The addition of some thump in the offseason hasn’t helped the Orioles avoid a dud early this season.
And one of their television broadcasters put his feelings about the state of the last-place team on full display after Baltimore’s third straight loss to the rival Rays on Wednesday afternoon.
MASN analyst Ben McDonald used the postgame show after a 5-3 loss — one in which the Orioles allowed four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning — to discuss what he believes is wrong with the team.
In short, he couldn’t care less about any expected stats or analytics, but that at the end of the day, the team is 21-29 and in the basement of the American League East.
“We can talk about analytics and what could happen and what should happen if you hit the ball hard. But I don’t care if you hit the ball hard. Like, I don’t care if you hit it hard and you hit it to somebody. You’re out. I don’t care how hard you throw ball four. I don’t care what your spin rate was on your breaking ball if you bounce it three feet in front of home plate. I don’t care,” McDonald said, via the Baltimore Banner.
“What I care about is, do you make plays? Do you make pitches? Do you get hits when it matters? And that’s what the Orioles are struggling to do right now. They are struggling to complete ball games. They are struggling to have all phases of the game go right at the same time. That’s where the struggle is. So, all this nonsense is eyewash to me about all this analytical stuff. You either do or you don’t. And right now, the Orioles don’t. They are not doing it and they’re not playing well right now. That’s the bottom line.”
The Orioles and president of baseball operations Mike Elias made some splashes in the offseason, signing former Mets All-Star Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract and trading for right-hander Shane Baz, who later inked a five-year extension.
Alonso, who went deep Wednesday, now has nine homers through May 20, but his .744 OPS is well below his career norms and over 100 points lower than his total (.871) from last year in New York. Baz had one of his best starts of the year on Wednesday (six innings, one run), but has a 4.87 ERA and 1.45 WHIP this year.
As a team, the Orioles offense ranks 18th in OPS (.700) while the pitching staff is 26th in ERA (4.97).
In the three-game sweep at the hands of the Rays, the Orioles were outscored 25-10. Manager Craig Albernaz didn’t mince words about the latest loss.
“It’s a big-time gut punch, for sure,” Albernaz told reporters after Baltimore lost for the fifth time in six games.
The latest defeat was particularly crushing after the Orioles brought a 3-1 lead into the eighth before reliever Anthony Nunez imploded, allowing four earned runs to score. Closer Ryan Helsley is out with an elbow injury.
McDonald said he doesn’t even know what the Orioles’ next move is.
“They are having trouble finishing ball games. Where do they go from here?” the analyst said. “I can’t tell you where they go from here. I don’t know where the Orioles go from here other than that they have to start playing more consistent baseball. That’s the bottom line.”
