Speaker 1: It's the latest edition of Birdland Territory, an all Star
Speaker 1: break edition, and a chance to hand out some first
Speaker 1: half awards. Now we know the math means it's past
Speaker 1: the first half. It's baseball's first half, not the mathematical
Speaker 1: first half. As to aur sometimes never the same. In
Speaker 1: this year, they're not. So guys, let's get right into it.
Speaker 1: We're gonna go over a couple different awards, and the
Speaker 1: first one for this show, as we talk about the
Speaker 1: first half here at the break, is the first half MVO.
Speaker 1: That's the most valuable Oriole. This is an award voted
Speaker 1: on by the media at the end of the year.
Speaker 1: So this is our unofficial first half award. And Brad,
Speaker 1: why don't you give us your top three so far?
Speaker 2: Yeah, So my top three for like you said, a
Speaker 2: little bit past the first half here, I have Pete Alonso,
Speaker 2: Ali Rushman, and Taylor Ward. I just think, you know,
Speaker 2: Pete has done everything that they expected him to do
Speaker 2: and has kind of been a leader on this team.
Speaker 2: And I think his defense has been way more than
Speaker 2: advertised also, and he's had a great first half defensively also,
Speaker 2: But when you look at his numbers, he's leading the
Speaker 2: team in RBIs. He's leading the team at home runs,
Speaker 2: and I think he's second in batting average right now too,
Speaker 2: behind Taylor Ward. So I think he's done everything that
Speaker 2: the Orioles could have expected when they sign him to
Speaker 2: this contract, and he's been great. Obviously, Atli made the
Speaker 2: All Star Game. He's done a great job. I'm kind
Speaker 2: of biased towards catchers also, just being a former pitcher,
Speaker 2: he's got a lot on his plate, He's dealt with
Speaker 2: some injuries, and he still has had a great first half.
Speaker 2: And then Taylor Award to me, has just been a
Speaker 2: consistent guy on the top of the lineup, leads a
Speaker 2: team in batting average, He's played good outfield in a
Speaker 2: tough left field now the way that Kim Yards has
Speaker 2: configured it, and I just think he's done a great
Speaker 2: job just kind of being a constant source at the
Speaker 2: top of the lineup. Has been there every single game
Speaker 2: pretty much. And I feel like those three have just
Speaker 2: been consistently in the lineup. Like I said, outside of
Speaker 2: at least a couple of little injuries he's had, I
Speaker 2: think those three have really just kind of kept this
Speaker 2: boat to float for the Orioles and kind of kept
Speaker 2: them here in the in the playoff hunts so far
Speaker 2: in the first half of the season.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we get the same top two, Brad Pete Alonzo
Speaker 3: being number one and Pete. That was their first big contract,
Speaker 3: this new ownership group that they have given out and
Speaker 3: so far, he's been everything they could have won out
Speaker 3: of Pete Alonso. He's been Pete Alonzo leading the team
Speaker 3: in home runs with twenty one RBIs with sixty five.
Speaker 3: He's gotten eight to twenty ops, which is tops for reals.
Speaker 3: And also and this was expected out of Pete because
Speaker 3: it's just his reputation.
Speaker 4: He's at the post. He's played every single.
Speaker 3: Game, guys, like, and that's what you want out of
Speaker 3: Pee Alonzo, representing that leadership there and he's second on
Speaker 3: the team and walks and gosh, I'm just really excited
Speaker 3: to see what he's going to do after the All
Speaker 3: Star break. Is forty home runs in the picture. I mean,
Speaker 3: he's well on pace to hit over one hundred RBIs.
Speaker 3: But it's been a monster year for Pete Alonso thus far.
Speaker 3: And what I really like about Pete, guys, is his
Speaker 3: numbers continue to go up. You know, he had the
Speaker 3: rough first month March April six sixty eight ops, then
Speaker 3: at eight forty in May nine to forty seven in June,
Speaker 3: came back a little bit. I'm using air quotes here,
Speaker 3: just in eight ninety five OPS in July. So he's
Speaker 3: doing really, really well. I have Adle as my number
Speaker 3: two as well. The only knock on him, and it's
Speaker 3: not his fault. Of course, he's missed a lot of games.
Speaker 3: You know, he's he's played in sixty five of ninety
Speaker 3: seven games. But gosh, has hist impact been huge. He's
Speaker 3: got forty seven RBIs in sixty five games. That's a
Speaker 3: fantastic ratio.
Speaker 4: Guys.
Speaker 3: He's second on the team in RBIs despite missing all
Speaker 3: of those games. And defensively he's been excellent. He has
Speaker 3: been excellent behind the plate for sure, throwing out runners.
Speaker 3: My number three man. I was going back and forth
Speaker 3: this morning, I really was. I was cycling through names.
Speaker 3: I'm like, I really want to have Brandon Young in there.
Speaker 3: I couldn't get Brandon Young. I wanted to have Blaze,
Speaker 3: I couldn't. Really, I'm gonna give it to Samuelpisio. I
Speaker 3: really am. And I just think that he's grown so much,
Speaker 3: and I think the turning point of his season was
Speaker 3: that series in Kansas City where he came up with
Speaker 3: that big time hit in the ninth inning, that big
Speaker 3: time hit in extra innings, and ever since then he's
Speaker 3: been awesome. And you know this kind of goes hand
Speaker 3: in hand with Adley, right, Adley missing a lot of games,
Speaker 3: Sam's had to really step up. He's played in eighty
Speaker 3: three games and he's really picked up the slack. He's
Speaker 3: third in RBIs, third in homers, third in ops, and
Speaker 3: not to mention he's grown a lot defensively as a catcher.
Speaker 3: I mean, gosh, every single time Trevor Rodgers starts a
Speaker 3: game and Samuel Passillo is catching him, he always points
Speaker 3: out the impact that Sam had on Trevor Rodgers starts.
Speaker 3: So I got Pete, Adley and Sam for my one,
Speaker 3: two three.
Speaker 1: And we should let the viewers know we didn't compare notes.
Speaker 1: We started recording and we don't know what the other
Speaker 1: guys are going to pick, but I'm gonna make it
Speaker 1: a clean sweep. I also had Pete Alonzo first. He's
Speaker 1: on a pace for thirty five homers, one hundred eight RBIs.
Speaker 1: That's exactly what they penciled him in for beyond that,
Speaker 1: his defense has been better than we thought. We were
Speaker 1: not told. We were told it's shaky. Hasn't really been
Speaker 1: that maybe rare instance here or there. In fact, that
Speaker 1: cast and Range factor grades him in the top fifteen percent.
Speaker 1: It was fifteen percent of mean. He gets around better
Speaker 1: than you think getting that ball. And we've seen the scoops,
Speaker 1: which we heard he was good at. And beyond that,
Speaker 1: the leadership obviously has been tremendous. We've noted many ways
Speaker 1: that's shown itself, including how he's getting out in the
Speaker 1: community and doing things for the Baltimore community, and beyond
Speaker 1: what he's doing at the ballpark. So Adlee number two
Speaker 1: for me, I love the play discipline this year when
Speaker 1: he's at his best. High walk rate and ten point
Speaker 1: two is above average. Low strikeout percentage fourteen percent is
Speaker 1: way below average. He's getting back to the ball and
Speaker 1: he's framing ninety seven percentile, he's throwing out runners, he's
Speaker 1: doing it all. I got blaze third, which you might
Speaker 1: be hard at the end of the year if he
Speaker 1: misses a lot of games, maybe he falls off the ballot.
Speaker 1: The other thing I think, guys, is with a team
Speaker 1: having a bad year and they are to this point,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of candidates for this, and my ballot
Speaker 1: leaves off Prasiah, leaves off Brandon Young. No one's even
Speaker 1: mentioned Gunner, which shows you the tough year he's had.
Speaker 1: He's not in the top five or six if you
Speaker 1: think about it right now. So think about what the
Speaker 1: season could be if he gets it going when they
Speaker 1: resume on Friday night. So a lot of good candidates.
Speaker 1: It was it for us. Unbeknownst before we started recording.
Speaker 1: We have a clean Sweet Bears pedal Lines of first Half,
Speaker 1: mbol Most Valuable, Oriole. We'll give out some more awards
Speaker 1: in a moment here on Birdland Tarantory.
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Speaker 1: Cy Young, Tim, what do you got on that one?
Speaker 4: I gotta give it to Brandon Young, right.
Speaker 3: I was trying so hard to put him in the
Speaker 3: ballot for MVO, just because I think that highly of
Speaker 3: the season that Brandon Young has had. And when you
Speaker 3: go back to last year and the era is being
Speaker 3: so inflated at over six to what he's done now
Speaker 3: with a three four to two er and a step
Speaker 3: further and even Craig Albert has acknowledged this much. On Friday,
Speaker 3: his last start prior to the break, he's got a
Speaker 3: twelve and three record. This club is five games below
Speaker 3: five hundred and the Orioles are nine games above five
Speaker 3: hundred in which games that Brandon Young starts. And you
Speaker 3: just look at some of the pitch repertoire, like this
Speaker 3: isn't someone that's throwing gas, but that four seam fastball
Speaker 3: has been one of the best four seemers in the game.
Speaker 3: Wh Ungs is starting pitching, batters are hitting below two
Speaker 3: hundred off his four seamer. We know he changed that
Speaker 3: splitter grip going back to May, and how much of
Speaker 3: an impact that that has had for him. There's so
Speaker 3: many pleasant surprises on this Orioles team, but Brandon Young,
Speaker 3: he's way up the list for me, and I think
Speaker 3: he's well deserved of the O saw Young in the
Speaker 3: first half.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Yeah, that's a great pick.
Speaker 2: I tried not to repeat everybody, so I have Brandy
Speaker 2: Young a little bit later on in our show. But
Speaker 2: I picked Kyle Bradish and I just think it's I
Speaker 2: just think him coming back from the injury and then
Speaker 2: kind of with Trevor Rodgers getting hurt there for a
Speaker 2: little bit and kind of getting below his normal standard
Speaker 2: we expected. I think Kyle bradis really stepped up to
Speaker 2: the plate and that's why I kind of chose him.
Speaker 2: I think he's just gotten real efficient here this last
Speaker 2: two months. I feel like he's gone six seven, eight
Speaker 2: innings every out and he's gone out there and it's
Speaker 2: really kind of just solidified with Trevor Rodgers coming back
Speaker 2: to himself. I just think he really solid the rotation.
Speaker 2: Brandy Young is a great pick also. I think he's
Speaker 2: been outstanding for this team. But I just think when
Speaker 2: you look at the expectations for the team and Kyle
Speaker 2: Bradish kind of has lived up to that bill to
Speaker 2: this point. So I kind of went with Kyle Bradish
Speaker 2: just because he's up there in innings pitched. We don't
Speaker 2: know where that's gonna go in the second half, So
Speaker 2: I just think he's done everything we expect him to do,
Speaker 2: and maybe a little bit more at this point, like
Speaker 2: I said, coming off the injury and just kind of
Speaker 2: being able to go out there every five days and
Speaker 2: no injury concerns, and he's gone really deep in games
Speaker 2: and he's really really helped the bullpen a lot of
Speaker 2: outings here, especially the second half of the first half.
Speaker 2: He's done a really good job getting deep in games.
Speaker 2: I just think he's done what they needed him to do,
Speaker 2: and kind of, like I said, I've mentioned it with
Speaker 2: Pete and with these guys in the MVP MVO Award,
Speaker 2: just kind of kept the boat to float and they're
Speaker 2: they're right there, and I think Kyle Bradish is a
Speaker 2: big reason for that.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go Brandon Young here. I would say there's
Speaker 1: no question Kyle Bradish is the most talented pitcher on
Speaker 1: the Orioles. We've seen a lot of evidence so that lately,
Speaker 1: the guy's busting ninety five, ninety six deep in his
Speaker 1: starts to two breaking balls. I mean quality of you know,
Speaker 1: best stuff on the team. That's probably not up much
Speaker 1: for debate. And if you were get truth seerum every
Speaker 1: player in the clubhouse, they probably say the same thing.
Speaker 1: But Brandon Young, what he's done has been remarkable. And
Speaker 1: I'm a big believer in a stack that really is
Speaker 1: a little out of a pitcher's control. What's the record
Speaker 1: when he starts last year with a six ERA, it
Speaker 1: was three and nine. Now it's twelve and three, twelve
Speaker 1: and three. Again. You gotta have defense, you gotta run, support,
Speaker 1: a lot of things that Brandon Young can't control. But
Speaker 1: from May sixth the June tenth, they won seven straight
Speaker 1: Brandon Young starts, and there's just a confident feeling when
Speaker 1: he's on the mound right now, it feels like you
Speaker 1: got an ace out there. And so again we know
Speaker 1: Bradish's number one, but this guy's won maybe one A
Speaker 1: and I'm going to give him the first half. Cy Young,
Speaker 1: he came out of nowhere. For me, I didn't expect
Speaker 1: anything like this. I had him as a fringe guy,
Speaker 1: maybe help a few starts here and there, and look
Speaker 1: at what he's done. So Brandon Young, all credit to you, buddy.
Speaker 1: You really know how to pitch. Scouts pointed that out
Speaker 1: to me in the first half. This guy knows what
Speaker 1: he's doing out there. And then when he changed his
Speaker 1: grip and a week later made it work in a
Speaker 1: game that was kind of a stunning thing too.
Speaker 3: I think one more point just to put a bow
Speaker 3: on Brandon Young, because I remember, especially early on in
Speaker 3: this show and in April and May, when you have
Speaker 3: the Jeremiah Jackson's the Noon Yez is the Leodi Tavers,
Speaker 3: like all of these guys taking advantage of their opportunity.
Speaker 3: If this oriole starting rotation didn't have the injuries that
Speaker 3: they had, and of course that's totally unfortunate, Brandon Young
Speaker 3: would not have had this opportunity. Yeah, you know, he
Speaker 3: was behind Kate Povich. She was probably their number eight starter.
Speaker 3: Dean Kramer got sent down at the beginning of the year.
Speaker 3: Of course, Eflyn got heard underwent Tommy John after a
Speaker 3: star Bassett got banged up, Kramer went on the il
Speaker 3: and that really gave Brandon Young an opportunity than Boy
Speaker 3: did he run with it.
Speaker 1: He sure did. More awards to give out here on
Speaker 1: this edition of Birdland Territory. Hey time now for our
Speaker 1: Daily Dinger's segment, presented by Fandel, We're going to nominate
Speaker 1: Adlie Rutchman as he heads to the All Star Game.
Speaker 1: Maybe not necessarily to hit a home run in the
Speaker 1: All Star Game. That's really asking a lot, but you know,
Speaker 1: maybe to you know, to get it going with something
Speaker 1: in this game or in the first few games out
Speaker 1: of the break. I mean, the guy's really been swinging
Speaker 1: it all year. He's the Orioles only All Star. Hey, guys,
Speaker 1: well rounded game from athlete. We touched on it a
Speaker 1: little bit earlier, but it's been so big because some
Speaker 1: people were thinking this was not in him anymore. It's
Speaker 1: been a while since we'd seen it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think after last year's season, it was
Speaker 2: kind of what's going to happen, Like is he going
Speaker 2: to take a step forward? Is he going to be
Speaker 2: the same play we expected from previous years? And he's
Speaker 2: shown all that and more. And I think the real
Speaker 2: unfortunate injury he had this year was when he got
Speaker 2: hit on that air and throw at Dodger Stadium. It's
Speaker 2: just kind of wiped out ten games or ten days
Speaker 2: on his season, and who knows what his numbers look like.
Speaker 2: At this point, it was obviously good enough to make
Speaker 2: the All Star Game, but you had ten more games
Speaker 2: where I feel like he was really coming into his
Speaker 2: own And just like Steve said earlier, just his plate
Speaker 2: discipline has been awesome at the plate this year, and
Speaker 2: then behind the plate, I feel like he's really stabilized
Speaker 2: this rotation with Tim. Like you mentioned, all the injuries
Speaker 2: they had with the restarting rotation and all these new
Speaker 2: arms that they have in the bullpen and what roles
Speaker 2: they're coming in at, and it kind of has kind
Speaker 2: of been a little chaotic, and the one constant I
Speaker 2: feel like has been Adley and saying behind the plate.
Speaker 2: But really, ADDI, I think with just his leadership and
Speaker 2: kind of think showing Sammy the ropes with how to
Speaker 2: call pitches, how to block pitches, how to really understand
Speaker 2: a pitching staff. And Adli still young in his own right,
Speaker 2: but he's a vetter on this team when it comes
Speaker 2: to the catching side, and I just think when you
Speaker 2: throw all that together, it creates an All Star player,
Speaker 2: and that's what you have with Adley three out of
Speaker 2: four years now. Going to the All Star Game, and.
Speaker 4: He's really a leader.
Speaker 2: I feel like he's more of a silent leader on
Speaker 2: this team. I don't think he's really going to be
Speaker 2: one that you know, is a big rah rah guy
Speaker 2: or he's going to make all these quotes in the
Speaker 2: papers and stuff. But you know, the staff low is
Speaker 2: throwing to him, and when he's at the plate, the
Speaker 2: team's really confident. You can put him anywhere from leadoff
Speaker 2: hitter to number five and you feel confident having him
Speaker 2: in the lineup and he's going to produce.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I still stand by the fact that this was
Speaker 3: a pivotal year in Adley Rutchman's career. You know, the
Speaker 3: prior year and a half did not go how he
Speaker 3: would want. And you're looking, Okay, are you more like
Speaker 3: the year and a half slump or are you the
Speaker 3: guy prior to that that was one of the best
Speaker 3: catchers in the game. And he's proving that he's the
Speaker 3: prior the guy that is one of the best catchers
Speaker 3: in the game. And I also give credit to the organization,
Speaker 3: and I know it has frustrated FA at points, like
Speaker 3: Adley sitting yesterday, and he sat a lot of games
Speaker 3: this year but that's playing the long game and trying
Speaker 3: to keep him healthy, because I think a big reason
Speaker 3: for that downturn over the past year and a half
Speaker 3: is he was banged up. He got hit in the
Speaker 3: hand in the second half of twenty twenty four. He
Speaker 3: messed up both o bleaks last year. I know he's
Speaker 3: had a couple of eye ol stints this year, but
Speaker 3: when he's been on the field, he has been a
Speaker 3: very effective player. And I keep going back to him
Speaker 3: driving in runs. You know, forty seven RBIs and sixty
Speaker 3: five games last year in his down year, but twenty
Speaker 3: nine RBIs in ninety games. Guys like he's already almost,
Speaker 3: you know, coming up on doubling it in much than
Speaker 3: far fewer games. So Adley deserves a ton of credit,
Speaker 3: and the All Star birth was.
Speaker 4: Much Yeah deserved.
Speaker 1: Three time All Star Adley Rechiman. Our pick for Daily
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Speaker 1: On with our award show for the first half. Biggest
Speaker 1: surprise so far, I'll start this one and I didn't
Speaker 1: pick a player here. I broadened it to something bigger
Speaker 1: than one player, and it's a surprising not a good way.
Speaker 1: And for me, it's the defense and the fundamentals that
Speaker 1: for most of the first half we're so subpar for
Speaker 1: this team. Going into the season, there were questions about
Speaker 1: the defense, so sudden shouldn't shock us that it's not
Speaker 1: up to snuff, But to me, it's worse than I
Speaker 1: thought out. The good news is there have been times
Speaker 1: in the last month or two when it's cleaned up
Speaker 1: in stretches. If the O's could show us in the
Speaker 1: second half, we can go a month with few mistakes,
Speaker 1: that would really be big. So the biggest surprise to
Speaker 1: me is the fundamentals they worked on all spring have
Speaker 1: been a little leaky in the first half. Tim what
Speaker 1: do you got, I'm.
Speaker 3: Gonna go one positive, one negative, Steve how about positive
Speaker 3: first blaze Alexander unbelievable and it's so unfortunate that he
Speaker 3: suffered the fractured hand, and who knows how long he's
Speaker 3: going to be out, but it's going to be weeks
Speaker 3: before we see him.
Speaker 4: But he came into the year as a super utility guy.
Speaker 4: He was sort of.
Speaker 3: Seen like, all right, can he sort of fill that
Speaker 3: ramon Urrius void that was left last year? And he
Speaker 3: got pressed into action and he has played so well
Speaker 3: that they can't take him out of the starting lineup.
Speaker 3: And and sitting three sixty five with a nine to
Speaker 3: two OPS since May first, leads the majors in batting
Speaker 3: average since May first. But guys, you look at who
Speaker 3: he's has a higher OPS than in that stretch, Freddie Freeman,
Speaker 3: Kyle Schwarber, Nick Kurtz, Rappie Devers, That's just the name
Speaker 3: a few, And this is Blaise Alexander had a higher
Speaker 3: OPS than all of those guys since May first, hitting
Speaker 3: four sixty two with runners in scoring position.
Speaker 4: He's just been fantastic and his.
Speaker 3: Ability to play all over the field, he is just
Speaker 3: so invaluable to this team. And then the the negative
Speaker 3: surprise I mean, we've gotten this far through the show, guys,
Speaker 3: we haven't mentioned Connor Henderson, and and.
Speaker 4: I just I thought that Gunner.
Speaker 3: I was convinced that Gunner Henderson would have a monster season.
Speaker 3: I thought this was going to be a revenge for
Speaker 3: coming off the WBC, in which you know, he didn't
Speaker 3: get enough playing time. But when he did, he really
Speaker 3: had a great, great WBC. And it just hasn't happened
Speaker 3: for Gunner. And you see the frustration boil over it.
Speaker 3: He's got a career low slash line batting average on
Speaker 3: base slug ops and then you just look at some
Speaker 3: of the numbers where it's really befuddling. You know, with
Speaker 3: two strikes he's hitting one oh four. When he's ahead
Speaker 3: in the count, he's hitting one sixty two. You know,
Speaker 3: the strikeouts have been alarming, that the errors have been alarming,
Speaker 3: had another one yesterday. It's just it hasn't been the
Speaker 3: season that Orioles fans or Gunner Henderson would have hoped
Speaker 3: for thus far.
Speaker 4: Yeah, those are good picks there.
Speaker 2: I had Brain Young and I had Blaze also, But surprise,
Speaker 2: I'm going to go with some bullpen guys that I
Speaker 2: feel like have been the biggest surprise so far, and
Speaker 2: Rico Versi is at the top of the list to me.
Speaker 2: Early on in this season, I mean, who knows what
Speaker 2: the record looks like if he's not out there throwing.
Speaker 2: I think it was eighteen in one hit or something
Speaker 2: like that, Like just absurd numbers to start the year.
Speaker 2: And he really solidified the back end of that bullpen
Speaker 2: when Hellsy was a little shaky at times. He was
Speaker 2: kind of the the utility and after they could send
Speaker 2: out there guys on base, he was getting saves, he
Speaker 2: was getting holds to kind of keep the leads where
Speaker 2: they were at. And I just don't know where the
Speaker 2: team would have been in April when it kind of
Speaker 2: felt like it was gonna be up or down. You
Speaker 2: don't know where it was going to go without him
Speaker 2: being there at the back. You just don't know what
Speaker 2: the record would have been like or what those losses
Speaker 2: would have done to this team early on after having
Speaker 2: the bad start they had last year. If you don't
Speaker 2: have Rico Garcia kind of solidifying some of those games,
Speaker 2: you just don't know where the season goes. And then
Speaker 2: I just want to give some shout out to Yeniorko.
Speaker 2: I think, you know, after the last year and a
Speaker 2: half or so, just kind of, you know, is it
Speaker 2: going to be the guy they had in twenty three anymore?
Speaker 6: Is that?
Speaker 2: Is that picture gone? And I think he's done a
Speaker 2: great job of bringing that splitter out and just having
Speaker 2: such a weapon with the sinker and the splitter, the
Speaker 2: four or five mile an hour difference that he's had.
Speaker 2: Just the confidence is back there. He's got the stare
Speaker 2: down back at hitters when he has those good outings,
Speaker 2: and he's done a great job just kind of being,
Speaker 2: you know, the sixth seventh eighth inning guy that they needed.
Speaker 2: And with the injuries across the pitching stat without you
Speaker 2: or Cano, Enrico Garcia both, I just don't know where
Speaker 2: this season's at right now. They could be seven, they
Speaker 2: could be ten, eleven, games under five hundred if those
Speaker 2: guys aren't putting up zeros when they did. And I
Speaker 2: know bullpen guys is kind of you know, it's it's
Speaker 2: not up to them to win or lose games a
Speaker 2: lot of times, but sometimes they're in positions that they
Speaker 2: could lose the game. And these guys, I feel like
Speaker 2: I have done a better job of not giving away
Speaker 2: games and giving away extra runs when these games could
Speaker 2: have got away. So I just want to give a
Speaker 2: shout out to some of my bullpen guys. I feel
Speaker 2: like they've done a really good job just kind of
Speaker 2: holding it down for the Orioles so far to this season,
Speaker 2: and it's been a really good, pleasant surprise to watch.
Speaker 1: We got a couple more superlatives and awards to get
Speaker 1: to in a moment on Birdland Territory.
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Speaker 1: All Right, guys, we'll go quick through the thes and
Speaker 1: Tim you're up first on this one Oriel Prime for
Speaker 1: a big second half.
Speaker 3: I'm going with Trevor Rodgers, guys, And maybe it's cheating
Speaker 3: a little bit because he's really on the serious hot
Speaker 3: streak right now. But a four four eight era in
Speaker 3: the first half and a guy that the era was
Speaker 3: over ten in the month of May, I think we're
Speaker 3: gonna see a lot more closer to what we saw
Speaker 3: in twenty twenty five and that's what we're seeing over
Speaker 3: the past seven starts. He's got a one to seven
Speaker 3: to three ERA over his last seven starts, which is
Speaker 3: very similar to the ERA that he had in the
Speaker 3: twenty twenty five season.
Speaker 4: Now, is he gonna be here the entire time? We
Speaker 4: shall see.
Speaker 3: We still have a couple more weeks of important games
Speaker 3: and we'll figure that out. But I think Trevor Rodgers
Speaker 3: the four seam fastball has been huge for him as
Speaker 3: well over this stretch. And we had him on one
Speaker 3: of five seven the Fan on Friday and him just
Speaker 3: talking about getting back to his process, slowing things down,
Speaker 3: not being as you know, frenetic on the mound as
Speaker 3: he was. And I think he's in a very very
Speaker 3: good headspace right now, guys. And I think he's gonna
Speaker 3: have a big, big second half.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go with Jackson Holliday kind of a guy
Speaker 2: on the outskirts, I feel like, not really, I just
Speaker 2: feel like this past weekend he looked super confident. In
Speaker 2: last week, his at bats have gotten a lot better.
Speaker 2: He's still gonna have the swing and miss, He's still
Speaker 2: going to strike out. I think that's just part of
Speaker 2: the player that he is. But he was taking some
Speaker 2: really confident walks. And I know that that might sound like, Okay, wow,
Speaker 2: he's gonna walk more, but to me, that just shows
Speaker 2: me he's seeing the ball better. And I think he's
Speaker 2: starting to feel one hundred percent, which I don't know
Speaker 2: if he has all here with his hand the injury
Speaker 2: and not having enough time, and it's still hard to
Speaker 2: believe that he's such a young player. He doesn't know
Speaker 2: what it's like to have a full season healthy, playing
Speaker 2: every single day. And I just think over the last
Speaker 2: weekend he had that I think it was four hit
Speaker 2: game at which tied a career high, and he just
Speaker 2: looks really confident at the play, and I really like
Speaker 2: the swings in that bats that he's taken, and I
Speaker 2: think it could be a big with Blaze going out,
Speaker 2: they're gonna need somebody to step up on the infield
Speaker 2: and get some more hits with runners in scoring position,
Speaker 2: and I just think he's gonna play every day, and
Speaker 2: I just feel like he's gonna start coming into his
Speaker 2: own a little bit more. I was excited to see
Speaker 2: him play a full season this year, and I think
Speaker 2: he's getting closer to being one hundred percent and feeling
Speaker 2: more confident, and that's what I saw in those those
Speaker 2: are bats that he had and looking forward to a
Speaker 2: big second half from Jackson Holliday.
Speaker 1: Dittoh, that was my pick, Jackson. I love the four
Speaker 1: hit game, seven ops in limited time against lefty pitching.
Speaker 1: And you hear Albernets talk he believes in this kid
Speaker 1: as an everyday player, which tells me the ore that's
Speaker 1: what they see. They picked them one one for a reason.
Speaker 1: I think he's going to get a lot of starts,
Speaker 1: especially with Blaze out that takes one option out of
Speaker 1: the lineup, and I just think he's gonna do it.
Speaker 1: He's about league average little under now, and I agree
Speaker 1: with everything you said Brad about that, and I'm gonna
Speaker 1: say Jackson Holliday brings us to our last category for
Speaker 1: the day, and that is a bold prediction for the
Speaker 1: rest of the year. I'll go first, the Oils make
Speaker 1: the playoffs after trading Taylor Ward and Trevor Rodgers. I
Speaker 1: like it instead be bold, So there it is. I
Speaker 1: just think they'll get great offers for both. They haven't
Speaker 1: shown any inclination to sign Trevor Rodgers for whatever reason.
Speaker 1: The team has not reached out. What's the message. The
Speaker 1: message to me is they're going to get the best
Speaker 1: they can for two months and try to make do
Speaker 1: with a big loss to the rotation. It would be
Speaker 1: kind of a stunner. That's my ball prediction. What do
Speaker 1: you say, Brad? I like that.
Speaker 6: I like that.
Speaker 2: My bull prediction is that they're gonna lead the Ale
Speaker 2: on home runs in the second half. It's not crazy,
Speaker 2: I don't think. But I just think this past weekend,
Speaker 2: you saw the bats coming out, and to me watching
Speaker 2: Pete Alonzo not, I feel like he hasn't hit a
Speaker 2: home run the left field. He's getting comfortable hitting at
Speaker 2: Camy Yards, knowing that it's not city field anymore. It's
Speaker 2: not a big right center field gap. He can stay
Speaker 2: center to the right center and hit a ton of
Speaker 2: home runs. I think he just he sets the tone
Speaker 2: for the entire offense. And with Jackson Holliday, I think
Speaker 2: he's gonna hit a few more. Taylor Ward if he's around,
Speaker 2: I think he hits a few more. And I think
Speaker 2: the bats come out. It's gonna get hot in Baltimore's
Speaker 2: we know this summer, and I just feel like there's
Speaker 2: gonna be a lot of long balls hit the second half.
Speaker 3: We are very similar, Brad. I So right now the
Speaker 3: Orioles are tied for twelfth in the majors in home
Speaker 3: runs with one hundred and seventeen.
Speaker 4: I think they're gonna finish top five or right around there.
Speaker 3: Right now, the Dodgers or fifth with one hundred and
Speaker 3: twenty seven home runs, So they're ten home runs off
Speaker 3: the pace, not crazy, and I do think that they're
Speaker 3: primed for a big second half. Guys, you look Pete,
Speaker 3: Gunner and Sam they all have a very good shot
Speaker 3: of hitting over thirty home runs.
Speaker 4: And then you know, like both you and.
Speaker 3: Steve are talking about Brad Jackson Holliday, I think he's
Speaker 3: gonna have a bigger second half Atley. Rutchman already missed
Speaker 3: a bunch of games. You expect him to be more
Speaker 3: healthy in the second half. He could certainly hit more.
Speaker 3: If Taylor Wards here, he'll hit more. Kobe Mayl he'll
Speaker 3: probably play more during Blaze. Alexanders Stinson he already has
Speaker 3: twelve home runs himself.
Speaker 4: So I think this offense.
Speaker 3: Will drive the ball more in the second half, and
Speaker 3: I think they got a shot to finish top five
Speaker 3: or close to it.
Speaker 4: In home runs at the end of the season.
Speaker 1: That would bode well for the team because there are
Speaker 1: some fans who believe they're too relying on homers, but
Speaker 1: when they get them are pretty good. So maybe they are.
Speaker 1: And there'll be some nights they won't be there and
Speaker 1: they lose or get shut down. But the second half
Speaker 1: weather gets warmer. Campden Yards not as homer friendly as
Speaker 1: it once was, but you can still reach some parts
Speaker 1: of that ballpark, so that would bode well for the
Speaker 1: team in the second half. All right, guys, another great
Speaker 1: one in the books. Thanks to Tim and Brad. I'm
Speaker 1: Steve Mleski and thanks to you guys for watching. Please
Speaker 1: subscribe to the channel and we'll see you next time
Speaker 1: on the next Birdland Territory.