Question: At what point does Craig Albernaz get into the hot seat? The players are making mental blunders constantly. That is coaching, not preparing the players for situations. They overachieved with Brandon Hyde because clearly Hyde prepared the young players situationally. The players aren’t even that young anymore, and we are now seeing fundamental blunders costing the Orioles game after game. And Albernaz doesn’t seem to be protecting the players, either. When Gunnar Henderson got hit, it was shocking to me that Albernaz didn’t give a stronger reaction. Do you think he is in over his head as a skipper? From: John in Texas
Answer: John, Craig Albernaz is in his first year as a major league manager, and nearly all managers get more than one year to prove themselves. I don’t think he’s on the hot seat and the oddsmakers agree. After the Mets fired Carlos Mendoza on Friday, I saw one site list seven managers whose jobs are in danger, and Albernaz wasn’t on that list.
Question: Could you compile a list of games the Orioles lost from the eighth inning on, including extra innings. I think that winning one-half of these would put us very close to a playoff spot. Your thoughts? From: Susan and Ron Schwartzman
Answer: Susan and Ron, the Orioles are 34-5 when leading after seven inning. They’ve lost only one game when leading after eight, and that was on June 19th against the Dodgers. They’re 0-2 when tied after seven and 2-6 when tied after eight. They’ve 2-4 in extra innings, so if they had won some of those games, they’d have a much better record and in a wild-card spot.
Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: [email protected]. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.