Jeff:

I've gotta say - I've never - in the last 14 years - felt worse about this team and organization.

Beyond all the foolishness posted on this site - my biggest cause of disappointment and pessimism is the progress of the young pitchers - Matusz, Tillman, Bergesen - and now, Arrieta.

And it's not just the poor stats. They have all seemed to lose their stuff. Matusz and Tillman look like they are at the end of their careers velocity-wise, Bergy hasn't been the same since his injury 2 years ago, and now Arrieta - who like you said was one of a few bright spots - is falling off the wagon too.

Who's to blame? Management? Trainers? Players?

I came into this year fully believing that there would at least be some promise. Competitiveness, spirit - but most of all - solid young pitching.

Seeing the team totally implode the last few weeks has been beyond disheartening. It's painful.

Watching the game tonight, seeing Adrian Gonzalez in the three-hold launching a moonshot - knowing full well Carl Crawford has been a bust for the most part - is just too much to bear. The fact that organizations like NY and BOS can make huge free agent signings that fail, brush it off - and still win divisions and go to endless playoffs - is ridiculous. Seeing a guy like Pedro Viola give up back to back to back bombs. Seeing Arrieta struggle. Seeing Derrek Lee at first instead of Gonzalez or Teixeiera. I'm just tired of it all.

I'll still always be a die-hard fan of the O's. I just don't know what to say anymore. It's just beyond digestible any more. I was almost hoping Viola would throw behind JD Drew. This team needs something. Obviously Buck's lashing last night did little.

@Kenny

the Red Sox traded for Gonzo

Who can blame Billy Connors if he took a powder and disappeared into the night? The regularity of the starting rotation giving up three run home runs and grand slams is stunning and I don't ever recall any rotation being so adept as this rotation at doing it.

Since Jake pitched last night my guess is he was not at the closed door meeting unless he Skyped in or Buck called him.

The good news is there are only three games left before the break, at which time we can find something better to do than watch this train wreck of an organization.

Remember all the fuss & optimism about these pics ? Look at the names listed below the pics.

http://www.camdenchat.com/2009/2/28/775712/from-left-pitching-prospec

http://www.camdenchat.com/2009/7/17/953115/troy-patton-brian-matusz-chris

Arrieta's demise was predictable. His passing on corrective surgery for his elbow pretty much is a window into his competitive nature, or lack of.

Lack of commitment.

Lack of strikes.

Lack of heart.

Goes for the whole team with few exceptions.

The coaching in the minor leagues doesn't appear up to par. Im not sure how Buck yelling at the pitcher is gonna do any good when he has no control or velocity to get the other team out.

The whole deal with Arrieta and the elbow spur have me confused. If the team knew it was there and it would possibly affect him why would the team not demand him getting the spur filed down? Instead the player called the shot on this. Is this also going on with offseason workout regimen?

Arietta is just the latest demonstration of poor management. First, they allow "miracle boy" Scott play for 3 months with a torn labrum. Any other team would have insisted on surgery to fix the shoulder, rather than have the player take charge at the cost of hurting the team.

Then, they allow a promising young pitcher to gut it out with a bone spur in his elbow, at the cost of ruining his mechanics and risking a serious shoulder injury from altering his delivery. Over and over again, the organization's bumper sticker is

Baltimore Orioles, where young prospects come to die.

The whole deal with Arrieta and the elbow spur have me confused. If the team knew it was there and it would possibly affect him why would the team not demand him getting the spur filed down? Instead the player called the shot on this. Is this also going on with offseason workout regimen?

I watched Arrieta for a while last night. He seemed tentative, like he was waiting to feel the pain. Also, he stretched out his arm after every pitch, like there is some discomfort. Likely he will be shut down soon.

Things are getting Oriole-ugly again. The team looks like pre-Buck, where they play sloppily and expect to lose. I've been a fan for over 50 years and they are once again almost impossible to watch.

I don't have the answers but you'd think they'd just get lucky once in a while and hit on a prospect that actually exceeds expectations. I feel sorry for Matusz. He looked sooo good late last year. I think everyone was looking for him to be the savior, to make the Orioles the .500+ team that fans are hoping for. Really!

The team seems snakebit. They're trying to emulate the Rays and Twins and other successful small market teams, but the organizations seems snakebit. You'd think that the Lee or Guerrero acquisitions would at least bear some fruit. Instead they look like Sammy Sosa repeats.

What's JJ Hardy thinking? Why would he want to sign up for 2 or 3 more years of this? I think the O's should try to sign him by July 31. If Machado is ready in a year or two, I think there are plenty of ways to still get him on the field.

Heck, even the pitching coach couldn't make it through half the season. There are still lots of good pieces here but the team is underachieving again. They don't believe in themselves.

Buck had control of who the pitching coach was going to be. Didn't he bring in the new pitching coach with him. The pitchers seemed alright last year. I thought they were really going to show a lot of progress this year. Instead the staff back slid. What was done to our pitching staff.

Colin:

I do know that, and realized after I re-read my post that it would read that way, but thanks. My point - which was murky - was that either via trade or free agency or the draft, the O's keep coming up losers.

Cheers.

Maybe it's not that our players suck so much as our coaching/developing them does. Forgot the pitching coach's name in Norfolk (Griffin or Griffith??), but wasn't he in the Red Sox org. and highly respected. Bring him up and I know Palmer doesn't want to do more than he already does but throw some money at him to entice him to work more with the young pitchers. I know he doesn't want to be pitching coach but he has got to be more involved with them. Trembley is probably laughing at us now.

Jeff

Is it possible that Connor's departure has had the staff take steps backwards?
What is the ERA pre-Connor leaving and post?

Does anyone out there remember "Benny the Fan" from the 1950s? What would he be saying now?

Steve