O’s hitters must stop swinging for the fences

Last Sunday, the Orioles didn’t do it once again — win, that is — and they lost the series to Tampa Bay employing the same batting non-strategy they’ve used for the last two-plus months: “Too many big swings,” as Manager Brandon Hyde put it (“Orioles’ Corbin Burnes pitches well but bats struggle again in 2-0 loss to Rays: ‘Way too many big swings,’” Sept. 9). As I write this Monday evening, they’ve lost the first of three games to the Red Sox, looking almost as impotent as the day before, flailing away and leaving many runners on base.

Why can’t O’s hitters learn not to overkill at the plate? Especially with men on base when they take strike three or whiff with men stranded on base. And those runners, some speedy, seldom try a steal. The game can become a bore.

What are the hitting coaches paid to do? Give such advice as “Just take your cuts, big fella — the home runs will come?” Seriously, our batters better learn to adjust, make contact and get to first base. The coaches and hitters would do well to read about Wee Willie Keeler of the 1890s, who, leading off with Baltimore and Brooklyn for nine straight years, batted over .350 and averaged 212 hits per year — including bunts at which he excelled. His mantra was, “Keep your eye on the ball, and hit ’em where they ain’t!”

If our Orioles averages and on-base percentages continue to drop and we don’t survive the playoffs (again), our hitting coaches should hit the road — and possibly Hyde, too. He doesn’t seem to spark much excitement on the bench.

Please, guys, adjust!

— Bruce Knauff, Towson

Is GOP now focused on cat protection?

The Republican Party has proudly centered its presidential campaign on the promise to protect my two cats, RoMeow and Julipet, from the imaginary hordes of illegal immigrants who are abducting and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio (“Who won the debate? 5 key takeaways from Harris vs. Trump,” Sept. 11).

As Russell Crowe’s character in the movie, “Gladiator,” asked: “Are you not entertained?”

Sadly, the antics of Donald Trump and JD Vance are much more horrifying than anything I’ve seen on the movie screen, as these two sorry excuses for statesmen seem to have captivated almost half of the country’s voting population in their quest for glory. On behalf of my much-beloved pets, I will have to decline their offer of protection and cast my votes for the saner options given to me by the Democratic Party of the United States this November.

— Marc Goldstein, Owings Mills

Wes Moore may lack Bronze Star but does have big ego

I am not surprised to read that Gov. Wes Moore misrepresented himself as having received a Bronze Star for his military service when, in fact, he did not (“Maryland veterans divided over gravity of Gov. Wes Moore’s false Bronze Star claim,” Sept. 7). I voted for him in the 2022 gubernatorial election but became aware of his inflated self-image when I read his boast in Johns Hopkins Magazine: “I think you can look at things that this administration has accomplished in just ten months and be pretty blown away.” The news that he misrepresented himself as having received a Bronze Star is just the latest example of his self-serving braggadocio.

Since Moore’s election as governor in 2022, it has become apparent to me that his top priority is maximize his media coverage and embellish his public image. TV photo ops are a priority, such as his appearance in the spotlight at the recent Democratic National Convention. A radiant public image and dramatic rhetoric are necessary cosmetics for a self-serving politician.

Moore’s failure to immediately acknowledge openly that he never received a Bronze Star is just the latest in a series of controversial issues involving Moore that have been reported in news outlets since 2013, including CNN, MSN, WBFF, Maryland Matters and an earlier investigative report in The Baltimore Sun in 2013. These reports include, among others, the governor’s misleading claim that he was born and grew up in Baltimore, a 2013 report alleging that Moore was improperly receiving homestead property tax credits and owed back taxes to the city of Baltimore, and a 2022 report that Moore had past-due bills from the city totaling $21,000 for water and sewage charges.

The parents of Baltimore County Police Sgt. Bruce Prothero, whose murder in 2000 is described in Moore’s second autobiography, “The Other Wes Moore,” claimed that Moore exaggerated the role he played in their son’s life and alleged that Moore made contradictory statements regarding what happened with proceeds from the book.

Moore’s story reminds me of Abraham Lincoln’s wisdom: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

— Fred Medinger, Parkton