Episode 82: Treading Water

Published by Bird's Eye View at June 16, 2014

Leading Off

Another week of Orioles baseball is in the book, and this one was a little up and down. The starting rotation is churning out quality starts, and the offense is ominously quiet. After the Drink of the Week and Medical Wing, it’s a look at the TWotT:

Twitter remembers Tony Gwynn
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s BAT FLIP
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it
#Signability
Ken Rosenthal honors Monica Barlow
National Media Love (Parts I and II)
Tough day for knuckleballers
Patriotic drinking
Other Twitter things

Bo (Gentile) Knows Baseball

The one constant through all the years.. has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.

Baseball is unique in the way its fans insist on the significance of its history, and in passing that history on to the next generation. With Father’s Day in mind, the guys speak to Bo Gentile – son of Oriole great Jim Gentile – on how he has worked to use bsaeball to connect his father and his own son. His experience may be a bit different from our own (how many of us have an MLB legend in the family?), but the celebration of family tradition and history is something that is familiar to all of us.

Treading Water

The Orioles are holding steady, just above .500, and within reach of the first place Toronto Blue Jays. Fans can look at this past week’s four-game series as a grave missed opportunity, or as the cap to a rough stretch of ballgames that positions them well to get well on an easier stretch starting with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The guys (mostly) agree that treading water is OK for now. After the Birds’ next 17 games, they’ll reconsider. If the Orioles are still treading water after that, there may be trouble.

Fantasy Boss

Scott makes the lead 8-3. This is getting old. Wei-Yin Chen out-pitched Kevin Gausman (according to xFIP), and Jake proves that he can’t count. This week, Scott shows pity, and goes with a more old-fashioned stat. OK, a REALLY old fashioned stat. This week, the guys are going to be watching D.

Yeah, that’s apparently a statistic tracked in the 1850s. Scott insists this is a real thing. Jake insists he’s making it up. D (supposedly) tracks infield groundouts that a hitter produces. Not a percentage, a count.

Jake took Manny Machado and Scott selected J.J. Hardy.

Who will own it?

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. Be sure to drop us a line and send us yours.

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.

Notes and Nags

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