Manager for a day: Cossins takes spotlight

BALTIMORE -- A day unlike any other in his two-plus decades in baseball began more or less the same for Tim Cossins, who arrived early at Oriole Park on Saturday afternoon, as usual. Went through his pregame routine, as usual. Checked in with the catchers, parsed the clubhouse, stayed upbeat, cracked jokes, as usual. A game loomed, as usual.

It wasn’t until around noon that things began to deviate. Escorted by a member of the Orioles’ public relations staff, Cossins took an unusual right turn into one of the stadium’s interior hallways, ducking into the auxiliary clubhouse that doubles as a press room. That’s when the scope of his temporary reality hit.

“This part is different,” Cossins said, squinting under hot camera lights. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited.”

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Consider it a coming-out moment for Cossins, who’s grown accustomed to operating in behind-the-scenes roles. A Minor League instructor for much of the past 15-odd years with the Marlins and Cubs, Cossins’ first big league opportunity came this winter when Brandon Hyde, his longtime friend and confidant, became the Orioles’ new skipper. Shortly after inheriting his new title of Major League catching coordinator and field coordinator, he learned that it came with a unique wrinkle: With Hyde planning to attend his stepdaughter Arya’s high-school graduation in Chicago this weekend, Cossins would be tasked with filling in as skipper. It would be his first managerial assignment since the Florida State League in 2007, yet a natural one for the man who serves as Hyde’s de facto bench coach.

“This is one of those things [where] you make sure you do the legwork, stay in the pocket,” Cossins said, before the Orioles dropped an 8-2 decision to the Giants. “You try to make sure things run similarly to the way they’ve been going.”

Cossins later left the ballpark with a 0-1 career managerial record, largely due to the same factors that have made Hyde’s first spring at the helm so challenging -- shoddy starting pitching and an inconsistent offense. Over the course of a long season, they’re the types of things few skippers can do much to override.

On Saturday, David Hess was tagged for seven runs in four-plus innings, losing his seventh consecutive decision. Down three runs after three innings and six after five, Cossins saw the Orioles’ offense sag one day after pulling off a six-run comeback and a win. This day, they were held to little more than another solo home run from Renato Núñez -- his eighth in 12 games and 15th this season, putting Nunez in a tie with Matt Chapman, Jose Abreu and Daniel Vogelbach for third in the American League.

“I just go out there thinking barrel, hit that ball hard,” Nunez said. “Hopefully, I will keep it up.”

But other than that, the Giants' rookie starter, Shaun Anderson, and two relievers scattered six mostly harmless hits. Anderson became the first Giants hurler to complete seven innings in a span of 40 games. The Orioles have lost nine of Hess’ 11 starts; the righty’s ERA rose to 7.36.

“Overall, it’s not good enough.” said Hess. “I’m not really happy with how it all went down.”

Hess said he was momentarily caught off guard when Cossins emerged from the dugout to remove him in the fifth, only because he’d become accustomed to Hyde performing such in-game maneuvers. Otherwise, Hess called the transition “seamless,” saying Cossins “handled it and did a really good job with everything today.”

With the outcome largely out of his hands, Cossins’ most consequential decisions were probably deploying Miguel Castro and Josh Lucas to cover the final five frames, leaving Hyde with a bullpen set up well when he returns for Sunday’s series finale. If nothing else, he’ll be back with his right-hand man having gained some hard-earned perspective.

“Quite honestly, you’re sitting in that seat and it does speed up, and absolutely it did. I don’t feel like I was behind the beat, but there are fast decisions and it changes quickly, rapid puzzle pieces coming at you,” Cossins said. “It was an unbelievable experience. … It’s something I’ll look back on forever and appreciate. Obviously, the results weigh more heavily than the memory, at least for me.”