Was Robert De Niro robbed of an Oscar in 1992 for his portrayal of Max Cady in “Cape Fear?”

De Niro was amazing in that role. A brilliant performance. I would have chosen him. But I also can’t argue with Anthony Hopkins winning for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs.”

See, you ask and I answer. It’s that simple. Or in this case, I ask and answer to set up the latest mailbag entry.

(Martin Scorsese was robbed twice – for Raging Bull and Goodfellas – by first-time directors Robert Redford and Kevin Costner. And he’s been the victim of other snubs. Those just irk me the most. But I digress …)

I’m serving mailbag leftovers as we trudge through another week in the offseason. Any thoughts of editing for clarity, length and style were scraped into the trash.

It’s never too early to start thinking about spring training storylines.

That’s a lie. It’s much too early. But there’s no harm in talking about a few topics in October.

Can the roster hold Heston Kjerstad and Coby Mayo?

There might not be two bigger curiosities in camp than this duo. Kjerstad was the second-overall pick in the 2020 draft, and you know the rest, including the myocarditis diagnosis that pushed back everything in his career and changed his life. Mayo has risen to No. 1 prospect in the system and No. 8 in baseball per MLB Pipeline, with power that makes jaws drop.

Kjerstad has it, too, but neither one has a position waiting for him. Kjerstad was supposed to be the everyday right fielder, but he was optioned again this season and sidelined by a concussion, and Anthony Santander hit 44 home runs. Mayo went 4-for-41 with 22 strikeouts and was optioned twice, and a team trying for a deep playoff run went with more trustworthy defenders at third base.

The uncertainties over the Orioles’ roster for 2025 include how they intend to use Heston Kjerstad. Will he receive an opportunity to play every day, no matter the matchup, and how many starts will he get in the outfield?

Some stability would be a nice advancement for the second-overall draft pick in 2020.

Kjerstad was optioned multiple times and had multiple stints on the concussion injured list. He totaled 39 games and 114 plate appearances, batting .253/.351/.394, and made his second playoff roster.

It’s hard to label Kjerstad’s usage as a platoon because he didn’t play regularly, but he had only 16 at-bats against left-handers and collected six hits.

Manager Brandon Hyde was asked at his season-ending media session about platooning some of the younger hitters.

Corbin Burnes threw his last warmup pitch, stepped off the mound, turned his back to home plate and settled into a crouch before his catcher could do it. With his head lowered, he chose a crowded venue to hold a private moment.

Burnes finally stood, faced home plate and owned it again.

This is why the Orioles traded for him. To start on Opening Day and in Game 1 of a playoff series, in this instance the Wild Card round. To be that guy. But he can’t score runs for himself.

Bobby Witt Jr. singled with two outs in the sixth inning to produce the first lead of the day, and the Orioles were silenced by Cole Ragans and three relievers in a deflating 1-0 loss today before an announced crowd of 41,506 at Camden Yards.

The playoff losing streak has reached nine games dating back to the Royals’ sweep in the 2014 Championship Series. They need to win Wednesday afternoon with Zach Eflin starting or be shut down again.

MINNEAPOLIS – Another Wild Card roster meeting will be held when the Orioles return home. They must decide whether to carry 12 pitchers again, as they did in last year’s Division Series.

“I think everything’s on the table right now,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

The Orioles will host the Tigers or Royals. The seedings will be set later today. And they finally can begin clearing the table.

By optioning reliever Bryan Baker yesterday to the spring complex, the Orioles won’t have him available unless they reach the Championship Series. That’s one of the differences from last fall’s ALDS roster.

Baker was added to it after finishing his season with Triple-A Norfolk. Among the omitted were Cole Irvin, Shintaro Fujinami and Mike Baumann. Baker made one appearance against the Rangers, walked the bases loaded in the third inning of Game 2 and was charged with three runs when Mitch Garver homered off Jacob Webb.

The Orioles have six games left on their regular season schedule. The Yankees lead the division by six games.

Even the people who choke when trying to crunch numbers can digest this one.

I’m saying there’s a chance, but the Orioles are more likely to earn the top wild card and host a best-of-three series with no travel in the first round.

The clinching formula, boiled down to its rawest form, says the Orioles are in if they win tonight and the Twins lose to the Marlins or the Royals lose to the Nationals. You’ll need to do more scoreboard watching.  

We can stop tracking the Mariners. The Twins are the “first team out” – currently seventh in a six-club field – and suddenly deserving of our attention.

The Orioles created two openings on their 40-man roster yesterday by again designating left-hander Cole Irvin and infielder Nick Maton for assignment.

Left-hander Danny Coulombe, on the 60-day injured list, can fill one spot when he’s reinstated. He retired all three batters faced yesterday in his second rehab appearance with Triple-A Norfolk.

Maton was bumped to make room for outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who returned from the concussion injured list and stayed with the major league club rather than being optioned. The offensive woes prompted the Orioles to give Kjerstad another shot, and he went 0-for-2 while batting cleanup and serving as the designated hitter before Eloy Jiménez pinch-hit for him.

This is the level of, dare we call it desperation, to find an offensive spark that the Orioles slotted Kjerstad fourth after his long layoff from major league competition. It didn't help.

They were held to two runs or fewer for the sixth time in the last 10 games and have scored 21 in that stretch. And a 4-2 loss at Comerica Park dropped them three behind the first-place Yankees with 12 remaining. They lead the Royals by two for the top wild card and home field.

DETROIT – An O’s starter pitched well, but got little or no run support. A recurring theme in Birdland a lot lately.

Facing a traditional starter – not an opener – was not something that helped the struggling Orioles offense today.

They saw Detroit right-hander Keider Montero. And while his 4.88 ERA was not impressive, his last outing was. He pitched a three-hit shutout Tuesday on 96 pitches versus Colorado.

Today, he didn’t get that deep in the game, but the O’s could not score off him either.

They finally got some offense, but it proved too little and too late today.

DETROIT – Heston Kjerstad is back with the Orioles, finally free of concussion symptoms and feeling good about his swing and his health.

He is batting fourth as the DH today, so thrust right back into the mix in a prominent spot. He wants to help an offense that has produced just 15 runs in five games this road trip. Over the last nine games, in going 3-6, Baltimore batters are averaging 2.1 runs per game with a team OPS of .583.

Kjerstad is ready to try and provide a boost with his bat.

“Oh 100 percent. All of us want to provide that boost. Maybe I can bring that. It’s a great lineup we have here. Baseball, you want to play well and the offense, we need to get rolling a bit better. All it takes is one. Once one goes, the rest of the offense will roll with him, so we’ll get it rolling here,” he said.

After he was hit in the helmet July 12, Kjerstad went on the seven-day concussion injured list. He returned eight days later but the symptoms lingered.

DETROIT - The Orioles are adding Heston Kjerstad to their roster for today’s series finale with the Detroit Tigers.

The O's announced that move and series of others this morning. In addition they have reinstated righty reliever Jacob Webb from the injured list where he was out due to right elbow inflammation. Webb has pitched to a 3.08 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings pitched. He last pitched on Aug. 2 at Cleveland.

They designated for assignment pitcher Cole Irvin and infielder/outfielder Nick Maton. The O's 40-man roster right now is at 38.

Kjerstad has been on the injured list with a concussion and playing minor league rehab games in the last several days with both High-A Aberdeen and Double-A Bowie.

He went 4-for-13 with a double and three RBIs in four games with Bowie after going 2-for-5 over two games with Aberdeen. He was the leadoff hitter last night for Bowie at Erie and went 0-for-1 with two walks.

BOSTON – After spending 27 years with the Orioles in various capacities, Dave Schmidt isn’t returning to the organization in 2025.

Schmidt was told Monday that his contract wouldn’t be renewed, according to sources.

The most recent title bestowed upon Schmidt was “complex pitching and rehab coordinator,” which allowed him to be based near his home in Sarasota. He set up or followed the schedules depending on the player and worked with the physical therapist, “making sure our guys are heading in the right direction, getting better,” Schmidt said in a 2022 interview with MASNsports.com.

Among the pitchers under his supervision in 2022 was Grayson Rodriguez, who rehabbed a Grade 2 right lat strain sustained over the summer with Triple-A Norfolk. Rodriguez was out for three months.

Schmidt, 67, goes back to the 1998 season with Syd Thrift as farm director. He’s served as pitching ach at pretty much every level, had two stints as pitching coordinator and two as rehab coordinator. He also was tasked with overseeing the Dominican program for a couple of years.

LOS ANGELES – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, already with a group of 12 on the club's injured list, found out today that infielder Jorge Mateo will not make it back for any of the remaining part of the 2024 season.

Today he had a left elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) with internal brace and flexor repair. The surgery was performed by Dr. Keith Meister at Trinity Park Surgery Center in Arlington, Texas. 

“He had successful surgery today. We’re happy about that,” said Hyde. “That everything went really well. Hoping he is back by the regular season next year, but we’re happy the surgery went well.

“He’s a big loss, just like Westy’s (Jordan Westburg) a big loss also. What we lose (with the) speed factor, the defense, the stolen base threat. Everything he does bring. You know, when he’s going well he’s tough to get out and if you don’t get him out he’s going to score because of the threat he is on the bases. Losing Jorgie is a big loss for us.”

Mateo becomes the fifth player on the O's IL list of 12 that will not return this year, joining Félix Bautista, Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells. 

The latest road trip began last night at Dodger Stadium, where the World Series memories for the franchise are much nicer than in Queens. The Orioles are down to two after they return next week from Denver, playing three games in Boston and Detroit and three in New York and Minnesota.

The roster is going to change multiple times to uphold the 2024 theme. It’s much too late for stability. Don't even think it.

The injured list should get a little bit lighter. An extra player and position player can be added on Sept. 1.

In the meantime, let’s check out some more lingering questions.

* How long is the leash on Burch Smith?

The Orioles are laboring on offense, hurting for healthy starting pitching and unable to fully trust their bullpen. Otherwise, there’s nothing to see here.

They’re also only two games behind in the division and are first in the wild card chase.

I say “only” knowing that it’s a genuine concern compared to leading the pack, which they’ve done for much of the season. But no one is running away with a division. No one is playing .600 ball. There isn't a dominant team.

The Dodgers are the closest at .595 and are 43-23 at home, and the Orioles arrived yesterday for a three-game series beginning tonight. But otherwise, really, there’s nothing to see here.

There are questions in the mailbag that I cannot ignore. Time again to drum up a sequel to the beloved 2008 original. You ask, I attempt to answer, sometimes the same inquiry comes as if I’m typing in invisible ink, sometimes I playfully ridicule.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The number of injuries to hit the Orioles this season has reached a point where yesterday’s media session with executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias came across as largely positive.

Grayson Rodriguez should return to the rotation in the later portion of September after his diagnosis of a mild strain of the teres major muscle – or the shoulder region. It isn’t identical to the 2022 lat/teres strain that cost him exactly three months at Triple-A Norfolk.

Three months with the Orioles in 2024 would have kept him from pitching until next year.

That’s positive news. It’s certainly above the worst-case scenario that we braced for earlier in the afternoon.

The challenge now is stay in the division race with projected starters Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells missing from the rotation. Only Rodriguez is able to return and it’s gonna be a while with a minimum 10-day shutdown period and a re-imaging of the shoulder in about three weeks.

The Orioles made the predictable roster move this afternoon by placing starter Grayson Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Sunday with right lat/teres discomfort, the reason why he didn’t pitch last night.

The unexpected also happened with outfielder Heston Kjerstad going on the 10-day injured list with concussion symptoms.

Kjerstad was optioned Thursday to Triple-A Norfolk, ending his third career major league stretch, but he didn’t report to the club. He’s dealing with the lingering effects of the Clay Holmes pitch that slammed into his ear flap and led to his placement on the seven-day concussion injured list on July 13.

The Orioles activated Kjerstad on July 20 and he went 2-for-18.

Today’s move, retroactive to Thursday, basically is a reversal of the option. He’s on the major league injured list.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled LHP Keegan Akin from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Placed OF Heston Kjerstad on the 10-day Injured List (concussion), retroactive to August 1.
• Placed RHP Grayson Rodriguez on the 15-day Injured List (right lat/teres discomfort), retroactive to August 4.

I’m using flashcards to learn the names of the new players. My family is quizzing me.

Their first question: How did we get stuck doing this?

For me it's like, is that Austin Slater? No? Oh, hey Blake Hunt. Is that Seranthony Domínguez? Nope? I was gonna say Gregory Soto. I swear.

One thing that never changes is my mailbag except for the weight of its contents.

You’ll have a long wait if you think I’m going to worry about clarity, length and style.

TORONTO – Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg has not played since he was hit by a pitch July 31 against Toronto and suffered a fractured right hand.

With the O’s set to play the Blue Jays again, this time north of the border, Westburg was quite upbeat today about making it back to the Orioles before the regular season winds down.

“It’s hard to tell. It just comes down how quickly the bone heals and how quickly I can progress,” Westburg said this afternoon in the visitor’s clubhouse with his arm wrapped and using a splint. “I am just taking it one day at a time and personally, I’m optimistic I can be back before the end of the season. I am going to do everything I can to get back out there.”

Do the doctors share that optimism?

“Well, I don’t have any concrete timetable right now. Just trying to be optimistic and set my attitude and worry about taking it one day at a time,” said Westburg, batting .269 with an .815 OPS in 101 games.

CLEVELAND – The Orioles made a series of roster moves this afternoon leading into their four-game series against the Guardians at Progressive Field.

Jordan Westburg was placed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right hand, and the Orioles recalled Livan Soto from Triple-A Norfolk. Westburg could return by late September. Soto is wearing No. 73.

Outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jiménez has joined the club after the Orioles acquired him from the White Sox at the deadline and he’s wearing No. 72. Heston Kjerstad was optioned again to Triple-A Norfolk.

Kjerstad is batting .301 with a .998 OPS, 14 doubles and 16 home runs and 58 RBIs in 56 games with Norfolk, but his opportunities remain limited in the majors.

Outfielder Austin Slater, acquired from the Reds, was activated and given No. 15. Reliever Keegan Akin was optioned.