Why does Sammy continually insist on staying with Daniel when he clearly has lost his command? It seems like every game they stretch him out three batters too long. He clearly was losing his command and was (a little) lucky to get out of the 6th without giving up a run. As he starts the 7th over 100 pitches and immediately walks the leadoff hitter on 5 pitches (would've been 4 if Wily Mo didn't swing at everything within 3 feet of the zone), why is he still in there? I don't have a problem with him going back out for the 7th, but it should be on a first guy gets on, you're done type of situation. So damn frustrating and I (would have to go look it up, but) feel like I've seen this three or four times this year, especially when Daniel is on the hill. I'm not one to start pointing the fingers all at the manager, but I'm sensing an alarming trend...

walking in runs makes me sad :(

It seems like at least once per game where the Orioles just cannot get ANY luck whatsoever. Tonight it's the 7th inning and nobody can throw Strike 3.

Any clue as to why Perlozzo would bring out Cabrera for the seventh inning? He'd already thrown 100 pitches...why burden the bullpen with two runners on base (thanks to the inevitable waks)?

np: "I Walk the Line," Johnny Cash

looks like another ugly loss

I hate walks.

I make the move too; can't fault Sammy on bringing in Walker. Too bad it didn't work out this time. And so the baseball bounces ...

1. Cabrera never should have started the 7th.
2. The O's let down Cabrera again - this time the bullpen.
3. Will the Orioles EVER have a guy with a .400 OBP?
4. This has been a long week.

brob must got a supply from Mathews. He went from brob to BROB tonight.

Yup,you knew it was coming,Ortiz 5 for 9 against Walker and Ramairez with unreal numbers against Bradford,great matchups Sammy.Shouldn't have even been in that posotion.Way to go Sammy.

I dont understand how you leave Cabrera in the game after he walks Pena in the seventh. Over 100 pitches, clearly losing some control during the sixth, you can't let him still pitch. Look what happens, manages to get two outs, but then loses Youkilis. Get him out on a good note and not in a jam, let the bullpen come in with only one man on and I think that inning goes different.

Ahhh...the Orioles are back to normal again. LOSING. I was getting worried about them winning and being in contention, but now eveyrthing is back to normal as they continue to fad. Way to go O's...right back to the bottom!

arhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my internets cut out on mlb.tv (displaced o's fan here). i'm betting we're not gonna win though. tomorrow, tomorrow, i love you tomorrow...

Well, I can undestand Sammy's thinking. Lately the Orioles offense has done decently in the late innings, so he figured that if Daniel could get out of the inning, then the offense could get 1 run and get Danny the win (since Danny hasn't had a decision since Opening Day at Camden Yards).

And while Ortiz is 5 for 9 off of Walker, he's absolutely dreadful against LHP this year. Direct matchups should NOT be the only factor one looks at. Currently, David Ortiz is batting .158 with 3 hits against lefties, which is a more recent stat than the whole 5-for-9 deal. (Oh wait, I forgot. We Orioles fans are supposed to ignore any stats that are in our favor, especially with other players, as no other teams exist except for the O's, Red Sox, and Yankees).

What I found odd is Curt Schilling's great night. Historically he has sucked majorly at Camden Yards, though that might be attributed to the lack of wind blowing out of the yard (as that's already cost the Orioles over a dozen home runs this season).

Baez owns both Papi and Ramirez, at least relative to Walker and Bradford.

But hey, it's not the 8th inning, so no Baez.

matthew are you related to Sammy or someone in the front office by any chance? By the way, why do we bring Johnson up who was overmatched last year and leave Todd Williams down in AAA? What did we even re sign him for?

Roch, please ask Sammy why he matched Walker with Ortiz and Bradford with Manny... Ortiz and Manny have had much success against these pitchers. Why not Parrish v. Ortiz? Why not Baez in early to face Manny?

Quick, who did we get for Schilling?

1) Cabrera shouldnt have started the 7th.
2) In the situation he was in against Ortiz, I want cabrera over walker any day of the week (and twice tonight). Cabrera is an emotional pitcher who consistently comes up with big Ks in those situations. Walker isnt overpowering Ortiz, Cabrera can.
3) Manny is 7-12 against Bradford, so lets bring Chad in to pitch to Manny with a man on third in a 1 run game.. Brilliant!!

Again... http://www.firesamperlozzo.com

Roch,

If Perlozzo makesthat move everytime he shoudl not be managing the O's. I remember Davey Johnson and Earl examing how hitters fare against certain pitchers, and avoided unfavorable matchups. To have Ortiz ptiched to by Walker when Ortiz was 5-9 agaisnt him with 3 HRS indicates a lack of a fundamental understanding of the hitter-pticher matchups which technology makes so accessible to managers who win. And Bradford facing Ramirez was just as bad statistically. Baez had great stats against both Ortiz and Ramirez. A terrible decision by Perlozzo. He cannot be excused for this simply becasue more money was spent on walker and Bradford. THey DDIN"T Match up to these hitters so you use pitchers who DO!!!

How difficult is this to understand? Dave Johnson understood so did Earl. They were winners. Perloser just doesn't get it..

Does the guy know baseball at all? He sure acts like he doesn't. Also good job Sammy bench one of your best offensive threats tonight, way to go Sammy! The Orioles will have to overcome one of the worst managers in MLB to ever have a chance at winning anything which will be hard but I believe in them and hopefully Sam will be fired before the All-Star break and we can make a run to the World Series with a more competent manager. The talent is there, the manager is not.

Uh-h Shawn, Parrish just threw 33 pitches in an inning of work the previous game.

this team just cannot hit. you can't pitch lights out every night. Sammy is no genius, but he ain't swinging the bat.

To be fair, Crazy Sammy doesn't cost the O's any games relative to the league. This is simply because every other manager does the same dumb things. However, he does cost the O's games in the sense that, by doing the same things, he doesn't take advantage of the other teams stupidity.

Case in point, tonight's 7th inning. Those who were on this blog last season may recall that I posted a hypothetical question that came true tonight. Right down to it being the 7th inning, close game, Cabrera around 100 pitches and he walks 2 with Ortiz and Manny coming up. In my hypothetical, I asked which of 3 options the manager should take:

A) Bring in Hawkins, Birkins (Walker, Bradford), hope to get out this inning and have Ray available to close in the 9th.

B) Bring your best reliever (Ray) in here to get the big bats out with men on base, and hope your lesser relievers can hold it the next inning against the lower part of the order.

C) Bring in Ray now and have him finish the game, giving you the best shot at winning tonight. And worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

As we all know, every ML manager would chose option A. Is this however the smart move? If, as happened tonight, your second line guys don't hold them here, what good does it do to have Ray for the ninth? The "save" in this game is right here, in the 7th. If Ray gets you out of this inning, you are still in the game. Worry about who pitches the ninth, when it gets here.

Isn't Ray more valuable in the 7th, in a tie game with men on base and the other teams 2 best hitters coming to the plate, than in the ninth with a 3 run lead and nobody on base?

Or, to put it another way, would you rather have your second line guy pitch with a 3 run lead and nobody on base, or in a tie game with 2 men on?

The closer pitching the ninth did not come down from the mountain on Moses's tablets...

If Sammy were to adopt this strategy it may pick up a few games a year. In the situation the O's are in, what would be the harm in trying it?

schilling, finley, and harnisch went to texas for glenn davis. schilling had come to us with brady anbderson for mike boddicker.

Quick-- someone print an article about the players singing "Kumbaya" in the clubhouse. Boy, that didn't take long for the feel-good O's to sink back into the pack. You can tell the players don't really believe they are good enough anymore. Snappy responses, heads down. Their like the tiny kid on the playground who got in a nice punch to stun the bully, but now it's time to let reality take over. No natural leader. Tejada??? He was the one who wanted out last year. But he shouldn't have to be a leader. I don't blame him and we should give that perennial All-Star SS some slack. We should have brought in someone with some serious clout. Who are some of the guys we could have picked up over the last few years to improve the lineup without giving up our young pitching?

Vlad Guerrero
Paul Konerko
Jim Thome
Frank Thomas
Carlos Lee
Alfonso Soriano
Derrick Lee
Barry Bonds
Bobby Abreu
Manny Ramirez
Nomar Garciaparra

...and many more trades never conceived or pulled off. When we slip 15-20 games behind Boston will we have the sack to make some "real moves" that aid in the future of the club? Or will we pretend that we have a chance until it is too late to get quality players in return. The only thing we ever get in return is SALARY DUMP. Would anyone enjoy having Conine off the bench at .303 instead of Bynum (blah, blah defensive replacement--how many SB)? It may be time to break up the coffee club.

and on that note,can somebody tell me what we got for Conine? How about Javy LOpez?Rodrigo Lopez?Sidney Ponson? Our minor league player of the year last year? Oh,that's right we got the awesome Albert (been out of baseball for 2 years) Castillo.And by the way what happened to Josh Phelps again?

Roch, good point regarding Walker... I forgot that Parrish threw 33 pitches yesterday. I still think that Perlozzo should have used Baez instead of Bradford. Nevertheless, if the Orioles are going to make noise this year, Walker and Bradford have to get big outs against big-time players like Ortiz and Manny. Hopefully they'll rebound with solid performances from here on out.

John Galt,

Excellent point. Part of your argument has driven me nuts for many years. The problem is finding a manager who doesn't have that push-button mentality. With pitching (especially relief) everyone always emphasizes role. One guy is the stopper, one guy is the set-up guy, one guy is the lefty specialist. Heaven forbid if someone doesn't have a role or know their role. And don't even think about putting in your best relief pitcher in a situation where the game is tightest. That's not the closer's role.

Having said that, I don't think you're ever going to find a manager that's going to go against conventional thinking.

Charlie R,

I am afraid you are right. Though, maybe someday, someone will think to hire a manager who "didn't play the game", and we could get a fresh perspective on the old "baseball wisdom". I kind of had hoped Billy Beane might do this, but even he hasn't gone this far.