The “Alby Effect” and how it will affect and infect Orioles youthful energy

With changes made in leadership with both professional sports franchises in Baltimore this winter, it’ll be Craig Albernaz leading off for the Orioles with an early-season testing ground that already include key injuries and a suspect bullpen. Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the expectations of the new Birds skipper and the vital signs of life for a team with high hopes in a crowded AL East Division.

Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed expectations for new Orioles manager Craig Albernaz and head coach Jesse Minter. They highlighted the importance of Albernaz’s leadership and the need for improved fundamentals and player development. Jones emphasized the significance of Colton Cowser’s performance in center field and the potential impact of injuries to key players like Gunnar Henderson and Cedric Mullins. They also noted the importance of the starting rotation, including potential contributions from T.J. Haws and Grayson Rodriguez, and the need for a reliable bullpen. The conversation concluded with optimism for the team’s offensive potential, driven by new acquisitions like Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Write and send a letter to John Harbaugh as part of a March ‘man of letters’ effort (complete and sent during March).
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Write and send a letter to New York Giants fans and media as part of a March ‘man of letters’ effort (complete and sent during March).
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Prepare fresh Maryland Lottery scratch-off tickets to give away and have them ready by next week.
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Attend and host Maryland Crab Cake Tour appearances: Gertrude at the BMA (next Wednesday), Costa’s in Dundalk (Friday celebration for Nestor’s dad/birthday event), and Missoney’s in Perry Hall (Tuesday, March 10 afternoon); appear on those dates as announced.
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Write and send a letter to new Ravens head coach Jesse Minter as part of the March ‘man of letters’ initiative.
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Coordinate and attend the Maryland Crab Cake Tour meetup at Costa’s next Friday with Luke Jones (confirm time and attendance).

Orioles and Ravens Leadership Changes

• Nestor Aparicio discusses upcoming events, including a Maryland crab cake tour and a birthday celebration.
• Nestor mentions the new Orioles manager, Craig Albernaz, and his unique personality.
• Nestor compares the new leadership changes in the Orioles and Ravens, drawing parallels to past changes.
• Luke Jones emphasizes the importance of new leadership and the potential impact on the team’s performance.

Expectations for New Managers

• Luke Jones highlights the success of John Harbaugh and the importance of maintaining connections within the organization.
• Luke discusses the challenges faced by Brandon Hyde and the need for a new voice and approach.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the importance of leadership and the impact of new managers on team dynamics.
• Luke mentions the significance of relationships within the team, using the example of Stephen Vogt supporting Craig Albernaz.

Impact of New Coaching Staff

• Luke Jones discusses the potential improvements in player development and coaching under the new staff.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the importance of fundamentals and avoiding sloppiness on the field.
• Luke emphasizes the need for better fundamentals and the impact of coaching on player performance.
• Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of mental preparation and the role of the coaching staff in ensuring players are ready.

Player Performance and Development

• Nestor and Luke discuss the need for young players like Koby Mayo, Gunnar Henderson, and Adley Rutschman to step up.
• Luke highlights the importance of reversing negative trends for young players and the role of the new coaching staff.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the potential impact of injuries and the need for players to stay healthy.
• Luke emphasizes the importance of player development and the role of the new coaching staff in this process.

Defensive Challenges and Solutions

• Nestor and Luke discuss the defensive challenges faced by the Orioles, particularly in center field.
• Luke highlights the importance of Colton Cowser’s performance in center field and the potential impact on the team’s defense.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the potential options for center field, including Dylan Beavers and Leo Taveras.
• Luke emphasizes the need for a solid center fielder and the potential impact on the team’s overall performance.

Offensive Potential and Lineup Adjustments

• Nestor and Luke discuss the potential offensive improvements with the addition of Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward.
• Luke highlights the importance of Tyler O’Neill’s health and the potential impact on his at-bats.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the need for young players to step up and the role of the new coaching staff in this process.
• Luke emphasizes the importance of player development and the potential impact of the new coaching staff on offensive performance.

Pitching and Bullpen Concerns

• Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of the starting rotation and the potential impact of injuries.
• Luke highlights the need for the bullpen to perform well and the potential concerns with high-leverage arms.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the importance of staying healthy and the potential impact of injuries on the pitching staff.
• Luke emphasizes the need for the pitching staff to perform well and the potential impact on the team’s overall performance.

Overall Team Outlook

• Nestor and Luke discuss the overall outlook for the Orioles and the potential impact of the new leadership and coaching staff.
• Luke highlights the importance of staying healthy and the potential impact of injuries on the team’s performance.
• Nestor and Luke talk about the potential for improvement in various aspects of the team’s game.
• Luke emphasizes the need for the team to perform well and the potential impact on the team’s overall success.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Orioles manager, Craig Albernaz, Jesse Minter, player development, defensive issues, Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill, starting pitching, bullpen concerns, offensive improvement, health challenges, spring training, coaching staff, young players, expectations.

SPEAKERS

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Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore, positive, positively, bringing the Maryland crab cake. Tour your way. Once the snow goes away, we’ll be next week, on Wednesday, at Gertrude, my cousin’s place, John shields place, at the BMA before the 1966 sort of Orioles Baltimore play that Dan Rogers is doing. That’s next Wednesday. My dad’s birthday is on Thursday. We’ll celebrate on Friday at Costas in Dundalk. I got great guests coming down. It’d be a big day at Costas on on the sixth of March, and then on the 10th, on Tuesday, we will be at missoney’s in Perry Hall, right on Bel Air Road, my old neighborhood. I lived right behind missones for many years. 30 years ago, my son went to the hall, Perry Hall. We’ll be there on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 10. All are brought to you by the Maryland lottery. I’ll have fresh scratch offs to give away that I do not have hocus pocus in front of me, but I’ll have them by next week. Also our friends at Farnan and Dermer sending our sports crew out on the on the beat, as well as GBMC, we have new sponsors around your great stuff going on. Luke Jones is here, and Luke I am. I’m going to break this to you. We’ll do a little on Air Station business here during the month of March. I have decided that I’m going to be a man of letters in March. I haven’t written John Harbaugh a letter yet. I haven’t written the New York Giants, fans and media a letter yet to tell them what to expect from harbs. And now we’ve learned that manager Oriole manager is not Craig. We’re not going to call him Mr. Albernaz, and as we saw him screaming during the first spring training game, cheering on his players play us. He is Alby Albie. So my my letter will be dear Albie, and this segment is, we have two new leaders here, a new manager, a new football coach. I don’t know. I’m just trying to think out loud, maybe like when Billick came in, it was like when Hargrove came in, or like, you know, at some point, maybe we’ve done this before at some point, but not much, not much. I mean, when March of Broda came in, it was right around the Davey Johnson era, but we didn’t talk about it as such, because the Ravens weren’t even established at that point. Two new leaders, two new guys for you, because you’re the credential guy and I drink out of the back water fountain around here after 40 years of doing this, but you’re allowed to ask them questions. You’re our company is allowed in because our company is legitimate, but I’m not, and you’re going to be asking new questions. And just even during the spring training game where Ryan Ripken and Kevin Brown are sitting in some studio in Hunt Valley off shawan Road in Texas, Texas, Maryland, doing the games, having the manager miked up, having him cheer for his guys, yelling the funny accent, all of that. Whoever the leader is in any city and any they become the president of the organization. We used to say around here when Brian Billick spoke, it was sort of our presidential address. We would break in live to hear and then we never did that with John, because John never said anything. But, um, there is something about the leadership and how much time you’re going to be spending with Craig Albernaz, and you’ve barely met him. Same thing with Jesse Minter, yeah.

Luke Jones  03:21

I mean, obviously when you decide to make a managerial change, or you decide to make a head coach change, you’re hoping that it makes a big impact. I think it’s important to recognize that you’re not reinventing the wheel. John Harbaugh had a lot of success for 18 years. I don’t think you It’s one reason why the Ravens didn’t say, like, Oh, we’re going to blow everything up. We’re going to bring in people that have no connections to the organization whatsoever, but, but they did that, you know, with with Jesse Minter, where there were hardball ties, there were ties with Mike McDonald, which has worked in Seattle, right? You know, to a lesser extent, with Brandon Hyde, but Brandon Hyde was manager of the year a couple years ago, right? It’s not like you go from being a genius to an idiot overnight, despite how fans might try to feel a certain way about it, but it wasn’t working. We talked about it a lot last spring. As far as coming out of the gate, obviously not playing well. One of my biggest indictments of Hyde specifically was just how sloppy this team was coming out of spring training, where you just say, Wait a second, you guys were just on the backfields, supposedly working on all this stuff. What happened beyond the injuries, beyond just guys not playing well, it just it didn’t look good. And I said, you know that to me, that was one of the biggest indictments of Hyde and the coaching staff, specifically, rather than just the overall assessment of them not playing well and getting off to a horrible start and the fact that they were done by mid May. So you look at it through that lens, but you’re bringing in somebody that is a new voice, new set of eyes, new coaching staff, new eyes, new ears, new brains. I don’t think the. Rios completely changed their infrastructure internally when it comes to player development, but you’re looking for new individuals to execute that vision. So, you know, I don’t think in either case that it’s a 180 in terms of a change, especially in the case of going from Hyde, who was a first time manager to Albernaz, who’s a first time manager, right? I mean, there’s not, like, these drastic differences between them in that way, in terms of their profiles, whereas John Harbaugh, okay, 18 years ago, it’s a different story. But, you know, 18 years into it, yeah, Jesse Minter is a first time head coach, so that’s a little more drastic. But you know, to bring it back, have to make the playoffs, though, right? Well, I mean, that’s, I mean, that’s what you’re looking for. I mean, the expectations are there. I mean, well, let me rephrase, have to well, that implies that they’re going to be fired if they don’t. I don’t think they’re firing either of these guys, unless it would be not just missing the playoffs, but it’s a disaster, right where, like they’re in over their head.

Nestor Aparicio  06:03

Well, these were top of school guys too. They didn’t go off the grid here. I mean, these were two guys that probably would have had jobs elsewhere if the if they weren’t hired here, right?

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Luke Jones  06:11

Yeah, these were two guys that, if you if you were asking notable baseball people around July to kind of size up who are the candidates, and let’s just stick with first time managers. I mean, not talk about guys that have been managers elsewhere. But yeah, Craig Albernaz would have been in that on that list. We’ve seen lots of people talk very highly of him around the game. I mean, I said it to you at the time of his press conference, the fact that Stephen Vogt, his manager in Cleveland, you know, his best friend in the game, flew to Baltimore just to be at the press conference. I mean, how many times have you heard that over the years where a manager or a head coach has a lieutenant become a manager or a head coach elsewhere, and not only do they support them and give them a good recommendation and say nice things about them in interviews, but they literally travel to that city to be there for the press conference. Let me be clear. I’m not saying that guarantees that Albernaz is going to be a great manager, but it certainly tells you what Stephen Vogt thought about him as a person, as a bench coach, as a human being, walking into that space and joining in that fraternity of managers. So I thought that was impressive even then, and having a chance to even ask Stephen Voda about him a little bit at that press conference, but,

Nestor Aparicio  07:38

but to lay it back, you were shocked that day to see him in there, right? Yeah.

Luke Jones  07:41

I mean, like, you just don’t, I wanted to see that. I mean, like, I, I’m sure it’s happened before.

Nestor Aparicio  07:47

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Well, John wasn’t going to come to the Minter press Yeah,

Luke Jones  07:52

just stick with that though. I mean, like, Did John Harbaugh attend Rex Ryan’s press conference, or Chuck pagano’s press conference? Or, you know what? I mean, like, Jim Caldwell like and again, you don’t really hear that. I mean, it’s just that would be very it would be very strange. I mean, heck, did John horrible attend his own brother’s introductory press conference with the Chargers? I don’t think so. Right? You just don’t hear something like that. And, and I’m not making any commentary that it’s good, bad or indifferent. It’s just, it’s not something you see very often.

Nestor Aparicio  08:23

It speaks to the relationship and also speaks to yourself. Vote is

Luke Jones  08:27

too Oh, no doubt. Well, you’re talking about a guy who’s been Manager of the Year, guy who’s done more with less in Cleveland than a lot of managers do.

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Nestor Aparicio  08:33

So Albernaz will have to do less with more now without West. Well, that’s,

Luke Jones  08:37

and that’s, but that’s part of what you’re going for here, right? I mean, I think, you know, I mentioned the sloppiness, but, but to kind of go back to the field and what, what I want to see under Craig Albernaz Look this, this all looks different. I mean, the, you know, him doing the live interview on mass, and that was cool to like. I like that, you know, especially in a laid back, relaxed atmosphere that the first break for league games going to be, you know, it’s the accent is definitely something to get used to. I mean, he the thing that I like about him that I’ve seen in just, you know, limited interactions, you know, that I’ve had, or just some of the interviews. He’s got a self deprecating way about him that I think is endearing, right? You can tell that he loves what he does, but it doesn’t feel like he takes himself so seriously that I think that will help him when times are tough, right? And inevitably,

Nestor Aparicio  09:29

I never saw Brandon Hyde smile. I mean, Brandon, he did not seem like a jovial Fellow at all. I mean, he but, yeah, it was John Wayne kind of personality a little bit. Yeah. I mean, and I liked Brandon,

Luke Jones  09:41

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don’t get me wrong, but yeah, he, he had a when he let his sense of humor shine through. It was a little dry or a little more subtle, but, but it wasn’t as often. Whereas Albernaz, you know, you kind of see, he’ll, he’ll even tweak reporters, like, in a fun way, you know, like the word a question to sir. Way, he’s, like, you sure about that? And then he just smiles. And because, I guess he was asked about, you know, Pete Alonso being the cleanup hitter back in like, December, and he said, Oh, you think he’s gonna hit cleanup, huh? Like, you know, Then he smiled, you know, just like, fun stuff, you know, like with that, but, but, but as far as what you’re looking for in terms of on the field, better fundamentals, better, you know, be sharper. Don’t be sloppy. Look. He can’t go up and swing the bat for guys, right? He can’t go on the mound and pitch for a pitcher, right? He can’t throw the pitch for them. But I want to see a team that knows where to throw the ball, knows how to run the bases, knows how many outs, you know, like all that kind of things that

Nestor Aparicio  10:41

make a manager proud, things a manager says, hey, you know, we struck out with the bases loaded, but we put ourselves in a position, you know, from a manager’s perspective, that hit and runs when you have plays on, that signs are seen, that signs aren’t missed, that cut off men are not baseball, but the stuff that we’ve been Watching all of our lives, that when we get critical of of mental mistakes, we look at that and say, were they prepared to play February and March?

Luke Jones  11:13

That’s yeah, that’s where you look at the coaching, right? I mean, and let’s be clear, those are the kind of things, generally speaking, if you’re doing those things? Well, we don’t talk about them, right? We generally don’t praise the manager when you hit the cut off. Man, yeah, exactly. But when? But when you’re throwing to the wrong base, or you don’t know how many outs there are, or you’re making a miscue on the bases, like, boy, we talk about that, and let’s be clear that, yeah, that’s a reflection on that player. But it’s also you start to ask if that’s happening a lot, what’s going on with this coaching staff. And again, that was my biggest it wasn’t that the Orioles had the record that they had, as far as why I blamed, blamed Brandon Hyde. It was how sloppy they looked right out of the gate. If you should be at your sharpest, from a fundamental standpoint, in April and May, right? We all know the dog days, right? You get into July and August, and it’s 100 degrees in Baltimore, and you might you’re banged up. You’ve got a stretch where you’ve played 20 games in the last 21 days that those are the instances where not that you expect it, because you never really excuse it, but you can understand an occasional mental mistake.

Nestor Aparicio  12:22

You’re in the heartbeat of the game, three hours a day every day, six and a half days a week, that situationally, you’re thinking about the game. You’re thinking about nothing but the game and and that’s what, that’s where you don’t want mistakes, especially if you’re independent race. And they, they’re, and they have the ability to be independent race here. I mean, I mean, let’s speak to last year about just getting buried early and how difficult, not difficult. It was over before it was it began last year. Yeah, assuming that’s not going to be the case this year. They’re, you know, all of these pressure points about the new manager and the lineup, and who’s in the lineup and who’s producing, and Kobe Mayo hitting 321 in May, playing third base, and saying to the media, Albie has been a big part of me, my con, you know, like you want to hear and feel that from some of these young guys that have been on the rocks, you know, I mean rushman mayo, curse that all of these guys that have been high cows are sure, even Henderson regress last year. You want to see that come back. You want to see all of that happen, and then the manager will get the credit for that, if that happens. Well, everyone gets the credit, but the manager is part of that, right? I mean, last year,

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Luke Jones  13:49

yes, the injuries were a huge part of it. Yes, the rotation being in the state that it was at the beginning of the year, and never really, okay, they added Rogers, that was huge. And Bradish came back. That was good to see at the end of the year. But that, that group from Jump Street, you know, from the moment that Grayson Rodriguez went down, I mean, that rotation was in deep trouble. But the other factor, you know, I mentioned the fundamentals, but the other factor that reflected so poorly on Brandon Hyde and the coaching staff was what you just said, how many of these young guys, the you know, if you had the arrow from for their trajectory, are they trending up or are they trending down? And just about everyone was on a downward trajectory. I mean, about the best you could say was what Jackson holiday who was slightly up, right? It’s not like Jackson holiday was a an MVP candidate or even a bona fide all star at second base last year. He was just better than he was his rookie year, but it wasn’t this dramatic difference. So this year, with Albernaz and the entire coaching staff, right new hitting coach, with Dustin Lynn and going through the list of the new guys on the staff, and obviously they have some guys back as well on their coaching. Staff. It’s not a completely clean slate, but I want to see all those young guys that were trending downward. Now, let’s be clear, I don’t want to have unrealistic expectations that every single guy is trending up and everything’s going perfectly. We’ve already seen. It’s not because holidays hurt and Westberg is hurt right so, so, you know, right off the bat, not everything’s going to go perfectly, but I want to see that trend line up looking up for the A large portion of those guys, right? I mean, when we talk about, you know, you mentioned from to me, rushman is a big one, right? What? Whoever it is, Albernaz, you know, whoever’s working with him,

Nestor Aparicio  15:41

these guys are going to have to step up, right? Yeah. I mean, I don’t expect Blaze Alexander to become Robbie Alomar, but I would expect that when Jackson holiday comes back, he’s going to look better, plus player, and not a 201 hitter looks in over his head or looks injured. And you know, some Kobe mayo, some gunner Anderson, some Adley rushman, some Kelton cows are is going to have to step up, not to mention the O’Neals and wards and Alonso’s that are all well paid, and also 30 home run guys. We’re kind of expecting that out of them. I’m expecting 125 home runs out of those three guys.

Luke Jones  16:15

Yeah. I mean, you’re certainly hoping to get that. I mean, O’Neal maybe to a lesser extent, just because of the injury history, but Pete Alonso, I mean, other than having Aaron judge or Otani, he’s about as safe as an investment as you can get it in terms of inspecting expecting a guy that’s going to hit 35 or 40 home runs for you. I mean, like, that’s just, that’s who he’s been. He’s been that guy from the moment he arrived in Queens for the match. So that’s what you’re hoping to get. That’s what you’re paying $31 million a year for, right? I mean, it’s not his defense, you know, it’s, it’s not going to be the way he runs the bases. You know, not to say that he’s, you know that he won’t make contributions in other ways. But you got him for his power, and you got him for those intangibles, but, but, yeah, if you’re asking me, like, what’s my expectation for Albernaz and this coaching staff, it’s to get the the trend line reversed on some of these young guys that went in the wrong direction this past year. I mean, there’s no doubt about that, and I know it’s not going to happen for every single guy like, you know? I mean, I was great to see the other day Heston cursed at hit a home run in spring training. That’s awesome, right? I’m, I’m happy for him. Go to, I have no expectation that he’s going to be on the opening day roster. Go to triple A and get your career back on track. And then if there’s an opportunity come June, then, hey, that’s a great problem to have, right? But in terms of the guys that we know are going to be on this roster, I want to see, yeah, realize that potential. In the case of Kopi mayo, we spend an entire segment talking about westburg and mayo. Can he or can he not play third base a new coaching staff? Is there a way that they connect with him, that it clicks for him at third base? You know, he has ability. He’s not a bad athlete. But is there something that they do to adjust with him? One adjustment they make that his throwing is more consistent and suddenly he’s passable at third base for the time being. You know, at least solid. There at least, at least someone you can put there and and say, Hey, we like his bat and he’s not killing us at third base like that would be, that would be a good outcome, right? Even if you, even if you have someone off the bench that replaces them in the eighth or ninth inning, I’ll live with that. Just don’t be the guy that like. Think of Mark Reynolds at third base. You know when, when the Orioles had him? Yeah, he hit home runs, but he also cost, you how many times, because he couldn’t field at third base at all. So, you know? So that’s but, but a new coaching staff, that’s where I want to see a difference this defense. Collectively, I’ve talked a lot, you know, one of the big factors I talked about last year with this team and the year before that, you know, when they started to transition out of some of the previous, you know, the the Austin Hayes’s, you know, Santander go through like that group, and they started to trend younger. One of my big disappointments was, why is this team so bad defensively? Like they talk so much about how good, how good athletes, their young core, you know that they all are? Well, it’s not showing up defensively then. So you know that’s going to be a big factor. I mean, you mentioned cows are one of the big i This might be the biggest factor for them, when you’re kind of looking at it in terms of holistically, like looking at the entire picture, can Colton kauser handle center field for them? Like he doesn’t have to be

Nestor Aparicio  19:36

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Mike Devereaux, by the way, Alan McCallum skeptical, just so you know, we talked earlier, I know you and all are getting together next Friday with me over cost us on the Maryland crab cake tour. But like I had been, I was negative on him when things were going well for him, in saying last year, he’s a trade piece for me last year. And I just, I don’t know where. The ceiling is that’s all with the cows and the mooing and all that, like, I’ll hear all of that, but the strikeouts, the hole in the bat, and now you’re asking them to do more defensively than maybe any other team would ask him to do. Right? I mean, I don’t know that he would just that, that another team that thinks it’s a 90 win team would just put him in at center field and say he’s good for 600 at bats there. I don’t know, but I don’t I’m questioning that more than I am. Let’s say Trevor Rogers or Kyle Bradish, who are way more important, if either one of them are not right, this whole thing goes off the off the tracks pretty quickly for me, unless the efflins or, you know, the bottom end, Bassett, really step up and become ones and twos because I have forgotten about the starting pitching. I’m just saying that’ll be okay. Might be crazy, but the defensive part of this falling apart for me, where it wasn’t so good to begin with. I’m with you. You got a you got a stiff third baseman at the very least that you’re trying out, and you have a center fielder that all of us who know baseball a little bit are like

Luke Jones  21:03

really well. So here’s the thing there are. There isn’t an abundance of good center fielders in baseball at this point in time. You meaning like an all around, all around players, right? You have guys that swing the bat, but their defense is going to be questionable out there. And you also have got some guys that are fantastic defensive center fielders, but the big question is, are they going to hit enough? So point is, you don’t have this surplus of great options to put in center field around baseball like and don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s like five, but I think it’s a little bit like starting quarterbacks in the NFL, where, I don’t know if there are 30 true starting caliber center fielders that people feel great about, that don’t have warts, right? So I think there’s a little bit of that going on. Because, I mean, the reality is Leo Tavares, who they signed defensively. He’s a good center fielder, but I don’t think he’s going to hit nearly enough to justify putting him out there every day. And he’s not going to play such great defense that it’s going to be like, you know, a Paul Blair effect, or mark Boulanger effect, where you’re so great defensively that whatever you do offensively doesn’t matter. So that’s where you look at cows are, and you say, Can he play solid? And look, he’s a good out, like, he’s a good outfielder, like left field. He’s a he’s an act, he’s an, I think he could be an excellent left fielder, you know, assuming he can stay healthy, because he can run, he’s got a good arm, all that, so he checks the boxes to be, you know, if he could stay healthy to develop into a Gold Glove caliber left fielder. Question is, can he hold up in center field? No, I don’t have any designs that he’s going to be a Gold Glove center fielder. That said with it, given what I just said with the profile, because he does hit for power, and he does have speed, he does have a good arm. Can he be, you know, average defensively and center field. And when I say that, I mean, as a starting caliber center fielder, can you play well enough defensively to do that? And then if you do that, and you get the bat back on track, look, he’s, he’s, he’s going to strike out a lot. That’s part of it, right? He’s going to strike out lots. I mean, if that’s the requisite, I mean, 80% of baseball strikes out too much in the more than that, even in the eyes of some older fans, which, you know, I get like, I’m not saying that you have to like it, but it’s the reality. But if you can get him back on track offensively, and look sky, but he broke his thumb the fourth game of the season, right? Missed two months, came back, hurt his ribs, played through a ribbon rib injury for a nice chunk of the season, had a concussion. I mean, this is, you know, it’s a lot like the Westberg thing, right? I mean, just was not right. So if, but if he can get back on track and look more like the guy he was two years ago. I mean, keep in mind, this guy was second and Rookie of the Year Two years ago. This isn’t a guy that’s devoid of ability. So if he can get back to looking more like that guy, and couple that with a defensive profile in center field, where he’s solid, you know, he’s not going to be, you know, he’s not going to get Gold Glove votes, but he’s not going to be, you know, a liability in center field. That’s a really valuable player like that. That makeup that I just talked about there that ends up being a really valuable player. Is he your best player? Is he going to be an MVP? Is he going to make the all star team? No, not saying that, but that still turns out to be a valuable player. So I think, you know, cows are one of these interesting players, because he’s he his imperfections are very apparent, but I also think that means sometimes his strengths are underappreciated. So we’re going to find out, and if that doesn’t work, however, man, you’re talking about Lee. Buddy Tavares. You’re talking about Dylan beavers, who I like Dylan beavers, but I think he’s a guy

Nestor Aparicio  25:06

that is at bats, by the way, because last year and they brought in another outfield, they got another outfielder, they’re paying $20 million a year to who’s not really an outfielder. Then they have a catcher who’s going to be the DH, who’s really a first baseman, like they do have a log jam and cows is the only guy really holding the glove out there, right?

Luke Jones  25:25

Taylor. Ward’s gonna play left field just about every day too. You know, assuming he’s healthy. Well, Ward’s gonna play left field. No, no. Well, oh yeah, okay. I mean, I mean not saying it when a Gold Glove, but he’s not, like, he’s not Albert Bell out there. I mean, he’s, he should be really solid there. You know, cows are in center and right field. I think it’s going to be a platoon. I think you’re going to see Dylan beavers out there. And I think Tyler O’Neill is going to start against left handed pitching. I think the more you can keep Tyler O’Neill healthy, the better, that is, right? I mean, look, I’d flat out like, if I’m Mike Elias and Craig Albernaz Talking about your roster, flat out saying, like, come on, look, we’ve got to be realistic here. Tyler O’Neill is not going to play 150 games. He’s not gonna play 140 games. Probably not. You know, best case scenario is maybe he plays 120 or 110 but whatever 110 games he’s available for if we have him DHing, and we don’t have him starting six or seven games in a row, and we kind of go through it that way, and you think about the at bats for him, so he can play right field against left handed starters. He can DH when Samuel beside the plate, because until Adley rutchman shows that he’s the Adley rutchman offensively of a few years ago, I have no interest in Adley rushman being the DH, until further notice, like I just don’t his bat doesn’t justify it until he starts showing that again. But the point is, with Tyler O’Neill, you can give him at bats in right field against left handed starters. You can give him at bats as a DH when bisayo is behind the plate, or bisayo gets a day off, or beside his face in a tough lefty and he DHS against the left handed starter. Point is, there are at bats there. And I think in the case of Dylan beavers, I don’t want to just hand him a 155 start a year job, but he showed enough that I want to pencil him in to be starting most of the time against right handed starters. And then you kind of go from there, right? Because part of that is I lay out that plan. And then Tyler O’Neill hurts his hamstring running the first base in the, you know, third week of grapefruit league action. Then, well, then that’s different. Then, then he’s not available. Then, then maybe we are talking about Heston kerstad Making the opening day roster. So point is with beavers. I think you like what you saw last year, and I know the final, the final statistics ended up not looking quite as good, because he did tail off. But he draws walks, puts the puts the bat on the ball. He showed some pop. I think he’s got the ability to play plus defense in right field. Like I said, if cows are gets hurt or cows are can’t handle center field, can you put beavers in center and see what that looks like? Sure. Is that ideal? No, because I think he’s probably, he’s not as good of an athlete, I think as cows are. You know, cows are can run like cows are big, and he can move beavers doesn’t quite strike me as being quite as, as impressive

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Nestor Aparicio  28:27

as a better prospect in a general Sure. I mean, cows are was a top five

Luke Jones  28:31

pick, right? So, and, you know, I mean beavers, you know, he’s been on, he’s on top 100 list, so he’s not, it’s not like he’s not a prospect at all but, but the point is, with him, I think there are at bats, but I think you’re going to see these guys kind of move around a little bit, you know. But I do think an absolutely huge part of piece of that is kauser has got to be a guy that looks like he can play 100 start 130 games in center field, you know, 120 530 games in center field doesn’t have to be that out there every single day. And if you’re facing Tariq, you know, Tarek school, that’s probably a day where, you know, cows are probably won him on the bench anyway, right? You know, tough lefties, but we got to see. And he’s got one, he’s got to stay healthy. Two, he’s got to be able to handle center field, because they have a real need there. Because, you know, people can talk about Enrique Bradfield and look, I’ll hear that as a potential option as the year goes on, but he barely has any at bats under, you know, under his belt at triple A, like, he’s got to play more at triple A and show that he can hit least a little bit. You know, defensively, Bradfield can play center field. Might be able to play center field in the majors. Now, problem is I don’t know if he’s gonna be able to hit nearly well enough to justify that. So that’s why he’s at triple A it was

Nestor Aparicio  29:47

kind of a question on Cedric Mullins for a period of time, right? Once upon a time?

Luke Jones  29:51

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Sure. Yeah, yeah, so, but I think Bradfield profiles to be a bit better defensively than Mullins was, I mean, but not a 3030, guy. But, yeah. Right one, but not 30 of the other. I mean, you know, he might be a guy that, you know, if he could blossom into a guy that might be able to run into 10 home runs a year, I think you’d do

Nestor Aparicio  30:11

think felt more like a out bumbury kind of outfielder.

Luke Jones  30:15

Oh yeah, yeah, much more defensive and speed guy and, I mean, the problem last year was he got hurt. I mean, he had hamstring injuries. I mean, again, this, this is one of my things with the organization like strength and conditioning. What is going on there? Do you guys have a gap in how your guys train that you need to fix? Because he missed a lot of time last year? I mean, I think Brad field, I’m pulling up his page. Now, I mean, he only played in 76 total games last year. I mean, he had 312 plate appearances. I mean, that’s a lot of development time he missed. And, oh, by the way, he only had 62 plate appearances at at Norfolk. So he’s got some more seasoning to do. And, and he didn’t, he didn’t hit it Norfolk either, like he struggled in that small sample. So he’s got, he’s got a ways to go. You know, I think in a perfect world scenario, maybe Bradfield becomes an option later in the year as a fourth outfielder, late inning defensive replacement. But, you know, you’re not doing anything with him before that. So they need kauser to be able to play center field. Because I don’t like the idea of Leo to various having to play there regularly. You know, we talked about putting a lot on cows plate. It’s putting even more on Dylan beaver’s plate if suddenly he has to play center field, because they view him more as a right fielder. So that is a major, major piece for them. So now, with the Westberg injury on top of that, and you’ve got two spots right now where you’re really looking at questions, you know, can cowser play center field? Cows are going to like, he’ll play right? I mean, even in a scenario where they decide to, okay, he can’t play center field, then he would play a corner outfield spot. So he’s gonna be out there if he’s healthy, but,

Nestor Aparicio  32:01

well, that would make beavers a center fielder, right? Because they don’t really have anybody the problem.

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Luke Jones  32:05

I mean, they have leoty Tavares, who had a, what, a 600 ops last year. I mean, can’t hit. So, you know, he can, he can pick it, but, and he his defense isn’t so good to to kind of think he’s going to be an everyday option for you. You know, he might start to get like I said, he might be the that might be the scenario where cows are gets a blow against the tough left handed starter, you know, once a week, or whatever it is, so but, but, man, that just feels like such a pivotal piece for them. If kauser can be solid in center field, then you feel better about the outfield defense. You feel better about the roster collectively, because if he can’t, then end then you’re starting to wonder, like, do you need to go out and get somebody? And the problem is, you do that and you say, All right, it’s someone that’s good enough defensively, but are they going to be able to hit? Because, like, goes back to what I said, there isn’t an abundance of great starting caliber center fielders that are all around complete kind of players you you tend to have the guys that are either so unbelievable defensively that you kind of put up with a lesser bat, or you have guys like Hauser, where you say, Okay, there’s definitely upside to get the kind of offense that he could potentially give you at a position that isn’t premium offense, typically, and you kind of look at it that way, but, you know, he’s got to prove that, like he’s got to prove that he’s got to find and really, you know, offensively, I mean, it’s, it’s more than just the strikeouts, really, where it is. He can hit the fastball. His problem is change ups and, you know, breaking stuff, where he really, really struggled in that department big time last year. And look, if they want to say that, that rib issue that he ended up playing with for most of the year, if that had a major impact on that, I’ll buy that. But that said, then, okay, I need that to look way better this year, because I’m all to be healthy and too. I mean, the whole premise of everything we’re going to talk about here, the next five, of course, the season begins is that they’re not healthy, and they’re probably going to get more unhealthy in the next month. Something else bad is going to happen. Yeah, I just hope it’s not efflin or, you know, the pitching has to stay together here. I think they can cobble together defense and cobble together mayo with third base and let him hit 228 for a month, or, you know, kick the ball around a little bit if that happens, if he hits, yeah, but they can’t start the season five and 16 because they can’t

Nestor Aparicio  34:25

get pitchers to the fourth inning. Sure. I

Luke Jones  34:27

mean, no question. And that’s where you kind of look at this thing and say, okay, for everything we’re talking about here. And you know, the tone of this conversation sounds very gloomy, but we’re just talking about the very real questions that they have. And now the third base piece is such a big question, because you don’t have Westberg and you’re not gonna have a holiday for the first, you know, at least the first couple of weeks. But yeah, I mean, they should, and I emphasize should, have a much better offense this year, because you. Just strictly looking at it in terms of you’ve added Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward even, even if you’re cynical about Tyler O’Neill, I think it’s still fair to be optimistic that’ll play more than 54 games. So you should be better, you know, with what you get from him, you should be expecting these young guys, at least a good chunk of them, to get back on track. You know, a guy that we haven’t talked about a whole lot, but, I mean, Sam basaio, there’s a reason they gave him an extension, right? I mean, one, yes, I get it. The cynical say, well, he’s the guy that would take it noted, but you still wanted to give it to him. That speaks to what you think about him as a player. Because if you had your doubts about him, you wouldn’t give him that. So you kind

Nestor Aparicio  35:45

8

of look, I have my doubts about mayo. You have your doubts about westburg. We have our doubts about rushman. None of them got 78 million

Luke Jones  35:52

right Well, but, but the point is that speaks to what they think about his bat and what he can do. So, you know, point is, offensively, I’d be very surprised if they’re not markedly better than they were last year. I mean, they better be because their offense, man. You remember how much I complained about their offense last year, even when their pitching was lousy, I kept pointing out, yeah, they also scored one run. They also scored.

Nestor Aparicio  36:16

Well, the general routine here was, I pitched about the pitching and you pitched about the Sure, right? It was like Abbott, neither one of us touched the defense because it didn’t. Because it didn’t matter. And by the

Luke Jones  36:24

way, we were both right, like, because they stunk in every phase early last year, but, but, but, yeah, you look at the pitching, and you know the rotation, whether they’re going to come out in a five man, and like, efflin starts the year on the IL because they ramp them up a little bit. They just slow play him a little bit, whether they do a six man rotation, and they kind of slow play, you know, the idea that Bradish, they know Bradish isn’t going to throw 200 innings this year, so you kind of slow play him a little bit here and there. However they do it. Yeah, those guys need to perform. And you know, that’s why I have a little you know, their rotation needs to be on point as much as it can be considering, okay, I get it. You don’t have a established number one starter in the way that everyone hoped they would acquire one, but that group should be a lot better than last year’s group, and they need to be, because I have my doubts about the bullpen. I still do like, Okay, Ryan Helsley sold on him. I’ll totally buy the whole, you know, the month long hiccup he had with the Mets. I’ll buy that. I’m fine with that. I i Like Ryan hesley as a closer a heck of a lot more than I like Craig Kimball as a closer a couple years ago, which, if you recall, I was pretty skeptical of that from Jump Street, but the rest of it, you know, kittridge, okay, Keegan Aiken, okay, like Tyler, wells, if he can stay healthy, okay, but, man, I still feel that there’s there a high leverage arm, short for me feeling comfortable enough about the bullpen, so Yeah, they’ve got a pitch. There’s no doubt. And all these other questions they have. Look, every team has questions. Dodgers have questions right now. Believe it or not, the Dodgers actually still have some questions right now. Probably afford to have questions. I was gonna say, answer them. It probably won’t matter, come September and October, because, you know, they’ll, they’ll be the Dodgers. But, like, everyone has questions this time of year. But yeah, it comes down to, yeah, you’re absolutely right. For all everything else we talk about, they’ve got to pitch well enough, and they didn’t spend

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Nestor Aparicio  38:26

$18 million on a pitcher last week to think that they’re not going to be in the race in August,

Luke Jones  38:30

no doubt. And I think, I think that’s why I said with Bassett, No, he wasn’t the exclamation point. But I think that was a nice, bold period to end their offseason in a position that was better than I thought it was before they signed him. So we’re going to see. You know, fingers crossed. To your point about health, as they’ve already taken some, some major blows in that department, and you kind of brace over these next few weeks to just, hey, you know, I don’t care what the numbers look like. I don’t care what the stats look like. I don’t care about the wins and losses in spring training, just get through, get your work in, and stay healthy. And if you can do that, then you’re feeling feeling pretty good about this team as we get closer to opening day overall, despite the Westberg and the holiday news.

Nestor Aparicio  39:12

All right. Craig Albernaz Albie, we have confidence in you. It’s still early. Injuries are out there. It’s still snowing around here, but we’re going to get to some baseball. First thing we’re gonna do is get some crab cakes. Maryland crab cake tour begins next Wednesday, back in earnest for springtime, we will spring and sprung at Gertrude at the BMA on Wednesday, the sixth, or excuse me, the fourth, the sixth. On Friday, we’re going to be at Costa sin in Dundalk, and then on the 10th, we will be at missoney’s in Perry Hall. All of it brought to you by friends at GBMC. Keep me alive. I had Dr is scary on and did my colonoscopy last week to thank him. Make sure you’re getting yourself checked out, staying healthy out there with our friends at GBMC. Also the Maryland lottery. Fresh scratch offs to give away. And we have a new sponsor, farnand Durbar. They’re the comfort guys. They’ve kept me comfortable getting my HVAC fixed up around here. I had all these funky. Funkification smells, and they sourced it, and they figured it out on Friday, and the smells are gone. So my thanks to foreign, foreign and Dermer as well for their sponsorship and everything we’re doing around here’s getting ready for spring. We’re getting ready for football. Ravens are out in Indianapolis this week with new head coach, Jesse Minter. We’re going to get him a letter too, because I’m a man of letters, and it’s almost March. I’m Nestor. We’re W, N, S, T, am 1570 Towson, Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore positive.