If you were thinking about challenging manager Dave Trembley’s decision to have Melvin Mora swing away in the ninth inning last night, with runners on first and second, no outs and the Orioles trailing, 4-2, I suggest that you do it gingerly. And from a safe distance.
“It’s very simple,” he said. “You’re playing on the road, (and) you don’t play to tie on the road, not with your No. 3 hitter. If anybody second-guesses that, they don’t know baseball and they can go fly a kite, as far as I’m concerned.”
Mora, as you probably know, swung at the first pitch and grounded sharply into a double play. He hit the ball hard, but directly at the shortstop, making him 0-for-16 in his last four games.
“If he hits it two feet either side, you’re looking at first and third with nobody out. That’s baseball,” Trembley said. “He had a great swing. I’m not sure they didn’t think we were bunting, but I very rarely bunt on in the road in the ninth inning with your No. 3 and 4 guys coming up. You have to give it every opportunity you’ve got with those guys. If it works out, fine. If it doesn’t, you move on. That’s the way the game is.”
Mora’s frustration bubbled to the surface afterward. He removed his T-shirt and slammed it into a shopping cart in the middle of the clubhouse. I haven’t seen Shaq dunk with that much authority.
Hopefully, Mora will be in a better mood, and coming off a 4-for-4 game, when he appears at the ESPN Zone Tuesday at noon for a question-and-answer session and autograph signing.
Call it a hunch, but I believe that ninth-inning at-bat will lead to something big for Mora tonight. Check back with me later.
Here’s a great idea: The Orioles are hosting a national PLAY campaign event Monday at Camden Yards, beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, for area youth ages 8-13 from the Orioles Dugout Club. It features pitcher Jeremy Guthrie and head athletic trainer Richie Bancells and is designed to educate kids on the dangers of using anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs. Guthrie and Bancells also will pass along tips on how to train the healthy way.
PLAY, which stands for “Promoting a Lifetime of Activity for Youth,” is a public awareness campaign of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society. Bancells is the current president of PBATS.
More on Hayden Penn from last night: He tossed two scoreless innings for Triple-A Norfolk in Game 1 of a doubleheader, but didn’t record an out in the third. He was charged with three runs, as Durham batted around against Penn and reliever Jon Leicester. This was Penn’s second start since coming off the disabled list.
Freddie Bynum had two hits and a walk in Game 2. Reliever Alberto Castillo tossed two scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 1.25.
Former Oriole Chris Richard batted cleanup for Durham. He’s hitting .304 with 48 RBIs.
Single-A Frederick’s Jake Renshaw left last night’s game against Kinston after one inning with a stomach ailment. He allowed four runs and walked three batters in the first.
