Nothing normal about Hyde's first three seasons with O's

Orioles pitchers and catchers are supposed to report to the Ed Smith Stadium complex in less than a week. Six days, to be exact. With forecasted temperatures reaching the upper 60s.

Cold by Sarasota standards, but not as icy as the talks between Major League Baseball and the players association.

Everyone is waiting for official word that the start of spring training is delayed. Hammering out a new collective bargaining agreement and making the necessary arrangements to get players into camp doesn't seem realistic within such a tight window.

The regular season also could be pushed back. The Orioles are scheduled to open at home on March 31 against the Blue Jays. John Means on the mound. The top prospect in baseball behind the plate or a veteran squatting in his shadow.

Manager Brandon Hyde will be in the dugout again in 2022 after the club picked up his option. He walked face-first into a massive rebuild after the Orioles hired him in December 2018, but with eyes wide open.

What Hyde couldn't see coming were the other elements working against him.

There were no PowerPoint presentations outlining the detrimental effects of COVID-19 and a lockout.

I've stated many times on this site, in television and radio interviews, and in one unfortunate late-night call to an ex - OK, I'm kidding about that last one - that Hyde gets an incomplete grade during his three seasons because it's a total teardown and rebuild. We've been told that wins and losses aren't as important as building a sustainable talent pipeline that will keep the Orioles in contention rather than just patching a few holes and waiting for more leaks.

Departments were overhauled and enhanced. A new instructional philosophy was implemented. Methods were introduced that other organizations embraced years ago. Individuals with the desired backgrounds filtered in gradually, coming from locations that hadn't been tapped in the past.

Meanwhile, Hyde stood in the middle of the clubhouse before opening day 2019, and many times afterward, to stress how winning mattered and excuses wouldn't be accepted. Play hard and block out the noise.

The Orioles lost 108 games.

Then it got weird.

Camp was shut down on March 12, 2020 due to the pandemic. The season was reduced to 60 games after the Orioles set up a summer training camp and an alternate site in Bowie. Normal was put on hold. Navigating the protocols and separation of personal for health and safety concerns seemed more important than division opponents.

The Orioles weren't mathematically eliminated from the revamped playoffs until Sept. 22. They were 20-21 just two weeks earlier, but lost 11 of their next 14 games.

"I'm disappointed," Hyde said after his club committed three errors in a sloppy 8-3 loss in Boston. "We kind of ran into a buzz saw there."

No celebration of a competitive stretch that belied the drop in talent and experience between the Orioles and the clubs it played. The breakdowns were unacceptable to Hyde, who did his best to hold together a team missing its leader, Trey Mancini, following a diagnosis of Stage 3 colon cancer and to offer his full support for the postponement of an Aug. 27 game at Tropicana Field in protest of racial injustice and police brutality.

The cancellation of the 2020 minor league season stalled the advancement of some prospects, hurting the Orioles more than other clubs that weren't as dependent on their system's revitalization. And spring training 2021 brought adjustments to the usual camp setups with staggered arrivals and other protocols back in place. Again, normalcy would have to wait.

The Orioles set franchise records by using 62 players and with 16 making their major league debuts. Their September roster no longer expanded to 40 players. They lost 110 games to again earn the first pick in the 2022 draft.

So, what constitutes normal this year?

Well, credentialed media could regain clubhouse access before and after games if granted approval by the players association and providing proof of vaccinations. Nothing that influences on-field performance, but it would enhance coverage and expose younger players to a more complete environment. I've had multiple veterans talk about its importance. How these guys need to learn what it's really like in the majors, to have face-to-face - even if partially hidden by a mask - interactions with reporters at their lockers in good and bad times.

Hyde would be happy to reduce his Zoom schedule and go back to the old routine, or as much of it as possible, but he'll be managing a club that's headed toward another truncated spring training and perhaps an impacted regular season.

On the day that Hyde's hiring became official, the Orioles sent out a release that included this statement from executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias:

"After conducting an intensive search, I believe that we have found the ideal leader for the next era of Orioles baseball. Brandon's deep background in player development and major league coaching, most recently helping to shape the Cubs into a world champion, has thoroughly prepared him for this job and distinguished him throughout our interview process. I look forward to introducing him to our fans next week and to working together with him to build the next great Orioles team."

Thoroughly prepared, that is, until the new stuff. How could you forecast it?

That's like knowing the Sarasota temperatures would drop into the 40s at night.

As news broke at the 2018 Winter Meetings that Hyde was getting the job - Cubs manager Joe Maddon made it pretty obvious by telling people that he needed a new bench coach - praise came from every corner of the industry. Hyde was described to me by executives, scouts and media as sharp, a tremendous communicator and just a really good guy. Someone who surely paid his dues by working his way up through the minors in a variety of roles, gaining respect at every level.

He deserved a shot at managing in the majors.

It wasn't going to be easy, inheriting a team that lost a franchise-record 115 games and began a massive makeover. A full critique of his performance, a complete grade, would have to wait - just like getting back to normal.

Buck Showalter interrupted a streak of Orioles hires who hadn't managed in the majors. Lee Mazzilli replaced Mike Hargrove prior to the 2004 season and was followed by Sam Perlozzo, Dave Trembley and Juan Samuel on an interim basis.

Phil Regan was one-and-done in 1995, followed by Davey Johnson, Ray Miller and Hargrove - a trio with previous major league experience. Regan, who irked some veterans in spring training by trying to change how they executed cutoffs and never really regained their trust, went 71-73 in a season that was pushed back 23 days as a result of a players' strike.

Peter Angelos was one of the two owners who dissented in a 26-2 vote to approve the use of replacement players, a strategy abandoned two days later.

Hyde knows about shortened seasons. One boiled down to only 60 games. And Regan thought he was working under adverse conditions.

At least he had Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive games streak as a distraction.

Hyde is waiting again to find out whether his streak of abnormal circumstances will be snapped. Whether managing a rebuilding club in the American League East will be his biggest challenge.

A normal expectation when he arrived for his press conference.