What was Mora thinking by swinging at the first pitch with two on and none out and promptly hitting into a double play?

There is absolutely no reason Aubrey Huff should be on the bench. Huff is one of the hottest hitters in baseball and Trembley sits him? Huff should be playing all three of these games, if for the only reason that there's no way Kevin Millar should be hitting cleanup in any lineup in the bigs. The lineup Trembley trotted out there was not a winning lineup -- Huff must be in it and Scott can't be on the bench for three straight games.

For all of DCab's improvement, he's 5-4 with a 4.5 era. He allowed 13 runners in 6+ innings tonite against a team he should dominate. What has happened to the guy we saw in May?

Roch, can you ask Trem why he decided to sit the hot-hitting Huff? Or ask him if he'll ever drop Mora down in the line up?

Fahey is back, and if you told me that the #3 hitter in the O's lineup on June 27 would be smacking a robust 230....well, 2 things I would have had a hard time believing even for this team.

Roch, what did you eat there? I hope a half smoke from Bens Chili Bowl.
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I was relegated to eating in the press dining area. No time to tour the ballpark and sample the goods, unfortunately. But I devoured a plate of roast beef, mashed potatos and mixed vegetables like I was going to the chair. Salad and a brownie, too. Then I felt like crap for nine innings. - Roch

Its amazing how Mora has declined so much, and the General managers didn't see this coming when they signed him long term, and with a no trade clause. He needs to be coming off the bench and playing different positions instead of starting. Also, everyone want to praise Jay Payton so much. He is good for one game,get 2 or 3 hits and then stinks it up for 4 or 5 games. After a good game, trade him that day. Should have kept Salazar up here and gave him some at bats.
And by watching Daniel swing today, shows why I love the DH and pitchers just need to consentrate on pitching and leave the hitting to others. Please keep the DH, its better baseball. Sorry purest!

I feel for Daniel. 2 OF blunders really cost him. He was pitching solidly. He had some rough patches. But overall I'd say it was a quality start. Too bad Payton and Jones disagreed.

And please can we not hit Mora 3rd anymore? Its the most important spot in the line up and we have a rally killer. Nothing against him as a person but he has not earned the right to play anyday with his hitting and so-so glove work. Might be time to teach him how to be a super utility guy.

Couldn't agree more. Come on Trembley .. TRY!!!!

Cabrera is what he is...and he's annoying to me because he throws at people because they hit him hard. He'll end up winning 9 or 10 games if he's lucky. The losses hurt, but it's good to see develpment in Jones...I know it has a lot to do with the last 10 years, but I keep waiting fhe bottom to fall out. Way too many holes still on this team - like 4 spots in the rotation. I do think Olsen will develop...but the poor bullpen is alwyws up by the 5th or 6th.

Happy for Washington. I really hate the skum bag O's letting OZ go . A plane crash would not make me sad. Kidding. Hope Trem [ the liar.] Mac face [ the doumb bo] and FLAN the super doumb bo. And Pete [ who has no clue.] If they win 10 straight pennets Im done with that thing , Salazar was lied to. What a bunch of low level losers. Sorry for being so honest.So long Roch, It's been fun. OUT!.

I agree with everybody. And I've been saying this for a long time. Why is Melvin Mora the number 3 hitter? He should be 7th. Let Huff or Millar take over the spot when they are on fire.

Trembley must have been drinking today when he wrote down the lineup. Right from the start, I knew the lineup wasn't going to score any runs. Keep the lineup from Chicago! Didn't Trembley say he likes to keep things like they are, and don't mess with a good thing?

Maybe I said that. But the fact is, for their sake, keep Luke Scott and Aubrey Huff and Kevin Millar in the same line-up from the first pitch. And don't PH them. They looked horrible as PHers. They need at-bats!

I demand to see them all tomorrow in the lineup to start!

Roch,
I have a feeling that Penn just does not have it. Will the O's skip to one of the Bowie starters? D. Hernandez perhaps? He has just 5 wins despite being dominant just about every time out. Also, Mora has just totaly lost it. Why not just DFA him? Or just bench him if the money really means that much. He is definitely hurting us at this point. Put another lefty in the 2 hole and let Nick back in the 3 spot. I know you need the lefty behinds Roberts the base stealer. I just read an article with Angelos saying he understands it is going to take somewhere between 110 and 120 million to compete in the East. After this year the O's will be somewhere around 50. Markakis is probably looking at 7-8 million in Arb. Where would you spend the rest? First base is a serious problem on the Farm. Do you use it to lock up some of the youngsters?

Please tell me why we play up to the level of best team in baseball, and down to one of the worst?!?

Trade Penn for Lopez- if he's given the everyday SS role, maybe he'll play with heart- and its not like we'll lose out- penn is turning into a bust!

Hayden penn will never make the next move up to the major leagues. He is just another one of the highly touted bust outs that we keep hoping will eventually help us. He is the minor league version of daniel. Daniel is never going to get any better then he is , if that is what you want to classify as good. He is some one that we can relate to a bad marriage, hang around hang around just hoping and praying that it gets better but in your heart you know the best thing would be just to let it go. He is never going to get over the hump no matter how many different pitching coaches try and help him .You just have to bite the bullet once and for all and let him go. I have never seen a team walk or go to as many 3 and 2 counts as the oriole pitchers do.It become so frustrating to watch these pitchers sturggle out on the mound day in and day out with there control. We are light years away from where we want to be with our pitching staff and anybody that thinks different is just kidding himself. And on mora dave must owe him some favors because any other manager would have grown tired of him. He is completely lost out there can't catch up with the fastball anymore and it's way over due for the orioles to due something with him as well. You are never suppose to lose to that national bunch they are no better then a triple aaa team.

DCabrera front foot is in the bucket when he swings everytime. At least make contact dude, You look silly!

If that's the way Lopez approaches the game, I'm not sure that he'd fit with how Trembley is trying to get everyone on the team to play. We don't need that, because we certainly aren't going to guarantee him a permanent spot in the lineup.
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During a mound conference in the ninth, every Nationals infielder (and the catcher, of course), listened in except for Lopez, who stood at second base and chatted w/ Brian Roberts. - Roch

One of the confounding things about Trembley's lineup last night was that he had to know that Odalis Perez was on a pitch count and that a right-hander would likely follow. A prime opportunity to get the left-handed bats in the lineup.

It's inexcusable that Huff would sit(24 out of his last 55 abs). Last night should also have been the final straw for Melvin Mora hitting in the three spot. How many times did Brian Roberts and Nick get on base only to be left stranded by Mora and Millar?

His theory on going right/left throughout the order isn't working either because right now teams are pitching around Markakis to get to Mora and pitching around Huff to get to Millar.

I like much of what Trembley brings to this team, but he continually goes out of his way to appease some of the veterans. Making "tough" decisions is why you get paid the big bucks Dave!

Roch, I can't understand bringing Fahey back up. With Huff batting so hot, why don't we move Mora back to SS and put Huff at 3rd? We could have kept Salazar up as DH and platooned him with Payton.

Also, here's a thought for Shortstop. Since half the season is already over, why don't we go after Jerry Hairston, Jr, again. His defense is solid, and he's at least going to bat better than what we're throwing out there now.

My what short attention spans we have...Let's not forget that we are still 6-4 on this road trip (when was the last time that happened?) and just took 2 out of 3 at Wrigley. The Nationals suck but they have won 32 times this year--they aren't gonna just roll over (not yet anyway). Let's also remember that Mora (definitely past his prime) has delivered some clutch hits this season.

With that being said, I still don't understand the decision to call-up & start Fahey (& demote Salazar)...and yeah, Huff should find his way into the line-up daily while he's hot...and the loss of Albers concerns me.

Herb,

Put your head between your knees and wait for the floor to stop moving and your head to clear. Hopefully this will be your last experimentation with tampered mushrooms. Shhhh, it'll be over in a little while, relax, shhh...

Jerry Hairston is on the DL.

Lopez must know the O's have a little bit of interest. You would think he could muster up the energy to put on a good show while the team is in town (I am sure we have been scouting him, on other ocassions, but your "new" manager has not seen you play, he is busy keeping Mora and Millar happy. )

Anybody remember Huff and the Horses A** comment! Still the same guy!! He still hates this city, he just happens to be playing better hoping to get traded to a contender. Trade him to the Nationals for Lopez!!!!!

Roch - do you think Aquino will get another call-up anytime soon?

I think I'd pass on Lopez.

Can we please stop already with the Hayden Penn stuff!? Just another in a long line of overhyped Oriole pitchers. Yawn.

No thanks to Felipe Lopez. Ditto for Jerry Hairston, Jr., who is not a shortstop. We just have to be patient and suffer through what we have now until MacPhail hopefully can acquire a legitimate shortstop prospect in a deadline deal. I agree with everyone questioning why Mora continues to play and bat third. It's getting close to time to bring up Scott Moore or Mike Costanzo to evaluate whether one of them can handle the position over the second half of the season.

Doug in York, right on about moving Mora to ss. He can't do any worse and he's played there before. Also, maybe then by default Trembley would move him down in the lineup where he belongs. I like Trembley's attitude and his knack for getting the guys to hustle, but he's no baseball stategist. Only thing he seems to think he knows is lefty righty matchups, which often aren't backed up by past batter vs pitcher matchups. Earl did it w/notecards. Maybe Trembley doesn't know how to go to any website and find this info.

But, but, Millar can take pitches and walk. What more can you expect from the cleanup hitter? He's a very poor man's Adam Dunn!!!

So much for the "manager of the year" talk...

It was a joy to watch Fahey and Cabrera bat back to back last night, not sure who was worse...

And great job last night by AJ running the bases allowing the team to temporarily tie the game.

Mornin' Roch. I've managed to accumulate a few thoughts I'd like to share here.

1. We were in town a couple of weekends back for the series against the Pirates, and for this year's annual pilgrimage we were treated to 2 of the funnest games we've seen in a long, long time. And for that reason alone, I'm a little miffed that Fahey replaces Salazar yesterday. What are the chances that Fahey ever drives a first pitch rocket shot over the left field wall to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth? Thanks again, Oscar, you made that delightful Friday evening one that we'll remember for quite awhile.

2. I mentioned here before the season started that I hoped Daniel Cabrera would find a way to be the kind of pitcher we all had a glimpse of a few years back at Yankee Stadium and, like everyone else here, was super impressed with his start to this season. But it's still hard for me to imagine how he can ever be a consistently dominant big league pitcher when he doesn't possess a single athletic bone in his body. None. I've had T-ballers who handle the bat and glove with more skill than D-Cab.

3. I understand rebuilding and all the suffering that typically goes with the kind of effort required to fix 10 years of screwups, and count me in. But I think trading one of the most productive homegrown Baltimore Orioles we've ever had while still firmly in the prime of his career would be very regrettable. Whether he's playing here or not, in 2010 Brian Roberts will still be one of the best weapons in baseball.

4. Aubry Huff and Jay Payton are to be commended for their play and their approach to this season. Neither one of them is a part of this team's future and they certainly aren't fan favorites, but they continue to play hard and are both having pretty productive years. My hope, though, is that they will continue their productive years with some other team who desperately takes them off our hands in exchange for promising young talent. Would we be asking too much for them to be major league ready? Keep tearing the cover off, guys. You may be playing this post season after all.

It all seems to be good to me right now. We are seriously considering making this year our very first Bi-Annual Pilgrimage year.

Bill ths 85...couldn't agree more. Folks remember this team was supposed to loose 100 games. Maybe all the wins have everyone thinking that this is a good team. We're not. We're an OK team that is playing very well. Also remember that Trembley and the FO don't have a lot of options when it comes to moving personnel around.

Bill ths 85,

Your post is a little confusing because your second paragraph completey echoes what most of these fans have been saying, and is contradictory to your statements in your first paragraph. I've been saying this ever since Huff sat out two out of three games last week. Mora must be benched during interleague play. You have to have Huff and Scott in the lineup. For Christ's sake Scott has the most experience against most of these NL pitchers since he just came from the NL. Trembley is really starting to show some shortcomings strategy wise.

As the trading deadline apporaches, which pitcher brings the better players in return, Bedard or Sherrill? Who would have thunk it?

Funny how you mentioned Felipe Lopez's attitude; I just read that a rumor that the Orioles are interested in obtaining him on ESPN.com...

While we are all complaining, the most debilitating problem for the second half is getting innings from starting pitchers. Guthrie can get you 7, D-Cab and Olsen 6 and Liz 5. Burres is too iffy to predict something.

This will blow out our biggest strength, the bullpen. With Albers out, and maybe never to return, we have to hope Cormier and Bukvich can eat some innings. Who is our next alternative for the starting rotation? Nothing at triple-A.

We can live with Fahey for the rest of the season if we have to (rather have someone else, but at least he plays hard--no Lopez please) , but another starter will be necessary. Looking to next year we hope Loewen is healthy, but as we seen this year, you need about 8-9 guys who can start to make it through a year.

Lastly, what training program, or lack thereof, did Houston have that caused two excellent pitchers to suffer probably career ending injuries. Can't be a coincidence.

I guess what I'm trying to say Mr. Baseball is this: I don't always agree with Trembley, but let's face it--he's getting results most nights, often from surprising places--(Mora, Payton, etc.).

We're still above .500 with this rag-tag, "rebuilding" team and they've been FUN to watch.

Huff & Scott have been great, but they aren't going to start every night and we aren't going to win every night (even when they start!).