Latest Orioles embarrassment should make trade deadline plans obvious

It is not how you start, but how you finish. Well, what if you are truly awful at finishing? That seems to be the tale of so many MLB teams this year. Look no further than the disaster class put forth by the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Baltimore was up 8-0 early on the road at the Tampa Bay Rays. After scoring eight runs in the top of the second, the Orioles did not register a hit for the rest of the game.

It came in waves, but the Rays put up one crooked number after another from seemingly the third inning on. They plated three in the bottom of the third, one in the bottom of the fourth, four in the bottom of the fifth and four more in the bottom of the seventh. Tampa Bay went on to win quite easily 12-8 to improve to 41-33 on the season. Baltimore stumbled to a dreadful 31-42 on the campaign.

Outside of the toothless Chicago White Sox, there is no team definitively worse than the Orioles in the American League. Yes, they are a few games better than the Athletics, but that team does not even have a domicile attached to it. Baltimore already fired manager Brandon Hyde. I would not be the least bit shocked if Mike Elias is the next to go. He built this team that has absolutely no dogs on it.

ZFarm said it best on X: "If there was a game to define the Orioles season, this is the one right here..."

Baltimore should be sellers at the deadline, but that would mean Elias would be admitting defeat.

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What went wrong from a philosophical point for the Baltimore Orioles?

The influx of talent coming up from the minor leagues was not groomed enough to be leaders of men. After being downright terrible for so many seasons, Baltimore was picking at or near the top of the MLB Amateur Draft year after year after year. They may have had their pick of the litter more often than not, but how do the pieces fit? It is a team too youthful to trust.

As for why the had been playing great baseball only a few years ago with much of this core intact, maybe the young dudes did not know any better? All they had done was win at every level of baseball they played at. It came easy for them. As it turns out, nothing comes easy at the major-league level. As soon as the scouting report comes out on a guy, every pitcher knows how to attach each hitter.

I think we have crossed the Rubicon when it comes to not hold certain front-office executives accountable. Baltimore is not unique in this, but they embody it. Baseball is an incredibly mental game. It is not about stacking one's roster with as much talent as humanly possible. It is about finding the best 25 guys possible to come together and make things happen. Baltimore needs a total reboot.

If I were Elias, I would be selling high on my depreciating assets while I still had any say in the matter.