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Checking in on several topics as O's regular season ends · Birdland Territory

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: The 2026 Major League Baseball regular season is over. 12
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: teams moving on to the playoffs. The Orioles are not
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: among them. Their season ended today with a rainout in
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: the soggy Bronx in New York. The last two days,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: it rained out for the Orioles. That's the kind of
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: year it's been, folks.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: I'll be to the end. And they finished 79 and
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: 82 and will not be playing come Tuesday when the
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Major League Baseball playoffs continue. With that, welcome in. to
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Birdland Territory with Steve, Tim, and Brad. Officially, I guess,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: our last regular season edition of this show, but our
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: faithful viewers and followers should know that we will have
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: two shows per week starting this upcoming week as the
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: off-season hits. So you'll see us a lot, maybe a little,
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: not quite as much as in-season, but pretty close. A
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: lot of shows still coming your way. All the off-season
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: news and notes, rumors, trades, transactions, We'll get into the
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: labor at some point, obviously. All that's still to come
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: on Birdland territory. Guys, let's start on a real uplifting note.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: Pete Alonzo wins both the American League homer title, 43,
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: and RBIs, 113. He's the first player in Major League history,
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: we've all been surprised by this stat, to lead both
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: leagues in RBIs in obviously different years. That's never happened
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: until this year. Quite a note for that guy. Yeah.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: I mean, what a way to finish your first season
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: after signing, you know, the big contract with the Orioles
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: in this pre in the previous off season. And just
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: a great year for Pete. I mean, overall couldn't.
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: Have asked for anything more.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: If you're an Orioles fan, you're absolutely thrilled with what
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: Pete Alonzo gave you this year. And you just, it's
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: almost one of those things that you, you feel like
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: you wasted is such a good season from him with everybody,
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: just not being able to help them out on the
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: offensive side of things, but such a positive note this year,
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: Pete Alonzo was everything more you could have asked for
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: coming into the year.
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: And, I just, I think he's such a good leader
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: for this team.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: And I think it's, it's awesome that he ended the
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: year leading both those categories.
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: It was funny.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, a couple of months ago, you're Don Alvarez
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: we thought was a sure lock for the triple crown.
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: And Pete just kind of had that slow and steady season.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: I felt like he had a couple of really hot stretches,
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: but it just seemed to be really steady after, especially
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: after his bad April, just steady throughout the entire year.
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: And it's funny when you get to the end of the,
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: of the season, he's got the same stats he has
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: almost every single year. And it just goes to show,
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: what kind of player Pete Alonzo is.
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: And that's the crazy thing, Brad.
• 2:38
  Speaker 5: Like it almost makes his season that much more impressive
• 2:41
  Speaker 5: to me because it's not like we had anything close
• 2:45
  Speaker 5: to Pete Gunner Henderson or really just this offense as
• 2:48
  Speaker 5: a whole.
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: It was middle of the pack, bottom third.
• 2:51
  Speaker 5: In a lot of different statistical categories, but that didn't
• 2:54
  Speaker 5: harm Pete at all. And guys, if you just look at,
• 2:57
  Speaker 5: you know, baseball reference, their war is, his 4.9 wins
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: above replacement is the second highest war of his career.
• 3:06
  Speaker 5: You know, the only season that was higher was his
• 3:08
  Speaker 5: rookie season in 2019, where he hit 53 home runs.
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: So what he brought on.
• 3:14
  Speaker 5: The field, obviously he's a stud and that speaks for itself.
• 3:18
  Speaker 5: What he brought off of the field, just that leader that,
• 3:22
  Speaker 5: that rock inside the clubhouse, it, it's been a home
• 3:26
  Speaker 5: run of a signing. We've said it a million times,
• 3:28
  Speaker 5: you know, he's been everything you could have.
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: Wanted and more.
• 3:31
  Speaker 5: And, and he shines when the lights are the brightest,
• 3:34
  Speaker 5: you know, his high, high leverage numbers are through the roof,
• 3:38
  Speaker 5: you know, OPS over 900 and high leverage situations.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: His second Homer title. He won as a rookie with
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: the Mets in 2019. He had 53 was an NL
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Homer leader. And now he's the AL Homer leader. His
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: second RBI title. In the National League, he won 131
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: RBIs in 2022, 113 in 2026. So this was the
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: second highest OPS of his career this year, 884, and
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: the highest OPS plus of his career. This surprised me, 149.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: So you can make a case it's the best year
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: of his career. I think it probably is not quite that,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: but it's close enough. that it gets in the argument
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: with the way he started the year. We probably would
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: have not said May 1, this all would be how
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: it turned out.
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: Yeah, without a doubt.
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: And I think it's, that kind of is shocking that
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: this was the, did you say second highest OPS of
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: his career?
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: And the highest OPS plus.
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: So that's crazy.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: I mean, like we said, especially in April, just kind
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: of got off to that slow start. But man, from
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: there on, it was just, you felt like every month
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: just kept getting stronger and stronger. And it's one of
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: those players you wish we got to see in the
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: postseason because it feels like he's almost just getting going
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: here and just gets rolling. So it's unfortunate they weren't
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: able to get to see him in the postseason, but
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: it's a great stepping stone going forward. And like I've
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: said on multiple shows, if I'm a hitter, I'm reaching
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: out to Pete this offseason and I'm staying in touch
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: with him and just If I can fly down to Florida,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: if I'm not from Florida, or if I can meet
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: you early, I'm going to do everything I can just
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: to get in his head and see what he does
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: in the offseason because I think a lot of these
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: younger hitters can learn a lot from Pete, and I
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: just think it's only going to get better as time
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: goes on in this contract, at least in the leadership
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: side of things and learning how to be a professional hitter.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Guys will benefit having Pete Alonzo around.
• 5:30
  Speaker 5: Yeah, and I think you spin this forward in 2027,
• 5:32
  Speaker 5: and let's just– operate under the fantasy land. Everything's uninterrupted,
• 5:38
  Speaker 5: you know, everything's fine. You know, who's to say he
• 5:41
  Speaker 5: can't match this or even be better next year. It
• 5:44
  Speaker 5: just because, you know, I remember buck telling us like
• 5:48
  Speaker 5: Pete puts a lot of pressure on himself. And I
• 5:51
  Speaker 5: think you saw that in the first month of the
• 5:54
  Speaker 5: season where he's trying to live up to that massive contract.
• 5:58
  Speaker 5: Like this is the first big contract. This organization's given
• 6:02
  Speaker 5: out since Chris Davis. So I think there was a
• 6:05
  Speaker 5: lot of pressure for that. And then from May 1st on,
• 6:08
  Speaker 5: he just kept rolling. And with this offense, we expect
• 6:11
  Speaker 5: to be better. You know, Jordan Westberg coming back from injury,
• 6:14
  Speaker 5: Gunnar Henderson, you expect him to be much better in
• 6:18
  Speaker 5: 27 than 26. That's only going to help Pete in
• 6:21
  Speaker 5: my eyes, guys. And this isn't a 37-year-old at the
• 6:25
  Speaker 5: end of his career. He's still just going to be
• 6:27
  Speaker 5: 32 in 2027. So I want to talk about Pete.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: And Gunnar together. And I want to talk about him
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: in terms of that OPS plus stat. 149 for Alonzo
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: this year. Best of his career. I guarantee you some
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: Oriole fans would say, wow, Gunnar Henderson could never do that.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: He has done that. In 2024, Gunnar Henderson's OPS plus
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: was 155.
• 6:56
  Speaker 6: Wow.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: Considerably better than what Pete did this year. So here's
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: the point. And OPS Plus, by the way, is 100
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: is league average. So Pete Balanzo is 49% better than
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: the league this year. Two years ago, Gunnar Henderson was 55%
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: better than the league. He has done this. Get Pete rolling,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: get Gunnar rolling, get the Orioles rolling. Well, it's got
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: to be a lot more harder said, you know, easier
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: said than done. I guess we should say that. But
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: that's what he's capable of. And that would be a
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: middle of the order punch as good as any in baseball. Yeah.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: And I think that's the hope of every Orioles fan.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: And I think that's the key to getting back into
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: postseason and being competitive and going for a World Series
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: is to get both of.
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: These guys going at the same time.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: And then, Tim, like you said, with Westbrook coming back
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: next year and just there's so many pieces on this
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: team that it's just it's it's just it's kind of
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: like you said, Steve, it's kind of fitting that this
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: is how the season ended, where it was just a
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: it just canceled. Like the last two games of the
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: season are just canceled. Like it's just, that just kind
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: of seems how the season had gone this year. It
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: was like all these expectations and then it's just, it's done.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: And it's, it's a sad day when the season's over
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: because you know, the summer's done and you got to
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: wait four or five more months before there's more Orioles baseball.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: So it's, uh, you would have liked to see one
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: more game today, but it's, uh, Going into the offseason,
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: you've got to feel good about some of the guys
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: that stepped up. And, you know, you've got Pete coming back, which,
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: I mean, I would put nothing past Pete. I think
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: he can continue to build on this season and continue
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: to do it.
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: He's shown it year after year.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: And you've just got to expect him to be the
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: same player he is next year and just kind of
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: get these guys, just get their confidence back. That's really
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: what I want to see with a lot of these
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: Orioles hitters, is just get your confidence back because you're
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: all really good players.
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: You've just got to do it on the field. That's it.
• 8:47
  Speaker 5: I think that's what's been so frustrating over the past
• 8:50
  Speaker 5: two and a half years, guys, where this isn't a
• 8:53
  Speaker 5: team where it's so far away, right? There are so
• 8:57
  Speaker 5: many players away from being a true contender. I don't
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: think that that's the case. There's a lot of talent here.
• 9:04
  Speaker 5: I think there needs to be a philosophy change. Obviously, outfield,
• 9:09
  Speaker 5: something that sticks out immediately, starting pitcher, depending on what
• 9:12
  Speaker 5: happens with Trevor Rogers, maybe another bullpen arm, but A
• 9:16
  Speaker 5: couple tweaks, a couple pieces here, change in philosophy.
• 9:19
  Speaker 4: I think they're right there.
• 9:22
  Speaker 5: There's a lot of talent on this team, but it
• 9:25
  Speaker 5: just hasn't come together as we thought it would over
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: the past two and a half years.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: So the Orioles finished 79 and 82. And in the end,
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: they were four and a half actually back, final number
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: from the third AL wildcard. So in the finale of
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: the season, they weren't close. They've had seven losing seasons
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: in the past 10 years and now have to turn
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: that around. The season-ending press conferences, which I'll cover and
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: we'll talk about on this show in a couple days,
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: will be Monday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mike
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: Elias and Craig Albernaz will be there and talk about it,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: this 79-82 season. So guys, let's spend a few minutes
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: on Craig Albernaz. And I'm trying to analyze his season today.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: I come up with an incomplete grade for three reasons.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: which some people are going to kill me for this,
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: but I've been crushed before on social media. So I'm
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: kind of used to it. Here's my three reasons. You
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: guys feel free to call me out if I'm full
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: of it here, because it wouldn't be the first time
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: I was. Injuries. Manager doesn't control that. Underperformance of key players.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: In my opinion, manager maybe only slightly controls that. It's
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: more on the players. That's two big things that contribute
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: to losses. The third, How much impact does the front
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: office have in lineups and some of these decisions? I
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: don't think we'll ever know 100 percent this answer. But
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: I think this left right obsession starts at the top
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: and makes its way to the dugout. So I see
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: three big reasons that impact that one loss record. I
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: don't know. Am I on to something here? Am I
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: is Steve on it?
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: No, I think Steve, I think you're right. I think
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: those three things are huge. And like you said, there's
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: only so much a manager can do when you have,
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: I'd say almost every team you're on, you have three
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: or four guys that you count on that you are
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: going to pencil in their numbers when the season starts.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: And this year, I think the Orioles, you can maybe
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: say one of those guys had that year being Pete.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Outside of that, it was kind of just not the
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: numbers you thought you would get to. And then, you know,
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: that left-right thing we've talked about, and I'm sure we'll
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: get more into it this offseason, but it drives me
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: crazy watching some of it because it's just hard.
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: It's so... premeditated and it's left.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: It has to be a face of righty and righty
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: has to face a lefty all year.
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: There's just no innovativeness with it.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: And I feel like when they got into some of
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: their ruts, there's no way to get out of those
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: ruts when you just keep doing the.
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: Same thing over and over.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: Tim, you talked about, you know, the definition of insanity
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: and I felt like we were kind of going crazy
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: watching all of that. And then, yeah, it's just, and I, I,
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: the one thing I will say with Alvarez is that
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: I definitely think his bullpen management got much better at
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: the end of the year. For me, that's kind of
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: one of those things I, you know, being a reliever,
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: I'm going to key on and kind of watch. And
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: I felt like he was getting the guys in the
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: right spots at the end of the year. And I
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: really think that contributed to the bullpen really taking off.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: And then I think their five starters are a group
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: that almost every team in this league would take. So I,
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: I just think moving forward, it's just somehow how maybe
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: he can play a role next year and getting the, the,
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: the core guys to live up to their expectations and
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: just make everybody feel more comfortable and, around the team,
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: but it would be a question I would love to know,
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: where are these things coming from? And is there going
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: to be a change of philosophy moving forward? Maybe we'll
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: hear some answers tomorrow at the press conference.
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: Steve, I'm kind of with you on all three of
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: those fronts, to be.
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: Honest, I think you kind of hit it on the
• 12:51
  Speaker 5: head where he didn't, you know, he inherited this roster,
• 12:56
  Speaker 5: you know, that there were some roster deficiencies that we
• 12:58
  Speaker 5: all know about and, and the roster regression for a
• 13:02
  Speaker 5: lot of these young guys. And, and I'm also with you, Steve, I,
• 13:06
  Speaker 5: I don't think Craig Albernaz has 100% authority on the lineup.
• 13:11
  Speaker 4: I just don't.
• 13:12
  Speaker 5: I think the front office has a lot of impact there.
• 13:15
  Speaker 5: And I know a lot of fans, some fans, I
• 13:18
  Speaker 5: should say, you know, want to give Albernaz a lot
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: of grief for his rookie season. But I really don't
• 13:24
  Speaker 5: see it that way, guys. Like, there were moments that
• 13:29
  Speaker 5: made us all scratch our head. You know, the Samuel
• 13:31
  Speaker 5: Basayo moments, maybe not getting run at certain points. points, uh,
• 13:37
  Speaker 5: of games, you know, those are kind of the, the
• 13:40
  Speaker 5: oddities I'll say that stick out to me for Craig
• 13:43
  Speaker 5: Albernaz throughout his rookie season. But, you know, this is
• 13:47
  Speaker 5: his first time going through it and, and you wouldn't
• 13:49
  Speaker 5: expect anything to be smooth sailing, especially with a underachieving
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: ball club for, for a rookie manager.
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: So I think incompletes fair. I'm, I'm totally fine with that.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: You know, I've heard people say, um, Rookie manager, why
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: would they have a rookie manager when they're trying to win?
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: Boston brought up a guy from AAA who had never
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: managed in the major leagues. He's a hero now as
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: they're going. And their GM, by the way, they were
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: running out in April, just got his contract extended. They
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: picked up option years. So all of a sudden in Boston,
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: these two men, why do they– this guy from AAA,
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: are you kidding me? He's a hero. So, I mean,
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: you can– A rookie manager, it's not impossible for him
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: to do well, or a manager without a lot of experience.
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: I think one thing I do want to point out, though, guys,
• 14:43
  Speaker 5: that I thought was a stark difference in this 2026
• 14:46
  Speaker 5: team compared to 2025.
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: This team scratched and clawed.
• 14:51
  Speaker 5: It might not have been pretty every night, but this
• 14:54
  Speaker 5: team did not roll over. I just felt like there
• 14:57
  Speaker 5: were a lot of instances where throughout the 2025 season
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: where they would get down and, you know, they just,
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: I don't want to say go through the motions, but
• 15:05
  Speaker 5: you're kind of like running out the clock, if you will,
• 15:07
  Speaker 5: running out the innings of the game where I felt
• 15:10
  Speaker 5: like this team grinded and did not roll over. And
• 15:13
  Speaker 5: I think, you know, I give credit to Craig Albernaz
• 15:16
  Speaker 5: for that, for kind of instilling that never say die attitude.
• 15:20
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: And I agree, Tim.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: I think that was kind of one of the things
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: that we heard from the beginning of the season. We
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: heard this team's going to fight every day. Every day
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: is a new day. And that's really what you saw
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: from this team. You never saw them get too, too
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: high or too low. And that's, that's really one of
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: the better ways to navigate 162 game season, because.
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: You go through a seven game losing streak.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: It's really easy to get really low, but we never
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: really saw that from this team. It was, yeah, it
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: was frustrating. We didn't get, see the more than four
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: game runs that we wanted to see all season.
• 15:49
  Speaker 7: Yes.
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: It was frustrating to see the three straight losses after
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: the five straight wins. But I think that just comes
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: with the type of seasons the guys had. And I
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: think that's just kind of reflection. I think, their record
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: fits kind of how this team played this year. They're
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: just slightly under 500 and just not quite good enough
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: to get into the playoffs. And that just kind of
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: happened some years. And I think if they come in
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: next year with the same attitude, get the performances from
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: the guys they expect, I really truly believe this team
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: can contend next year for the AL East title or
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: even better. I really believe in this roster and think
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: that they have the pieces that it takes to win.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: We are wrapping up. The 2026 Orioles season on the
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: final Sunday of the regular season, a rainout in the Bronx.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: The Orioles will play 161 games for the first time
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: since 2008 when a non-made-up rainout also limited them to
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: one under the final total. And the last week was
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: even bizarre. Tuesday rained out. Wednesday was a doubleheader. Thursday
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: was an off day, and they were officially eliminated from
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: the race. Friday was a doubleheader. Saturday was an in-advance rainout.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: And Sunday was a wait half the afternoon to get
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: the rain out. So it was just the last week
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: was soggy, strange, and messy. The Orioles, as it turned out,
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: played two of the last six days, a total of
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: four games. It's never not bizarre in Birdland in 2026.
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: When we come back, Gunnar Henderson revealed to reporters in
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: the Bronx an injury issue. We're going to touch on
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: that and more coming up on Birdland Territory.
• 17:22
  Speaker 5: So Jay, do you ever find yourself crashing in the afternoon,
• 17:24
  Speaker 5: needing a boost, but not wanting to have caffeine that
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: you know is going to ruin your sleep?
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah, definitely.
• 17:30
  Speaker 7: I found myself on the golf course a lot lately.
• 17:32
  Speaker 7: And sometimes, you know, it can be long days out there.
• 17:35
  Speaker 7: So I reach in my golf bag. I keep the
• 17:37
  Speaker 7: ultra focus pouch right here with me, keep it in
• 17:39
  Speaker 7: my golf bag. And it's part of my golf bag,
• 17:43
  Speaker 7: as I said.
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: And so what are some of your favorite effects of
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: the ultra pouches?
• 17:49
  Speaker 7: Definitely gives me a little bit of focus, that little
• 17:51
  Speaker 7: bit of energy that I'm looking for, and obviously not
• 17:55
  Speaker 7: having any caffeine in it is always a plus for me,
• 17:57
  Speaker 7: so I enjoy those things. Ultra is the ultimate guilt-free pouch,
• 18:00
  Speaker 7: delivering instant focus and mental clarity without nicotine or caffeine.
• 18:04
  Speaker 7: New customers can use code BASEBALL to get 15% off
• 18:08
  Speaker 7: at TakeUltra.com. That's TakeUltra.com for 15% off with code BASEBALL.
• 18:14
  Speaker 7: After you purchase, they will ask you where you heard
• 18:16
  Speaker 7: about them. Please support our show and tell them our
• 18:18
  Speaker 7: show sent you.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Birdland Territory, glad you joined us tonight. Keep following, keep subscribing,
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: and keep watching. We'll be here all throughout the offseason.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: On the final day of the regular season, Houston beat
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: the Athletics 9-0 to clinch the AL West with 81 wins,
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: which makes them the third seed. And the Yankees, who
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: have 12 more wins than Houston, are a lower seed
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: because they didn't win a division. The Phillies, panic was
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: setting in, and they scored– Finally, some runs, 7-3, they
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: beat the Rays. So they got in as a sixth
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: seed in the National League. The Orioles, of course, did not,
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: finishing 79-82. So the last time we did a show, guys,
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: I talked about my interview with Gunnar in the clubhouse
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: a couple days ago, where he said to me, when
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: I asked him, has anything physically hampered you this year?
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: There has been some stuff. But then when I said,
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: so what stuff? What's going on? He said, I don't
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: want to make an excuse. I don't want to get
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: into it. I'm not comfortable. going further right now. Okay, fine.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: A day or two later, he was a little more
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: comfortable going further to say a right wrist issue has
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: bothered him about half the year. He told the Oriole
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: media that was in the Bronx. So this is a
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: little confusing to me. Some fans think he's making an excuse.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: I've never known that kid to make an excuse. Brad,
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: you know, players play hurt. Yeah. Sometimes that leads to
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: underperformance and, and they're just trying to tough it out
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: when they can't. Who knows if this was part of
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: this for Gunnar. He played a ton of games, was
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: out there almost every day, but he didn't play well.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: So second year in a row, there's an injury issue here.
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: And it really could have just been one of those
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: things all year. It was kind of a management thing.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: There's guys that I've played with that Zach Britton in 2016,
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: he was dealing with an ankle issue pretty much the
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: entire year. And he had to basically change his whole routine.
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: And he had a lot of success that year. So
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: you just never know. There's certain things you just know
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: as a major league player, you have to play through.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: If you're not hurt, the guys need you out there
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: and Gunner's one of those guys. So it could have
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: just been this small issue that he was having to
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: deal with all year. And I'm sure if it's your
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: right wrist as a lefty hitter, it's going to affect
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: your swing a little bit, whether he doesn't want to
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: make an excuse about it or not.
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: It's just, it's part of baseball.
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: It's just one of those things where these things crop
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: up and you try to do your best and, he's
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: a guy who wants to be out there every day.
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: So I give him credit for doing that.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: And there probably was a few times throughout the year,
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: if this was a lingering issue that he wanted to,
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: you know, say I'm hurting, not play, but he just
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: knows how important I think, I think he knows how
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: important he is to this team. And I just think
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: it was one of those things they tried to manage
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: and it probably did affect his play. If there is
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: something there that is kind of significant.
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: I'm with you on all that, Brad.
• 21:04
  Speaker 5: And, and, Look, I don't think Connor is just saying
• 21:06
  Speaker 5: this because he's coming off a subpar year.
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: I definitely believe him.
• 21:11
  Speaker 5: And it's unfortunate that it's back to back years where
• 21:15
  Speaker 5: he's had nagging injuries. But I guess, Brad, my question is,
• 21:18
  Speaker 5: I know a lot of fans have asked this question, too.
• 21:21
  Speaker 5: Does it get to a point where if you're the team,
• 21:25
  Speaker 5: do you have to save the player from the player?
• 21:28
  Speaker 5: you know, maybe just, Hey gunner, we're just going to
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: put you on the shelf for, for two weeks on
• 21:33
  Speaker 5: the IL and, and see how that reacts to the
• 21:36
  Speaker 5: time off. I guess that's a tough line to walk.
• 21:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely.
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: I think it definitely is. And I think it's, they
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: probably left it up to gunner. And I think that's
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: probably the reason why he was in there. Like, Hey, we're,
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: we're not going to make this decision for you. If
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: you feel like you're good enough, then we're going to,
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: we're going to run you out there. But yeah, I
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: think sometimes, you know, I, there was just certain points
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: throughout the year. Like I said, I've, I've talked about
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: probably ad nauseum. the inside basketball, I felt like he
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: just really struggled with this year. And if that, to
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: me seeing that, and if you can't hit that as
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: the pitch that I just feel like if I do
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: a sky report on gunner, that's the one spot I
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: don't want to go, but now you can go there
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: as a pitcher. It makes hitting really hard. I feel like,
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: and I agree with you, Tim. I think at some point,
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: if it was getting to where we're just not seeing
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: it from him, like maybe let's just give it 10 days,
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: let's give it 15 days and let's see where.
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: It goes from there.
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: But then at the same time, I think with all
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: the injuries they had throughout the year, it's like, Who
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: do we replace him with? And is that guy better
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: than Gunner at 75%? So it's just kind of, I think,
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: a million questions, and we'll probably never get all the
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: answers to it. But if it is something, I hope
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: that he gets it taken care of, does the rehab,
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: and just comes back next year ready to go and
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: gets back into hitting that inside fastball because I feel
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: like that changes him completely as a hitter.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: You know, when I asked Gunner about hitting the fastball
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: in that interview I did with him, he agreed that
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: was an issue this year, and he said there are
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: some factors. for that. I think this is one of
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: the factors. And so that's the point Tim made. Where's
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: the line between this guy wants to gut it out
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: as a gamer, he'll play all day till his arm
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: falls off, but he's performing at a point where we
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: got to get him out of there, get it right,
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: and start over. So maybe this is something the Orioles
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: have to evaluate how they're doing it with some of
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: these guys. And you can't throw it all on Gunnar,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: you can't throw it all on the team. Together, There
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: has to be a decision made, and this year, it's
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: too late now for that.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and honestly, it could end up being a benefit
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: for the team, I feel like. If they're able to
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: open up these lines of communication, like we kind of
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: saw it with Sammy a few times throughout the year,
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: where just this weird back and forth of– you know,
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: he's hurt, but he's, he's not hurt enough to go
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: on the IL, you know, like he's, but he's good
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: enough to, yeah, like he's good enough to pinch hit.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: But I just feel like if, if the lines of
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: communication can get better between everybody, it's just going to
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: make the team more cohesive and these issues won't pop
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: up and there won't be, you know, kind of bickering
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: back and forth between media and the player. It's just like,
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: there was a few bizarre instances this year. So I'm,
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: I'm hoping that, you know, if, if it gets to
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: this point next year for gunner or something comes up
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: that he's able to go to them and see like, Hey, I,
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: I'd need a day or two and then maybe we
• 24:18
  Speaker 2: can reevaluate from there. And I feel like that's been
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: more of the case across the league, which was kind
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: of weird to see Gunner and Pete play so many
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: games this year when stuff was bothering them. Because to me,
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: the analytic age has kind of brought along the, it's
• 24:31
  Speaker 2: better to IL them and get 140 great games out
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: of this guy than getting 160 good games. And so
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: maybe we'll see something moving forward. Like I said, I
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: think having a rookie manager and just kind of some
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: moving parts this year, it leads itself to some miscommunications
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: and some kind of cracks in the, in the foundation.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: So maybe things will get better as time moves along
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: here and they get more comfortable with each other.
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: In our final minutes, I want to touch on Trevor Rogers.
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: We'll do that coming up.
• 25:11
  Speaker 6: So a couple times in the last week, Trevor Rogers
• 25:19
  Speaker 6: told reporters he's excited to test the market.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: It seems that's where it's headed. Could the Orioles pull
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: it out of the fire here in October or early November?
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: They could, but they haven't so far. So guys, I'm
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: going to tell you, My question is, Trevor Rodgers priced
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: himself out of their market, and here's what I mean
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: by that. Fans would scream, what do you mean they
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: can't afford him? They're paying all these other guys. No,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: they can afford him. My question is, do they see
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: his current price tag as too high in their evaluation
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: of this player? That's what's holding him up because you
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: hear people now saying he's become a $ 25 million to
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: $ 30 million a year player times four or five, do
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: the math, and that's the math the Orioles are now
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: dealing with. And is that math deterring them from keeping
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: a good pitcher?
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think so.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: You guys would know the history of Orioles more, but
• 26:12
  Speaker 2: I can't remember a starting pitcher that they signed long-term
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: in forever. I don't think there was, there was a
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: couple of guys when I was there for four years,
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: you know, Kashner and Alex Cobb, but yeah, it's just,
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: I don't know. I think it, I think it has
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: gotten to the point where he just kind of outpitched
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: a number they're comfortable with. And I feel like, he
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: was open to a certain point of the season, maybe talking.
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: And then I think he just kind of saw where
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: it was going and he wants to see, I mean,
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: it's when you become a free agent, it's kind of
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: one of those things. It's you're just interested. You're interested
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: to see where your values at. You're interested to see
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: what other teams might be, have a interest in you.
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: And it kind of just kind of goes that way.
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: And he's, once it gets to this point, it's like,
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: you got to go and see what free agency brings.
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: And I hope the Oros can bring it back because
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: he seems really comfortable here and has talked very highly
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: of the organization, but, I guess we'll just have to
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: see what that price tag is and if the Orioles
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: want to be players at that number.
• 27:03
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I just see him leaving, guys.
• 27:07
  Speaker 5: I feel like we've done so many different segments.
• 27:10
  Speaker 4: Throughout the year about Trevor Rodgers. Why have they not
• 27:13
  Speaker 4: talked to him yet?
• 27:14
  Speaker 5: At least that's what he's telling the media, that they
• 27:17
  Speaker 5: haven't had that communication about a contract extension. Now we're
• 27:21
  Speaker 5: at this point where Like Brad said, free agency is
• 27:24
  Speaker 5: a month away. He would be doing himself a disservice
• 27:29
  Speaker 5: where you've gotten this far. You might as well just
• 27:34
  Speaker 5: see what your market is. He's going to have a
• 27:36
  Speaker 5: heck of a market, guys. He's the second best left-handed
• 27:39
  Speaker 5: starter in free agency outside of Tarek Skubal. The O's
• 27:45
  Speaker 5: will give him the qualifying offer.
• 27:46
  Speaker 4: Last year it.
• 27:47
  Speaker 5: Was $ 22 million.
• 27:48
  Speaker 4: I can't imagine he would accept that.
• 27:52
  Speaker 5: Maybe that helps him a bit, you know, because some
• 27:54
  Speaker 5: teams shy away from wanting to give away that draft pick.
• 27:58
  Speaker 4: But I don't know.
• 28:00
  Speaker 5: At this point, I would be pretty surprised if he's back.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: There is a school of thought that the Orioles being
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: the one team that wouldn't have to give up a
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: draft pick in signing him because he's already their player,
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: quote unquote, game control, that Helps him out. Other teams
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: have to evaluate that into their number here. But you
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: hear people saying he's a $ 30 or $ 32 million pitcher now.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: If that's what he's going to get on the open market,
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: the Orioles just seem incredibly unlikely to do that. They
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: got Boz and Braddish for less than that. And, you know,
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: they've got all these young pitchers. They would be rolling
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: the dice. Yeah. To think that Brandon Young or think
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: that Trey Gibson or Ionson or one of these guys
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: is your guy replaced Trevor Rogers. That's a big ask.
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure.
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: And I think it's a lot of it goes down to,
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: you know, like the algorithm that they use.
• 28:59
  Speaker 3: And is it worth paying this guy, you know?
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: 30 times the league minimum or whatever the case may
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: be compared to, can you get close to the same value? If,
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: if it's, you know, if it's one guy, if it's
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: three guys, and I feel like that's where it ends
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: up just being a math, a math problem and a
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: math equation and whether or not he fits in with
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: the Orioles plans. I I'm just kind of with Tim.
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: I just feel like it's gotten to this point and
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: it's going to be really hard to bring them back.
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: I feel like.
• 29:25
  Speaker 5: They're going to be interesting guys because they, they were,
• 29:28
  Speaker 5: at least rumored to be swimming in those markets last year.
• 29:33
  Speaker 5: You know, they were apparently in on ranger Suarez. They
• 29:36
  Speaker 5: were apparently in on Frambois Valdez where Mike Elias said
• 29:40
  Speaker 5: at the beginning of last off season, that that was
• 29:42
  Speaker 5: one of his goals is bringing in a top of
• 29:44
  Speaker 5: the rotation arm. And if Rogers leaves, that's, that's a
• 29:49
  Speaker 5: big hole in this rotation, because like you said, Steve, Look,
• 29:52
  Speaker 5: we're all high on the young kids, but you don't
• 29:55
  Speaker 5: know what you have in them at the major league level,
• 29:57
  Speaker 5: a lot of them at least. Obviously, Gibson's had some starts,
• 30:01
  Speaker 5: but I think they need to go out there and
• 30:04
  Speaker 5: get a legit starting pitcher in free agency if Rodgers leaves.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: Will be an interesting few weeks, and I could see
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: Trevor Rodgers, just a little bit of getting to know
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: him the last year or two, signing before a lockout
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: and a work stoppage. Getting it with telling teams, put
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: your best foot forward here in a couple weeks after
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: the World Series. Let's wrap this up and move on.
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: I can see him wanting to get that done. The
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: Orioles will at least make a qualifying offer. They'll get
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: a draft pick. It won't be as satisfying to some
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: fans to see a pitcher who's pitched this well for
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: the Orioles walk out the door. That's going to wrap
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: our season coverage, but much, much more to come on
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Birdland Territory. Two shows a week starting this coming week.
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: Our next one will wrap up the end-of-season press conferences
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: coming up Monday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. So
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: don't go far. We'll see you next time on another
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: edition of Birdland Territory.
• 31:04
  Speaker 3: If you made it this far, you'll love this next video.
• 31:07
  Speaker 3: Check it out right here.
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: And make sure you subscribe to Birdland Territory for more
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: Orioles coverage like this multiple times a week.