The biggest change, of course, was the ouster of longtime head coach, John Harbaugh. Once Harbaugh got settled with the New York Giants, he proceeded to raid his former team by bringing in several Raven free agents; guard Daniel Faalele, fullback Patrick Ricard, tight end Isaiah Likely, safety Ar’Darius Washington and punter Jordan Stout.

Out with the old, in with the new.

To state the obvious, the task at hand for new head coach Jesse Minter is to lead the Ravens to the 3rd Super Bowl title in franchise history. However, his job will be a bit more nuanced than it appears.

As training camp ramps up, there will be plenty of discussion about position battles, what the new offense and defense will look like, how player X, Y or Z performs in this drill or that drill and how the roster will shape up come early September.

While discussion of those matters is certainly warranted, there’s a larger issue at hand for the Baltimore Ravens than the X’s and O’s and the Jimmy’s and Joe’s.

The Baltimore Ravens need to be mentally tough again.

For 4 quarters a game, for 17 games (or more), the Baltimore Ravens need to learn how to finish.

John Harbaugh had a successful tenure in Baltimore but ultimately lost his job because of his team’s tendency to come up small in the biggest moments. Blown leads, bizarre play calling and bone headed mistakes at critical times had become the norm in Baltimore. These struggles would happen in the regular season and then rear their ugly head at crucial moments in January.

Perhaps it could be said that Harbaugh’s firing wasn’t solely due to not reaching the Super Bowl again but rather in how his teams failed to do so. They didn’t simply play competitive football and fall short, they found spectacular ways to shoot themselves in the foot, time and time again, leaving the entire fanbase collectively shaking their heads.

It is in this vein, that Coach Minter must find a way forward. To get a talented group to play their best football when the lights are the brightest and to no longer come up small in the biggest moments.

It’s a touch ironic that the Ravens’ neighbors across the parking lot at Camden Yards underwent a somewhat similar turnover in their off season; bringing in a new staff, headed by Craig Albernaz, with the hopes of getting a group of young, talented ballplayers to get out of their own way and break through in the postseason.

Unfortunately for Baltimore’s Baseball Birds, their new era has not yielded great results thus far.

For the beleaguered fan base of Baltimore sports, we can only hope that Jesse Minter and his staff can break through. Unfortunately, none of our curiosity will be satisfied anytime soon. Perhaps it’s unfair to heap this much pressure on a first time head coach but the lingering doubts about the Ravens will only be quelled by postseason success.

On that ill fated January night in Pittsburgh, when Tyler Loop’s field goal attempt sailed wide, it marked the end of one era and the beginning of a new one.

Hopefully.

The post A New Era appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

On the verge of another season, some things are new.  John Harbaugh had served as the Ravens Head Coach since 2008.  He is now gone, and replaced by first-time Head Coach Jesse Minter.

That transition of leadership – accompanied by Minter’s incoming staff – has some things feeling fresh as a new year begins.

Some things haven’t changed.  The Ravens are entering the season as one of the prohibitive favorites to win the Lombardi Trophy next February.

There are expectations for this team to perform, and pressure for the organization to get over the proverbial hump and do significant post-season damage with Lamar Jackson under Center.

Here we look at the roster, and give some thoughts on what we like and currently question.

Like – Starting with the most obvious, we like #8.  Somehow we’ve reached Year 9 of Jackson’s career, and liking or believing in Jackson is still a discussion point for some.  You can wish that Jackson and the Ravens had accomplished more in the post-season during his career to-date. You can rightfully point out that 2025 was the third time in five seasons that Jackson was limited to 13 games or less. But it has to be acknowledged that the 2x MVP is inner-circle elite when talking about the games best QB’s. When available, Jackson elevates those around him, and gives the Ravens an opportunity to win any game he plays.

Question – Is this a year where Jackson plays 16 or 17 games, or is he limited to 12 or 13?  Jackson has had high praise for new Ravens OC Declan Doyle so far in camp.  Under this new system, and with hopefully better health than he experienced in ’25; do we see Jackson’s numbers rebound closer to his astounding 2024 production?  If the lower-body aliments are behind him, will Jackson run more in 2026?

Like –  Let’s get another obvious one out of the way – Derrick Henry is still a monster.  I know RB’s have a short shelf-life, and at 32 years old; I know some are expecting this is the year he falls off.  I’ve seen people point to his Yard Per Carry average dropping from 5.9 in ’24, to 5.2 as an indication of a precipitous drop coming for Henry in ’26, but that seems silly to me. That 5.2 ypc was still above his 4.9 ypc career average, and it tied James Cook for the most ypc of any RB in the league with 250+ carries for the year. Jackson wasn’t as good in ’25 as he was in ’24, and the blocking in-front of Henry wasn’t as good either. I’d be highly surprised if Henry wasn’t again excellent. I know some are concerned that Henry has 7 fumbles ( 1/3 of his career total ) over the past two seasons, but I can’t get there.  Feels more fluky to me vs. something to worry about.

Question – Justice Hill was limited to 10 games last year. That reduction in availability led to his catches dropping from 42 in ’24, to 21 last year.  Are Hill and Rasheen Ali only on the field on 3rd down? Are they productive enough in their time where the Ravens could potentially give Henry less than 300 carries? Should holding Henry to under 300 carries even be a goal for the Ravens? Or is the team best served vs. using Henry’s physicality over extended carries? Better to continue to feed Henry and have him eat at the will of opposing defenses?  Does 5th rounder Adam Randall push Ali?

Question – Are the Ravens going to miss Patrick Ricard more than some think? The 3x All-Pro, 6x Pro Bowler followed Harbaugh to the Giants. I understand a salary cap exists in the NFL and you can’t keep everyone. I understand FB’s are generally not in-vogue around the NFL and have been devalued. I think the Ravens have long-benefited by taking a contrarian view compared to most of the NFL, and continuing to feature a traditional blocking FB. Think it’s helped not only the running game, but the QB’s as well. And of course further accentuated the physicality the Ravens like to play with. Lucas Scott is in camp trying to earn a spot. FB is his 5th position in 5 years. I’m rooting for Scott to make the roster, and hopefully be good enough to contribute.

Like – I liked the selection of Vega Ioane. The 14th overall selection of the 2026 Draft checks all the boxes in-terms of bringing immediate strength, power, and young legs to the Ravens O-Line. I’m hopeful that Roger Rosengarten is ready to take a bit of leap in his 3rd year. Ethan Pocic was a pretty good late addition at Center, at-least in-terms of upside. He was a College All-American, and a 2nd round pick of Seattle in 2017. He had earned a contract extension with Cleveland in 2023. If he stays available, he should help.  I also like that in Danny Pinter they have a decent option behind Pocic. John Simpson was brought back to the Ravens, and will take over at LG.  Simpson stays on the field, is strong, and plays with an edge. Those are all positives. If he can be league average at Guard, that’s probably a win for the Ravens.  Year 11 is arriving for Ronnie Stanley, and you can generally still feel good about him at LT.  Emery Jones and Andrew Vorhees with Pinter is some solid line depth.  This group might not be an upper-echelon O-Line, but I generally like what Ravens GM Eric DeCosta has been able to accomplish here. I expect Ioane to be good immediately. If Rosengarten is stronger, and better in the run-game this year; that would go a long way to this being a productive unit.

Question – I liked the addition of Pocic. But he did turn 31 earlier this week, and is coming off of a Achilles suffered in Week 14 last year. He’s also never played in all 17 games of a season, though he has been pretty durable the last few years in Cleveland before the injury last year. While I generally feel pretty good about him, there has to be some question of if he will stay available. It also needs to be said that even in a best case scenario from Pocic, he doesn’t figure to be as good as the departed Tyler Linderbaum. Simpson brings some positives to the table at LG, but there also issues. He typically has graded as slightly below average at Guard, and has previously accumulated a lot of penalties. Can he curb the amount of flags he typically sees?   Stanley’s 2024 Pro Bowl season was really good. The biggest difference between Stanley’s ’24 and his ’25 season, is that Stanley’s production in pass-protection dropped. Can Doyle get the ball out of Jackson’s hands a bit quicker more often? That would figure to help Stanley and his fellow lineman in-general. Of course Jackson being able to extend plays, and create opportunities for the offense is part of his greatness so it’s a push-and-pull situation.

Like –  In the Draft the Ravens added WR Ja’Kobi Lane in the 3rd round, and WR Elijah Sarratt in the 4th round. They also added TE Matthew Hibner also in the 4th round, and fellow TE Josh Cuevas in the 5th. Lane is having a big Training Camp, and that reduces some of the anxiety which would otherwise exist. I liked Sarratt at Indiana. We’ve seen the big play potential of Decontez Walker in his first two years in the league. Durham Smythe should get a lot of time as a more traditional blocking TE opposite of Mark Andrews.  Obviously Zay Flowers is a quality weapon, and I thought he was deserving of the contract extension he just signed. Glad he will continue to be in the fold. Andrews is coming off a rough year (for him), but I’m still glad to have him. Don’t expect him to get the 113 targets he had in ’22, but won’t surprise me if his 8.8 yard per catch average in ’25 goes back up near his 12.3 yard per catch career average in ’26. The ankle injuries Rashod Bateman had last year resulted in a completely lost season for him. There is still ability there.

Question – There is still ability there with Bateman, but there are major questions too. The ankle injuries Bateman had last year were real, but there can’t be another season where he gives the Ravens nothing. That lost year also came after he signed a contract extension last Summer. In ’24, Bateman played in all 17 games, and had 72 targets. He averaged 16.8 years per catch on his 45 grabs, and had 9 TD’s. Can he match that production? I’d don’t need him to match the ’24 ypc average. I’d be happy if he stays available weekly, and can consistently help move the chains. Become a threat on 3rd down. Make some contested grabs. I like the Walker, Lane, Sarratt trio. I think there is potential there for them to help. I’d like to slow the breaks on the camp hype from Lane a bit.  It’s good that he’s opening eyes, and that it looks like he can give you something immediately. Going into the Draft, the ’25 Honorable Mention Big Ten WR saw a lot of scouting reports which questioned his ability to play through contact. My question overall with the WR’s is that outside of Flowers, who can you rely on? Who is going to show-up consistently? Given what exists around them, I’m glad to have Andrews back. Had it been a choice of one or the other, I would have liked to have been able to retain Isaiah Likely over him though. Won’t surprise me if Andrews has 50 catches and 600 yards; but I wish I wasn’t going into the year with lingering questions about why his production dropped so much last year. There were lots of weeks he was basically invisible last year. Does that happen again in ’26, or can he again be a presence? I was disappointed that the Ravens weren’t able to keep Charlie Kolar.  Smythe is coming off back-to-back seasons where he had a total of 13 receptions. He did have a four year stretch (’20-’23) where he averaged 27.5 receptions per year. Maybe he gets a bit more involved with the Ravens than he has the last two seasons with Miami and the Bears. As long as he can block as advertised, I’ll be happy there. Everyone likes Flowers.  I think everyone would like him that much better if he was your 2nd WR.

Like – One of my favorite likes so far – Welcome back Nnamdi Madubuike!  It was feared his career was over, and instead the All-Pro is back available. That’s huge. Travis Jones earned the contract extension he signed last December. Calais Campbell is back with the Ravens, and entering Year 19 in the NFL. The future Hall of Famer endured horrible personal tragedy this Summer with his family, and we feel horrible for him with that. But keeping this with the Ravens, I was excited about his addition. Maybe that excitement sounds a bit much considering Campbell turns 40 September 6th, but the 6’8 300 lb has long been known not just as a great talent, but also a fantastic individual that adds to any roster. Another adult in the room. Another coach as a player. That’s a quality add, that can help situationally. Keep him healthy and available for games in January. After the Maxx Crosby saga, the Ravens pivoted to Trey Hendrickson. All of the talk in March was that Hendrickson doesn’t set the Edge like Crosby. Okay, that counts, that’s fair.  He can rush the QB. He had back-to-back 17.5 sack seasons in ’23 and ’24.  Tavius Robinson has flashed the last two years as a pass rusher. Zion Young was the Ravens 2nd round pick out of Missouri. John Jenkins and Broderick Washington give the DL additional beef and depth. Mike Green had 3.5 sacks as a rookie. In Year 2, it feels like he could really emerge with the attention Hendrickson figures to command. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about Roquan Smith from Ravens fans the last two years. NFL Executives and Coaches recently ranked him as the 2nd best Off-Ball LB entering ’26.

Question – Hendrickson missed 10 games during ’25, and had a core muscle surgery in December. Obviously the Ravens need him consistently available. Madubuike being back at all is a win. The question right now is what level is he at? He was awesome in ’23. ’24 was a bit of a step back. In ’25 he was limited to 2 games. Can he stay available? How good is he right now? How many snaps a game is realistic?  It’s Year 4 for Trenton Simpson. There is an opportunity for him to step-up, will he take it? Teddye Buchanan had a very nice Rookie season last year, and then suffered an ACL tear in December. The Ravens seem to be very enthusiastic about Buchanan getting back sooner than later, but we will still need to see it.

Like – The Ravens starting Secondary is Kyle Hamilton, Malaki Starks, Nate Wiggins, Chidobe Awuzie, and Marlon Humphrey.  Hamilton is the best there is. Starks and Wiggins both have pedigree and upside.That’s a strong group, which will only be better if there is a more consistent pass rush in-front of them as expected. Jaylinn Hawkins, and TJ Tampa are good depth. Keyon Martin, and Chandler Rivers will fight for time at the Slot Corner.

Question – Humphrey struggled often during ’25, targeted often by opposing QB’s and he was picked on. Part of that was nagging injuries, and part of that was him just being that much older. This is year 10 for Humphrey. Generally, I feel like he’s been under appreciated. He’s a 2x All-Pro (the last being ’24), and a 4x Pro Bowler. He doesn’t have to lead this group at this point of his career, but he can really elevate this group overall if he rebounds from last year. Year 2 for Starks, I want to see him fully emerge this year.  Similarly it’s Year 3 for Wiggins. In ’25, his snap count went way up, and he had moments where he looked good. He also had times that like Humphrey he was picked on. Came out after the season that he spent most of the 2nd half of ’25 dealing with a nagging groin-injury. By all accounts, he’s having a quality Training Camp. He’s supposedly added some needed strength. He doesn’t have to be Deion Sanders or Darrelle Revis locking down half the field; but you need him taking the challenge of matching-up against the best opposing WR each week.

Question – Prior to ’25, game-day kicking footballs were kept under lock and key by game officials and handed to special teams units right before kickoff. Those balls were stiff. Before the ’25 season, a rule change allowed for teams to get 60 balls before the season to break in. This created a ’25 season where kickers had the average distance of field goal makes rise considerably. This will continue in ’26.  Basically there is a before and after in evaluating kicking from ’25 on.  Tyler Loop joined the Ravens last year as a Rookie, having to replace the greatest ever Kicker in the pre 2025 environment. That was hard enough. During his rookie campaign, he generally looked uncomfortable. He was 30 of 34 on FG attempts, and made 8 of 9 attempts from 40-49 yards, but was just 1 of 3 from 50+.  The miss from 40-49 was the 44 yard attempt vs. Pittsburgh in Week 18. Beyond the misses, after years of watching Tucker hit attempts down the middle, it was a bit eye-brow raising to see Loop look less accurate. He also missed 2 extra-points. Part of me wants to give Loop the benefit of the doubt. Believe he was in a tough position replacing someone that was historically great. Figure he will be better going into Year 2.  The other part of me thinks he’s one bad miss early in the year from completely losing the fanbase.  That’s not a great situation. Also, when the entire league is now attempting and hitting from greater distances; more needs to be asked of him this season.  We will see how he responds. At Punter, Jordan Stout had a Pro Bowl season and left to join Harbaugh in New York. The Ravens replaced him with their 6th round selection Ryan Eckley.  How good Loop and Eckley are will directly influence multiple games.

Like – In 2024 the Defense finished 6th in Defensive DVOA, and in ’25 they finished 16th. Even coming off of that ’24 ranking, there weren’t a lot of local backers for former Ravens DC Zach Orr. As the team production dropped in ’25, Orr absorbed most of the criticism. Fair or not, I like that the Ravens moved on. Not just because I think the new staff will be better, but because it allows the fanbase to turn the page as well. Minter is going to be the primary defensive play-caller. So, not only are you getting his strengths as a Coach – the buck falls on him.  Harbaugh had / has his strengths, but it was tiring over the years to hear how many times he absolved himself from the decision making process of his Coordinators. Minter has a great reputation as a defensive coach. The Ravens saw that first hand when he was here during his first stint as an Assistant. What he did at Michigan, and with the Chargers as their DC speaks for itself.  Bringing on Anthony Weaver (former Raven player and Coach) as the DC, with a focus on the Front 7 seems like a win. As does bringing on Mike Mickens for the Secondary.  Everything you read says the Ravens Defense is going to be ‘fast, violent, aggressive.’  Their going to be hunting turnovers. Their going to be more advanced schematically. And they have the players to be versatile.  On Offense, Doyle was the Coordinator last year for Chicago and had success. Love seeing the reports about how players are raving about his attention to detail.

Question – I’m excited about the Coaching changes.  But the flip-side does have to be mentioned. You went from long-term stability to a first time NFL Head Coach. Being great at X’s and O’s (which Minter is regarded as) doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be great at leading men.  A Coordinator’s job is more about scheme.  A Head Coach’s job is more about keeping everyone rowing in the same direction. When it’s Training Camp, and everyone is excited about a new season, it’s relatively easy to stand in-front of the Press.  When you’ve had a tough loss, that job will become harder.  When/if the team faces real adversity, how do you respond? My sense is that 43 year old Minter will handle things well. I expect he will be able to connect with the locker-room. But there will be questions that are unanswerable until you see them unfold. I’m not going to be rooting for the Ravens to lose 4 of 5 games, or for Minter to make a poor decision with the clock. But if something like that happens, and the public becomes a bit antsy; is Minter able to keep the team focused?

The post Ravens: Likes And Questions As The Season Nears appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

Fact: The Orioles have traded away Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward, Dean Kremer, and Tyler Wells in-exchange for Anthony Eyanson, Kyson Witherspoon, Enddy Azocar, Carlos Narváez, Alex Hoppe, Brock Moore, Harrison Kreiling, Jhomnardo Reyes, and Michael Forret.  They also made smaller deals for Christian Franklin, Codi Heuer, and Rece Hinds.

Opinion: I can make a logical argument for each move individually. I acknowledge that Orioles General Manager Mike Elias added ceiling, depth, and control to the Orioles system. I still don’t like the decision making process when you look at the moves collectively.  Obviously the primary discussion point here is Rutschman.  Elias extracted value from Boston.  And the Red Sox likely paid more now, with Rutschman having 1.2 years left of team control; then they or another team would have paid this Winter for him. My feeling is the O’s would have still been able to trade Rutschman this Winter if need be, and I don’t think that hypothetical return would have been 50 cents on the dollar compared to the deal they did make.

What I said yesterday was, “Don’t think losing Rutshman, Ward, or Kremer in a vacuum, means a lot; but taken together, it’s a tough look even if you can reasonably understand each individual move.
Kremer is a 5th that was struggling his last 4 starts, and Bassitt is a reasonable answer to replace him, and Elias obtained a kid with helium and control. Ward hasn’t hit for the power expected, and is a below average LF.  The O’s can replace him in the lineup with Beavers, Kjerstad, Taveras, etc… and get similar production. Maybe the relievers obtained help. Rutschman – like Wieters – didn’t match the hype, but also like Wieters was a good player. A 3x All-Star. Your rep this year. He had the 3 stints on the IL this year, but they were largely fluky. I thought he had a better offensive approach this year vs. the last 2 years.  When he hasn’t been around, it’s been noticeable with the lineup. I haven’t seen the return, but I expect Elias extracted some value from Boston. And with Rutschman, you could argue now was the time to trade him if you weren’t going to reach an extension.”

After sleeping on it, looking at the returns, and adding the Wells trade; I feel the same.
The most valuable commodity in baseball is team control; but the most valuable thing in baseball is holding a Championship trophy and unfurling a banner.
I was okay with Elias trading off Trey Mancini and Jorge Lopez at the 2022 Deadline, because that team was ahead of schedule.
I can’t get on-board the same way here in 2026, because the ’26 O’s are behind schedule.
The AL is not overwhelming this year, and despite being 4 games under .500 entering tonight, the O’s were 15-8 in July.
I believe post-season baseball is largely a roll-of-the-dice. The goal is to get there and take your chances.
FanGraphs is giving the O’s a 12% chance of reaching the post-season, so not great odds, but not nothing either.
Entering play tonight, the O’s are 2.5 games back of the 3rd Wild Card (Cleveland), and 5 games back of the 2nd Wild Card (Boston). Minnesota, Texas, Seattle, all ahead of the O’s, all 1-2 games back of Cleveland.

I generally think the play was improving, and that the O’s had a reasonable chance to get to October.
They still might.
If they do, you could say, “They still reached the post-season, and they fortified the system.” 
If that happens, that would be a very fair comment.
I think if they reach the post-season, my take will be that I would have liked having Rutschman available.

My overarching thought is, I would have rather seen the O’s either keep the roster as is, or add along the fringes to help the existing ML roster, vs. again deciding not to try.
Elias decided the odds weren’t good enough to try now, and the more prudent decision was adding more to the overall arsenal to try again tomorrow.

Part of me respects that.
You should want multiple bites at the apple vs. going all in once.
And while I might have enjoyed it in the moment, I don’t think I would have really supported going all in with major acquisitions of players with expiring team control utilizing the existing prospect pool.
I would have supported continuing with the current group for the remainder of ’26 and giving them a bit of help.
Another reliever capable of contributing in leverage situations. A defensive 4th OF.

Fact: Via MLB Pipeline, Eyanson becomes the Orioles top overall prospect, with Forret, Witherspoon, and Azocar also now in the Orioles Top 10.

Opinion: The system was pretty tapped before the trades and draft last year. Now with the 2026 Draft completed and these trades; the system strength is again pretty strong. Maybe not overwhelming quality at the top, but a good amount of guys that could possibly directly contribute to the ML roster, or give you the organizational depth necessary to make other trades.  If you were going to make the trades, I like the returns.  Elias added some legitimate talent.  Once you moved Rutschman, I certainly get moving Wells at that point. Getting Forret back in the organization was a nice move.

Fact: Carlos Narváez has a .535 OPS in a 171 ab’s this year for Boston.  He also had a .726 OPS in 403 ab’s last year, with 15 homers, and 27 doubles. He’s regarded as a strong defensive Catcher, and he is under team control through the 2031 season.

Opinion: If he can rebound offensively, you’ve got a nice pairing with him and Basallo long-term at Catcher.

Fact: Christian Franklin is starting in LF tonight for the O’s.

Opinion: The 26 year old Franklin had a .735 OPS in 426 plate appearances this year for AAA Rochester. Obtained from the Nationals for Joe Glassey. This year with Rochester he had 35 games in RF, 31 games in LF, and 17 in CF.  Presumably when he does play, he will be a better LF than Ward.  Obviously not a high bar there. Still, I think we would all enjoy seeing improved defense down the stretch. Curious to see how much playing time he gets.

Fact: Holliday, Mayo, Cowser, and Beavers are all in the lineup tonight.

Opinion: When we get to the off-season, and we start thinking about 2027; our optimism for believing the O’s can be more of a factor next year is going to largely be tied to how these guys finish out 2026.  Holliday had a .921 OPS in July. What can he do for encore here in August?  Plenty of playing time available for the other three as well. How do they perform these last two months?

Fact: Elias reported July 31st that Blaze Alexander’s bone is still healing (non-displaced fracture in left-hand). No timetable currently for his return.

Opinion: As I start thinking more about ’27, I envision Alexander penciled into Super Utility duty, with Jordan Westburg getting every opportunity to reclaim 3rd once he shows he’s healthy.

Fact: The O’s have given recent extensions to Basallo, Baz, Bradish, and Cano.  They obviously signed Alonso before this season.

Opinion: I think you can safely assume that if Orioles Owner David Rubenstein had taken ownership earlier, that Elias might have pushed for deals into the free agent seasons with Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Holliday.  There is some talk to be found the the O’s did offer Rutschman extension offers in the last year plus which were rejected. Presumably Henderson will want to reach Free Agency, but after a down for him ’25 with the shoulder injury, and this disappointing ’26 season; the deal he ultimately signs somewhere is not going to be as lucrative as it figured to be after the ’24 season.  I’d still be pushing for a deal with him now, offering him very significant money. Hoping he’d consider it with the way his ’26 has gone. My guess is Henderson would decline such a deal, and bet on himself to rebound in ’27.  If he rebounds in a big way, he probably prices himself out of a possible deal with the O’s.  If he rebounds and the team doesn’t, I think the O’s will have to look to trade him next Summer like they did with Rutschman yesterday. If the team rebounds, you probably ride out ’27.  Then maybe you deal him after the ’27 season (he’s a Free Agent after ’28).  I know some people are not super excited about Holliday at this point, but he’s not 23 until December, and the potential is still there. He’s not a Free Agent until after 2030. If you could get a deal done now that takes you through 2032 or 2033, that would be great.

Westburg is also a Free Agent after 2030. He will miss all of ’26, and was limited to 85 games in ’25. He’s 28 next February.  Given all the time he’s missed, could you tack on a year or two now? Is that a good risk given his age, and the injury history? Does the existing injury history make a deal viable?

Fact: Trevor Rogers was not traded yesterday.

Opinion: I didn’t want to see Rogers moved, but was surprised after Rutschman was dealt, that Rogers didn’t find a new home. Rogers was quoted leading up to the deadline saying he wants to stay in Baltimore. He’s a Free Agent to be.  I’d like to see a deal happen there. If you get a deal done before the off-season, you could go into Winter believing you had four spots (Bradish, Rogers, Baz, Young) in the rotation filled. I don’t see a scenario where the O’s obtain two starters with better upside than Rogers. Getting to the Winter and feeling like you have to fill two spots doesn’t seem ideal.

The post Facts & Opinions On The Orioles – August 4th appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

Believe he’s capable of building a Championship team.

Can acknowledge that he was threading a needle here between a team that is 2.5 games out of the 3rd Wild Card, and also 4 games under .500.

Don’t think losing Rutshman, Ward, or Kremer in a vacuum, means a lot; but taken together, it’s a tough look even if you can reasonably understand each individual move.

Kremer is a 5th that was struggling his last 4 starts, and Bassitt is a reasonable answer to replace him, and Elias obtained a kid with helium and control.

Ward hasn’t hit for the power expected, and is a below average LF.  The O’s can replace him in the lineup with Beavers, Kjerstad, Taveras, etc… and get similar production. Maybe the relievers obtained help.

Rutschman – like Wieters – didn’t match the hype, but also like Wieters was a good player. A 3x All-Star. Your rep this year. He had the 3 stints on the IL this year, but they were largely fluky. I thought he had a better offensive approach this year vs. the last 2 years.  When he hasn’t been around, it’s been noticeable with the lineup. I haven’t seen the return, but I expect Elias extracted some value from Boston. And with Rutschman, you could argue now was the time to trade him if you weren’t going to reach an extension.

But…

Kremer could potentially help you now. The 18 year old you obtained can’t. Twins 1.5 games up on the O’s in the WC race.

Rutschman made the O’s better now, and you’ve traded him to a division rival.  A team above you in the playoff race.

Ward traded to Seattle, a team a .5 game up on the O’s in the WC race. You’ve removed a guy that has a high on-base %, and has been in the lineup everyday. Is that a great message to the clubhouse?

Collectively, just a very tough look.

And as someone that genuinely likes Elias, I can’t justify it overall, even when I can make the individual arguments.

The fanbase isn’t going to get over this.

Hell, even if Bassitt is good, Kremer is bad, the in-house options seamlessly replace Ward…  and the O’s get past losing Rutschman and still make the post-season….    even if that all happens, once there the feeling will be…  “The O’s lineup would look better with Adley there.” 

Time to go.

Potential Replacements For Elias:

Jon Daniels – Former Rangers General Manager.  Currently a Senior Advisor with Tampa Bay.

Kim Ng – Former Marlins General Manager.  Currently outside the game entirely.

James Click – Former Astros General Manager.  Now VP of Baseball Strategy with Toronto.

Michael Fishman – Yankees VP / Assistant GM under Brian Cashman.

Amiel Sawdaye – Diamondbacks SVP / Assistant GM under Mike Hazen.  Baltimore native, Graduate of Pikesville High, and University of Maryland.

Cal Ripken Jr. –  The HOF, has an Ownership share, and is doing some Player Development work.  Obviously the name would sell, and the Ripken Way still carries weight. Especially with the current fundamental issues with the ML team.  Feels like Ripken would need to surround himself with a lot of Front Office experience.

The post Yeah, Time For Elias To Go appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

2.5 games out of the 3rd Wild Card, you can argue that the O’s have a viable path to reaching the post-season.  FanGraphs gives the O’s a 21.2% chance of making the playoffs currently.

Conversely, with the O’s still 4 games under .500, and a number of on-going injuries; you could argue that there isn’t much reason to believe the remaining 53 games will be demonstrably different than the first 109.

There are 6 games between now and the Deadline next week. Every game matters at this point.

The Atlanta Series

Against the NL East leading Braves, the O’s played in three 1 run games this last weekend. With the bases loaded and none out in the 10th yesterday, the O’s were on the precipice of a series win. Alas, things went awry. So close, so far away.

It was a competitive series against a quality team, but it was frustrating to not get the series W.

Going by current records, the O’s have one of / if not the strongest remaining schedule.
So if the Birds reach the post-season, they’ll have earned their way there by playing well against quality teams the rest of the way.
There is a reminder there that the O’s didn’t do enough earlier on, when the schedule was a bit lighter.
With the remaining schedule dwindling daily, losses that were possibly wins feel especially compounded at this point of the season.

Unlike football, there isn’t a lot of time in baseball to celebrate wins or tough losses.
There isn’t a week in-between games, there is another game the next day.
In that sense, yesterday is over, and the O’s are on to Detroit, and I agree with that mentality.

Realistically though, the Orioles have to play at a consistently elevated level these last 53 games.
If a win is there for the taking, they can not squander those opportunities.

My only other note from watching the Braves for a couple of days, was that even with Atlanta making a couple of unusual unforced errors; that’s a quality defensive team that is typically not going to force their pitching staff into recording extra outs.

Certainly a juxtaposition with the O’s when looking at how the Orioles defense regularly gives opposing offences additional opportunities.

The O’s are 12th overall in Runs Scored, and 12th overall in ERA.

Does this feel surprising to you?

Both numbers continue to trend upwards for the O’s.

Overall run differential continues to trend towards even.

Taken together, I think the O’s are generally a bit better than how most O’s fan would grade them – but the defensive liabilities are limiting.

The Bradish Extension

Loved that deal, and was frankly surprised it wasn’t significantly higher.  Kyle has had a solid year, and he’s been strong the last month (2.96 era, 24.1 ip), but he hasn’t been overly sharp overall after missing all but 14 total starts over 2024 and 2025. There have been control issues, which can often be the last thing to come back after surgery.  Still, I would have expected the soon to be 30 year old to get a larger deal in an extension. These total dollars are very workable.  Already I think it looks like a steal.  If he finishes strong, and continues to look more-and-more like his 2023 self, than the contract just looks that much better.

This deal, the Basallo extension, the Alonso signing, the Baz extension; it’s been fun to see the O’s locking up multiple pieces.

Trevor Rogers

Rogers is set to hit Free Agency after this 2026 season.

Unless the O’s collapse over the next 6 days, it would be surprising to see the O’s trade him by the deadline.

As I’ve said before a few times now, I’d pay for him to be a 3rd starter, and maybe not expect him to be that – but would have some reasonable hope he could be more than that.

If you can get a deal done with him – and the Bradish contract provides a viable framework – then you’ve got the makings of a pretty solid rotation locked in.

He had a 2.05 era over 5 starts in June, and he’s followed that up with a 1.48 era over 4 starts in July.

You can probably expect some up-and-down fluctuations from him going forward, but he’s not yet 29 and he’s very impressive extended stretches last year and this year.

If he were to leave in Free Agency, I have zero expectations of the O’s adding someone with equal or better ceiling.

Brandon Young

Where would the O’s be without Brandon Young?

He started the year as the O’s 8th starter, and he’s 8-2 with a 3.13 era.

Over 97.2 ip, he’s allowed 92 hits, 9 homers, 34 walks, and has 80 k’s.

He’s been remarkably consistent, and he’s one of the primary reasons the O’s can still dream of playing games that matter in October.

Updating The Injuries

Adley Rutschman – The O’s 2026 All-Star rep is on the IL for the 3rd time this season. Per The Baltimore Sun, he was seen throwing the ball Saturday at Camden Yards, but has yet to resume catching the ball. Rutschman played 2 games (catching one) in Houston after the break, and then went on the IL with a wrist injury. Those wrist injuries are usually extended inflammation. My guess is that it didn’t just flair up after the one start catching vs. the Astros. Which makes me wonder if he should have spent the entirety of the All-Star break with no baseball activity?  He is eligible to return to action Wednesday July 29th, but that currently doesn’t seem likely.

Sam Basallo – The O’s shutdown Basallo from baseball activities for a few days to let his shoulder calm down. He is eligible to return to the O’s this Friday July 31st, but as with Rutschman – that doesn’t seem likely.

Blaze Alexander – It was reported 10 days ago that there was no time table for Alexander’s return. He was placed on the IL retroactive to July 13th, and his non-displaced fracture typically takes 6-8 weeks to heal.

Ryan Helsley – Was transferred form the 15 day IL to the 60 day IL 8 days ago. After being placed on the IL, the soonest he could return is August 29th.

Definitely a different looking O’s lineup without Rutschman and Basallo.
The O’s really needed Helsley to be an All-Star caliber closer this year, and he’s largely been unavailable.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand

CES has given the lineup a boost in his first 7 games with the Orioles.

Encarnacion-Strand started the 2024 season as Cincinnati’s 1st baseman.  2024 and 2025 was marked by injuries and non-performance.

This year he has a productive 274 ab’s at the AAA level before his promotion to Baltimore.  We wondered who would step-up when Alexander went down, and at-least temporarily Encarnacion-Strand has answered the call.

Dylan Beavers 

Beavers is 13 for 44 so far in July, slashing .295 / .380 / .364.  The game winner Saturday was nice.  When he’s going like this, he puts up a bunch of good ab’s which is fun to watch. Doesn’t overswing, finds contact. There are definitely things to like about his game.

Tyler O’Neill 

TON has a .983 OPS in 38 July ab’s, with 4 of his 6 homers on the year coming this month.  People might not like seeing his name in the lineup, but have to ride that hot hand.

Tyler Wells

For the season, Wells has appeared in 41 games.

Have to feel good for him, after he was limited to just 7 combined starts over 2024 and 2025.

In those 41 games, he has a 2.82 era, with 51 innings, 53 hits, 12 bb’s, and 53 k’s.

Over the last 30 days, he’s 1-1, with a 1.88 era, and 3 saves.

His Baseball Savant page shows a lot of red.

Up Next?

The O’s are beginning a 3 game series in Detroit.

The O’s are 2.5 games back of the 3rd Wild Card (Cleveland), and the Tigers are 3.5 games back of the Guardians.

Detroit is 6-4 over their last 10, but has lost their last 2.

The Tigers are 21st in Runs Scored, 22nd in On-Base %, and 18th in Slugging.
Detroit is 5th overall in ERA.

The scheduled pitching match-ups are:

Bradish vs. Montero
Kremer vs. Melton
&
Rogers vs. Skubal

The trade rumors around Skubal are getting a lot of attention. 

The post Closing In On The Deadline appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

The O’s are now 46-51 as the All-Star Break arrives.

10 Quick Thoughts

1) The O’s entered today in last-place in the AL East, and the season still isn’t ‘over.’  The 97 games played so far weren’t an enjoyable watch, but opportunity still awaits in the 34% of the season that remains. I still like the O’s talent, and believe the AL is too jumbled to justify trading off a ton before the August 3rd Trade Deadline. Maybe the O’s will come out of the All-Star Break, and have another poor stretch that seemingly officially closes the lights on the 2026 season. If that happens, and the O’s decide to part with Adley Rutschman, Trevor Rogers, Taylor Ward, etc; that would be understandable. But as of today, they’re 2 games out of a Playoff spot, and their talent compares well with the 7 different teams (Cleveland, Seattle, Minnesota, Houston, Boston, Toronto, Detroit) that will be competing for the last 2 Wild Card’s in the American League. Of that group only Cleveland is currently above .500.  If you think the O’s are toast, and should be trading any assets not tied down for prospects and team control – you’ll have to explain to me why the O’s are done, but those other teams are not.

If the argument is solely that you’ve watched these initial 97 games, and don’t believe in the O’s – that’s fine, and fairly understandable.
But that argument falls apart to me if you believe the O’s chances are dramatically different than any of the other aforementioned teams above.

2) Tampa Bay is 56-37, and leading the American League East.  The Yankees are 53-42, and the lead Wild Card in the American League. Per FanGraphs, both of those teams have over a 96.5% chance of making the post-season. Given the gap between those teams, and the O’s currently – we can put those teams out of our mind at this point.

Scoreboard watching can be fun, but I’m not going fixate on the Guardians, Mariners, Twins, Astros, Red Sox, Blue Jays, or Tigers either.
Cleveland is 3 games ahead of Seattle and Minnesota, who are tied for the 3rd Wild Card.  Houston, Boston, Toronto, Detroit, and the O’s are all within 2.5 games of the Mariners and Twins.
Basically it comes down to which 2 teams are going to play the best over the last 10 weeks of the season? How do these teams perform head-to-head?
The Red Sox are a good example of this.
They’ve largely been down for most of the season so far, but are riding an 8 game winning streak. With this stretch, they’ve pulled within 3 games of .500, and now have a 37% chance of making the post-season.
So, who gets hot?

3) Are the O’s capable of getting hot over an extended stretch?  They entered today 12th in runs scored (12th in on-base %, and 17th in slugging %), and 20th in ERA. Their a below average defensive team. Closers might be overrated by analytics, but I think fans and players alike feel better knowing you have a reliable closer to finish games off.  If the O’s are going to go on a run, they’ve got to slug better. They’ve actually got the on-base % up to a decent level, but now their not putting enough balls in the seats.  I feel pretty good currently about Bradish, Rogers, Baz, Young, and Kremer; but if the O’s aren’t trading away at the deadline; than GM Mike Elias needs to prioritize adding a high leverage reliever to add to the mix. You could also argue for adding a reserve OF and/or UTI IF that could be a positive defensive replacement at multiple positions.  If you wanted to aggressively pursue one of the better SP’s available with some of the O’s Top 10 prospects (outside of Wehiwa Aloy) before the 2026 MLB Draft; I could get on-board with that. If that were to occur, I’d expect Kremer would be part of the package leaving.

To get to the playoffs, the O’s likely have to win 85-90 games.  With 46 wins currently in 97 games, that means the O’s would need to win 39 to 44 of their last 65.

4) Coming into action Sunday, the O’s leaders by fWAR were Alonso (2.3), Rutschman (2.1), and Henderson and Baz were tied at 1.9.   I can’t imagine a scenario where the O’s get hot, and Henderson doesn’t play at a dramatically improved level than we’ve seen from him over these initial 97 games.  I feel good for Rutschman, making his 3rd All-Star team.  His slash line this year .253 / .327 / .436 looks a lot like his career averages .254 / .342 / .415; but better than the past two years.  The biggest difference to me is the doubles.  He had just 37 doubles in 893 ab’s during ’24 and ’25.  This year he has 18 in 241 ab’s. To me, that show’s he has had much better approach this season.

5) If you were doing the 2026 Most Valuable Oriole voting today, Blaze Alexander*, Brandon Young, and Sam Basallo have to be getting votes somewhere on your ballot. The tough watch we’ve seen would’ve been an absolute nightmare without their contributions to date. Basallo hit homerun #16 today.  The most impressive thing to me about Sam isn’t his ridiculous power, it’s the adjustments he’s shown he’s able to make including in-game depending on situation. He’ll be 22 in a month, and he seems like he could finish the year with a floury.

*EDIT: Per MASN’s Roch Kubatko, Alexander has a non-displaced fracture on his left hand after being hit with a pitch in the 7th. That takes the wind out of the sails quite a bit.

6) If you believe or don’t believe in the O’s chances of putting a run together, it probably largely comes down to how you feel about Bradish and Rogers going forward. Over the last 30 days, Bradish has a 2.12 era over 34 innings of work. Rogers is at a 1.19 era (30.1 innings) over that same 30 day stretch. If you think Bradish is going to hit a wall and tire out, or you believe Rogers is just too inconsistent – than you’ll be down on the O’s chances of finishing strong.  If you believe these two are capable of sustained excellence, you are probably a bit more enthusiastic.

7) Alonso has a .854 OPS for his career, and he entered today at .825 for the season. He’s on-pace for 35 bombs, and 29 doubles. He’s largely held-up his end. Ward is playing everyday (96 games played), and despite being a below-average LF, he’s been a league average-ish LF overall with his .385 on-base %.  Last year with the Angels he had a .317 on-base %, and a .475 slugging % (69 xbh’s, including 36 homers). This year he’s slugging .361, and is on-pace for just 10 homers (32 doubles). At some point I’d think the obp would come down, and there would be more big flies.

8) Cowser had a .891 OPS in May, and a .725 OPS in June.  He’s now 1 for 17 in July, and 11 for his last 58 (entering today). The O’s need his glove in CF, so they can’t afford him to again become a black-hole in the lineup. Mayo has 12 homers, and is on-pace for 20. The other day he reached the 2nd deck in LF, which has rarely happened in the history of OPACY. He’d really benefit himself and the team if used the whole field more. He’s got just 9 doubles in 223 ab’s, which is pretty inexcusable for a guy with his power. He just has to commit to making more contact (80 k’s) and taking more pitches the opposite field. We know Mayo isn’t going to spend a lot of his career at 3rd going forward, but that’s where the O’s had availability for him in ’26 after Westburg’s injury.  Alexander isn’t a fantastic fielder himself, but he’s better than Mayo, and with the way he’s betting hitting since May 1st – he’s going to get most of the playing time at 3rd. But Mayo is still going to find opportunities the rest of the year.  He’s talented enough to contribute, and too talented to not be embarrassed by that that current sub .200 batting average.

9) At 22 years old, Jackson Holliday doesn’t have to-be a finished product. Also shouldn’t expected to-be one. After starting the year on the IL with his hamate bone surgery; Holliday has played in 45 games this year and has 119 at-bats. He had 60 games and 190 ab’s as a rookie in ’24, and 586 at-bats over 149 games last year in his first full season.  In ’24, he had a .565 OPS. Last year that improved to ,690.  He’s at .703 right now. His current batting average (.210) is lower than last year (.242), but that’s just the difference of a productive week with so few ab’s for the year yet.  His on-base, and slugging match his production from last year, but his BB% is significantly higher (14.3% vs. 8.6%). His K’s are also up.  Like to see his average climb the remainder of the year.  He hit for high averages (at-very young ages) at the A, and AA level.  That slowed some at AAA in ’23 and ’24 before his MLB promotion, but he still had quality averages (again, particularly for his age) at the AAA level.  When you start thinking about how the light could come on for the O’s, he’s one of the ways.

10) The O’s schedule out of the break, up until the Trade Deadline is:

@ Houston July 17th – 19th
@ Boston July 20th – 22nd
Atlanta July 24th – 26th
@ Detroit July 27th – 29th
Philadelphia July 31st – August 2nd

Atlanta and Philadelphia are 1st and 2nd in the NL East.
Houston, Boston, Detroit also in the AL WC mix.

The O’s are 18-26 on the road so far, and 3 of those series are on the road.
Come out of the break, and get pummeled in these series’, and maybe there is clearance sale leading up to August 3rd.

If you want to feel like a contender at the Deadline, you’ve got to start stacking series wins.
if the Birds could manage to win all 5 series, going 2-1 in each, they’d be 56-56 with 50 games left; and then things could get fun.

A more realistic 8-7 showing in that stretch, would likely leave me feeling like I do today.
In for a penny, in for a pound.

Going into the break on their first four game winning streak is a positive.
The fact that opportunity still exists for this season is a positive.

We will see if they’re able to build from here, and put together an extended quality stretch.

The post The All-Star Break Arrives appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

I’m disappointed in the 2026 Baltimore Orioles to-date, because I did have expectations for this season.

When Opening Day arrived, I thought they looked like a 90 win team.

I expected a playoff ticket to be punched, and once there; you see what happens.

I hoped Jordan Westburg would return to start June, and thought he’d be missed in the time he was unavailable.
I thought too much was riding on Trevor Rogers again being a front-end starter as he had been over 18 starts in ’25; but I believed things would work with the roster overall.

I didn’t like the defense, but felt the lineup would be productive power wise, and the rotation had solid usable depth.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from 1st year Manager Craig Albernaz, but my default position was (and remains) that MLB Manager’s in 2026 have fairly minimal impact.
If anything, I thought if the team rebounded like I expected they would – he’d get a large portion of the credit.
I did think maybe he’d help the team with day-to-day focus, and details.
Mainly I thought after having only two players reach 90+ games played in ’25, that the roster would look more locked in with improved health and availability.

The Orioles have not been an enjoyable product to watch this year, but I’ve generally maintained my optimism for the roster.
I last wrote about the O’s a week ago, when they had reached the true half-way point of their ’26 season.
Going into play that night, they were 38-43, 2 games out of the 3rd Wild Card, and 3.5 games out of the 2nd Wild Card.

Part of the optimism I still had last week was tied to the rest of the American League.
A post-season run was still well within reach, if the O’s could just put some consistently positive play together over the remainder of their season.
After winning today, they’ve gone 2-5 overall since then.
Now 40-48 overall, they’ve fallen back to 8 games under .500, and are 5 games out of the 3rd Wild Card.

The O’s have been a hard watch, but I genuinely still like / believe in large swaths of the roster.
Which is again part of the reason the year has been disappointing.
I think the results should be better than they are given what exists.
Stubbornly, I still believe the roster compares pretty favorably talent wise to the rest of the American League sans New York.
At 38-43 last week, I still thought the O’s were capable of a 2nd half run (getting to the 85-90 overall wins they’d need to be in the playoff hunt).
I did say they had dug a hole.
I did say they were a bad week away from being in an even more precarious position.
I did say they’d have to play .580+ ball the rest of the year (at that point, with 81 games remaining) to finish in a possible playoff position, and that only 4 MLB teams were currently at that level.

Now?
At 40-48, they’ve had that bad week, and their backs are up against the proverbial wall even more.
At this point, they’re wearing the mask, and the firing squad is aiming at them.
They’ve got very minimal margin for error.
To get to 85 wins, they’d have to go 45-29.  (A .608 winning percentage over the last 74 games.)
To get to 90 wins, they’d have to go 50-24.  (A .676 winning percentage over the last 74 games.)

There are currently two teams in MLB with a winning percentage over .600.

Do I think the O’s are going to win 45-50 of their last 74 games?
No, I can’t say I do.
I think there is enough talent on the roster, that they’re capable of a scorching stretch; but capable of and believing they will are two different things.
The Orioles simply haven’t done anything collectively to believe the year will turn on a dime.
It would certainly be a pleasant surprise.

Acknowledging that, allows me to watch the remaining O’s games this season in a different light.
With no remaining expectations for this year, my attention turns more towards what comes next?

Before looking ahead, some thoughts on why this year hasn’t gone to plan.

I believe talent typically wins out.
Each year there are reasonable ranges of expectations for players and teams.
The greater history you have, the more detail you have; those ranges shrink.
When you have results outside of standard deviation points, you have the outlier seasons which make watching sports worthwhile.
If every result came down to a cold calculation, and there was never a surprise, there wouldn’t be a whole lot to watch.

Each year does bring surprises.
Some welcomed, some not.

The ’26 Orioles are on-pace to win 74 games.
My expectation was 90 wins.
Somewhere between 78 wins and 93 wins would have felt to me like reasonable expectations for the O’s on Opening Day.
I was on the high-side, but I saw a path where things could go wrong, and they could finish slightly under .500.
Also saw a path where they could be better than I expected.

74 wins is outside of that expected range to me, which forces other questions.
Is it a complete over-estimation of the talent by me?  That’s possible.
Is the baseline talent good enough, but there are other things going on, and if so, what would those other things be?

Not enough leadership?
Fractions within the clubhouse?
Players unhappy with their contracts?
A team of complacent, mental weaklings?
A lack of self-discipline?

There are lots of things outside of talent, which matter in life and sports.
Other aspects which determine why people and players succeed or fail.
Drive, intensity, work ethic.  An ability to work with others.  Hustle, desire, competitiveness, enthusiasm, grit.

If you told me you could choose between two players of near comparable skill, and Player A apparently had all of the intrinsic gifs you would seek in an individual, while Player B had known character questions; sure sign-me for Player A, even if Player B grades as the slightly better talent.

But while there are tests, and certainly human interactions, which can help you determine how someone grades with soft-skills, aptitude, and motivation; those results aren’t readily available on FanGraphs, and Baseball Savant.

As such, I’m uncomfortable attributing character grades to individuals I don’t know.
There can be glimpses of things that show through the TV, and make me like a player more.
BJ Surhoff had an intense focus, readily apparent to all, and you didn’t have to be holding a microphone in-front of him to know that.
Nolan Reimold busted has ass down the line everytime.
Adam Jones went cleats up into 2nd base, looking to wipe out a potential double play.

Those things stood out.

What did we know about Nick Markakis?
He showed up ready to play most days, so we appreciated the work-ethic and consistency.
He had a reputation of being a clubhouse leader, but not because he was boiling over with intensity, or known for fiery speeches.
Teammates loved him apparently because he posted up.

It helped that the O’s were good around him.
Otherwise, more might have been asked of him.
Go back to 1988 and how Eddie Murray was covered locally at that point.
Murray’s on-track then for a Hall-of-Fame career, but the O’s had gone from ’83 World Champions, to the worst team in baseball in ’88.
The steady, consistent, quiet approach that was respected and revered in ’83, is now viewed as stand-offish and a character flaw 5 years later.
Did Eddie change?
Or was he a convenient scape-goat and target for the Media and an angry fanbase?

Again, my point here being there are things outside of talent which matter to the success of teams and players, but grading those things are difficult.
There are things we as fans can observe from our seats and couches, but most of our arm-chair analysis of such is circumstantial at-best.

Could there be existing issues outside of talent, which are impacting the O’s team performance?
Maybe?
I’m certainly not in a position to judge that.

Let’s say you are world’s preeminent Sports Psychologist, and the O’s have brought you into the clubhouse to evaluate.
And you’ve determined there are issues outside the field, which are impacting play on-the-field.

Okay.

Now what?

Can you quantify that?
How much of the O’s performance would you attribute to those issues?

Again, I can’t answer that.
I don’t know that those issues exist, and if they do – I certainly don’t know how much weight to give it.

Call me crazy, but I think the O’s primary issues are:

• Their 22nd in ERA.
• Their not as brutal defensively as some say, but it’s being kind to say defense isn’t a strength.
• Nor is their baserunning.
• The bullpen is missing at-least one needed high-leverage arm.
• Their best player is having a down year.
• The rotation needed Rogers and Kyle Bradish to be consistent front-end starters; and they’ve got 13 Quality Starts in 32 outings.

If you want to point to character questions, I don’t know what do with that.

If you want to discuss the talent just not being good enough, that’s a discussion we can have.

Sometimes, players and teams over or underachieve expected results, and I’m not sure there is always a great reason for it.

Gunnar Henderson is one of the most talented players in baseball, and he’s having a pretty pedestrian season.
Are there deep underlying reasons for that, or is that just baseball?
Why does Cal Ripken Jr. have his 2nd MVP season in ’91, and follow that with a very mediocre ’92?
I’d suggest the answer is that baseball is a game predicated around failure and adjustments.
More often than not, you are going to fail.
Sometimes even the best aren’t able to make the necessary in-season changes.

Sometimes things just don’t work out.

If you determine there are talent, or character issues with the roster, and believe those issues need to be reconciled with needed wholesale change; have at-it.

My determination is that the talent is largely good enough to win with.
I’m not in position to judge if there are character questions.
And if there are character questions, I don’t know how to quantify.
As such, I’d be largely inclined to run things back with tweaks vs. larger changes.
More cosmetic changes (paint job) vs. demo work.

Early Thoughts On 2027

• If I’m Orioles Owner David Rubenstein, the first determination to make is about Orioles GM Mike Elias. Is he the right fit for the job or is he not?  The majority of Birdland would probably vote no right now. I’d vote yes. The only vote that really matters is Rubenstein’s.  If Elias is going to be back for ’27, the O’s should announce that and take that ambiguity off the table.
• What is the organization doing with Adley Rutschman? The O’s are 8 games under .500 with 24 games until the Trade Deadline. Rutschman is under team-control through ’27. If the O’s are seemingly out of Wild Card contention at the deadline, there has to be consideration to trading Rutschman. He’s more valuable to another team (and thus should extract more return) with 1.2 years of team control remaining vs. being traded this off-season, or sometime next year. Adley is 28 years old.  He’s been on the IL twice this year. When he has been available, he’s having his best offensive year since ’23.  If the O’s didn’t trade him, and just kept him under control through next year, he hits the Free Agent market in October 2027 at age 29, preparing to turn 30 in February ’28.  I like having him and Samuel Basallo together. I’d think Rutschman would also enjoy having someone he can split time with behind the plate vs. a normal backup.  I’m sure Rutschman would like a 7-8 year deal which would take him to his late 30s.  I’m sure the O’s would prefer a 5 year deal. Rutschman is a good, not-transformative player. With Basallo, I’m more open to a Rutschman extension than I have been previously.  An in-season deal might not be realistic. Rutschman might also want to get to Free Agency and the open market vs. doing any deal.  If I’m the O’s, I’m pushing extremely hard right now for an answer. “We’d like to find a deal that works for both sides, is that possible?”  If he’s not open to doing a deal now, or if what he would want is outside of what you are prepared to do; then trading him by August 3rd needs to be in-play.  That doesn’t mean I would definitely trade him though. He’d bring back more if traded now vs. the off-season, or next year sometime; but I don’t think he’d bring back a huge return regardless.  If you make him available, and you love the offer, you can pull the trigger.  If you don’t like the offer, you live with that, and have him available for next year.
• Rogers is a Free Agent after the year. Free Agent pitching is expensive obviously. He showed an ability to pitch like an ace over 18 starts last year. That upside means something. So does the lack of consistency in his career. Can both sides work an extension at 3rd to 5th starter prices? I’d sign up for that. Id pay for him to be a 3rd starter – maybe not expect him to be that – but would have some reasonable hope he could be more than that. If he isn’t traded in season and pitches we’ll during the remainder of the year, a deal probably becomes unlikely unless he wants to remain because of a comfort factor. If the O’s believe in him, they should pursue a deal now.  Make him a reasonable offer now. Make him take it or turn it down.  If he turns it down, then you probably have to trade him at the Deadline and get something back for him.  An extension is ideal for the O’s. If he’s gone, you are going to want to replace him in the rotation. Would be costly in dollars (Free Agency) or trade (player capital).  Is an extension ideal for Rogers?  Would someone give him a deal for more than 3rd starter Free Agent money?  Maybe?  After his year last year, and turning things around over the last month here in ’26; is he comfortable in an O’s uniform?
• So, when I’m starting to think about ’27, I’m starting with Elias, Rutschman, and Rogers.  It seems to me you’d need answers with those items before turning attention to anything else.
• Once you’ve answered those questions, you can decide what do with Taylor Ward. Like Rogers, he’s a Free Agent after this year. If you’ve moved Rutschman, and Rogers, then you probably move Ward as well. If you’ve found deals (again, realize in-season deals with either Rutschman or Rogers is unlikely, and probably highly unlikely to do deals with both) with Rutschman and/or Rogers, I might be inclined to also try and find an extension for Ward now too. A Ward extension would be a 1 or 2 year deal. I’d look at him as an average everyday regular.  You could try and upgrade the position. We will look at possible Free Agents later. Maybe someone catches the eye. You could let him go, and there are multiple ways you could make up for his current production. Hell, you could just bring back Leody Taveras for another year, and have a Taveras, Cowser, Beavers OF penciled in for ’27.  But he played 156, and 157 games the last two years with the Angels, and has played nearly everyday with the O’s. The homers are drastically lower than anticipated, but the on-base % is way higher than expected. He’s a legitimate everyday player, despite his defense being a bit below average in LF. He’s also turning 33 in December which is part of why an extension would be a 1 or 2 year deal.  I’m not in love with Ward, but he feels like another adult in the room.
• Blaze Alexander has been my favorite Oriole to watch the last few months. I also remain a big fan of Westburg, and will be anxious for him to get back next year; and hopeful he can put his injuries behind him. If Westburg stays available, and claims 3rd, then Alexander is either a Super Utility guy, or potentially could end up competing for time with Jackson Holliday at 2nd.
• If Rutschman is back for ’27, you’ve got him and Basallo holding down C and DH.   Obviously Pete Alonso has 1st for sometime.  Westburg staying healthy enough to hold down 3rd will remain a question. But if he does, and Rutschman is back; it becomes harder to find potential ab’s for Coby Mayo.  I would think the O’s would want Westburg to prove his health before moving Mayo.  Mayo is never going to be a good 3rd baseman imo, but I do think he made strides towards serviceable this year.  And despite the sub .200 batting average, we’ve seen some glimpses of the bat.  The power plays obviously. He needs to commit to going to RF more.  I thought he looked extremely stiff in his ’25 audition. He looks like he has better flexibility and plate coverage this year; but the results have been inconsistent. He’s 25 in December. I think there is too much offensive potential (and team control) to give him away until you feel comfortable about Westburg’s health, but also think he’s looking at needing injuries in-front of him to stay an Oriole and find regular playing time in ’27.
• Cowser’s April was below what you’d expect from him. His May better than you’d expect. And is June was more in the ballpark. He’s slashing .227 / .319 / .373 right now.  My July 1st guess is that he’ll be one of the starting OF’s on Opening Day 2027, but he’d really benefit from finishing strong these next 3 months. How we feel about Cowser as an everyday player at the end of ’26, will certainly impact some of our perceptions on what’s possible for the ’27 O’s.   Similar take for Beavers.  The O’s (Albernaz) has said he believes Beavers can be a plus fielder.  Would like to see more of that the next few months.
• Basallo looks like will be an offensive force.  The arm is strong defensively.  Even as a part-time catcher (if Rutschman is back), he needs to refine his work behind the plate.  If Rutschman is traded, one of my concerns would be how will Basallo’s offense be impacted if he’s forced to catch more?
• After 14 combined starts during ’24 and ’25, Bradish has not consistently reached his ’23 levels (4th in the AL Cy Young balloting). His command has been an issue.  But we’ve also seen numerous games where he looked like his old-self. The optimistic take on the year so far is that he’s stayed available to make 17 starts.  Can he sprint to the finish?
• Holliday is 23 in December.  Last year was his first full season in the bigs. He had improvement in ’25 vs. his ’24 big league audition. This year started with the hamate bone surgery. Right now, he’s batting .196 through his first 102 ab’s of ’26.  He was the 1st overall selection of the ’22 Draft, and became the top overall consensus player in the Minors. I don’t need or expect the 22 year old to be a finished product. I do expect a player of his pedigree to start being more consistently additive than we’ve seen so far. Do think he’s getting closer to average defensively at 2nd. Better around the bag, movements more natural. I really disliked that the O’s were giving him time at 3rd in the Minors on his rehab. As if he needed something else to worry about.  Again, you start thinking about next year, part of that thinking will be determined by how Holliday finishes ’26.
• Shane Baz, Dean Kremer, and Brandon Young figure to make up 3/5s of the O’s ’27 Opening Day rotation.
• Ryan Helsley joined the O’s on a 2 year contract.  Albernaz said after the game today, he’s dealing with elbow discomfort and will get further testing. Not to jump to conclusions, but that feels a bit ominous. Hopefully he’s okay. He already missed roughly 6 weeks of this season.  Felix Bautista is hoping to rejoin the O’s in September.  A dream scenario would be having both healthy, available, and performing next year. The odds of that don’t feel great.
• Here is MLBTR’s Top 10 Free Agent’s To Be Power Rankings. Michael King, Casey Mize, Adrian Morejon, and Ian Happ all look like guys the O’s could possibly pursue.  A larger look at the Free Agent class is here. 
• Going back to Ward, would you prefer a larger investment in someone like Happ?  Cowser and Beavers in CF, and RF; with Enrique Bradfield and Nate George possible internal candidates to push for time at some point in ’27? Bradfield played 108 MiL games in ’24, followed by 76 last year. So far this year, he’s played just 40. There are no questions about his glove and speed. There are plenty of questions about his bat. Now you have to question his ability to stay on the field. Even if you wanted to hand CF to him for his glove, you’d be hard pressed do so, given his inability to stay available.

Alternative Scenario

Let’s say Rubenstein wants to move on from Elias, who are possible alternatives?

Jon Daniels – Former Rangers General Manager.  Currently a Senior Advisor with Tampa Bay.

Kim Ng – Former Marlins General Manager.  Currently outside the game entirely.

James Click – Former Astros General Manager.  Now VP of Baseball Strategy with Toronto.

Michael Fishman – Yankees VP / Assistant GM under Brian Cashman.

Amiel Sawdaye – Diamondbacks SVP / Assistant GM under Mike Hazen.  Baltimore native, Graduate of Pikesville High, and University of Maryland.

Cal Ripken Jr. –  The HOF, has an Ownership share, and is doing some Player Development work.  Obviously the name would sell, and the Ripken Way still carries weight. Especially with the current fundamental issues with the ML team.  Feels like Ripken would need to surround himself with a lot of Front Office experience.

The post Early Thoughts On 2027 And An Alternative appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

• First no surprise, they have already broken the all time WC overall attendance record surpassing 3.6 million fans through the first 60 matches. The 1994 WC, also held in the US still holds the record for average attendance/match at 68,991 fans while, so far this tournament has averaged 64,270 fans/ match. And it should be noted that the 1994 WC only had 24 teams so the overall quality of the teams was a bit higher than the current 48 team tournament. However, I think its fair to say that all the pre-WC bashing about how attendance was going to be terrible due to so many more teams and much less quality has proven to be false.
• While we are talking about the 48 teams just how has that worked out. Certainly its a bit subjective but IMO its played out pretty well. There is no perfect answer when trying to balance fan interest, quality of competition, and FIFA’s drive to make money. But its been successful enough that the die hard fans are just going to have to accept that this is the way its going to be. Here’s some of the interesting things that happened during the Group Stage.
• Its hard not to put this at the top of the list. First time participant, Cabo Verde, with a population just over 500,000 people qualified and has actually advanced to the Knockout Stage. Prior to the WC most fans couldn’t even tell you where Cabo Verde is. But all they did was manage 3 draws in their 3 matches including a stunning 0-0 draw with one of the pre-tournament favorites, Spain. That was good enough to get them second in Group H. Who saw that coming!! Now they get to play Argentina in the Round of 32 and don’t expect the fairy tale to continue. But, hey they play the games for a reason.
• Speaking of Group H, Uruguay, the #16 ranked team in the world got grouped. Their Federation was so pissed that they cancelled the teams charter flight home and required the players to take commercial flights home instead. Ouch.
• The leader board for all time goals scored in the WC is taking on a new look now. Thus far Lionel Messi (Argentina) has scored 6 goals to take the all time lead at 19. He has played in 6 WC and a total of 29 matches for far. Kylian Mbappe (France) has scored 4 goals thus far to move his total to 16. This is only his 3rd WC and he has scored those 16 goals in onlyl17 matches. Also at 16 is the pre-tournament leader, Miroslav Klose (Germany). Klose played in 4 WC (the last being in 2014 and tallied his goals in 24 matches. So Messi has the total lead, but if you look at it on a goals/match basis, Mbappe is the best. But we should also mention two other players on the all time list that are still playing. Harry Kane (England) has 11 goals all time including 3 so far this tournament and right behind him with 10 goals is Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) who has 2 so far this time. Messi, Mbappe, Kane, and Ronaldo aren’t done yet either.
• And of course the tournament, like all of them has had it share of controversies. We are not going to even give credence to any of the conspiracy theories being floated. Bunch of nonsense dreamed up by the media to ..well never mind. I am not going to go there. But there are two subjects that do warrant a little attention:
• First off, the structure of the tournament with 48 teams has created a bit of an issue. Perhaps its minor but it is real. And that is the scheduling given that 8 of the 12 groups 3rd place teams advanced. When only two teams in a group advance the fairness aspect was easily dealt with. Matchday 3 for each group had both matches being played at the same time so that no team had any type of an advantage knowing exactly what result they needed to advance. But its a bit different in this format because going into Matchday 3 teams didn’t really know what result was needed. The later groups however did have the extra bit of knowledge of the groups that had already played Matchday 3. With 48 teams there is just no way to overcome this. Some pundits are suggesting that perhaps the right answer is to expand to 64 teams. 16 groups of 4 and back to only the top 2 advance. I understand the logic here but at some point the tournament quality has to drop. But then I thought that the quality would drop to far with 48 and that’s not really been the case. One could make a pretty solid argument that the gap between the best teams in the world and the lower echelon of teams is closing. Just ask Spain and Uruguay!
• Probably the biggest controversy has been how offside has been called and using the Virtual Assistant Referee (VAR) to make the rulings. Numerous goals have been called back for offside with what seems to be an extremely tight interpretation of just what is offside. The final match in Group K was between Columbia and Portugal. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. But the match was intense and filled with opportunities as the 2 sides combined for 37 shots. But neither side could find that magic bullet until the final minutes when Colombia slotted home a header for what appeared to be the game winner. But the AR raised the flag for offside and VAR confirmed the player was off. Literally by a toe. Here’s the replay and the VAR picture.

The use of VAR for offside has been a hotly debated topic for years now. There have been numerous attempts to try and come up with a better solution but thus far no perfect answer has arisen. Now we can bitch and moan about VAR and how can a guys toe make them offside. But it IS objective. There is no interpretation to be made. The technology is concise. The problem arises, of course, from what the intent of the Laws of the Game meant. The purpose of offside was to prevent an attacking player from gaining an unfair advantage due to their position. Does a guys toe being 2 inches offside really give them an advantage? Hardly. But the problem with most all of the solutions out there is that they add back in subjectivity which was the main reason for VAR in the first place. To remove the subjectivity. The biggest league in the world, the English Premier League has been trying an approach they call the zone of tolerance. Well that hasn’t been very well accepted either. Then you have long time Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, who has suggested that the rule be that to be offside there must be clear daylight between the bodies of the players in question. The concern raised with this approach is that it may give too much of an advantage to attacking players. But it would be objective in nature. Replay would show daylight or it wouldn’t. But I think I have an alternative that may be a solid compromise. Use the same approach that is used for keepers when they move to try and save a penalty kick. In that rule, keepers are allowed to move prior to the ball being kicked as long as one foot touches the goal line. They can take a step out but the back foot must still be touching (or be behind) the goal line when the ball is kicked. Apply a similar approach to offside. The attacking players front foot must be in contact with the VAR drawn offside line. This would still be objective but remove the ticky tacky offside for a toe. And create a “zone of tolerance” that is objective.

Round of 32 Projections

Here’s my cliff notes projections for this round. I’ll give you my pick and confidence level for each of the 16 matches.

Canada vs South Africa – Canada. CL is 6. Ok this one was yesterday but it went about as expected.

Brazil vs Japan – Brazil. CL 6. Both sides have looked solid but Brazil has more talent.

Germany vs Paraguay – Germany. CL 7. Paraguay’s defense has slipped a bit and the German attack is tied in goals with 10 (France and the Netherlands).

Netherlands vs Morocco – Netherlands. CL 5. This should be one of the tightest matches this round and could go either way. I just like the Dutch quality a bit better.

Ivory Coast vs Norway – Norway. CL 7. Norway has Eerling Haaland and they are well rested having the starters sit out the last match. Ivory Coast has the team speed to keep them at bay.

France vs Sweden – France. CL 7. I don’t think the Swede’s defense can stop Mbappe.

Mexico vs Ecuador – Mexico. CL 7. Mexico was gifted an easy group and won it going away. But they haven’t looked that good and haven’t been tested. I think they make it past this round.

USA vs Bosnia Herzgovina – US. CL 8. More on this later.

England vs Congo DR – England. CL7. The Three Lions havent woken up yet. They do in this one.

Belgium vs Senegal – Belgium. CL 5. This is THE match for US fans to pay attention to as we play the winner of this one. This is going to be close.

Spain vs Austria – Spain. CL 8. Spain hasn’t allowed a goal yet. This might not change in this match either.

Portugal vs Croatia – Portugal. CL 6. Portugal hasn’t lived up to the hype yet and Croatia has tons of experience at the WC. This will be a fun one.

Switzerland vs Algeria – Switzerland. CL 8. Swiss just take care of business in this one. A bit too tall of a task for Algeria.

Australia vs Egypt – Australia. CL 6. This one is close but Egypt has some injury issues and the overall physicality of the Soccerroos may make the difference.

Argentina vs Cabo Verde – Argentina. CL 9. We’ve seen CV hold Spain scoreless. But that was early in the tournament and Argentina and Messi are on a mission.

Colombia vs Ghana – Colombia. CL 7. Colombia is very strong and this Ghana team isn’t at the level of some of their historically good teams.

USMNT Group D Recap

Not much to add that hasn’t been written and talked about for the last several weeks but here’s my take on how the group went for our guys.  Here’s the short answer. Within one minute of just about perfect. The objective at the WC is simple and in this order.

1. Advance out of your group. And hopefully with no cards or injuries. Check.
2. Know that you have already advanced after Matchday 2 so you can rest players and clear any cards. Check.
3. Play you second lineup in Matchday 3 and get them some preparatory minutes for the rest of the tournament. Secondly, get a result. Check and within a minute of checking the last box

US vs Paraguay

The key to an opening match, depending on your opponent, is to come out strong and push them hard if they are a defensive side. Or to weather the storm from a strong pressing opponent until the game settles down. We knew going in that Paraguay was one of the top defensive sides in South America and was going to play a low block and hope to frustrate the US and then score on a counter. Well none of that happened. The US came our firing on all cylinders and won going away 4-1. In fact a poll on one of the major soccer forums ranked this as the most impressive USMNT match EVER. Better than the US beating Portugal at the WC 2002. Better than the 2-0 win over Spain at the 2009 Confederations Cup. That’s some pretty lofty company and well deserved. The only downside of this match was that Christian Pulisic was kicked in the calf and had to come off at the break.

US vs Australia

Going in this was destined to be an entirely different kind of match that the one against Paraguay. Australia had some speedy front runners and was very big in the center back area. That speed and size would be tough to deal with and dangerous on set pieces. The Soccerroos are also very physical and came to play. Being there was clearly the sporting highlight of my life. Just no way to describe the atmosphere. Lumen Field as rocking and the US players sensed something special was going to happen. Early on the Aussies played very physical and made numerous hard challenges that seemed to warrant yellow cards but the Ref was content with just issuing verbal warnings. Thankfully it didn’t get out of hand nor cause us any injuries. Pulisic was surely missed but due to the physical nature of this match it wasn’t all bad to have him sitting out. The US dominated the first half and when Baltimore native Alex Freeman scored the second US goal the stadium literally was shaking to the point where a nearby seismic graph registered it as an earthquake. The US continued to dominate things the first 20 minutes in the second half but after some subs by both sides the boys from down south started to press. But they still never had much of a threat and the Stars and Stripes held on for a 2-0 win. And the best news later that day was that Paraguay had beaten Turkiye meaning the US had won the group and Turkiye was eliminated. Matchday 3 had zero pressure!

US vs Turkiye

So heading into this match the question for both coaches was how they would approach this match. US coach Mauricio Pochettino said before hand that he would not play any of the players sitting on yellow cards but was unclear on the rest. The thinking for Turkiye though was that they might go with all their starters to try and go home with a result. And that is exactly what they did. They ran out their A team. The US meanwhile ran out 10 different players from the 11 that started against Paraguay and the only reason it wasn’t 11 for 11 is that midfielder Cristian Roldan was injured in training and couldn’t go so Weston McKennie started in his place. And the match went about as expected. With the US losing 3-2 on a last minute goal. What was great to see though was the actual play. The US B team had more possession, twice as many shots on goal, and 4 times as many corner kicks. On another day they could have easily won this match. And it gave Pochettino some great feedback on who may or may not be up for playing time in the knockout stages.

Based on that match here’s how I view the substitutes.

Stock up – Sebastian Berhalter, Austin Trusty, and Miles Robinson

Neutral – Brendan Aaronson, Joe Scally, Ricardo Pepi, and Gio Reyna

Stock Down – Tim Weah, Mark McKenzie and Matt Turner

So here we are guys. No more grace period. Perform or go home.

US vs Bosnia-Herzgovina Preview

This match looks to start much like the US vs Paraguay. The US will probably start the same XI they did in that game and why not!. BIH will play a low block and look to counter. Their best chance to score will be on set pieces. They are very good at them so its incumbent upon our guys to not make silly fouls in the final third  BIH is well below all 3 of our group stage opponents in FIFA rankings and in fact BIH advanced mostly because they got a free 3 points against Qatar, one of the worst teams in the tournament. Although they did tie Canada 1-1, but I am not sold on this Canadian team much.

How BIH can win:

BIH does not have the talent level of the US. Case in point is one of their forwards Esmir Bajraktarevic. Hes actually a US born player and was capped with the USMNT but field a switch to BIH since he wasn’t going to make the US side. He’s good player but still. BIH can win one of two ways. Keep a clean sheet and score a counter to win 1-0. Or keep a clean sheet and get to penalties where it becomes a crapshoot. Or lastly poor officiating that lets them hack the US with our punishment.

How the US WILL win:

They have too much talent and have proven over the last 2 weeks that they can win pretty. They can win physical. And they can play with anybody. But here’s how I see this going. The combination wing play of Antonee Robinson and Christian Pulisic on the left and Sergino Dest and Alex Freeman on the right is too much for BIH to handle. They are too fast and when you try and cover the outside space they cut inside or find the final third pass to McKennie, Tillman, and Balogun.

Here’s the clincher. They are not only fast but they are in fantastic condition. The US players combined covered more distance during the Group Stage than ANY team in the tournament. If Bosnia keeps their defense packed in tight and lets us have the outside space thinking they can control the crosses here’s what may happen. Pulsic, McKennie, Dest,, and Balogun will get a pass at the outside edge of the 18 then dribble to create space for a shot close in. BIH might have trouble defending that without giving us a penalty. So I think we have the tools to break them down whichever way they go.

Now we have to play smart. We have so show up. But heres’ my prediction:

US WINS 3-1

The post USMNT – Group Stage Review and Knockout Prognosis appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

With the loss, the O’s are 38-43, putting them on-pace to win 76 games this year.

Some thoughts on what we’ve seen through the initial 81 games, and what awaits over the next 81.

Hasn’t Been Fun, But Not Dead Yet

The first half has been a difficult watch for Orioles fans.

Not just because they are 5 games under .500, but because the mediocrity seen so far this year is seen as a continuation of failed expectations which have plagued the O’s since the second half of the ’24 season.

They are in 4th place in the American League East, 10.5 games back of division leading New York.

That’s a big enough deficit to believe a division title is likely out of reach; and thus can be forgotten about at this point.

But at 2 games out of the 3rd Wild Card, and only 3.5 games back of the 2nd Wild Card; obtaining a playoff spot remains a reasonable goal.

Certainly one of the most significant reasons that we can still envision a run to the post-season as possible is because only the Division leaders and first two Wild Cards are at or above .500 currently in the American League.

Still, while the O’s have yet to play well for any extended stretch, they’ve done an admirable job of not being knocked out either.
There have been a couple of times the team was teetering, but they’ve been able to avoid complete disaster.

What’s It Going To Take?

The two teams which ultimately claim the 2nd and 3rd Wild Card spots in the American League will probably win between 85 and 90 games.

To finish with 85 wins, the O’s would have to go 47-34 the rest of the way.  That would be a .580 winning percentage over the next 81.
To finish with 90 wins, the O’s would have to go 52-29 the rest of the way. That would be a .642 winning percentage over the next 81.

There are only 4 teams in baseball right now that have a winning percentage at or above .580.

After the All-Star break in ’24, the O’s were .500 down the stretch.
Last year they they finished with 75 wins.
As we said above, their on-pace for 76 wins here in ’26.

Clearly they’ve dug a hole.
And they are in a position where a poor week of play could prove to be too much to overcome.

Mathematically they’re not facing some insurmountable hole.
Are they capable of 47 to 52 wins in these next 81 games?
I think answering that comes down to perspective.

If your perspective is that the O’s are 146-163 in their last 306 games and this is just who they are – that’s understandable.
The end of ’24 was disappointing.  ’25 was a mess.
There are similarities and differences with those rosters and this team.
My take is that I like the talent on the roster currently, and I think they’re pretty well positioned to take off here in the 2nd half.

What Is There To Be Optimistic About?

I’ll answer by asking the inverse, what has gone so right in the 1st half, that we can’t reasonably expect that to continue in the 2nd half?

Rico Garcia has pitched like an All-Star this year.
He might be able to bottle this up and continue this run for a few more months; but what he’s done is so far beyond expectations, it shouldn’t be a surprise if there is regression.

Yennier Cano is having his best year since 2023.
I feel pretty good about his ability to sustain this, but maybe he comes back to Earth some.

I liked Brandon Young as extended rotation depth to begin the year, I wouldn’t have expected him to have made 12 starts so far, and certainly wouldn’t have anticipated him being this good.
If you tell me he’s more likely to be a 5th starter going forward, or fall out of the rotation vs. maintain this current production – I get the argument.

If the answer is these three have been so good, it’s not reasonable to expect them to continue to produce at these levels – that’s off-set by the players we can expect more from.

In ’24, Gunnar Henderson slashed .281 / .364 / .529.   So far this year, he’s slashing .230 / .301 / .429.
Players have off years.  Maybe this will be a fully lost year for Henderson, similar to Ripken Jr’s ’92 after his 2nd MVP season in ’91.
Or maybe Gunnar will shake this first half funk and put up a second half closer to expected levels.

Adley Rutschman is having his best offensive year since ’23. He’s also now on his second IL stint.
Maybe he stays more available in the 2nd half?

The O’s offense has been fairly inconsistent, and not hot for any extended stretch.
Their still 8th overall in Runs Scored, including 3rd overall in the American League.

They’ve got four starters (Kyle Bradish, Trevor Rogers, Shane Baz, Young) currently pitching well.
They’ve got reasonable other options in Trey Gibson, Dean Kremer, Cade Povich, and Chris Bassitt (with Kremer, Povich, Bassitt all getting closer to working their way back).

Ryan Helsley has returned to the bullpen.

Blaze Alexander has shored up the defense at 3rd, and been on fire offensively since the calendar turned to May.

Biggest Wild Cards To Obtaining A Wild Card?

A month ago today, Rogers had a 6.96 era.
He’s been able to drop that to 5.30 after his 7 shutout innings in LA vs. the Dodgers Saturday.
He’s been strong in June. If he’s able to sustain this and look the part of a front-end starter for the remainder of the year, obviously that’s transformative to the roster as a whole.

Sam Basallo has had a good start to ’26.
He’s talented enough he could just ‘Hulk’ out the rest of this year.

How about Jackson Holliday?
The 22 year old 2nd baseman has a .674 OPS in his first 85 ab’s this year (.690 last year).
Maybe he’s not ready to be more than this.
Maybe he really emerges in the 2nd half and breaks out?

Biggest Questions? 

• Kyle Bradish has been strong the last couple of turns. Will he hit a wall at some point after not pitching much the last two years?
• There are 32 games between now and the August 3rd MLB Trade Deadline. If the O’s are at-least 16-16 in this stretch, will O’s GM Mike Elias look to move some of the current Top 10 Minor League prospects for help to the Major League roster?  At the minimum, it seems likely the O’s bullpen will need to obtain a high leverage reliever.
• Again, I think Rogers is the biggest Wild Card for the current roster. If he can match this last month going forward, that’s the front-end starter production the O’s need. He probably has to continue to ascend if the O’s are going to like their post-season chances as the Deadline. If for some reason he falls off, but the O’s still like their overall position – would Elias be able to obtain a starting pitcher of note?
• Dylan Beavers is getting closer to return.  When he does, how does playing time sort out between himself, Colton Cowser, and Leody Taveras?
• What does the next 5 weeks look like for Andrew Kittredge, Keegan Akin, and Tyler Wells?  Helsley’s return should help the pen. As should the rotation improving in-front of them. We talked above that maybe we see Garcia, and Cano fall back a bit. O’s need this Kittridge, Akin, Wells trio to help.  Wells has struggled vs. RHH, but has yet to allow a run (7.1 innings) here in June.

The Alternative

I’ve struck a fairly positive tone here given that the O’s are 5 under .500, and 17 under for the last 306 games.

I think the O’s are in a good position to take off, but as I also said above; they are also in a position were another poor week could bury them.

So, if they continue to be middling or things go completely off the rails between now and the Trade Deadline, what happens then?

The biggest question would be what do you do with Rutschman?  This is the best he’s looked offensively in sometime.
Assuming this latest IL stint (concussion) is more precautionary vs. serious; he’ll be back soon.
This version of Adley is felt when he’s not in the lineup.
He’s under team control through the ’27 season.
You’d get more for him now with a 1.3 years of team control vs. trading him this off-season, or next year.
You could a build a winning 2027 team without Rutschman, but most people would probably think the O’s were waiving the white flag on ’27 if he’s moved this August.
You could of course bring him back for ’27, but again, you’d get less if you attempted to trade him later.

In a scenario where the O’s wind-up trading Rutschman this year, you’d have to think that Taylor Ward, and Rogers (both Free Agents to be) would be moved.

Helsley is under contract through ’27. If there is a sell-off, maybe he goes? Probably not.

Garcia would be moved.  Honestly I think there is a chance Garcia is traded even if the O’s believe their a contender come August.

If Kremer or Bassitt get back and are competitive, either of them could be attractive to someone. Bassitt a Free Agent to be.  Kremer under contract through ’27.

If the O’s are not feeling good about where they are at the Deadline, then Henderson likely hasn’t turned things around.
If he hasn’t, then there wouldn’t be any thought of trading him then with perceived value ‘down.’
You still have him under control through ’28.  At the minimum, the O’s would look to retool for ’27, hoping for a Gunnar rebounding leading to either ’27 contention, or his value swinging back-up for a trade.
On the other-hand, his ability is recognized by everyone. If he was made available now, with 2.3 years of team control remaining, there would be plenty of suitors making big offers.

If the O’s get to August, and trading off Rutschman was a legitimate option, Orioles Owner David Rubenstein would likely be forced into some type of public pronouncement regarding Elias.
Presumably Ownership wouldn’t sign-off on Elias moving Rutschman if Elias wasn’t going to be at the helm for the ’27 season.
And if the O’s are in a selling position at the Deadline, Elias’ status going forward will need to be clarified to the public.

The MLB Draft

The 2026 MLB Draft is July 11th – July 13th.

In many Mock Drafts, the O’s continue to be connected with Georgia Tech CF Drew Burress with the 7th overall pick.

So What Happens Here In The 2nd Half?

The Yankees are 10 games ahead of the O’s.  NY is 4th overall in runs scored, and 2nd in ERA.
If you want to say NY has proven to be a better team, that’s fair.

I don’t see anyone else that’s definitively more talented than the O’s in the AL.

I respect the other divisional foes – Tampa and Toronto –  but the Rays have little power, and the Jays have a below offense overall.

Seattle can pitch, the Athletics can hit.

Chicago, Cleveland, Minnesota, Texas, Houston all have their own strengths and weaknesses.

A couple of these teams will kick things into a higher gear, and to be fair to the Rays; they’re already 10 games over .500.

But put the O’s roster up against any of them, and I don’t think it’s orange colored glasses to say the O’s are as talented as any of them.

As I’ve said, I think they’re pretty well positioned to make a run.

Now we will see if they can find their stride.

The post 81 Down, 81 To Go appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.

The first three of those eight straight losses being by a combined 10 points against Washington, Nebraska, and UCLA.

Once the wheels came off, MD wasn’t able to get back on-track, and the losing snowballed.

Now here in June, we’re a couple of months out from the 2026 season.

The seat is hot for Head Coach Mike Locksley as he enters Year 8 at the helm.

If expectations were rising after three straight bowl years in ’21-’23, current expectations for MD are minimal after back-to-back 4-8 seasons.

There is some legitimate talent on the roster.

If Coach Locksley is going to continue to lead the program; it’s imperative that the roster talent translates into results this year.

Let’s take a look at the roster that exists, and review some of the questions we have for this program as the season nears.

OFFENSE
QB: 1. Malik Washington, 2. Cardell Williams, 3. Cal Wither, 4. Nathan Bernhard
RB: 1. DeJuan Williams, 2. Iverson Howard, 3. Henry Dalton II, 4. Terrez Worthy, 5. Liam Wilson
WR-X: 1. Kaleb Webb, 2. Jordan Scott
WR-Z: 1. Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, 2. Ryan Manning
WR-H: 1. Chris Durr Jr., 2. Zymear Smith
TE: 1. Dorian Fleming, 2. Preston Howard
LT: 1. Rahtrel Perry, 2. Michael McMonigle
LG: 1. Jaylen Gilchrist, 2. Ryan Howerton
C: 1. Michael Hershey, 2. Trevor Szymanski
RG: 1. Tellek Lockette, 2. Amory Hills
RT: 1. Isaiah Wright, 2. Carlos Moore

DEFENSE
SAM: 1. Sidney Stewart OR Zion Elee
DT: 1. Eyan Thomas, 2. Lavon Johnson, 3. Armon Parker
NT: 1. Bryce Jenkins, 2. Joel Starlings, 3. Jayvon Parker
JACK: 1. Zahir Mathis, 2. Nahsir Taylor
MIKE: 1. Trey Reddick, 2. Stephen Dean III
WILL: 1. Daniel Wingate, 2. Carlton Smith
FCB: 1. Jamare Glasker, 2. Lloyd Irvin III
BCB: 1. Dontay Joyner, 2. Sean Johnson
NICKEL: 1. Amari Jackson, 2. Jayden Shipps
FS: 1. Gavin Edwards, 2. Darrell Carey
SS: 1. Lavain Scruggs, 2. Messiah Delhomme

SPECIAL TEAMS
K: 1. Sean O’Haire
P: 1. Bryce McFerson, 2. Philip Noyes
LS: 1. Luke O’Hare
KR: 1. Iverson Howard, 2. Ricardo Cooper Jr.

QB:
Malik Washington: Sophomore, Completed 273 passes, 2,963 yards, 17 td’s.
Cardell Williams: Senior, Sacramento State transfer, threw for 1,651 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2025 while also rushing for 382 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Cal Wither: Laurier (Canada) transfer. 1st team All-Canada last season. He threw for 2,472 yards for the Golden Hawks in 2025, with 26 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions.
Nathan Bernhard: Freshman, 3 star, Class of ’26.

RB: 
DeJuan Williams: RS Sophomore, In ’25, 9 starts, led MD with 927 all-purpose yards. 4 star. Saint Frances.  Chose MD over Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State.
Iverson Howard: Sophomore, 3 star, ESPN 300, 4 star per ESPN,  led MD in kickoffs in ’25.
Henry Dalton III: RS Freshman, 3 star, USC transfer.
Terrez Worthy: Senior, 3 star, Temple transfer. Known for big speed, had a JUCO season before joining Temple.
Liam Wilson: Junior, Started 23 games for Maryland’s Baseball team in 2025.

WR:
X: 1. Kaleb Webb, 2. Jordan Scott
Z: 1. Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, 2. Ryan Manning
H: 1. Chris Durr Jr., 2. Zymear Smith

Webb: RS Senior, Tennessee transfer before ’25, 4 star.  Played all 12 games in ’25.
Scott: Senior, FSU transfer before ’25, 3 star  Was #2 JUCO per 247. 6’7, 220.

Abdul-Rahim Gladding: Junior, ODU transfer, 3 star.
Manning: RS Jr, 3 star, Saint Frances, Top 100 WR in the Nation.

Durr: Junior, Wyoming transfer, 3 star.
Z. Smith: RS Freshman, 4 star, ESPN 300, chose MD over Bama, Penn State, and South Carolina.

Ejani Shakir: Junior, Independence CC transfer, 43 catches, 724 yards, 6 TD’s last year.
Jayden Kitchens: Freshman, 3 star, 24th overall player in MD.
Sean Williams: RS Junior, was a Top 5 player in DC in HS.
Josiah Teasley: Freshman, 3 star, 23rd overall player in VA.

TE: 
Dorian Fleming: RS Jr, 25 HM Big Ten. Georgia State transfer before ’25, 2024 All Sun Belt Conference,
Preston Howard: RS Senior, Auburn transfer (former Terp), 3 star.
AJ Szymanski: Senior, was in all 12 games last year, with 3 starts.
JT Taggart: Sophomore, was in 11 of 12 games last year. Out of HS was a 3 star, ranked 31st amongst all TE’s. Son of Willie Taggart.
Damon Hall Jr: Freshman, 3 star, ranked 31st amongst all TE’s. Recruited by Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Michigan.

O-Line:
LT: 1. Rahtrel Perry, 2. Michael McMonigle
LG: 1. Jaylen Gilchrist, 2. Ryan Howerton
C: 1. Michael Hershey, 2. Trevor Szymanski
RG: 1. Tellek Lockette, 2. Amory Hills
RT: 1. Isaiah Wright, 2. Carlos Moore

Perry: RS Senior, Central Connecticut State transfer before ’25, 2024 All NEC 1st Team, started all 12 games for MD in ’25.
Gilchrist: RS Freshman, 4 star, ESPN 300, 80th overall, injured in the ’25 Opener.
Hershey: Junior, Started all 12 games in ’25. Academic All Big Ten.3 star, Chose MD over Charlotte, Yale, Delaware.
Lockette: RS Senior, Phil Steele had him 1st team All Sun Belt entering last year. Finished the 25 season as the top graded OL in the Group of 5, according to PFF.
Wright: Graduate, Started all 12 games for MD in ’25.

Moore: RS Senior, 3 star, Elon transfer before ’25, started 10 games in ’24 with Elon.
Howerton: RS Soph, 3 star per 247, 4 star per Rivals, UA All-American Game invite.
Watkins: RS Soph, 3 star, 24th overall player in MD.
Hills: Soph, 3 star, 26th overall player in MD.
Bennett: RS Soph, 3 star, action in 2 games last year. Academic All-Big Ten.
McMonigle: RS Freshman, 3 star.
Beymer: RS Freshman, 3 star.
Szymankski: RS Soph, 3 star, Chose MD over Pitt, VaTech, Syracuse.
Robsock: RS Soph, 3 star, 33rd overall player in PA.
Folivi: RS Senior.

D-Line:
SAM: Sidney Stewart OR Zion Elee
DT:  Eyan Thomas, Lavon Johnson, Armon Parker
NT: Bryce Jenkins, Joel Starlings, Jayvon Parker

Stewart: Sophomore, was Freshman All-American in ’25, out of HS 3 star, Top 40 player in MD, Chose MD over WVU, Boston College, Indiana
Elee: Freshman, 5 star

Thomas: RS Jr, Saint Francis (PA) transfer before ’25, 2nd Team All NEC.
Johnson: Senior, Texas transfer, former Terp, 3 star.
A. Parker: R-Senior, Washington transfer, played in 8 games last year. 6’3, 320.

Jenkins: Sophomore, 4 star, ESPN 300, 2nd ranked player in DC.
Starlings: RS Jr, 3 star, saw action in 11 games in 2025.
J. Parker: R-Senior, 24 games across 4 years with Washington. 2024 Academic All-American. 6’3, 330.

Derrick LeBlanc: RS Jr, UCF transfer, out of HS was a 4 star, Nation’s 51st overall recruit.
DD Holmes: RS Sophomore, saw action in 9 games, including 1 start in ’25.  Out of HS was ESPN 300, 4 star, and rated 2nd best player in DC.
EJ Moore: Junior, saw action in 11 of 12 games. Before MD was a Phil Steele 2024 FCS Freshman All-American.
Joshua Simmons: RS Sophomore, 2025 Academic All-Big Ten.
Delmar White: RS Freshman, 3 star, Top 40 player in Maryland.
JaMarcus Whyce: Freshman, 4 star, 17th ranked player in Ohio.
Cam Brickle: Freshman, 3 star, IMG Academy.
Jianni Davis: Freshman, 3 star, 31st overall player in Maryland, son of Vernon Davis.

LB:
JACK: Zahir Mathis, Nahsir Taylor
MIKE: Trey Reddick, Stephen Dean III
WILL: Daniel Wingate, Carlton Smith

Mathis: Sophomore, Freshman All-American in ’25, out of HS 4 star, ESPN 300, # 1 player in Pennsylvania, 2025 UA All-American, Choose MD over OSU, FSU
Taylor: Sophomore, saw action in 11 games, and had 2 sacks. Was 3 stars out of HS, 32nd rated player in Maryland.

Reddick: Junior, 3 star, 5th on team in tackles and TFL’s in ’25. 14th ranked player in VA, Chose MD over Wake, UNC, Penn State. .
Dean III: R Senior, 3 star, VMI transfer. Had 117 tackles (including 9.5 for loss) last season.

Wingate: Senior, 2025 HM Big Ten. Top 25 player in MD, Top 100 LB in the Nation, Choose MD over BC, WVU, Penn State.
C.Smith: Sophomore, 3 star, 3rd on team for tackles in ’25.

Darius Grimes, RS Jr, saw action in all 12 games in 2025.
Travares Daniels, RS Freshman, 3 star, Top 100 player in Florida.
Kaden Carter, Freshman, 4 star, rated as 7th best ILB in the ’26 Class.
Kellen McConnell, RS Sophomore, Academic All-Big Ten.
Keyari James, RS Sophomore, Academic All-Big Ten. 3 star.

Secondary:
FCB:  Jamare Glasker, Lloyd Irvin III
BCB: Dontay Joyner, Sean Johnson
NICKEL: Amari Jackson, Jayden Shipps
FS: Gavin Edwards, Darrell Carey
SS: Lavain Scruggs, Messiah Delhomme

Glasker: RS Senior, Wake Forest transfer before ’25, started 9 games in ’24.  3 picks in ’25.
Irvin III:  RS Sophomore, 3 star, 26th overall player in MD, Chose MD over BC, VaTech, West Virginia

Joyner: Senior, HM Big Ten in ’25. Arkansas State transfer before ’25, played in 24 games, 3rd highest grade at CB in Sun Belt in ’24 via PFF.
Johnson: Freshman, 3 star

Jackson: RS Senior, Boston College transfer, 3 star
Shipps: Sophomore, 3 star

Edwards: RS Jr, 3 star transfer before ’25
Carey: Freshman, 3 star

Scruggs: 3 star, 21st overall player in MD, played in 12 games last year, started 4 in ’24. 4th on team in tackles in ’25
Delhomme: Sophomore, 4 star, ESPN 300, 2nd ranked player in Virginia. 2 blocked kicks, 6th on team in tackles in ’25.

Mekhai White: RS Sophomore, was in 11 games. Was a 4 star recruit out of HS, made switch from WR to CB in ’25.
Ricardo Cooper: RS Jr, was in all 12 games, had a pick, named MD’s Special Teams Player of the Year.
Judah Jenkins: RS Sophomore, Academic All-Big Ten. Appeared in all 12 games in ’24, and zero games in ’25.
Alex Moore: RS Jr, was in 11 games in ’25.

Special Teams
K: Sean O’Haire: RS Sophomore, 21 of 24 on FGs.
P: 1. Bryce McFerson: RS Senior, 2025 2nd team Big Ten

What Do We Like?

Washington is back for a second year, and he gained extensive experience as a Freshman.
ESPN looked at the QB situations for all 138 FBS schools, and has Washington in their Tier 8. 

Talent and experience under center is a good starting point.

I liked the addition of Lockette in the portal.
The starting O-Line looks capable, with some upside capability if Gilchrist is productive.
There would be a noticeable drop off if any starters were lost to injury, but there does appear to be growing usable OL depth.

I like Fleming at TE, and was happy to see Howard return.

The RB depth seems like it was solidified in the portal.
I like Williams, and Worthy seems like he has the speed to really factor.
MD hasn’t done enough in the running game the last few years, I’m hoping we see a tick up here.

I like the starting Secondary, and Delhomme.

The kicking and punting game is in excellent shape.

As excited as I am about having Washington back; what I like best about this team is the defensive Front 7.
Stewart, Mathis, and Wingate were excellent last year.  Looking forward to seeing how Elee is added to the mix.
Also excited about Jenkins, LeBlanc, Reddick. Dean was a late addition, and moving up a level; but a lot of experience and production.

What Questions Do We Have?

I like a lot of the experience of the WR’s, but we will have to wait and see both how electric that room is, and who shows up consistently.

Clint Trickett is the new OC, and I’m looking forward seeing what that offense looks like.
BSL Terps Analyst Zack Kiesel said on our message board that, “Trickett is an Air Raid guy, from the Dana Holgorsen tree after playing for him at West Virginia. That offense has evolved a lot from what it was initially under Hal Mumme and Mike Leach, and incorporates a lot more of the run game without the traditional wide offensive line splits. But it’s certainly very different from the pro-style scheme that Maryland ran last season. His Jacksonville State team put up the most yards in Conference-USA last season.”

It’s a new system for Washington, and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts.
I’ll be happy if there is plenty of play-action, and quick reads to get the ball out of Washington’s hands.

I was disappointed that CB Kevyn Humes left the program for Rutgers, and OG Alliou Bah left for LSU.

The primary questions are what would constitute a good year, and what’s realistic?

Maryland’s 2026 schedule is:

Hampton (FCS)
@ UConn
Virginia Tech
UCLA
@ Nebraska
@ Ohio State
Rutgers
Illinois
@ Purdue
Wisconsin
@ USC
Penn State

Clearly they’ll beat Hampton in the opener.

UConn has been improving under Jim Mora Jr, going 9-4 last year, and didn’t lose at home.
I think MD fans have been counting this as an automatic W, and it’s not.
When ESPN’s Match-Up Predictor goes up for the game, I’d guess MD is given a 55-60% chance of winning.
It might not be an auto-win, but it’s a game MD has to win.

Virginia Tech at home vs. James Franklin will be interesting.
These schools were scheduled to also play in ’27 and ’28, but VaTech bought out those games. (Maryland replaced the Hokies with Baylor in ’27 and ’28.)
Franklin’s direct history with MD, coupled with his time at Penn State doesn’t have him particularly popular in College Park.
These programs will compete for lots of the same players going forward.
Franklin hit the ground running and brought in a strong recruiting class.
Virginia Tech was a proud program under Frank Beamer; it’s not difficult to see them emerging again under Franklin.
This will probably be a pick’em type game; but again – it’s a game MD needs to win, particularly because it’s at home.
Probably plenty of Virginia Tech fans there.

There will be varying odds, but the home games vs. UCLA, Rutgers, Illinois, and Wisconsin are winnable.
The Badgers might come to College Park as 10 point favorites, but MD winning any of those games would not be some astronomical upset.
The road game at Purdue also feels winnable to me.

It would be surprising (but not impossible) if they won at Nebraska, or at USC.
It would be pretty shocking if MD beat Penn State.  New Nittany Lions HC Matt Campbell has something like 50 transfers, so who knows what they’ll look like – but he’s a quality HC, and I’m going to assume PSU will again have plenty of talent. The Nittany Lions will also travel well, and fill a good portion of the stands.

Ohio State is 9-0 vs. MD, and only 2-3 games have been competitive.  It’s a pretty easy guess that the Buckeyes will be too much for the Terps.

So, 1 (Hampton) automatic win, and 2 (Ohio State, Penn State) automatic losses.  7 games (@UConn, VaTech, UCLA, Rutgers, Illinois, @Purdue, Wisconsin) where ESPN’s Match-Up Predictor will likely give them anywhere been a 41 to 60% chance to win.  2 games (@Nebraska, and @USC) where they’ll probably be given a 30-40% chance to win.

How good are they in those pick’em games?
Are they able to pull an upset anywhere?

A high quality year would be 8 wins, and a decent bowl.
The young players (Washington, and the Defensive Lineman) all have big years; feel good about their progression as a team in ’26, and decide to run it back 1 more year.
There are a lot of upper classman in the 2 Deep.  Another part of a quality year would be further emergence of other Freshman and Sophomores.
MD is probably not in a position where they can beat Ohio State; but you can’t get run off the field at this point of Locksley’s tenure either.
MD has some real ability on the DL, and experience on the O-Line. They should not be getting manhandled in the trenches vs. their fellow Big Ten teams.

What’s a good year? A good year would be not letting the talent on the roster go to waste.
Play solid complimentary football, with a strong defensive Front 7, and excellent Special Teams.
Get a ground game going.  Keep Washington up-right and available.

Locksley is fighting for his job, and his players should be playing with a chip on their collective shoulders.
They all have something to prove.

The post An Early Summer Look At 2026 Maryland Football appeared first on Baltimore Sports and Life.