thanks for an informative report.

You know your team's hitting is bad when "Corey Patterson" and "offensive turnaround" are mentioned in the same paragraph.

It's Jones that I am more worried about than Reimold. Reimold hasn't been in the line-up consistently this season, and his ceiling is lower anyway, so I hope that he can straighten himself out on the major league level in the next month.

Jones, on the other hand, has shown unequivocally that he is lost at the plate. HE HAS WALKED 4 TIMES THIS YEAR! He is basically Corey Patterson without the steals. Not only that, he has allowed several balls to go over this head on defense this year. Now I have never been convinced that he was going to be the star everyone else was saying he was going to be, but we gotta find out. I think it is Jones that needs to go to AAA, get his confidence back, learn to work the count a bit more, and then come back in a few weeks and play ball. Patterson, in the meantime, will be a fill-in, but one that could add a new dimension (blazing speed) to this lineup.

Jones reminds me a bit of Mike Young, unfortunately, or perhaps Ken Gerhart, or maybe even better yet T-Bone Shelby. I hope I'm wrong about that, although Shelby became a dangerous player when he went to the NL.

Good stuff Jeff. Nice to see a level-headed, emotion free approach to contrast the mob mentality that has been embraced by so many on these message boards. I agree on pretty much all fronts (though I do think Jones needs to go spend a month in AAA).

Quick question though...IF Trembley does get the boot, who do you see replacing him? Also, for all the talk about Trembley, it seems pretty obvious to me that Crowley is the one who really has to go. He has a ton of offensive talent that is underperforming. Any word on his status?

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Lots of names bandied about as manager, but nothing concrete. Heard no indication that Crowley is in trouble.

You don't think Adam Jones is in serious need of a wake up call? It appears sometimes as though he is not even paying attention in the outfield.

C'mon, Z-man - there's no place on the internet for reasonable analysis like this. Isn't everyone supposed to be a flame-throwing raging maniac criticizing everything the Warehouse does or else an apologist drinking up the kool-aid that the Warehouse puts out? How do you manage to maintain your professionalism and objectivity in the face of so much insanity? Next time you are in Connolly's I'll buy you a drink of your choice.

Good commentary to go along with your usual excellent reporting.

The fact that some people are calling for Corey Patterson to save the big-team's offense is of course absurd. That said, those comments do highlight the utter failure of the organization to develop any position player prospects....

And if you've got an obvious lack of hitting depth, why were we more aggressive getting some serious hitting help in the offseason. That Garret Atkins signing is KILLING McPhail right now.

Jeff,
Great piece! Yes you may get skewered for some of your comments, but you touch on a lot of things I think many fans have been thinking, but the folks that just want to bash every aspect of the team and organization have certainly been empowered but the atrocious start.

I completely agree that the confluence of key injuries, a brutal schedule and some very tough opposing (and veteran pitchers) have worsened a bad situation. Who knows, but if they win 4 or 5 of those games, 14-18 feels a whole lot different. It is worth noting that they have been competitive in the vast majority of those losses and games like yesterday have been the exception. I may have it slighly wrong but the I think the Pirates, for instance have lost 11 games by 6 runs or more, yet they have more wins than the O's.

I totally agree with you about Reimold and have been saying for a month he should either be shut down to get healthy or sent to Norfolk to get his head back on straight. He was too good last year to be this lost - honestly he had a couple of slumps, but adjusted much better than either Jones or Scott.

Jones is really a huge disapointment and the only reason he continues to play every day is they don't have anyone else to play center - so at least Patterson will help there. A month back in AAA could go a long way for Jones as the Angels did with Howie Kendrick last year, but I don't think AM will have the nerve to make that move.

I hear about JJ, but I think Trembley deserves some criticism too. He either did know or should have known his top two relievers were not healthy and he put them out there in game situations anyway - going back to my earlier comment - take a look at their record if they get those 4 blown saves back.

Lat point - why in the world would Trembley have moved Markakis back to the 3 hole this weekend. he was on fire in the 2 spot (where he has always belonged and thrived), the team won the first two with him there - then he moves him back to three - he goes hitless, including several key spots and they lose both. To top it off, he moves the only guy that has been driving the ball (Wiggington) from 5 to 2. He really just doesn't seem to get it.

Corey Patterson represents the ONLY option that the O's have for leadoff. Like it or not, he wiil have to assume that role until Roberts returns. I don't like it, but Montenez and Reimold are either not right between the ears or not physically up to it.

The over/under for Trembley is Memorial Day.

Sometimes managerial changes aren't made because someone else can do better, they are made because we have seen enough. If the last two games weren't enough to prove that this team has no motivation, no energy, no effort and doesn't seem to care about results then I'm not sure what would have to happen short of the entire lineup robbing a liquor store to make some major changes. Trembley's time is up.

Apparently the O's should add a veterinarian to the staff - they're used to working with patients that can't tell them what's wrong.

Seriously though, is all Trembley et al do is just ask a player how they feel? Don't they look with their eyes to evaluate a player's health? Gonzalez, Roberts, and now Johnson have all had injuries where they would have been better off just going on the DL in the first place. And you can probably throw Reimold into that list as well. I've never seen a team come out of spring training so unprepared and banged up, pretending to be otherwise.

Just some "stuff"......I don't classify what Johnson did as taking one for the team, this time anyway. He was part of a big problem in a crappy bullpen and wasn't helping at all by pitching hurt, and risking his whole season. I agree on Patterson, but Jonses' bubbles are giving me a migrane....I never saw a wake up call as needed as one to him, and maybe Patterson is it. Nolan looked better yesterday running down to first. Maybe its just me, but how much rope does Markakis get? Is he unapproachable just because the owner is Greek? Maybe Weiters is carrying too much a load because the backup catcher is not much of a help. At least Moeller was capable of having a big day at the plate once in awhile....and lastly, bite the bullet on Adkins...bring up Andino, he came to play every day.

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Jeff Z's reply: Markakis gets a little more rope because although he's not hitting with power, he's hitting a tick under .300, and walks a lot, has good at-bats and plays a solid right field. I'd like to see him driving the ball more to, but right now, he's the least of the Orioles' problems offensively.

Boo hoo everybody faces good pitching, its the major leagues. Maybe the O's want to be a AAA club, they certainly look like one.

The O's are the worst org in baseball. They have much more financial flexibility than the other perennial cellar dwellers - KC & Pitt, yet they never come close to .500. They are clueless & its starts at the top. I would trade our roster for the Nats roster at this point. The Nats were light years behind us a few years back & they have gotten to a point where they will likely contend before we do. Angelos & this whole mess is a laughing stock.

Doctor Z,

Don't tell us that you too, are (in terms of opposing pitchers who the O's faced) are pulling the Angelos/"bad luck" card.

These are all professional MLB players and should be able to hit any of them. I mean, Ben Sheets hadn't pitched since the Berlin Wall was still intact and came out and dominated the O's. Not to mention, throughout they years, all the newly recalled minor league starters that have won their first professional game against the Birds.

Of course, "The Crow" still has a job. Angelos cannot sell the team soon enough.

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Jeff Z's reply: No, I'm not pulling that card at all Kyle. As I said, the Orioles lost all benefit of the doubt when they were pretty much dominated by Jason Vargas, Doug Fister, Dana Eveland and Carl Pavano.

Would cause a real uproar if Adam Jones was returned to Norfolk but in the long term I think it would be like Roy Halliday being sent down to "find himself" w/o th added pressure of trying to live up to the hype og early 2009.

I would say that now the blame lays with management for the way the O's have performed. I believe that the club they have put together is second rate at best. Why do they always go after the fire sale players...granted Roberts is on the DL and probably their answer to their problems, but demoting Tillman was a mistake, signing Atkins was a mistake, and on and on, boy who really knows what it will take....fire Angelos today maybe that will work.

Jeff,

Why are the Tides putting Andino at leadoff? He is not coming back anytime soon. If the O's are looking for a leadoff hitter, why isn't Patterson there? Also, I did not see Salazar's name in the lineup lately. Is he injured?

How much input as to who plays at the minor league level does the parent team have?

There really needs to be a huge shakeup in the organization before its too late (like right before the AS break too late). Then again, this may be the reverse of whats been happening the past 12 seasons. Usually, the Os would come out on a tear in the first half, then the dreaded second half swoon would come. I'm praying that they'd get their act together in the second half.

A lot of O's have gone down to AAA when they weren't productive in the big leagues. Two that come to mind right away are Jim Palmer and Brooks Robinson; I'm sure that there were more....

.

9W
23L.............the O's are on pace for a memorable season:
43W and 116L

For God sakes do something!!!!!

Angelos is not selling...
McPhail is not getting fired or quitting...

So that leaves the coaching staff and the manager............HELLO.....IS ANYBODY HOME?

Somebody grow a pair and do something.....anything........but do it now.

Jeff - just a pat on the back from me to you! I really enjoy reading your articles and reports on the O's. You do a great job!! Ya know - overall I like what Andy has done with the trades etc. But one thing I really HATED hearing all off season and never hear anyone talk about is his statements about "Letting the Market SET" before signing whom we needed!!?? SAY WHAT? Wouldn't the prudent thing to have done was identify WHO we WANTED/NEEDED and made a strong effort to get THEM?? Verses allowing the plums to be cherry picked and then once the "market has been SET" sign the leftovers?? Very VERY poor way to go about it in my opinion. THAT is why we got STUCK with GONZALAZ & ATKINS! 2 bums who will never be anything but anchors around the Orioles necks as they try to swim up out of the depts of disspair they now are in!

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Jeff Z's reply: Thanks for the kind words.

Part of the problem is the lead off spot. However, most of it is a philosophy that was counting on too many young players to produce all at once, along with some cast off veterans who were counted on to do more than they are capable of doing.

Roberts going down was bad; Pie going down right on his heels just made it even worse. Roberts is a very good player and a very good leadoff hitter. Losing him was going to hurt. Then, to make matters worse, the Orioles lose a player in Pie who, while certainly not the player that Roberts is, appeared to be at least a reasonable substitute for Roberts until he came back. Now, the O's are really stretching to find someone to fit that leadoff spot. Any team that lost a quality leadoff hitter, and then his replacement, who was at least a reasonable alternative would have problems. The rest of the equation made it worse.

The O's went into this season counting on Wieters, Riemold, and Jones as everyday players who were going to blossom into stars. Jones has some experience, while the experience of Wieters and Riemold is somewhat limited. Is it reasonable to expect they would all be great? Probably not.

Then, the O's were also counting on Matusz and Bergesen to come up big in the rotation. Again, two guys with limited big league experience. And, again, it was probably too much to expect.

Finally, why in the world did Macphail sign Atkins and Gonzalez? Both had track records as players who were going down hill. Atkins has been tailing off for the last few years, bottoming out last year when he lost his starting job and hit under .230. Gonzalez, meanwhile, blew something like 40% of his save chances last year. How does the O's brain trust figure these guys are all of a sudden going to find it again? They haven't, and they most likely won't.

A recipe for a disastrous season that, I hope, will get better, but I'm not counting on it.

Jones is the one who needs a wake-up call. Making the All-Star team and winning a Golden Glove which he did not deserve (Markakis did) and all the accolades including from Trembley, seem to have gone to his head. Not listening to Paul Blair and others about playing a step or two back doesn't speak well for his willingness to take advice. He seems to be continuing the bad habits that he fell into during the last half of last year and resisting making changes like bunting, shortening his swing etc. Treating him like a superstar or a potential leader in the clubhouse does him no good service. He needs to earn both by having at least one or two consistently good seasons.

You have it exactly right anonymous. Jones definately needs a wake up call. Send him down. He is only hurting the team with his terrible attitude.

Nice analysis Jeff, I think you've made the key point in that the team was totally banking on all the young guys blossoming all at once, and it just isn't happening. I based my early optimism on that hope as well. That was obviously unrealistic, such things don't happen often, but it's also supposed to be rare for everybody on the team except for 1 or 2 players to be in a long term slump all at once as well.
To me this team just looks badly prepared and poorly coached. The sloppy fielding and lack of plate discipline that have been problems for season after season never improve.
The Johnson situation leaves me irritated not with Johnson, but with Kranitz and Trembley and the training staff. Ballplayers are always going to say they're okay to play if they can barely walk, at least the ones worth having. It's the coaching staff's job to know if they really are or not. After seeing how badly they misjudged the Roberts and Gonzalez situations, this is beyond tiresome now. Please make a managerial change. It won't solve everything, but it's a start.