As the All Star break opens the second half of the MLB season with labor pains and the August 3rd trade deadline looming, Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the realities of the Baltimore Orioles and the empty feel of Camden Yards with a view from the periphery of a weak American League wildcard race to the bottom.
Nestor Aparicio and Luke Jones discussed the Orioles’ recent struggles, including a rain-delayed game that displaced 14,000 fans. They criticized the team’s management for poor decision-making and lack of fan consideration. Luke emphasized the importance of the upcoming series against the Kansas City Royals, suggesting a sweep could provide some optimism. They also debated potential trades, with Taylor Ward and Trevor Rogers as key players. Nestor expressed frustration with the team’s performance and ownership, while Luke highlighted the need for fresh leadership and strategic moves to improve the team’s prospects.
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Update and send out the full schedule for the Maryland Crab Cake Tour, including the return to Pizza John’s in a few weeks.
- [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Host and coordinate the Maryland Crab Cake Tour event at Fadley’s on Friday, including coordinating appearances by Luke Jones and former WNST intern and delegate Sean Stanette.
Orioles All-Star Break and Fan Experience
- Nestor Aparicio discusses his upcoming trip to Philadelphia for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, mentioning guests like Todd Radha and Donna Halper.
- Nestor talks about the Maryland Crab Cake Tour, including events at Fadley’s and Koco’s, and mentions former WNST intern Sean Stanette and Annie Milley from the Goldsacker Foundation.
- Nestor expresses frustration over a recent baseball game postponement that displaced 14,000 fans, criticizing the decision-making process involving the Orioles, Major League Baseball, and the Cubs.
- Luke Jones empathizes with the inconvenience caused by rain delays but argues that better exchange policies could mitigate the impact on fans.
Criticism of Orioles Management and Decision-Making
- Nestor criticizes the Orioles’ management for not standing up for fans and questions the decision-making process behind game postponements.
- Nestor argues that interleague play and the lack of a balanced schedule are contributing factors to the poor fan experience.
- Nestor shares a personal story about a friend whose plans were disrupted by the game postponement, emphasizing the widespread inconvenience caused.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the need for better communication and compensation for fans affected by game postponements.
Orioles’ Performance and Future Outlook
- Luke Jones discusses the Orioles’ recent performance, noting their struggles and the need for improvement.
- Luke emphasizes the importance of the upcoming series against the Kansas City Royals, suggesting that a sweep could provide some optimism for the team.
- Luke highlights the challenges the Orioles face, including their poor road performance and the need to realign their rotation.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact of the trade deadline and the possibility of the Orioles being buyers or sellers.
Speculation on Trade Deadline and Team Dynamics
- Nestor and Luke speculate on potential trades involving players like Taylor Ward and Trevor Rogers.
- Nestor expresses skepticism about the Orioles’ management and ownership, suggesting that significant changes may be needed.
- Luke acknowledges the challenges faced by the Orioles but argues that the team has made progress in certain areas, such as international scouting.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the potential impact of a new general manager on the team’s future direction.
Reflections on Ownership and Management
- Nestor criticizes the Orioles’ ownership and management for their handling of various issues, including player development and fan relations.
- Luke acknowledges the need for change but argues that finding a new general manager is challenging, especially during the season.
- Nestor and Luke discuss the importance of fresh ideas and leadership in turning around the team’s fortunes.
- Nestor expresses frustration with the current state of the team and the lack of accountability from management.
Final Thoughts and Upcoming Events
- Nestor and Luke discuss their upcoming plans, including Nestor’s trip to the All-Star Game and the Maryland Crab Cake Tour events.
- Nestor expresses optimism about the upcoming events and the opportunity to connect with fans.
- Luke emphasizes the importance of the Orioles’ performance in the upcoming series against the Kansas City Royals.
- Nestor and Luke conclude the discussion with a focus on the need for improvement and the potential for positive changes in the future.
Nestor Aparicio 0:01
Welcome home. We are WNST AM 1570 Towson, Baltimore. Happy weekend to everybody out there! And if you’re enjoying Birdland, I’m enjoying baseball. I’m going to Philadelphia on Monday and Tuesday for the Major League Baseball All Star Game. Having some good guests on. Todd Radha joined me for a while this week. I’ve had some fun. The great Donna Halper, the DJ in Cleveland in 1973 that discovered Rush and put them on the air, spending lovely 30 minutes with me. So you hear all that out here at WNST and AM 1570. We’re going to be doing the Maryland Crab Cake Tour. We’re going to be at Fadley’s on Friday. Luke’s going to be joining me. Going to be joined by former WNST intern and now elected official, elected delegate Sean Stanette will be joining us at Fadley’s, Fadley’s, and I’m excited about that. And I might have got a little rock and roll and some rush talk. And Annie Milley from the Goldsacker Foundation is also going to be joining me, talking about the city and other things. We’re going to be out of Koco’s, and they’re on vacation in a week and a half. We just got Pizza John’s back. We’ll be there in a few weeks, so I’ll be getting the whole schedule out. This guy is um about to vacate and have pizza of his own in Wildwood, New Jersey, but he will be saying hello at Fadley’s and was scrambled around by the. This is a new pig trick that baseball has that it really pisses me off, and I can’t think that there’s anybody in their in their business or their industry, that says, “Yeah, displace the 14,000 people that were coming to the ballpark tonight, and let’s we got to get the game in. So you had that happen on Thursday, and had some friends displaced and whatever. But it’s just the way they do things, right, Luke?
Luke Jones 1:36
Well, I mean, look, rain and rain delays and postponements and long delays and all that stuff. I mean, I do empathize from a standpoint of you can’t control the weather.
Speaker 1 1:49
I
Luke Jones 1:50
think the only way that it’s remotely acceptable is if you have an excellent exchange policy. But it stinks. It does stink because you’re going to inconvenience somebody, right? I mean, I mean, I can recall being a kid and sitting in rain delays way back when, when they would open up the gates, probably knowing they had very little chance of playing, but that didn’t stop them from selling concessions and parking for, you know, the better part of two or three hours. So there are different ways you can look at it. It’s never ideal. I based on what the attendance was for the first couple games of this series, I’m guessing there weren’t going to be a ton of people in the ballpark. But that’s not to trivialize when it happens, right? It’s a pain for people. I want to
8
Nestor Aparicio 2:33
interrupt you and just say they are the most important people, and I’d be glad if they hire me as a junior executive down with the Orioles to stand up in the room when they’re going to pull this and say, “These are your customers, these are your fans, these are the people that matter. No one stands up for them except me. Like literally, I and I’m you’re not allowed to stand up if you work for Mass and you or you get you know if you need to be in their good graces or you have a sky. You can’t say anything bad about them, and there’s a lot of bad things to be said about them in general. This is one of those days where I just shake my head and says, “Does anybody stand up in in in the in the decision making tree? And they would never even tell me where where does that decision come from? I mean, it’s got to go through Katie Griggs, and it’s got to go through baseball, and it’s got to go through Major League Baseball, and it’s got to Elias has to be in on it, and whatever the union and travel and and this is a byproduct of a interleague play. We’re gonna we’re gonna mix and match, and we’re gonna play series like that, and then eliminating making a balanced schedule because the Cubs don’t come back to town. You don’t want to come back to town. Don’t need to come back to town for this team. But in a general sense, it that really is the byproduct. This is why these games, dude. I’ve lived a long life. I mean, a long happy life. Well, not baseball wise, but a long happy life. I’ll be happy at the at the All Star Game on Monday with my press pass, but they didn’t do this for 55 years because it’s a really shitty idea. I’m just going to say that out loud, and we can excuse it, and it was going to rain anyway. And I hear all of that. It’s just a terrible idea. I had I had a friend whose wife had a business thing and employees and kids and fan. It was their night at the ball. It was their their night at the ballpark, and it got moved and you know just created a something that they spent a lot of money on to do, and they didn’t back out of it. They did it anyway, and it’s you know it’s kind of half-assed that you they won. So we’re gonna get to the game, but I just think that’s one out of 810, 12, 14,000 people. 1000 people, they’re going to inconvenience somebody. They’re going to inconvenience most of everybody, and not most of 100 people. You know, I felt bad when something went wrong with a road trip here. It was. One person on one bus with 50 people. When you start banging out texts to 1012, 14,000 people, Cubs fans driving from Richmond, whatever, whatever. It’s not right. It’s not right. That’s it. That’s all I’m going to say. Performative, whatever it is, it’s not right. And we’ll move on to the game because I know you don’t want to talk about it. I mean, I have one more thought. Make make it make it an acknowledgement that it’s an inconvenience, right? Very good exchange policy. So let them
Luke Jones 5:30
exchange dollar for dollar, and then a voucher for another game. Or even if you’re not going to give a full-blown voucher, hey, any game, you know, you know, it can be for a specific range of dates, and they’re half-price tickets. Something that’s of monetary value and an acknowledgement to say this was a lousy situation. Look, yesterday
Nestor Aparicio 5:51
I was reading the the Birdland they just sent out. We want your money, and on the back end of that, we don’t just want your money. Show up at 1o’clock if you want to watch the game tomorrow. No, we got a job, man. Like I said, dude. Yeah, because
Luke Jones 6:03
again, there’s not when the when the forecast is lousy, and it’s not like they do this three times a week, right? I mean, we’re not we’re not. Hopefully, we don’t get to that point in time. But it’s not like they
Nestor Aparicio 6:13
did it the first 100 years of baseball either.
Luke Jones 6:15
Sure. Well, that’s where I’m coming. But that but that’s also kind of a. I mean, okay, I hear what you’re saying. We also because it
Nestor Aparicio 6:22
wasn’t a good idea.
8Luke Jones 6:23
We also have better forecasting technology. We we have lots of there are lots of issues at work here. There are lots of challenges with it. It’s not ideal. If they kept the game at 6:35, it might have been canceled altogether, right? I mean, I again, if you’re going to do something like this, have something that you give paying customers to say, “Hey, in addition to an exchange, here’s a voucher for a future game and a free
Nestor Aparicio 6:48
beer next time you come. So, or
Luke Jones 6:49
like a 50% you know, some kind of promo code where you can get really cheap tickets, something like that. I and I and I think that’s the way to go. But to bring it onto the field, and they won, they won, and you know they don’t do a lot
Nestor Aparicio 7:03
of that.
Luke Jones 7:03
They right. I mean, this this was not a good series. It’s a very frustrating series, not a surprising series. I mean, this is a couple. I mean, damn, they
Nestor Aparicio 7:11
lost in the ninth inning. If the guy you know guy stays on the bag at second base, you could still be playing. I mean, we’d be talking
Luke Jones 7:17
way more about Cover Henderson’s defense again. I mean, Holiday throws low. Henderson throws like we’re back to that in the ninth inning with the game on the line, and that’s that’s that’s a way of life. It’s not even a trend with the team, but they want him. I mean, it’s it’s why they’re eight games under 500 They were nine games under 500 It’s why I mean, really for me, as we look at more and more at the big picture of the trade deadline, and obviously the All-Star break approaching here very rapidly. One series to go. As it pertains to talking about this team’s prospects, as far as being buyer, seller, trade deadline, whatever you’re going to do, I’m kind of down to one last thing here that I’m not even saying it’s not really even an ultimatum in my mind, or not that I can give a baseball team an ultimatum, but in terms of how I’m thinking about them, can you sweep the Kansas City Royals? Nah, no. I mean, I’m but I’m asking here, like, if if we’re looking for any shred of optimism, and believe me, this isn’t me sitting here laying this out and being Mister Mister Positive here. But if you can sweep the Kansas City Royals, who are the second worst team in the American League, have a worse record than this ball club. That means you’ve won four in a row for the first time all season. You’ve gotten to the All Star break at five under 500 which is not good, but it’s not nine or 10 under 500 We still acknowledge it’s a mediocre American league. It gives you a chance to catch your breath, realign your rotation, do some soul searching during the All Star break. Guys can look in the mirror and say, you know, what am I going to make these last three months, two and a half months of the season? Are we just going to play out the string, and they’re, you know, we’re going to sell at the deadline like last year, and no one’s going to be paying attention whatsoever? Or can we go on a little bit of a run here, coming out of the All Star break, acknowledging you’re going to be on the road quite a bit, and you haven’t played very well on the road? That that’s two out of three. I don’t care. Obviously, if they lose the series, then we’re talking about them being nine or 10 games under 500 at the All Star break, but that’s I mean that’s about as simple as I get as it pertains to that part of the conversation, right? This is one of the few teams you’re going to play moving forward that has a worse record than you currently do. Can you go sweep them now? Oh, I mean Kansas City’s gonna show up. They’re they’re coming off of that. They just took two out of three from the Phillies over the holiday weekend. I mean, they’re you know they’re they’re not gonna just you’re not just gonna roll the ball out and beat them. The Orioles shouldn’t feel that way about anyone at this point in time. They haven’t played that way. So, but you know they they won on when on on Thursday. It’s a nice come from behind win. Nice. Moment for Jeremiah Jackson. I actually thought Craig Albernaz pushed some buttons in a way that I thought was a positive for for the club. We haven’t said that a whole lot. Well,
8Nestor Aparicio 10:11
the matchups late in the game were interesting,
Luke Jones 10:14
right? If nothing else. Yeah. I mean, I mean, how many times in recent years have you seen someone be announced as a pinch hitter. They bring in the the opposition brings in another reliever, and then someone pinch hits for the pinch hitter.
Nestor Aparicio 10:29
Well, you don’t have enough guys on the bench to be right. I mean, that’s like that’s
Luke Jones 10:32
something like that. You saw that years ago when you would have a six or seven. You know, like you’d have six guys on the bench, right? I mean, at that point in time, you had a a 10 man pitching staff, right? You might only have five or six guys in the bullpen. I mean, this is a this isn’t 10 years ago. This is a long time ago. So it was interesting to see them pinch hit Beavers for O’Neal. They bring in the lefty, real tough lefty, and then they go to Jeremiah Jackson, and he got he came through, and a really nice slide at the plate by by Pete Alonso, so it’s a nice win. I mean, you know they’re going to win some games, right? I mean, they’re not going to lose out. But like I said, and you can tell me all about it because I’m not going to be paying attention for most of the weekend because I’m going to be on vacation. I’ll be checking the score because it’s just in my nature. But but again, if you want me to even talk in any semblance of serious terms, terms coming out of the break, yeah, sweep this team. You know, if you can get to five under and you’ve got a four-game winning streak, who knows what else happens with the wild card race? I mean, they’re still only in the in the vicinity of four, four and a half games out, right? I mean, it’s not not like they’re in this insurmountable deficit, but they do have quite a few teams ahead of them at this point. And at some point in time, again, as as we’ve said over and over, I mean, you are what your record says you are. When you can’t win four in a row, when you can’t win series consistently, when you kick the ball around on defense, your offense is maddening in two hits in the eighth inning. Two
Nestor Aparicio 12:02
hits.
Luke Jones 12:03
I mean, it was you and I didn’t talk at all about Wednesday. I mean, what a weird couple nights. I mean, on yeah, they they hit
Nestor Aparicio 12:09
the ball and then lose,
8Luke Jones 12:10
and you know they they give up the long ball. I mean, Dean Kramer kind of reminded me of Dan. If you remember Dan Straley back in 19, you know, the the first year of the Elias era. I mean, go look at his numbers and look at how many home runs he gave up. It kind of reminded me of that. But you know, they hit the ball on Wednesday night, but they don’t pitch. And and then on on Thursday, you know, O’Neal hits another home run. Had two home runs on Wednesday night, but he hits a home run in the second, and they didn’t have another hit until Jeremiah Jackson’s RBI two run double. But they had what six walks? I think it was between those two hits, and they also got
Nestor Aparicio 12:45
plunked.
Luke Jones 12:46
Two hit by pitch, right? I mean, just like weird stuff. Like it was a weird series. Two guys get
Nestor Aparicio 12:50
plunked, and you win the game because of it.
Luke Jones 12:52
Yeah, weird. Yeah, I mean, you know, the hey, that’s the kind of thing that you know. Dare I say, if you’re going to do anything to to you know be a good team over the course of 162. You got to win games like that. They haven’t won games like that, right? They’ve been the team that loses games like that far too often this year. So so it was a nice win and it was a feel good moment. And I felt good for Jeremiah Jackson. I mean, think about it. He had a really good April. He was one of this team’s best players in the first month or so, and then he fell off, and obviously Holiday’s back in the picture. So it’s not surprising. I’m not saying he’s been wronged or anything like that, but nice to see him come through there. I mean, that’s you know he’s still someone who is trying to prove himself at least as a guy that you know is going to be a bench player for them over the next couple years at the very least. I mean, that’s there’s still value to that, right? I mean, so you know it was it it was a a strange game. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention. I mean, Trevor Rogers pitched really well again. I mean, Trevor Rogers. This is four of his last five starts where he has an official quality start. You know, for for whatever that game’s really been decent,
Nestor Aparicio 13:55
man. It’s such a shame, isn’t it?
Luke Jones 13:56
It has been. I mean, it’s I. We’ve talked about the rotation, but even the bullpen. And look, I think Wednesday night was a good example of they’re still lacking. Like if we were talking about this team being a contender, if we were talking about the original
8Nestor Aparicio 14:12
sin is they needed help. We’d be
Luke Jones 14:13
talking about man. They need a couple down Helsley
Nestor Aparicio 14:16
too right now. And that’s the thing, right? I mean, you’re wait.
Luke Jones 14:18
You know, you’re still waiting on him for a second opinion. I mean, whether he has Tommy John or there’s something else, or they just shut him down. I mean, you know, he’s not going to be pitching anytime soon. You know, even the best case scenario. This feels
Nestor Aparicio 14:29
like look, you’re going to get together at Faithley’s on Friday, and you’re going to the game Friday, and you’re going away, and and for God’s sake, I’m going to the All Star game on Monday and Tuesday, Philly. Dude, it feels like the end. It feels like you’re going to get back late next weekend, and it’s going to really be football season. And the trading deadline is going to be some mousy mouse and mouse thing where they deal a couple of this and a little bit of that. But it’s not going to be any of the. They’re not dealing Henderson or Rushmore or Hollywood. They’re not dealing any of the any of the meat and potatoes of any of this. Would be foolish to trade.
Luke Jones 15:00
Henderson, right now. I mean, he he’s having a bad year. This is a timing trade.
Nestor Aparicio 15:05
There’s no value in any of. Maybe Rogers has value. Maybe he just led me on to something here to like you know if they’re going to piece this thing together in the next 23 days and and come out of this with a stronger organization that wink wink Michaelias is going to be running next year. That if he’s still running the team, and and to your point, I don’t think he’s nefarious. I think he thinks he’s going to be running the team. He thinks he’s going to be the one boxing me out in Sarasota next year when I don’t get my press pass.
8Luke Jones 15:36
And I think everyone look,
Nestor Aparicio 15:38
and he’s drafting baseball players this week too. So let’s you know this is a this is a really crucial three weeks here for the organization for the future.
Luke Jones 15:45
But I think anytime you’re talking about these types of positions, whether we’re talking about a general manager in any sport, general manager, head coach, manager, look, even even the ones that are regarded as safe.
Luke Jones 15:59
No, no, I’m talking more in terms of character and things of that nature, and I’m, you know, I’m not veering down there. Like, but they all have egos. They all think highly. They have confidence in themselves. You don’t get into that position without having a high degree of confidence in what you do. So I think it’s human nature, unless you your owner has directly told you you’re gone after this, or you’re gone. That you know, which would be such an awkward conversation, dude.
Nestor Aparicio 16:27
Elias, right now, if he’s home with his wife, he thinks they’re gonna go 15 and seven soon. He’s hoping that the like, you know what I mean? He he, what he said in the dugout a week and a half ago about them being a buyer feels pretty full. Of course, he wants to be a buyer. He doesn’t want to be a seller. If he’s a seller, he knows they’re throwing the talent. So, and he knows
Luke Jones 16:46
that’s it’s all all the more likely that he could be gone. That whether he feels as confidently about it as you or I do. Well,
Nestor Aparicio 16:53
this goes back to the original point, which is Eric Eddy and Rubenstein are not telling him to do anything because they don’t know anything about baseball. Yeah, so they’re going to defer to him for everything until they don’t anymore. So these decisions that will be made, I guess we’ll be talking about them when you get back from vacation. But in a general sense, you and I banging around about them being eight games under 500 on July 27 and thinking that they need a relief pitcher, or that we need to even speak about them needing a relief pitcher. I would just rather talk about who the Ravens are going to play at center. You know, like I’ll move on to that. I have no problem doing that. Sure,
8Luke Jones 17:29
but well, but the the the trade deadline is going to be interesting one way or the other, right? I mean, whether they go on some kind of run that we’ve been waiting for them to go on for two months, or if they do nothing, it’s still a story.
Nestor Aparicio 17:41
Yeah. Well,
Luke Jones 17:41
but I but I think they’ll do something to me. I mean, Taylor Ward.
Nestor Aparicio 17:45
You either buy or sell. I think Taylor.
Luke Jones 17:47
I think if you ask me to handicap who’s the most likely to be dealt, and and obviously right now it looks much more likely that they’re going to be more of a seller tendency than even if there’s some player that they acquire and say, “Hey, this guy’s going to help us next year. Let’s deal
Nestor Aparicio 18:02
Blaze Alexander. He’s worth a lot. No,
Luke Jones 18:06
I mean, my goodness. I mean, Blaze should be hitting higher in the order at this point. He’s high
8Nestor Aparicio 18:09
stock,
Luke Jones 18:10
but I mean, he’s he’s been terrific. But to me, Taylor Ward’s the really easy one to look at. I mean, I get it. You traded Grayson Rodriguez for him, but
Nestor Aparicio 18:21
I think Rodgers is the thing that you need to deal and get some advice for. I
Luke Jones 18:24
think Rodgers is the one that potentially brings back something more attractive. That’s the one we’ll be
Nestor Aparicio 18:29
talking about after we’re talking about anything. But
Luke Jones 18:31
I think Taylor Ward’s very likely to be moved. Is my point. I think I think you look around the game. There’s not an abundance of right-handed hitting outfielders, and I get it. He’s not a great defender. His home run power has disappeared, but walked a ton. He’s got a good on-base percentage. I think any team’s still going to look at him and say, “Hey, gets out of Baltimore, where they’ve been they’ve been in a malaise all year. Gets to join a pennant race, and maybe maybe he hits eight home runs over the last six weeks of the season, you know what I mean. So, so I I see
Nestor Aparicio 19:03
him in that light that he’s a helpful piece for a contender.
8Luke Jones 19:06
Yeah, yeah. I mean, and again, what’s what’s that going to net you? It’s not going to be anything that’s going to, you know, you’re not going to view it as like a someone that’s going to be a top three prospect in your system. But you can get a decent, you know, a decent piece that you know that you’re intrigued by that you might, you know, you’d like to get in your system, and you know that that’s what’s going to be interesting because, yeah, I mean the the awkwardness of if you are a seller, and you know you’ve said it already in very plain terms that you’d fire Michaelias today. I’m certainly not going to sit here and make any kind of strong case to keep him beyond certainly beyond this year. I mean, I think I think the the CEO. I haven’t
Nestor Aparicio 19:46
done that. It’s it’s weird you’d even say that out loud, like accusing me of that. I’d be like 35 years. I’m not the fire the guy guy. But you but you wrote. But I no, and that’s how strongly I feel about it because I don’t I just don’t think he’s an answer. I and I think this. Organization needs an awakening that Rubinstein, when he’s doing a PAPA wave and parading Cal Ripken around two years ago, when we smelled something new that interested people, that’s all over with now. Their honeymoon’s over with. I don’t know anybody that thinks Rubenstein’s going to be a great owner, or he’s going to read his fricking book, or wants to meet the whistler, or have him whistle the national anthem, or any of that. Like I, I think they they need fresh in a lot of ways. They need fresh, and he to me, if I want to be a prick, I position him as Angelos’s guy. If I’m trying to get rid of him, I could position him that way and say it’s okay. He was Angelo’s guy. We didn’t win. It’s fine. But there’s a million reasons I would get rid of him. But I just don’t want it to be like if anybody’s never been listening to the show and they come in, he’s the fire. The I’m telling you, in 35 years. By the way, Phil Regan died, and I haven’t mentioned that. Let’s make sure we talk about Phil Regan because it’s important to me, but that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Nobody liked Phil Regan. He got fired. Good idea, bad idea. He didn’t get along with Cal, right? Like famously, and then and and the Davy Johnson thing was there at the time. So like all of that, but I’ve never gone on the air and said fire this guy or fire that guy. Like that’s about the Costa, about even about Harbaugh. I wasn’t a fire Harbaugh guy. I was a Harball’s a fraud and a liar and and lacking integrity guy. And I’ll I’ll I’ll die on that hill. But I was never a fire anybody guy. I just this to me smells bigger than even like who’s picking the baseball players, it’s an attitude of his arrogance and dismissiveness and and hiding like a coward when he fired his manager. And now you’re all that being said, if he is dead man walking, and he he would be in most places, man. Like he’s not even these guys’ guy. So like, and they’re not winning, and they were last place last year, and they’re last place again. So like, so so yeah, like he to me he can’t survive. This isn’t me being a prick. This is like, if he’s not going to survive, why is he picking your players next week? Why why is he making the deals? Like, and why are you absentee? I know why, because you’re multi billionaires that have somebody else you want to screw next week over a buck. So you’re not really even interested in this. They’re not interested in this baseball team. The one that’s interested in the baseball team is Elias, and this is the. It is what it is. He’s doing his best. I’m not saying he’s not. I’m just saying, like this is, this is a this is an ownership crisis, and I’ll continue to I’ll I’ll I’ll stay with that because the stadium’s empty, and they didn’t. And I began this segment talking about have they screwed everybody? Everybody who bought a ticket on Thursday, they screwed. They chose to do that to get the game in, because the Cubs aren’t coming back, like all of that. Give them a voucher. I hear all that, but that was their decision yesterday. The day before that, it was let’s send out the bills for the Birdland membership. The day before that, it’s oh the defense stinks. Like a week and a half ago, they couldn’t get their game on television. Yeah, I mean, it’s a shit show. Here, I’ll drop the mic on that and let you finish up, and I’ll see you at Fadley’s man. But yeah, and have a great vacation.
Nestor Aparicio 23:31
But like, I I just look at this and say the guy who that everybody knows they’re gonna fire, who probably can’t survive this anyway, is picking all of their baseball players in the next five days. That’s how disjointed this is. That doesn’t even make any sense. It kind of reminds me of how the base still on the air when they’ve told everybody they’re getting fired. Like it, that doesn’t make it. There’s just management business things that I look at that don’t make any sense to me. And having him run the team makes as much sense as telling everybody to stay home on Thursday, show up at 1o’clock Like I, it just I wouldn’t do it if I owned the team. I’d say we’re not doing that. We’re just not doing that. I mean,
Luke Jones 24:09
who’s running your draft then? I mean, I’m just we’ve had this conversation. I’m not disagreeing with the need to make a change. I don’t see like you’re not hiring an interim general manager to then, well, money bags
Nestor Aparicio 24:23
won’t know because he’ll send some search committee and like he did for this woman they brought in from Seattle that’s been disrespectful to me.
Luke Jones 24:28
But my point, okay, I mean, who? But I’m talking about the draft. Like, what are you? If you don’t want him picking the players, who’s picking the players? Then it’s just Sigma Mydell. Then it’s Eve Rosenbaum. Then it’s Matt. Like, right? It’s the same. It’s the same people, and I will. I will also say this. This is where there is some nuance to it.
Speaker 2 24:46
That
8Luke Jones 24:46
look, I’ve seen the early reviews. It seems like pundits like what they did in the draft last year. Now, let’s be clear. That’s not Luke Jones saying Mike Elias. Keep his job based on that, but what I’m saying is there are shades of gray. There’s nuance to this. I’ve said all along, if if Michaelias is fired at some point in August or September or the day after the season ends, or even two weeks into the off season or during the lockout or who knows when it happens, I will continue to say that I will judge him basically in two different ways: the way that he built and rebuilt and modernized and brought the organization into, you know, where it needed to be from an analytic standpoint, from an international scouting standpoint, all those different things. I will give him a thumbs up on that part of the job, the early years of that job, where he failed in my mind. In addition to the fact that this young core just has not lived up to expectations and may never live up to expectations to nearly the the degree that it needed to, and that doesn’t mean every single guy hitting. That means having a higher success rate at the very least. But I will continue to go back to, you know, when I started to have a little bit of a different tune when I was talking about Michaelias, go back to the 2023 trade deadline and when they were in a position to very have a great chance to win a World Series. I mean, they’ve won 101 games, and yes, you can look at it in terms of well, you know, you hear the the proverbial five year window. Like we said the same things after Lamar and and this iteration, this era of the Ravens lost to Tennessee in January of 2020, right? Oh, they’re a year ahead of schedule, right? I mean, you hear those kind of things, and it’s it’s really nonsense because none of us know, right? None none of us are teams aren’t assured of anything, right? You might get one chance. Dan Marino made the Super Bowl second year of his career and never got back, right? I mean, you never really know. So, I continue for me the turning point for Mike Elias, and when I and again, it’s not like it’s everything’s good and then everything’s bad immediately after that, right? They’re the Blaze Alexander trade this past off season. For as much as we’ll talk about some of the other moves that didn’t work, there’s going to be
Nestor Aparicio 27:10
good and bad, but they’re going to finish in last place for the second year in a row. Of course, of course. But but for me,
Luke Jones 27:15
as I’m evaluating the Michaelias era in its totality, the trade deadline of 23 was kind of the turning point when when the worm turned in a negative direction for me in terms of seeing this, and then obviously the drop off in the second half of 24, the dumpster fire of a start last year, how how the Brandon Hyde situation was handled. As you know, I agree with you wholeheartedly. It was shameful behavior to not talk to the media until what three days later in Milwaukee. All that, but point is, I think for as much as I hear your point about the draft, I hear a point about the trade deadline. You have to let
Nestor Aparicio 27:57
him pick the players.
Luke Jones 27:58
I think you just you have to you have a system in place, and again, if you wanted to just, I would have done this in May,
Nestor Aparicio 28:04
and I would have found my new guy, and I would have balanced. I just think it’s really
Luke Jones 28:08
tough to do that. I’m like, I care
8Nestor Aparicio 28:10
about baseball. They don’t. They’re not. They’re billionaires. They’re they’re off. I mean, there is no one there to make that decision
Luke Jones 28:15
hiring to be your permanent general manager in in May, unless you’re unless you’re hiring a Dan Duquette who’s been not blackballed but is on the outside looking in, in turn, you know what I mean. So like, it’s just it’s odd, right? It’s in the same way that basically general managers in the NFL, you’ll see different times. Like they’ll either be fired immediately after the season, or the other time you’ll see a team make a move is when, right after the draft, right? Because you’re not, you know, there’s just ebbs and flows to to when you make those kind of moves. Look, at the end of the day, they’re going to pick some players. We know that the first round we’ve we’ve seen firsthand around here that picking in the top five or the top 10, that’s not any any assurance that you’re going to draft a Hall of Famer or a multi-time All Star or anything like that. And and you know to take it a step further with the trade deadline, which is now three roughly three weeks away. I’m guessing you know, we’re not going to see, even if they’re full-blown, no doubt about it, sellers. Let’s say, let’s say they play poorly between now and then, and let’s say they’re 13 games under 500. Like even even under that scenario, 15 games under 500, I still don’t think you’re going to see them. You know, they’re not going to tear down and sell it off to that. The roster’s down to the screws, right? I mean, it’s going to be, you know, down to the studs. It’s going to be Taylor Ward. It’s going to be Trevor Rogers. Yenyer Cano would probably be someone that has some appeal. Maybe Kittridge, if. But it’s not going
Nestor Aparicio 30:00
to be any of the core pieces that are hitting 188. Not not at not at the not at the
Luke Jones 30:06
trade deadline. Well, I agree with you.
Nestor Aparicio 30:08
I’m I’m not. I I see it the same way you see it. I’m not even disputing what you’re saying about keeping Elias around, and I don’t want an ounce of blood. I’m not going to cut off my feet. But like, I’m not letting my soon-to-be fired general manager on my team. I just wouldn’t let him do it. I, I would, I’d roll my sleeves up and get involved if I invested 1.8 billion dollars in owning the team. There did have no grown-ups over there, dude. None. Angelos might as well be his ghost lies over every empty seat in that stadium right now, and I would say that, and I would write that. It’s gross. That that’s all. I mean, the the list of shameful or things that are a shame, or things that could be better, or things that could be nicer, kinder, better, more community oriented, more decent, more professional.
Luke Jones 31:04
That’s big reason why there’s no one in the ballpark. I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 31:07
correct.
8Luke Jones 31:07
You know, the biggest reason is they’re not winning, but those things are not helping by any stretch of the imagination. I mean, it’s you know, it there’s accumulation. Right. Tell me if you feel good about the Orioles. NestorBaltimorePositive.com to do the party parting shot for you because we’re gonna do All Star Game. We’re gonna get together Fadelies, and I want to get you on. I want to get you. I want to get you out of here. You’re sick of this damn baseball team. It’s like I said. I mean, I’ll go back to what I said. My, I’m not even being flippant here. I’m being sincere. It’s kind of like this is like my last. This is my last thing, and to talk in these terms, go sweep the Kansas City Royals. I don’t want to hear anything else. Go sweep the Kansas City Royals. If not, then we know how the second half’s going to go. We know how the trade deadline is going to go, right? I mean, and let me be clear: if they do sweep the Kansas City Royals, that’s not going to be me doing cartwheels from the beach upon learning that. That’s going to be me saying, “Oh, all right. Well, hey, you won four in a row. You’re you’re back to five games under 500 Can you go rip off winning nine of 10 coming out of the All Star break? I mean, like that’s what we’re talking about here. Like, not I’m certainly not holding my breath. Let’s put it that way. But you know, in the meantime, let’s go get a crab cake. That’s what. In the meantime, you know, let’s let’s get some guys. You know, Trevor Rogers is pitching better. Well, for for the last month, that’s been good to see. You know, what’s that going to look like at the trade deadline? And you know, get some other guys back on track. I mean, I still I wrote it at at Baltimore Positive. You know, I talked about it earlier this week. I’m not going to shy away from it. I said it at the time. Gunnar Henderson’s killing this team, and I don’t mean that in terms of bench him, embarrass him. You know, I’ve asked, I’ve had some people asking me, does he have minor league options? I mean, like, come on, guys, let’s be serious. He’s not. He hasn’t been that bad. Like, he hasn’t been that bad where he doesn’t belong in the majors. I’m talking about someone who I’m really disappointed in because he’s been way more of a league average player rather than the guy that you thought could be an MVP candidate, a guy that’s not even in the conversation to be the most valuable Oriole this year. Like when that’s the case, that’s a major problem. Can you get him back on track? Can you get him feeling better? And look, some of that might also play into if they do. Assuming they do have a new general manager in the off season, what’s that going to look like, right? I mean, what’s that individual? How’s that individual going to feel about any of these guys? Yeah, he
Nestor Aparicio 33:29
didn’t draft any of these guys. You know what I mean?
Luke Jones 33:31
Like you, you mentioned the the ownership piece and how they view Elias. Assuming if if they do make a move and they have a new regime coming in, it’ll be fascinating to see what’ll happen with the young core. You know, I mean, I I
Nestor Aparicio 33:44
think for me,
Luke Jones 33:45
I’m very much in a place because so much of this, you know, me the word that I’ve used a lot is bewilderment about how poorly this has gone for the last two calendar years after how well it had gone in the two calendar years previous to to that. So, I there is a part of me that wants to just see a new regime come in with fresh ideas, fresh perspective, you know, fresh eyes, fresh ears for
Nestor Aparicio 34:13
these talented players, and
Luke Jones 34:14
yeah, to see what exactly you can salvage or what moves you can make to to trade the guys that you say, hey, good player, but we don’t see him fitting. Well, I mean, Holiday needs to be in Norfolk now, right? Well, I mean, he did. He had four hits on Wednesday night. I, you know, in all honesty, no. Okay, play him. You know, I mean, but because because for what purpose? You know what I mean? Like, if you feel something specifically needs to be fixed with him, that you feel him playing at Triple A benefits him in doing that. All right, I’ll hear you. I would hear that for a very specific reason. But if it’s just because he’s struggling, but
8Nestor Aparicio 34:56
failing in here for a
Luke Jones 34:58
long period of time is not good either. I I understand that, but at the same time, I mean, it’s not like he was terrible last year, right? I mean, you know that he has gone through a lot this year. Dude, I
Nestor Aparicio 35:09
want to love the kid. I I wanted them all to win. I mean,
Luke Jones 35:12
from from I went to
Nestor Aparicio 35:13
Arlington to cheer them on, even they treated me like garbage three years. But especially with them, like I,
Luke Jones 35:17
but especially with them being out of the race or at very much trending towards being completely out of it and selling and all those types of things, but that’s even more reason to just play them, right? Right. Play the play these left-handed bats against left-handed pitchers. Do all these things that if you gave
Nestor Aparicio 35:32
Rio Rees bats six years ago, you can give your one one at bats, right? I mean, literally. Well, right.
8Luke Jones 35:36
That was a that was a different purpose back then. Yeah, but they weren’t trying to develop Rio Rees. They were, but they were developing Rio Ruiz while they were losing ball. They were
Nestor Aparicio 35:45
developing Anthony Santander without realizing it. I guess at some point, right? So
Luke Jones 35:49
that’s what’s funny. My my my parting shot here. It’s not really a parting shot, but it’s something I heard in the press box on Thursday before the game. Reporter brought it up, and they ask the question, how many guys are actually left from the 2023 playoff team? It’s not many. It’s it’s fewer than you think. On the hitting side, it’s Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman. I mean, Colton Kowser had a a cup of coffee for what four weeks in 23, and then he got sent back. I mean, he wasn’t, you know, he wasn’t on the playoff roster lineup, any of that. You know, Westberg’s been hurt all year. I mean, he’s still in the organization, obviously, but he hasn’t been been a obviously didn’t play a single pitch this year. So, pitching wise, I mean, like Cano, Dean Kramer, Radish, like it’s not many. So you know, it’s funny. Like you kind of think in those terms. You you mentioning Anthony Santander just sparked that in me. And you know that that’s going to be another part of the Elias legacy. We’ll kind of talk about is he did he did quite well with the guys that were already in the system, but a lot of the guys that he picked, especially the early picks, and you know, at best, at best a mixed bag. And I think it’s you know, if we’re going to be completely objective, it’s been more disappointing than not. Given you have to give
Nestor Aparicio 37:17
a whole season away to get Jackson Holiday, correct?
Luke Jones 37:19
Considering the pain you endured to to have those pitches and how you
Nestor Aparicio 37:24
pitched it that way to the fans, so
Luke Jones 37:25
so I think you know I think you know that’s going to be a legacy. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about whenever it ends, but but that was something that I just overheard in the press box, and you know I brought it up to you in passing a couple times, but it does speak to man, 2023 and even the first half of 24. I mean, feels like a long time ago. And boy, the last two years have not been fun whatsoever. That’s for sure.
8Nestor Aparicio 37:49
He is Luke Jones. I am Nestor. He’s going on vacation. The Orioles are going to stink. I’m going to Philadelphia for the All Star Game. I’m going to have fun. We’re going to be the Faithlies on Friday. It’s all brought to you by the Maryland Crab Cake Tour. Our friends at the Maryland Lottery, GBMC, and Farnan and Derma-they are the comfort guys-and I do want to shout out Planet Fitness this summer for getting kids in shape and also for giving me some new gear because it looks good. We are WNST AM 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We never stop talking. Baltimore positive, even if it’s negative sometimes.
