How are the Orioles the beasts of the AL East?

The Orioles are better than the Yankees and Red Sox and Dan loves it! He couldn’t wait to discuss it with David Samson on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Wednesday.

Dan says the Orioles, a once-proud franchise, have been in the wilderness for so long that the only Orioles play he remembers from the last decade was then-manager Buck Showalter coming out to remove a pitcher before an opponent who blasted a home run could even round third! But now, the tables have turned and it looks like the Orioles, with young standout players could be set for the next decade in Dan’s estimation!

David doesn’t quite agree with that timeframe of dominance. David agrees that the team is loaded, but 10 years from now all these players will be four years into free agency (or as Stugotz points out, they could all be Yankees). Dan seems relatively undeterred, noting that the Orioles are overwhelming and it may take some time to learn how to win, but Dan still thinks they’re going to be good for at least five years!

However, Billy is yet another voice looking to pour some cold water on the situation, noting that it almost never works out the way people think it will with a talented young team — no team ever seems to go on a sustained run of excellence in baseball in the manner that Dan is envisioning for Baltimore. Teams rarely dominate forever, but Dan’s point is that if you have young, cheap guys you can compete even if you don’t have money.

Once again, David plays the role of Debbie Downer, pointing out that eventually, those young, cheap players get expensive, like they did for the Marlins. He says the Orioles are in the position where they don’t have the revenue of teams like the Yankees and Red Sox and never will, so over the long run it is better to be a Yankees or Red Sox fan, even if that’s not the case for this particular season. What David loves is that even as people are paying attention to Baltimore, they may wind up with the best record in all of baseball! And most impressively, the Orioles had discipline and stuck with Brandon Hyde in a way they were never able to when Peter Angelos was firmly in control.

“He’s not dead, but he’s not alive,” David said. “He’s sort of one step ahead of Bernie (from Weekend at Bernie’s).”

David goes on to say that another exciting aspect of this is that MLB can’t market the Orioles and is despondent over that fact. They’re excited that a low-payroll team is winning, but they’re upset about the fact that no one cares. However, Mike wants to know — why can’t MLB market the Orioles? Once upon a time, in the salad days of Cal Ripken Jr., the Orioles were a big team and Baltimore is a big market. To wit, David asks: Can you name five Baltimore Orioles players?

Well, there’s ... Austin Hays ... and Austin Hays ... and then there’s Austin Hays. Mike says they all look like Austin Hays. Meanwhile, Dan claims forget the Orioles, he can give you all the information you would ever want to know about the small-market Rays! Try him, he’ll bore you to tears with Rays information overload!

Meanwhile, David notes that if you are the owner of the Yankees or Red Sox you are truly despondent watching the Orioles and Rays being the dominant teams in the AL East, which is what leads to changes like Chaim Bloom being let go. Because he says it’s so bad to go the Owner’s Meetings and see those teams’ owners and realize that they’re taking revenue-sharing money from you and then kicking your butt.

Meanwhile, Kevin Hart joins Dan for the latest South Beach Sessions, airing Friday at 9 p.m. ET on Samsung TV Plus, Roku or anywhere else you watch DraftKings Network. Check out the clip below for a taste of their conversation.

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Local Hour: Not Dead But Not Alive

• Dan, Stugotz and David Samson discuss Billy cutting the cord but still having to buy all of the apps to watch Marlins games, Tony is from the Stugotz tree of scamming, the Baltimore Orioles are actually good and Samson’s movie review of Kurt Angle. Plus, the dirtiest money in the MLB and much more.

The Big Suey: Tony’s Top 5 + Jake Tapper

• The crew discusses how they can’t cancel subscription services, the U is BACK! and The Rock seems to be a bit of a clout chaser. Plus, the return of Tony’s Top 5 and CNN’s Jake Tapper joins to talk journalism, Philly sports and more.

Hour 1: Et Tua, Puka Nacua?

• We start the hour going around the NFL discussing Puka Nacua’s rise in Los Angeles, if Tua is the best quarterback in the AFC East, and how their coaches come from the same tree. Then Oddball’s Charlotte Wilder joins the show, Jessica shares her top 5 ways to spot a deep fake, and Billy unveils the Useless Sound Montage for Week 2.

Hour 2: Against the Spread + Josh Bell

• Dan wants Greg Cote’s four-year-old granddaughter to make picks and go head-to-head with Colin Cowherd before they launch into Against the Spread. Then Miami Marlins first basemen Josh Bell joins the show to review his bell sound effect options on a scale of 1 to 10 bells. Finally, Jess, Billy, and Stu go to the Bucket of Death before Dan praises Mike Tomlin.

Postgame Show: Unnamed College Football Segment

• Jessica Smetana and Lucy Rohden refuse to brand their college football segment! After a brief look back at last week’s action, Jay Norvell’s questionable late game conservatism and Lucy’s trip to The Swamp, they preview an exciting upcoming college football slate featuring Ohio State traveling to South Bend for a Notre Dame matchup loaded with playoff implications. Then the Top 5 Coaches That Needed A Win.

Watch more below!

VIDEO:

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