If all the one-off rule changes, curious circumstances and off-field concerns looming over every Orioles game make it hard to know exactly what to think of this team at the halfway point, imagine what it must be like for manager Brandon Hyde.
Hyde, hired to shepherd the Orioles to another era of competitive baseball and see which of the castoffs and post-prospects on their roster can make it through the transition period with him, is seeing plenty of candidates. He said Wednesday that part of what’s been enjoyable this year is the solidification of some “building blocks” who can be part of the next winning Orioles team.