I know I'm late to the show, but thanks O's fans for taking over nat's park this weekend. It really made me proud.

Those folks had no idea what to do about it. I've never heard fans boo during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. Until Saturday. Thanks DC.

Maybe after Sunday this series will turn into an actual rivalry. I've hated the trashinals fans since day one (does baseball have a bigger group of benedict arnolds?). But until now I've never had a reason to hate their players. Too bad we have to wait until next season to find out. It would be so nice to see Belliard get what he deserves.

Sherrill always was more of a setup guy and not a closer. It is rare to find a consistent closer.

Relief pitchers need to be judge based on 3 yrs or so since they pitch so few innings. One year they can have a 2.90 era, then a 4.50,etc. Pitching so few innings causes their stats to be very erratic. One very hot or cold streak can affect the stats dramatically if you only look at one yr.

It is like looking at a hitter with only 100 at bats, a good hitter could hit .200 for those at bats and a bad hitter will have a hot streak of .300+. It doesn't even out until they have 500abs or so. Same for a pitcher. 50-80 ips isn't much.

Regardless of their current status, the Orioles still are playing better than I expected. If Jones can prove to be a solid hitter and another pitcher or 2 develops the Orioles will be in better shape next yr.

Rich

At least he has passion.
Was it a bad pitch or just a good hit?

The game should have never been within reach BUT it's still unexusable for Sherrill to hang a breaking ball -- I thought he should have thrown an eye-high fastball before he threw the hanger, and I suppose I was correct...

AHHHHHH!!! Olivo looked awful on those first two breaking balls. How do you throw him anything hittable?!?!

sigh.

Wow. Not sure which was a worse loss, tonight's or yesterday's. Need a good outing from Liz tomorrow to turn this bad luck around. Go O's! Great job as always Roch.

Glad I tuned in with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth and stayed up for the whole game. I think I may take a break from this for a few days.

Bad Karma!

This is Tirdland! What a bonehead bunch of miscues to lose the game tonight. Sherrill doesn't need to come in so much. He could be out of gas and overused. We should have been in the "win column."

Last year's O's are back.....

Two horrible losses in a row and both blown saves on sliders. Roch-after Sherrill stops his temper tantrum maybe someone like Kranitz and/or Trembley should tell him to throw a fastball when he's ahead in the count.

I'm thinking that the Os are coming back to earth...they'll settle in an area that is more like normal. It just wasn't natural to have all those fantastic stats (come from behind wins, one-run victories, long string of saves, etc.) when this is NOT the team that Mac is building.

This is the team that everyone expected in April --- so if we put it in perspective, this second-in-a-row a not-FLAT BREEZY isn't so bad. Relax. They can still cause havoc for the Yanks, Sox, and Rays.

Well, it will be interesting to see if this is the start of the Orioles meltdown, or if this team is as resilient as people say they are. Last year, the team went into the tank after the famous Sunday Boston game. Guess what, they blew the Washington game on Sunday, and now they come back and blow another one to the Royals, no less, in the ninth inning. I agree that the bullpen is in real trouble without Albers to eat innings. I hope that I am all wrong!! D is for disaster!!

we just lost to the royals - I have been chastised here for my feeling that Trembley is not using our pitchers well - maybe if we keep this up - more fans will agree. - It may be like the rip in the seat of ones pants - he never knows it till someone tells him

Sherrill has a mild case of Olson-itis (in love with his off-speed pitches.)

Overall a good month.

The meltdown was bound to come sometime. It just hurts a whole lot more when you haven't seen it all year till this point.

Well, anybody who doesn't feel a touch of sympathy for Sherrill has no heart. If he was coming in and getting hammered, that's one thing . But 1-2 and 0-2 pitches for dingers is heartbreaking.

As I said on Saturday, there is a 3 game slide coming. Hope this isn't it. Toronto is pitching well and Boston is always tough . This team needs to win tomorrow.

Just once I'd like to see boy wonder,Dave Trembley leave a starter in to work out of a minor jam in the 6th inning.More and more he reminds me of Perlozzo and Mazilli.We won't have a bullpen left by the end of July.And why George Sherrill throws anything anywhere near the plate when Olivio had swung at two balls in the dirt is amazing to me.The lack of talent and managerial skills is rapidly catching up with us.Millar and Mora can't get around on a 90 mph fastball anymore and Brandon Fahey is a joke.Why not have Ramon try a squeeze,their third basemen was 10 foot behind the bag on a wet infield.Unbelievable,in my opinion that's at least 10 games Trembley has cost us with his questionable decisions.You walk a rookie to pitch to a guy who's got 60 rbi's already?Give me a break.All you Dave Trembley fans chime in now,tell me how great of a manager he is.There was a reason he was in the minor leagues for 20 plus years.Good job Brian,now you know how Guthrie feels.We leave Aquino who has a 2 era and experience in the minors to bring up Bukvich who know has a 7.71 ERA?Still nobody here who knows how to handle a pitching staff.

How much longer until we get Chris Ray back? And what about Rocky Cherry? This team needs a starter besides Guthrie who can pitch deep into games. Why can't Hayden Penn get it together? For once this team really needs him and he's getting shelled by minor leaguers.

don't sweat it, george. we all have horrible days at the office. and the loss was a team effort. keep your head up and get this thing behind you.

go o's.

The pain of being an Orioles fan...I disagree with you though Roch - the game was lost when Sherril hung an 0-2 slider. Stuff happens in games, you cannot guide a hit ball (Hernandez) like you can an 0-2 pitch. As I have said, I think it's arm fatigue that caused the hanging pitch - he has pitched much to often. Sherril lost these two games for the O's - he was getting the credit when they were winning - he takes the blame in my opinion for the way he has pitched the last 2 games - not well.

Here comes the meltdown.It was fun while it lasted.

I like Sherrill a lot but he has not really been that great this year. Sure, he has 26 saves but his era is close to 4. I think he would be better served as a middle reliever and possibly Jim Johnson, Cormier (stretch haha) could close

Outside of the fact that Georgie gave it up on 2 out 2 strike counts 2 days in a row, and the culprits were Belliard and Olivo, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone that he's having trouble putting teams away.

The Reason is simple, he just doesnt have good stuff, when his curveballs on, he's decent, but when its not his 89mph fastball just aint gonna cut it, especially against A-Rod or Big Papi.

With that said, he's gritty and determined, but he's just too hittable to be an everyday closer.

Did Sarfate think it was New Year's Eve?

Couldn't the ump have said, "Ball, a little bit outside"?

When we got Ramon, he was known as a good defensive catcher, fine handler of pitchers. What happened?

Earlier in his career, Ramon banged the ball well to right center. Why does he try to pull so much now?

Great catch by Adam Jones in left center tonight.

Lost in all the angst over Sunday's loss was Adam's clutch, resourceful poke through the right side to score Markakis with the go-ahead run in the top of the 12th.

Also, because of that tough loss we forgot to cite Aubrey Huff's impressive game with the glove at third. Nice leaping grab and a sharp job turning two 5-3 twin killings.

George Sherrill will bounce back just fine. Back to back painful losses on hanger home runs when only one strike away.

But George is one tough guy. He has been excellent through his 26 saves. Now's the time for Oriole fans to get behind him and give him a go get 'em George boost.

How can you question the way Trembley uses his bullpen? it has been the best part of the team? it's not his fault he has tos tart using them between the 4-6th inning every game. Sure, sometimes maybe a hitter too long or a hitter too late - but every manager gets second guessed for that. Trembley is an awesome manager who is being let down by his starting pitching.

Chris--You say "I like Sherrill a lot but he has not really been that great this year."

When did you start watching ball games? On Sunday?

Silly stuff.

Is there a hotline for all the bandwagon jumpers?? Unbelievable how quickly fans can jump on a team when they are hot and how quickly they can ridicule them when they hit a rough patch...

Hey, for a team predicted to lose 100, losing 90 is still in reach, and might not seem so bad after all...
This team is what it is, Guthrie and a bunch of #4-5 starters(if they keep this up, a 14 man staff may not be enough), an overworked bullpen-including a closer who until recently has been pitching out of his shoes, one of the worst infields in baseball, some young outfielders with some upside, and a horrible bench.
It's pretty amazing they've maintained 500 to this point, but the long season has a way of wearing down teams like this. After all, it can wear down a good team.

That was a tough one to swallow, hopefully we can rally and put 3 good games together. That low strike to Ramon was a tough break in the 8th with the bases loaded. Shoulda been 3-1 instead of 2-2 and him having to protect. Sherrill will be alright, you've got to give a first year closer the room to blow a few games, even when they are back to back and hurt this bad. He'll learn from that. I would have thought a high fastball 8 inches out of the zone rather than a 3rd straight curveball, but now we take 3 of 4. I drank the Millar Kool-Aid and my hair turned blonde.

Sherrill has done a real good job so far. Too bad he went too much with his breaking balls. He should be trying to mix up the pitches. As fans, you can always second-guess what should have been, but can't do anything about it. Same with players.

We should have had several homeruns but the darned rain never let them leave the yard. I think we need to let Sherrill rest for a bit, and let JJ take over the closing duties. He has the mentality and the stats of a closer. Let's see what happens with him for a week or so. But the problem is, who's the 8th inning man? We might have to experiment.

Let's bounce back tomorrow! No balks, no walks, and most definitely, no dingers on a 2 out, 2 strike count!

The first base umpire went out of his way to try to help the O's win. A blown double play call in the early and a phantom out at first in the middle innings. The imaginary double play preceded 2 runs that came in later in the inning that would have made the extra innings un-needed - Royals would have been ahead 6-5 at the end of 9.

Sherill is gassed.He's pitching on fumes and his once high trade value is falling like a rock.The pitching depth is down to nothing and it's only July 1st. The O's have played a lot od high stress games this year and it's taking a toll physically and mentally.It's easy to get mad at Sherill but when your arm is gassed the ball just doesn't go where you want it to. With Albers gone they can't afford to have Johnson be the closer for a few games. Now with Walker out Loewen will be the lefty specialist which is insane.They could actually screw Loewen's arm up worse with his warming up as a bullpen guy as opposed to a starter where you have more time. Matuz is holding out for a king's ransom when he could be pitching in the rotation now freeing up Burres for the bullpen.

I think that may have been the worse 0-2 pitch in the history of baseball. A flat slider waist high in the middle of the plate. Ugh! You know the trouble with wearing your hat like that is you go from being an eccentric hero to a loser clown when you hang 0-2 sliders.

A few thoughts:
1) No way should a pitcher ever allow a home run on an 0-2 pitch. What is the league batting average on an 0-2 count? Even worse, what is the league home run ratio on an 0-2 count? Is it a tired arm or just lack of concentration?
2) I'm not making excuses for Ramon, because he is terrible with the bases loaded. However, that 2-1 pitch called a strike was downright ridiculous. One pitch can drastically change the dynamics of an at-bat. Of course, he could have hit a 3-1 pitch into a double play, but I also recall Ramon walked with the bases loaded last year to win a game against the Yankees.
3) Pitchers like Burress, Liz and Olson are bullpen killers.

Sherrill will be fine, he's just going through a rough patch. Ill predict a flat breezy tonight !!!

Hopefully we can still trade him at the deadline

Tim in CA - I think you are right on the money. It's not losing two in a row, but of course how they did it. Dave Trembley and the players can blow this off all they want, but the only way to get thru this is by winning on the field and somewhat returning to what we as fans have beconme accustomed to in the first three months of the season. Right now it is far to reminiscent of things past.

Let's sweep the remainder of the series.

Chris come one man. He has 26 saves in the league, which is 3rd best. Not very many closers get 26 saves in the first half od the season. I think he is just tired and maybe should put Jim Johnson in there to give Sherrill some rest and to clear his head. But you can't say that Sherrill hasn't been that great this year.

I think some of you are guilty of not managing expectations. Like Barry is doing, we fans are probably better served to pick out the positive flashes and deal with the losses in stride.

Honestly, did any of you see Huff, Millar, Hernandez, Payton, a rookie in Jones, a SS position with about 12 RBI, an extremely pedestrian pitching staff besides Guthrie (who probably would be hit by a bus if he ever won the lottery)? But it's been hard-nosed baseball that has been enjoyable to watch. They make too many mistakes and I agree with some that the relief corps will be completely shot soon, but we'll be okay for the future. We'll probably win about 35 more games so enjoy them and let's find out what this team will look like down the road because we have a lot of work to do to be in the mix "for real".

By the way, Sherrill has pitched in nearly half of this teams games. Anyone's arm would be fatigued by that. These guys need certain days where it is decided beforehand that they will not be used under any circumstances and if there are such days they need to be increased dramatically.

Lets hope Walker can get back in time for us to deal him. The wheels are starting to fall off. Its time to move all of the vets we can....

If Sherrill threw a fastball on 0-2 after Olivo looked terrible on a couple sliders, and Olivo hit it out, everybody would be complaining that he didn't try another slider. These two losses hurt, and the dwindling pitching resources are cause for concern, but don't jump ship. We're building for the future: Sherrill is not our future closer, just a veteran with the right mentality to handle the role now. He's an excellent lefty specialist who merely gets by against righties (.530 OPS against vs lefties, 20/6 K/BB, 1 HR allowed; but against righties those numbers are .705, 17/14, and 4). Maybe in the future it will be JJ or Ray closing, but for now he's the right guy. Bullpens might be better off with their dominant guys in setup and someone boring and consistent closing (think 1997, when Rhodes and Benitez ruled and Myers closed things out).

The positive light is how good Adam Jones has looked lately. I'd argue we have a better outfield than the Yankees, and one that will continue to improve.

the bullpen really let us down tonight with the exception of JJ, I hope this is a fleeting trend!

b is for c'mon BULLPEN!!!!

Trembley is great at motivating the players and getting them prepared before the game. His in-game skills do leave a bit to be desired. His line-up Friday night was atrocious. I knew we would lose when it was announced.
We have been over-playing, and like the stock-market, are due for a correction.
The plate umpire last night clearly favored the Royals. The first base umpire clearly favored the O's (or was he trying to balance it for us). Either way, the home plate umpire wins, because he has far more chances to hose us. Worst umpiring ever.

Last night's game illustrates perfectly how far we have to go. Rookie-type mistakes (Sarfate dropping the ball) and Sherrill's pitch selection/execution are issues for Kranitz to deal with. As for clutch hitting (or lack thereof), remember that MacPhail still has plenty of work to do. And while it's true that they shouldn't have lost the last two games, it's also true that umpiring factored into it, whether it's the questionable call in Ramon's at-bat, or the pitch that Ron Kulpa missed Sunday (Belliard should have been called out on strikes on the pitch before the home run). At least this year's team appears to care.

Lets face it , the O's are a mere shell of a major league team,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,they have been very lucky so far and the fans have been fortunate to see some entertaining baseball,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the pitching is average at best and there aren't any decent infield prospects in the system,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the organization is still run by an egomaniac who thinks he is god's gift to Baltimore , with Peter the Great in charge there are more bad days ahead for the fans....................

Some of you people are ridiculous.

"Sherrill sucks."
"Oh God, here comes the meltdown."
"Here comes the O's of 2007"

Come on. Those two losses were ours to win but our closer is completely empty. He has nothing because he's been overused. Trembley has run a great team so far, but he's not using our closer the right way. Give Sherrill a rest, let Jim Johnson close out a few.

But seriously people, take a chill pill. It's two games. It'll be okay. If you want to blame the loss on someone, blame it on Ramon for the double play and also for that horrible pick off attempt earlier in the game that advanced the runner. Grr he makes me mad.

So when Mariano Rivera has two blown saves in a row, the Yankees should just stop giving him the ball? Or in Papelbon's rookie season, if he went through a rough stretch, they should have just sent him down to the minors?

No. Sherill is tired, but he's still good. Need to get 7 innings out of Liz and 2 out of Cormier tonight and hope it isnt close.

Billy Wagner threw 3 blown saves in a row earlier this year, and the Mets still run him out there...give Sherill a break people. The O's arent going to to lose 90 games this year...to lose 50 out of 80 games would be a stretch with this ball club, especially when rosters expand and a lot more pitchers are brought up.

Well, atleast it took them till July to Melt down this yr, who knows maybe next yr they can play well till August!!
BTW, Note to Sherrill, stop throwing breaking Meatballs to crappy hitters, Belliard was batting a whopping .200 and he jacked a two run Dinger off you. You suck!

Simply put:
We are not a very good team and we are about 10 or 11 players away from being serious contenders. I still love and support this gritty team but we are still in the MIDDLE of rebuilding. We are not even close to worrying about whether or not we have found our closer in Sherrill. He can help the Orioles most by being traded for young guys.

Each and every team in the Majors has lost a 3 game series, and more than half of the teams have had blown saves. "The wheels falling off" and doomsday suggestions are just ridiculous. We were two pitches away from being 5 games over .500 right now. If we had lost the Washington game 10-2, and this game 10-2, would the four horsemen be coming? or would we just call it a slump, two blown saves does not mean the wheels are falling off. Stop over-analyzing.

O's fans are quick to turn... stick up for your boys, people.

As for Sherrill; i like him & i trust him. But Thorne & Buck hit the nail on the head yesterday when they were talking about his IP. He has almost matched his 2006 & 2007 totals already and it is now July 1. We may need to shut him down till the All-Star break. Let JJ close a few; he's deserved a look.

But i still want Sherrill in there come mid-July!

Did anyone else have a feeling that was going to happen, when Sherrill got the first 2 outs? I am sure he will bounce back, but it must be frustrating for the team. I know it has been frustrating for me watching a total 5 hours of baseball on Sunday and Monday, plus suffering through all those annoying Scott Donahue commercials (seriously would consider buying a car from that dealership). Anyway I think Tremley needs to be careful with the bullpen the next few days, they need rest and some stability.

Def. 2 tough losses to watch, but Sherrill will bounce back. The O's have been competitive and entertaining all year and thats all we can ask for and a winning season would be nice. Dont jump ship, they are finally headed in the right direction.

Roch - If the O's have a few more bad losses like this over the next few weeks, do you think that will seriously effect what Mcphail does at the trading deadline? Meaning dumping the Vets for prospects instead of making a run for a winning record?

Hey Roch,

What's the latest on Cintron, ... and who's the next shortstop du jour?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We won't know until later today. My guess is there will be a Freddie Bynum sighting in the clubhouse, but don't hold me to that quite yet. - Roch

These posts remind of the move Major League. In the begining of the year they are awful, then they are great! now they are terrible again.

I think one of the most idiotic things I have ever heard is the idea to "make a run at a winning record". The short term is expendable in order to build for the long term. Do fans actually think we hold onto all our guys and even try to add veterans to get at or above .500?
I went to the O's/Nats game on Friday and I thought I was hearing the most moronic baseball fans in the league there but anyone who thinks we actually stop trading to attempt to reach mediocrity should go buy a Nats cap. You will fit right in.

Jennifer: Good point. I think even before the last two losses, it was apparent Sherrill was running out of steam. You can look at the fact that he has 26 saves before the All-Star break—an impressive total—to see that he’s being overused. All of the save leaders in the 20s and above have prior experience in that role. This is Sherrill’s first year as closer. It’s great what he’s done so far, but someone needs to wake up and see he needs a break before he ends up losing his confidence as a closer or getting injured.

Everyone needs to relax. Roch’s use of the term “meltdown” is appropriate for last night’s game, but applying it to the season isn’t after losing 3 out of 4. In less than a week, it seems that talk has gone from, we’re a Teixeira away from winning the division to we’re no better than a AAA team (I don’t agree with either, but they seem to be the extremes). Sure, if you’ve been following this team for the last 10 years, you’ve been conditioned to expect the team taking a nosedive, but if anything, this year’s team has shown us it is resilient. It’s getting tougher and tougher as the season goes on, particularly with the pitching wearing down, but we should see if they are still capable.

As I’ve thought before, I think the key is how well Trembley and the front office are able to call in pitching reinforcements as needed and work in fresh arms. The club is dealing with a lot of inexperienced pitchers, which means a lot of 5 inning starts and heavy bullpen use, and now Albers, one of their most effective relievers this season, is gone. Perhaps working in Loewen and eventually Bierd will help.

I don't think the sky is falling or this is a return to the last few years teams performance. I understand pitchers go through streaks like anyone else.

But this is why you consider trading Sherrill when his value is high. He doesn't have dominating stuff and can't get away with mistakes because he doesn't throw hard enough.

the southwest commercial is the worst!!!! i can't wait til 4th of july is over.

Again, saves are a really misleading stat. Sherrill's "26" has a lot to do with how (and how much) Trembley uses him. His ERA has been OK, but not spectacular, for someone whose job is supposed to be to consistently mow down three batters.

I wonder if part of the problem, in addition to fatigue, is the fact that he relies on a "deceptive motion". That advantage might be lost after enough hitters have faced him.

Sorry, but BENT WINDY.

Terrible? Far from it. Dropping a couple of games by blown saves statistically happens. Everyone has their hopes us that George Sherrill is the great hope of the O's-not so.
Roch is right in that the way the Royals closed the gap last night was due to some goofs on our part-Sarfate's balk was just dumb-but dumb happens.

I'm not seeing this as the same type of meltdown that has happened mid-season last year. It's a down turn, but I think that they can pick it back up.

Now we know how Houston felt when they were here. Their closer, who had been lights out, melted down on consecutive nights leading to O's victories. The point is this happens. It doesn't mean the end is near, or that Sherrill can't be a closer. Nor is it particularly endemic of the fact that we indeed are in the middle of re-building--far from the end of it. This kind of thing happens to almost everyone. For these two losses, we've had at least as many close calls go our way (last Tuesday in Wrigley for example).

Regardless of the last two games, we probably will end up in last, many game under .500, albeit not the 100+ loss team many predicted. That was (and is) to be expected given where we are. Having the team play interesting, passionate baseball wasn't necessarily. So, I'll take that as a bonus. Meanwhile, Andy, stick to the plan. Make your best deals in July and let's keep moving towards turning the corner in 2010.

No excuse for 0-2 pitch anywhere in strike zone let alone down the middle,but can't overlook Millar's pitiful fielding which meant it wouldn't have been as close. Especially poor was effort on broken bat ground ball that was so slow the ball stopped rolling in the outfield and Roberts,not RF,picked it up. Agree with everyone about umpires. First base calls were both atrocious and in our favor;the 2-1 "strike" to Ramon should have been ball three then he tries to hit next pitch thrown in same spot and gets a DP. Can't afford to lose like last two

2 days in a row a hanging breaking ball w/ 2 strikes has cost us a 43-38 record, instead we have a 41-40 record. Now we are 8 games behind the talented Rays and World Series champion Sox's.

These 2 pitches might not be so bad, because it makes us realize we dont have the talent to compete in the East. Lets focus on unloading Sherril, Walker, Huff, Millar, Payton, Hernandez and Mora. Lets get some talented young players in return and focus on what we have been planning on doing all year. "REBUILDING"

The only way we will compete is taking a book out of the Ray's season. Young arms, good defense, and talent. Sounds like Markakis, Jones, Weiters, Roberts, L Scott Tillman, Liz, Guthrie, D Cabrera, Loewen, Olson, Johnson, and Patton. Lets keep them coming and sooner, rather then later we will have the talent to compete. Good Job McPhail!

To be honest that ninth inning was depressing. When Sherrill came in I believed the game was over. No way Sherrill gives it up again... But the Orioles balked on running scoring opportunities often and Burress failed to get deep into the game again. I agree with roch in that Burress is probably better suited as the long man. I would take 5 innings and one run each time out of the pen from him. The only problem is right now we dont have the starting depth. JJ has settled into his role as a relief man very well and Lowenn wont be back in the rotation this year- I wouldnt push it. We arent going for the postseason this year so just do what makes sense for the future. Trade Sherrill if we get blown away and try to move Payton (good chance), Walker, Bradford, maybe Scott if we get really blown away. I dont know if Scott will be here when we are contending. Plus we have Reimold and Montanez coming thru the system who could be just as good as Scott (but a better fielder).

"e" is for eeeeek

The pitching has been good all year, and it is starting to slip a little bit now. Luckily, Roberts, Markakis are heating up now. Also, Jones has been hitting really well recently, and even Ramon is starting to hit. Hopefully, the offense can make up for the pitching hitting a rough point.

These last two losses have been excrutiating, but you have to stick with Sherrill. He's been a major reason this club has overachieved this year. Until 48 hours ago, everyone had the utmost confidence in him.

Two bad pitches, two bad losses. But does anyone really long for the days of Ray and Baez ensuring no lead was safe?

D. Fisher - settle down, you got pretty fired up there. All i was saying is that i dont think the O's should just dump veterans or rent out players just to grab a few mid-level prospects. They have good chemistry on the team and by trading guys like Sherill or Millar would really hurt that. If they are overwhelmed by an offer with serious young talent, then def. make the deal. If not, play the year out , and make some moves in the off season. and yes, it would be nice to have a winning record for the 1st time in 10 years, but i'll go get my Nats cap anyway.

I think Sherill blew those saves so Payton didnt have to worry about flipping his cap up.

Sherrill doesn't have great stuff? He has 2 bad games - but for the most part deliverd (what part of "26 saves" do you not understand?)...try and see beyond the past 48 hours when you post a comment because you look silly.

Sherrill has been slipping long before the last two games. I think it was the Pittsburgh series where he came in and blew two opps. In the last two weeks, it has been rare for him to come in and close the door quickly without loading the bases and extensive melodrama (Chicago).

I want to be optimistic and maybe this is a bad stretch for George, but when blowing leads or loading bases becomes the norm (as it seems to have been over the last 2-3 weeks), then I start to wonder if we haven't already seen the best of him...

"Until 48 hours ago, everyone had the utmost confidence in him."

I am on record as not having the utmost confidence in him. His K/9 innings, his WHIP and his Fly ball numbers all pointed at someone who wasn't dominant.

Nice player and all but never utmost confidence.

i was almost asleep with my eyes closed listening to sherrill close out the game and i heard the "hit," my eyes popped open right away and i knew it was gone....needless to say the rest of the night i had some nightmares.

Does Loewen come outta the bullpen tonight? We need to get some quality outta you Liz plzy!

I think some people need to relax a bit. It is easy to get caught up in the fact that the last two games were devastating to lose. It is not easy to do as a typical fan, I get caught up sometimes myself, but the reality is that despite Kevin Millar's thoughts that this team can contend, that is simply not the case. Perhaps in the NL West but not in the AL East. Tampa is young, loaded and can pitch and play great defense. They are set up for a decade. Boston and NY have great resources and solid organizations top to bottom. The O's are a long way off from McPhail's stated goal of becoming a perennial contender. That is just a fact.

You can not have a 1989 "Why Not" season when you have Tampa, a defending champ Red Sox team and the Yanks in your own division.

Millar will not be here when we win again, I mean really win. Neither will Huff, or Mora or Hernandez, or Bradford, Walker, Burres, Buckvich, Cintron, or likely even Sherrill. On top of that, I would have thought that more people would realize that Luke Scott is not "young" in baseball terms. He is 30!!!

If you can get a great haul, deal him. If not, after the all star break, deal some veteran that allows the O's to bring Reimold up, stick him in left and move Luke Scott to the DH role, for which he is best served. Eventually the O's need to find out what Reimold can do.

Bottom line O's fans, when the O's next truly find themselves as bonafide contenders, the true veteran old guys on this team will be named Roberts and Guthrie. And even Roberts may not be here.

Enjoy this season. These guys have heart and while I suspect they might come back to earth, I just love the effort they put in. But make no mistake, this team is overachieving and we don't have the starting pitching or defensive range at the key positions to truly be legit.

We'll get there though. We just have to keep focused on the long term.

Let's just enjoy the season and try to keep Toronto in the rear view....

I blame Ramon Hernandez much more then Sherrill. Ramon is awful. He cant hit, catch or call games wirth a darn anymore. Its like and automatic out or dp when he is up. I thought trembley was going to use Quiroz more? He has much more promise and can call a game. Give Sherrill a break, he will be fine. The O's will end up around 500 this year which a huge acomplishment. The sky isnt falling!

Oh nooooo. Freddie's back!

Right before that home run the comment was that Trembley was looking to give Sherrill some time off. And that is probably part of the problem, George is not only closing but has had to come in for the last out or 2 in the 8th. Besides I know he's already beating himself up, no reason to add to it.

I hate to single a guy out but Ramon needs to call a game better and those bad throws/ errors are screwing our defense. Need drills on throwing to 2nd -- on target and on time.

Jeff V, you are right about my "utmost confidence" post from earlier. I definitely wasn't exactly feeling the confidence during that bases loaded situation in the Cubs series. Faith, yeah, utmost confidence, maybe a little too far.