Good morning, Camden Chatters.

What else is there to say about the Orioles?

About three hours after GM Mike Elias told the media that the struggling Orioles were “ready to get their act together” and that they “have a fun moment in store for us,” the O’s once again fell apart in a game that was the complete opposite of fun.

They began their final home game of the season with a slap in the face for the Camden Yards crowd, allowing 10 runs to a Giants team that hadn’t been beaten once in three of their last four games while failing to score a single run themselves. The Orioles players continued to look completely disinterested, completely worn out (*cough* Craig Kimbrel), or both. As if to mock Elias’s faith in them, they threw poorly, hit terribly, and played lousy defense, turning in one of their worst overall performances of the year. Check out Stacey’s recap of the carnage.

What happened to this team? It’s completely unrecognizable compared to the Orioles team that was on fire for the first three months of the season and established itself as perhaps the best team in baseball. I think back to that electrifying series in June when the O’s took two of three games from the Phillies in what was considered a legitimate taste of the World Series.

Fast forward to the present day: The Phils have the best record in the major leagues and have recovered from a minor slump in late July to turn things around like good teams do. The O’s, when they got into a slump of their own, drifted away for three months. They just crumbled in the face of adversity, and no one has an answer.

Is this as painful a time for Orioles fans as the 2019-2021 rebuilding season? No, certainly not. The on-field performances of these teams have been almost historically incompetent by design. If you had told an O’s fan back then that the 2024 Orioles would be 17 games over .500 in September and (probably) on their way to the postseason, I think most would have gladly accepted it. Making the playoffs is an accomplishment in itself, even if you only fight your way there by accident. For a team that has been without October baseball for so long, we shouldn’t take it for granted.

Still, these Orioles from 2019 to 2021 at least did not have the burden of high expectations. They were terrible, but we knew they would be horrific, so fans weren’t exactly devastated as the losses continued to pile up. But the 2024 Orioles? Coming off a 101-win season and with a great young core just breaking into the majors, this was supposed to be a season to remember. And it is, but not for the reasons we hoped. The months-long fall of this club in terms of relevance after starting the year with so much success is one of the biggest disappointments of an O’s team that I can remember.

I think Elias is right. There is still time to turn things around. But games like last night make it hard to believe the Orioles are even capable of doing that.

Left

Orioles keep eighth clean sheet in 10-0 loss (updated) – School of Roch
The O’s tried to change their luck by changing their walkup songs, which was a good idea except for Ryan O’Hearn’s awful bagpipe music. I never thought I’d say this, but I wish he’d bring Ted Nugent back.

Orioles’ Mike Elias takes blame for poor play but vows ‘This isn’t over yet’ – The Baltimore Banner
Elias spoke in more detail about what went wrong, who is to blame and how the Orioles can turn things around. Like most of us, he didn’t expect the O’s to lose an entire infield, a starting rotation and most of the bullpen to injuries.

Elias provides injury updates on Coulombe, Mountcastle, Rodriguez, Urías, Westburg – BaltimoreBaseball.com
It seems possible that Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle and Ramón Urías could all return before the end of the regular season, which could be huge. And the idea of ​​Grayson Rodriguez firing gas out of the bullpen in the postseason intrigues me.

Traditionally different: Orioles and Ravens develop unique connection in Baltimore – The Athletic
Apparently it was Ravens GM Eric DeCosta who recommended the Angelos brothers hire Mike Elias and Sig Mejdal six years ago, so you have to thank DeCosta (or blame him, depending on how you feel about Elias at the moment).

Orioles’ Trevor Rogers delivers positive results in Triple-A – The Baltimore Sun
I didn’t like the idea of ​​the Orioles signing a project instead of an established pitcher at the deadline, but now that Rogers is here, let’s hope the O’s can work some magic and make him a serviceable pitcher for next year and beyond.

Birthdays and History of the Orioles

Is it your birthday today? Happy birthday! The two former Orioles born on this day are the right-hander Marcos Diplán (28) and the late left-hander Harvey Haddix (born 1925, died 1994).

September 18th has always been a big day for Orioles legends. On this day in 1976, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson – then a player/manager for Cleveland – had his last of 2,943 career hits, fittingly against the Orioles. In his final batting appearance of his career, he hit a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth inning, but the O’s held on for the win.

Exactly one year later, the Orioles celebrated “Thanks, Brooks” day at Memorial Stadium in honor of Brooks Robinson, who had retired the previous month. The packed house of 51,798 fans gave “Mr. Oriole” a huge round of applause as he circled the warning track in a 1955 Cadillac – his debut year. During an hour-long pregame ceremony, the O’s presented Brooks with a variety of gifts, including new Gold Glove awards to replace those he had donated to charity.

And in 1991, Cal Ripken Jr. became the first shortstop in major league history to hit 30 home runs and 40 doubles in a season by hitting home run No. 30 off Red Sox starter Mike Gardiner at Fenway Park. Cal finished the season with 34 home runs and 46 doubles, a career high, to win his second AL MVP award.