It wasn't all Mazz's fault, but I didn't like how he gave up on the Orioles competing in the A.L. East, and suggested that they should move the National League. Showalter is much more in-tune with what the fans want and expect from the team.

Great job Dan you just keep doing that noble work you are doing???

It wasn't your fault, Lee, but you sure didn't help anything!

Never said you weren't doing your job Dan.

In fact, having to cover this team must be brutal, even if it is still baseball.

There just comes a time, in my opinion, when things get so ridiculously out of control with this team, that someone simply needs to hold folks accountable. Kevin C did a real tough article on the O's the other day, which is a start. But for the sake of the fans, we need someone to truly have our backs.

I've mentioned the late, great John Steadman before. I know members of John's extended family and all who knew the man say he was a fair, kind and honest man. Most of all, he stood up for the fans of Baltimore.

When others turned their backs, it was Mr Steadman who held Robert Irsay directly responsible for the disaster that became the Baltimore Colts. Some even say Mr Steadman was partly responsible for running Irsay out of town. If true, then he did the city of Baltimore a great service.

The city of Baltimore would be BETTER OFF if Angelos took the Orioles out of town. That's right..... no MLB in Baltimore. That would be Baltimores ONLY chance of ever returning to respectability.

Baltimore would be better off not having a team for 5 years (and yes, we would get another team). Rebuilding with a new slate is our only chance.

If ANY OF YOU believe the O's will ever be competitive under PA, then you're completely out of touch with reality. He doesn't care about WInning, his sons don't care about Winning, and the front office execs he hires are the worst in baseball at Winning (See Andy's rank among winners the past 20 years).

We need someone to carry the torch for the real fans of Baltimore baseball. Mr Steadman dedicated his journalistic life to looking out for the great fans of Baltimore.

We're only asking for the same in 2011.

I love the comment by Lee Mazzilli.

I think Mazzilli did a great job as the Orioles manager. The Raffy steroids allegations and Ponson DUI were two items completely out of his control that sent the 2005 season into a downward spiral. It was a shame he essentially lost his job over all of that when it was not his fault and very much out of his control.

I'll be interested to see if Chris Davis can perform and be a good player now that, as Buck said, he'll have noone looking over his shoulder.
The funny thing about that is that the Orioles AAA and AA teams have been so bad that there is not one Oriole who had to play with anyone looking over their shoulder this year, and some of the performances have been pretty bad.

Somebody has got to figure out Chris Tillman. How do you go out there and pitch the first 2 innings like that, and then completely fall apart against the bottom of the order? Cervelli is no good.
You gotta be better than him all of the time.
And when is Jake going to stop going 3-2 on every single hitter? I thought that this year was the year these guys took a step forward, I can take the losses. i can't take the approach, the inability to throw strikes and mix up the pitches. It's aggravating. I cannot imagine what Buck and Adair must be going thru.

Awesome quote from Mazz Dan!

I think we are always looking for a little laugh in this section these days!

wayne - nobody in the FO is going to pay ANY attention to a no-holds-barred piece by a local sportswriter, so stop whining and find another pastime. Good Lord.

Wayne, you are relentless on AM. You need to fix the needle on one the Victoria. I think that AM's plan to "grow the arms and buy the bats" is the correct plan, but we have not seen the pitching mature yet. Until the pitchers mature, bats do want our money. That is living in reality, not some fantasy world where every team can go to the World Series every year if they have the right owner, or GM, or Manager, etc. Some of the fans need to grow up, not cry that the media don't have our backs.What is that?? Only 2 teams go to the World Series each year. So all others management teams must be horrible, Right Wayne? I would like to hear your plan. If it is not "grow the arms and buy the bats" what should the plan be?

I would also like to ask Wayne and like-minded critics who think they understand sports, what happens if next year the pitching staff comes together and Guthrie, Britton, Matusz, Arrieta, and Tillman or Hunter pitch up to their capability and the O's become a challenger in the East? Will Wayne and the critics man-up and eat crow or not have the guts to admit that AM was right to stay with the plan. A plan is better than no plan, unless you have the master plan Wayne?? Let us in on the secret plan that AM is too stupid to implement. We are all waiting on the King to give us a few crumbs of advice, since the media doesn' have our back. :(

Ok...seriously...can we all just stop talking about the McPhail plan already? He may say "grow the arms and buy the bats," but come on, what bats has he actually bought? Please, someone help me out here. Lee, Guerrero, Tejada v2.0, Atkins, Wigginton, Izturis, Zaun....these are the names of the free agent hitters he has bought. Talk about sluggers. Hardy is the only hitter he has found and that was a trade and extension. I'm disgruntled now. I give up on this "plan".

Boston is 18th in ERA, 26th in QS...is that incredible? No. The Sox have stupid good hitting. And they bought the large majority of it. Imagine Jones, Wieters, Markakis, Hardy, Reynolds, with Tex and Crawford instead of the three-headed monster and the Shadow of Derrick Lee.

The Money WON'T get spent, I don't blame McPhail for ditching this team. Angelos has proven countless times that he is not interested in winning. I agree with wayne.

Dr. G,

We can, as a society, hope that you're not a real doctor.

Yours sir, is the mentality of a few O's fans year after year after year........ You keep waiting for the youngsters to mature and for everything to come together next season. YET..... it never does for fans like you.

So when fans like myself come on next season, when the team is once again in last place or (as is the case again this year), the worst team in the AL, you'll say the same ole 'what will you say when things come together next year?'

Meanwhile, there are young arms throughout the game to have already come together....have already matured... but not the Oriole arms. Never the Oriole youngsters.

And congrats for being one of the first with a list..... The grand ole list... Guthrie, Britton, Natusz, Arrieta, Tillman, Hunter, etc. SAME list every year, only the names change ever so slightly.

When AM came to town, he was totally dependent on fans LIKE YOU. Fans who would buy into a slogan like 'grow the arms, buy the bats'.

How long you going to live by that slogan Doc? When will he be buying those bats by the way? You thinking Vlad, Lee, Atkins, Reynolds, etc etc, etc? Those bats?

It's a losers mentality that creeps up this time each year in Baltimore. And you fit the mold perfectly.....

World Series Doc? Nah...... we don't need a world series. We just need a team that isn't the laughing stock of the entire AL league year after year.

Dirty Frank,

Dude, that's a name I didn't even want to type. You really go by that? Anyway, you obviously didn't understand a word I wrote about John Steadman.

Too bad that many Baltimore fans have no idea the power the media can have on a organization.... Too bad

Hey Wayne,

Are you referring to the Tribune that once owned the Cubbies? THAT kind of power the media can have on an organization?

If you seriously think a team is powered by the media, you are grossly mistaken......and you call yourself a fan? Man, all you do is WHINE everytime you post.

Do the rest of real O's fans a favor, root for the Nats and start your whining on the Washington Post.

AM is doing the best he can with what little he can work with. Koji trade is nice.....want to blame someone besides AM and PA? Try the O's scouting dept......

You should have asked Lee Mazzilli if he knew then what he knows now whether he'd manage the O's.

mookman8,

You never heard of Mr Steadman my friend. And you've never experienced markets like NY...... As for the Tribune? Do some digging bro..... You need to know what you're talking about when you respond to certain subjects.

And speaking of knowing what you're talking about......

This is toooo easy... as in a Layup.....

mookman8 my man, The O's pro scouting is run by? Wanna guess? You really don't know this?

Answer: Andy's nephew.

And how did nephew get that gig?

Keep feeding the O's philosophy of not needing to Win mook... They thrive on fans like you

mookman,
Wayne is a community organizer who was banned on Pete's blog for posting as other people and using obsenities and just downright boorish behavior. If he can't get whatever the blog post is about back to him he's not happy. He is the epitomy of what they call a troll. He's a fan of the O's like sharks are the fans of legs in shallow water. I pegged him from Boston but he could be from New Jersey or whatever. He may still claim he has season tickets also.
Hey wayne you seen your buddy Bob lately? He really took up for you when things were down over on pete's blog.
Hope you are having a great summer in spite of your very favoritest team in the whole wide world doing so poorly again.

Like I said Wayne, what is your plan????? I hear a rant, but I never heard the plan. Anyone can say, "your doing that wrong," but how do we do it right? We are still waiting on your answer? You don't have a plan because you need to "grow the arms and buy the bat." But as I said, you can't get bats to take your money if you don't have arms to step up. That is why we signed Lee, Vlad, Atkins, etc. and not Caberra,Tex, or Gonzalez. Stockpiling arms is exactly what GMs should do, and hope that some of them work out. That is how you get the bats to take the money. Unless you have the secret plan???? Please let us know the plan to fix this streak of losing seasons, Master Wayne! Don't keep it a secret any longer. I hate being stupid, so help me Wayne. Or is the problem that "the media just doesn't have the fans' backs??" Is that really your plan? Clone Mr. Steadman??? WOW!! I stand dumbfounded in the face of brilliance.

I have read comments from Wayne in the past about other posters that were downright cruel. I would prefer he not post anything at all.

To me, Mazzilli was an ex-Yankee and I had a negative perception of him as a result..

McPhail's new mantra: Damage the arms and bury the bats.

Ah, good ole smit my man,

Telling lies again I see..... Well yes, I was banned from a blog. But have you noticed that blog pretty much isn't around anymore? Not really anyway. Too bad actually. I liked it.... And then posters like you corrupted the system, with me in the middle. So congrats for taking down what was a decent blog.

Anyway smit..... How's it working for you this season? I mean you've been incredibly wrong with your predictions every season prior, but this year sir, you outdid yourself.

I've never quite seen someone so distant from the reality of a sports organization. I understand hope smittu. I understand being positive. But when you're just so blatantly wrong and inaccurate each season, it just must get tiring.

You stand behind the exec who has lost more games than anyone in mlb over the last 20 years. You lose every bet (Gil's bet was just one). But you don't just lose bets...... you end up so far on the other side of reality, it's almost like you're looking at another sport.

So change the subject all you want smitty. Talk about all the things that take attention away from everything you say Orioles. Know though that I know.... Everyone who has ever read anything from you in fact - knows.

Doctor,

Quite simply, one plan could be to take any high school baseball player, teach him about major league franchises for about a month, then let him take over.

He/She could absolutely do no worse. The major league team couldn't be worse. The minor league system couldn't be worse (as more than once scout said there's not one position player at AA or AAA projected to be a major leaguer), the international efforts are the worst in the game, and the future looks like it could be historically bad.

At least this time every season, people start dreaming of next season being at least 500. No longer though.

The list of FA's since AM has been here have been collectively so pathetic, they actually have fans like you thinking good players refuse to come here.

They rely on fans like you Doc.

So here's the plan Doc....... Take a high school kid..... take about a month to teach him/her how things work.... and watch how the team wins more games than with AM and his nephew.

Sad thing is....... Most know I'm right.

Wayne,glad to see you did not go quietly into the good night.I for one,applaud your tenacity,and respect your outspoken criticism of the worst Front office in professional sports.It's people like smitty,who after 14 years of incredible futility,still allow AM and PA a free pass too continue to run a model franchise straight under the ground.They ran it into the ground 8 years ago,now they're somewhere underground.This teamwould need an impossible run,just too finish the season at complete mediocrity.But that's all these fans expect anyhow,just .500 ball would please them.Playoffs,did you say Playoffs?In this century,are you kidding me?

I see wayne has initiated flame war and discontent on this blog too now. Can't we all just get along and be respectful?

Thanks Burt.....

And punkflamingo, please see smitty's post to me. He's the great initiator this time of year, always. You see, when his predictions annually fall off the cliff, he resorts to such. Kind of sad actually. But thanks for the post.

Dan,

Thanks; I really enjoy these digest posts.

Wayne,

What? I've been reading these blogs for a while, and I literally can't remember the last even marginally constructive thing you had to say.

Everyone's unhappy about where this organization is, and everyone wants to win. But others here have asked you for your ideas, and even offered some of their own (e.g., letting pitching develop to attract FA bats). And you responded with stupid snark.

I for one think that MacPhail is pursuing the right strategy, though he's too cautious for my taste. And there are legitimate questions about our pitching development (especially given injuries and loss of velocity.) But the AL east road to respectability follows a brutal incline.

But what am I doing feeding a boring troll? Say something constructive and interesting, or please stop posting. There: now everyone's paying attention to you. Happy?

Actually, what Wayne is trying to do is drive the newspaper out of town. The problem I have is Wayne and blancione and the other trolls is that they don't comment on the article at hand. They just use this as a forum for rants. This article deals with very specific subjects, and NONE of his points address these matters.

Another problem I have is that Wayne is condescending to the intelligent sports fan. He writes theis stuff as if we DON'T KNOW. Wayne, the topic of the article is not AM or PO. Please confine your potshots to the multitude of other formats presented to you.

You are making me sick to my stomach that I waste a portion of my lunch hour having to fish through your posts to get to read what is going on and hear from intelligent fans.

And don't give me this revisionist history about John Steadman. I never liked his articles, and he was nasty and held grudges. He couldn't hold a candle to Tanton, Maisel, and Henneman. And more recently, Eisenberg.

Wow Rick,

So you're going after Mr Steadman now? That's interesting and quite revealing.

And you and others still use the word 'troll'? Really? Seriously bro? Let me guess.... you teach high school. Ahhh, got it.

And Nick,

Huh? You're another who brings up the AL East? How about this genius......

When the O's can win a series against the Nats. When the O's can win a series against the Pirates.......

...and when the O's can beat that huge market team in Toronto (wanna guess their market equivalent?), then you can talk about the Yankees and Red Sox.

Until then, please continue following AM's losing ways...... Ways that have made him the exec with more losses than anyone in the game for over 20 years.

Wayne: I am sure that Matusz, Tillman, Hoes, etc. are interested to know that they are not projected to be Major League players. Might want to take a breath and check your facts before you respond to the blog. It also sounds like your blood pressure is getting alittle high. Might want to check that with a doctor.

Also, I still never heard the plan??? Hire someone and teach them to do what exactly Wayne??? More rant, but still no plan! Thanks for confirming your lack of knowledge of baseball and sports in general for me. You are a peach!!

Dr G,

Position players bro...... You know what that means? Players who play a position in the field besides pitcher. Seriously Doc? You really don't know what position players are? Wow

Gave you the plan Doc....... Not a rant. Just a better plan than what we're stuck with. Instead though... you like AM's plan.

Doc = Doing the same thing over and over and over, achieving the same results.

That's Doc, that's AM. ..... That's Losing

No Wayne, I'm not going after John Steadman. I take issue with the fact that you ascribe his distaste for Irsay with driving him out of town, as if he was a major part of it. You think that bellyaching in this format is productive.

Whay can't you stick to the topic that is being discussed instead of repeating the same post time after time? You think we don't understand the game.

I do not teach high school - it's just that troll is much more reader-friendly than any one of a thousand names I can come up with.

I don't post much, but if I see you doing this I will be on your tail every time. We all know the team is bad. But stick to the topic...and we'll flesh out whether you really know your stuff.