The Warehouse provides discussion of Major League Baseball as a whole, along with detailed discussion of the Baltimore Orioles. The hosts are Dr. Stephen Loftus, Matt Kory, and Chris Stoner. The show is a part of Baltimore Sports and Life (BSL).
On this episode of The Warehouse, we discuss the Orioles who are now 50-49, and 3 games out of the Wild Card after taking 3 of 4 from the Tampa Bay Rays.
On this episode of The Warehouse, the guys discuss the latest with the Orioles, and give thoughts on how many teams are capable of winning the American League.
An overview of the first two months of the MLB season in-general, and specifically for the Orioles.
1) Ortiz and the HOF...
2) CBA update... FanGraphs: The Economic Impact of Yesterday's CBA Proposals
3) BSL's Top 50 Orioles Prospects is out... what stands out?
4) Zach Eisner wrote about the lineup... thoughts?
5) I gave 22 Thoughts about the 22 Orioles... Matt, and Stephen give their takes
The Orioles are changing the dimensions of Oriole Park
What can we expect from Mullins and Hays in '22?
The O's are poised to make a couple of larger International signings...
Hypothetical HOF Ballot
MLB.com has an article on every team's greatest player... our thoughts..
Why 2022 is a crucial year for MLB's future
Reviewing a recent MASN article which debated the dates of expected Orioles debuts in '22
Projecting the Orioles rotation with existing options only
Looking at the Top 10 remaining MLB Free Agents and their Projected Contracts
The MLB Hall of Fame
The CBA Dispute
The Hot Stove Action Around MLB
Thoughts on the Orioles acquisition of Lyles, and what other 1 year deals are available
1) Boras: Braves WS title a result of tanking in MLB
2) Gold Glove winners
3) Other MLB Awards
4) AL East Stories of Interest
5) Hunter Harvey claimed on Waivers
6) MASN article... Says the O's are not willing to offer multiple guaranteed years
Congrats to Atlanta...
Primary questions facing the Braves this offseason?
Atlanta of course won their title by vanquishing the Astros... primary questions for Houston?
Buster Posey is retiring.... HOF?
- CBS has their list of the Top 50 Free Agents...
- ESPN has their initial 2022 Power Rankings out...
Houston and Atlanta are tied at 1 game each, who wins the 2021 World Series?
Houston eliminated Boston, Atlanta eliminated LA.... what does the offseason look like for the Red Sox, and Dodgers?
- MASN's Steve Melewski has suggested several FA Starting pitchers here and here. Brett Anderson, Tyler Anderson, Alex Cobb, JA Happ, Rich Hill, Kwang-Hyun Kim.
- The Ringer: MLB Just Tried a Bunch of Experimental Rules in the Minors. How Well Did They Work? Takeaways?
- The NBA wants an in-season tournament. Could we see this in MLB?
ALCS
NLCS
- Of the eliminated playoff teams so far... who do you think has the most questions going into the off-season?
Of the eliminated playoff teams so far... who do you think is best positioned for another run next year?
Some Orioles talk...
On this episode of The Warehouse, we discuss the MLB playoffs so far, and preview the American League and National League Championship Series.
1) The Yankees have won 7 of 8, and are currently the #1 WC in the AL. Pending results tonight, Boston is the 2nd WC, currently a 1/2 game up on Seattle, and 1 up on Toronto. Do you like this format better vs. the expanded field which existed last year?
2) St. Louis has won 17 of 18, and they will be in the post-season as the NL's 2nd Wild Card. Quite the run for the Cardinals. What do you feel about their post-season prospects?
3) Atlanta has won their last 5, and 9 of 10, now 4.5 games up on Philly. What do you currently like and question about the Braves?
4) The Brewers Devin Williams fractured his pitching hand after punching a wall, and obvious blow for Milwaukee. The Brewers have won 95 games. How surprised would you be to see them represent the NL?
5) Matt Snyder at CBS Sports gave his Top 10 MVP Ballots for both leagues....of the 20 players mentioned, rank the guys 5-1 you'd choose to build around over the next 3 years
6) The post season begins Tuesday. Which 4 teams reach the LCSeries'. Who wins it all?
Updating Mountcastle's ROY chances
Brandon Hyde on Santander
Hyde has been extended through '22
AL Wild Card Race
NL Wild Cards, San Diego appears done
The NL MVP is who?
Toronto / NY / Boston are all 8 GB of Tampa in the East... all tied for the WC positions, with Oakland 3.5GB, and Seattle 4. Current thoughts on the AL WC race?
Who do you like better out of the White Sox and Astros?
Tampa Bay leads the Majors in run scored. Talk about the efficiency of their roster construction.
In the National League, St. Louis has won 5 in a row, and is now a game up on San Diego for the 2nd Wild Card, with Cincinnati only 1.5 GB. Who do you see reaching the post-season there?
What do you think MLB fans should be aware with the coming CBA negotiations? Or what interests you the most?
We've talked about potential short-term acquisitions the Orioles could target this off-season. (Michael Pineda, Zach Davies, Carlos Martinez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Simmons, Syndergaard, Alex Wood.)
Give me a trade target or two. You'd have on your radar.
Who's the most talented player on the Orioles current roster?
Mike Baumann made his ML debut Tuesday and got the win. Baumann joined other 'Group of '10' starters Zac Lowther, Keegan Akin, and Alex Wells on the current ML roster.
Set the over / under on how many Group of 10 arms are on the ML roster to begin '22? Do you think it's fair to say '20 impacted development of some of them, or is that a crutch?
Group of 10: Akin / Kremer / Baumann / Lowther / Zimmermann / Wells / Bradish / Smith / Rom / Knight
If the Orioles won't pursue any of the stars, would you advocate for Simmons over Mateo, or the O's pursuing a blocked prospect elsewhere?
Project the contracts... Michael Pineda, Zach Davies, Carlos Martinez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Simmons, Syndergaard, Alex Wood
Tampa Bay continues to lead the AL East. Boston is the 1st Wild Card. New York has lost 5 straight, and Toronto has won 7 in a row to pull within a 1.5 of the Yankees. Seattle and Oakland, are also within 3 games of NY. Do the Yanks hold on, or get overtaken?
If the Dodgers don't overtake the Giants in the AL West, they will be one of the Wild Cards. San Diego is currently the 2nd WC, with the Reds 1 GB, and the Phillies, Cards, and Mets within 4.5 games. Who gets the 2nd WC in the National League?
Again, what's the cutoff on how many teams you believe can win the World Series?
Article at PressBox: Time For Orioles To Walk And Chew Gum At Same Time... Thoughts?
Potential Free Agents on 1,2 year deals... who interests you?
Are there options you see as viable trade targets? Maybe guys with contracts that their existing teams would like to get out of.
Maybe prospects that are blocked. Starting Pitching, a Reliever, SS and 3rd would seem to be logical positions to look at.
MLB MVP Races... your current choices?
NL CY Young?
AL CY?
We've entered September... how many teams do you believe can win the WS?
- Elias on Hyde and the rebuild
- Dan Connolly / The Athletic on the O's MiL pitching
Updated system rankings... FanGraphs has the Orioles 1st, Baseball America 2nd...
Reset the divisions....
Updated AL East thoughts?
We weren't overly complimentary of the Phillies last week, and they've responded with an 8 game winning streak (entering today), and took the lead in the NL East... what's propelling them currently?
Cincinnati has been hot, and has closed the gap on Milwaukee some in the Central. Do you see that race getting closer?
As we expected, Rutschman has been promoted to AAA... should Rodriguez be joining him?
The Orioles were able to grab Jorge Mateo off of waivers... a bit better of a prospect than the typical waiver wire options...
Ryan Mountcastle had to go on the IL with a concussion... where does he rank in the AL ROY race for you?
Recapping the trade deadline...
The Orioles only moved Galvis, thoughts?
The Yankees were active...
The Cubs moved on...
Last week we looked at the American League... let's reset the National League coming out of the Deadline...
The Mets lead the NL East, with Philly and Atlanta both within 3.5 games. How do you see this playing out?
Despite Jackie Bradley Jr being horrible, Milwaukee has a commanding lead in the Central, and are 21 games over .500 entering tonight. Educate us on the Brewers, what should we know?
I think we thought going into the year SF could be improved, but not in a position to compete with LA and SD. The Giants enter tonight leading the West.
Big year for Gausman, Wood, Posey, Crawford... fun year for the Giants...
LA... Trevor Bauer was replaced by Scherzer... ohh, and they also got Trea Turner. Dodgers might not get the 110 wins I thought was possible to begin the year, but remain extremely formidable. Are they your current favorite to win the Series?
SD... another fun year for the Padres, but they missed out on their attempt to land Scherzer, and most importantly it's not clear if Tatis will avoid surgery. Other issues - Snell, Ha-Seong Kim.
Circling back to the Orioles...
Topics Discussed:
Boston continues to lead the East... Sale working back...
Tampa Bay is 20 games over .500, just behind Boston. They added Cruz, and moved Hill. Do you like the Rays to catch the Red Sox?
NY looks lost 9.5 games back.... Toronto is 10.5 GB, but has outscored the opposition by 85 runs. Both teams within 4.5 of the 2nd WC. Will the East get a 3rd team to the Playoffs?
Chicago is in command of the Central, and their additions to the roster right now are internal. 4th overall in runs, 2nd in on-base %, 8th overall in ERA. Thoughts on the White Sox?
Four teams in the West at .500 or above. Houston 21 games over. Astros have outscored the opposition by 141 runs. 1st in runs, 1st in on-base, 5th in slugging. 9th in ERA. McCullers, Valdez, Garcia having quality years in the rotation. What should Houston be looking to accomplish before the deadline?
Orioles:
Possible moves... Fry, Sulser, Galvis, Mancini Deadline is Friday at 4pm... who will be moved?
Rutschman has more walks than k's in the Eastern League. Time to move up to AAA?
- O's Top 50 Prospects via On The Verge... what stands out?
Thoughts on them?
General thoughts on the Orioles draft process?
It's the end of July, and the trade deadline is nearing. Will Mancini be moved? If you were moving him, where would make sense?
We're a week past the All-Star game were Cedric Mullins started in CF for the American League. We spent an earlier pod talking about him having starter value if he was a .750 OPS guy with GG / plus defense in Center. He's carrying a +.900 OPS after 90 games. League wide, where does rank surprise wise? Are we now believers?
Santander had a .890 OPS over 153 ab's last year, and has a .656 mark after 219 ab's this year. He's got big power, low on-base ability, and seems adequate to slightly better in the OF. Importance of the remainder of the season for him?
- Put together a plan for the off-season... what would be your key / primary moves? What are you trying to accomplish?
Topics Discussed:
ESPN / Kurkijan: How the 'K' became the most destructive letter in Major League Baseball Agree / Disagree?
The Athletics are considering (with MLB support) leaving Oakland. Your thoughts on Expansion, Realignment, Restructuring?
- CBS Sports: Six problems with how Tony La Russa handled the Yermín Mercedes situation
- Thoughts on Ohtani and Trout (Trout out for 6-8 weeks)?
Thoughts on the White Sox, and Cardinals?
Kiley McDaniel's May 11th Mock had the Orioles selecting Henry Davis, C, Louisville. Who is Stephen currently projecting?
Means throws a no-no!
The Orioles are roughly 20% through their '21 season. What stands out to you?
Mountcastle struggled mightily in April... has come to life over the last week. Current thoughts?
Kremer struggled over his initial 4 starts, before turning in his best outing of the year Monday at Seattle? Too many homers, too many walks. K's good. Current thoughts?
Cedric Mullins continues to be hot... becoming more interesting to you?
Who do you see as most likely to be traded out of Means, Mancini, Scott, and Santander?
The Minor Leagues are finally back.... Baumann is not on a full season roster (hope is he'll be pitching by month end)... and Rodriguez is starting at A vs. AA. What will you be paying attention to MiL wise?
Stephen... update the ML Draft... as of today, you project the Baltimore Orioles to select who?
Let's update the American League...
John Means is performing well... which means some Oriole fans are concerned he'll be traded... under control through '24. Current thoughts?
Hays returned from his injury. Santander is out 2-4 weeks with an ankle injury. Ryan McKenna was brought back up. Stewart benefits in the immediate?
Time to cut bait with Ruiz and promote Jones to take over 2nd?
Thoughts on Lopez and M. Harvey? Lopez excellent his last time off, showed off the talent. No real reason to believe in his ability to be a consistent starter... Harvey looks fairly similar to what he was in '18
- Some guy wrote this... where do you agree / disagree?
The Orioles have a 3 game set with Oakland this weekend.. impressions on the A's so far? 12-7 after starting 0-6.
As of Thursday night, there are 5 teams in the American League with a positive run differential... offense has been slow overall so far.. Boston leading the East, KC in the Central, Oakland in the West. Initial AL impressions?
In the National League, we we were treated to LA / SD Round 1 this past weekend... Dodgers are 14-4 entering Thursday night... Milwaukee leading the Central... Mets have played just 13 games so far... Philly surprising... Initial NL impressions?
First time + through the rotation, thoughts?
It did not take long for Hays to end up on the IL. Doesn't matter how talented you might be, if you can't stay in the lineup...
Mullins has started the year on fire...
O's pen... we've spent lots of time talking Tate and Scott.... how about thoughts on Valdez, and Plutko?
Both Rule 5's (Mac Sceroler, and Tyler Wells) have seen action already...
Ruiz has acquitted himself well defensively at 2nd...
Stephen recaps his article updating the draft...
Topics Discussed:
Who wins the AL West, general division thoughts
Who wins the NL East, general division thoughts
AL East preview
Akin is not breaking camp with the O's
Zimmermann starting the year in the rotation
Power Rank the Group of 7
Both Rule 5 picks have made the OD roster
Sanchez was DFA'd... 2nd base?
O's building a state of the art facility in the DR
OD Roster and Expectations..
Who can join the ML roster this year?
Things to Watch in '21...
Final Picks
RoY, CY, MVP by league
Playoff picks by league
World Series Champs?
Orioles win how many games?
Article at The Ringer on moving back the mound
Article at ESPN on Major League Baseball to deploy several experimental rules in minor leagues this season
- NL West Division Overview: How do you handicap the division? 5 favorite players in the division? Which individual do you like to breakout?
- Maikel Franco
Hunter Harvey has an oblique injury... potential roster impact
Where does Zimmermann fit in?
What would be your current lineup?
Our colleague Nick Stevens has a notes column up - Spring Training Questions To Ponder.
Matt also has a notes article, where he mentioned the passing of former Orioles Manager Joe Altobeli.
A few weeks ago Stephen debuted the 2021 Draft Model. Early thoughts on who could be in play for the Orioles with their initial selection?
We didn't get into it last week, but Matt wrote about the Trey Mancini situation.
General MLB:
NL Central Division Overview: How do you handicap the division? 5 favorite players in the division? Which individual do you like to breakout?
AL Central Division Overview: Same questions.
Adam Jones commented in an article with The Sun, that when his playing career ends in Japan, he could be interested in Managing the Orioles.
This led to discussion at the board regarding Jones leaving before the '19 season. Did Jones have any place on a rebuilding team?
- Thoughts on the Orioles bullpen? How would you build it? What do you like? What do you question?
- Seattle Mariners CEO Kevin Mather resigns
- 10 Crucial Positional Battles for Contending Teams - Which interests you the most?
The big news in baseball... the Tatis contract...
Best landing spot for Bradley Jr?
Who are the winners and losers of the off-season?
Matt's article on the Orioles defense...
- New colleague Cale Cox gave some thoughts on Scouting...
Detroit is said to be toying with the idea of a 6 man rotation... should the O's consider this?
The Orioles have taken flyers on Felix Hernandez and Matt Harvey. Who interests you more?
The Orioles starting 9 to begin '21 figures to be
C: Severino / Sisco
1st: Mancini
2nd: Sanchez
SS: Galvis
3rd: Ruiz
LF: Mountcastle
CF: Hays
RF: Santander
DH: Stewart
Over / Under on these players who individually hit 12 or more homers?
Over / Under on these players who individually have an OPS over .725?
We welcome Dr. Stephen Loftus as our new Co-Host...
We know the Orioles aren't competing in '21... what are we looking to see accomplished?
Where are the Orioles in their rebuilding process?
In a previous article, I reviewed Astroball with my takeaways. what stands out in-terms of extrapolating to the Orioles?
The rich get richer... Bauer to the Dodgers. Thoughts on the NL West race between LA and SD
- MLB and the Players Association have set the 2021 protocols...
- FanGraphs article on their takeaways from their Playoff odds...
- Matt's article on other external options
- Gary Armida's article on the East
The Orioles signed Freddy Galvis, addressing SS
Heyman reports Atlanta is interested in Mancini
Orioles finances...
HOF Voting
Yankees addition of Taillon
Jays addition of Semien
Remembering Hank Aaron
A CBS Sports article on what we know and don't know about the 2021 MLB Season
Springer signing with the Jays
Matt's article on Santander
Takeaways from my pod with Alex Fast last week
Topics tonight...
- A Jonathan Villar reunion?
- Taking a look at fastball spin rate
- Inbox: What to expect from young O's in '21
- Matt Kremnitzer: What’s The Next Step For Orioles OF Anthony Santander?
- CBS Sports: MLB hot stove: Sizing up National League landscape as Mets, Padres join Dodgers, Braves in top tier
Nick Stevens' article on the Orioles starting pitching
Matt Kory's article on Brandon Hyde
Zach Spedden's articles on ETAs for Oriole prospects...
The San Diego Padres additions of Snell and Darvish
The Mets / Cleveland trade today
MLB adds Negro Leagues to the official records
Cleveland will be changing their name from Indians
Dombrowski taking over the Phillies
2021 HOF Ballott
Major League Baseball, union at odds on whether start of 2021 season should be delayed
Discussion on Chris Stoner's most recent article on the Orioles
Discussed Iglesias and Alberto.
Non-Tenders of interest?
Reaction to an Orioles.com article on the 5 best offensive seasons by an Oriole ever.
Reaction to a MASN article / interview with MLB Pipeline
Reaction to Bob Phelan's article on MiL Projections
Discussion on Matt and Bob Harkins AL and NL overviews.
The storylines which will dominate the off-season in MLB
Looking at the Top Free Agents, and possible Trade Candidates
Review of the finalists for the 2020 Awards
Review of the World Series so far...
Previewing Game 4, and the remainder of the series
Gold Glove Finalists Revealed
Pitching and development in '21
A look at Matt's recent article on what the Orioles can learn from the Rays
Off-season storylines of interest?
AL & NL Championship Series Updates...
Does the World Series Champ deserve an asterisk?
The White Sox are interviewing La Russa
Billy Beane possibly out of baseball....
Boston is looking for a Manager....
RIP Whitey Ford and Joe Morgan
Should the Orioles make an effort with Korean SS Ha-seong Kim?
Our final thoughts on the '20 rule changes....
Looking at the AL and NL Playoffs...
Some Orioles thoughts to wrap up '20, and as we begin to look ahead to '21
RIP Tom Seaver
Trade Deadline thoughts...
Power Rankings, Top 5 teams...
Igleisas, option will be picked up?
Means 2020 struggles....
Severino and Sisco are mashing....
Kremer time?
Started with talk on the Orioles statement...
What should MLB be doing?
Half-way point has been reached for the Orioles.... Trading Deadline nears...
- Reaction to ESPN's Power Rankings, CBS Sports's One Month Awards...
Updates on each of the division races....
Should the Orioles be buyers?
What's up with Mountcastle?
The O's are hot, exceeding expectations...
What's sustainable?
What's not?
Reaction to Gary Armida's article... what's the core going forward?
Bob and Matt's MLB Stories of the Week.
Trading deadline coming up... if the O's continue to exceed expectations, will they buy or sell?
Early thoughts on the rule changes we've seen...
A look at the AL East
Orioles / Short Sample Size talk...
Discussed the expanded MLB Playoffs
Will Toronto play their home games in Baltimore?
Gave our projected orders for the NL Central, AL West, and NL West...
Looked at the Betts extension
Orioles general talk...
Gave our picks for the World SEries, MVP, CY, and ROY
We looked at the AL Central....
ESPN picked All Star rosters... we gave general thoughts on those projections...
The Ringer looked at Strikeouts in the game... we discussed.
Puig to Atlanta after the Oriole rumors...
Some Orioles talk... Matt's article on Nunez, Ruiz, Alberto.... Santander's return...
- Caught-up on forgotten story-lines... Sign-stealing, Mookie Betts trade, Free Agent deals of note...
Discussion on the juiced ball...
Who is best positioned for a Cinderella run?
Thoughts on the NL East...
Frank Robinson on the MVP Trophy?
Manfred's latest comments...
Players who have opted out...
Favorite players to follow...
3 batter rule for relievers, and robo umps...
And we looked at the AL East
Baseball is back!?
We talked some last week about the universal DH, briefly mentioned the expanded rosters, and geographical play. Got the extra inning rule, how do we feel there?
Season is going to look differently vs anything we've seen. 3 of us might be traditional fans, but there is novelty... embrace the weird?
- ESPN article on how wild a 60 game season might look... takeaways here?
In a 162 game season, if the O's were projected to win 60 games... that's a .370 clip. .370 ball over 60 games is 22 wins. Is that the appropriate over / under? As mentioned last week, Miami and the Orioles are the only two 'bad' teams in the two East divisions.
One way for baseball to recoup some of the lost revenue this year, would be expansion. Discussion on expansion and realignment.
MLB negotiations. General frustration, ramifications.
Ramifications continued... if there is a season x, if there is not a season y. Potential for wide range of results if there is a short-season.
Universal DH, expanded playoffs, regional play (East vs. East, Central vs. Central, West vs. West)... prelude to larger changes to the game?
Orioles Draft Talk.
Some background on Bob and Matt.
What will and should the MLB do with starting the season and will there be any long term ramifications?
We also talked about the treatment of the minor league players and touched on the draft.
In our first episode we go over our general expectations for the Orioles, takeaways from Spring Training, Should the Orioles still add a player or 2 and of course we have to talk about Chris Davis' 25 pounds of muscle
We can't wait to talk about the Baltimore Orioles. Subscribe now to get ready and keep visiting Baltimore Sports and Life whiles you wait. Talk to you soon