Leading Off

Jake and Scott are back together this week, so they spend considerable time and energy trying to figure out how to podcast. Also, the Orioles are still good (better than they should be?), and fun to watch.

Drink of the Week

Join us for the Drink of the Week, and let us know how you’re consoling yourself as you watch the O’s. Find us on Untappd

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This Week on the Twitters

Including today, the Orioles have 11 games remaining against the Blue Jays and 10 against the Red Sox.

So far, the O's are 6-2 vs. Toronto and 5-4 vs. Boston.

— Paul Mancano (@PaulMancano) August 17, 2022

The Orioles have lost the season series to the Rays, Mariners and Twins. With Game 163 no longer in play, that is significant. https://t.co/31AV3AS13P

— Nathan Ruiz (@NathanSRuiz) August 14, 2022

That’s awesome you can go back to all your teams and feel welcome 🥹🥹

— 10 (@SimplyAJ10) August 16, 2022

Harbaugh: “How about them Orioles? Love the way they’re playing. Love the manager.” pic.twitter.com/D8UH2Zzg1W

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) August 15, 2022

Around the Bases

We go Around the Bases to review this week in Orioles Baseball:

First Base: Do we have an offensive problem?

Look, we are NOT saying that the Orioles are bad, or that the Orioles offense hasn’t been impressive. But we are starting to wonder if some cracks are appearing that reveal the Orioles offense for what it is: a squad playing over its head, being held up by its supporting cast greatly exceeding their peripherals.

Maybe we’re way off (first) base, here. But it smells like the Orioles offense is not as good as it has been.

Second Base: Debuts

We talk about what we saw in DL Hall’s MLB debut, and we discuss whether we will see any more meaningful MLB debuts in the 2022 season.

The guys are firmly on Team Bring Up Gunnar, but also aggressively Team Don’t Be a Dick About It on Social Media.

Third Base: In or Out?

We often ask the question “will this guy have a role on the next great Orioles team?” So we took a look at the edge of the roster and made some observations about:

• Jorge Mateo
• Ryan McKenna
• Jordan Lyles
• Spenser Watkins
• Dean Kremer
• Ramon Urias

Home Plate: Do you believe in magic?

In any other episode, this would clearly be a Lovin’ Spoonful. But here on this episode, we’re asking if you take Mike Elias seriously when he says that this upcoming offseason is “liftoff.” Is he for real? Is the team really going to invest at the major league level to try to win in 2023?

The team’s options are pretty clear. The can:

• Go all in – big trades and big purchases
• Hedge their bets – modest trades and modest purchases
• Extend the rebuild – anemic spending and no real trades

Door #3 would be absolute fan relation suicide. It’s not that we put it past them, but the real question becomes whether you believe that they will go all in, or hedge their bets.

So… do you believe in magic?

Fantasy Boss

The score stays at 4-2 in Scott’s favor. Jake won the most recent Fantasy Boss, but waived off the win, feeling that he had allowed Jabby Burns to “tarnish the integrity” of Fantasy Boss.

Instead, Jake has chosen an over/under of his own: Anthony Santander at 100 wRC+

Scott took the over, and Jake is left with the under.

Who will own it?

Blowing the Save

Most podcasts try to end on a high note – the perfect coda to a quality program. That’s just not our style. Each week, we’ll end on a weak note, blowing the save with an item that didn’t quite fit into the episode, or something they simply need to get off their chests. It’s our version of taking the ball and pulling a Kevin Gregg.

Your Turn

Love it? Hate it? Confused? Let us, and other listeners, know! As always, we appreciate the support.

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