Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the magic of Orioles baseball coming home to Camden Yards with a contender this week and scrimmage how the new age rules are working out to improve Major League Baseball. Most are working out better than the pajamas teams are wearing for uniforms in the modern game.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
game, innings, play, baseball, orioles, bullpen, team, relievers, week, extra innings, series, throw, 10th inning, pitch, great, base, shootouts, runner, sunday, point
SPEAKERS
Luke Jones, Nestor Aparicio
Nestor Aparicio 00:01
W n s t tassel Baltimore and Baltimore positive Yes, I’m wearing the State Fair shirt. We’re going to be Catonsville on Friday. Doing the Maryland crab cake Tour presented by the Maryland lottery be giving away the instant lottery scratch offs. The first ever throwback. I think these tickets are special lucky. I have to ask John about that this week because we had a lot of winners. We had some winners last week and the week before we’ve been all over town. We’ve been from fade Luiza downtown and in Federal Hill, a captain Larry’s all the way over to MC falls in the oyster reel on Thursday. Had a great, great day over there. Glen McFaul, as well as my pal Terry Cook, and a long long chat with Pete Kurinji. Former it’s really weird to say former UMBC head coach for soccer bucked up they’re honoring him again later on in the month. So well, we’ll be honoring Pete all month around here. One of the great conversations of the year ahead with Pete Kurinji. And the fall is we’re gonna be it’s a fair on Friday Talk brought to you by window nation 866 90 nation you buy to you get to free five years 0% financing through May. This guy has been doing double duty. The Lamar Athan is now over with so I guess he’s just going to show up at OTAs. All the drama we had last year is not going to be there. So all the drama we have here moves down to candidate yards now the Orioles home for the next week and a half as like they’re a contender. They’re a contender, Luke Jones, and certainly over the weekend, like a contender against a legitimate outfit down in Atlanta. They want a championship recently, people come to their games on the weekends. And it was it was a noble effort. But a rare loss series for the 2023 birds
8
Luke Jones 01:41
give first one in quite a while although they did win another series opener which they continue to be perfect in series opener. So we’ll see how to go about Tampa are against Tampa in that regard. But you know, it’s a serious loss. And I know, it’s disappointing. And my goodness, they had so many opportunities on Sunday. Specifically, they’re like one of 14, one for 14 with runners in scoring position. They left 11 men on base opportunities really early in that game to really put some runs on the board against elder and they didn’t do it. But I think you look at that series. And you just mentioned it. I mean, a recent World Series Champion, Atlanta has been the best team in the National League record wise. And the Orioles lost two out of three, we get that but one team has to lose the series, right? So if you have two good teams going up against one another. And I think at this point in time, it’s not. I don’t feel out of bounds and Santa land does the better team. But I don’t think it’s this dramatic gap where you say oh, the Orioles are they were exposed this past weekend or anything like that they lost the series on the road. And they lost the two really close games, you know, they gave up a late home run on Saturday. And then on Sunday they lost in 12 innings. So I don’t think it’s anything to be discouraged about or anything that’s telling other than some of the issues that we’ve talked about in the sense of steam plays a lot of close games. We know the starting pitching which wasn’t awful over the series by any means, but it hasn’t gotten get gotten them a ton of length. So then in turn when they’re playing these close games, got a lot of medium to high leverage bullpen innings to cover and I know every single night when it’s not your Cano or Brian baker or Felix Batista out there when it’s close. Right away. Everyone said Well, what spread and hi doing well, Brandon Hyde and the organization and its collective. Now the front office is involved in these conversations as well. But they’ve got a 162 game schedule to navigate here and you can’t just run your high leverage relievers into the ground. So what happens is, yeah, you do need to pass the baton a little bit. And when you’re playing close games, you’re gonna have some relievers who don’t quite do quite as well as you’d like them to so but when you can’t
Nestor Aparicio 03:54
shuffle them in and out with the new rules, and you mentioned high and medium leverage situations, how to put a guy on second base and say in your clothes, or come on in, because that’s not what you’re used to with closers are about right, like so. Sunday’s game was Sunday’s game was like a season. I mean, so was Thursday’s game. I mean, they played some sort of epically long weird high scoring and low scoring extra inning games, they’ve had a lot of circumstances. I mean, I feel like I’ve seen a lot of kaleidoscope of baseball over the last two weeks of every kind of game you can imagine from beating the snot out of them 11 To ones and falling behind. Like they’ve, they’ve managed to at least before they get to these good teams, then high highs, low lows, but more than that, they’re they’re like way better than I don’t want to say the 14 Orioles because that’s how I load around here because people that are 20 years old have never seen good baseball. But this is the best team At this point in the season, I don’t know, dude, I’ll go back to 97. I mean, I’ll give you the 14 team, wherever you are. And part of that, for me is this possibility that they’re going to get better. Not that they’re going to have to trade for some veteran or whatever. They had better players in ninth and Hall of Famers. And they had, you know, they spent a lot of money on that payroll back then the 14 team, there were some payroll, there was some youth there was a little Machado early on, and like all that this thing here feels different to me. Yeah,
Luke Jones 05:28
I mean, I’m not ready to say that there are better than 2014 or anything. I mean, it’s May 1 of all, it’s May, it’s the second week of May. However, your your latter point I absolutely agree with from the standpoint of where this team is, and where these players are in their respective careers. Where this team is in terms of where it was even a year ago, at this time. A year ago, at this time, we were still we were at Adley rutschman Watch point at this point, right? It was okay. Is it gonna be this series? Is it gonna be next series? Is it gonna be the
Nestor Aparicio 05:58
8series? Oh, but there’s something else on top of that loop that you’re forgetting about. We know we stink. We know we stink, whether it comes up or not. They stink this year. They don’t stink.
Luke Jones 06:08
Right? No. But my point is we’re not that far removed from them being in the position that they were in in early May last year, which was okay. It doesn’t feel as awful as it did the year before or the year before that, or certainly the two years prior to that, but still has a really long way to go. So I agree with your general point. I just
Nestor Aparicio 06:28
think that good pretty quick, though. I guess that’s my point. And it happens that way. Baseball?
Luke Jones 06:32
Sure. Sure. No question about it. I think they’re, I think they’re good. I don’t know if they’re great yet. But I think they’re good. But you don’t need two or three
8Nestor Aparicio 06:39
years from the obvious ease and credibility for them to be a 91 team to say they’re here. If they’re here, and I think they’re here. Okay.
Luke Jones 06:46
Yeah. And Tom’s going to tell with that. And look, I think you got the third best record in baseball. But at the same time, we also know that they’ve got some tough opponents coming up in you know, they lost two out of three to Atlanta, nothing to be ashamed about whatsoever. In doing that. It’s not as though those two games they lost by six rounds each or anything like that. But now you do have Tampa coming in. It does look like Pittsburgh coming in after them. The pirates have really fallen off, which by the way, the rays had a big part and sending the pirates into their tailspin. But yeah, we talked about this after the conclusion of April, that business was going to pick up and we’re gonna see how this team fares now. And I think there’s plenty of reasons to be confident in how they are going to fare, but time will tell. And with that they are a young team. And that’s what’s exciting. At the same time. They’re gonna go through some rough patches here. I don’t think there’s any question about that. I don’t think they’re gonna be, you know, a team that’s has a 667 winning percentage at the end of the day, but by any means, but I think they’re going to be right there. And I think what’s frustrating is, you look at the fact that they begin the Tampa Bay series 10 games over 500. And yet, look at the schedule. Look at the standings there, five and a half out. I mean, that’s what’s frustrating because you have the second best record in the American League. You’re five and a half games out of first place with the rays. Not quite at four Tigers like but it’s it’s not too far off from that when you look at what they’ve done collectively with their offense and their pitching. I mean, they’ve just not just beaten teams, they blown them out. So that’s what’s kind of disconcerting if you’re the Orioles or any team in the Al East chasing Tampa right now. But
Nestor Aparicio 08:29
yeah, then you don’t get as much of a chance to catch up because you’re not playing them as much.
Luke Jones 08:33
8Yeah, right. Right. I mean, that’s that’s a fair point. So, I mean, I think from that standpoint, we look, I still have questions on the pitching side about this team. And I think what’s good I mentioned some of the bullpen arms, Dylan Tate, Michael Givens rehab assignments, their return is is coming here shortly or should be and you know, that will help now you have to make tough decisions in response to that in terms of who’s going to go but it really just comes down to they are relying on their bullpen a lot. That’s not unique in today’s game. Let’s be clear about that because you look at the looking at bullpen innings right now as we get ready to start this race series. I think the Orioles are eighth in the majors in relief innings. Now that tells you right there and they they use their bullpen a lot. But that tells you lots of teams do that. The difference is and Tampa Bay uses their bullpen a ton. The difference is the rays have been playing a lot of seven to one kind of games were not exactly a high pressure situation you’re throwing relievers into when it’s like that, whereas the Orioles are just playing a lot of close games. So again, not not sounding the alarm just That’s my observation as far as where they stand right now but nothing to be overly discouraged about how they could have swept that seat that series I think that’s the frustrating thing. They easily could have won all three against the Braves came up a little bit short but again, nothing to be discouraged by and I think if you will Looking for a litmus test the eyeball test anyway, they played with the Braves. And I think what was really neat about that series Nestor, you mentioned it with the attendance down in Atlanta for early May. That series had a, it kind of had a I don’t want to say an October feel to it, but it at least had to me a late August September kind of feel to it that the games felt important and people were into it. They were, do there’s a chance to
Nestor Aparicio 10:25
prove yourself now that you’re not going to have a chance to prove yourself again, unless you play them in the World Series. Right. And in these interleague games, right, this is your one chance to say we held our own against them. And by the way, if they finished 28 games over 500, at the end of September, you’ll look back and you’ll say, you know, they could have taken two out of three against the Braves and if they see them in October, here there there’s no weirdness about walking into that stadium. They all they all Adley rutschman has been there now they all know they’re way down there. They all remember losing an extra nice. Look, Jones here by the way, big week round here. A lot of baseball a lot of home baseball remains to be seen whether people get to get out of Camden Yards and watch them play giveaways pirates. Willie Stargell, Omar Moreno, I’ll wear a whistle all week just so you recognize me. Yet ear canal know, in every baseball season that matters. There’s a gym Traber, there’s a you know, there was a revelation and Alan Ramirez was an old one for you guys to come up for a minute or two and make something happen and have a moment. I don’t know that Yanni or Cano is going to be on the team in August or September. But certainly, this has been as weird a couple of weeks for any pitcher anywhere to find himself in this circumstance by Oh, you’re next up even though we don’t want you to come on up and take the ball right now. It’s kind of where they were two or three weeks ago with this guy.
Luke Jones 11:56
It really is remarkable what he’s done. I mean, he was part of that Jorge Lopez trade last year with the twins and it’s not a young man. I mean, he’s 29 Right? I mean, this isn’t some prospect who was ranked and all these different things. I mean, he was an arm that they clearly identified as had some has had some ability had some stuff but it was not translating and even last year when we saw him pitch for the Orioles it was not good. I was even talking with some reporters last homestand and the overall sentiment from from some of the reporters on the beat during spring training was is yen year Canoga to stick on the 40 man roster even. I mean, that was the thought and certainly there was no thought to him making the club out of spring training and he was optioned and, and all of that, but for him to come in and do what he’s done now over the last three weeks. I mean, think about it a month ago at this time, he was still in triple A and not even on the radar. You know, we were talking about someone like Joey Crable, if there was going to be someone called up from triple A or DL hall or someone like that, if they needed another bullpen arm. So for him to do what he’s done, which, look, there are relievers who can get on a roll from a standpoint of you get quite fortunate with batted balls, you know, when it’s hit, right, it right, it infielders or, you know, you get really lucky in that regard, but 16 innings, two hits allowed striking out 10.7 per nine inning, he hasn’t walked a batter yet. I mean, think about that he hasn’t walked a batter yet. And it’s just it’s it’s absolutely incredible what he’s done now. He’ll give up some runs. Eventually, he’ll walk some batters at some point in time, they’ll stare back at him. But everything about it is, you know, again, this isn’t some reliever who’s just been very fortunate. That’s part of it. It’s there’s always some an element of luck and good fortune or bad fortune mixed in with how you pitch but he’s missing a lot of bats. It’s got that sinker, you know, it’s got that motion that’s a little unorthodox. It’s got some off speed stuff. I mean, it’s it’s a really good repertoire. And I feel like it’s really someone that they’ve made some adjustments with. And like I said, I think they identified an arm that hadn’t played hadn’t really panned out in Minnesota system. And you know, it kind of been up in the majors but nothing to write home about whatsoever. And they said, You know what, we’ll take this guy. No, he’s not. And he wasn’t the centerpiece. Let’s be clear about that. This was not the guy that was identified as, oh, here’s who we’re getting for Jorge Lopez, it was, Oh, we’re getting this guy with a few other young pitchers. That might be something for this one day,
Nestor Aparicio 14:34
but you know, you’re gonna get a guy thrown into a deal. What’s gonna give you two weeks of clean sheets? At any point? It feels like a good it’s already a good trade.
8Luke Jones 14:44
Sure, sure. But but that’s the thing. I mean, I think it’s sustainable now. Zero era that’s sustainable. Let’s be clear about that. But there’s nothing about this that feels like Oh, this isn’t real. You know, this doesn’t feel like you know, when you call up so Um, quad a kind of hitter. And he’s got three, three great weeks, like you mentioned, you know, you mentioned Jim Traber a few minutes ago, but I mean, he’s really been good for them. And I think what’s what’s encouraging about it is him doing this has come at a time where Felix Batista, you look at the raw numbers 1.72 era, I get it, and he’s striking out a ton of batters. But if you watch Batista, the eyeball test, the splitter hasn’t been quite what it was for him last year. And that’s not to say it won’t be, but you can kind of tell him in some of his outings, he’s searching for it now. It helps when you throw 102 And you have that kind of ability to you know, get through outings when you’re a little erratic. But my point is when you have you in your condo, and I’ll throw Brian Baker in there as well, as well as he’s pitched overall for them since, you know, the really bad outing on opening day. It’s allowed them to not have to lean on Batista quite as hard. And Brian and I talked has talked about this he you know, he flat out said, really don’t want to use Batista before the ninth inning this early in the season. Now, come August come July come September. It’s a different story. But you’re in a position where you’ve already been able to throw canole out there to save a couple ballgames for you, at a time where you want to avoid Batista, just because you don’t want to put too much on him. And keep in mind Batista had some health issues late last season and even delayed his start to spring training, you’ve got to think about the big picture. That’s why, you know, and I get it, because in the moment, you want to win every ballgame and Brandon Hyde wants to do that, too. Let’s be clear about that. And I’m not saying that he makes every decision that it’s perfect, and it’s always going to work out. But you do have to manage for the long term. And when you have a situation where you’re playing so many close games, and you’re having to rely on so many different bullpen arms, you really do have to pass the baton a little bit. So to your point, you know, over the last three weeks Cano has been outstanding, doesn’t mean that he won’t go through some rough patches himself. But I don’t know, I look at the sky. And he looks pretty real to me in terms of someone that is going to continue to be effective. He’s not going to continue to be this effective. But I think he’s someone who’s going to help them and really make a difference for them over the course of the season. But you’ve got to keep guys healthy. Got to keep guys on routine. You’ve got to give guys some breathers when when it calls for it. And certainly you look at canole I think I saw a stat. I don’t have it in front of me. But I saw it on Sunday. I want to say since he was recalled from the minors, he’s first, second third and innings or something like that out of out of the bullpen in the majors. I mean, he’s been thrown a lot, you know, he’s thrown a lot. So it just speaks to how effective he has been, and how how much the Orioles have needed them because they continue to be in these close games.
Nestor Aparicio 17:47
Well, you talk about close games, and then there’s tie games, and then there’s ninth inning, and there’s 10th inning. So Sunday was unique in that the game started 1130 In the morning, so we could talk about how weird that was peacock and Ben McDonald and Andrew Jones in the weird camera angles and the fuzzy view of the game and like all of that, but you get to the 10th inning of a game at two o’clock in the afternoon, right? Because they started at breakfast. And keynote comes out in the ninth inning and then the 10th inning you bring your closer in. And look I’ve watched some of this crappy baseball over the last couple of years and they’re moving rules around and changing things and this runner on second base has become I don’t know a little bit like being a hockey fan where they were play five minutes and oktai and go home back in the 80s and 90s where it wasn’t any fun. And we’ve had baseball games and I always talk about the time you can look this one up. My favorite your teacher don’t tell Moeller this but he knows this. My favorite teacher in high school was a man named Don lifer who was Don molars best friend. Don was my journalism teacher. He was everybody’s favorite journalism teacher. So if you ever run into Kevin EQ or any of the Dundalk high mafia, from that era, we all had Don lifer. And Don lifer, loved, loved, loved loved baseball, love the Orioles loved my cousin loved me. And when I don’t think you could do this anymore, I have to ask Sue Monday was my English teacher as well who went to the 1983 World Series game for with us, which probably can’t do now, especially if you’re a woman. If you’re a 29 year old woman, you can’t take 316 year old kids from high school to a World Series game. And I think if your 45 year old school teacher, maybe you can’t just throw one of your students in the car and go to the afternoon game. But Don Mohler and I did that back in 82 or 83. And we went to a game to go we talked for years back on a game when we went to the game together and broke Jacoby hit a home run in the 19th inning. Off the Orioles I remember sitting there with Moeller it was like a one o’clock of life or one o’clock game was a get dark like a seven hour baseball game back in the day and Brooke Jacoby hit a homerun there are no more 19 inning game you know Cal Ripken playing and you know, playing Paul takut And playing three days worth of baseball and all that. I mean putting this runner on second base, it’s just, it’s an invitation. I said to my wife, what are they doing? And I said, Well, it’s two o’clock they gotta get the game over. Yeah, and I know this is really more about saving, pitching and saving arms. And you can’t go reliever to reliever to reliever and the limitations of rosters being different than the but Earl Weaver would come back and I can’t imagine what a URL effing Weaver would make of that and how weird it is for pitchers. You bring your closer in and say, Get a Guy on second base. Go get three outs you know, all of the stats of baseball all of the baseball it’s just not baseball to me. Why? It’s literally it’s pitchers handout. It’s all the stupid stuff we used to play in route the bees his backyard catching off of anything with wiffle ball. It’s just it’s it’s dumb. I don’t know what else to say. It’s exciting. I’ll give you that guy on second base single enter the game. I mean, every time the Braves would come up in the ninth 10th 11th Walk off opportunity to walk off opportunity, restoration manifestation walk off opportunity for the home team. And I’m like, Who came up with this? Why did anybody think this was a good idea? Well,
Luke Jones 21:19
I think people saw it because they didn’t want 17 and End Games. And the difference. If that putting aside the concerns about pitching is you have all these high leverage relievers. We we just spend time talking about Felix Batista, and Brian Baker and Janja Cano. When you look at the strikeout rates, you were having the 17 inning games, but nothing was happening in extra innings that it was just a bunch of strikeouts. And yeah, you mix in a couple walks here and there. But I think, you know, there was concerns about that as well. So look, I’m not gonna sit here and say that I love the ghost runner because I don’t, I would I would like to see. And it does kind of, you know, it would be the middle middle road here. I’d like to see them play at least a couple normal extra innings. And if it’s still tied in the 12. Let’s say, then let’s do this. You know what I mean? Like say like
Nestor Aparicio 22:07
8your reasonable cat, you’re as reasonable. You’re way more reasonable than me wait to Lamar Jackson segment comes up. And you have the parade and I say maybe not. And that makes me you hate steep Ashanti because you think Lamar Jackson can’t win a Super Bowl? Oh, yeah. And listen to your for six years. If you think I’ve been the guy saying run into the linebackers running more Lamar. I won’t get around the throne. And at some point, you’ll be really good at it one day, but we’ll pay you ahead of time. So all of that. So we’ll get into that. But the baseball side of this you are the level headed guy here. I’m just asking and I’m not being a jerk. How did they get 30 white men because that’s all there is. That’s baseball. Let’s be honest. How did they get 30 white men Oh, guys, get in a room and ever make this law. Like what’s who liked this? Who loved this who love love, love this and said, gotta get the game’s over. Gotta get the game’s over gotta go home, can’t have pitchers don’t want extra innings don’t don’t want to play the game the way it’s been played for 125 years. We want to bastardize the Major League version of this game and bring in beer softball, any failure rules? I mean, I don’t I still go back to their things they’ve done that are better pitch clock. I’ll give them all the credit in the world a month and they should never go back to the other way. And that’s one of the ways they get the game’s over two o’clock when they started at 1130 and play 13 innings or whatever. Right? But I really do wonder who it when the door closed and they were at owners meetings that check the box and said, This is the way we should play? Is it somebody like John Angelos don’t know anything about baseball? I mean, seriously, like, who were the 20 out of 30 votes or whatever they needed to get to get to this because I go to these owners meanings for football. It’s hard to change anything in football. And I remember replay last few minutes review rule what is pass interference, they still haven’t figured that out so they still have it but I know how hard it is to change anything how in the world did this get changed to make this happen? For real not not in in minor leagues or in B League? See how this would really play out? How major does anybody like it Danny the players like it. Oh,
Luke Jones 24:27
there are lots of fans who like it. There are lots of fans. I think we got to be careful with that. You know, because I don’t
Nestor Aparicio 24:35
think it’s baseball. It’s not it’s not baseball. It’s it’s situational. 930 in the morning instruction in February, we got to run around second is the situation let’s throw some strikes. You know, like
Luke Jones 24:49
I think I think that’s a bit much but welcome again. Like I said, I personally I don’t really like it, however, goes back to what we just said with the pitch clock. They didn’t want these games going on forever. They don’t want to wear out their bullpen that they have to then dip into triple A and start optioning players and all of that. You know, the genesis of it, of course, they’ve tested out rules in the minors for a number of years now, pitch clock was nothing that that’s why I think a team like the Orioles are probably at an advantage with the pitch clock because so many of their young players started dealing with it in the minors last couple years. So clearly, the pandemic had a big part of that they were trying to shorten games and get guys off the field as much as they possibly could, specifically in that 2020 season. Now, justification to keep it after that, I think is kind of flimsy. But they want to shorten the games. And you know, the pitch clock was part of that, you know, there’s some of the other rules that have been in place. They’ve been part of that. So you know, they want action. They want someone on the basis of if you’re going to have extra innings, they don’t want it to just be one team’s high leverage relievers striking out the side, and then the other teams hires.
8Nestor Aparicio 25:59
Second base. That’s all. I hear you at the same time. I think it’s good. Having fun now, to your point. Look, if stunk and it didn’t matter. Last year, it did so never mattered the last eight years, right? Right. This year, it matters. They’re in a big series Full ballpark, they started the game at breakfast, they started the game before anybody was watching right? Now you got to get to one and like you’re in a great game. It’s a great series, two very good teams. It could be it could be a World Series matchup, a preview Luke Jones, it could be. And it was it was physically it felt in a high level and in a big game. And but there are no big games. It’s May, let’s call it I’ll call it a big game. I mean, it was a big game. It was an internet was sure. I mean, it was just bigger game has made this since they played since 1997. I mean, really. And it was cheapened from a fence from my perspective, that I’m sitting there. I’m like, Well, you know, my wife said, why are they doing this at 1130? Game? I said they do it every day. And they do it. So you can go cut the grass. They want you to go home quick. Like literally I said they want to get this over with so you can go do something else. Yeah, and that doesn’t make any sense to a fan who likes baseball like to me, I’m not in a hurry for them to get your 70 Sixers fan? Do you want them to get the series over? Or do you want them to play you want them to play? If you care enough about the game? I don’t know this. This will be the type of thing that would kill a postseason for me, you know, all the well, they don’t do it in the post. I understand that because they want to hear your real base.
Luke Jones 27:37
Sure. Sure. Sure. No, I hear you. I’ll say this
Nestor Aparicio 27:41
Sunday’s game counted to by the way.
Luke Jones 27:43
8And I should have made this point earlier, you because you asked about the owners. I think we’ve seen all kinds of evidence from Rob Manfred down to the 30 other owners and I don’t want to say down he works for them. I don’t know how many of them really liked baseball, because of you know, as much as I do look at the pitch clock. Good. As much as I do look at how they have restricted the shift. As much as I wasn’t necessarily championing that. I understand it. Certainly I do think it has made the game better from an aesthetic standpoint, even if I kind of struggled with the idea that you were eliminating the strategic evolution of the game there. But we’ve seen role changes all the time, including the NFL, as you mentioned, but I think we’ve seen plenty of elements and going right down to how about the fact that you and I before we even began our conversation as we were talking about this, we made mention that both of us had our own issues finding the game on Sunday. Because what you the start time me for whatever reason I had in my head, I knew they had the 1135 start, but I had in my head that that was the Apple TV game. And the Apple TV game is I guess Friday night. So then I thought okay, it’s on Peacock, I get peacock because I’m a WWE fan and WWE networks on peacock. So I put that on. But then I realized, oh, it’s actually on NBC. And you know, streaming is not great at my house. So then I ended up putting it on satellite, but
Nestor Aparicio 29:11
I don’t find it. I couldn’t find it. And I didn’t go looking for it until like 1245. And then somehow I looked on Twitter and saw like fourth inning. And I’m like, I remembered when I saw the schedule last month that oh, that’s Sunday game against the Braves. Yeah, this is before they were even any good. The last time I looked because I always looked at the April schedule, not the may schedule. Right. And, and I’m like, Oh yeah, but by the time I realized they were playing, it was already pre game time. You know, it was 1240 or whatever. And then looking for the game and every time this happens, I think and by the way, I want you to know this. I went out on Saturday. I’m 54 years old and about seven months. Do you know the senior citizen discount now in a lot of places is 55 Luke how I’m going to show you something you can look forward to because you’re getting there. All right? I mean, almost right? On a 404 you, um, but 55 is considered senior now to get this camp to get your 10%, which I think is great. I mean, move it up for me. That’s great. It’s not gonna make my hair any more silver, but like what old people do most old? I guess that’s my point.
Luke Jones 30:24
Well, and the point I was trying to make was, because I was saying that you come back to the 30 owners and wondering how much they care about baseball. Look how difficult they’ve made the product to consume. And this was just one example. I mean, my gosh, we’ve talked you and I’ve talked for years about Masson and blackouts and all the problems at baseball
Nestor Aparicio 30:42
game on Saturday. Tell everybody how much he enjoyed the game Saturday
8Luke Jones 30:46
set. Well, Saturday, I couldn’t watch where I live because you live 20
Nestor Aparicio 30:50
minutes from me. I mean, and I could have
Luke Jones 30:53
got I do have an antenna and I could have gotten that out and connected it to my TV but the local Fox affiliate in southern New York County was showing the Phillies which I ended up watching the Phillies then and I followed the Orioles. Then I’m like, Oh, the Orioles know the Orioles know that 2030 40% of their fan base outside of having Baltimore cable. Can’t watch the Oriole game. Well, and that’s but that’s a major league baseball thing there and the Orioles being one of 30 teams. Yeah, but But that’s that was the point I was making, though about what happened Sunday in terms of the owners at times making decisions that don’t reflect having a great amount of passion for baseball. And so you get something like the extra inning rule whether again, there are people who like it and there are a lot of baseball fans who hate it and I get it I would just like to see a middle road because I do get some of the concerns not so much about the time of game but the strain they’re putting on bullpen arms. I mean, we began our conversation talking about how many bullpen arms or how many bullpen innings the Orioles throw.
Nestor Aparicio 31:57
8So three extra innings 910 and 11 the way they play the game now and the way that you can’t go scratch them nuts go to the bullpen, you play with yourself step off the mound step out of the bottom and none of that can happen. Three extra innings would only take an hour right? So like you would take a two hour and 45 or three minutes you know and make it an hour longer. Extra inning games that lasts 12 innings only happen so often. I’m with you to 12 anything like if if I’m a representative of the if I’m TJ Brightman, I go in there and I vote 12 and 12 I mean, let’s start this but let’s not go crazy with this in the 10th inning. Right and I don’t know cooler heads that you’re being you’re proposed proposal is sensible to me and that’s exactly what I thought watching yesterday. I’m like, why are they doing this to a perfectly good one one game away day against the Braves in a big series. This is the first time the orosa played a big series a big game. interleague it’s, it’s you know, it’s the rubber match all of that. I felt like you know, like they had one chance to sort of excite me a little bit and it’s not because of Oreos last I thought it was great when they when they got the cheaper on they almost got a second cheaper on right. This has nothing to do with the Orioles or Peter Angelos or it is just about being a fan and and screwing the game up. Yeah, bastardizing the game. And that’s not and I’m not an old guy. Get off my poor. I’ve been telling them play doh in the National League for 31 years now. Right. And they finally caught on to that because some things make sense. And some things don’t sticking a ghost runner on second base in the 10th inning isn’t baseball. It’s dumped. It’s dumb shit we would have come up with in football when we were nine years old. To because we didn’t like baseball. And I mean, I don’t know what else to say this was a major league game just get torn apart in the 10th inning a really good game. There’s no reason for that. It won’t some night when nobody nobody’s watching and the Marlins are playing some other god awful franchise the A’s that nobody cares about. I don’t need 15 innings of that right. But when there’s a good game, they killed a good game. I really I think they killed a good game on Sunday for Yeah,
Luke Jones 34:19
I mean, obviously you can’t differentiate between those two scenarios. But yeah, I hear you on that. And I mean, I guess, you know, the the other proposal. I don’t even know if it’s a proposal but they at least talked about the idea of you would play 12 or 13 innings and just have ties which you know, I don’t I’m not at all with that. Yeah, I mean,
Nestor Aparicio 34:39
have a home run home run derby and that’s where I can write the whole goal and
Luke Jones 34:46
you just said it. I mean, that’s why I kind of go back to how hockey handles it where what you play a five minute overtime and then you have your shootout.
8Nestor Aparicio 34:52
I hated the shoot outs but the shootouts are fun and by the time you get there, yes, it’s 11 o’clock at night. It’s time to go And that’s fine. And that’s
Luke Jones 35:01
where I would say, give me a 10th and 11th inning of normal extra inning baseball. And then if they’re still tied going to the 12, then knock yourself out do it especially now because we’ve we’ve shaved roughly the last I saw we’re still around a half hour, average time a game down from where we had been.
Nestor Aparicio 35:19
So there you go, there are two outs or get well I mean, handout. I mean, they’re not really playing baseball, putting a guy on second base to the side of game. I mean, they might as well do Home Run Derby or Yeah, I mean me the shootouts aren’t a great way to I mean, I look I don’t want to sit here. Don’t make me a fan of shootouts, especially not soccer.
Luke Jones 35:39
8But that’s where we get into this. And look, I mean, with hockey. I mean, I’m actually surprised the NBA has not done something because they continue to play over times. And
Nestor Aparicio 35:51
the last five minutes of an NBA game could take 45 minutes. No, but my point
Luke Jones 35:54
is that, you know, they haven’t done anything to change their mechanism, despite the fact that they have an 82 game regular season, which even basketball fans say is too long.
Nestor Aparicio 36:04
Well, guys don’t even play half the games, right? I mean, you know, right. But I mean, look, you’re off on Wednesday, load management, you do radio on Monday and Tuesday. There’s no way you can do radio. But my point is
8Luke Jones 36:13
with that is you haven’t seen them do anything to bastardize the game once they get to overtime, or double overtime or triple overtime or anything like that. They’ve continued to treat it like normal overtime, right? So as I’m saying this, they’ll probably change it this year. And the bastardization
Nestor Aparicio 36:29
of basketball happened when they added the three. I guess, I mean, the change that changed, I mean, that really changed
Luke Jones 36:37
every game chance, but every game changes. I mean, no game. That’s why trying to compare what happens today to 30 years ago, let alone my gosh, talking about comparing someone today to Babe Ruth, you know, and especially pre integration in baseball. I mean, it really is apples to oranges in terms of what kind of sport it is. But, you know, I get it. There’s a middle road here. I don’t like the extra runner at second base. But I would like to see that, especially now with the pitch clock that you have cut down on time of game, play the 10th and the 11th inning normally, I would say and I don’t have this data in front of me, obviously. But I would say most extra inning games are decided in 10 or 11 innings. Right. I mean, I don’t think I’m talking about a turn just saying that. So do that. See if you can get a game over in 11 innings with normal rules staying in place.
Nestor Aparicio 37:30
8The thing I’m saying then with team sports, though, like you said they get over quickly. Hockey and soccer and these other sports, you pack it in you play defense, right, but we’ve seen lesser team, especially in the World Cup, lesser team. If you get into extra time, all you do is play defense, right? Just make sure they don’t score, right. And then we go to penalty kicks, we’ve seen that be like it. I know you don’t watch soccer. It’s not great. You know what I mean? But with baseball, you can’t do that. It’s almost the opposite. Putting the guy on second base. It’s almost like saying we’re gonna play 13 on 11 for a little while and see whether you can stop it or not. And then we’re gonna flip the field.
Luke Jones 38:11
I mean, they’re trying to force it, they’re trying to force action. Again, so much of this is also a product of bull penning become becoming such a thing and you’ve got so many hearts. I mean, look at the Orioles, bullpen. Look at the guys they have in their bullpen now the arms they have, and the guys that get strikeouts and all that. So the thought was okay, our games are too long. We’re already having so much swing and miss, especially when we get into these bullpens. I mean, these guys are just like wizards the way that they can throw they throw as hard as they can. And they’ve got wicked breaking stuff. And these teams are already striking out 1011 1215 times a game. We saw the Orioles have a high strikeout Game Over the weekend, where they struck out what 16 times on Saturday, whatever it was. So we don’t want the we don’t want extra innings to continue indefinitely with that same thing. So we put the runner on second. It’ll force some action. But yeah, it brings bumps in the play. It brings sacrifice flies into play, it brings moving a runner over with a ground ball to the right side in the play. I get the rationale. At the same time, I very much am with you and amazing we’re agreeing on something right. I mean, a few minutes ago but got together
Nestor Aparicio 39:24
on Sunday night decided we were gonna agree. There really is
Luke Jones 39:27
you know, there really is something to the idea of, you know, I get it if we don’t want the game to go 19 innings. I understand that. But do we need to have this thing become some weird version of baseball in the 10th inning, or can we play it out at least a couple winnings and then we’ll go to that. That’s where I would like to see the middle road here. Especially on the heels of the pitch clocked at
8Nestor Aparicio 39:51
140 in the afternoon. I think everybody in Atlanta and everybody in TV land that was fine find the game and peacock world would have been just fine. I’m watching normal baseball for another 45 minutes or so or 30 minutes.
Luke Jones 40:03
I think that’s totally fair.
Nestor Aparicio 40:05
I follow anybody coming to the ballpark this week you go in the ballpark, who’s going to ballpark this week?
Luke Jones 40:09
8I mean, I’ll be at the ballpark. You know, I mean, it’s, it’s funny, we’ve said this for years. I mean, the rays don’t draw on their own ballpark. So the idea that you’re going to have a packed ballpark in for the raise, and may you’d love to, I’d love to say, it will be. Do I think there’ll be a few more fans than what we normally see. Yeah. Do I think we’re at the point yet where it’s going to be 30,000? No, I mean, I think we’re still a long way to go from that. But anyone who is going to be there, they’re going to be treated to some really good baseball, because, I mean, we’ll see how the Orioles fare. Tampa Bay is really, really good. Look at the run differential. Look at their pitching stats, look at how they’ve hit the ball where it used to the race pitching. They hit the ball. I mean, look at that lineup, and I mean, they have been really, really, really good and the Orioles are gonna have their hands full not to say that they can’t take two out of three and they won’t win the series, but this is going to be a big test for them. And we’ll see how it plays out here over the next three days should be fun.
Nestor Aparicio 41:06
I don’t seek 11 bucks on Monday, eight bucks on Tuesday. 11 bucks on Wednesday. Pirates come to town must be given some way on Saturday nights $25. So Oreos are home I’m holding out next week. Tickets are 1514 1512 I’m holding out for whatever day show Hey, Otani May May hurl. I’m a show Hey, I’ve never seen him. I had a chance to see a pitcher in the Bronx had a chance to pitch here. It’s not about playing. I want to you know, I want to see show Hey Otani at some point.
Luke Jones 41:33
I think I saw one of what it is a Jeff Fletcher I think covers the angels. I want to say, Yeah, I want to say he has a calendar that whole update from time to time on Twitter. I saw this probably a week ago. So it may have changed. I have no idea what they what their schedule has been. I want to say Otani was in line to pitch Monday but don’t quote me on that. I think that’s where it was lining up to be though.
Nestor Aparicio 41:59
All right. Well, it’s breaking this week. Next week strictness, two weeks, we’re gonna be doing some breaking stuff around here this week. Larry store from Coppin State gonna be joining us this week. We had an incredible conversation with Pete Kurinji as well, as Glenn McFaul over McFaul oyster in Rio. We did the crabcake toward there last week when we do it this week. It’s a fair hit somewhere in the State Fair shirt. Hi to Evan and everybody up hill we del from CFG bank is going to be over talking about Janet Jackson and and Anita Baker this week in Bryan Adams next month, Joan Jett and I spent the weekend rocking out at M three with my boys with Charles play. We’ll be there on Friday given away the Maryland lottery tickets come on at the state fair. We had a lot of winners last week. Last two weeks we had a lot of lottery winners. I had two people yelling at the bar Dan and Essex and Mick falls 110 box good stuffs all brought to you by our friends at window nation as well. 866 90 nation you buy two you get two free. We’ll be telling you all about that all summer long. We are at the local on the 23rd if you’re up in fallston two in the Maryland crabcake tour. We’re going to be coming to your town soon including a Southwest Baltimore got a hell Thorpe stop got a Wilkins Avenue stop coming up. We’ve got a Harford County stop coming up above and beyond fallston so we’re gonna be out and about all brought to you by the Maryland lottery and wind donation Luke’s gonna be at the ballpark. I’d say he’ll be there late but if it gets too tight the ninth or 10th inning they’ll just put a guy on second base and end the thing. We are wn st am 1570, Towson Baltimore. And we never stop talking. Baltimore positive enjoy the games.
