The Orioles turned to ace John Means to pull them out of their longest losing streak in nearly 12 years. But even Means could not end the frustration.
Means allowed a pair of home runs and the Orioles were swept in a doubleheader against the White Sox, 3-1, on Saturday. The Orioles lost Game 1, 7-4.
The Orioles have lost 12 straight games, their longest streak since dropping 13 consecutive game in September 2009.
“This is hard. There is no doubt about it,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “This is very, very challenging. This is very difficult. It’s frustrating. It’s embarrassing at times.
“We want to be able to compete in the big leagues. We’re finding out about our guys. That’s the bottom line. We have some guys we wanted to look at this year. We’re finding out about them from an evaluation standpoint and that’s good.
“But you want to put a competitive product out on the field. We’re facing good clubs that are built to win with starting pitching that is good. We have a tough time scoring runs.”
The Orioles have lost 12 games in a row three times — in 1955, 2002 and 2004. Baltimore lost 13 straight games in 2009 and had 14 consecutive losses in 1954.
Baltimore’s record for consecutive losses occurred in 1988 when they opened the season with 21 straight defeats.
Hyde expected to have some growing pains with the rebuilding club, but he acknowledged that this stretch has been tough on everyone.
“I knew the job was going to be a lot of work and it was going to be a rebuilding process. I did understand that,” Hyde said. “I am frustrated a little bit because you want to give the fans of Baltimore something to look forward to and something to hang their hat on, something positive. John Means is doing that. Trey Mancini, what he has done for the last three years and you see what Santander has done. So those things are positive you want to kind of continue.
“I felt like we had momentum last year. We played pretty well in kind of a weird year, especially in that first month when teams weren’t quite ready to play. It kind of helped us out. We stayed competitive throughout the second month even though we lost a ton of games. We lost a lot of close games. We just didn’t have the bullets honestly to compete with those types of teams.
“Then this year, we got off to a decent start. We lost some games we should have won — .500ish. This has been a really tough stretch. No doubt. We look overmatched at times for me. We have a really tough time with good starting pitching. And we have to get better offensively. We have to get better up here. It’s just going to take a little while.”
Means (4-1) allowed three runs and five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in five innings.
“We had some difficult streaks for sure,” Means said. “This is probably right up there with the hardest one. I was hoping to pitch better to get the win. I should have pitched better, but I didn’t get it done today and I’ll try to do better next time.”
Anthony Santander went 1-for-3 and has hit safely in 11 straight games — the longest current hitting streak in the majors.
After a shaky 35-pitch first inning where he loaded the bases, Means buckled down and was dominant until Billy Hamilton hit a solo home run on a changeup in the fourth.
“I was rushing to get out front to be honest,” Means said about the first inning. “I wasn’t locating well. They were fouling pitches off, working counts deep. It just wasn’t going well and I was pulling most of my pitches.”
Chicago starter Lance Lynn threw five innings of three-hit ball with seven strikeouts and no walks. Lynn improved to 6-1 with a 1.37 ERA.
The Orioles managed to get runners on second and third in the fifth, but Lynn struck out Cedric Mullins to end the threat.
In the bottom of the fifth, Jose Abreu delivered a two run-shot off Means for a 3-0 lead.
Aaron Bummer entered in the sixth for Chicago and loaded the bases on a leadoff walk to Freddy Galvis, a single by. Santander and another walk to D.J. Stewart.
Bummer was replaced by Codi Heuer, who gave the Orioles their first run by hitting Stevie Wilkerson. However, Heuer struck out Ryan Mountcastle and had a groundout by Chance Sisco to get out of the bases-loaded jam.
“We had an opportunity there in the sixth inning,” Hyde said. “Lynn pretty much dominated us through five. We’re just not getting big hits in big spots right now.”
Liam Hendriks struck out the side in the seventh for his 12th save.
“It’s hard to lose, no matter if you’re rebuilding or you’re trying to win a pennant,” Hyde said. “It does stack up. From a coaching staff standpoint, we’re honest but we also need to continue to pat guys on the back and kick guys in the butt. That’s our job and now it’s their job to perform.”
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I'd like to hear what Hyde thinks about his boss and ownership? Of course, I don't think we ever will. Not truthfully anyway.
Face it ... we'll probably never get a read on Hyde's true ability to manage a club. This man is being hung out to dry by one Michael Elias and the Angelos brothers. The proverbial sacrificial lamb. I can't imagine he'll be allowed to hang around long enough to manage a winner.
I feel for you Mr. Hyde.
What would you have had Elias and the Angelos brothers do differently?
Fire Hyde and Elias and force the Angelos family to sell the team. That's the only way we'll be rid of this nightmare.
Do you really think Elias didn't tell him the plan? Elias told all of us that acquiring young talent and modernizing the farm system was the priority. Losing is no fun, but losing without a plan (98-11) is worse. Triple AAA looks bleak, but the rest of the minors is doing really well.
Kaj21206 ... Did Elias tell him the plan? Most likely he did. Do I think he gave him the details as to incredible lack of talent he'd be managing and how he'd be totally ignoring the mother club? Did he say "hey Brandon, wanna be my sacrificial lamb"? Maybe he did, but I'd guess not. I'm not even sure that Elias knew the depths to which he'd sink at that time himself! I mean just this year alone ..Ramon Urias? A reject from the Royals starting at 3rd base ... trading your best contact hitter from one year to the next just to save a couple of million? Letting Alberto go for nothing? Starting a year with not one but TWO rule 5's on your pitching staff? Heck, even if he had laid this all out for Hyde, would Hyde have turned down a chance to manage at this level? Would any of us?
And yet here is Hyde having to walk the zoom plank after every game facing the media on his own. And all Mike Elias will talk about is how the Baysox and Ironbirds are doing well. I'll stand behind my "sacrificial lamb" assessment.
Hyde is Elias' puppet. I wouldn't be surprised if Elias isn't texting Hyde detailed instructions and ordering moves during games. Baseball is no longer a field manager's game - it's a GM's game.
Spend money is one option.
On free agents? Anyone in particular this off season look like a good pick up/missed opportunity? I did read a great article that showed the Orioles probably had the 4th highest net (ticket + TV revenue - payroll) in 2019, with a net of around $110M (there are other expenses besides payroll, but they could not be determined in article). Seems like the Orioles do indeed have some money to spend to improve the team. Do you think could have picked up enough quality free agents to be a playoff contender this season?
The Angelo's bros. don't have to spend us back into the top 10 of MLB payrolls, which is about where we were at from 2012 - 2016 when we were last competitive.
A poster a few days ago pointed out a couple of Clubs that are spending wildly and getting bad results (Nats among them).
He also pointed out that any FA with half a brain would probably avoid Baltimore like the plague.
We may have gone too far down the tanking rabbit hole to aid our cause with a few (Pitchers ?) in FA.
Imo, that's all we would need to stop this hemorrhaging and play something close to .450 baseball while we rebuild.
To some, losing is losing, whether it's .250 or .450 baseball.
If it's alright with you, and any other Elias backers on this comment board, I would prefer the ladder, while we tank, ehh, excuse me, rebuild.
If bonafide #3, or #4 Starting Pitchers become available during our rebuild, then the O's should be ready to part with dough, regardless of where we are at with this "rebuild process".
Is it too much to ask to expect your ball club to win 4 out of 10 ball games while it under goes THIS "REBUILD PROCESS" ???
Amen John.
(or is it Awoman?)
Maybe the almighty name changer is Mikey or Hyde...or at least a family member...spend money, simple plan, at least ACT the part of a major league team...go O’s...
I know Brandon Hyde is in an almost impossible situation. He's a novice manager with a bad baseball team. He doesn't have much to work with and my sympathy is certainly with him. That said, why does he hit Pedro Severino fourth? Why does he keep Jorge Lopez in after his five inning stint when he consistently gets his hat handed to him after that? When Trey and Hays are healthy I don't expect to see DJ Stewart anywhere near the field. Bet we do. Just sayin....
I think he's trying anything he can. Nothing works.
Throwing $hi* against the wall & hoping something sticks...go O’s...
The Severino debacle has been debated ad nauseum. Bring up Brett Cumberland, we say. Give Rutschman his opportunity, we say. Give Sisco more opportunities we say. Then we say Sisco sucks; why is he on the team?
When the starters falter at 4 innings, we say leave the young uns in there. It’s good for these “trophy generation” kids to struggle. Then after they choke, we say what the hell is wrong with Hyde, why didn’t he yank them, how come we can’t win.
We say spend money (I agree) but ain’t no rational productive free agent coming to this graveyard to lose UNTIL we have some sort of uptick and turn the corner with a somewhat successful run.
So we continue plugging holes in a sinking ship while waiting for the minor league players to show their mettle.
Brandon Hyde may have his issues, but he’s hung in there. Take a look at that poor guy in the dugout during the games. Wow.
The moves being made in the DR will show results in the future, but it’s not designed to help now.
True. Everything you said is true.
I am a fickle fan. And will probably come full circle before this season is over.
But right now I want to "Bobby Knight" everything !!
I just started watching again after a few week break ( caps pathetic playoff appearance and ironbirds games ) and this is *&&))*#&(insert cuss word here) pathetic. I was enjoying getting the .400-.475ish ball with the youngsters developing and a few vet fliers performing admirably. However, with 12 straight Ls, horrible pitching, worse hitting, and just low effort, sloppy baseball, this just isn’t acceptable. If we are going to be bad, at least put effort into the game (errors in game 1 and baserunning errors in game 2). If Hyde can’t get this team to do the small things or develop the youngsters, can him now. I do not blame him for the bad record (that is deliberate and I pray will eventually pay off), but we need to demand quality fundamentals. This season started like a losing but upbeat 2011 team and has turned into the despair of 2002 or 2003. Hopefully, the wonders of a 2012 style winner arrive before I’m an AARP member (I’m currently in my 20s).
I feel sorry for you young Orioles fans. I at least experienced 1966-1983. What a run it was! We had one of the greatest owners (Jerry Hoffberger), one of the greatest GMs (Frank Cashen), and one of the greatest field managers (Earl Weaver). The franchise had an outstanding farm system, yet wasn't afraid to trade for stars (Frank Robinson, Mike Cuellar).
I'm resigned to the fact that I will never see the Orioles in a World Series in my lifetime.
I'm close to the same realization.
Birdcaps, you & my son, I echo OFF’s fandom & witnessing the 3 WS championships, hope my son is able to see 1 in his lifetime, I’d love to see it with him, maybe some of the others will get a better sense of fans like OFF, Boog & myself, having actually seen the O’s when they were dominate, maybe why we’re saying what we say, I know it won’t change anything, but the O’s direction is suspect at best...go O’s...
I’m in my 60’s and loved going to Memorial stadium. The first time there I was 9 years old. I still remember walking out from the concourse and saw the greenest field ever that day. The first time the trumpet blared during the game I remember my dad telling me to yell charge.
I still have my promotional giveaway baseball in my office with Dave McNally, Jim Palmer, Dobson and Cuellars signatures printed on them. Great times indeed!
Tileman, I agree about Memorial Stadium. It was a neighborhood ballpark that epitomized what the fans and the city were all about.
Indeed !
Icterus fan...agree
Interesting that no one assigns any blame to RM or Sisco for failing in a clutch situation when a base hit could have tied the game. Everything is Elias' fault, and anyone named Angelos. I have been an O's fan for a very long time. I remember Paul Richards was manager, Jim Delsing, Al Pilarsic in the OF; Bob Boyd 1B, Willie Miranda SS, George Kell 3B. Saw them all play. All that means is I have seen a lot of bad baseball, and bad on field and front office decisions with the O's. Hyde a rookie manager, Elias a rookie GM. No continuity on the team, no one responding to the pressure of having to produce results. It's a best efforts culture, not a results culture. Selling the team, firing Elias, firing Hyde will have zero positive effect on this year's results. Just like 1988, got to ride this out. Still better than 2017 and 2018 teams that were totally unwatchable.
This team is "watchable"??? Boy, are you easily satisfied.
With your rose colored glasses on...go O’s...
I never said this club was watchable, only implied that it was more watchable than the team that spent a lot of money to win and didn't.
Phil,
Thanks for the thoughts. I will say that when you stray from the usual narrative here, you get labeled with the rose colored glasses response.
I DO understand the bitterness and I’ve suffered through years of crappy teams strung together with chewing gum and bailing wire like a bad MacGyver episode, or in this case, series.
No one like where we are, and I only hope that a “best efforts culture” will create good results.
Team unwatchable? Sure is, but I’ll be watching today.
It’s my team.
My implication wasn’t just you in the rose colored glasses, could be anyone, I too will be watching them...once an O’s fan always an O’s fan...go O’s...
I'm in the same category as Phil and my son and others his age keep telling me to stop talking about the past. That may be a cogent comment. However, when this once gloriously proud franchise keeps "producing" sub .400 baseball it is very difficult not to identify with those great teams. We post about Hyde, Elias, hitting coaches, pitches, ad nauseum, but those teams, I would venture a guess, would have an on "on field" leader kicking butt if they didn't perform up to capabilities. Yes, I realize, these guys may not be as skilled as those immortals, but certainly, Santander going from first to third on a single to right instead of staring at the base hit wouldn't be too much to ask, would it? Or Freddy Galvis tagging up on a fly ball to left field that he would have scored on had it dropped in anyway...too much to ask? Or one of the O's "catch and throw" catchers actually blocking a pitch? How about Mr. Paul Blair or John Shelby or Bobby Grich or Merv Rettenmund or even, dare I say F. Robby go to RF to advance a runner to third with no one out? Unheard of with this team. No manager or coach can get into a player like a peer. The O's have sadly lacked an"on field" presence for quite sometime. Far from solving any of their problems, it may not hurt to have a butt kicker on the field. I'm afraid those days may have passed them by. I also hope that my kids and their kids see some semblance of a WS here in Bmore, Phil. I'm not planning on it, but it sure was exciting.
I haven't given up yet, but the reality is that the WS is harder to get to versus the "old days", but I do want a team with some players who can play defense, who hustle and are competitive and have a chance to get to the post season. Pitchers who pitch (like Means). I would like a team that offer players with continuity, not one that changes rosters every year (like TB) or every few years (Marlins & Royals). I would like to agree with a management decision at least every once in a while. I would like to see great players play for and against the O's, but those days are likely gone. I saw Ted Williams hit a HR at Memorial Stadium, us old-timers got to see a lot a great players on our own teams and other teams. Not so anymore. The last must see player that I took my son to Camden Yards to see was Ken Griffey, Jr. It was worth every penny. Can't say that today. Going to see Cal was a treat any time. Both in business and baseball, the failures that I have seen is from those who underestimated the problem and overestimated their ability to solve it. Elias could fall into that category. I willing to see if he can make the necessary adjustments to be successful at this level... too early to give up on him (IMHO), but adjustments are needed.
every MLB team is saying 'hear come the birds' and looking forward to it because they are practically guaranteed to increase their win % ,their betting averages and decrease their pitchers ERA. we are at the bottom of list in standings . that spot has become our home and we seem to be comfortable there. so now we get high draft picks, only to see these picks dissappear into the farm system being nursed along. most who make it into majors are injury and stage fright prone , disappearing back to the farm for more nursing. when we are lucky to get a rule 5 draft pick or a mlb player down on his luck , that does a 360 and is producing beyond expectations, he gets dumped because he will cost to much the next year or he gets traded for a no name minor. rule # 1, rebuild or not ' A BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH 2 IN THE BUSCH '. you need to keep some core productive players to help carry the new ones along untill they learn how to run. Most are still walking
this rebuild could have been done in a less disgraceful and demeaning manor then it was .It's easy to say all the old or any body not from our farm system will not stay. the hard part is to maintain the dignity of the team and respect for the fans during rebuild ,and this is not happening.
Phil If my son were here, he'd scold me. There was a time when F. Robby couldn't make the NL All-Star starting lineup. Three reasons? Aaron, Mays, Clemente. No sense in reminiscing about those days of yore in America's Game. Between the Commissioners (past and present) and some of the "analytics" this great game has dramatically changed. What happened to "see ball, hit ball?" What happened to, throw strikes instead of "what's your spin rate"? Ah, well....
First, a confession. In addition to being an old Jim Delsing fan, I am a Cleveland Browns fan, so I know something about a proud franchise tanking. Tanking is an excuse for a team's making bad decisions. When the Browns went 1-15 ( their only win coming when the Chargers botched not one, but two, fourth-quarter field goals), the coach vowed they would never go 1-15 again. He promptly led them to a 0-16 record. The team has become respectable, but not because they went 1-31 over two seasons. Some say the improvement is owing to stockpiling draft picks and saving money. Hogwash. During the "rebuild" i generally followed the team's personnel transactions on and off the field. My hope was to see improvement; that is, the new right tackle was better than the old one, whether it involved adding or releasing a player. Small changes, but in the right direction. Never happened until Dorsey arrived and started making positive moves. It put the team in the right direction. He's now gone, of course, but personnel in management and on the field are much better than before. Yes, the Browns have had good draft positions from poor records, but they are only valuable if you've made a habit of making good choices. You have to start doing that with what you have. When the O's make a change, is the new player better than the former one, even if neither is a star? Someone here mocked Hanser Alberto for batting only .228 as a part-timer with KC, but when I look at the O's box score, I see guys batting well under .200. Oh yes, I know, the guys we have are a lot cheaper. I'm ranting , so I'll just end with the comment that I doubt any Cleveland Brown fan believes that the team had to go 1-31 to become respectable.
Born & raised in Cleveland, Browns fan even when they left, it took many yrs before they were respectable, Dorsey had his way of doing things, uppers didn’t necessarily agree, but he got the ball rolling, maybe Mikey will get the ball rolling & be replaced with a “closer” to get them over the hump...go O’s...
CP...what the hay ? Dislike the Indians ? Connection to Baltimore (O's) ?
Long story, 1966 my grandmother took me to my first in person ballgame, Indians vs O’s, Brooks was playing 3B right by our seats, he small talked w/a kid & his gramma, I was hooked, THEN they won the WS, been a fan ever since...go O’s...
Looking forward to going to Akron in July to catch Bowie...go O’s...
The land of the Zips.
Yep, never quite got what a Zip was or the kangaroo mascot...lol...go O’s...
The frustrating part is seeing a team in our division like the Blue Jays rebuild back into a contender in basically 3 years. You look at our major league roster and it's pathetic. Maybe 6 or 7 players (and that might be generous) on the ML roster would actually be good enough to play on a contending team. I get that the farm is improving and good players are on the way but when the franshise puts zero effort into supplementing the major league roster, it's damn embarrassing.
It's also been disheartening to see the struggles of the few prospects that have actually been called up (Mountcastle, Kremer, Akin, Lowther, Zimmermann). It makes me wonder if our farm system is overrated.
I'm actually glad to see the fanbase getting upset about the state of the organization over the past few weeks. It feels a bit overdue. The franchise was just rolling along under the radar playing bad baseball and now they're on notice.
I think that is a majority of everyone’s beef, no effort put into the major league roster...go O’s...
Reading these comments was depressing enough. My mood got even darker with another sweep and more brutally non-existent offense. I hoped to find something positive happening with the Tides, the immediate source of fresh talent to the O's. Somebody name Willy Yahn so impressed the powers-that-be that he was promoted from Bowie to Norfolk. I found this depressing--his average so far this season at Bowie was a sad 0.118 (not a typo). The talent pool seems way too shallow to chant 'wait 'till next year.'
Rutschman is playing lights out, smile, he’ll eventually will be up here...go O’s...