Luke Jones and Nestor discuss Dean Kremer and Orioles starting pitching deficiencies

welcome home we are wnst tson Baltimore Baltimore positive happy summer week to you happy homand to you and it'll be a happy crabcake Tour on Friday as the Yankees come to town they will be in second place at least for now the uh Mar the lottery giving us the Gold Rush sevens doublers to give away we've had some lucky wins had a $20 winner about two weeks ago Coco we will be at fad ley's all afternoon on Friday all hands on deck as the Yankees are in town our friends at liberty pure salute I keeping the water crystal clear in my orange color glass uh make sure you're checking them out if you have a well or you you have any plumbing needs at Liberty P Solutions as well as Jiffy Lube MultiCare keeping us out on the road driving us home driving Luke to the ballpark home from the ballpark um you know you and I ask a pretty poignant question we did a lot of chatting on Monday about the Orioles and the trading deadline and All-Star game and the Yankees but the pitching and it's always the pitching and you and I said who do you trust who do you trust I do not trust Dean Kramer I think I mentioned that on uh on Monday morning when we got going bright and early and they took a day off they went after Tuesday night um you know what do they say you're the weakest link or whatever it is but if he were out there throwing the ball like Grayson Rodriguez we wouldn't be so concerned about having to give up mayo or kirad or C whoever we're going to give up to get whatever pitching we're going to get and by the way talked to all these Chicago people this week the crochet things on on their on their mind as well yeah well and I think it when you say you don't trust Dean Kramer it's to do what I mean over the course of now two and a half years he's been about a League average starting picture which is still valuable mind you that you still need guys to fill out the back end of your rotation so through that lens I'm fine with Dean Kramer but if you're asking me about Dean Kramer starting game three of a postseason series then yeah that's a completely different convers ation and people will bring up Texas last October and that's fine I I think I mean even last October going into it the Orioles were probably hoping John means was going to start game three and then his elbow started barking again so I think it's just where they are right now I don't think it's necessarily to be Hasty and saying oh Dean Kramer's going to the bullpen or something like that now I mean he has to be better than he was on Tuesday night clearly uh but at the same time he's someone who's been a League average starter over the course of the last two and a half years and that's still valuable when you're talking about your number four or especially your number five starter spot but yeah League average on Tuesday night it was not your to your it was yeah right right of course and I think Tuesday night was a weird game too I mean it wasn't as though he got crushed I me gives up the two big home runs and obviously the half three- run Homer turn the game lopsided uh in the fourth he's ahead 02 I even asked him about you the pitch that he made know he he's has some success going low and away he tries to come up and in with a cutter didn't come up and in enough and H got the bat on the ball and and hit it on the Utah Street so he misses spots and when he misses spots he pays right period yeah and I I think you know the difference between what we saw in Dean Kramer on Tuesday night compared to Seattle stuff wasn't quite as Lively you know wasn't missing as many bats and we've talked about this look I I know Old School Baseball fans will continue to say that not continue but we'll continue to maintain that strikeouts aren't everything and they're not I'm not saying they're everything but they are really important uh and it and it is a case of if you can't miss bats boy you can't miss your spots at all you know when when you have the ability to get swing and Miss sometimes you can be wild within the strike zone I mean Grayson Rodriguez is a great example of that Corbin Burns great example of that not saying that they're wild in the in the strike zone frequently but they can get away with it much more because they have that swing of Miss ability that they do when you don't have as impressive stuff then your margin for error is a you it's very small I've talked about that a lot with Kade Povich and I think that's been evident with him for as much as he had the swing and Miss stuff against Atlanta last month in his second Major League start that hasn't been there otherwise and it's resulted in him having a much lower ceiling and a much smaller margin for error so on Tuesday night you know Dean Kramer didn't have his good of a fast ball didn't have as much swing and miss and the Cubs made him pay for it and also I'll also point out couple lapses defensively and you know he had a couple walks and a hit by pitch and you know you can't do those things so uh it wasn't a ton of hard contact other than those two home runs but those two home runs obviously cost him dearly and was a big reason why one he lasted only four Innings and two the Orioles loss although I'll also point out didn't exactly Mount much off against Jameson tyion and that Cubs Bullpen well he's probably you know as good as they get right he might be a guy that I said to my wife watch this it could be an our rotation in three weeks you know every time I have somebody on I had a great conversation uh in Chicago Rick telander uh uh you know legendary columnist from Sports Illustrated in Chicago and I also had all my old Sporting News Radio executive producer um and you know in in both cases I'm like who are we fleecing North side or Southside we who we getting at at this point and I think that that as as this month goes on as the All-Star break and we'll have fun with gunar Henderson next week and who wins who cares all that kind of stuff but um there is some decorated part and by the way Jordan Westberg to the allstar game let's talk about that for a minute we'll come back to pitching because we did speak about snubbing and snubbing and all that and you know I I'm not convinced Kimbrell's not going to get there yet for it's all over with because of the way this thing Subs out but um you know it gave me pause to go back and look at his numbers he might be having a better year than Rutman and and and I think highly a Rutman yeah I mean I I I would put Rutman ahead of him he a second baseman though like to sree right oh sure sure well second base Third Base I mean either way and that's what's been so valuable about him is he can play either of those spots and better than Floyd Rayford I want to point that out sure sure I mean he's been a plus Defender at third I don't think his defense has been quite as good at second base as it's been at third base but it's been fine it's not a problem right and you mentioned Aras booting the ball the other night too sure well and that's part of the point I was you know kind of alluding to early in the year when Aras wasn't hitting at all and Jackson holiday struggles get sent back down they got in a position where Westberg was playing plus defense and giving you plus plus offense at third base and Mato was hitting now since then Mato has really fallen off over the last month and you know Aras has been better with the bat he was say in April and early may but still not great and even his defense you know you hear them talk about him being a a former gold glove Defender at third base he hasn't played like it this year uh albeit not playing on an everyday basis and all that but West's versatility has just been so valuable and when you have someone who can play multiple spots in the infield as a starter you know we're not talking about a utility Guy this is you know super utility if you want to call it that but his bats in the lineup every day because I mean he's been a 830 840 Ops kind of hitter hit for power hit a home run on Tuesday night you know kind of the second base he Joe Morgan at third base he might be Scott Roland but either way they have Jackson holiday coming up he's a third baseman right like as much as we'll talk about him next week as a swing guy be like Bobby grit you'll forget that he ever played the position at some point right well and that's what's so interesting because you have Jackson holidays going to play second Kobe Mayo still playing primarily at third although I still think KOB Mayo Assuming he's in Baltimore which I'm not at all convinced that the orios are going to trade him you know unless it's for the right package as I said they're not paying Lamborghini Lamborghini prices for a minivan or you know anything like that I mean he feels Untouchable unless we're getting like a another Grayson Rodriguez know yeah I mean I feel like someone like him if suddenly the Tigers say ter sco's available okay you know I I might be willing to part with Kobe Mayo then it is it's a short list I mean we're the thing we need to remember and I'll get back to Westberg in just a moment but Jackson holiday Kobe Mayo Samuel baso at doublea buoy doing what he's doing as a catcher at buoy at his age these are really special prospects they're Pro they're all prospects right prospects are suspects until they prove it at the major league level but these are highly really highly talented prospects this isn't chance Cisco six six years ago or Hunter Harvey eight years ago right I mean these are premium premium kind of guys so the point with with that is if you're going to trade them you better be getting premium premium in return and that's why you know going back to our conversation a couple days ago you know with Dean Kramer being in that mix if you ask me right now who the Orioles are most likely to acquire a as a starting pitcher I'm guessing it's someone that's going to be closer to Dean Kramer's Talent level than Kyle bradish when he's healthy so my point and and that does does mean they're not going to get someone better than Kramer but my point is you don't want to give up Kobe Mayo for League average yeah exactly or or slightly above League average like Kobe look at Jack flare last year we we thought he could be as good as Dean Kramer we thought he'd be better than Dean that's why they brought him in right exactly and it doesn't always work out that way that doesn't mean you don't make trades but it means you need to tread carefully these are premium assets that could be really really important to maybe even later this year I mean I'd still love to see Kobe Mayo's bat in this lineup uh in 2024 I I think there's a place to do it and that's why I've even talked about you know do you get creative is there a team out there that is going to buy and sell where you know there might be someone moved from the major league roster and suddenly that opens up an opportunity for aobi Mayo but bringing it back to Jordan Westberg because that that's what you brought up I mean great to see him make it I think he was very deserving of a spot we talked about this the other day third bases crowd in the in the American League I mean you have Jose Ramirez rapael Des who ultimately is the one bowing out because he's been dealing with a I think a sore left shoulder since April uh so he's just going to rest I mean the Red Sox yeah don't look they don't look now but I mean they're right on the Yankees heels at this point um you know I'm I'm still not convinced the Red Sox are going to be that team that's you know contesting for a 100 wins but they're certainly in the Wild Card mix I mean firmly firmly in the Wild Card mix and they can certainly make noise and considering the Yankees have been the the worst team in baseball over the last three weeks record-wise uh I mean yeah the right the Red Sox are right in the rearview mirror for them and the Oriol certainly can't sleep on them uh so but de's bows out we talked about it ESO parades was was the ray loan representative uh and you know I mean so Third Base it wasn't it so much that there was warranted outrage for Westberg not to make it as a third baseman but because of that versatility you look at someone like Marcus Simeon who made it uh at at second base and you say well Westberg is having a better year than him so good to see him make it to your point still would not be shocked if Craig Kimbrell WS winds up on that roster uh but the Orioles now represented are represented by four Allstar Selections in Arling to next week great story but I mean Jordan Westberg think about it we're he's only or what a year year and a couple weeks past his major league debut and he was solid last year but it was unspectacular it wasn't oh my gosh this kid is amazing it was he's holding his own you know he's solid he's looking like a guy who's going to be a starter uh but uh at this time last year or even last September and October if someone told you he was going to be an All-Star you'd say wow man he's taking a heck of a jump then in his first Major League season full Major League season and he's certainly done that I mean he's been as consistent as possible and you could really tell albe it after the 92 loss on Tuesday night we had a chance to talk to him in the clubhouse uh he's a quiet guy he doesn't say a whole lot you know isn't necessarily going to entertain you uh in an interview but he will offer some insight and you could just tell he was really humbled by that experience and I think he had you know you know was he a snub I mean you know how I feel about that word being overused when it comes to Allstars but he was certainly deserving of going so it was good to see him get that nod and of all their Allstars even though it'll be gunar Henderson's first All-Star game as well and Gunner's going to get so much attention we've known since probably late April that gunar Henderson was going to go to the all-star game I mean he was just off to that kind of an unbelievable start on the heels of being rookie of the year but with Jordan Westberg the half the first half that he's had the Improvement he's made from his rookie year to his first full year in the major leagues I mean you said it right off the bat and bringing him up I I still think it's gunar Henderson adley Rutman as far as one two as far as the best position players on this team but Jordan Westberg has been a very clear obvious no doubt about number three in terms of their best position players and yeah I think you can make you know there there's certainly some debate you could make it probably a month ago I I would have put him ahead of adley Rutman you know now you know if he's third that's still speaking to how just how impressive he's been how valuable he's been for this orios offense all right with the Cubs in town and me talking about fleecing the Cubs and uh fleecing the white socks and who are we going to take from them uh who are other teams going to take from them because they're going to deal with somebody and I think that's the sort of the beauty of the system is that the Orioles are at the top they have a lot of talent but you know you mentioned the Red Sox and other teams who will be willing to put together a package for scoble or for crochet or for whomever and who's going to be able to deal from any level of Kobe Mayo basilia wherever that that depth is that the tiger said we want to catch her in the deal well you're not getting Rutman um so all that being said the Cubs and talking to Cubs people and talking to Chicago people this week uh I don't want to put you on the spot but you're you're pretty Savant about baseball what year do they win the World Series they won in what 2016 16 I thought it was 17 by the way if if you would to ask me flat out cuz I went to see Pearl Jam a couple times at rle field that summer Eddie veter if you've seen the film they won they wrote the Cub song that year all that but it was 16 eight years ago I get this mixed up with um with the capitals too because the capitals were 17 right so like I'm trying to year after year and the Nationals were 19 going into the strike so I I get years especially with the NBA and the NHL but they're sort of interchangeable for me when the Cubs won in 16 and you and I were a decade into our relationship you and I have been at this a long time we sat here and talked about those World Series games as they happened players the Orioles were sort of at the end at that point by the time they had won um you would have thought the Cubs would have had another crack right or a couple of cracks they they certainly they came in and it wouldn't be like the Orioles winning this year they're all young enough that you think all right we're gonna have more Chan this and on the back side of Kansas City where when Kansas City won 15 145 they were in the World Series San Francisco was in and out all those years you looked at mustakis you looked at ommer you looked at all those guys said oh they're close to their number and who we going to sign we going to give Hosmer the money who's the guy we're going to keep who's our gunar Henderson that's going to be our our franchise player and Peter picked Chris Davis here so and and let Machado go away so as far as bad decisions it is what it is the Cubs never won again and as I talk to these people in Chicago and the Cubs are uhoh back to being the Cubs again back to being last place back to leeia back back to we don't have the kind of prospects and Theo doesn't want to come and Joe Madden's not here we don't have Geniuses and we don't have you know big three at the top of our rotation anymore it it's really painted for me how fleeting all this can be um especially when you're competing with the Red Sox and the Yankees in our division who are always going to have resources to steal your best player if you let them um because they can afford it and the the Cubs window being so short is telling threatening frightening worrisome for this trading deadline and your philosophy of we've got a long bench and a long Runway of all these young players and if we give too much away we won't have that Runway two or three years from now and we'll be a diminished franchise on the face of it if you take three of these prospects away you take basilo away take away take away I don't know curse that cows pick anybody you want they're all they're all darts at this point right cowser looked like he was going to the Hall of Fame now it looks like you know he might be Joe sharbo for all we know right like who knows the Cubs window and how good that franchise was and where it came on and the Geniuses associated with that they won once it was fun they all got drunk they're still hung over uh Harry krey came back to life and got drunk and still hung over uh I'm just saying it happens very very quickly and that's my warning for the Orioles is saying K because I bring up Kansas City all the time they won they went back in the hole I I don't know how this is going to go and I know you deep down you don't talk much about the owner because you still have a credential uh let me do all that talking but I I think the concern is this guy's not longterm this guy hasn't even held a press conference this guy's not even live here this guy's trying to win here and now he's 74 years old he's running around like Tom penson with a with an umbrella throwing out hats telling the son how much fun he's having and all that might be more fun than sitting on squawkbox last week being asked who he's picking for president which he declined um so I would just say the Here and Now of this owner their money this team the prospects the value of the prospects and Elias knows better than anybody and Elias knows better than anybody whether he's going to be here three years from now or not and whether this is a long-term situation for him or whether he's like hey dude I get Corbin Burns right now I got three guys getting cut on four guys getting cut on throw Batista in there like we got to win now we got to win now that I mean the real urgency so I put that to you I gave you both sides I gave you you know Point Counterpoint win now oh no no no we got a long Runway we can't give these guys up because two three years now we're going to want another shot we're going to want another chance at this not we're all in right now and there's all sorts of schools of thought for you know all of these teams that think they're going to win the World Series and to your point it winds up being Texas and Arizona that nobody on July 10th of last year would have given a bag of donuts to yeah and I'm glad you made that last point because look you can say you're all in all you want you can go make six trades at the trade deadline they don't give you the World Series trophy on August 1 after you do that I mean they don't uh that doesn't mean you don't make trades that doesn't mean you don't seek out opportunities I fully expect them to add a starting pitcher I fully expect them to add some Bullpen help do I think that that we're going to be sitting here on August 5th a a week after that all you know all that dust settles and I'm going to tell you that I guarantee you they're going to win the World Series I'm not gonna say that because that's not how this works now I'll say this again there's a wide range here you can say you're not going to trade Jackson holiday Kobe Mayo Samuel baso and by the way you still have a ton of prospects you can deal they have a lot of other guys we've seen guys Connor Norby uh to your point Colton cower would be in that conversation hon kirad would be in that conversation when I say that that doesn't mean they're moving all of them the point is they have a wide net U of guys that range from generational Prospect like Jackson holiday on the way down to all the way down to Conor Norby or or guys that are at some lower levels that aren't necessarily in the daily discourse of fans talking about the system but they have guys throughout their system that are highly regarded I mean you go to the Orioles top 30 Prospect list on mlb.com and you see those guys that are ranked 8 through 20 I mean those are guys that would be Premier guys in other team systems right I mean those would be guys that that that other teams would covet and say hey all we can hope is he gives us some a guy we've never heard of right yeah and look there's probably going to be some of those guys mixed in but you know the counter to what you said about the Cubs I would also say well the Cubs made the playoffs five out of six years you know they gave themselves a six-year window where they were highly competitive right I mean they won well the Nationals could have been in three World Series and they got into one and they won right like they were good that that is the window right you were going to go into to the World Series last year yeah look it again you can't trade your way into a World Series and what I mean by that is you could do all these make all these deals and and had the Ken rosenthals and the Jeff passons of the world on August 1st praising you for all that you did and you could still lose a short Series in the divisional round I mean that's just how you're trying to trade yourself into a good game three starter that's really what what you're trying to do sure and that's why but I've also talked a lot about the bullpen and saying look I love Corbin Burns I love Grayson Rodriguez I'll take that onew punch going up against just about anyone in baseball you know I I think that's really compelling uh game three obviously is another story but there are other teams in baseball other contenders in baseball where they're not going to feel as good about their game three and game four starters I mean that's how this works and I'll say and this is why I'll come back to the bullpen how many of those game three and four starters even on rotations that you feel are deeper than the Orioles how many of those guys are going to be guys that navigate a lineup in a postseason game three times that's a you're talking about a short list of starting pitchers in this day and age we going to do that so my point is you want a guy for the sixth inning right right you better have four guys in your Bullpen that you feel really strongly about that you have conviction about where you can use them in just about any spot and yeah you're going to have your closer yeah you're going to have your primary eighth inning guy whoever that's going to be for the orios because the eighth inning right now who knows is it Jacob Webb is it yenor Canó I mean it kind of depends uh certainly not the same conviction that you had last year at this time for Yen your Canó although you know it feels like he's starting to bounce back a little bit again after some struggles but point is check my Joe flacko and to say they win a lot of games around here they don't lose a lot of games because of Y Canó yeah well and and again this kind of goes back to the the big picture the 30,000 foot look all along has been how fans and even Med media have perceived this team you know Kyle bradish made what eight starts nine starts John means made four starts Tyler Wells made three starts I mean this team's gotten to this point not because of what those guys have done it's been because of obviously Burns and Rodriguez a lot but the point is other guys have stepped up and pitched well they they've had a higher floor than anyone would have thought when it comes to both their rotation and their Bullpen but that said you need ceiling for October you need shut down Elite kind of arms coming out of the back end of that Bullpen and that's why I've said yeah a number three starter is great I I'm not disagreeing with that but at the same time you know let's not get caught up in romanticizing Jack Morris of 35 years ago understanding that those performances you don't see in October anymore I mean it's rare I mean even the best of the best are maybe going seven innings in a postseason game so you need Bullpen arms so that's why I'll continue to bang the table as that being an even bigger priority for me than number three starter number four starter in the postseason which again yes upgrade yes stabilize yes uh you want to certainly fortify this rotation for one you don't know if someone's going to tweak a hamstring trying to cover first basee or something like that I mean there's no guarantee that you're out of the woods in terms of health concerns so you certainly want to fortify but they've got depth of pitching is an issue here depth of pitching just in a general sense if you're saying what their issue is in a sentence depth of pitching here's the problem depth of pitching is an issue everywhere so the point is now other contenders and then you get into the wild card race where I mean you even mentioned the Cubs and look I don't think the Cubs are going to be buyers don't get me wrong but the Cubs are four and a half games out of the last wild card spot I mean that just speaks to how muddy the waters are in terms of okay who exactly is buying who exactly is selling that's where I think it I'll continue to come back to this and some people will listen to this and think I'm crazy I still think there's a potential for a deal that involves some major league Talent uh and it might be the Orioles deal someone from their roster in addition to some prospects to go get some pitching and I don't know that might open up everyday playing time for a Kobe Mayo or at that point you're saying okay Jackson holiday's coming back and uh you know there not that there wouldn't be at bats for him right now but the point is there are a lot of different ways this can go I I've seen numerous reports and specul and lots of speculation about someone like Tampa Bay who I'm not a believer in the ray whatsoever but you know they're still kind of sort of not out of the Wild Card race uh you we've seen some teams the last couple years even be buyers and sellers where they might sell off a couple veteran players but they might go add something else so I just stick with the Orioles with all the assets that they have and again ownership and payroll expectations and all that being the wild card here uh you know there there are there's a lot of possibilities far as far as what the Oreos could do and that's where I look at the big picture and come back to what we talked about originally which was the premium of the premium prospects and I look at someone like Kobe Mayo and say okay yeah he would be an amazing piece to to to trade for an elite pitcher that may or may not be available out there but at the same time I look at some of the guys that have been in Baltimore for four or five years now like Ayan Mount Castle for example and I think we know what Mount Castle is at this point he's up and down when he's hot you love him when when he's not hot he's batting seventh in your order as we saw the other night so that that's not a knock on him but he's also you know he's got what two more years of Club control you know do you really want to be in a position where you're trading Kobe Mayo and he could be your first baseman of the future and look he could be your first baseman of the very near future uh so I'm not saying that as jumping on the table saying You must trade Ryan mountcastle today either but the point is there are a lot of different combinations a lot of different possibilities to go out and make trades that's why you know even if you say we're not Trading holiday we're not trading bayah we're not trading Mayo that's fine you still have a dozen other guys in your system that I think would still be very appealing uh in the right combination of of you know in a trade package so you you mentioned Tampa like a lot of people say well in division they'll be if they love Conor Norby and they love a a player and they're G to get that player out of that I don't I think that's going away a little bit a little bit it should I mean it should I I've said this over and over we've talked about this a lot even talking about football where look if you have a trade partner in the division don't get me wrong I'll view that as the tiebreaker for not wanting to make a deal but if one of your division Rivals is offering up the best deal shame on you if you're not going to take it right Patrick Queen had no problem taking the Steelers money exactly well sure sure I mean that wasn't exactly what I was going for but the point you know but there's a thought would the Ravens have traded him to the Steelers they probably would have tried to trade him elsewhere in the same way roquan Smith didn't get traded to the Packers sure sure but but at the same time I if if you have a trade possibility and the Steelers offer up the best deal then I don't think you should take an inferior deal just because of that so you know there's Nuance with that I I mean I'll tell you the team that I think is way more interesting in terms of in the division what about the Toronto Blue Jays I mean look at some of those pitchers who I get it they're not all having great years but there's some guys that in recent history a pitched really really well and you know that's a team that I don't think is tearing it down entirely and going into a full rebuild but they certainly need to do some retooling so I I think well their Stars didn't make it right I mean you know their Stars haven't been what Rutman and Henderson have been yeah uh but but at the same time you know look at someone who pitched on Tuesday night now they lost out in San Francisco Tuesday but Kikuchi uh you left-handed he went seven in a third Innings struck out 13 I I mean Miss bats his season ER is four it's not tremendous but if you're looking for upside if you're looking for someone to get on a roll if you're looking for someone who has a track record you know is there a deal to be made for someone like him uh even within the division so look we could talk about 15 different teams right now the orios could potentially trade with but it's still complicated because you have so many of these teams where you just keep saying are they buyers or sellers I mean you know the the Rangers who even I had left for dead probably talking talking about them two day two or three days ago you know they've won five in a row they're still 44 and 48 they're still way back for a wild card spot I still think they probably wise to at this point they're probably wise to be sellers especially with some of the expiring contracts they have and some of the veteran players they have so but they keep winning and you know we've talked about Seattle coming back to Earth and not not being able to swing the bats I mean you know they might say hey we're not giving up on this yet so point is we still have what just under three weeks to go until the trade deadline Mike Elias is working the phones they've been working the phones they've been talking to teams well it's an important a couple weeks of baseball too a general sense for who wins and who loses the next week I mean Cubs lose a couple of games here and they win Tuesday night but if they lost some games they'd be much more capable of being a a a trading partner so watching baseball the next two or three weeks you'll get a Vibe for who's in and who's out yeah I I mean weren't the Angels the prime example of that last last July I mean think about it everyone was talking about oh okay well you know Otani is going to be a free agent you got to trade him and they say no we're not trading Sho Otani in fact we're gonna make a run at this and they went out and made Moves it was a disaster I mean they completely fell apart and they ended up losing Otani anyway and what few assets they had in their system they had traded away so you know you're going to have teams that do smart things you're going to have teams that do dumb things you're going to have teams that buy when they should should sell well you also have general managers and managers who have to win or veteran players or teams with players on contracts and saying we're more Allin right now that I mean the Red Sox fans are beating on them about like not quitting and staying in and there's pressure in a lot of those I wouldn't think Texas is one of those places because they've won um you know Houston had such an awful start and now they're in it they're just in it Kansas City's in for the first time in a long time right so you got the and teams like Milwaukee who dealt their number one dealt their Sai Young winner and they're still winning the division yeah and I mean then you have a team like the Orioles two years ago who in July they were in Wild Card contention uh even if you didn't believe they were going to do it mathematically they were absolutely in the mix and what did they do they traded Trey Mancini which was not unexpected but was unpopular at the time and they traded Jorge Lopez who even guys like me who fancy ourselves for thinking that we're a little smart about baseball we're kind of wondering about it well two years later Trey Mancini is out of baseball I mean think about that out of baseball and Jorge Lopez last time we saw him was melting down with the Mets and was an absolute Fiasco so not to say that the Orioles have an abundance of players from those two trades that are helping them immediately but yenor Canó has helped them and helped them a lot over the last calendar year and you know well we'll see about Kate Povich we'll see about Chase McDermot who uh very much could be in the mix at least as a bullpen option for them uh maybe later in the season so you know you make those trades at that point in time and was unpopular at that point in time in fact if you remember Mike Elias flew down to I think it was Arlington you know at the trade deadline to kind of talk to the team and say Hey you know this is what's Happening Here guys this isn't don't think that this is just much of the same you know we made a couple deals here couple difficult decisions here that might hurt us a little bit right now but we think we're going to be in a really really good spot in the very near future and lo and behold mik Elias was right at that point in time those trades were the Right Moves at those Point well those trades were never look backs like literally but but at the time that it didn't feel that way though right at the time it felt like man these guys have finally turned the corner and you're trading Trey Mancini and you're trading Jorge Lopez who even has some more Club control and look those ended up being the right decisions so you know know you have to you're always balancing the here and now with the big picture and again I want to see the Oriol make some moves I think they're going to make some moves I fully expect them to make some moves at the same time I think we should know by now five six years into the michelas era he's not going to burn down the farm system just to try to what would amount to incrementally marginally try to improve your chances to win in October this year there there's always a balance of right now with the big picture and look they're going to add a starting pitcher they're going to add some Bullpen arms but to your point that you made it five minutes ago you know Jack flare at the that point in time you know they were hoping that that was going to be better than that yeah you hope you do better than that at the same time the other thing you you talked about this the other day just the risk in general you can go out and acquire some starter that you feel great about and then guess what happens three starts into it his elbows sore I mean there's so much unpredictability here there is so much variance there is so much unknown and that you can't let that paralyze you uh to the point where you don't make any moves but at the same time I'll continue to say if we're talking about the Orioles still playing baseball on October 24th I'm guessing it's going to be a heck of a lot more about Corbin Burns Grayson Rodriguez Gunnar Henderson adley Rutman Jordan Westberg then players a b and c they they acquire at the trade deadline and and that's look that's that's a Captain Obvious statement when you're talking about all stars and above average talent that I just rattled off there but look who's healthy who gets hot at the right time Texas to you said it Texas and Arizona at this time last year you know maybe the Rangers to a lesser extent because the rangers they played good baseball but especially Arizona no one no one was talking about them making an October run at this time last year and you see what happened so you know there there's still way more luck way more variance involved in all this than any of us care to admit that's why first and foremost you just want to get in and anything else you want to say about the Orioles pitching and all that that's that's fine but they're going to be in the playoffs so at the very least they have that going for them and that's why I said view this trade deadline not as something that's great angst or great concern it's a great opportunity because this is already a heck of a baseball team and they have an opportunity here to make it even better and that's what's exciting Luke Jones will be at the Ballpark tonight he'll be there this weekend the Yankees in town we'll be together on Friday at fadley at the New Lex and market I'll have the Gold Rush sevens doublers to give away from the Maryland Lottery our friends at Jiffy Lube and Liberty Pure Solutions putting us out on the road the oyster tour is coming together in my mind um football season's coming together in Luke's mind uh but he's on vacation next week and we have an All-Star game coming up lots and lots of cool stuff going on at at Baltimore positive. comom as well as in our social media space I am Nester he is Luke we are wnst am570 talson Baltimore and we never stop talking Baltimore positive