Greetings, Birdland. We’re deep into the MLB postseason now, with just one game remaining in the ALDS between Cleveland and the Yankees, while the Houston Astros await the winner, and with the NLCS between San Diego & Philly starting tonight as well. Most of the MLB world was rooting for the Cinderella Seattle Mariners, but they lost three heartbreakers to the ‘Stros, including a marathon 18-inning affair in the clincher on Saturday, the M’s first home playoff game in 21 years. On the bright side, two of the AL East squads that made the dance, the Rays & Jays, combined to win as many playoff games as the Orioles, as both were swept in the best-of-three Wild Card round.
Shame.
Hopefully the Guardians can eliminate the Yankees tonight, so we can have a pretty stress-free championship round & World Series. If they don’t though, just remind yourself that those are Browns fans cheering for Cleveland, and they can eff right off. That one starts in just about an hour, as Nestor Cortes takes on Aaron Civale. In the NL, Zach Wheeler and Yu Darvish clash. You can get odds on both games at online sports books in Maryland.
Let’s get into some Bird talk, shall we?
Kjerstad Tearing Up AFL
Heston Kjerstad, the Orioles’ first overall pick (second overall) in 2020, appears to be all the way back after losing just about all of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, not just due to the pandemic cancelling minor-league baseball, but because he was dealing with his own health issues. He split 2022 between Delmarva and Aberdeen, with 284 PA between the two. He hit a very respectable .309/.394/.457 with 17 doubles, two triples, and five dingers. Now he is tearing up the Arizona Fall League, batting .404/.429/.745 through 10 games with four homers, including this inside-the-parker.
Inside-the-park home run for Heston Kjerstad! pic.twitter.com/IVA3zciA2g
— The Verge- An Orioles MiLB Podcast (@BSLOnTheVerge) October 17, 2022
Kjerstad was drafted out of college, so he will be 24 when the 2023 season begins. I’d expect him to start in Bowie, but I’ll be very curious to see what happens after that, should he continue to shine. Look at what just happened with another lefty slugger, Gunnar Henderson. Gunnar was of course much younger, having been drafted out of high school, but had only 463 PA when he began 2022 in Bowie, then was promoted after another 208 with the Baysox. Will those extra 200 or so plate appearances matter to the organization when it comes to his schedule? Will his somewhat advanced age?
I think the Orioles are likely to start dealing from a position of strength this offseason, and that could mean minor-league outfielders. I expect at least at least one of Kjerstad (the O’s #9 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline), Colton Cowser (#4), Dylan Beavers (#8), or Kyle Stowers to be dealt, if the Birds are actually entering “liftoff” mode as Mike Elias has promised us.
Hyde Staying Put
I do my share of bellyaching about Orioles manager Brandon Hyde on Twitter and in person to pretty much anyone who will listen. I understand that he is likely to earn AL Manager of the Year votes this year, and hey, good for him. But when I said he should have been fired at some point during the team’s 19-game losing streak in 2021, I was told that I had to look at the talent he was given. If that’s the case, don’t we also have to look at the talent he was given in 2022 that allowed him to make such a drastic improvement to his W-L percentage as manager? In 2022, he had Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Felix Bautista, Cionel Perez, a surprisingly good rotation, and more. If it works one way, it has to work the other, that’s all I’m saying.
Give that Fan a Podcast co-host Paul Valle shares many of my complaints about the skipper and he had a nice little rant about Hyde in a recent episode, which I’ll share here (start at 22 min):
Now, all that being said, I certainly understand that Hyde isn’t going anywhere in 2023. My only option is to hope that he continues to grow into his role and makes some better decisions going forward, while also being a guy for whom “the players play hard.”
Additionally, I want to share something I recently came across, an excerpt from Joe Maddon’s new book, which has perhaps softened my stance on Hyde a bit.
interesting excerpts from the upcoming joe maddon book.
the game has shifted this way for a while. managers are more culture-setters.
you can definitely feel parallels of rocco & the twins fo in here. https://t.co/avymuzQpei pic.twitter.com/QTut6p0Lvc
— parker hageman (@HagemanParker) October 10, 2022
Maddon has been mentioned as a pie-in-the-sky replacement for Hyde from my fellow pitchfork crew. However, if the Angels were hamstringing a guy like Maddon from the front office, do we really think Baltimore would be any different? If we are going to truly embrace the new-school way of thinking that Elias, Sig Mejdal & Co. have brought to Baltimore, we also need to understand that they’re very likely pulling Hyde’s strings on many of his seemingly befuddling decisions.
This is MLB now. We really don’t know how much control a field manager has over things like bullpen usage or even lineups – “punt” or otherwise.
So here’s to another year of Meat Manager. Go get ’em, Skip.
Birds Fans Dreaming About Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani is a once-in-a-lifetime type of talent, a modern day Babe Ruth who is somehow one of the best hitters in the game while also being a near-untouchable starting pitcher when he is on. Back when he was coming over from Japan, Birdland lamented the fact that the team didn’t even offer him a deal, instead being blessed with the eternal Dan Duquette line of “philosophically, we don’t participate.”
Unfortunately for Ohtani, and for fans of baseball in general, he and fellow superstar Mike Trout are stuck in Anaheim, where the front office somehow can’t manage to build a winning team despite possessing two of the best players of the generation. A recent Tweet has fans of other teams, the O’s included, dreaming big.
Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani arrived home on Tuesday and was critical of his Los Angeles Angels team missing the MLB playoffs again.
"I have a rather negative impression of this season," he said.
Ohtani can become a free agent after next season.https://t.co/RYGERtF3Ph
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) October 18, 2022
Would the Angels look to trade him this offseason, rather than letting him walk as a free agent?
What would you like to see the O’s give up, if he was actually available? Let’s get crazy.
