"...match[ed] the frustration of his listeners." You can say that again. I nearly ran my truck off the road when I heard Ramon was trotting around first only to look up and start to "hustle" to second to be thrown out. What a monumental blunder. This team is better than that.

Good point, Roch. Angel is so great and we take him for granted until you turn your XM dial and hear all the other shills around the league announcing games. Also the mea culpa from Ramon was not strong enough to suit me, "You can't look back or change anything." How about playing the game right in the first place so you don't have to look back?

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From Ray: I must say how honored I am to be addressed by the first name of baltimoresun.com's premier blogger. Roch gets more views in one day than I get in two weeks.

Ray -
2 things -
1. Angel certainly better watch what he says, lest he be pushed out of a job, a la Jon Miller, by Steinbrenner-lite, Mr. Angelos.
2. Where is the improvement in fundamentals that Trembley has supposedly been preaching?

No doubt the Orioles squandered away the game Sunday, but we have to forgive and forget and go on to the next game. As long as they learned their lesson and it doesn't happen again. However, there is no doubt in my mind that Trachsel has had it and we must try one of the young arms to at least have a chance to win the game.

Hey, Ray, don't mind losing, but don't give it away. The Orioles for the last week haven't been focused on anything, starting with baserunning. That has to fall on the manager who preached and preached about playing the game the right way and playing hard, two things that have been absent from their game recently.

Also, look at the first base coach. Shelby was slapping hands with Ramon has he trotted to first. Shelby wasn't even paying attention!!!!!

Ray-Roch (you two are bros) -- any commenting by management on that embarrassing stolen base by Hunter on Friday night when Roberts and Hernandez were walking back to their positions with their backs to the infield? You know, the one where everyone on the O's, except Millar, looked asleep.

One of the most embarrassing things I've ever seen in baseball.

Listening to Joe Angel on the radio is an absolute pleasure. He paints a clear picture of the game action and never fails to praise or criticize the Orioles players when they deserve it.

I hate to say anything about Angel's partner, Fred Manfra, because he seems to be a nice, likable guy. But Manfra gets sucked into watching the plays develop, gives a sometimes muddled description of the action and then mops up with a summary after the play. It leaves the listener struggling to guess what happened while Manfra collects himself. In addition, he frequently jumps in after Angel's concise play-by-play only to restate Angel's descriptions...

I don't know, maybe Angel is so good that Manfra pales in the inevitable comparison of the two. But I do tend to tune out, or tune to the other team's XM broadcast during innings 3,4, 6 and 7. Too harsh? Maybe, but I think Fred Manfra would make a great pre-game or studio host. His game work leaves me wishing that the Orioles would put Jim Hunter back in the radio booth or hire someone comparable to Angel.

P.S. I just listened to Manfra's silence + inability to describe the A's go-ahead infield single to Millar. Two outs, a scoreless game into the seventh, key point in the game, and an infield grounder absolutely ate up Manfra.

I agree with kwnmnnng. I thought I was the only one that noticed how Fred Manfra sometimes gets caught up in the action and gets confused as to what words he wants to use. Fred has done a great job over the years, but I started to notice this problem last year.He will sometimes set up the scene almost too well, describing everything from the setting sun to how well the grass is growing, and then lose his way in the middle of a bang-bang play.
Fred seems to be a nice guy, but I think dementia is starting to set in.