More early impressions of the Orioles

The education on the 2019 Orioles is ongoing and unable to be contained in one blog entry.

What else have we learned through four games?

Manager Brandon Hyde will push his pitchers in certain situations, but not all of them.

Mychal Givens threw a career-high 49 pitches Sunday in the Bronx, but David Hess was removed last night in Toronto after 6 1/3 hitless innings and 82 pitches.

Hess threw 42 on Thursday and came back on short rest. Fast forward to later in the season and Hess stays in the game.

April 1 was too risky for Hyde, who has to look at the bigger picture and not how big it would be for a pitcher to get a no-no.

Pedro Araujo is going to be used sparingly.

The Orioles have trust issues.

Araujo basically is stashed until his Rule 5 status melts away this month and he can be optioned, whether to Double-A Bowie or Triple-A Norfolk. Hyde is trying to search for the lowest-pressure situations, though the game won't always cooperate.

For example, a six-run lead in the seventh inning last night, but with Hess no-hitting the Blue Jays. The margin reduced the level of pressure, but Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer after Araujo walked Justin Smoak.

So much for a combined no-hitter.

The bullpen was pretty fried after the Yankees series and Hyde had little choice besides pushing Hess into dangerous territory.

This isn't a rip job on Araujo. He was plucked from the Single-A Carolina League last winter and expected to get out major league hitters.

The new regime has no real attachment to Araujo. It inherited him. But it also recognizes a promising arm and wants to keep him in the organization.

The challenge is doing so at the major league level without overworking bullpen mates.

Former manager Buck Showalter pointed out how you can't hide these guys, especially in the American League East. You want to carry Rule 5 picks? Well, they have to play.

Hyde ain't scared.

Of laundry carts, pulling Chris Davis for a pinch-hitter on opening day or taking out a pitcher working on a no-hitter.

If there's a strange noise in the attic, I'm sending up Hyde.

The facial hair policy is as relaxed as the team itself.

So relaxed that it should be wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sandals and sipping a Mai Tai.

The range is impressive. We see five o'clock shadows and beards so thick that the risk of sunburn has been replaced by brushfires.

I'm used to players reporting to spring training with their beards at various stages of growth and then hustling to find a razor after taking their physicals. It's always an emotional parting. The winter look held onto for as long as possible.

No one is laying out the new rules on facial hair, but I'm assuming that it's deemed acceptable as long as woodland creatures aren't nesting.

In other words, keep it neat.

It's no longer safe to assume that a late signing or trade is done for depth reasons.

Dwight Smith Jr. is the starting left fielder for the Orioles. His status could change. But four games into the season ... Dwight Smith Jr. is the starting left fielder for the Orioles.

The Orioles acquired Smith from the Blue Jays on March 8 despite their crowded spring outfield - they didn't want any international signing bonus slots burning a hole in their pocket - and 10 paragraphs into my story I wrote the following:

"Smith provides more depth in the organization and he has one minor league option remaining."

I seem to be hinting that Smith won't make the club, but he can provide an alternative at Norfolk. Well, Smith outlasted Eric Young Jr., who was released and signed a minor league deal with the Mariners. He made the club over Austin Hays, Anthony Santander, DJ Stewart, Yusniel Diaz and others.

Don't be too quick to judge a player on the date that he arrives in camp.

Jesús Sucre is the starting catcher.

The Orioles have played four games and Sucre's been in the lineup for three of them. My math's reputation is so bad it should be a Kardashian sister, but I can calculate how Sucre has been behind the plate more than Pedro Severino.

We're working with a small sample size, but Sucre has been the primary starter. He was late reporting to camp and still got there way ahead of Severino. He has more experience. He's the better hitter despite the career .225 average.

Optioning Chance Sisco eliminated the opportunity - or chance, if you will - for a strict platoon. Sucre figures to get the majority of the at-bats unless he really begins to struggle or Sisco returns later in the summer and the club wants to take an extended look at him.

The Orioles will have to work real hard for their wins.

I present the first three as examples.