Mailbag leftovers for breakfast

The penultimate road trip of the season concludes later today in Detroit, which limits my usage of the word "penultimate." At least until the next-to-last regular season game.

The Orioles are off Monday and host the Giants and Tigers before wrapping up the regular season in the Bronx and Minnesota.

Those last six games could be meaningful. Don’t you think?

The roster will keep changing as more injured players return. Well, more players will return from the injured list. Phrasing!

Here are some mailbag extras that were stuck at the bottom of the bag. My tube of hair gel leaked. I have no idea how it got in there, so hopefully that isn't one of your questions.

Feel free to ask about other stuff, except whether I did much editing. You already know. And thanks for reading while also dodging pieces of the sky that’s falling.

Does believing that the O’s are going to win the World Series make me wise beyond my years or stupidly optimistic?
Neither, actually, but more toward the former. There isn’t a dominant team in baseball. It’s laughable. It’s a parity parody. The Orioles have been in first place or within reach of it and they’re below .500 since the break, and the primary issue is the offense, or lack thereof. We’ve seen games with short starts and bullpen implosions, but the lack of hitting is No. 1. Not having a baserunner for seven innings or a hit for 8 2/3 in a 1-0 game is disturbing. But roster upgrades are coming and I don’t think there’s another team that can say the same to this extreme. My question is whether they’ll be sharp right out of the chute. That’s a must.  If the Orioles must settle for a wild card, that’s still a chance to roll the dice. And must I remind you that wild card teams can reach the World Series and win it?

Chances of retaining James McCann?
This will be one of the more interesting decisions in the offseason. The Orioles need a veteran catcher to back up Adley Rutschman and they aren’t hard to find in major league and minor league free agency. They love McCann. He loves playing for the Orioles. Depending on what he’s seeking in his next contract, I’d say it’s certainly possible that he returns while Samuel Basallo continues his development in Triple-A.

With Gunnar Henderson having defensive issues at shortstop and Jackson Holliday having hitting problems while playing out of position, do you think there's any consideration by the O's to move Gunnar to third, Holliday to short and Jordan Westburg to second next season?
Let me begin by saying that I had no idea until spring training that Henderson would be the everyday shortstop. The Orioles kept it quiet from the media. And because of it, Holliday became a second baseman who dabbled at short. That said, the Orioles seem committed to Henderson at short. He was spectacular until falling into a fielding slump that comes from being too aggressive on some balls. The tendency to throw across his body while on the move rather than setting his feet also has led to some errors. But I expect him to stay at short and Holliday to be the primary second baseman and Westburg to be the primary third baseman. Add Ryan Mountcastle at first and you’ve got an infield with four shortstops. Yes, Mountcastle was drafted as a shortstop. How soon we forget.

At the beginning of the season, how do you and Steve decide which cities you miss? Are they the same each season except for Toronto?
Much of it is based on certain cities – and yes, Toronto is one – that we just always do. I take New York, Boston and St. Petersburg but certainly can back away if he wants one of them. The rest usually comes down to how the schedule is laid out with multi-city trips. For example, if it’s Boston and Detroit I’m taking Boston unless Steve says he wants it. He didn’t. A Houston-Cleveland trip can be a toss-up. We also look at the number of trips per month to make certain that one of us isn’t doing too many in a row, especially on the West Coast. Dodgers-Rockies would have been a toss-up except that the wife had friends in Denver and came with me. Her dad lives in Seattle, so I took Mariners and Athletics. It just seems to work out.

How’s Connor Norby doing?
Why do you ask? OK, OK. He was batting .273/.316/.557 in his first 22 games with the Marlins, with seven doubles, six home runs and 15 RBIs. He also struck out 30 times. He was 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts in his last four games before yesterday.

How many wins between now and the end of the season? Will that get the O's into the playoffs?
The Orioles are in the playoffs. This is about seeding. This is a team that’s gotten way too comfortable around .500 and there are 13 games left, so 7-6 or 6-7 if the trend continues. Getting back players from the IL could tip it more toward the winning side. But that’s just it, the season is so unpredictable. The Orioles could go on a crazy run. That’s why they play the games.

Why the severe offensive slump in the last few months? Injured list personnel losses? Poor batting approaches due to coaching and/or front office statistical input? Temporary bad luck? Youthful inexperience in some cases? Group-psychology mood/attitude stuff that feeds on itself? Pressing making things worse? Some or all of the above?
You hit on many key points here. The coaching/front office statistical input was in place in 2023 and the Orioles won 101 games and the division, and they were 57-33 on July 7 this season. Seemed to be working just fine. Injuries are a huge factor in the decline, but also bad slumps from players who stayed on the active roster. Jackson Holliday is extremely talented and mature but also only 20 and still learning major league pitching. It was a big ask for him to fully replace Jordan Westburg and now Ramón Urías, who surprisingly became their hottest hitter before the ankle sprain. Colton Cowser is the frontrunner for American League Rookie of the Year but he’s ridden the roller coaster. Adley Rutschman probably is more banged up than he’ll admit. He hasn’t been the same hitter in the second half. Gunnar Henderson had a power outage after the break. Ryan O’Hearn is slumping. Cedric Mullins finally got hot but it took a while. Guys absolutely are pressing and getting away from the recommended offensive approach. It’s never just one thing.

Is there still an NFL team in Minnesota?
The last time I checked. How it does after starting 1-0 is on Darn-hold.

I see what you did there.
That’s not a question.

How's Heston Kjerstad's rehab going? Should we expect to see him playing for the O's this year?
Two questions and only one that I can answer. Very well. I don’t know whether he gets back on the active roster or on the playoff roster. The Orioles can carry only 26 players in the postseason. And keep in mind that he was optioned prior to the Orioles rescinding it and putting him back on the concussion injured list. He wasn’t on the active roster.

Which minor league players will the O's send to the fall league, and how do they decide?
Those names will be shared soon. I’ve only heard pitcher Tyler Burch. It can be players who are coming back from injury and need the innings or at-bats. It can give prospects a chance to play more. It can be players that the Orioles want to further evaluate and decide whether to protect in the Rule 5 draft. Lots of things.

Where’s the Trevor Rogers trade fall on the “Glenn Davis trade to the Chris Davis contract spectrum” of worst O’s moves ever?
It’s way, way, way too early to make any declarations. Rogers made four starts with the Orioles. Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers are trying to become established major leaguers. They aren’t there yet. So how can we grade this trade? I’ll say that the right-handed hitting Norby would really help at second base, but the Orioles didn’t know that they were about to lose Jordan Westburg. The Orioles need starters in 2025 with John Means a free agent and Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells also recovering from elbow surgeries. The Rogers trade also was made with an eye on next season. Let’s find out what the Orioles’ pitching program can do for him.

How much do you expect Corbin Burnes to get in free agency?
Seven years and in excess of $200 million. And no, I don't think the Orioles sign him.

The Dominican Summer League Orange Orioles are 38-18, the DSL Black Orioles are 26-29. I'm curious if there's any rhyme or reason behind which players are placed on which team. Is it fairly random? Or is the Orange team supposed to be the "A" team and the Black team is the "B" team?
Two teams exist due to the number of players able to fill two rosters. But it got confusing when orange became the new black.

Should I buy jeans with holes for $150 or buy a pair of jeans from Goodwill for $3 and make my own holes?
Make your own holes and your own kind of music. Sing your own special song. And understand when I say that this is a good place to stop.