A typical Baltimore Orioles season resembles the 5 stages of grief:

April/May....Denial

"Even as poorly as we have been playing, we are still only{blank}| games out of first place."

June....Anger

"Well, what did you expect? We can't spend with the Yankees and Red Sox, and I don't know how the Rays do it. We need realignment to make it fair. If we were in the AL Central we would only be 5 games out."

July...Bargaining

"Well, let's see what prospects Andy can get for player A and player B. At least we have that to look forward to."

August...Depression

We might as well just stick{blank} and{blank} out there for the rest of the year and see what they have. This season is toast."

September....Acceptance

"Hopefully we can find a way to avoid 100 losses. That's a goal. When you look back on it, we never really had a chance this year."

Since the Reds were mentioned in the article that opens up some flexibility on what I want to write about today. Also, it caused me to do a little bit of research. Anyway, I hope the Orioles are trying to renegotiate their contract with Brian Roberts. Even though Brian is a good person and has been a good teammate through the years. His skills have eroded even if he returns 100% healthy in 2012. His skills just simply are not what they used to be. This leads me to suggesting that the Orioles should go after Brandon Phillips if he does become a free agent. The only thing though is that Mr. Phillips is a playful little clown. I was watching the Nats/Reds game last night and I noticed Brandon trying to rub off the dirt on his hands after avoiding being picked off of first base. In doing so, he decided to use 1b Morse’s pant leg to get the job done. Morse took it in stride so Brandon was lucky. Anyway, if the Orioles can put up with that kind of silliness, then they should put on a full court press to make him an Oriole in 2012. Another Red the Orioles should have interest in and I didn’t realize this till now Ramon Hernandez is a free agent after the season. The Orioles should definitely make an effort to get him. While Tatum has done a good job as a back-up, Hernandez would be a very good upgrade and give the O’s some flexibility with the DH position as well as in the field. Lastly, I don’t see any movement in improving our rotation Andy MacPhail! Guthrie is allegedly hurt and as for the rest of the members of the rotation I am unsure of what kind of effort that they are going to put forth, much less the results they will get. I also see Tillman had a solid game (11k’s), but he gave up two solo shots to their 9th hitter Justin Greene. Who’s Justin Greene? I don’t think he’s a household name except to members of his own family. Come on Andy, you really need to do something here. Oh and as for Mark Reynolds he’s done a pretty solid job all year long in the field and with the bat. Nice thing is he won’t in all probability reach the 200 k plateau this year and that is an accomplishment in and of itself.

Lol, well done, Gil. I laughed at that.

Gil,

I'm rooting for 100 losses. The worst thing that could have happened to the orioles last season was the late surge. It gave everyone false hope. It may have set the club back years.

People were saying things were finally on the right track....but they weren't.

By losing 100 games, perhaps someone will wake up...anyone. Andy is simply unbelievably awful for today's games, and I just don't know what else the fans need to see from him.

To him, 100 losses will mean bad luck, the AL East, injuries.....all while claiming the club is headed in the right direction. Meanwhile, the team is so bad, players and coaches now talk of all the positives they see in a loss. Well, last I checked, this is major league baseball. Wins and losses are suppose to matter, above all else. Not for the orioles though. Not for their dreaded owner...and not for their incompetent head of baseball operations.

Gil - that's one of the best analysis of the Orioles organization and fan base I've seen in recent memory.

The Orioles need to find a starting second baseman . Roberts history of injuries is growing and Andino is a utilityman. Reynolds and other strikeout artists that populate the O's lineup are not to my liking. New ownership and approach is neede.

"Lol, well done, Gil. I laughed at that."

Definitely well done. But I cry at it.

Gil -

I have a better one. try this:

September.....Acceptance.

"Well, if we keep on losing (this many) games, we might get the 1st pick in next years draft!"

Gil - GREAT post!

Lefty - How dare Brandon Philips have fun playing a game, HOW DARE HE!

Gil, that was perfect.

Enuf, I understand where you're coming from but no one's going to wake up. Not one single person connected with the decision-making of the Orioles -- any decision-making -- has accepted responsibility for anything done wrong -- and I mean any thing -- since Edward Bennett Williams.

EBW admitted moving the team from Baltimore would be a huge mistake (and he didn't even make that mistake; only considered it). EBW admitted he was wrong with his reported criticism of Eddie Murray (none of this taken out of context or misquoted crap you normally see). And EBW admitted the signings of Aase, Lacy, Lynn, etc., etc. was wrong instead of rebuilding (although he truly wanted to win -- refreshing by today's standards -- and he wanted to win before cancer made its deadly return -- completely understandable in my book).

Even if the Orioles lost, say, 110 games ... and even if Angelos or MacPhail actually took on some accountability ... or even if both did .. and even if took on all accountability, I don't think either has the fortitude to see it through.

Angelos has a strong history for giving in to knee-jerk reactions. Example: One day "no player is worth $10M/year" (Palmeiro); the next day he signs Albert Belle well in excess of it. Plus, Angelos is old.

MacPhail is steadfast in his belief in his ways so thinking he would jump the shark and "wake up" is fallacy enough, but consider how inept he is in sticking to his own Plan. Examples: He signs a reliever (Gonzalez) with highly questionable credentials (and results that follow) which means the Orioles must forfeit a draft choice. Then, he trades David Hernandez who has found success in the bullpen for a third baseman (Reynolds) who is somewhat the same as a player already in the Oriole system (Bell), just more exaggerated -- good and bad.

The only conceivable hope -- and it makes me quiver with foolishness to even think this -- is Angelos's vanity takes over, he makes a splash, and it has enough of a positive impact that it actually lasts April through September that he allows someone to take the reins who knows what he is doing that the Orioles will become ... umm ... I don't know ... let's start with normal.

Gil, right on the money.
In a game he would have been booed off the mound by the 3rd. inning in the Bronx or Beantown...Matusz receives a freakin hero's welcome here.
The mindset for acceptance of putrid baseball in this town is becoming very alarming.
Stop the creepy fluff...most of this current group of Orioles do not belong in the Major Leagues. There is not one single player on this club that is untouchable & the job McFail has done makes the 3 headed monster of Flanagan/Beatty & Duquette seem like the second coming of Pat Gillick.
This organization is a mess & it kills me...especially with a brother living outside Boston who's become part of Band Wagon Central.
Clean house Angelos...then sell!

Here's an EXTREMELY EMBARRASING look at the Orioles:

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/8/18/2369482/baltimore-orioles-oakland-athletics-game-news-score

SB Nation actually has a highlight reel of how bad the Orioles actually look. This is a little piece from the article:

"However, Wednesday afternoon, the Orioles played a road matinee against the Oakland Athletics. This was a game that pretty much nobody watched, and for that, in this instance, the Orioles were thankful.

Why were they thankful?

Because over the course of the game, they looked really stupid. It's one thing to be seen losing. The Orioles are very frequently seen losing. It's quite another to be seen screwing everything up.

That's just embarrassing.

It benefits nobody to be seen like that."

Lefty...Ramon Hernandez didn't do much while he was here. Just another example of a guy who performed better after he left the O's. And why in the world would he accept a job as a backup when he can find a starting gig somewhere?

Not gonna happen, nor should it. I'd take Phillips in a heartbeat though.

Noticed that the Cubs fired their GM today. Hmmm.... Would Andy McP be interested? Maybe we could trade him to the Cubs for a GMto-be-Named-Later. Sure, there's another dreadful season about to end. But, I like to think that there are a handful of talented players already on the roster, and a few others who will be ready pretty soon. Keepers: Markakis, Roberts (despite all the injuries), C. Davis, Reynolds, Jones, Weiters, Hardy. From the pitching staff, it is far and away too early to give up on any of thte young guys. Guthrie certainly can be traded, but Arrieta, Matusz, Tillman, Bergeson, Hunter, Britton, the kid Bundy, the other kid Bundy, the new signees Esposito and Delmonico, Mahoney, Bell are all potentially very good if not better-than-that players. No clairvoyant who ever lived could have predicted the injuries and other misfortunes the pitchers have had this year. I, for one, do not believe that last year's surge at the end was a fluke. I think THIS YEAR'S avalanche of bad luck is the fluke. If you can get Prince and Phillips, by all means, get them. Heck, CC has an opt out clause after this year. Get him, or at least get in the bidding so the Yankees have to pay a billion dollars to keep him. Even NY does not have unlimited funds.

BTW, your captcha log in words, or whatever they are, have been difficult to read in the past, but today, I had to try four times to get in. Several times the words were upside down and backwards. Are you trying NOT to have posts? Geez. I have gtaken to copying my posts before I try to send them so that I can re-send them if they don't go through. I think I could get Obama's cell number more easily.

Only mother nature and the course of life and death is the only hope Baltimore fans have. Peter Angelos will not sell the team as long as he is alive. His sons will part ways with it, the second the old man kicks the bucket. Until then, let's recycle some old blog posts and some old blog participant comments.

Gil,
Excellent! You're right on the money.

Gil,

I used to dread reading your posts because you never had anything positive to say about the Birds, but I have to give it top you, I can no longer have a positive outlook about this "team". It is a waste of time and I just can't continue having hope that they will ever be competitive. You win, Gil, and yes, the Birds lose as usual.

dspedden,

I used to be very pragmatic and I expressed great optimism when Andy was hired. Then during the offseason between 2008 and 2009, I had an epiphany and it became clear to me that Andy, for whatever reason, had no sense of urgency, sense of purpose, or multi point strategy to address the many problems in the organization. It was if the risks that needed to be taken were just too big for him at this stage of his career. Acquire washed up free agents, trade them for prospects. That's it. That's not a strategy that can get this team out of last place in this division. The only way to do that is confronting the problem from many different angles, and we all know too well what they are.

My company owned full season tickets to the Orioles for 28 years, for clients and marketing purposes. It finally got to the point that I could no longer justify the expense and I used the marketing money elsewhere. I couldn't get clients to take the tickets anymore, and in many cases could not even give them way to my own employees. The stack of unused tickets in my top desk drawer got larger every year. Last year I stopped.

What has happened to this franchise under the ownership of Peter Angelos is one of the great tragedies in professional sports, especially to those of us who grew up in the 50's and 60's listening to the Orioles in our bedrooms with the radio turned down as low as possible after our parents sent us to bed. I post out of anger and frustration because of what has happened to this franchise under Peter Angelos. It didn't need to happen. It is a recurring nightmare that seems to have no end.

Gil will never have anything positive to say about this team as long as Angelos owns it. Every year Gil sees through the lies that this team feeds it's fan base.

It was announced today that the Orioles have officially been eliminated from the Wild Card race...for 2012.

There's nothing like posting at 7:00 and seeing it come up around 9:00. Why don't you guys try updating your software to Windows 98?

Yeah, it's been pretty bad. But things can and do change. Look at Cleveland. Look at Tampa Bay. The Orioles have some really good pieces, and despite the past several years, they could add the right pieces to turn it around. I'm going to watch for good signs the rest of this year, and hope we have a good offseason to give us reason for optimism in '12. If you want to complain, go to the Politics page.

3 more K's for Reynolds, 200 is certainly not out of reach! 145 and lots of games to go!

Damn Gil, you should be writing for the Sun!

All of you are entitled to your opinions, but I see none of you writing for any major publications, nor do I see you on ESPN, MLB Network, Fox Sports, or anywhere else the alleged "experts" reside. What I DO see is the opinions of "most" of these so-called experts is that the O's ARE on the right track, This year has been a huge disappointment, and the O's will once again finish poorly, but I do see improvement in their future. I've been an O's fan for over 50 years, and like the Cubs fans out here, I don't run away, and start complaining because they aren't doing as well as I think they should. I am an O's FAN, as in fanatic. I think they have many more good players than they have in the past. This year has been horrific on the pitching staff, so, I shall hope for a good offseason, recovery by many of our players, and improvement next year.

Go O's!

Yes, we ARE entitled to our opinions. Tell me, which major publication do you write for? Have I seen you giving your opinion on ESPN. If so, which on-air personality are you? Notice that at no time during this post did I infringe on your right to give an opinion. If it's a problem for you, start posting to Pravda or Al-Jazerra.

I expect he is also going for the Os error record - is that the case?

He leads MLB 3Basemen in E's with 23 and the worst FPCT @ 908. He is a shoe in for the tin glove award.
Looks like he is on the way to another 200 K season.
So why is he looked upon as competent MLB player ?

He leads MLB 3Basemen in E's with 23 and the worst FPCT @ 908. He is a shoe in for the tin glove award.
Looks like he is on the way to another 200 K season.
So why is he looked upon as competent MLB player ?

Stop drinking the Kool-Aid Hoosier Orioles. This team is dreadful and pathetic. This team needs to stop glorifying its past, fix the present so there will be a future

When the vacant house next door becomes a total eye-sore and is a clear embarassment to all who surround, you take a match and burn it to the ground.

Do you think the O's could really sign Prince Fielder? Move him to 1st, Reynolds at 3rd, Hardy at SS and Machado at 2nd.
Reimold, Jones and Nick in the OF
Hitting hasn't been the issue, it's pitching. Young arms that break down...How does that happen so consistently with the Os?

gil a top notch , post it will save me writing rest of orioles year well said ; you should take over for schmuck

cant we just trade the whole team and start over, cant be any worse then what we have now.

I agree with frigg...,the hitting is better and we are leading in HRs since June 1st for the league. So we score runs,however the barn door in back is open and the pitching serves up BP so when we score 8 runs like the other night in Anaheim,Here comes the new "fullpack" to light the fuse for the bonfire. Gil, I am with you.Been an O's fan since '69 and I must admit I have a hardtime watching MT TEAM! It's a pipedream that Fielder will come here,I wouldn't if I were him. We have offense,we need pitching. Bring up Griffin from Norfolk next year and lets see what we can do. God it has to get better, please!!!

Well, he was here with us too in Arizona and owned those strikeout records. In addition, he actually got his strikeouts above his batting average last year. What people fail to overlook is he is terrible in the field too. Go to the baseball stats and check - he is right up there with the most errors, not just for 3rd base, but every position player! He doesn't hit home runs when it counts either - hence his poor RBI total. An occasional big hit does not overcome his body of work - strikeouts, errors, low batting average. Time to leave the majors . . .nice guy, but the majors and the Orioles need and deserve more.