Entering action on May 7, the Baltimore Orioles are 13-21 and sit in last place in the American League East.

On May 7, 2024, they were 23-11 and looked like they would become a dominating baseball force for the foreseeable future.

The team has dealt with a seemingly never-ending run of injuries to star players, with the starting rotation taking the brunt of the blows.

Even when players are healthy, they seem to be underperforming, so many people have started asking, “Is it time to make a change?”

A quick check of any social media site will yield varying opinions from thousands of Birds fans, ranging from former MLB players to kids who barely ever played the game.

While there is nothing wrong with any fan expressing his or her opinion, obviously some opinions should carry more weight than others.

In a recent interview with Foul Territory’s A.J. Pierzynski, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden gave his opinion on whether or not it’s time for the Orioles to move on from Brandon Hyde.

Bowden has been involved in Major League Baseball for over three decades.

He became the youngest GM in history when he was hired at that position by the Cincinnati Reds in 1992, and held that position for 11 years.

He was also the GM for the Washington Nationals from 2005 to 2009. Bowden was named the MLB Executive of the Year in 1999 by Baseball America.

In other words, he knows a thing or two about running a baseball team.

When Pierzynski asked Bowden if the Orioles should make a managerial change, Bowden made it clear that a decision like that is a career-altering one for a GM.

“I don’t like firing a manager midseason. But if I do, I always have to take the position (of) your team better do better after you make it, or it’s on you,” Bowden said. “If you make a change and you don’t start winning and the team doesn’t go in a better direction, then it’s on the GM, not the manager.”

Firing Hyde isn’t a decision Orioles GM Mike Elias would take lightly, but Bowden emphasized that Elias would shoulder any blame for the remainder of the season.

Orioles have big decisions to make regarding their manager’s future

If Bowden were in Elias’ shoes, he said, “Yeah, I would make a managerial change.” He noted that he doesn’t see the young Orioles players developing and added, “Sometimes a different voice is needed.”

Additionally, he clarified that he does not believe this makes Hyde a bad manager and provided examples of Hall of Fame managers who had been fired in their careers.

Recent rumors have circulated that Hyde has lost support in the Orioles clubhouse, but the players themselves have put those rumors to bed.

Still, even with the continued support of Elias and the players, the results are not good.

Hyde did a great job managing the team when the talent level was low, and it’s great that he’s gotten a chance to manage the team after the rebuild, but he’s squandering that chance.

Hyde’s days in Baltimore could be numbered with Buck Britton, who managed the Norfolk Tides to a Triple-A National Championship in 2023, as a potential candidate to take over.