SARASOTA, Fla. — This ‘N That about This ‘N That and starting off with the Orioles’ starting rotation heading into the regular season …
Based on his age, experience and reputation, Kyle Gibson has been the presumed 2023 Opening Day starter ever since he signed a $10 million free agent contract on Dec. 5. His five scoreless innings against the Pirates on March 19, not to mention a work schedule perfectly aligned for the March 30 opener in Boston, seems to make manager Brandon Hyde’s announcement little more than a formality.
But there are other decisions to be made. It’s likely that left-hander Cole Irvin would be spared the challenge of Fenway Park’s Green Monster of a left field wall, so the fourth slot in the rotation would set him up for the first game of a three-game set in Texas. Probably the biggest decision for Hyde is the No. 2 starter, who on a straight five-man rotation would also be in line to start the Orioles’ home opener, April 6 against the Yankees.
Based on performances throughout the last two months of 2022 and to date in spring training, the choice would appear to be between Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish. Kremer may get the edge here if for no other reason than his experience pitching in the electric atmosphere of the World Baseball Classic for Team Israel.
The wild card remains to be Grayson Rodriguez, expected to join DL Hall atop the rotation in the near future. Starting in the No. 5 slot would make a potential transition to No. 1 later in the year a simple task of someone missing a start. But right now Rodriguez is struggling with some control issues that have made the fourth inning a major stumbling block.
There is an alternative here — but it doesn’t appear to be a six-man trial run. Rather it could be the possibility of utilizing the old fashioned Oriole Way, allowing Tyler Wells, Spenser Watkins, Austin Voth or Bruce Zimmermann to slip into the rotation and let Rodriguez to break out of the bullpen — or, heaven forbid, in Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles long ago decided it’s time for the training wheels to come off, so the second option would be a step back in the master plan, hardly a desirable outcome.
Voth is the only one of the possible alternatives for the fifth starting spot who doesn’t have a minor league option, so his presence on the roster is close to a guarantee. There are still other decisions to be made — and the fact that the team’s top prospect is even in the discussion can be considered either a good thing, or a cause for concern.
Either way, it’s strong enough indication that Orioles pitching going north is better than it has been in a long time.
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I can’t remember any team having a three-game, two night road trip during spring training, but the Yankees did just that March 11-13. After traveling from their Tampa training camp to play a split-squad game against the Pirates in Bradenton, the Yankees continued on to Fort Myers, where they hung out for two nights and played the Red Sox and Twins on back-to-back days before heading north on I-75.
Approximate mileage for the “road trip” — 265 miles. Oh yeah, they also had a split-squad home game against the Phillies on the 11th, for a total of four games in three days. Can’t imagine what the MLBPA thought about that schedule.
The Orioles had one of those nightmarish split squad schedules of their own on Sunday, March 19 — home against the Pirates, away against the Yankees, sandwiched between road games with the Red Sox in Fort Myers on the 18th and the Phillies in Clearwater on the 20th. Spring training can get a team ready for the regular season in the travel department, too — without airplanes.
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They don’t keep records for this kind of stuff, but I doubt if there’s ever been a better player in spring training who was less than a year removed from his high school senior prom than the Orioles’ Jackson Holliday. Forget the .385 average in limited at-bats, it was in the field where the 19-year-old (he won’t be 20 until Dec. 4) looked at home, flawlessly fielding the shortstop position that appears to be his for the taking down the road.
Let’s just say he certainly wasn’t overmatched. And even his reassignment to Orioles minor league camp was a news item, not merely a note. He’s going to attract a lot of attention wherever he plays this summer.
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The injury to Edwin Díaz is the World Baseball Classic’s worst nightmare. Even if the Mets’ closer had somehow avoided serious down time after injuring his knee during the celebration after Puerto Rico’s elimination win against the Dominican Republic, this was bound to increase concern by teams worried about losing key players in non-MLB games.
The fact that MLB insurance will cover salary for Díaz while he’s on the injured list is of little consolation for the Mets. There’s nobody out there for owner Steve Cohen to throw money at who could replace Díaz in the back of manager Buck Showalter’s bullpen.
It might be time to take another look at some of these senseless celebrations, some of which also take place in the MLB. I don’t know if you can outlaw the “dogpile,” but it would be a good place to start.
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One reason spring training games have generally gone faster than expected is because batters have yet to get accustomed, or take advantage of, the one “timeout” they are allowed each at-bat. That is certain to change once the regular season starts.
Incidentally, to answer the question about how much leeway umpires will give batters to question a strike call, this is where the “timeout” comes into play. The trick will be saving it for the right time. For instance, a questionable strike two call can be challenged by raising his hand — as long as the batter hadn’t used his timeout. If he had, he’d risk being called out on a “ghost strike” by not being ready with eight seconds on the clock.
If you’re wondering whether or not the pitcher gets the same “timeout” protection, the answer is no. He can ask for a new ball (while uttering a few choice words) provided he does so before the nine-second mark, but beyond that pitchers have no recourse.
Baseball used to be such a simple game.
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BTW, hope somebody noticed that the Puerto Rico-Mexico elimination game in the World Baseball Classic took three hours and 17 minutes. If baseball could produce more games like this one, the marketing department would not have to work overtime.
Some of the WBC games lasted in the four-hour range, which baseball officials were quick to note while MLB was playing exhibition games in less than three hours. Please save us that comparison.
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And finally today, in the interest of breaking up the monotony that spring training brings in the next to last week, we offer the not surprising results of a survey conducted by Crestline, which is billed as a promotional products company.
This survey of 1,000 people who identify as fans of Major League Baseball identified the Orioles’ fan base as the third-least annoying, and fourth-best behaved, in MLB. Having gone 40 years without a World Series champion, I would imagine overly anxious Orioles fans would find this result, well … annoying.
Reason being, of course, the most polite fans in any sport are generally lower in number, with teams that have the fewest wins. Kansas City, Seattle, Colorado, Milwaukee, and Minnesota are among the fan bases that accompany the Orioles in these two categories. Oakland’s reputation apparently precedes this survey and has a carryover effect.
New York and Boston (what a shock) head the most annoying list, followed by Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago (Cubs) … you get the idea. The more a team wins, the more annoying the fans. With the current rebuild in full bloom, it should help the Orioles’ fan base get its nasty on.
See Also: Jim Henneman: Orioles’ Five-Man Starting Rotation Is All But Officially Set
Jim Henneman can be reached at JimH@pressboxonline.com
Photo Credits: Colin Murphy and Kenya Allen/PressBox