Déjà vu All Over Again

Not too long ago, the Orioles completed a rebuild to die for. Talent up and down the lineup, talent ready to make the jump from the minors. But after postseason appearances in 2023-24, things have gone downhill fast, sort of like the 2020-21 White Sox. Bad baseball from the home team was on full display last night in the 10-2 drubbing administered by Vibes Venable and company. The score was actually tied at two going into the eighth inning. That’s when things began to fall apart for the home team. It wasn’t the Orioles’ fault entirely. I mean, nobody in the league has figured out how to avoid hitting Sam Antonacci, who led off the inning with his seventeenth hit-by-pitch. After that, it was only a matter of time. One out, to be precise. After Miguel Vargas struck out, O’s manager Craig Abernaz did something that, analytics-wise, maybe made sense—he kept in lefthanded reliever Grant Wolfram to face lefty-swinging Colson Montgomery. Either Abernaz didn’t have the stats in front of him or, more likely, didn’t bother to check them to see that Montgomery is hitting 37 points higher against lefties than righties. Which helps explain Montgomery’s run-scoring double. After that, the Orioles slowly imploded, giving up six run over the final two innings. But the hitting star of the night may have been another rookie, Jacob Gonzalez, who had two hits to go with three RBIs. That gives the 24-year old infielder nine in his last four games and fourteen in 68 at-bats. More, please. Meanwhile, Chris Getz may want to consider keeping Gonzalez around once Munetaka Murakami comes off the IL. At least, I would.