Baltimore Orioles manager Craig Albernaz addressed fan frustration on Tuesday.
The Baltimore Orioles have dropped three straight games and now sit eight games under .500 at 38-46. For as much talent as this roster has, they simply have not lived up to expectations so far. Nearly every player is underperforming, and to make matters worse, all three losses have come at home in front of the fans.
First-year manager Craig Albernaz spoke before Tuesday's game against the Chicago White Sox and addressed the fan frustration directly.
"The fans have every right to boo. It's one of those things where we play the game to win, to go out there and have fun. At the end of the day, this is a game, make sure our guys are going out and having fun. But also, we're trying to go out there and win every night, and we have not been playing our best baseball," he said, via Jake Rill of MLB.com.
"The fans that are there, they're paying their hard-earned money to watch us play and win and play good baseball and competitive baseball, and they have every right to boo.
"Our job, for us, is to go out there and give the city and the fans something they can stand behind and have pride in. And right now, we're coming up short."
Albernaz is right, and this year was supposed to be a bounce-back one for the Orioles after missing out on postseason play in 2025. He was brought in after years as the Cleveland Guardians bench coach to lead the charge, yet it has not been a smooth ride.
The Orioles have dealt with plenty of injuries to the pitching staff, but the lineup has been relatively healthy in June and is still not producing. Baltimore owns a .718 OPS this season, which ranks in the bottom half of the league, and a 4.38 team ERA that ranks ninth worst in MLB.
The offense and pitching have never gotten hot at the same time. When the offense shows up the pitching falls apart, and when the pitching is solid the offense cannot score.
There is still plenty of time to make the playoffs in a weak American League, and a wild card spot remains very much within reach. President of baseball operations Mike Elias has indicated he does not want to sell at the trade deadline but instead wants to add pieces. However, it will be hard to convince ownership to sign off on that approach if the Orioles keep playing the way they have been.
