Glenn and Griffin continue our Monday tradition for the 2024 baseball season Monday on GCR with ‘Three Up and Three Down’ where we rank the best and worst Orioles performers of the week, much like how we do with Pats on the Ass and Slaps to the Helmet during football season after Ravens games. The guys will each name three players, three trending up, three trending down, based on how they did for that week specifically–an ugly one this time around, as the O’s nearly go winless if not for some late heroics and some luck from the baseball gods, but we still give our best and worst performers of the week against the Cubs and Yankees.
Without further adieu:
Glenn’s Three Up:
3. 1B Ryan Mountcastle
Sure, nothing about his week was spectacular, per se. But when the team didn’t hit like at all, going 7-23 is enough to make the list. Apologies to Burch Smith (who, yes, received actual consideration).
2. RF Anthony Santander
Similarly, Santander wasn’t particularly great but thanks to a pair of extra base hits in the Orioles’ only win (Sunday), he finished the week with a .814 OPS.
1. RP Jacob Webb
Yes, this is a reflection of how bad the week was. But Webb offered three scoreless appearances, allowing no hits and just two baserunners while recording eight outs. That’s enough.
Griffin’s Three Up:
3. RP Jacob Webb
Three scoreless appearances, enough said on a week like this.
2. RF Anthony Santander
Only guy showing any bit of consistency, and another Eutaw Street bomb, coming against the Yankees.
1. CF Cedric Mullins
Yes, he’s the man of the week. It was an awful week and he provided the moment they absolutely freaking needed, as Big Ben said, win of the season so far.
Glenn’s Three Down:
3. SS Gunnar Henderson
It’s a “with great power comes great responsibility” theme for the up list this week. There have to be high expectations to have made the list because there were far too many candidates. Henderson spares Adley Rutschman from making another list. Henderson was just 5-26 with 8 strikeouts and his frustration about called balls and strikes (where he was right a few times and wrong a few others) seemed to get the better of him.
2. SP Grayson Rodriguez
You so badly want to talk about Grayson Rodriguez as a top of the rotation guy and a post-Corbin Burnes ace. But there tend to be one of these every fourth or fifth start.
1. RP Craig Kimbrel
We had gotten to a place where maybe we could trust him again. We even said he deserved to be an All-Star. We acknowledged that he had finally taken care of the one run game bugaboo. He hadn’t pitched in a week.
The home run is forgivable. The two prior walks are not.
Griffin’s Three Down:
3. SP Dean Kremer
He was horrible vs the Cubs on Tuesday, better vs the Yankees Sunday, but nonetheless, needs to be MUCH better as he is currently this team’s Game 3 starter of a playoff series.
2. C Adley Rutschman
It was bad for Adley, no big hits, felt like no hits, bad K’s, unproductive ABs.
1. P Cole Irvin
I know I’m a week late, but it’s been terrible for Cole. This team is in desperate need of help at his position specifically and he has not done anything, quickly plummeting from how can we possibly take this guy out of the rotation to can we even roster him?
Here’s a look at the season-long standings. scoring is simple: 3 points awarded to the top player in ‘Three Up’ each week, -3 points for the top player in ‘Three Down’ each week:
You can listen as the guys recap the week by clicking play here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles
