MIKE BURKE
Allegany Communications Sports
These are cranky days in Baltimore. The Ravens are 0-2 (more on them later in the week) and the Orioles have stopped hitting and, in turn, they have stopped winning.
With just 12 games to play, the Orioles’ offense continues to be lost in the abyss, as Adley Rutschman’s eighth-inning, two-run home run on Sunday, his first since August 18, was their only offense in a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
The Orioles have now lost three consecutive series – to Boston, Tampa Bay and the Tigers and now find themselves three games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East, 2½ games ahead of the Kansas City Royals for the top wild card spot, and 4½ ahead of the MInnesota Twins.
Since scoring 22 runs in two wins over the Chicago White Sox, the Orioles have scored 21 runs in 10 games and have lost seven of them.
It’s gone well beyond being the dog days because there are no dogs to be found (don’t even think it). There’s nothing there. It’s crickets, as the Orioles are no longer slumping or even struggling. Top to bottom, they simply can no longer hit, particularly with runners in scoring position, which is what this club had been doing better than any team in baseball for the previous two years.
What’s the solution? You don’t think they’ve been searching for one since before the All-Star break?
All you hear Orioles players talk about after games is “the process.”
Rutschman said on Sunday. “We’ve had a good process, we’ve had a good process the last two years. We trust everyone around us. You know tomorrow’s a new day and we’ll come ready to play Tuesday … There’s no lack of faith. Our guys trust in each other and trust in our process.”
I expect Burt Convy to walk into the room and start ranting about B.E.A.T.
So what is the process? Apparently, it’s psychological, as co-hitting coach Ryan Fuller told Baltimore Baseball.com, “When things are going well, guys are in a good head space. When they need you (as a coach), you need to be there. We love the mental part of the game. We have our own coaches that we talk to where we can get feedback from them.
“Am I presenting this in the right way to these guys?’ This player might need it said a little bit differently than that player. It’s another piece of the puzzle that we love trying to put together every night.”
Then they’ve been having a real hoot for the past two months with this puzzle.
Fuller also said, “When you struggle and you have a period when you’re not getting the job done, the thoughts in your head go from ‘excitement of I get to do this’ to ‘I have to do that. I have to get a hit here.’ When you have those feelings, those emotions come up, they make you a little bit drunk to what I need to do right now in the moment.”
Listening to that might make me want to get a little bit drunk. I think I’d just rather hear Joe Schultz say, “Pound that Budweiser into you and go get ’em tomorrow.”
To the depths that these hitting woes have reached, certainly injuries to a starting infield of Ryan Mountcastle, Jordan Westburg, Jorge Mateo and Ramon Urias have certainly helped. Yet there were early signs this season that this Orioles offense would be hard-pressed to match the consistency of last year’s offense.
Early on with everyone healthy, the Orioles would consistently follow games in which they scored at least 10 runs with lethargic performances at the plate. On top of that, it seemed to be a new-look Rutschman, who was suddenly hitting for more power rather than spraying the ball to the gaps, getting on base and allowing the home runs to come when they came.
This has been a version of Rutschman at the plate that was foreign from what we had seen the previous two seasons. It seemed as though he remade himself into something he had never been as a hitter, and now he can’t find his way back to what he previously was.
Not that it has anything to do with it, but I’ve always winced when Orioles players decide to compete in the Home Run Derby over the All-Star break. Rutschman did it last year, and Gunnar Henderson did it this year before opening the second half of the season with a prolonged slump, so just sayin’.
Oddly enough, even with the injuries the pitching staff has been dealt (3 of their best starters, 3 of their best relievers, including the best closer in baseball), the pitching has been pretty good. Clearly, that’s a good thing.
The good news is, Jacob Webb is back, Danny Coulombe, Urias and, most importantly, Grayson Rodriguez and Westburg are scheduled to come back, so there are possibilities.
We can talk about the great late-season run of the Texas Rangers last year, but that really doesn’t seem applicable to the Orioles’ case. They just need to get bodies back to have a chance; and they also need to start hitting. But, how?
Believe in the process?
Pound that Budweiser!
God love Joe Schultz.
Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @MikeBurkeMDT