Leftovers for breakfast

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has his scrubbed and sanitized hands full with his own club and a growing set of responsibilities. However, when another manager makes a decision in the World Series that backfires with such force that it shakes the entire industry, Hyde is bound to be asked about it.

Especially on a Zoom conference call yesterday as part of the virtual Winter Meetings that don't have the usual four-day deadline.

Rays skipper Kevin Cash took the ball from Blake Snell in Game 6, the Dodgers breathed a deep sigh of relief and rallied to clinch the Series. Snell allowed only two singles and struck out nine batters in 5 2/3 innings, but Cash - or the front office - didn't want him going through the order a third time.

"It was Blake's game," center fielder Kevin Kiermaier said afterward.

It's also how the Rays conduct their business, which brought them the American League pennant. Other teams are doing the same as the sport evolves, relying on data instead of gut.

"I think there's a balance," Hyde said. "In Cash's situation, he won 40 games out of 60 by following that formula and the Tampa Bay Rays got to that position by really trusting their bullpen. He did it against us a couple times. Takes Snell out a little bit early and the bullpen comes in and puts up zeros. So I've seen it too many time against us to know it's hard to argue against, but I also understand the argument the other way.

"You like to see premiere starters go as long as they can and I totally understand that. I felt bad for Kevin a little bit after that. It's a formula that he has been so successful with that just didn't happen and that's baseball. There's always going to be second guessing, it's always going to be easier to say, 'I wish I would have done this,' or 'Why did you do that?' That's what the beauty of this game is is that there's so many different ways to win a game.

"You do the best you can, take as much information as possible and understanding that data is important, understanding your eyes are important, also. These are human beings that have feelings, that have emotions and you wrap all that around and try to make a good decision."

Hyde has the same statistical information. He has his own set of eyes. He can consult with coaches in the dugout. But is it ultimately his call?

"Yeah," he said. "There's conversations that you have throughout the game, there's conversations that you have prior to the game where you try to map things out, you try to talk about different scenarios and game plan, and you work with your analytic team on the right information that you need for the game, as well as the information they want to give you, and then you just try to make the best decision that you can."

Snell held the Orioles to one run and two hits in 5 1/3 innings in Game 1 of a Sept. 17 doubleheader at Camden Yards. Cash removed him at 73 pitches and the Rays won 3-1.

"He was just following a formula that has been very successful," Hyde said, "and unfortunately it just didn't work out."

* The Cubs have hired Willie Harris as their bench coach. Harris is replacing Will Venable, who left to become the Red Sox's bench coach.

What's the Orioles connection here?

Harris played for them in 2001, appearing in nine games to begin a major league career that lasted 12 years.

The Orioles drafted Harris in the 24th round in 1999 out of Kennesaw State University in Georgia. He had been picked by the Pirates in the 28th round in 1996.

Harris was the ultimate super-utility player, with starts at second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield positions. But his time with the Orioles was brief. They traded him to the White Sox on Jan. 29, 2002 for outfielder Chris Singleton.

The Orioles' shopping list included top-of-the-rotation starter, closer, leadoff man and cleanup hitter. Singleton filled none of those needs, but the club was seeking outfield depth - first addressed by the free-agent signing of Marty Cordova two months earlier to a three-year $9.1 million deal.

Baseball America ranked Harris as the system's No. 8 prospect, but the Orioles had center fielders Luis Matos, Tim Raines Jr. and Keith Reed, and second basemen Brian Roberts, Jerry Hairston and Mike Fontenot.

Melvin Mora was moved out of center field, became a utility player and eventually settled at third base.

This was during a period in franchise history when Syd Thrift was vice president of baseball operations and the Orioles were attempting to take some big offseason swings by pursuing free agent outfielder Juan Gonzalez, who accepted a better offer from the Rangers, and Phillies third baseman Scott Rolen.

The 2001 Winter Meetings were held in Boston, which seems like a weird location compared to the current rotation of cities. The Orioles thought they had a tweaked, nine-player deal in place with the Phillies, but the projected cost of retaining Rolen on a long-term extension led to its collapse.

That is, if Rolen had been willing to discuss an extension, which The Baltimore Sun's Joe Strauss reported would happen on "a case-by-case basis," according to a source.

Thrift's projection was at least 10 years and $150 million.

Strauss reported that the Phillies originally sought a package involving pitchers Sidney Ponson, Buddy Groom, Erik Bedard and Sean Douglass, along with Jeff Conine, in return for Rolen, pitcher Chris Brock, infielder Kevin Jordan and a prospect. Thrift wouldn't sacrifice both Bedard and Douglass, two of the organization's top pitching prospects.

Bedard was pulled from the proposal, with another player added. The Phillies kept Rolen.

The meetings weren't a total loss. The Orioles traded reliever John Wasdin to the Phillies for Brock.

OK, that's quite a comedown.

Anyway, Harris has spent the past two years as the baserunning and outfielder coordinator in the Reds system before joining the Cubs. He won a World Series ring with the White Sox in 2005.

I heard about the Cubs hiring Harris and first thought, "The guy that the Orioles traded to the Reds for Jeffrey Hammonds!" No, that was Willie Greene.

* The Mets have hired Dave Jauss as their bench coach.

What's the Orioles connection here?

Jauss served as the club's bench coach in 2008-09 under manager Dave Trembley, his hiring done on the first day of the general managers meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. He was the Orioles' coordinator of minor league instruction back in 1995 before joining the Red Sox as first base coach from 1997-99.

Jauss was in the Pirates organization from 2013-19, including a stint as bench coach.

The Orioles made Jauss the fourth addition to their overhauled staff after promoting Trembley to manager. They already hired pitching coach Rick Kranitz, bullpen coach Alan Dunn and first base coach John Shelby. Hitting coach Terry Crowley and third base coach Juan Samuel were the only holdovers.

Jeff Datz replaced Jauss prior to the 2010 season. Trembley wanted his bench coach to have a catching background in order to work with Matt Wieters.

Trembley didn't make it through the 2010 season. The Orioles had three managers, including Samuel on an interim basis and Buck Showalter.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

* Let's close with an amusing challenge that I recently found on Twitter.

Turn a movie into a sports film by changing one word.

I came up with "The DeCinces Code" and "Fungoes with Dick and Jane". The bar has been raised.

By adding a word, we now have "Willie Horton Hears a Who".

Give me your best shot.