Question: I’m a big Brandon Hyde supporter, but after the early exits in the playoffs the past two seasons, do you think there’s added pressure on him to advance in the playoffs this season as a prerequisite to keeping his job? From: Dave Gruber
Answer: Dave, I think the Orioles are quite satisfied with Brandon Hyde as manager, and I don’t foresee any circumstance that would cause them to make a change. I think they’re eager to win at least a round in the playoffs, and even more, but they think that Hyde is doing an excellent job.
Question: Now that every MLB pitch is evidently thrown maximum effort, would ‘soft’ tossers be effective in today’s game? Scott McGregor, Mike Flanagan, Frank Tanaka (post-injury), Jamie Moyer? From: Mike Lang, Dagsboro, Delaware
Answer: Mike, I think they would be effective, but the challenge would be to make sure pitchers like that get signed. When the Orioles weren’t very good, in 2020 and 2021, they tried two unconventional pitchers, César Valdez and Mickey Jannis. Valdez was a soft-tossing reliever, who had success for a short time, and Jannis was a knuckleballer, who pitched poorly in his one major league start.
I think some forward-thinking managements would consider pitchers like the ones you mentioned, but I’m not sure that there are many successful ones, even in high school and college.
Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.