Section 336 - Baltimore Orioles Talk

The season is over. Our bold predictions? Let’s just say there’s plenty of red ink.

Josh and Matt look back at the Orioles’ season, revisit the calls they made before Opening Day, and ask what needs to change this offseason. They talk former Orioles thriving in the playoffs, Jim Palmer’s advice and the Craig Albernaz conversation, the defense, the rotation, club options, and whether Baltimore is getting enough out of its young talent.

Plus: Heston Kjerstad’s future, Gunnar Henderson’s wrist and hitting approach, the core players who could lead the next step forward, and what winning means for attendance. We close with travel-ball stories, a new “Wheels” nickname, brotherly race disputes, World Series rooting interests, and the playoff-format debate.

Baltimore Orioles Talk. Two brothers. Plenty of opinions.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Former Orioles in October, including Bryan Baker and Manny Machado.

• Jim Palmer, Craig Albernaz, and the value of experience alongside analytics.

• Defensive struggles and the offseason’s biggest priorities.

• Rotation decisions, club options, and Ryan Mountcastle’s future.

• Player development, Heston Kjerstad, Gunnar Henderson, and the young core.

• A full reckoning with our preseason bold predictions.

• Attendance, travel ball, World Series picks, and playoff structure.

CHAPTERS — FINISHED VIDEO

00:00 Welcome: looking back at the season

00:50 Former Orioles in the playoffs

01:47 Brandon Hyde, Mike Elias and more voices

03:18 Jim Palmer’s advice and Craig Albernaz

16:20 Where the Orioles’ defense struggled

23:52 The rotation and offseason priorities

25:39 Club options and Ryan Mountcastle

27:31 Player development and analytics

30:33 What is Heston Kjerstad’s role?

33:13 Gunnar Henderson’s wrist and approach

35:31 The young core and Pete Alonso

38:10 Grading our bold predictions

41:02 How the pitching predictions held up

45:05 MVP and Rookie of the Year picks

48:47 Home runs, steals and roster predictions

57:43 Attendance: give fans a reason to believe

59:36 Travel ball, “Wheels” and brotherly races

1:03:07 World Series rooting interests

1:05:29 Playoff format and baseball’s future

1:06:25 Thanks for listening — Go O’s!

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The playoff math is almost finished, and so is our patience. This week on Section 336, Matt and Josh unpack another frustrating Orioles season and ask the big question: who’s accountable, and what actually changes next year?

We talk Pete Alonso’s standout season, Coby Mayo’s late-season progress, Gunnar Henderson’s struggles, and why bringing back Trevor Rogers should be an offseason priority. Plus, the debate over Mike Elias and Craig Albernaz, costly defensive mistakes, Félix Bautista’s return, and whether this core deserves another shot. We also get into MLB’s looming labor uncertainty before closing with Ravens talk, Zay Flowers, and another round of replay frustration.

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Matt and Josh open with a little life-throwback conversation (fantasy football draft panic, work-from-home chaos, and family weekend plans) before jumping into the Orioles’ exact late-season squeeze: still alive, still dangerous, and still in that awkward playoff zone where every game can erase or create belief.

The conversation is a full stretch-watch episode. They spend most of the run on how the Orioles have been winning and losing on a razor-thin margin, especially during the Rockies road trip. The hosts repeatedly come back to one point: the team’s inconsistency, not just tonight’s game, is now the biggest opponent.

## This episode covers

- Early episode banter around fantasy football season timing, draft logistics, and life away from baseball, then a shift into Orioles reality.

- The “15–20% win zone” mindset: playoff odds bouncing between roughly 10–20% and why that keeps the team emotionally raw.

- A close look at the recent Rockies trip:

 - bullpen usage and late-inning volatility,

 - late rally/one-run game swings,

 - and whether the team’s inconsistency in big spots is just noise or structural.

- Umpire review and officiating edges, including non-reviewable calls that changed outcomes and continued frustration around challenge rules.

- Trade-deadline aftermath and the post-Adley conversation:

 - Did trading Adley Rutschman make sense in the bigger window?

 - What the return has looked like in use so far,

 - and how quickly expectations reset after a trade that changes fan psychology.

- Roster/position adjustments:

 - center-field and outfield defense upgrades as a reason teams can still chase runs and wins late,

 - the in-and-out of call-ups,

 - and the bullpen’s role load, with rotation and closer uncertainty discussed in real terms.

- Player availability and health watch points:

 - the short-list of potential bullpen/rotation impacts,

 - what an IL move could do to short-term timing,

 - and uncertainty around a few important innings contributors.

- Playoff tickets, futures pricing, and the “buy now vs. wait” dilemma with odds still far from comfortable.

- Closing emotion:

 - the “we might miss by a game or two” anxiety,

 - why the fan base can’t fully disengage,

 - and the team’s identity as a “hot-and-cold but still alive” club.

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The Orioles are right in the thick of the American League playoff race — and every game is starting to matter.

This week on Section 336, we break down Baltimore’s brief stay in a Wild Card spot and what it says about where this team stands heading into the stretch run. Gunnar Henderson is heating up at exactly the right time, the Orioles are showing signs they can make some noise, and now comes a tough stretch that could go a long way toward deciding their postseason fate.

The Birds are in the hunt. Can they stay there?

It’s all on Section 336 — Episode 634: In the Hunt.

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The trade we never thought Baltimore would actually make is real: Adley Rutschman is a Boston Red Sox.

Matt and Josh take a beat and try to process what the move means—not only for the 2026 Orioles, but for the entire Mike Elias rebuild. They revisit Adley’s arrival as the face of a new era, debate the timing and value of the deal with Samuel Basallo already locked up, and ask the uncomfortable question: if “lift off” never really happened, why should Orioles fans trust the next phase?

Plus: what the deadline says about Gunnar Henderson and the rest of the core, why the Orioles still aren’t starting another rebuild, the other moves around the roster, and how Baltimore can remain in the Wild Card fight after trading one of the most important players in franchise history—to a division rival, no less.

It hurts. It may also make baseball sense. Both things can be true.

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How are you feeling about the Baltimore Oriole? Is this a buy or sell year? How do you explain the first half? What about Mike Elias? All this and more

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The Orioles have played 500 ball since our last episode and we are feeling good about this team. However, Matt hasn't talked to an adult in a while and has some non baseball items to deal with before we discuss the Baltimore Orioles and Josh's frustration with Craig Albernez

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This has been a fun couple weeks of Orioles baseball but there are cracks not on the Orioles but in Matt and Josh's lives. we get to all that and some Baltimore Orioles Talk

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Are the Baltimore Orioles good? or do we need to start to make moves to get ready for next year? Is Gunnar, Colton, and Oneil starting to figure it out?

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IT has been a rough start to the Orioles season, are you going to Jump off the ship? Of course we are not, we have been through worse as Baltimore Orioles fans. Matt and Josh break down some of the frustrations about this team (Gunnar Launch Angle) but also talk about the positives and why we believe this season can still be special

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