Go The Distance O’s

BY KEVIN KERNAN

You are 40 years old. You are a devout Orioles fan.

The Orioles have never won a World Series in your lifetime.

So, you really are not particularly excited about the Orioles big offseason pitching acquisition, a one-year deal to dinosaur Charlie Morton after losing short-term ace Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks.

There are so many embarrassing teams in baseball but here at BallNine, the Orioles really irritate me because they should be doing so much more. Teams like the sad sack Pirates are never going to try to win under their ownership and spend big money; they are a lost cause even with Paul Skenes. But the Orioles should be trying to do more. The Orioles have young talent, but ownership and the GM are failing them once again.

In Field of Dreams, the Voice famously implored: “Go the distance.’’

The Orioles are doing the opposite, despite all their young talent, which was acquired under Mike Elias because the Orioles stunk for years, and former GM Dan Duquette did not leave the cupboard bare, new ownership has pretty much tapped out on the free agent market. They are not going the distance. They are taking the easy way out. They are not putting it all on the line as of yet under new owner David Rubenstein – who is worth about $4 billion. Elias needs to demand more from ownership during this window of opportunity.

Now, there is talk the Orioles could trade for Dylan Cease if the Padres sign Japanese gunslinger Roki Sasaki, but spend some money Orioles on free agents, especially since the Orioles are allowing free agent Anthony Santander and his 44 home runs to fly away.

In essence, the Orioles have once again handed the AL East to the Yankees, who lost Juan Soto to the Mets and spent their money elsewhere. The Yankees got a former Braves pitcher too through free agency, lefty Max Fried for $218 million.

Baseball people, rightfully, are baffled by the Orioles lack of spending.

Do not waste this young talent.

“To me they needed to fill those big shoes with Corbin Burnes leaving,’’ one top talent evaluator told BallNine on Sunday. He then flat out called the Orioles “cheap.’’

Do not waste this young talent.

“It’s been a long time since they’ve won. They were pretty good in the mid to late ‘90s and they had their little run when Buck Showalter was there,’’ the longtime evaluator said. “And I know they like their kids, but you are losing Santander – that’s 44 home runs – and not every one of your kids are going to hit like they have hit. You’ve been pretty lucky so far.’’

The AL East will always be difficult because, for all their issues, the Yankees still have a monster payroll and major talent led by Aaron Judge.

The Yankees always make it a Big Dog Division.

“No doubt,’’ the scout said.” And Boston definitely got better. You bring in Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler and they have some really good talent there.’’

It’s no longer convenient for Orioles fans to just blame it on former owner Peter Angelos. Cracks appeared in the lineup last year with catcher Adley Rutschman hitting .250 and of course there was the disastrous signing of free agent Craig Kimbrel, another pitcher on the downside that Elias gambled on – and when Kimbrel was signed at the Winter Meetings Elias said, “he still has a lot left in the tank.’’

The tank was empty the second half of the season with Kimbrel posting an 11.50 ERA after July 11 over 19 appearances before he was sent away.

Young Jackson Holliday hit only .189. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson batted .281 and hit 37 home runs, but he can’t do it all.

The Orioles did sign outfielder Tyler O’Neill to a three-year $49.5 million contract but that is too little of an investment in this division and the muscular O’Neill needs to find a way to stay on the field. Then there is stopgap Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano. Oh, and, drum roll please, they added catcher Gary Sanchez, not exactly an awe-inspiring off season for Mike Elias. Sugano is 35. Morton is 41.

Elias still believes in the veteran pitchers having a lot left in the tank. There are bullpen question marks too.

That 40-year-old Orioles fans must be wondering if the Orioles will ever win a World Series in their lifetimes. The Orioles last won a World Series in 1983. Joe Altobelli was the manager. Superstars and future Hall of Famers Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray carried that team offensively. Cal batted .318 with a .371 on base percentage and a .517 slugging percentage and here is the best part, he had 726 plate appearances with 211 hits, scored 121 runs and drove in 102 while lashing 27 home runs. Murray hit .306 with a .393 on base percentage and a .538 slug with 33 home runs.

Jim Palmer, 37, was still on the staff and won five games, four Orioles pitchers finished with double-figure wins, back when wins were important to starting pitchers. Scott McGregor led with 18, Mike Boddicker added 16 wins to go along with his 2.77 ERA, Storm Davis won 13 and Mike Flanagan chipped in with 12 victories. The Orioles of long ago beat the Phillies four games to one and Palmer came on in relief in Game 3 to get the win, as Altobelli used 10 different starting pitchers that season to share the load, his first year as manager, replacing Orioles icon Earl Weaver. That season marked the Orioles’ 30th year in Memorial Stadium, also now just a memory.

This season will mark the 34^th season the Orioles will play in Camden Yards, a classic ballpark, never having won a World Championship. They have made the playoffs the last two years. But then quickly disappeared in the intense pressure of the postseason.

In 2023 the Orioles were swept away by the Rangers in the ALDS and last October the Royals stunned the Orioles, winning the wild card 2-0 at Camden Yards. That’s five postseason losses the last two years and zero wins. And now the Orioles seem to be a weaker team, and ownership is not stepping up to the plate.

You would think that 0-5 postseason mark would motivate the Orioles to spend some of the cash they are raking in as they drew nearly 2.3 million fans last season. In 1983 when they last won the World Series, they drew two million fans.

During the Star-Spangled Banner, Orioles fans are famous for screaming “Ohhhh!!!’’

Turns out that stands for the number of postseason victories, not only the last two years but there is deeper meaning to that Ohhhh!!!

That represents the number of Orioles postseason victories over the last 12 years. The Orioles are Ohhhh and 10 in the postseason over that span.

Orioles fans deserve to be treated in a much better manner by the ownership of the team that is raking in the money in Baltimore. The Ravens are back in the playoffs again, so the Orioles must keep up with their Baltimore sports brethren. This cannot be a one-way street.

The NFL regular season came to a close Sunday, and it is on to the playoffs, which means we are that much closer to spring training. Brandon Hyde is an excellent manager, he has a feel for the game and can also put up with the over-abundance of Nerds that populate every team’s front office, you know, the ones who think Kimbrel has a lot left in the tank. Brandon Hyde deserves better too. He has helped mold the young Orioles players and he needs a talent boost to get to the next playoff level, a level where the Orioles actually win some games in October.

You can only sell hope for so long. Sooner or later there has to be Victory. That does not mean the Orioles have to finally win a World Series for the first time since 1983 to be a success, but it does mean they have to bring it in the big leagues now. Getting to the World Series pays huge dividends for a franchise for years to come. But you just cannot wish your way there. Give the Dodgers credit for winning a World Series and keeping their foot on the gas, they want to make this era the best era of Dodger Baseball ever.

Dodger fans are living the life right now. They have it all, a Hollywood Show every night and into October. Other billionaires need to take notice – and when you are lucky enough to have tremendous young talent coming through the pipeline, you must make the most of that talent by spending money to bring in veteran talent, too.

“The Orioles have a lot of prospects they can trade,’’ the talent evaluator said.

The Orioles have to get away from trying to catch one-year pitching lightning in a bottle. Acquiring Cease is like the deal for Burnes. They have some promising arms on their roster, but they don’t have two studs like Gerrit Cole and Max Fried. The Yankees spent $542 million for those two arms. As much as Yankee fans criticize Hal Steinbrenner, he is spending money to make more money.

That is how it works in the AL East. That is how it works in baseball nearly every year.

Unfortunately, there are too many teams like the Orioles, teams unwilling to “Go the distance.’’

For Orioles fans, since 1983, that sure is a lot of “Ohhh!!!’