When the Orioles took the field last October for Game 1 of the American League Division Series against Texas, they looked like a pretty complete team. One that produced 101 wins and a division championship, had an emerging young talent base and a few different ways to beat their opponent.

There was at least one element missing however – they had little playoff experience.

A few veteran players had played in the postseason before, such as Aaron Hicks, Adam Frazier and James McCann and a few pitchers had a few postseason innings like Kyle Gibson, Jacob Webb and Jack Flaherty, but the core of the roster did not. Their young talent which led the club all year, did not.

Was that the reason Texas swept the Orioles three in a row? Well, not the only reason but more likely one of many. The five-day layoff between the regular season and the first playoff game seemed challenging for several teams that won 100 games to include the Orioles. That was another factor. So was the fact that within the playoffs, teams generate their own momentum, and it can come fast. Texas swept two straight from Tampa Bay and was a team starting to roll when they arrived in Baltimore.

They let the AL West get away from them late in the year. But as a No. 5 seed, they rolled to the World Series title. The playoffs are a crapshoot and unpredictable and that has as much to do with the loss as anything most likely.

More than two months have passed since the Orioles lost to the Rangers in the Division Series. The first sweep by an opponent since May 2022. The finality knocking the sounds out of the visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field, leaving players sitting in silence at their lockers.

The hurt lessens for some but the mind can’t forget.

“It hasn't eased for me,” manager Brandon Hyde said at the Winter Meetings.

“I think that there's a lot of disappointment. And I'm really proud of our season, I don't want to take that for granted. To win our division, to win over a hundred games, to have the individual performances and team performances that we had, it says a lot about our roster and our guys and how we have some really good players. But you do that and then you fall short like we did, that takes a while to go away. So, it hasn't gone away for me yet.”

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias called the sweep “a gut punch” during one his media sessions in Nashville.

The finality of the Orioles’ season erases games and ticket requests – and I definitely can speak to the latter - but not the lingering questions.

There’s much to review about a 101-win season, as well as the three straight losses to the Rangers in the Division Series that left manager Brandon Hyde “irritated” and “pissed.”

Those feelings were shared by many in the organization.

Two subjects came up in last week’s media session that are worth revisiting this morning.

Is the five-day layoff an excuse for early playoff exits?

ARLINGTON, Texas – Some games are called “must win” but they really are not. But you can use those words for the Orioles tonight. After an amazing season, a surprise (to many) AL East championship and 101 wins, they need one more tonight to force a Game 4 against Texas in the American League Division Series.

In September the Orioles twice lost the first two games of key four-game series, both at home versus Tampa Bay and at Cleveland, and yet won the third and fourth games to split those series. This time they have to do that and one better.

It started on the mound in those earlier games against the Rays and Guardians. In the four wins, O’s pitching allowed zero, four, one and one run.

Catcher Adley Rutschman was asked before Monday’s workout at Globe Life Field about the club’s ability this year to put losses behind them quickly and how they do that?

“I think our team is really process-oriented,” said Rutschman. “So, each game is a new game, and we try to treat it as such. And you know, learn from anything from the day before and then move on. Our guys do a good job of banding together and trying to just focus on the here and now.”

I first met Matt Hicks somewhere I guess it was in 1985 or 1986 maybe as we were both broadcasting high school football and teams we were covering were going to play each other in the Maryland state playoffs. It was Frederick High of Frederick County on my end against McDonough High of Charles County, the team Matt was covering. 

He was an outstanding broadcaster then and remains that many years later as a radio broadcaster in his 11^th year with the Texas Rangers. Matt has broadcast baseball play-by-play for 34 years and from 1989-1994 broadcast the games of the O’s Frederick Keys affiliate.

A Washington, D.C. native who grew up following his hometown Senators until they moved, Matt would later get his baseball fix attending games with friends and traveling to 33^rd Street watching the Orioles at Memorial Stadium. He grew up in Prince George’s County, is a graduate of Bladensburg High and is a 1983 University of Maryland grad. This Terp is back in the state where he grew up. When we see each other this weekend, neither of us is covering high school football any longer, but those were fun days too.

The Rangers and Orioles play Game 1 of the American League Division Series tomorrow afternoon. The winner of the best-of-five series advances to the AL Championship Series.

The Rangers are on what amounts to a two-week road trip. Starting Sept. 25, they ended the regular season with three games in Anaheim against the Angels and four in Seattle vs. the Mariners. When they failed to win the AL West on the final day, it was a cross-country flight to Tampa where they would beat the Tampa Bay Rays two in a row, and they landed in Baltimore Thursday afternoon.

Brandon Hyde has fielded the same question multiple times in recent days about whether he’s reached out to other managers with playoff experience leading into Saturday’s Division Series. Whether he’s picked their brains about the differences between his dugout duties during the regular season and in October and what he can expect.

Former Rays manager Joe Maddon’s name has come up, since they’re good friends. Hyde said he intended to speak with him.

Hyde also can make it much easier on himself by sitting down with or standing next to his bench coach, Fredi González, who managed the Braves from 2011 until his firing in 2016. His club played in the 2012 wild card game and won its division the following year. He's been there.

A total of five games past the regular season, with the only win against the Dodgers in the Division Series.

“We have spoken a little bit,” González said. “Just the other day he asked me how many games I have managed in the postseason. Not as many as Joe Maddon and those guys. But the experience I gained from those five games, it’s fast, and you don’t necessarily need to give a long leash to a starter because you have the off-days built in. And I think that you have to be prepared to make moves and maybe be unconventional at times. But the biggest thing for me is it’s fast and everything’s under the microscope, and if something doesn’t work out, then you get dissected until the next game – good, bad or indifferent.”

When the regular season was winding down for the Orioles, they went through an eight-game stretch from Sept. 15-22 when they allowed nine runs once, seven runs twice and five runs twice. But then their pitching was really rolling in the season’s final eight games, pitching two shutouts in that span and allowing one run or less five times.

But the Baltimore offense was certainly not rolling. They hit just .138 scoring eight runs in the last four-game series versus Boston. In the last 11 games, the Orioles scored two runs or fewer seven times.

But over the long haul, the stats covering all 162 games, this just served to improve the O’s in the pitching stats. Their final team ERA of 3.89 ranks fifth best in the American League. And while their final runs scored per game dipped under 5.00 to finish at 4.98, that is still fourth best in the AL.

And while there are many different stats we could look at to evaluate their pitching and offense, ranking fifth in pitching ERA and fourth in scoring is a pretty good combination, one that led this team to 101 wins.

But should Birdland worry about an offense that scored just 32 runs while hitting only three homers in those last 11 games?

For the Orioles Gunnar Henderson, seemingly on his way to the American League Rookie of the Year Award, a season that ended well did not start that way.

In mid-May, when he was batting .170 with a .651 OPS, some around Birdland wondered if a trip back to the minors was needed. But team management never flinched, they remained confident in the then 21-year-old talent, and that confidence was rewarded.

Henderson ended the year batting .255/.325/.489/.814 with 29 doubles, nine triples, 28 homers, 100 runs and 82 RBIs. He set an O’s rookie record with 66 extra-base hits and his OPS+ was 125. After that slow start into mid-May, his OPS was .849 his last 117 games.

On his way to winning the Most Valuable Oriole award, he led MLB rookies with 6.3 Wins Above Replacement per baseball-reference.com and also led them in home runs and extra-base hits.

Among all AL position players, just Marcus Semien (7.4) and Corey Seager (6.9) of Texas produced more bWAR although he ranked 12^th in the league in fWAR.

The Orioles allowed media inside yesterday’s workout at Camden Yards for a 90-minute period that didn't reveal much in the way of news.

Four players who weren’t on the 28-man roster participated: Relievers Mike Baumann and Bryan Baker, outfielder Ryan McKenna and catcher Anthony Bemboom. Don't stop the presses, but they could comprise the taxi squad or at least a portion of it. One or more could be chosen to the 26-man roster for the Division Series.

“Postseason baseball. As a lover of the game, it’s really awesome to see the game played at a high level, and especially being a part of the team,” McKenna said.

“Whether they activate me or not, I’m going to be rooting for the guys and doing everything I can staying ready. And when the time comes if they need me, I’ll be ready and just enjoying the experience, as well.”

McKenna wasn’t with the club for the two clinching celebrations and barely missed the second after the Orioles optioned him Sept. 27 and reinstated first baseman Ryan Mountcastle from the injured list – one day before they won the American League East.

The Orioles are holding their first workout this evening at Camden Yards in preparation for Saturday’s Division Series opener. The opponent to be named later. Game 1 to be played in Baltimore, the first time that the city has hosted in the postseason since Oct. 11, 2014.

The Royals scored twice in the top of the ninth against Darren O’Day and Zack Britton to win 6-4 and take a 2-0 lead in the Championship Series. They swept it by posting back-to-back 2-1 victories at Kauffman Stadium. The “We Won’t Stop” Orioles were grounded.

You know what happened in 2016. The wild card game in Toronto, the Edwin Encarnación three-run, walk-off homer against Ubaldo Jiménez in the 11^th inning, Britton warmed but never used. The window for contention slamming shut and shattering.

One of the most vivid images is catcher Matt Wieters bolting from his crouch as soon as Encarnacion made contact and turning toward the visiting dugout. His own walk-off.

Anyway, that’s in the past.

It has been an interesting last 13 or 14 months for Orioles Triple-A pitcher Chayce McDermott. Last Aug. 1, he was acquired from Houston in a three-team trade that sent Trey Mancini to the Astros. Houston had drafted McDermott in 2021 in round four out of Ball State.

This season he advanced from Double-A to Triple-A in mid-July and ends his first full season in the organization named Saturday as the O’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year, winning the Jim Palmer Award.

Ranked as the club’s No. 10 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 14 via Baseball America, MLB Pipeline ranks him as the club’s top pitching prospect.

Late last season his life was uprooted by the trade, but this season ends with the Palmer award. Joining the Orioles has proven to be huge for McDermott, who turned 25 Aug. 22.

“I think people overlook sometimes that getting traded is very hard,” he said Saturday after the announcement of his award. “You get used to an organization and then you pick up and move. Meet new people, new coaches. But I feel like it was a super smooth transition, super easy. I love everyone in the Orioles organization, and they have been super helpful in my career. Now it just feels like I am part of the family.”

Jorge Mateo is the sixth Orioles player to produce back-to-back 30-steal seasons, joining Cedric Mullins in 2021-22, Brian Roberts in 2006-09, Corey Patterson in 2006-07, Al Bumbry in 1979-80, and Luis Aparicio (1963-64).

Will there be a 2024 season for Mateo in Baltimore?

Could it happen as a visiting player?

The Orioles are preparing this week for the Division Series, but Mateo ranks among their big off-season decisions. His first year of arbitration netted him a $2 million contract, a raise from $709,500. He’s batting .217/.267/.340 in 116 games and the Orioles are loaded with young shortstops, on their roster and below.

Gunnar Henderson has made 64 starts, compared to 95 by Mateo, a former top 100 prospect in three organizations. Jordan Westburg hasn’t played shortstop but made 156 starts in the minors. The Orioles seem to have figured out how to create room by using him at second base and third base.

The Orioles end the 2023 regular season today against the same team they started with back on March 30 - the Boston Red Sox. They won that game 10-9, their first win on their way to 101 and an AL East championship.

This year this will not be the last game. The Orioles, the No. 1 seed with home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs, will host Game 1 of the AL Division Series at Oriole Park on Saturday, Oct. 7.

At 101-60, Baltimore will head into the final game with a three-game lead over Tampa Bay (98-63). Even though those clubs have the two best records in the league, they could meet in the ALDS next week.

The Rays will be the fourth seed for the AL playoffs and the Orioles, as the top seed, will play the winner of the No. 4 versus No. 5 wild-card round. The Blue Jays could very well be that No. 5 team, but going into the final day today, it could still also be the Astros or Rangers.

The Orioles' 5-2 win last night ensured they will finish this season with a winning record over every other AL East team for the first time since 2014.

We didn’t need to see the Orioles take their magic number from one to zero to know that Brandon Hyde is the right manager for this team. That should have been apparent well before last night.

But after the Orioles won the AL East with a 2-0 victory over Boston and Hyde had been doused in the clubhouse, he made his way to the interview room where he was asked this question – how does it feel to not only be the manager who saw this team through the rebuild, but to still be here when they won the division?

Hyde was not a caretaker during all the losing only to watch someone else take his guys and win. He did that.

“It means a lot,” said Hyde. “(Executive vice president and general manager) Mike (Elias) told me that he was hiring me and said, ‘I’m not hiring you to replace you when we get more talented.’ He held true to that.

“He was way more patient, honestly those first few years, than I was. I took losses hard and knew we weren’t as talented as other teams. I felt bad for the guys in the clubhouse, and it beats you up. Mike showed great patience. And understood the plan was in place. And he drafted extremely well and got more talent in this organization like he said he was going to. And you are seeing it now.

Postseason baseball is an exciting time for any baseball fan. And if you’re an Orioles fan, it’s especially thrilling this season. But with high-stakes baseball also comes national broadcasts and the absence of familiarity from the broadcast crew you’ve spent the last seven months with.

Fear not, Birdland. Your favorite MASN broadcasters aren’t going anywhere in October. They’ll be right alongside the team, bringing you hour-long “O’s Xtra Postseason” shows before first pitch and immediately following every playoff game on MASN.

Each show throughout the O’s October run will provide expert analysis, exclusive player interviews, behind-the-scenes looks and so much more! You won’t find this kind of local, dedicated coverage anywhere else but on “O’s Xtra Postseason” on MASN.

We’ll be updating our coverage here as details are confirmed, but here’s when you can expect to watch “O’s Xtra Postseason” on MASN in October:

Saturday, Oct. 7
ALDS Game 1: Orioles vs. Rangers at 1:03 p.m. on FS1
“O’s Xtra” pregame: Noon on MASN
“O’s Xtra” postgame: Immediately following game on MASN

And then there were six. Six games remaining in the 2023 regular season. If the Orioles can just go 3-3 in those games, they can clinch the American League East title without any help from a Rays loss.

Three wins would also produce the sixth 100-win season in Orioles history. The 1969 team went 109-53 for the best O’s record ever in the regular season. The 1970 team was 108-54 with the 1979 club going 102-57. In 1971, the Orioles were 101-57. They were 100-62 in 1980.

The 1980 club was the last O’s team to win 100 games. And while the first four to do it all made the World Series, the 1980 Orioles, while they had the second-best record in the majors, did not even make the playoffs.

With their next win, No. 98, the 2023 Orioles would join seven other O’s clubs to win 98 or more games. The 1997 team was the last to win that many, going 98-64.

The O’s magic number is three as the final homestand begins tonight with two games versus the Nationals and four versus the Red Sox.

Last weekend, the Orioles lost the first two games of a home four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays. They were now tied for first in the American League East.

What followed was an outing of eight scoreless by Grayson Rodriguez leading to an 8-0 Saturday win. And when the Birds won a crazy game the next day their lead was back to two games atop the division.

Fast forward to the series at Cleveland. They lost the first two games, and their starters went a combined 8 1/3 innings. But then John Means on Saturday and Kyle Gibson Sunday combined to allow two runs over 14 1/3 innings and the O's pulled out another improbable four-game split.

Had they not won the 2-1 game Saturday, their division lead would have been 1/2 game. But they kept it at 1.5 with the victory that night and it's 2.5 games now with six games to play.

The magic number for the AL East title is down to three heading into today's much needed off day.

Ryan Mountcastle called it “the greatest day of my life.” Ryan O’Hearn laid down a sacrifice bunt in the 11^th inning, mentioned the number of times James McCann performed the same unselfish act and said, “I love this team.”

Félix Bautista walked around the clubhouse with a cigar and a smile, and nobody was more aggressive spraying champagne than the injured closer, who threw his first bullpen session yesterday since suffering a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament. The elbow didn’t slow his celebration.

Heston Kjerstad arrived Thursday, received only four at-bats, and was treated like family. If your family circles you with champagne and beer bottles and empties them over your head. And dumps you in a laundry cart and takes you for a spin, which explained the ice water forming large puddles on the sheets of plastic covering the clubhouse floor.

The Orioles know how to win and to celebrate. They honored their veterans who spent the most seasons exposed to the painful rebuild, and the athletic youngsters who sped the recovery process.

They made sure that everyone in the organization felt loved yesterday. There were no outsiders. Rankings in the organization didn’t matter. High ranking officials or public relations staff. You were joining the fray and getting doused. You were invited – no, urged – to partake in the homer hose.

BOSTON – Ryan O’Hearn wouldn’t get lured out of his baseball comfort zone. The dangling carrot was swatted like a pesky fly. Or a grooved fastball that wraps around the Pesky Pole.

Asked about the significance of the Orioles winning the division and leaving wild card aspirations in the dust, O’Hearn was willing to confirm that the American League East title is “very important.” But don’t press it.

“To me, the No. 1 goal is to make the playoffs, but you’re not going to get me to predict the future or get too far ahead of ourselves,” he said, smiling.

“We focus on every day, same thing we’ve been saying. One game at a time, trying to win a ballgame, and that’s it. If we do that, that’ll take us where we want to go.”

Trust the process, a slogan the Orioles can carry from rebuild to contender. It doesn’t get stale.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Injuries forced the Orioles to redesign their bullpen before Opening Day, burning parts of the bridge to their closer. They swerved at the last minute while composing their rotation, moving away from their top pitching prospect. They resisted the temptation to carry a non-roster left-handed bat in a reserve role.

The final product is almost complete barring a last-minute change prior to rosters being set by noon. No Grayson Rodriguez or DL Hall, the top two pitching prospects who report to Triple-A Norfolk. No Dillon Tate or Mychal Givens, whose right forearm and left knee, respectively, landed them on the injured list.

Expected behind the plate in a reserve role is Anthony Bemboom, who lost his spot on the 40-man roster after signing a split-contract, watched the Orioles trade for James McCann, received an invitation to spring training and made his second straight Opening Day roster. It wasn’t supposed to happen, but pain in McCann’s left oblique, however mild, most likely has altered the team’s plans.

Oddsmakers and assorted experts view the Orioles as a fourth- or fifth-place team, ahead or behind the Red Sox. MLB.com’s panel of “experts” excludes them from the playoff picture. PECOTA , which never seems to calculate a successful season for them, has the win ceiling at 74. ZiPS is only a tad more optimistic with 80. Online site SportsBetting.ag sets the win total at 77 for over-under wagers.

(BetOnline.ag has Brandon Hyde 9/1 to be the first manager fired. Don’t waste your money. That isn't happening.)