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Leading Off

This week’s show welcomes Charlie Hoppes, formerly of sister-wife-podcast Orioles Spastics. Don’t remember Charlie or the Spastics? Well, shame on you. But you can always head back to Episode 129 to get a taste of what things were like. And they were like… something.

Around the Bases

First Base: Overreacting/Underreacting to five games

We don’t want to alarm you, but there’s not much to go on here. One might even call it a small sample size. Still, we take a look back at the first six games of the 2026 season, and determine whether we are overreacting, underreacting, or reacting at all to this, that, and the other.

Second Base: YOU CAN’T DEFEAT THE ROBOTS

Now that we’ve seen the ABS system in action, yeah, it’s pretty great. But there are things about ABS that we didn’t realize we were going to enjoy – such as watching the Twins’ manager hissyfit his way out of a ballgame due to a review result.

ABS also adds another element of strategy to a game that is already beautifully complex. Here’s to uncovering new and interesting wrinkles of the ABS system this season!

Third Base: The Baz Extension

Remember, we don’t break news, here. We don’t “cover the team.” So you know about the Shane Baz deal already. What we’re interested in is the “so what?” What does this extension mean for the Orioles, in the way they are approaching players for extensions.

Can we view this and the Basallo extension (and the Alonso signing) together and give the Orioles a little credit that they may actually be making real offers to real ballplayers? Or are these more the exception, and we should assume that the O’s are going to continue to be also-rans with the likes of Gunnar Henderson?

Home Plate: We have missed baseball so much

It’s good to have baseball back. In big and small ways. We talk about some of the miniature joys the return of baseball brings, and (predictably) crap on the rumored City Connects.

We’re back, baby.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

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.