Leading Off

The Orioles have limped into the most consequential series of the season. With a 2-game lead in the AL East on the line, the Birds need just one win to take the tie-breaker in the season series with the Rays. Here we go!

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

• magn8606
• jakee4025

This Week on the Twitters

The Mariners won, so the Orioles can clinch a playoff spot no sooner than Friday.

— Nathan Ruiz (@NathanSRuiz) September 13, 2023

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/2xdq9ySyO7

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) September 13, 2023

Former Orioles prospect Drew Rom returns to Camden Yards tonight with the Cardinals.

Since being one of three top-20 O’s prospects traded for Jack Flaherty, Rom has a 7.79 ERA in 4 starts for St. Louis. Flaherty has a 7.16 ERA in 6 starts for Baltimore. https://t.co/06rMz1VdLf

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) September 13, 2023

The AL East race continues TONIGHT on FOX 🍿👀@RaysBaseball | @Orioles

📺: 7pm ET pic.twitter.com/g6rGy7KEAK

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 14, 2023

Around the Bases

First Base: John Means returns

John Means returned to pitch in the major leagues after an absence of 576 days. And it was… pretty good. He wasn’t perfect, but after going 5IP with 3 ER, we’ll take that. This team needs a good John Means, and he seems well on the way.

Or are we saying this just because Jake and Jim Hunter have way too much in common?

Second Base: The Skid

The Orioles have hit a skid, and Orioles fans have lost their damn minds. There is a vocal contingent of the fan base for whom the sky is falling, and this team is just terrible all of the sudden. And… it’s exhausting. Yes, the recent struggles are no fun. But the team has been excellent all season, and as recently as four games ago!

O’s fans need to take a deep breath and realize that the reason this hurts so much is that we’re playing meaningful games in September. This is what past you dreamed about. The Orioles – ahead of schedule by all accounts, are giving us a season to remember. Is it always fun? No. Is it perfect? No. But perfection is not something we can demand of our baseball team,

Third Base: The Rays Series

This is the most important four-game stretch that the Orioles will play in 2023. The season can be made or broken here. The O’s need to win just one game in order to take the season tie-breaker over the Rays. And they can put themselves in the driver’s seat by winning 2-3 of those games.

Strap it on, here comes the hard part.

Home Plate: Adam Jones night

There will be a lot of emotion in the ballpark on Friday. Adam Jones will return to retire as an Oriole, and all of Birdland will be on hand. Just like 2131 (or perhaps 2110?), everyone will claim to have been there. Here’s hoping that the emotion of the evening will spill onto the field, and the Orioles will take it to the Rays.

And also, how did the Birds allow this to be Flaherty’s turn? Yuck.

Fantasy Boss

Scott wins again, and is really pulling away now. He leads it 10-6. He’s given Jake a little bit of hope in saying that Fantasy Boss will continue through the playoffs (and there are still a couple of Wild Cards out there), but things are looking pretty locked up. Scott is on the precipice of his very first Fantasy Boss victory.

Last week, Scotts pick, Gunnar Henderson out wOBA’d Jake’s pick, Adley Rutschman. It was close, but “close” a Fantasy Boss champion does not make.

This week’s category is DONGS. Scott went with Anthony Santander and Jake selected Gunnar Henderson.

In addition, Scott laid down the gauntlet with an additional Wild Card:

Next player to hit a well-off HR

• Jake selected Adam Frazier
• Scott took Gunnar Henderson

The other active Wild Card is:

Next Oriole to hit a 450+ foot HR

• Scott selected Gunnar Henderson
• Jake took Austin Hays

Who will own it?

Who had a great week? Who had a tough week? Who made us ashamed to be Orioles fans? Find out in this week’s GB&U. The guys run through their Good, Bad, and Ugly for the week.

Tweet us your selections @birdseyeviewbal with #OsGood, #OsBad, and #OsUgly.

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.

Please leave a rating and review for our show, wherever you get your podcasts, whether it be Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play Music, Spotify, or… wherever!

You can email the show – contact at birdseyeviewbaltimore dot com

Get connected: you can find us on social media: