WEBVTT
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00:00:20.705Please, the show starts in 8, 8,
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00:00:45.389What is going on, Birdland? Stephen Heckman here for the final strike brought
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00:00:48.987to you by the Baltimore Battery coming to you with another episode.
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00:00:56.539Here to take things on the road as the Baltimore Orioles are out west as they're
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00:00:58.169currently facing the Los Angeles
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00:01:03.876Angels calling 3-3 on the first part of their nine-game road swing.
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00:01:09.539Took one of the three games against the Seattle Mariners and took two of three
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00:01:11.661against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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00:01:19.147One of the big things that has come out of the series so far has been Kyle Braddish
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00:01:24.889looking just like the Kyle Braddish of old. I mean, Kyle Braddish is really,
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00:01:27.437really tearing things up.
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00:01:31.872This last two games alone, he's covered 15 and two-thirds innings.
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00:01:36.912He's allowed a total of 11 hits, one earned run, three strikeouts to 21,
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00:01:42.732or three based on balls to 21 strikeouts. And ideally, this is what we were waiting for.
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00:01:49.702Tommy John surgery, if this isn't an ideal position for him to be back from
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00:01:56.381at the right time, then I don't know what we're asking for because this just, this is perfect.
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00:02:00.584This is what we need from Kyle Braddish going forward. And the fact that,
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00:02:06.041you know, Shane Boz has been pitching as good as he has.
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00:02:11.316You have Brandon Young, who has been an aberration this year alone.
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00:02:16.088Is just night and day from his rookie season.
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00:02:20.412Trey Gibson has been doing well. And it looks like Trevor Rodgers is starting
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00:02:25.392to get back on track as well. So we get in the starting pitching back to where
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00:02:28.072we need it to be is definitely a good thing.
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00:02:32.542It's our bullpen that we have to actually wake up and pay attention to because
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00:02:37.672the bullpen seems to be the worrisome part of the field at the moment.
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00:02:42.245And right now, it looks like you're playing a gauntlet.
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00:02:47.934I mean, Ryan Helsley's been up and down in his time out there.
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00:02:52.982Gonneau kind of has been up and down But for the most part been consistent most
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00:02:57.872of the year Garcia he's been pretty consistent for the most part He's had a
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00:03:03.265few hiccups here and there And you know outside of that I don't know where you go,
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00:03:10.543It's Wolfram's not been consistent Kittredge hasn't been consistent Aiken hasn't been consistent.
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00:03:15.820You're really playing with fire right now And, you know,
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00:03:19.672if you have to look at the way things are going, one of the places to look down
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00:03:25.802is on the farm right now where you have Kate Povett and Dean Kramer both starting rehab assignments.
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00:03:33.630You know, the sooner we can get them and shape them, the more possibility it's that they are.
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00:03:48.185I definitely wouldn't. Trey Gibson, I don't know.
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00:03:52.695Overall, he spits pretty well. I mean, for a rookie, I think he's done tremendous.
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00:03:58.468I think he's made great strides, had some good progress along the way.
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00:04:02.555You could possibly move him to the bullpen, but I don't know.
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00:04:05.214I think keeping him in the rotation might be better suited for him.
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00:04:09.285Povitz would be great as the lefty out of the bullpen right now.
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00:04:13.636That way you don't mess with any of the dynamic of what's going on with the rotation.
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00:04:19.585Um, you know, and then, you know, you make a hard decision on what you do.
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00:04:25.985You know, do you cut Wolfram? Do you cut Aiken? Um, Aiken is nowhere close to what he was last year.
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00:04:29.405At least with Wolfram, you've, you've gotten a little bit, you know,
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00:04:33.895more consistency out of him than you have Aiken, although Aiken did do pretty
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00:04:34.955well the other night for us.
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00:04:39.785So, uh, you, you, you've got to fight fire with fire somehow.
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00:04:48.013And, you know, we're in the AL that we're in, you know, you only have three or four teams over 500.
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00:04:55.225You're not out of it. You know, you still are in this postseason race.
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00:05:01.585So you've got to be a part of it and you've got to take on what is being shown to you.
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00:05:04.603So you cannot.
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00:05:13.659Walk a tightrope with the ability of saying, we need a safety net below us.
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00:05:19.226You've got to go from one side to the other side without worrying what is below
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00:05:22.512you. You've got to be able to focus straight ahead, and that's it.
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00:05:27.266And right now, that's where the Orioles' mindset needs to be.
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00:05:30.993They've got to look at what's ahead of them and not behind them because,
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00:05:35.381you know, we need to get things right.
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00:05:40.286Like, Craig Albert is, yes, first year's manager, but with all the gumption
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00:05:47.107that came with him coming to Baltimore, you know, this team needs to be in a better situation.
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00:05:49.598This team needs to be.
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00:05:56.442Further along than where they are. I mean, we're four games under .500 right now.
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00:06:03.394And, I mean, this road series easily coming into the Angels series, we should have been 5-1.
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00:06:05.397Our bullpen cost us.
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00:06:10.017Five of the six games, our starters had quality starts.
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00:06:14.096The one game they didn't, Young went five innings and still only gave up three
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00:06:15.486runs. So another inning, he would
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00:06:19.166have qualified for a quality start if he didn't give up any more runs.
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00:06:24.686So, you know, it's not the starting pitching, and that was what everybody was
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00:06:27.171saying, that the starting pitching wouldn't be strong enough this year.
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00:06:34.396Starting pitching is more than held its fair share and held its own throughout
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00:06:37.852the year and proven that it's capable of competing with anybody.
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00:06:43.605The offense has come to life.
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00:06:50.350Too much inconsistency, though, especially with runners in scoring position.
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00:06:54.130And, you know, it's interesting when you look at a few things.
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00:06:59.210We're in the top five in the league in walks as a team, but we're also in the
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00:07:01.297top five in the league in strikeouts as a team.
00:07:01.849 -->
00:07:04.700So for all the good you're doing with the patience at the plate,
00:07:04.700 -->
00:07:07.648you're also getting rid of it with not being patient at the plate.
00:07:08.240 -->
00:07:10.707It's like we're counteractive from one of the other.
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00:07:15.660And, you know, I like that we are getting the walks, But you turn around if
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00:07:19.210you're striking out, look good as a walk if you're leaving people stranded on
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00:07:22.068base and you're hurting yourself.
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00:07:27.620We got to take advantage of opportunities, and the Orioles have failed to do
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00:07:31.100so throughout the season. And it's not just a one-year thing.
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00:07:34.792This has been something that's been going on for at least the last two or three seasons.
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00:07:38.610The Orioles with runners in scoring position just do not capitalize.
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00:07:41.460And it's a constant problem.
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00:07:46.870It's a constant headache. And, you know, Craig Albernaz weeks ago had said that,
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00:07:51.230you know, bunting would be a bigger part of the team going forward.
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00:07:53.002And I still have yet to see it.
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00:07:58.650You know, Leody Tavares, he has done it a couple times.
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00:08:05.220I think Jackson Holliday's laid down maybe a bunt here or there.
00:08:05.220 -->
00:08:08.704But outside of that, I really haven't seen anybody do any bunting.
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00:08:13.921Outside of those two players, and Tavares is one of our best bunners.
00:08:14.771 -->
00:08:18.751Holiday, with his speed, should be able to lay down a bunt here and there.
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00:08:26.211Of course, I wouldn't expect Gunnar to, but everybody on the team should know
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00:08:28.871how to bunt because there comes a situation where I'm sorry,
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00:08:32.375regardless of who you are, sometimes a bunt is important.
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00:08:40.111Gunnar Henderson, I mean, Gunnar had a great game yesterday.
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00:08:44.520Kudos to him for having a great game, but those great games are few and far between.
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00:08:53.091And a lot of people will overlook the fact that he's batting .229 and up near
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00:08:54.672the team leaders in strikeouts.
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00:09:01.167But when I look that Colton Couser is batting .232.
00:09:05.242 -->
00:09:08.771And Colton Couser had a higher climb to come out of.
00:09:08.771 -->
00:09:15.491I mean, there is a point Colton Couser was batting in the low 180s to get to
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00:09:18.901where he is, and he's still batting higher than Colt Gunnar Henderson.
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00:09:23.197Now, I know he hasn't played as many games, so of course he can jump a little bit more, but,
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00:09:29.391Colton Couser, he's turned his season around quite dramatically.
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00:09:32.694He's got eight home runs, 27 RBIs.
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00:09:41.531He's batting .304 in his last seven games You know, he's turned a lot around
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00:09:43.044And when you look at things,
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00:09:51.194He's struck out 55 times in 69 games And yet, when you go and look at Gunnar Henderson,
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00:09:55.900Let's pull this up If it'll cooperate with me,
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00:10:04.573I swear it's like computers don't want to cooperate with me anymore You go to Gunnar Henderson Who,
00:10:07.435 -->
00:10:17.205He's batting .250 over his last seven games. Gunnar Henderson has struck out 87 times in 79 games.
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00:10:23.08610 more games has struck out 32 more times in 10 more games.
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00:10:31.968And that's scary. It's a little alarming. And when you think of it,
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00:10:35.778he's only got, in those 10 games extra, those extra 10 games,
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00:10:37.145he's got eight more home runs.
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00:10:43.525Which you would expect that from a guy who hit nearly 40 home runs a few years ago.
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00:10:54.878You know, he's supposed to be healthier, and he's, I don't know,
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00:10:57.542I think he's pushing and grinding at the plate.
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00:11:03.498I'm a huge Gunnar Henderson fan. Definitely want to see Gunnar Henderson succeed.
00:11:03.498 -->
00:11:09.418Definitely want to see him do better, but, I mean, And this is a guy who struck
00:11:09.418 -->
00:11:14.325out 159, 159, and 137 times in full seasons.
00:11:15.637 -->
00:11:22.701And he is more than halfway there already through 79 games this year.
00:11:24.704 -->
00:11:34.155So, you know, you've got to take a look at the big picture of what is going on and see,
00:11:36.088 -->
00:11:42.328how to fix Gunnar Henderson because this going up there and trying to swing
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00:11:45.880for the fences every play is not going to.
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00:11:53.005Cut it. He's supposed to be a leader. He's supposed to be one of our best hitters
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00:11:56.945on the team, and when you pair him with Pete Alonzo, it's supposed to be one
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00:12:02.805of those one-two punches that make things better for our offense.
00:12:02.805 -->
00:12:06.301You're supposed to not want to have to walk one to get to the other,
00:12:06.893 -->
00:12:09.534or you're supposed to use one to protect the other.
00:12:10.643 -->
00:12:14.745And right now, Gunnar Henderson, I don't know, the chances you're taking,
00:12:15.105 -->
00:12:17.806striking him out seem better than it is to pitch around him,
00:12:18.979 -->
00:12:22.955you know, worry about facing Pete Alonzo.
00:12:23.576 -->
00:12:27.125At this point, I'd actually probably put Pete Alonzo ahead of Gunnar Henderson
00:12:27.125 -->
00:12:28.540just to help Gunnar Henderson out.
00:12:29.637 -->
00:12:33.685And I say that because, you know, Gunnar Henderson, he's kind of turned his
00:12:33.685 -->
00:12:36.388season around. He leads the team in RBIs.
00:12:37.909 -->
00:12:41.575He's basically up there in the team lead with home runs He's fighting back and
00:12:41.575 -->
00:12:42.675forth with Gunnar Henderson,
00:12:44.858 -->
00:12:45.865But, you know.
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00:12:51.695There's things you've got to consider You've got to look at the bigger picture
00:12:51.695 -->
00:12:58.435here And I think Albie needs to start Making some tough calls here,
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00:13:02.305you know Do you have to put Gunnar Henderson down for a game or two?
00:13:02.625 -->
00:13:07.176You know, and I don't mean put him down but bench him for sitting down for a game or two.
00:13:07.902 -->
00:13:09.394Those are things you've got to consider.
00:13:10.605 -->
00:13:13.666If it's going to wake his bat up, you've got to.
00:13:15.365 -->
00:13:19.744You can't afford the guy to strike out two, three, four times a game,
00:13:21.492 -->
00:13:26.565five games a week, and then every two or three games, he'll get one or two hits,
00:13:26.565 -->
00:13:32.425maybe three hits, just because he's going to hit a home run possibly every now and then.
00:13:32.465 -->
00:13:37.865And, you know, I love the fact that Gunnar Henderson has 16 home runs on the
00:13:37.865 -->
00:13:40.758season, but he struck out 87 times at that.
00:13:42.913 -->
00:13:46.83679 games, he struck out 87 times. I mean, this is a guy who came up through
00:13:46.836 -->
00:13:50.319the minor leagues who was walking as much as he was striking out,
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00:13:54.906and those numbers are nowhere close in the majors.
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00:13:57.716And I didn't expect him to sit there and stay that close in the majors,
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00:14:00.118but I didn't expect him to be as drastic as they are either.
00:14:01.395 -->
00:14:05.400You know, the one good thing I can say about Adley Rushman is at least his walkout,
00:14:05.540 -->
00:14:09.499walk and strikeout numbers are still not too far apart from each other.
00:14:10.683 -->
00:14:14.584Adley, when healthy, usually is around the team leaders and walks.
00:14:17.457 -->
00:14:21.387So, some interesting news to pay attention to.
00:14:22.496 -->
00:14:26.496Blaze Alexander fouled a ball off his knee, had to leave the game last night,
00:14:26.496 -->
00:14:31.586and because of that, Leoidi Tavares had to cover third base for five innings
00:14:31.586 -->
00:14:33.026and filled in admirably.
00:14:35.176 -->
00:14:38.416Kobe May, of course, was DH-ing at the time, and one of the other reasons this
00:14:38.416 -->
00:14:44.636had to happen was we elected to carry three catchers for the game instead of,
00:14:45.408 -->
00:14:48.227activating a player from the taxi squad who was an infielder.
00:14:50.316 -->
00:14:53.586I don't ever understand carrying three catchers in a game right now.
00:14:53.586 -->
00:14:55.855I really don't. There's no need for it.
00:14:57.456 -->
00:15:02.502You have Basayo and Sam Huff. Why at least on the IL, I don't see the need to carry a third catcher.
00:15:03.965 -->
00:15:08.162I really don't, especially since, you know, Beseo,
00:15:10.256 -->
00:15:15.546wasn't catching Or Sam Huff wasn't catching last night He still had the other one on the bench.
00:15:18.994 -->
00:15:24.646So, sitting there and activating a third catcher just made no sense Right now,
00:15:24.646 -->
00:15:27.852it's time to step up And Beseo is young enough that, you know,
00:15:28.026 -->
00:15:32.943catching numerous days in a row is if he needs to do it, he's got to do it.
00:15:35.479 -->
00:15:40.866You know, one of the marketing marquee things to have as a team right now is good, strong catching.
00:15:41.365 -->
00:15:48.279And to have multiple catchers that are good and capable of hitting and defending is something big.
00:15:48.279 -->
00:15:55.779And I'm a proponent of having, you know, two good catchers as with Wieders and
00:15:55.779 -->
00:16:00.091James McKenna, or not Wieders, with Rushman and James McKenna a couple of years ago.
00:16:04.090 -->
00:16:09.402To strong catchers is what's needed. And that's why I'd love to keep both Rushman and Bisseo.
00:16:09.524 -->
00:16:14.278You already have Bisseo signed long-term. Why not get Rushman signed to another few years?
00:16:15.309 -->
00:16:19.049Keep him around. You can have the ability to piggyback both of them.
00:16:19.409 -->
00:16:24.344And you have both of them good with the pitching staff, both of them good defensively,
00:16:24.837 -->
00:16:26.817and both of them pretty decent offensively.
00:16:27.113 -->
00:16:30.027So, I'd go for it.
00:16:30.863 -->
00:16:35.298So, Orioles have two more games against the Angels starting tonight.
00:16:36.869 -->
00:16:42.949And then they're off before they head home to face Washington and Chicago White Sox.
00:16:44.544 -->
00:16:50.029And then after that, we have nine games before the All-Star break.
00:16:50.029 -->
00:16:51.669The season's going by quick.
00:16:53.217 -->
00:16:56.559Three games against Cincinnati on the road, then home against the Cubs.
00:16:56.559 -->
00:17:00.311And the Royals before the All-Star break begins.
00:17:00.833 -->
00:17:07.909So we are not that far from midseason, midseason classic. And,
00:17:08.309 -->
00:17:11.677you know, then it's winner take all from there.
00:17:12.147 -->
00:17:14.707So, you know, we got to start looking at things, you know.
00:17:16.001 -->
00:17:25.597With the AL so wide open, I don't see any reason for us to sell off.
00:17:26.009 -->
00:17:30.409I could honestly see us making a move to improve the team um.
00:17:33.630 -->
00:17:37.090We lost Eflin for the year. Bassett's down right now with an injury.
00:17:37.090 -->
00:17:41.040I don't know when he'll be back, but you still have Kramer and Povitz coming
00:17:41.040 -->
00:17:45.299back, but we definitely need to do something to bolster the bullpen. That's priority.
00:17:47.934 -->
00:17:51.280I wouldn't touch starting rotation. I mean, like I said, you got Bassett,
00:17:51.280 -->
00:17:56.400who's on IL right now, but you have Kramer and Povich, who are going to be coming
00:17:56.400 -->
00:18:00.369around off the IL soon, or ready to come off the IL.
00:18:00.885 -->
00:18:05.663You got Trey Gibson. You got Brandon Young, who's having a strong season.
00:18:06.667 -->
00:18:13.930So, you know, you have the depth there. And, of course, you signed Big Owl to
00:18:14.350 -->
00:18:17.900a major league contract once you brought him back. So, you know,
00:18:17.900 -->
00:18:20.895you have the depth there with him as well. So he can swing start.
00:18:22.753 -->
00:18:25.858So it'll be interesting to see how this plays out going forward because,
00:18:25.998 -->
00:18:30.420you know, we're hovering around 400, 500. We need to get over that hump.
00:18:30.420 -->
00:18:33.846We need a long streak. We haven't won more than three games in a row all season.
00:18:35.773 -->
00:18:39.674We need to get on one of those six, seven, eight, nine-game winning streaks,
00:18:40.079 -->
00:18:43.846a couple of those, and put ourselves in the driver's seat going forward,
00:18:44.404 -->
00:18:48.230where we actually control our own destiny instead of trying to play catch-up
00:18:48.230 -->
00:18:51.266and looking for other teams to be a part of that.
00:18:52.067 -->
00:18:56.328And, you know, what happens over the next two weeks might determine that.
00:18:56.984 -->
00:18:59.530You know? So we'll see. Uh...
00:19:01.870 -->
00:19:06.515It's a winner-take-all contest going forward, and that's basically the mindset
00:19:06.515 -->
00:19:12.035we have to be in. We have to be in winner-take-all. It's no time to die.
00:19:13.775 -->
00:19:18.485So the starting pitching's been stepping up. The offense seems to be getting
00:19:18.485 -->
00:19:22.975there, but it's still inconsistent at times. Still need better production with
00:19:22.975 -->
00:19:25.695runners in scoring position. Opportunities.
00:19:27.986 -->
00:19:31.173With players on base. So we'll see if we can get that going.
00:19:31.470 -->
00:19:34.965But biggest thing is we need to focus on the bullpen. We need to get the bullpen
00:19:34.965 -->
00:19:39.045working and going forward. So we'll see how the rest of this series pans out,
00:19:39.045 -->
00:19:42.242and we'll see what happens when we get back home.
00:19:43.535 -->
00:19:47.315We'll see you next episode. So until then, Birdland, please make sure, keep the beer cold.
00:19:49.486 -->
00:19:53.575And I want to give a big shout-out to BaltimoreBattery.com. Without them,
00:19:53.575 -->
00:19:54.615you know, we wouldn't be here.
00:19:54.615 -->
00:19:59.495But don't forget to head over to the BaltimoreBattery.com and check out all
00:19:59.495 -->
00:20:02.795the recent releases, new articles that are out from your favorite writers.
00:20:02.795 -->
00:20:05.895Let us know what you're thinking there. Don't forget to give us a follow also
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00:20:11.534over on X, formerly of Twitter, and on TikTok at the Bmore Battery.
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00:20:19.655Don't forget to give myself a follow over on X and TikTok at SRJ Heckman and
00:20:19.655 -->
00:20:22.765the Final Strike at EFinalStrike underscore.
00:20:22.765 -->
00:20:27.811You can also find me on YouTube and the Final Strike on YouTube at SRJ Heckman as well.
00:20:28.583 -->
00:20:32.915And another big shout out to our sponsor, Advanced Mobility Solutions,
00:20:32.915 -->
00:20:34.086formerly Scooters for Rent.
00:20:34.864 -->
00:20:40.343If you're ever in the Eastern Shore area looking for mobility products from mobility scooters,
00:20:41.330 -->
00:20:45.695wheelchairs from beach wheelchairs, manual wheelchairs or electric wheelchairs
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00:20:53.075or lift recliners, don't forget to give Advanced Mobility Solutions a call at 302-280-6203.
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00:20:55.006Tell them Stephen from the Final Strike sent you.
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00:21:00.235Until next time, Berlin Please keep the beer cold Peace out And keep cheering
00:21:00.235 -->
00:21:01.984on the O's We'll see you next time.