that, when you get more representative offense one through nine, yeah, this team’s going to have a heck of a lot better chance. But that’s true of all these teams in this current race right now, right? I mean, all of these teams have flaws. They’re all under 500. They’ve all had some stretches, and look, the Orioles have had some stretches where they’ve been better and good late May to early June. They had the seven-game winning streak wrapped around the All-Star break, right? We’ve seen those stretches, but what’s happened every single time, and that’s where I’m going to continue to lay down the challenge for them, is can you sustain that when you win seven in a row? Can you get into a mo a mode then when you’re starting to win series more consistently at that point in time, or do you kind of fall back and you lose five of your next six series and? Before you know it, you’re back to five or six games under 500, and that’s been the pattern, right? Going into Monday night, the finale. This will be the fifth time they’ve gotten back to two games under 500 since early June. The previous four times, Nestor, they immediately lost four straight. They lost three of their next four. They lost their next two, they lost three straight, right? So they’ve been at this threshold several different times over the last couple months. The question now is, can you break through? And it’s not going to be easy, right? Not just Monday night, but if you push yourself over the hump here,
Nestor Aparicio 10:34
you do it at home against the better teams in the division. You’re
Luke Jones 10:36
feeling pretty good about them, you know, over the top. And it’s going to happen in front of the
Nestor Aparicio 10:40
home crowd this week, that they’re either going to make or break. They’re going to have big wins against the Yankees. They’re going to have devastating losses this week, and I don’t know that. I guess that’s all you can ask for in late late August. You told me the Yankees are coming in and they’re in a position to be a playoff team, not just a position, but like their striking distance, win the night. You’re in the playoff birth spot. They’re going to be playing for that every night the next week. I don’t think that’s getting 47,228 people down to the ballpark to pull a price. I don’t even know that’s waking anybody up. And by the way, Sunday’s game nobody can even watch. So there’s a whole other thing going on there. I went into State Fair for lunch. I was at a Fishmonger’s Daughter where we’re going to be on Wednesday doing the Maryland Crab Cates tour. I went in to get a little go order, and the game was on. It was like you know 1230 in the afternoon. I got home. I’m like, click, click, click, click, peacock, peacock. I, but then I’m like, oh, that’s why they played at 12 o’clock. Oh, okay, you know, sometimes catching all day early games. But they’re they’re not getting $100 a year for me to to watch a baseball game three times a year. I mean,
Luke Jones 11:43
well, there there are more clever ways to try to get around it. But you play pay for a month, or you sign up for a free trial, things of that nature. I signed up for the free
Nestor Aparicio 11:52
trial the night that the that that the Ravens played the Dolphins on the Amazon thing back in November. I’m still getting banged for 895 a month, and it’s August. I paid $100 for that football game that night in Nashville. I because once I sign up for these things, I get. You don’t have to
Luke Jones 12:07
sign up. Well,
Nestor Aparicio 12:08
you get screwed. Anyway, no, I mean you can’t. Peacock can conspire Apple. All of them. They should not be doing this to their fans. That that enough. That’s all. I’m not going to get. Look, they’re winning. I’m I’m here to be nice. I mean, you were the bad guy the other day. Don’t make me the bad guy. But like, I’m just saying this is not this is not a new issue on on Sunday and said I’m out. I mean, me, I’m out. I’m out.
Luke Jones 12:31
The NBA has games on Amazon. NFL has more games. All these sports are doing it. I’m not saying it’s right. It’s this is not a big. I’m saying their stadium’s
Nestor Aparicio 12:39
empty, and I’m saying their their soul is empty as it. Do we really need to talk about?
Luke Jones 12:44
Do we really need to talk about this when we? Yes, of course we do, because I
Nestor Aparicio 12:47
came home and the game wasn’t on. Okay. Yes, yes, it’s a real thing. So I’m just
Luke Jones 12:51
saying, like I, you know, it’s a. But when we actually have something positive to talk about, like you know, we can we can complain about that when they’re losing as they lost. And you know
Nestor Aparicio 13:00
what? You want me to give something nice. Josh Lewin’s great on the radio. So does
Luke Jones 13:03
Brett. I listen to the radio, so there you have it. So anyway, yeah. I mean, and look, I I’m not even saying I disagree with you, Nestor, but like, like every sport has this. This is not a baseball. The Orioles don’t have any control over whether they’re going to be on Peacock. They’re one of 30 owners now. If David Rubenstein and Michael Araghetti want to take a stand against their business partners, then I would commend them for that. But point is, it’s there. It is what it is. I agree with you. I had it. There were a percentage of people that wanted to watch the game. Me being one of them. The host being one of them here. Young old guy, cheap skate. People complained about cable TV 40 years ago. No, but but
Nestor Aparicio 13:42
when when they get into this mode, they need to activate their people. Tomorrow night, as we sit here, and they might come back with a broom. They might lose 10 to two. Who knows? Who cares? Either way, they’re coming home and they’re playing home games in their stadium in summer while kids are out in the playoff race against the Yankees, it’s a big thing. That’s a big thing. I 20, I 28 years into this, we I count on one hand the August they played Yankees games at home midweek, where the weather’s good. You can go down there and woohoo for 25 bucks or whatever, like let’s go. You want to build your brand? Build your brand by being a playoff team, win some games this week. How about that? Have a big go five and one and kick these these teams’ asses this week and come out of this thing six over 500 on the other end and say we got a two game lead in the Wompa. Season on, season on. We got six weeks of real season. Let’s go. Maybe Katie would sell some tickets.
Luke Jones 14:43
That would be a huge deal. There’s no doubt about it. We’ll see if that happens. I I would also say on the flip side, if it doesn’t go so well, guess what? They’re probably still going to be right in the thick of this thing, and that’s kind of that’s a good point. Seriously, I mean, like even if they go zero and six, I mean, like the mar. Go look at the Mariners the last three weeks. How awful they’ve been, and they’re still kicking around mathematically having a shot. Now they’re they’re lagging behind these other teams, but the point is, like this is just what it is. And I’ll go back to what I said. Look, I am not going to sit here and reminisce about being 10 year old Luke Jones dreaming of a year where the Orioles won the World Series, despite finishing 80 and 82, you’re like that’s never that’s never the dream, but it is the reality of where they are right now and where all these other teams are right now. And as more time goes on, would I say I still think there’ll be a team that at least gets to I don’t know 346, games over 500, maybe to grab the third spot. I would think so, but I’ve been saying that for two months, and we’re still talking about sub 500 teams. Point is, it kind of goes back to what you just said. Now Boston had a 30 and five run, right? Their run lasted longer than a couple weeks, if we’re being honest. And frankly, the Red Sox go look at their records since they traded for Adley Rutschman. They haven’t, they’ve cooled off pretty considerably. By the way, I put a
Nestor Aparicio 16:07
status up here. I was just being funny. I said I knew all along that Adley Rutschman was holding this. A lot of people took it seriously from realizing its true potential. My dude Matt Gallagher, who who ran the state of Maryland along with Martin O’Malley in the city, I love this quote. For what it’s worth, addition by subtraction is one of the most important universal principles of management and leadership. I see you laughing, but like you know, the year after Eddie Murray left, they won baseball games. Sure. So I mean, the Tigers. You talk about school. It is more. It’s way more than like than basketball. You know what I mean. Where there’s five players, like you can deal off something in baseball and replace it. I think we said that on august 3. I don’t think I was the guy that said, “Now go watch him go on a playoff run. And you’re like, “Well, as bad as the division is, and here we are two weeks later, and I think you thought that I thought that we thought the season would be over and you just would be raving out and worried about Minnesota this week and all that. I mean, it it really does speak to the trading deadline being the kryptonite of whatever you might think it would be.
Luke Jones 17:12
I mean, really, it speaks to just how wonky the sport can be. I mean, if we’re just being like, I know that doesn’t sound like an intellectual answer, but it’s a very high. It’s an extremely high variance sport, right? No other sport does a team lose as many games as baseball and still can be deemed a great team. And I’m not talking about the two game under 500 wild card race that’s going on. I’m talking about a 162 team, you know, 100 wins and 62 loss outfit is greatness, and yet you lost 62 times. You you lost more than a third of your games, right? So it’s just the nature of the sport, and you know the the the one point I continued to make about Adley Rutschman, I said they haven’t won with him the last couple years, right? So I’m not going to sit here one and say that it’s dooming the franchise in the long term. And I don’t think too many. It was the symbolic, you know, it was the what it represented much more so than what it meant in the micro than his batting average or what was the real
Nestor Aparicio 18:22
productivity. Which, by the
Luke Jones 18:22
way, as we’re talking about catchers in the micro, Samuel Basayo began his rehab assignment on Sunday. So, if you want to talk about something that could really help them down the stretch, they get Basayo’s bat back in the order, and he gets on a heater, right? Blaze Alexander, we’ll see about him. You know, we’ll see about Helsley and Batista in September. You know, Felix Batista. There’s a possibility in September. I have no idea what that’s going to look like. I’m not saying you’re going to count on it, but if he’s available, see what it looks like, right? So there’s just, but it’s it’s just a strange sport. And like I said, I mean, you can go down the list. I mean, the Red Sox looked way worse than the Orioles looked at any point over the course of this season, and then they go 30 and five. I mean, holy cow! How do you predict something like that? The Blue Jays-they looked dead in the water a couple weeks ago, and look at how they played. They’re right there now. I mean, again, the Rangers-they just beat the Orioles in that series, and and you’re you’re kind of looking at them. Okay, wild card team. They just had a two and five road trip against the Angels and the A’s, the two worst teams in the American League. Right. So you just you don’t you never really know, and that’s why, as much as I’ve expressed disdain for how this team’s played over the course of the season, it’s why I’ve been so reluctant to just completely throw in the towel. I’ve said to you over and over, I don’t believe in this team, and I’m going to need more than a really good series and down at the top to to be convinced that okay they’re going to be really good from this point on. But at the same time, the math speaks. To it’s still being right there, right? I mean, for any of these teams, you know, including the ones that have looked really bad over the last week. I mean, it’s kind of like you know, it’s the expression: if you don’t like the weather in Baltimore, wait five minutes, right? I mean, that’s kind of the this wild card race right now. Wait, wait a few days and see what it looks like then. So, but Pete Alonso is tearing the cover off the ball. We’ve seen him get some massive hits over the last few weeks. Gunner Henderson over the last week has looked as good as he’s looked at any time all season. They have other guys, you know, whether we’re talking about Encarnacio and Strand or you know Colton Kozer, a left-on-left homer. You know, he’s homered a couple times over the last few days. I mean, we hadn’t seen that in forever. You know, we’ve talked about Jackson Holiday, the great month of July he had. He had a big day on on Sunday. You know, big two out hit. He looks a lot more comfortable. He definitely does. I mean, he he had. I mean, go look at his numbers in July. He was phenomenal in July, and then he had an offer to start the month of August. And you’re like, but he he’s bounced back from that
Nestor Aparicio 21:04
injury when you were beating him up back in April and May. I actually was two feet from Corbin Carroll at the All Star break, and when I saw him, I didn’t just think of him being in the World Series a year and a half ago, and that left-handed sort of you know Brett Butler sort of look to him, but just in a general sense, like he’s in the All Star game, and our guy’s not there yet. There’s a third player that had an injury. Who was it?
Luke Jones 21:26
Lindor at the beginning. Lindor, Frankie
Nestor Aparicio 21:28
Lindor, right? Which
Luke Jones 21:29
you know he’s had. I mean, the Mets have just been a disaster. They’re disaster. And I’ll and I’ll give you the other one who had it in season, Jose Ramirez of Cleveland. One of the continues to be one of the best and still somehow underrated players in the game. He’s come back. He hasn’t hit, and I know that wrist and hand has still been bothering him. So it is a tricky one getting
Nestor Aparicio 21:48
him together. When I said to you when he had that injury, I’m like, dude, he’s not going to be right till July or August. Like I okay, but just they’re also talking about a player
Luke Jones 21:57
who’s never done it. Like has we’re still waiting to see the guy any
Nestor Aparicio 22:01
level of success, right? Right.
Luke Jones 22:03
You know, beyond you know, he’s had some okay months. That’s why it worried me
Nestor Aparicio 22:06
for him earlier in the year. Because I’m like, you’re gonna look up and I called him a little leaguer in June at one point. I’m like, he just like it didn’t it didn’t feel like he had any pop. It it did, and it didn’t feel like he had any confidence. I think you know an injury like that’s just awful when you can’t pick up the bat and and you’re you’re a nerd that that’s all you want to do is pick up the bat. And I think you know having that, I don’t think he. I think the injury’s gone now, right? Like it feels like he’s not thinking about it. Where it felt like we all thought about it the first 40 games he was back, maybe the first month, month and a half.
Luke Jones 22:39
The thing that I think you’re also seeing, and you still see it some, but I think you’ve seen a a I don’t know if drastic’s the right word distinct I would say change in his approach. I think over the over this last six weeks where he’s hit so well, it’s not as though he’s hitting a ton of home runs, right? It hasn’t been power. It’s it’s been much more of an approach with a level swing. He’s hitting more line drives. He’s using the other the the whole field a little bit. They’re going to tell him
Nestor Aparicio 23:10
that power is going to come two three years from now.
Luke Jones 23:13
But let’s hit the button. But even if it but even if it doesn’t like even if he maybe he settles into being a 15 home run a guy a season kind of guy. He can go to the Hall of Fame like that. But if he, I don’t care about Hall of Fame right now. Just but be an above average player. You know, being an impact player. Not everyone one goes to the Hall of Fame. I mean, that’s very obvious. And I’m not just talking about Orioles. I’m talking about across baseball. I’m with
Nestor Aparicio 23:35
you. Be a 275 hitter with 12 home runs and four. And he walks. He draws
Luke Jones 23:40
a lot of walks. Yeah, be that. You know, you know, for you know his at at the end of business on Sunday, his on base percentage is 344 now. When you consider where he was for most of the season, that’s real. That’s not bad. If he’s the guy
Nestor Aparicio 23:53
that hits 23 home runs and only hits 239, he’s a different. He’s not as good a player. I mean, it just.
Luke Jones 23:57
I mean, look, they come in all shapes and sizes, right? The packages are all different, especially in this day and age. My goodness, I mean, you have, you know, you have guys like Kyle Schwarber who has had seasons where he’s been around the Mendoza line, but he hits 40 home runs and he walks 130 times. You can bat 200 and still be very valuable with that kind of profile, but you know, you you it needs to be something. You have to have something that’s your superpower, your strength. He doesn’t
Nestor Aparicio 24:25
look like a guy that’s a 30 home run guy to me. So why try? He looks like,
Luke Jones 24:30
and again, he’s still you know he’s not quite 23 years old, right? I mean, there there can still be another level, but I think where he is right now at this point in his development, and to your point, coming off of that injury that disrupted his. He didn’t have a spring training. He had a rough rehab assignment that they had to pause. What two different times, and then he’s going to come hit big league pitching, which he’s never done yet. Where he is right now, like you, you like where he is. Again, he’s not a finished product, but he he’s been part of that story. So look, if. If they’re going to, if they’re going to do this, and right now on august 7, here we are.
Nestor Aparicio 25:06
If they’re going to do this, it’s August. But they’re going
Luke Jones 25:09
to need more consistency from the guys we just mentioned, and oh yeah, they’re going to need some other guys to sustain. Right? I I made mention to you going into this series that we had seen the rotation maybe not be quite as crisp the last time through. Well, you know, over the weekend. I mean, now Rogers got a ton of run support on Sunday, obviously, but you know, Bradish did his thing on Saturday. You know, even though he didn’t factor into the decision, he still gave them six innings of two runs. They’re getting
Nestor Aparicio 25:36
the kind of pitching that can make them and above 500. But they
Luke Jones 25:40
need to continue to get that is my point. You can’t have Bradish fade and get tired at the end of the season. You know, we we need to see Boz bounce back from his last start. We’ve got
Nestor Aparicio 25:49
innings on all of these guys, and if this is really the truth, that these guys tire in August and September when they’re on inning 130, 4050, 6070, wherever that magic number is, in the same way that 7080, 90 pitches is different than pitch 38 for them. I don’t know. I mean, all of these guys, all of them, all of them, have big questions about durability. As we we bury Tommy John this week, they all have questions that you’ve given me every off season, starting with Tyler Wells, we weren’t even here anymore. We saw him over the weekend, but just yeah, what’s the pitch count on him? What’s the reality? He’s coming back from Tommy John. He’s two years from Tommy John. He’s not never thrown this many innings. He’s never thrown this many innings late. He’s never made this many starts. Last time he had this many, he got injured. I mean, all of these guys, all of them have been injured. All of them have had ruts at various points. Just can’t happen the next six weeks. They need to be their best selves here. All of them, right? Yeah. Well, and and that’s what
Luke Jones 26:52
every single one of those teams that I just mentioned, whether we’re talking about the Blue Jays, the Rangers, Cleveland, Detroit, the Twins, they’re all facing similar questions and and similar needs, right? I mean, they are all flawed sub 500 teams as we talk in mid August, but they all have a chance. The
Nestor Aparicio 27:10
Orioles might have better starting pitching than any of those teams. Maybe.
Luke Jones 27:15
I mean, it’s it’s certainly up there, but at the same time, how much depth do you have? Are these guys going to stay in line with what they’ve been? I mean, like the
Nestor Aparicio 27:23
Big 16 tournament right now, nobody’s coming down. But look at these are the teams that are there. I can’t look at these teams, not just on the way the Orioles are playing today or yesterday or their Bad News Bears defensive outfit or you know any any of that. Just looking at it and saying, I don’t know. This is like a real season for some. I mean, am I more bullish on it than you, or you’re just down on it because it’s just so crappy and it’s so under 500?
Luke Jones 27:49
I mean, I don’t know if it’s that. I mean, I’m not going to be magically more bullish just because they had a really good series down at the top. I want to see them sustain. I think I’m not going to sit here and say that I dislike their chances so much more than these other teams. My point is, none of these teams are any good. Yeah, they’ve got as good of a chance as anyone, but you’ve got to go do it. They’ve hovered between two games and nine games under 500 for four months now. At some point, you need to take the next step if it’s going to happen. Maybe unless, unless all these other teams just continue to lose, and we’re just talking, you know, it’s like it’s the tortoise and the hare, and I wonder how well they
Nestor Aparicio 28:29
can sustain this lead in the wild card race without being over five. That’s what’s funny. Think about
Luke Jones 28:34
this, Nestor. They’re five and five in their last 10 games. Like it’s not even they haven’t ripped off this crazy, and that’s what was kind of funny hearing the Peacock telecast. And look, you know, even even Brian Roberts, who obviously did the series over the weekend, it’s not like he’s been calling Orioles games all year long. Even Brian Roberts is still looking at it at a more limited scope than than Kevin Brown, Ben McDonald, and Jim Palmer, who are watching you know every single game, every single series. If they’re not, even if they’re not calling that specific series, but but I mean, sure, they’ve got as good of a chance as anyone. I’m not going to sit here and say that I, you know, oh, I I think Cleveland’s way better, or I think Texas is no. Like again, I’ve I’ve said this. I have the I’m the nerd who has the MLB TV package where I can watch all these teams play? And when the Orioles are either off or they’re playing in the in the daytime, and then there’s these teams are playing at night. I I’ve watched all of them a good bit. None of them are impressive. I mean, they just aren’t. They all do the same thing that the Orioles do. They’ll have a good week, and then you say, okay, wow, they’re starting to get going, and then you look up and they they lose five of their next seven. I mean, is this the
Nestor Aparicio 29:45
part where I’m pissed at you for not giving me the password so I can watch the game on Sunday?
Luke Jones 29:50
Oh, I wasn’t this. That wasn’t a package. Wasn’t LBT. I have YouTube TV, which has NBC Sports Network. I’m coming over to
Nestor Aparicio 29:57
your house and watch a game next time. That’s what I’m gonna do. But
Luke Jones 30:00
but now but but just I mean it’s let me I will say this and maybe this isn’t me being bullish on their chances liking them any more than some of these other teams I just mentioned but I will say this and this goes back to the Adley Rutschman discourse right it would have been very easy for this team from a mental standpoint to pack it in when they trade Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward, Tyler Wells, right? I mean, it would have been very Dean Kramer a few days before that, although Kramer wasn’t pitching well anyway for them. But it would have been very easy from a mental standpoint to just say, you know what, boss doesn’t believe in us. He just sold. Didn’t didn’t really add much of anything to really help us. It would have been very easy for them to, you know, they played 12 games since the deadline. A three and nine certainly wouldn’t have stunned me by any stretch of the imagination. And yet they’ve gone seven and five. Now seven and five isn’t out of this world, you know. It’s not something that you consider season changing or season defining in the way that the Red Sox had a 30 and five, but it did show some. It showed me something under the hood that we haven’t necessarily seen over the course of the season. Really going back the last of the holidays
Nestor Aparicio 31:22
and the Alonzos-they got to go out and perform. But for me, it’s the Franklins and the Pozos and the Hops. These guys that I don’t even-I didn’t know their first name. They weren’t here two weeks ago, right? Like literally, those guys-they don’t know from what happened in May or them kicking the ball around in June. They’re just up. They got a uniform on. They got a per diem. Their names in the lineup, and they’re up there trying to figure it out. And they’re three or four Ikes. You know what I mean? Literally. Yeah.
Luke Jones 31:47
Well, how about how about what Cam Sanders did on Saturday night? I mean, this guy, the Pirates gave up on him. The Pirates, who have all kinds of bullpen issues, they got gave up on him too. By the way, well, they of course, but I’m just saying. At the time, it was early July, some late June, early July, whenever it was, and he had options. I mean, think about it. The Orioles acquired him for cash. We saw him in that Houston series right after the break. Remember, he had a win and a save in that series where they swept the Astros, and he got option then. He was sent back to the miners. Say for cash. How much money is that? I mean, it’s usually. I mean, I. It’s usually not much. I. I. I can’t remember off the top of my head, but it’s. It’s not much.
Nestor Aparicio 32:30
Yeah. Okay. Point
Luke Jones 32:31
is, it’s just, you know, a team DFA’s a guy, and it’s your way of saying, hey, instead of him going through the waiver process, we’ll throw you, you know, 50k or whatever. You know, it’s 25k. I I don’t know. Again, I’m just making up the number. I’ve heard it in the past. I I don’t know what it is in 2026. Point is, it’s not much, typically. But here’s a guy that they called back up, and I mean, what he did on Saturday night, he had two strikeouts in that last inning, you know, to to nail down the save in a four three win after they had given up the, you know, they had given up the lead in the ninth with two outs. I mean, he, I think he threw, I think he threw 20 pitches. I mean, he got five, you know, two strikeouts and he got five whiffs. I mean, like that’s some serious swing and miss out of the bullpen from a guy that I don’t know if he’s going to continue it, but you can watch him or you can watch Hoppy and say they’ve got lively arms. I mean, there’s no doubt about that. Now, what that means in terms of what we said for Beck Coaching
Nestor Aparicio 33:32
a couple years ago too. Oh, sure,
Luke Jones 33:34
it doesn’t work out for everyone, but the point is we also see this play out though around baseball. I mean, look at what Brian Baker’s become for the Rays. I saw him
Nestor Aparicio 33:42
in Philadelphia a couple weeks ago.
Luke Jones 33:44
So you never know, but that’s where I thought it was just it. It was wild. It’s funny because my pastor actually saw the game on Saturday. As you know, he’s a Pittsburgh fan. He’s like, did I’m did my eyes deceive me that Cam Sanders closed out a game for the Orioles? I said they shouldn’t have given him up for cash. I mean, again, he had options, but yeah, if you’re going to go on this run, whether we’re talking about the Orioles, the Blue Jays, the Rangers, Cleveland, Detroit, the Twins, whoever, they’re going to have some contributions from some unlikely characters. We saw this with the Orioles back in ’23, right? Think about Aaron Hicks. They acquired him right after Mullins goes on the shelf with a groin injury that kept him out, what was it? I mean, it was at least a month. Hicks had been cast off by the Yankees. That the Yankees paid him to go away, and Aaron Hicks-not he wasn’t the team MVP-but he he had a lot of big moments for them. Very low,
Nestor Aparicio 34:38
Tavares for like what it is in this team’s inspiration. Think back to Steve
Luke Jones 34:43
Pearce a decade plus ago, right? I mean, Steve Pierce. Go back and look at wins above replacement for the 2014 team that didn’t have Manny Machado at the end of the year, didn’t have Matt Weiders for most of the year. Chris Davis was bad and then suspended in September, and yet that. Team is the only one that that’s gotten to the ALCS since 1997, right? So Delmon Young was here
Nestor Aparicio 35:07
five seconds, and Delman Young was a huge pitch
Luke Jones 35:10
pinch hitter that year for them. So yeah, I mean we’re going to see how this plays out. It it’s it doesn’t make any sense. It’s not something that I’m going to. I am not going to ease up on them on a big from a big picture standpoint, right? But at the same time, have some fun with it, embrace it, see what happens. If they lose 12 of 13 and then they’re six out, there have not been a lot of days when
Nestor Aparicio 35:36
the New York Yankees come to Baltimore, Maryland in late August, and the Orioles are in a playoff, not in a position to be in the playoffs. Actually, if the season stopped today, they’d be in the playoffs. So at least while we’re discussing this, they may lose to the Rays, whatever it is. Luke Jones is here. He’s Baltimore. Luke, you got anything else? Because I, I really want to get to this preseason football game. It’s it’s eating at me.
Luke Jones 35:55
I mean, I just you know, like I said, I as much as I’m talking about sub 500 and a race of the undead and making fun of all these teams, they do deserve credit for how they played over the weekend. And you know, we’ll see how the finale goes. We’ll see how this home stand goes. They they have an opportunity to really put themselves in really really interesting position, or they could end up falling back, as we’ve seen them do. I know that it’s it’s the competition they’re playing this week that’s really significant. Well, and not just if they win some games this week, it’s
Nestor Aparicio 36:30
who they’re winning against that would give us the kind of confidence to say, all right, so they’re the lousy, crappiest, worst playoff wild card in history because they only won 83 games or whatever, and they got three games, but we got Bradish in Game One, Rodgers in Game Two. You know, like, hey, you know, Henderson’s hitting the ball well. It’s late, late, late September, early October, and you’re like, hey, he’s hit 310 since august 10 or something. Like, I’m telling you, man, I’ve seen this before. I’m not ready to bet against them right now. I’m not.
Luke Jones 36:59
I mean, put it this way: I’m not ready to bet for them. I’m ready to watch the
Nestor Aparicio 37:03
games about. But I’m not ready. But I’m also.
Luke Jones 37:05
But I would agree with you. I’m not ready to bet against them. But I’m not ready to bet for them yet. Does that make sense? I mean, again, look at the field, right? If you’re asking me right now, do I take the Orioles or the field of these other five mediocre teams? I’m going to take the field. Well, but if you’re,
Nestor Aparicio 37:20
you know, Holiday Alonzo Henderson, if these guys are the pile divers, bradish that we think they are, let’s just get the best foot forward here for their best players. Their best players need to be good. You’ve been saying that for two years, and just like, well, here they are.
Luke Jones 37:33
Well, look at Toronto right now, right? Look at the year. As much as we’ve focused on Gunner Anderson, go look at the year Vlad Guerrero’s having is what seven home runs, I mean Vlad Guerrero, like guy who was amazing last October, like he’s he’s their franchise. He’s the guy that the Blue Jays committed a one of the lucrative Chris nine figure contracts. You know, way way more than Chris Davis or any like anything like that even, and he hasn’t been that guy for them as much as they, you know, they kind of did the buy and sell at the deadline thing, you know. But they played really well. I think where you do look at these teams and where this is interesting, when if I’m, you know, and this is my final thought, just kind of handicapping this this race of the undead, as I continue to call it. What what is interesting when you look at these teams, whether you’re talking about Texas, the Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota, and Seattle’s three out. They’re eight under at this point. I mean, you know, I guess stranger things have happened because we were talking about the Blue Jays a week ago in the same terms. But all of those teams. So here’s the difference with those teams, they all still have a puncher’s chance in their division, right? I mean, White Sox aren’t running away with things. You know, Houston’s been leading the the West for a while, but it’s not like Houston’s 20 games over 500. I mean, they have a two and a half game lead over the Rangers as of you know Sunday night. You know, going into you know action on the 17th, so all of those teams still have the division as an avenue, whereas the Orioles and the Blue Jays, like this, this is it. And I will say this: you look at the Orioles’ remaining schedule, it’s tougher, right? Toronto playing in the AL East. I mean, you’ve got the the Rays, the Yankees, and even though the Red Sox have cooled off, you know they still have have earned some level of respect to be a cut above the rest of these other teams we’re talking about. So so that’s where it is a little bit different if you’re trying to handicap it. But we’ll see, we’ll see. I mean, again this week I don’t think it’s going to break them, but boy, it’s got an opportunity to really make them. I mean, it’s a fantastic opportunity for them. If you can go six and one, you know, go five and one or four and two, even, you know, you’re looking at you’re not going to be up by five games in the wild card, but you can start getting to 500 or the other side of 500 and start feeling better about yourself. I mean. I don’t know the the mental block for me, and this will be my last thought on this. Can can you get to 500? Can you get a game or two over 500? Again, they haven’t been over 500 since april 15. It was like two days after Albernaz had his jaw broken by by the line driving. I mean that feels like an eternity ago. It was so. There’s something like there’s a mental block for me that I can’t really embrace this until they do that. But the math doesn’t lie. If the season started today, they would be playing October baseball, which is absolutely wild. But here we are. Let’s have some fun with it. However long this is going to last, and I think it’s going to continue good. But and it is-it’s certainly crazy. And again, it reminds me of rooting for making the play in in the NBA or or something like that. But it’s just the nature of the AL this year, other than the Rays and the Yankees, I mean, you’ve got a whole lot of this going on.
Nestor Aparicio 41:05
Plenty of good seats available as the New York Yankees come to town on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. We will be at Fishmonger’s Daughter on Wednesday, doing the Maryland Crab Cake Tour. That is in Catonsville. Had a delicious brunch there on Sunday. They are open on weekends for brunch. We will have the Kiss Face Bird Raven scratch offs to give away from the Maryland Lottery. Our partners at Farnham and Dermer, as well as our friends at GBMC, putting us out on the road this week. Next Wednesday, we’re at Koco’s Pub in Laravel, going to have a very special show that day. Luke, I don’t know if you know, I haven’t bragged about it a whole lot, but I won best of Baltimore, Baltimore Magazine this month for reinvention has nothing to do with you because you and I are just doing a sports thing that we always did here. But I was with Senator Chris Van Hollen over the weekend, as well as a whole bunch of people at Mako. We’re gonna be doing some great shows next couple weeks, but we’re gonna celebrate the best of, and I have to finally thank Max Weiss and Ron Cassie for allowing me to win and making me a winner, and now I have nothing left to complain about. So I’m going to have to do that with them. But we are going to have a little bit of fun. That’s a Koco’s next week. Best of Baltimore this month, and I appreciate people have been texting me that apparently don’t find my social media like, “Hey, you won Best of Baltimore, do you know? And they send me the picture. I’m like, yeah, thanks. You know, so it’s been fun. My friends at Costas give me this nice shirt to wear as well. We’ll be getting back to Costas and Dundalk next month for the Maryland Crab Cake Tour. We’re also going to be at State Fair, and I’m working on some new locations and some placements into September and October, November. All my vacations are over. All my rock and roll is over, except for Rush in Philadelphia this week. Here’s Luke. I am Nestor. We have more fake football ahead in Minnesota this week, as well as the Ravens take to the field out in the friendly heart of the Midwest. But it’s all orange. It’s all Orioles and Yankees and Rays this week. We have a real baseball pen and race here at Baltimore, Maryland. We are WNSTAM 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking. Baltimore positive.
