Well, this isn’t very much fun. The Orioles look lifeless right now, and everything is going wrong. After a disappointing series loss to the Red Sox and a frustrating-as-anything series loss to the Kansas City Royals, the Birds are just 4-6 after 10 games. Nothing is going the Orioles’ way right now, from batted ball luck to injuries.
Something is holding the 2025 Orioles back, and for the most part, it’s themselves. They have talent, but they aren’t playing together as a unit. Every other night, the offense is dormant, and they can’t hit for power right now, which puts more pressure on an already hurt and thin pitching staff to carry the load, which was never the plan.
Things are looking dire, and yes, it is early, but Sunday was a complete vibe killer that needs to be discussed.
We have much to get into today.
This Offense is Beyond Frustrating
If there was a primary culprit as to why the 2025 Orioles are not playing up to their talent, it’s this. This offense just cannot get out of their way, and the trends of the latter part of 2024 have seeped right over into 2025, new hitting coaches be damned.
I understand we don’t have Colton Cowser and Gunnar Henderson just returned, but they just can’t manufacture runs consistently.
Sure, sometimes they can do it – like on Opening Day and on Saturday – but most of the time, they can’t. This sort of plays into a bigger picture, so this we’ll stick a pin in it for now…
Power Outage?
One of the most disturbing facts about this team so far is their surprising lack of power. Do you know how many home runs the Orioles hit this week? One. One singular Home Run.
However, this is actually the least of my worries. They hit multiple balls that should have been home runs in different climates and several screamers right at people. The home runs will come eventually; it’s just shocking and adding to the problems that they haven’t showed up yet.
Holliday and Kjerstad Have to be Everyday Players
Alright, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of this article and where many of the issues are coming from.
Jackson Holliday and Heston Kjerstad are two of your most consistent hitters, and each had big days in Saturday’s win. They have to start every day at this point, man. Yes, I know Heston goofed up a ball in left that led to runs on Friday. However, he makes up for it, and has proved that he can hit lefties at every level. Holliday is going to be your everyday second baseman for the next half-decade, and he’s 21 years old. He doesn’t need a day off!
There is no reason these guys aren’t playing daily, especially when they show you they can hit lefties.
Enough of These Platoons
Alright, here is the big one.
I usually keep my big organizational takes to one, but for this week, I have two in mind. These platoons the Orioles use drive me – and every fan with a brain – up a wall.
Sunday was my breaking point. Remember when I said I would shelf the discussion on the bad offense in the first point? Well, one of the reasons why I said to keep it in your mind is because the overuse of the platoons is having a huge effect on this. Guys, especially young players, can’t get comfortable with their spots in the lineup. Hell, they usually don’t even come to the ballpark knowing if they’ll be playing or not!
Yesterday was the last straw for me. So Brandon Hyde, aka Meat Manager as our good friend Derek Arnold calls him, decides that after watching Heston and Holliday hit well Saturday and produce several runs that it would be a good time to sit them. Cedric Mullins, who has been on fire to start the year? Yeah, you grab some pine too.
Not only did he sit them, but he replaced them with players playing out of position like Jorge Mateo, who shouldn’t be on a major league roster, and inexplicably didn’t play a single inning in CF in spring training.
So, as soon as the game starts, Mateo has to make his presence known by whiffing on a 99% catch probability ball in center. That turned into a triple for Bobby Witt Jr., and the next batter flew out. Instead of that flyout being out number three, it was out number two and a sacrifice fly. The Royals took advantage even further by putting up two more runs after there should have been three outs, if you had an actual outfielder playing centerfield.
Of course, Mateo also does nothing with his bat all game and, in a critical situation, pops out on a pitch right down the middle.
This is exciting to Brandon Hyde and the Orioles?
Let’s clarify: we don’t know who makes the lineups. Hyde could be just a walking spreadsheet, bending to the will of Sig and his analytics department.
However, the lineup doesn’t even make sense if it was the nerds who delivered it! Bubic is a reverse splits pitcher, meaning lefties hit better against him, despite his being a southpaw.
But since the Orioles continue to show us that they don’t believe in reverse splits, they have to play their righty-heavy lineup. The last time they did something similar against KC was in Game 1 of the Wild Card series when they just had to play all the righties against another reverse split lefty in Cole Ragans. How did that go?
Oh, right, terribly, just like it did yesterday.
And don’t even try to make this about Mullins needing a day off, by the way. We are not even three weeks into the season, and Mullins was 4-for-9 with a HR against Bubic. Now, if Mullins just HAD to sit, the move should have been to play Kjerstad in left and Ramon Laureno in center
Holliday also should have started at second, moving Ramon Urias to the bench. Yes, I know he is hot, but so were the other guys you sat!
These platoons stink, and I am tired of acting like they serve some grand purpose.
You drafted all these guys with high draft picks and big signing bonuses, Orioles. You shouldn’t have to look for reasons not to play talent. Just play your damn DUDES, instead of shoehorning inferior players into the lineup just because you want your precious platoon advantage.
Could Hyde be 2022 Joe Girardi?
Oh boy, this is a hot take two weeks into the season.
Does anyone remember when the Phillies fired Girardi after a 23-29 Start in 2022? pic.twitter.com/1TwxUHrdE0
— PigTownSports (@PigTownSports) April 6, 2025
As noted by @PigTownSports above, in early 2022, the Phillies fired manager Joe Girardi because he had a talented roster underperforming. The rest is history, as the Phillies have been one of the premier teams in baseball since that firing. They made it to the World Series in 2022 and the NLCS in 2023.
Are we heading down that same road with Hyde? Not everything is his fault; players have to play, and he might not be the one forcing these horrible platoons. Is it too early to say he needs to go? Maybe, but this team just can’t get locked in. How can they? How can you, as a player, get locked in and play well when you don’t even know where you are playing or if you are even playing? Not every player can lock in and show up when they don’t even know if they are starting, and that trickles over into every aspect of their game.
By the way, while this isn’t about the extensions, maybe another reason none of the players have signed is that they aren’t comfortable here because of how the team operates and handles the best players? Food for thought…
A move wouldn’t have to be that big of a leap anyway. They already got rid of Hyde’s right-hand man in Fredi Gonzalez last year and have Buck Britton, who has previously managed every single one of the team’s star players on the major league roster, ready to go.
This team needs to change the vibes against Arizona and the Blue Jays this week. Will they? Who knows? Maybe Gunnar will get his timing down and go off, sparking a vast offensive explosion this week. Perhaps they had an epiphany and let their good players to play all the time. Will they do any of that?
One thing everyone can agree upon is that they need to start playing better; otherwise, we won’t have to worry about Hyde’s decisions and who is making the lineup much longer.
