While I was away on vacation last week, there were a number of topics I missed that require a talk show’s worth of time to discuss. For example, are we cool with the fact that Delaware claimed to have “perfected” the orange crush? I acknowledge that I’m an annual Delaware vacationer, but should this information force me to boycott our adorable little neighbors? Are they setting the stage for an invasion of sorts? Should we be proactive?
Also, do actual human beings dip their crabs in butter? Like, in front of God and everything? When the little tubs of butter came out with the crabs, it took everything in me to not throw it directly into the server’s face. I hope the fine folks in Bethany Beach didn’t find it too difficult when I instead simply yeeted it onto Atlantic Avenue.
And don’t get me started on how a Nick’s Mini Golf in Fenwick Island rebranded as “Saint Nick’s” with a perfect Christmas theme, but when we visited they were playing terrible pop country music because they aren’t allowed to play Christmas music until 6 p.m. because of a dispute with their neighbors. May all of those neighbors permanently receive coal at all times.
One topic I imagine I would have discussed is the Q&A Orioles owner David Rubenstein participated in with the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. You’re probably aware with some of the things Rubenstein said, like …
“This year has not worked out that well. We have a lot of injuries. We lead the major leagues, I think, in injuries. And what are you supposed to say to a young person who injures his arm? You can’t say, ‘Go out and play when your arm’s injured.’ So, it’s difficult. I’m not able to coach these players very much. I can’t tell them what to do. I’m 75; these guys are 21, 22 years old. I’m so much older than them. I have a hard time getting to them.”
And …
“I leave the baseball to the baseball professionals. My job is to be the owner. It’s to help ticket sales, commercial things, take the blame when something goes wrong. But in the end, you’ve got professional baseball players, managers, general managers, and they know what they’re doing. Baseball is a game of some injuries and so forth, but we have a very good team. We have good players. We won three games in a row against the Atlanta Braves the other day. We’re going to play the Mets soon, and I think we have a reasonably good chance in the second half of doing much, much better.”
There was also humorous anecdote in between about an Orioles player who allegedly did not know what a prostate was. But in all, not a lot was said. In fact, I didn’t find these responses to be the most interesting Orioles-related portion of the interview. That honor is instead reserved for “49:50.”
As in, “the owner of a major American professional sports franchise participated in a Q&A and that team didn’t come up until 49:50 into the conversation.”
Now to be fair, the Q&A was ostensibly about Rubenstein’s recent book “The Highest Calling: Conversations on the American Presidency.” But I was hard pressed to imagine how many other major pro team owners would do public Q&A sessions in which the team he or she owns would be treated the way I treat the hobby of a player who was recently drafted by a team. (Speaking of which, is Slater de Brun/Lil Slayyy’s “Break My Heart” the eighth-inning anthem the team has looked for?)
Perhaps you’re thinking that the timing of when Rubenstein fielded an Orioles question in a book Q&A is about as relevant as Robert Griffin III’s WNBA takes. I get it. But it speaks to the reality of the situation. For as many of you who are hoping the Baltimore native would be more personally invested in the game-to-game trials and tribulations of the team, the timing of the question (combined with the second response) feels like a concrete representation of “bigger fish to fry.”
Which makes sense, really. The man also authors books about presidents and interviews massively successful people largely as hobbies. It’s just hard to fathom that you can get someone like that too worked up about whether Tyler O’Neill should be taking at-bats away from Coby Mayo right now. He shouldn’t, of course. But I can say that because my only distractions are related to Christmas-themed putt-putt courses and their soundtracks.
This conversation has a lot of tentacles. As Kyle Stowers obliterated his former team almost singlehandedly Sunday (albeit while Trevor Rogers has been in top form for a month), social media was ripe with vented Mike Elias frustrations. The Orioles have played better since firing Brandon Hyde but given the bar, they kind of had to. They haven’t played well enough to really consider Tony Mansolino a full-time managerial candidate. It’s still tough to envision this core contending for a World Series in 2026 considering where the team is.
It would be nice to hear something from the owner other than “injuries” and “I’m too old to coach these players.” (Which, yeah, I don’t think anyone expects him to do but maybe it also couldn’t hurt to try?)
Rubenstein and the team might be well-served to have an ownership representative who could serve as a more direct day-to-day mouthpiece. The late Larry Lucchino played this role while serving as club president in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Orioles currently have a president of business operations in Catie Griggs, but she isn’t part of the ownership group. It doesn’t have to be Rubenstein. Any member of the group could serve as a bit of a spokesperson. For the fan base, the desire to simply hear “we understand, it’s not good enough and we’re hell-bent on fixing it” from ownership goes a long way.
There’s nothing wrong with anything Rubenstein said to the National Press Club. The Orioles might have a better second half, perhaps starting with scoring some runs! They have had injuries! But they need a manager. They need larger direction. They’re almost certainly going to need to spend more money.
And it wouldn’t hurt to have someone who can speak to the frustrations of fans and massage the messaging from ownership to the fan base, too.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox