f***K yes millar. get it rockin. tell em that its time to step up. NO MORE MENTAL errors.

make em accountable. Millar might not have the numbers, but he's got a damn world series ring he can show off.

Roch,

Do you sense anything imminent with Perlozzo?

A logical time to make the move would be now, with the day off.

When does the team travel to LA? Tonite or on Monday?

Thanks
-ncrf

Will attendance be optional, like for batting practice and infield drills?

Where is it at? Maybe if we padlock the door, the front office will finally have to make some changes.

Hopefully something good will come of it..... The baseball God's are running out of way's for us to lose. I would hate it to no end for them to start that list over again.

Go Kevin!!!

Somebody needs to do something because god knows Sammy is afraid to make waves.

But if you really want to know what's going on with the O's ask Ghost of Earl. He's the greatest fan in all the land!!!

Beautiful day at the ballpark spoiled by the bullpen again.

No more Gibbons in left please. Nice start by Burres.

Note to B-Rob: YOU SWING THE BAT TO HIT THE BALL. Thanks.

Roch,
Horrah someone cares. This long over due and needed. Some serious comments about the play of some is necessary-Patterson, Ray, Gibbon, Huff, ..... Yeh Huff, where is the power. Time to end the cliches and perform.Gibbons needs to accept the minors. Patterson needs to end the slap stickcomedy hitting approach and start bunting and going for singles. Forget the home run. Consistency from Millar, Mora, .... Okay B Rob and Markekis are slumpiong. No comments. They carried this team for 2 pus months. The releivers- no more runs allowed period or get out. Cabrera needs to act like a pitcher and not a thrower. Show some consistent effort equal to ability.

Let this be the agenda.

I saw the interview with Millar on MASN. It says a lot about this team's lack of leadership that a .240 hitter has to be the one to call a team meating; not the all-star shortstop; not the golden boy second baseman who is hitting .300 but can't execute a simple throw to home plate; not the third baseman who has the longest tenure with the team but gets all sniffly and pouty if the manager doesn't kiss his butt.

Let's face it--this team STINKS. I'm talking Pepe LePew STINK; I'm talking dirty gym sock in a locker for three months STINK; I'm talking dead rat in the wall STINK. It's sad when the only thing we have to look forward to each year is the trading deadline. Oh yeah, I forgot-most of these guys were locked up in long-term contracts, so they're virtually untradeable. Any takers for Double Play Jay Gibbons? Melvin "Don't bench me no" Mora? Danys "Bye-bye" Baez? Aubrey "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll pop weakly to short"?

I was watching O's All Access the other day and saw John Parrish giving a clubhouse tour. I couldn't help but notice hat when he went by the batting cages, nobody was hitting. Just like in the games!

Millar said that maybe the team should get drunk on the way to San Diego. Now that's leadership! They might as well hit the bottle; they're sure not hitting anything else. Maybe they won't come home. Maybe they'll go to the San Diego Zoo and decide to live amongst the orangutan and rhinoceri. Maybe the team will fold and move to the Philipines and become known as the Manila Folders. At this point, I just don't care anymore.

Roch – do you think Millar is respected enough by his teammates to be taken serious? I’m thrilled that at least someone is stepping up to the plate!

Ghost – It’s nice to see you back….and making new friends at such a record pace no less!
Just to set the record straight my lobotomized friend….I don’t recall a single person on this blog not wanting Bond’s bat. We just didn’t want the guy swinging it and the eventual circus that will follow!

Please tell me you were just a bit embarrassed to brag on Terrero after only 48 at bats?

Joyless in Mudville – You are right….it isn’t all Perlozzo’s fault, but he is ultimately responsible. He started the season with a better team than last years but still has not even approached moderate success. The rope is being fitted for his neck as we speak!

Roch,

Can you find out why Sam refuses to ever use Williamson in close games? Is he hurt? If so why isn't he on the DL? I don't get it.

I've heard rumors from holding an exorcism in the bullpen of Elrod's ghost to moving the O's bullpen to the visitor's side, and the vistors to the Os bullpen.

Ws glad to see the Coyne-Hooey call up even though Hooey had a bad game. Would have preferred Bell to Hooey, but it's OK.

I feel sorry for Sam, but it is time to bid adieu. Give him a job in the organization somewhere, but please never let him make bullpen decisions again.

The O's must make a trade and soon. I still think Tex is the target. We desperately need a power bat.

Today's game.....sigh...more of the same.

Honestly, I don't think Millar's talk will help. Significant changes need to be made along
with it.

Gibbons is now on a hot streak. Trade him while his value is high.

It's about time! I saw that Millar is possibly on the trade block. I know this will sound crazy, but I think that'll be a mistake, even if we get a few guys in the off season, we need him around. We need more guys like Millar.

Hey Ghost,
You were right about some things, but I don't think that makes uo for your arrogant condesending, beligerent, name calling childish, stat obsessed posts.

Friend of mine suggests this makeover for the O's:

Manager - Rick Dempsey
Bench Coach - Don Baylor
Pitching Coach - Scott McGregor
Hitting Coach - B.J. Surhoff
1st Base Coach - Al Bumbry
3rd Base Coach - Rich Dauer
Bullpen Coach - Sammy Snider

Personally, I like Joe Girardi as manager, but this would certainly be a true return to the Oriole Way.

Whether Burres is a starter or goes to the bullpen the guy has been exceptional. After two innings today, who would have thought he would go seven and throw 118 pitches? With a sore shoulder, I'm not sure how prudent a move that was anyhow.

"He reminded everyone that this isn't a party and to be more respectful." - What are you kidding? Respect is earned. So the media and the fans need to walk on rice paper just because the players are feeling bad? Wah wah. That's indicitive of whats wrong with the team - A feeling of entitlement just because they feel bad about doing a lousy job. Hey everybody out there: Go tell your boss to lay off you because he needs to be respectful of how you feel no matter how poorly you are performing. Roch: Don't think its gone unnoticed that you have been tip-toeing around these guys. I guess they've intimidated you into giving them a free pass.

Today, I watched "A League of Their Own", a movie about womans' baseball during WW2. In one scene, the starting pitcher is furious because she is being taken out. These days you see pitchers volunteering their dismissal from the game because they are tired. Do you ever hear of a quarterback, hockey or basketball or soccer player telling his coach to take them out because they are tired?

They say Its just a game. But winners don't see it as a game. They see it as a war. This is not PC to say with a real war going on -- nevertheless, it is true. Winners hate to lose more than they love to win. Winners refuse to lose.

The players say they are "trying". Really? Why did it take this long for a player to take the initiative and hold a team meeting? Why isn't the entire offense demanding extra batting practice of themselvs and others? Why aren't the pitchers spending every waking hour on studying the tendencies of the opposing batters?

Perlazzo is a very nice man. That's a part of the problem. He wants to be a friend to the players. And the players like it that way because its very comfortable. The 1980 US hockey team came together and won because Herb Brooks knew that becoming the players' friend would be a disaster. The players hated Brooks. At first. Then they understood. Then they won.

Hey ghost,
You like stats? Here are some for you to digest.
Barry Bonds- On a team in LAST PLACE 10 games out....Season over?
Terrero- On a team in 4th place (ahead of the dreaded KC Royals) 10 games out....season over?
Neither one seems to be real difference maker... and wouldn't be a difference maker here either.
48 at bats for Terrero? I guess even a lousy team like the White Sox can't seem to find more playing time for the "next Barry Bonds"!.
I suppose if he were on the Royals he might get more at bats.
You ever think maybe others know more about the game than you?

And as far as 50 million dollar man goes.
Yeah, he is on a first place team (that has been contending year in and year out without him).
His numbers are average and hardly worth a five year 50 mill salary.
His OPS is very close to all the following Orioles Ops.
Brian Roberts
Tegada
Markakis
Mora
Millar
You still have to give these contracts time to play out. Maybe you will be right, but I wouldn't touch Matthews contract even in a steroid induced rage over the current state of the Orioles.
Be careful in trying to use stats to prove everything. Sometimes they come back to nip you....

Tuesday? WTF, he is so upset he is calling a meeting 48 from now. ohhhh the rage. Seriously this meeting should have happened about 5 minutes after the last out.... 4-5 days ago. I half-hearted attempt by millar, which such this team just perfectly as they are half-hearted losers!

Pull the plug. This season is lost. I used to write in more often, but this is just SOOOOOO demoralizing, I don't even want to dwell on it.

The offense stinks. The bullpen stinks. Thestarters are doing pretty good BUT WHAT DOES IT MATTER????????????????

Somewhere along the line we must have commited one GIANT sin and we've been paying for it for ten years now. I just hope that sometime (before I die) i get to see this team play respectable baseball again. And if I don't, well , what's the big deal? It apparently doesn't matter to the players...why should it matter to some middle-income, non-priveleged-athlete-type like me???

It's a waste of time folks. According to Casey Willett the other O's were rolling their eyes while Kevin was talking and when others were informed of his comments they also rolled their eyes. Most of these losers don't care if they win. Millar,Payton and Walker are the only 3 pros who give a damn in that locker room. Hopefully we can trade them to the good team they deserve.

To echo the sentiment that several people have shared here, fans are entitled to heckle the millionaire players on the field, but doing so out of the stadium is inappropriate.

Think about playing baseball as a job, which it is. If you paid me any of these players' salaries, I would gladly stand in the middle of the field and take any of the insults they chose to hurl at me. They could even pour beer on me-- anything that didn't cause physical harm. Then, when it ended, I would shower off, get into my luxury car, drive home to my estate or luxury condo or what have you, and eat a great meal. (Which is what you can do with the money these guys make.)

Now heckling them when they're off the job is a different matter. These guys should be allowed to live their lives in peace as soon as they leave the ballpark. Just like you and I shouldn't have to take our jobs home with us if we don't want to, neither should these guys, regardless of their fame and fortune.

But if you want to boo them at the game (especially the guys who dog it to first base)... you're well within your rights.

As a fan I appreciate Millar's calling this meeting, but does anyone else feel it's a case of too little too late? This team is 29-40 and has FIRESALE written all over it. Millar and Perlozzo may not even be here come Tuesday.

This has been by far the most frustrating year to witness as a fan (since 1990 anyway- I'm not old enough to remember 1988). As irrelevant as it is and excuse-laden as it sounds, Flanagan is right in saying that if this team were performing offensively like it did last year through 70 games, they'd probably be around 10 games over .500 and things would be looking a lot rosier around here.

There's just nothing more frustrating than waiting 10 years for a decent pitching staff, finally getting it (and more), and seeing it all crapped away by the least productive offense since the small ball era.

I know from experience that hitting is not easy, and hitting with the added pressure of a losing streak is even less easy. But this is simply pathetic.

I hope the meeting goes well. And I hope Millar is talking to the Orioles when it happens. The Mariners don't need to hear from him about their lack of offense.

Bedard and Penn and Patterson for Tex...
provided we sign him to an extention.
Then promote Olson and Bell. Send Burres to the pen.
Then trade Tehada for at least two top level prospects and one Major League third baseman or outfielder with power. Move Mora to Left unless he Ok's trade to someone. Move Payton to center.
Let Bynum play short for now.

Remembe, No one will want Baez, Gibbons, Huff, for the same reason we want to trade them. Thay all have players like that. If you can get amid level prospect for them, go ahead. This team is not far away because of starting pitching. However, in order to get the power bat we desparately need you must trade Bedard or Cabrera. I say Bedard for many reasons.

I'd be surprised if there isn't an announcement tomorrow concerning a change in the field manager position. I wouldn't expect there to be any word today simply because it would be bad form to fire Sam Perlozzo on Father's Day. Tomorrow, though, makes sense, being an off day before a road trip.

So, who'd the new manager? Unless Peter Angelos is ready to name one on a full term basis, such as Davey Johnson or Joe Girardi, the man likely will come from the organization. Tom TrebeIhorn would be the logical choice were it not for his wife's illness. Dave Trembley has been in the O's minor league system for decades, but hasn't had enough experience in the bigs, while neither Sam Mejias nor Juan Samuel hasn't been coaching that long, much less managing.

I could see Rick Dempsey getting the call. He has a long relationship with the team and had been a coach for quite some time prior to heading into the broadcast booth this year. In addition, he's been on Angelos' short list before, interviewing for the job before Perlozzo got it. If the Demper does well, he could get the position fulltime.

All you guys are idiots...you are so gullable to think the O's will ever finish a season .500.. the owner sucks .. management sucks..masn sucks..the players suck..the fans suck no one goes to games..what makes you think anything is going to get better. Swept by the Nats swept by Arizona..go fly a kite..spend time with family..to hell with the O's!

It's kind of funny. I get to see the Orioles in person for the first time since 2005, and they come into town fresh off two sweeps and with the manager's neck in a noose.

Great.

I wonder if they're going to have the players only meeting down in Tijuana.

I don't know what's more depressing and asinine: The Orioles’ post-seventh-inning play over the last few weeks ... or the return of the UnabombEarl on this blog.

You may remember him folks, he (or she; who knows?) is the only poster with the ego and bluster to match Barry Bonds’ growing hat size. Two villains to our game, indeed!

Biz Markie, you can come out now.

It may be a good thing that we are finally bad enough nearing the trade deadline that even the most delusional GMs and owners recognize that we are sellers except for future pieces of the puzzle. I would certainly have preferred we made the moves in the winter, but this is probably the next best thing.

The next few weeks are a huge opportunity for this club to finally do some of the things they have failed to do in the past--1) address the leadership situation of the club 2) perhaps get younger in a few areas 3) work out a plan for the next 5 years instead of patching up holes each offseason. Yeah I know we have a few moderately valuable players locked up, but much of the money was misspent and seemed to be distributed to guys who had "weathered the storm" with this team. Unfortunately, guys who have done nothing but lose for 7-8 years might not be who you want to give the big bucks to.

At any rate, we may be better off in the long run no that it is finally undeniable that we are an organization that just can't compete as it is currently constructed.

Welcome Back, Ghost...

Hope your planning on sticking around.

You know things have gotten bad when you check the real news as a diversion from what's happening with your baseball team.

G.O.E., I dont agree with a lot of your posts but I agree with you about the players (if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen). These guys are paid more money in a year than most of us will be paid in a lifetime. If they're not out there working their butts off to get better than they need to find a different line of work. All service industry workers take crap from the customers from time to time. If you don't think so ask your local Mickey D's worker or bartender (and they don't make nearly the money as baseball players). From what I've seen of this team they can't concentrate for a full 9, all they are doing are going through the motions of playing the game. Yes the bullpen has pitched poorly but if the offense could put up some runs then it wouldn't matter. To often this team lets the chance for a big inning slip away. How many times can you have the bases loaded with one or no outs and only score one or fewer runs. I say trade them all for players who want to play, because none of them are worth the money they are being paid. If they were my kids they would be out shoveling the manure out of the chicken house till the sun came up.

I like Millar but I question why he felt the need to publically announce this meeting rather than having it with no public fanfare? I would have thought he would have got more respect and support from team mates by doing it without seemingly taking the glory for it.

You all seem surprised that this team is not very good. All the experts said they would be bad.

We all hoped several individuals would have breakout seasons! (including me!)
Nobody is hitting above average. The pitching has been good enough. No offense, means losing. See Roger Clemens 2-0 Loss to the mets.

Will Leo leave also if Sam is Fired?

I think the Pitching is better because of Leo.

Is this Sams fault? I blame Angelos First.

Roch:
Who were the two pitchers we got from Colorado for R. Lopez and where are they playing and how are they doing?

All the talk is about Perlozzo getting the ax. How about Angelos, Flanagan, and Duquette all taking a long hard look in the mirror? Angelos in particular. You would think a man with such an inflated ego would eventually realize what a farce he's created and try to rectify it. I doubt he wants his legacy to be one of the most loathed men of Baltimore, but that's where he currently stands. Flanagan has built this mess that Perlozzo can't manage. Do we know who was the brain behind the bullpen revamp, a move that all known baseball stats said was bad money? They should be taken to the woodshed.

Roch, I don't know how you all continue to follow this team. I suspect it's a drag for you as well. I realize you need to put food on the table, but talk about a miserable organization to have to follow day in and day out. I wonder if there will be any one in the Yard come July and August. I won't be there to waste my hard earned money.

I'm not a big football fan, but I have to say that the Ravens can't start up fast enough. This O's team is absolutely dismal. My O's hat is long gone and the Raven is out.

Sigh.

As much as I've advocated a firesale, and as much as I think this team needs a new direction sooner rather than later, let me say that I do NOT want to see Perlozzo fired just yet.

Everyone knows that starting pitching is the key to success in baseball. Everyone also can plainly tell that it doesn't automatically bring success. But without good starting pitching, you almost can't have a winning team.

Even though the team isn't winning, the starting pitching is FINALLY, after 10 years, starting to come around. If Perlozzo goes, Mazzone presumably goes, and (perhaps) with him goes much of the development of the starting staff.

I'd like to see them stick it out with Perlozzo/Mazzone for at least another few weeks or so, if not another couple months, for the reasons listed above.

i'm gonna tell ya, you dont need to be a superstar to be a leader. also, one person cannot change this. I believe that millar is the person to step up and chew them out and get people fired up, BUT, he needs 24 other guys to buy into that and step it up. true TEAMS win alot of ballgames, not just a bunch of guys who know how to play the game (insert joke if you'd like). I would love to see people continue to step up like millar did today. teammates should defend each other not point fingers, manager and coaches included.

Roch.....He's back.

How have you been, Ghost? This site really hasn't been the same without you.

You have picked a very opportune time to resurface. So much has gone so wrong that even the milder, more infrequent posters like me are saying mean things. I suspect this may have been your plan, in a twist-the-knife kind of way.

I just thought you'd given up all hope, and with good reason. This organization continues to prove, day in and day out, their top to bottom futility.

And the posters on this site continue to pick at the little stuff; so-and-so sucks, so-and-so needs to be released, so-and-so needs to be signed, and so-and-so needs to be fired. Lots of abbreviations and percentages back up their point.

And this includes you, Ghost. Sorry, but I don't think this problem is solved by signing Bonds, Mathews Jr. or firing Crazy Sammy. Those are the solutions of yet another stat geek/fantasy manager. This is a much deeper and darker hole, Ghost.

The Baltimore Orioles is currently the most disfunctional organization In Major League Baseball. And all of baseball is laughing. They have been for several years now.

They are owned by an arrogant, relentlessly self promoting personal injury attorney who made the big money, bought himself a little play toy and, in a dozen short years, has managed to turn the Proud Baltimore Orioles into a joke.

Worst of all, he has made it plainly clear that his ego is a whole lot more important than bothering himself with those things needed to bring real success to the Baltimore Orioles.

I have always enjoyed your informative, slightly abrasive posts and I encourage you to keep participating. But how 'bout a little help with this Angelos thing here?

Let's give credit where credit is due, The Front Office went out during the offseason and tried to fix the weak bullpen. They spent $40 million and unfortunately, it hasn't worked out.

Also, they brought in Huff who was suppose to be the power addition we needed, short of Soriano or Carlos Lee, and although he has been driving in runs lately, he hasn't furnished the power he was suppose to bring.

I don't know if there is bad karma at Camden Yards, or what. But the guys they brought in who had proven track records in the past, haven't performed. So it is easy to get on Perlozzo's butt, but all you have to do is consider that on the last home stand the reliever's went 0-5 and had a combined ERA of 6.00, and YTD the club ranks dead last in the American League with 50 home runs.

Perlozzo isn't telling his players "try not to hit." When you have a lineup like the one utilized today, with Melvin Mora hitting .243, Jay Gibbons hitting .210, Corey Patterson hitting .205, and the Catcher hitting .143, you don't have the horses you need to win. Then look at the power numbers, Huff has not hit a home run in close to 200 AB's and only has 4 home runs so far, the Catcher position has only contributed 3 home runs, the Center Fielder has a total of 1 for the year, and the first base position has provided 6-7 home runs. That tells me the Manager doesn't have much to work with.

Since Patterson can't hit, he can't get on base so Perlozzo has also lost half of the team speed that he had last year. Think about it, if the "starters" hadn't been so surprisingly good, we would be on our way to losing 100 games.

If you think Perlozzo is a bum, just take a look at the rosters of the Yankees and Red Sox and compare their offensive player's performances to ours. It's a total mismatch. The Red Sox have hit 69 home runs, have scored 348 runs and are hitting .273. The Yankees have hit 73 home runs, scored 373 runs and are hitting .282. In addition to the 50 Home Runs, we have scored just 298 runs and are hitting .260. You couple that with our lousey relief pitching (we have no Papelbon or Rivera) and you can see why we are on our way to our 10th straight losing season.

Judging by some of Roch's info about the team today I am not the only one who is taking this losing streak too seriuosly. Reporters joking around in the clubhouse doesn't sound out of line. What are they supposed to do, act like they're at a wake? If that's the clubhouse atmosphere, does it perpetuate the bad streak? I think they should lighten up and atempt to build each other up.

It sounds unwise for Walker to be calling a heckler out. He could get in a lot of trouble if a fan can make a case that they have been assaulted by him. It can also escalate to deadly violence.

The worst thing though is fans heckling players outside the ballpark. Have some respect and leave the taunts for the yard.

I can't imagine what it will be like this year at the 17 Yankee or BoSox games left at Camden Yards. I thihk 90% of the fans will be heckling the Orioles miscues. Since the Orioles decided to gouge fans by charging extra for these games they deserve to feel like the road team in their home stadium.

It is past time for the Orioles to start making some big changes to improve this team as quick as they can. They are in danger of losing even thieir loyalest fans.

To Chris Joseph..Loved your post!! It had me in stiches this early on a Mon. AM...

Hows bout no player contract longer then 2 years ...Wouldn't that improve play thru out the majors ?

Looking at those empty stands is painful, game after game.

FO --- listen --- here's a suggestion to fill the seats and get the public more on your side than it is now, which could be described as "lynching mood".

Cut seat prices in half. Yes --- half. Publicize it. Go with big ads saying that the team really wants fans back, and that it feels bad about the poor record. Tell the fans that they want the cheering back in the stands. Heck, if you get an extra 10,000, that's like 5,000 at full price, which, of course will not happen this year.