One of the more popular axioms of recent note says that two things can be true at the same time. That saying certainly gets a workout when applied to the firing of Brandon Hyde as Orioles manager.
Hyde, who has been the Orioles skipper since 2019, surviving three of the worst seasons in team history only to lead them to back-to-back postseason appearances, knew what every manager or coach knows: Unless you make the choice to leave, you will be fired.
The Birds, as constituted, have slept walked through the first two months of the season, losing 28 of 43 games heading into Saturday afternoon, when Hyde was dismissed.
They’ve alternately been blown out and suffered heartbreaking defeats. In the end, someone had to pay the price, and that ended up being Brandon Hyde.
But this much is true as well: The Orioles’ poor play wasn’t entirely Hyde’s fault. Any manager, even the new interim manager Tony Mansolino, can only succeed if the players he’s given either overperform or at the least do what they’re expected to.
The Birds are 25th among the 30 Major League teams in runs scored. They have gotten little or nothing to date from Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg and Gunnar Henderson’s production has been up and down. Brandon Hyde can hardly be blamed for that.
Now, there have been significant injuries, namely to Grayson Rodriguez, who was expected to be the ace of the staff, but has been sidelined with elbow inflammation and a muscle strain. Outfielder Colton Cowser has missed most of the season with a thumb ailment.
Though Hyde was fired after a gut wrenching 4-3 Friday night loss to the Nationals at Oriole Park, the clock likely started ticking all the way back to just before the All-Star break last July.
Then, the Orioles, who were 20 games over .500, dropped two of three games at home to the Yankees. From there, the rest of the 2024 season seemed a slog to the finish, as the Birds played just .500 baseball after the break and were swept from the postseason in the first round for a second straight year.
The beginning of this season only served to further grease the floor beneath Hyde. He wasn’t helped by the fact that the club passed on keeping two of its most important players from last year, starting pitcher Corbin Burnes and outfielder Anthony Santander.
The pair were allowed to depart as free agents, leaving cavernous holes at the top of the pitching rotation and in the middle of the lineup.
Make no mistake: By club, we mean general manager Mike Elias, whose mismanagement of the roster left Hyde practically defenseless. Elias could have helped Hyde and the Birds last year or even before this season with roster improvements, but he did virtually nothing.
In a statement, Elias took responsibility for the poor start, but no one with a brain thinks he believes that.
Well, now it is his mess and owner David Rubinstein should let the fanbase know that he is holding Mike Elias and only Mike Elias accountable for whatever the rest of the season becomes.
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on BlueSky, Threads and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Lisa Morgan, I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening and enjoy the games.
