This could be Bell's last inning????

I thought Perlozzo's idiocy was gone. Why would we pull a guy that's only at 49 pitches when he hasn't pitched in a week? This bullpen can't seem to hold any kind of lead, so why go to it? Let Bell keep rolling. 4 1/3, 1 H, 1 BB.

So Scott Williamson replaces Rob Bell to start the 7th. So that means we get to see a great relief performance by Bell wasted when this atrocious bullpen gives up 5 runs in the last three innings?

We're talking about a guy with 108 career major league starts and 10 starts at AAA this year. And 49 pitches is enough? WOW.

Cabrera homers. 7-6. Let the meltdown begin.

Wow, some knee-jerk reactions around these parts. Can you at least wait until the bullpen coughs it up to attack Trembley?

Trachsel is not helping himself; especially on the same night where Garrett olson throws 7 innings of 2 hit, 10 K ball in Pawtucket.

Forgive me, but who is this Rob Bell? What;s his backgroung? Starter or long reliever? He did a heck of a job for us. Let's hope we can hold the one run lead, or tack on one before the Halos gotta bat again.

RBF, Yoo Hoo, Bell isn't a starter (yet) on this team. You may need him again in a couple days. No sense letting him throm 100 pitches. Let Trembley prove himself.

Can you say cycle? Hope Huff is getting himself ontrack. That's awesome.

Aubrey! Hell of a night! Let's hope the momentum he has built the last few nights can carry him into the presence we all expected in the middle of the lineup.

And in advance, a memo to Chris Ray: DO NOT THROW ANYTHING REMOTELY HITTABLE TO VLAD GUERRERO.

I guess Huff has finally found his stroke! Wow. Hitting for the cycle. Impressive. 2 3-run homers in 3 games. Now if Mora could get that triple...

Someone needs to tell Gary Thorne that when Joe DiMaggio hit in 56 consecutive games, he broke Willie Keeler's major league mark of 44 consecutive games accomplished in 1897 when Willie played for the Orioles. George Sisler held the American League mark of 41 consecutive games. As far as an Oriole hitting for the cycle goes, will we have to wait another 20+ years for this to happen again? Brooks did it in 1960, Cal in 1984 and now Aubrey Huff in 2007. Would have been nice if Melvin Mora could have done it right after Huff did it. That would have been something to remember.

np: "The Cycle," Virgos Merlot

I personally like the pitching moves in tonight's game. Trembley didn't wait too long to pull Trachsel, he let Bell leave on a high note, he got Williamson some work, and he brought in Jamie Walker to make Matthews switch to the right side after Williamson got hurt. Now Bradford is pitching, and while he's struggled somewhat of late, I'm hoping for the best.

Okay, NOW we can question Trembley. For the love of...

Did I say I was hopeful about Chad Bradford preserving the lead? I need to remove orange Kool-Aid from my diet.

Get first 2 batters out, then walk a crappy hitter and then get the rookie 0-2 and hit him with the pitch sothat the hottest hitter on the team can hit a 2 our single for the tying RBI. NICE!

and 4.1 shtout innings with a 5-0 defecit and a 7 run rally to back you up doesn't net a decision.

Great managing. Absolutely wonderful.

Was there ever any doubt that this pen would blow this lead?

what a string of games!!!! great baseball, or, at least fun baseball to watch!!! roch, let me amend my mora comment from last night. dad has, for more than a year, been saying mora is the dumbest player in baseball. i, however, have been defending him based on his strong bat and increasingly strong glove at 3rd. the mistakes, however, have added up, and last night was a tight game. gotta be smarter than that against the yanks in a tight game. but, i think now that perhaps it's more of a lack of control than a lack of baseball intelligence. after watching mora argue last night, and then hustle and make a double tonight, i must say that i love his heart, and his desire, and ability, to make up for the missing tejada energy. mora can stay, but i still say mejias has the green light to tackle him!!!

Well, at least Ray didn't give Vlad anything to hit!

Ok, 2 Patterson doubles and he's left stranded at second. Why don't they run?

Trembley says he hates DP's but then he doesn't try to avoid them. Hit and run, steal especially with Patterson and Roberts on base.

I guess you can't pitch Ray late in a game against any decent team. Wow. Two nights in a row, two GREAT come backs get blown in the 8th/9th innings.

This bullpen is freaking ridiculous. My kingdom for an 8th inning pitcher!

Yeah, Ray was waiting to give up another game damning HR to a lesser hitter. He should not be the closer anymore...PERIOD! Why is that so obvious to everyone outside of Oriole management...maybe the O's bullpen can get 2 managers canned.

No Tom, he didn't give Vlad anything to hit. You're right.

...he just waited to groove one to Kendrick.

This team is worse to watch than the 1988 Orioles.

I think it's officially time to add Chris Ray's name to the long list of our relievers who SUCK!

Can you say "Groundhog Day?" Ray gives up another potential game-winning homer... Jeez.

If I'm Chris Ray's agent, my sales pitch would have to be: "Well his ERA is under 1.00 in games where he doesn't give up home runs." Some season he's having, huh?

Please pinch hit for Fahey.

So, the Kerosene Korps continues its bang-up job.

I think its time to start losing leads with different people...just bring up 4 relievers from the minors and release 4 up here...manager's choice since none of them seem to be able to get people out...they are good at walks, hit batsmen and home runs though...

Unbelievable!!! The closer curse continues...Ray is now Julio/Benitez/Timlin...
New manager-same lousy 'pen..I bet Sammy is laughing right now on a beach somewhere.
What is wrong with Ray???And what's with all the hitbatsmen?? First, all the walks and then this new found method of putting guys on base.
The Angels showed us how a 'pen is supposed to work. Maybe-just maybe-the brain trust will shake things up after the last 2 debacles but I'm not holding my breath waiting.
The '07 O's are a bad team-pure and simple folks..Bad teams find ways to lose-even when we score 7 runs we can't win. Then, when we do set solid pitching, we don't score(ask Guthrie & Bedard)...

So was Perlozzo hiding in the clubhouse sending recommendations to Trembley tonight or what?

How often does any team come back from a 5-0 defecit?

How often has any O's pitcher strung together 4+ shutout innings this season?

How many games has this bullpen blown this year? Bradford's 0-4 and Ray's now 4-6 with 4 blown saves.

What was the need to go to this already overworked and very ineffecient bullpen in the 7th??????

If Ray is closing next year the front office should be dropped into the Bay. He has no OUT PITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
His fastball is straight and his slider is pitiful.

I'm not sure why I put myself through such misery. In the great vision of this team contending sometime down the road, I'm not sure it includes Ray as the closer.

yeah, he didn't give vlad anything to hit-too bad he didn't do the same with howie kendrick-how much of this do we have to stand???

Bullpen blows another lead, lack of a clutch
hit and a DP to boot, a grooved fastball to
a guy with 3 hrs this year and 13 RBI's.....
Same story different manager!
How many more 'til Trembley's shown the
door?
Glad Forrest Gump was on TNT tonight and Cast
Away will be on tommorrow night.

When were they going to start looking for a new manager?

I think that Chris Ray should be included in the fire sale that is bound to happen by the end of July.

Yeah,who didn't see that coming?I liked what I saw from Trembley until the last two games.Horrible use of the bullpen once again,between Ray,Baez and Todd Williams,14 losses,that's why this is a below .500 team,and that doesn't even include Parrish's numbers.I would have had Gomez bunting in the 8th and certainly not have Fahey making the last out.A great comeback and a joke of an ending.The more things change the more they stay the same.

Hey KEVIN IN COLUMBIA: So is it OK for us to complain about lifting Bell NOW? I'm trying to figure out which one made less sense: lifting Bell after just 49 pitches or lifting Huff for a BS curtain call with only a 2 run lead.

I am tired of having gracious managers say "Give the other team credit". It's time for a Vince Lombardi-Earl Weaver type. I would love to hear an Oriole manager say "This loss is unacceptable". Let's stop giving the other team credit!

If the orioles sent their bullpen to guantanamo bay I'd be very pleased. 26--10 when leading after 7? That's unbelievable.

Chris Ray can't seem to bear down and locate his pitches for more than 1, maybe 2 batters. I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it to keep him. Guys just go up their waiting to take him deep. And they always get their pitch to hit. He always gives it to them. Does he really think he can get by on velocity alone?

Him and Gibbons are both barking up the wrong tree. Gibbons comes out of his shoes as if Raffy just stuck a needle in his ass when he should be trying to go the other freaking way!! Send him to Cuba!!!

Oh well, the rest of the team showed some life. I keep telling myself, it doesn't matter if we lose, it's already over, just let Macphail watch and learn what we need - it's not really that much.

I've never seen anything as bad as this though. I need to shut up, sorry y'all.

Let Dempsey go back to the Dodgers. Rod is gone. The old man won't leave. Let a younger person who could use the money [ not his family ] do his job. Go home Ernie. Ray was great. Hoey and Doyne??? Huff is really good. Mora is really good. Ernie Tyler and Rickey Dempsey should retire at the same time. I will cry. Big time. Olsen , Hoey, Doyne must come up. Last, please put on your blog how Jim Palmer [ who is my age ] has no grey hair. Carley Simon said it right about Jim Bo.

They made a mistake in the box score.

It lists Jay Gibons as the "Designated Hitter (DH)".

I thought you had to actually be a hitter to be a DH.

A uniform-wearer batting .206 is not a hitter.

Time to gut the bullpen...I can't think of anybody out there worth keeping...send Ray back to AAA and have him carpool with Parrish...send Bradford to meet up with Todd Williams in the unemployment line and talk about how to not throw strikes...put Baez on the 60-day DL for 'chronic hittable-itis'.

Maybe keep Bell and Shuey around for a while longer, but get rid of Williamson since who needs a reliever who can only pitch once every two weeks.

And remind Trembley that a) he WAS the bullpen coach when the fire started and b) NEVER, EVER replace your hitters with defensive players with THAT bullpen.

Gotta love the way this team has battled here of late! Trembley has my vote to show what he’s got for the remainder of the season!

Watching as Ray dishes out the go-ahead 2 run jack makes me wonder how long he will be considered this teams closer. It’s just really sad. I don’t want him gone….but at the same time he has not been an asset by any means to the O’s out of the closer slot. Maybe too much pressure on the kid too soon in his career?

What’s up with Trachsel?? Seems like a good time to take a good look at some of the kids. Hell of a job by Bell shutting the door! I seriously hope the answer to our bullpen problems will come from within the organization…..we’ve proved throwing millions at it doesn’t work!

Hey Roch,

Have a question on baseball rules concerning retagging base after foull ball. In the 4th inning of Thursday night's game, the Yankees had bases loaded two outs. I believe Phillips fouled off a few pitches and in each case Abreu who was on second never went back to tag base. Phillips eventually fouled out but my question is if Phillips reached base by putting ball in play, could the Orioles have made an appeal at second base on Abreu not retagging base. Just curious on ruling because I thought you had to go back to bag and noticed all other runners in game going bag to tag base they were on.

Thanks,

Ray and Parrish are worthless.

Well done Bell. You shoudl have been up here sooner after your Spring and Norfolk performance. Doyne should be here as well. Stupid to have snet him down.

Congrats Aubrey. Sad to see in a losing effort. Rreally wihd Trembley had let Bell go the whole way. We might have had a chance. Stil lthink Williamnson is better than he showed tongiht. Guys got to be a little rusty I'm surpised he still remembers how to pitch.

Seriously, though how much can the FO and Tmebley keep watching Ray and Parrish blow ballgames? it's unbearable. Traschel may now be in the Jarret Wright category. They've caught up with him. 7 runs wasn't enough tonight. Yech!

CRay continues to do a wonderful job of proving his naysayers to be right. He is well on his way to Head Case. Let's face it, the guy cannot get the big out against a decent hitter. He's a poor excuse for a major league closer. Start entertaining offers, if you get any. How many home runs is that?

I WILL ASK AGAIN TONIGHT, WHERE THE HELL IS ARTHUR RHODES? LET'S GET SAMMY STEWART OUT OF JAIL!!!!!

Roch, I come home from a great wedding. The first thing I do is check how the O's fared tonight. (I must admit, besides the new Selig rule, I was fired up we might have swept the yanks), only I find on the 'net that Chris Ray gives up a HR in the BOTTOM of the ninth.

Um, well, uh, didn't we play at home? Who is proof reading for the Sun these days? Are we really in Anaheim or did we play in our home city, Baltimore?

Is the banker, Joe Foss, calling the shots at the Sun now that Andy MacPhail took his post?

It's crap like this that makes a joke of what is going on here...................UGH!!!

Do we have Adam Dunn yet?

One last thing..........Earl Weaver, put the martini down and finish your words/sentences.

Yeah, the bullpen is in shambles. Ray has 2 pitches, one he can throw for strikes. Parrish still has Tommy John's arm........his WHIP is STUPID.

Congrats to Aubrey Huff? He hit the cycle? Big "whip".......the dude has done zip for us and he is one dimensional in the field. Can you say "Jay Gibbons Jr"? I knew you could!

Roch, can Steve Neadow still throw a slider?

what i take from watching this game, other than a little less hair, is that trembley's post-game comments had that sam perlozzo quality i remember so well - lost, emotionallly trashed, and out of answers.

Ok, ok, one final comment here. Folks, get used to it......we are not good. We do have good components though

.Last year our pitching sucked. This year our hitting sucks but our pitching, albeit the bullpen, is pretty decent........at least our patchwork starters are.

We need not one, but at least TWO power hitters. We have an abundant array of pitching talent in the minors......so we think. Trade some away for some HR talent.

Yep, everyone wants to point to John Maine, how he "got away". One out of nine pitching prospects actually amount to something. WHATEVER! Liz, Penn, Hoey, etc........bye, bye. Where's Matt Riley? Jorge is in Florida pitching middle relief because he sucks. Benitez? CHA! Traded! Why? Because he sucks.

Sorry to rant, but the front office needs to get with the program. This so-called stockpile of minor league "talent" is not winning major league games for us at the moment...........will it in the future? All signs point to "no freakin' way". Hello!?! It's been TEN years! Our tragic flaw is holding onto talent the Oriole brass thinks is special, too long. By the time they fizzle, we get ZERO in return............Ainsworth? Who was the other clown we got in that deal?

RBF obviously doesn't understand baseball. The goal is always to save your pitcher for tomorrow, and, never, ever, ever to try to win the the game tonight.

Chris Ray needs to go back to the minors or somewhere. Aubrey Huff should have been left in since his bat was hot. Gibbons is useless on a regular basis.

They need to package Gibbons, Cabrera, Trachsel, and Parrish in a trade to bring a #5 starter. Or they could send Trachsel and/or Cabrera to the bullpen and put Rob Bell in the rotation to see what he can do. If Trembley is auditioning for the managers job then why can't Bell do the same for a spot in the rotation. He pitched a great 4.1 innings last night and he is still stuck in the bullpen.

Before everyone starts pounding the last nail into Chris Ray's going away box, let's not forget that last year he had 33 saves and a 2.73 ERA. He showed he could do the job and the future was bright.

This year is a different story, and I continue to maintain that part of his problems stem from the way he has been used. But regardless of why he's doing so poorly, the bottom line is he's not a reliable closer right now. Much as I like him, I don't think the O's can continue to hand over games to him to close. Not sure who else we would use, but giving up game winning home runs is getting kind of old.

Congrats to Aubrey Huff.

Too bad salaries aren't based on a game by game performance. Maybe then we'd see some improvement out of the bullpen. Part of me wants to feel sorry for a young closer who is struggling. Then the other part of me realizes he's still going home to his luxurious life that was built on the assumption he could get three friekin' outs a couple nights each week, and I want someone to kick him in the mommy/daddy button.

By the way, has anyone been keping up with Trachsel's interviews over the course of the season. He kind've comes off as a real a$$. When he pitched a few good games he was dishing it out like he was a Cy Young winner. He threw mud in the eye of everyone who gave up on him and yadda, yadda, arrogant yadda. The he collapses, becaause he is, in fact, Steve Trachsel, and the arrogance continues. What kind've defense for pitching three bad games in a row is claiming, "I've pitched 8 bad games in a row."? Well, keep at it Steve, you're half way there again. The rest of that interview was outright defensive and angry. Take responsibility and PITCH BETTER. Then pass that lesson on to the bullpen, because once your pitching improves, they're still going to blow your lead.

dear Anonymous at 9:37:

You're right. I'm so glad that we saved Bell for that game we're going to need him in a couple days. Better to lose 2 close ones than win one and lose the other in a blowout.

I have to laugh at some of these proposed trades where the O's give up guys like Baez/Gibbons/Trachsel/etc for a 5th starter/extra bat etc...How dumb do you think other teams are? No one wants guys that are hitting .200/ can't pitch/field-not to mention carrying bloated contracts to boot!
The only way to rid ourselves of these albatrosses is to eat their contracts, as painful as that might be, because playing them makes no sense. Do we suddenly think that Gibbons is going to start hitting again or Tracshel is going to stop getting hit around like a pinata?
McPhail's first order of business is to clean out the deadwood and move on, by bringing in guys with an upside, while at the same time sending a message to other non-performers that they could be next.

Having a Designated Hitter who does not hit is a black hole in the line-up.

Until the bullpen gets back on track, please please please don't take hot hitters out of the game in the 7th for defensive purposes. Without strong late offense the games are as good as lost.

Congrats to Aubrey! That was fun to see.