It’s no secret that the Baltimore Orioles have been scuffling for much of the 2024 season. Following a 45-22 start, they’ve been roughly a .500 team, and after Wednesday’s walk-off loss in Boston, they’re just 83-64, and 1.5 games back of the New York Yankees in the American League East with 15 games remaining. The reasons for their slump have been myriad, and include devastating injuries, especially to the pitching staff, extended slumps from some of the players they rely upon most in the lineup, and the usual bad-luck bounces that accompany any frustrating baseball season (the kind that they largely avoided during their magical 2023 campaign).
Every time it looked like they were about to turn things around over the last couple months, it’s instead been one step forward and two steps back. Their longest winning streak since late June is three games, and they’ve managed that feat just once, from September 1-3 against the lowly Colorado Rockies and historically awful Chicago White Sox. They’ve failed to take advantage of that “soft” part of the schedule overall though, going just 6-6 in 12 games against those two teams plus the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox, both division rivals hovering around .500, and exactly the teams the O’s have beat up on over the past season-plus.
Through it all, though some fans have pointed out that things seem a bit “off,” the players, coaches, and managers have basically said all the right things, pointing out that everyone is sticking together, grinding, and expecting this thing to get turned around at some point, despite a depressing amount of evidence to the contrary.
Last night, however, following another very good start in which he received little help from his teammates either at the dish or behind him in the field, starting pitcher Dean Kremer may have let his frustrations boil over and given a real peek under the hood as to what’s going on in that clubhouse.
Dean Kremer chats with the media after putting up seven innings with one earned run at Fenway Park. pic.twitter.com/ofDh5xTMiF
— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) September 12, 2024
When asked if there is anything that could change to “pull together here with three weeks remaining,” Kremer didn’t give the standard athlete-speak platitudes that we’ve heard for months. Instead, he said this:
My job is to go out there and pitch. That’s a question for the higher ups, the guys who make the decisions of who plays, who doesn’t play and all that stuff. So, I wish I could tell you but I got no answer for that.
There are several ways to receive those comments, but few of them paint a rosy picture about the way the more veteran players feel about how things have been transpiring of late. Is there frustration with either the front office of Mike Elias and/or the managerial decisions of Brandon Hyde? When hearing those comments, it’s hard to deny that something is eating at the guys.
Do they feel the team has relied too heavily upon the younger, unproven prospects such as Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo? Are they upset that compatriots like Austin Hays were dealt away? And the younger guys: are they upset that someone like Connor Norby was dealt for seemingly little return (at least in the short-term), while Holliday continues to struggle both in the field and at the plate? Is the constant yo-yoing of so many players between Norfolk and Baltimore, and the general incessant roster turnover and resulting lack of continuity a problem?
Admittedly, those are all speculations, the kinds of things Orioles social media circles have been bringing up. But, fans have been asking about them for months, only to be shot down by those who consider themselves more “level-headed.” Hand up: I have been in the latter group. I have a personal bias against Brandon Hyde, and I don’t think he will be the manager to ever lead this Orioles group to a World Series. Knowing that, I try to check myself when fans tell me that he’s clearly lost the clubhouse, lest I sink into confirmation bias.
Maybe they’ve been right all along though. When you see shots of the Birds in the dugout, rarely is anyone smiling. Other than the increasingly rare sprinklers or trips to the hydration station, there seems to be a distinct lack of fun or enjoyment emanating from a team that’s been so full of youthful exuberance in recent memory.
Kremer’s comments may shed some light as to why that’s the case.
Or maybe they don’t. Perhaps many of us are reading too much into them. I don’t *want* there to be unrest among the players, at least beyond what’s generated by the poor play on the field. I still hope, against my better judgment, that they can turn things around and make a real push into October over the next several weeks. It’s just getting harder and harder to hold onto said hope.
What say you, Birdland?
13 Responses
There may be something wrong in the clubhouse, I have certainly wondered that myself. I don’t think Dean Kremer’s comments revealed anything other than the players are really frustrated and they do not have the answers to the inconsistent struggling play and results. Like every one else they are searching for answers.
I’m not entirely sure that’s the issue. Let’s not forget, the injuries to Westburg & Mateo hurt more than we want to realize. Holliday and Mayo are here now because of necessity, not because they should be. Remember Holliday didn’t start with the team and then he was sent back down when he didn’t perform. This comment by Dean plainly says..HEY I DID MY JOB, if the OFFENSE and DEFENSE aren’t following suit, what else can I tell you?
In addition to that, let’s look at what else is contributing to the drop off- Ryan OHearn..as much as I love him, he’s not an every day player or a natural 1st baseman. Mounty/OHearn platoon is much more effective & Mounty is constantly hurt. Adley’s drop off since AS break has been so sharp that you would naturally ask if he’s hurt too, and his inability to throw base stealers out is puzzling. Cowser is having an excellent rookie season but his strikeout vs balls in play ratio have taken a nose dive in the 2nd half. Gunnar is still the most consistent player on this team, but his power numbers in the 2nd half have sharply declined & defensively he’s made an error every other day. It would take me an hour to list more reasons, injuries have caught up with our young team and they are putting extra pressure on themselves when they press & try to pick up their teammates. Our Ace has fallen on hard times, but all in all starting pitching has been solid in the face of no run support. Suarez has been a savior for guess what, INJURED Grayson/Bradish/Means & Wells. Eflin was a real good trade deadline deal, we needed that kind of veteran and he can win games on his own. I doubt any team member is losing sleep over Hays going to Philly, and he’s been on the DL anyway so that’s the wrong conclusion. The pen has also improved, after Kimbrel has tanked, Dominguez (another deadline deal) has been a saving grace while we wait for the Mountain in ’25. Let’s hope the team can channel some magic for the last 3 weeks, whether we stumble in as a 3rd wild card, win the division or miss the playoff entirely is all on the table. Stay the course Birdland, keep supporting our boys and stay faithful! Let’s go O’s
The ins and outs of Orioles degeneration falls on Hyde. Why does he continue to put kimball in, he is washed up. How many wins has that caused us so far ? I wouldn’t play for Hyde right now. Analytics can be thrown in the toilet.
Let’s be honest, this team looks tired and has looked that way for almost 2 months!
Dealing Connor Norby for nothing was the most head scratching deadline move. The guy was clearly more MLB ready than Holliday. I watched them play in Miami a month or so ago and had 3rd row seats behind our dugout, you could just see how Norby carried himself, that he can play, he hit a home run that game and made a spectacular fielding play. Now he will become a productive player with someone else! That has to be a little bit of a bummer for guys that played with him in the minors and saw his maturation. I’ve lost faith in Elias’s ability to manage a MLB roster.
Well said. Giving away Norby was a travesty.
It’s very easy to blame the manager when teans struggle. Everyone was praising him while they were winning. The bottom line us the players must perform. They are not doing so. Why did the hitting focus change so much from last year. Approaches to at bats was better last year. Many big innings without homer’s. Now they swing for the fences all the time. It Was easy to see even early in this year. When they were scoring runs with homers that when the homers stopped, the runs would also. And they have.
The worst part is the defense. The defense is inconsistent and not reliable.
Too many changes in the line up.
When was the last time the lineup stayed the same for any more a couple of games
I like Brandon Hyde and Mike Elias and am happy they both got to reap the benefits of many struggling years. The Orioles have drafted and developed players well under this regime, so no worries there. What does concern me are two things: 1. Falling to the pressure to make a trade, even if the trade-off does not make sense. 2. Any good manager knows how to set his employees up to be successful. I have not seen much of that, especially lately. Having said that, you’re not going to hit on every trade. Also, players have to take some responsibility for their own success. Still willing to give the GM and manager a pass, but the leash is a bit shorter.
Cannot overlook the impact of all the injuries to key players has played in the O’s recent struggles. Frankly am amazed they are still 20 games over .500. If Bradish, Rodriguez and Westburg were healthy and playing this conversation would be different. Happens to every team at some point.
Yes I am surprised there still 20 games over 500. I am still hoping they beat out the Yankees for the division. Hope when we get key players back from U injuries things will turn positive.
Nobody has mentioned the change in ownership. I don’t know, but it’s POSSIBLE the owners might of had a “torpedoes be damned” attitude to win it all this year, even if it meant “just a teeny bit” of mortgaging the future. All of which puts extra or undue pressure on making personnel decisions, trades & acquisitions, rushed player development. Timing is thrown off and there’s a change in the players’ flow & chemistry. Impatience is understandable, but not when it leads to panic. A team only has but so much depth to overcome the injuries the O’s have sustained.
They had plenty of Opportunity to trade Jackson Holiday but did not. Big mistake. Beside Henderson, Mullins and Santandare who else can they count.on Holiday was great in the minors but this is not the minors. Bottom line they will be no better next year