Craig Albernaz and the Baltimore Orioles should part ways at the end of the season. Yes, it’s been one year. I’m not a “pull the rug out from underneath someone” kinda guy. People deserve a chance. Then again, I’ve excelled at my job and been dropped for lesser reasons. Plain and simple, Albernaz just isn’t the guy to lead this team to the promised land. It’s clear that this core needs a hybrid leader with an “it factor” and a veteran presence that can encourage, but also hold players accountable.

These Orioles don’t need a clubhouse guy running the team. They don’t need a guy laughing and throwing seeds at a player during a game that is heading south. Adley may be gone, but we all remember that moment.

I gave it 140-plus games before even trying to put this into words – and I’m still struggling after watching the back-to-back brutal losses to the Rockies in Colorado – a series that is surely to finally do the Orioles in this season.

This is an analytics age – a data age. It’s all about AI. I’ve always been a stats guy, but there has to be instincts and non-robotic decisions also made when it comes to baseball. It’s all about finding the balance of old school mentality and new school metrics.

I continue to see the exact opposite from Craig Albernaz.

Some critics will say he’s a puppet and it’s coming from Mike Elias. I don’t buy it. Elias does have a specific mindset, but he has a different role. He is on the verge of fully fleecing the Boston Red Sox with the Adley Rutschman trade, and we should applaud him for that. He has made a lot of strong moves over the years. Not all perfect, but we can’t expect that from a person in his role, especially when his hands were tied with previous ownership.

The players will say it’s on us – and there’s definitely some truth to that, but Craig Albernaz also has to put his players into a good position the majority of the time.

Regarding Albernaz, there is a laundry list of examples where he has made brutal mistakes when it comes to in-game decision making. Go ahead and question the times he was right. Blind squirrels, guys. Blind squirrels. That’s just how it all appears now, with this many games completed.

Craig Albernaz in Colorado

Let’s look at the Colorado series, since it’s fresh. Andrew Kittredge is a veteran presence and he’s been steady, but he’s not a closer. Alex Hoppe and his 100 mph fastball has closer stuff. Yennier Cano hasn’t been flawless, but he’s had more success over the season. Felix Bautista is back soon, but you need someone with the stuff in place prior. Kittredge proved it wasn’t him in the first game of the series.

In game one of the Colorado series, Colton Cowser makes a miracle catch to save the win for Kittredge. By now, most baseball fans have seen it, but just in case, here’s a clip of the play (below). The Orioles scored just two runs at Coors Field that game – after scoring 43 in the previous six in St. Louis and Sacramento.

Colton Cowser Catch

Let’s move on to game two, where Baltimore trailed 2-1 late. Jackson Holliday hit a game-tying homer, only to surrender a pop-fly error in the next inning. That was followed by a home run that gave Colorado a 4-2 lead. But let’s pause for a minute. Albernaz went to Heston Kjerstad as a pinch hitter in a tie game. Kjerstad hadn’t had an MLB at-bat since June of last year. He had Blaze Alexander and the newly acquired Luis Robert Jr. on the bench. He also went with rookie Pitcher Luis De Leon, who was making his Major League debut in a tie game. De Leon has good stuff, but his top-notch slider would not move as much in Colorado’s thin air. Why put both in that spot? Also, Albernaz stated he would not throw De Leon into the fire. Yet, he did.

Why not go to a hot bat? Why not an experienced arm? The bullpen was not fully taxed.

Why not go to a guy like Robert Jr. who ownership just shelled out five million for?

Then, we get to the series finale, where Craig Albernaz again pinch hits Kjerstad – this time for Coby Mayo. Mayo is not as strong against righties, but he had a good day and was timing the ball up. For Albernaz, it was all lefty vs. righty, as it was the previous day. No instincts on the fact that Kjerstad hadn’t been in this position in over a year. Sometimes you have to leave well enough alone.

Craig Albernaz followed that by focusing on lefty vs. righty scenarios with his bullpen the rest of the way. Yennier Cano was in and out quick. The aforementioned Hoppe was the same. Both were effective, only to leave the 11th inning for Grant Wolfram, who gave away a two-run lead and threw away the series in a 6-5 loss to the Rockies.

The basement dwelling Rockies.

This is just a few of many examples, but arguably the most impactful considering the situation in the standings.

Coming Soon for Craig Albernaz and the Orioles

Next up for the Orioles is a four-game set against Boston at home. They have Cleveland and Toronto after. All contending teams. Milwaukee is still on the schedule, as well. Momentum was there – and it was all was flushed because of a lack of instincts.

Again, there is a part of me that hates to nitpick, but this has been happening all season. There are inexperienced coaches in place, and they are unable to push these young, talented Orioles to the next level. When is it the right time to find a veteran to balance everything out? A guy that can appreciate the data, but also roll with the hot hand and understand the deep roots of the game?

The time is now – or it NEVER will be! Let’s be honest – and what sucks about that is, this is a hungry fanbase that is feeling the pain of another window closing.

The playoffs are still reachable, but they feel like light years away.

That’s because they likely are.

 

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