I think that counts. But I wish the runs wouldn't count. Can we just have a free trial of young pitchers like we do with products?

30-day free trial and you can cancel before 30 days expires.

That would be sweet.

Yeah, when Liz was retiring these batters, that is exactly what starting pitching is. My amazement is that Liz cannot continue that for 6 innings. That goes for all of the other starters in the rotation, except for Guthrie.

I just cannot understand why we continue to have this problem whereas other teams are perfectly fine with their youngsters. Ah, woe is me?

Starting pitching is bad for the Orioles these days.

How bad?

SO bad that Sidney Ponson would be an upgrade!

I don't think we can just pull up guys from the Norfolk rotation and replace Liz, Olson and Burress with them. I do think we could move Burress to the bullpen and start Cormier. I also think we could bring up Penn and demote Liz or Olson, but I am not sure Penn will fare much better. I think Liz has better stuff than Olson, so I would keep him up here and live with his struggles. If he is a .500 pitcher at his level of experience, we're lucky. I don't think we gain anything by bringing up any AA guys. If DT is bent on replacing Liz, Olson and Burress all at once, the only other option I see is to start Jim Johnson. That would hurt the bullpen (particularly if Sherrill is traded, making Johnson the best option to close), but JJ has been a started and probably should be at some point in the future. Sarfate has two pitches. No reason to try to force him to start.

Orioles' pitching is bad these days.

How bad?

SO bad that Fernando Cabrera is the good Cabrera. Er, correction! SO bad that there IS no good Cabrera. (Wow, that was a really loud homer for a number eight hitter.)

isn't this exactly what happened last year? AM must be thinking. 'Isn't this where I came in about a year ago? The pitchers can't get anybody out.On the upside Sherril is getting some rest, so doing that extra work in the All Star game hasn't bothered him or the O's at all. Perhaps the AL team can vote him a half share or so.
There is just no way this team competes for anything in the next 3 years unless they go buy themselves a starting pitching staff.
Train wreck.
Ok, odds on a new pitching coach next year? The O's need one that can actually pitch.

Hey! At least tomorrow is Sunday!

'b' is for Better in 2010.

PS Roch, Glad you are feeling better. You do a great job keeping us die-hards informed and entertained. Tough job with this club.

I read with much amusement that Trembley wants to change the rotation.

How about this:

Let them pitch inside without you wondering if they are throwing at somebody, it's part of the game.

Tell them to kick some ass instead of respecting the game, it's hard to get respect with a losing record and a manager that looks like he doesn't care.

Get out of the dugout and back up your players every once in a while, the Ump's have very little "respect" for the O's right now.

And finally, a grown man, a professional pitcher, should be able to throw more than 4 or 5 innings. Let them take an ass whipping to prove the point from time to time.

Mr Macphail,
Please trade!!!
Sherrill- 3 prospects (1 top shortstop-2 pitchers)
Roberts 4 prospects (2-3 pitchers)
Cabrera (1 prospect- 2 tickets to Disney world)
Huff 2-3 prospects (including 3rd baseman)
Payton- 1 so-so prospect/whatever you can get
Millar- the same
This would make for a very excited fan base. The above calculations would net about 12 for 6.
We trust you with those numbers. Perhaps you could get something for Ramon also and turn 7 into 15 new players.
I for one would be very dissapointed if we continue with the current roster.
Just my 2 cents

Melvin Mora gets hit by a pitch with the Orioles down by four and time running out in the game. So what does Luke Scott do? Swings away at the the first pitch and pop out.

Luke, yeah, you hit a home run, but you then got homer happy. Explain to us how you can hit a grand slam with one runner on base. Hmm?

JPA -- You asked me in earlier an earlier post whether I'd been storing up resposes. Actually, yes, just call me Ken Camel. I save 'em up for here because, like my late brother Joe --http://www.cnn.com/US/9706/20/tobacco.history/joe.camel.lg.jpg -- a victim of Smoke Nazis for those too young to remember), I've been banned from commerical outlets.

Well, as tonight's pounding is now official, I guess we need to start the speculation: Who will be the first Oriole to become an ex-Oriole this year? George Sherrill looks to be the most coveted, but (fortunately) Andy MacPhail isn't going to give him away.

Sorry folks -

but we can totally forget Mark Teixeira playing for the Orioles. To replace a whole pitching staff is the equal to signing Mark Teixiera's paycheck.

The pitching coach is not the problem so I do not necessarily think that the he will be gone. I for one fully expected the Orioles to have some of these issues.

I do not know if Olson or Burres is part of the long term solution. Liz could eventually be part of the Bullpen. Most of the starting pitchers for the future are probably still in AA or A ball or not even on the team. I really do not know if there are any solutions this year to fix the starting pitching problem, thus the rebuilding status.

I would gladly admit to being as frustrated as any other Oriole fan, but I believe if McPhail is given the time the Orioles will contend in the future. I would predict that next year will be a more trying year than this year, but if the end result down the road is positive then I am all aboard the McPhail train.

So we are finally here... that rough stretch that I think most of us knew was coming. This is gut-check time for both the players and the fans. It's real easy right now to say everything sucks. Maybe it does, but this is the type of pain a team has to endure before it turns a corner. Right now, somebody has to step up and be a savior on the mound. This is audition time and at least three spots in the rotation are available. So can anyone like Lance Cormier, Hayden Penn, David Hernandez or even Brad Bergesen make the most of the opportunity? I know its gotta be frustrating for all Oriole fans, but at the same time, it's also fascinating to see who will be able to step up.

This is also the time to start peddling the veterans... Huff, Millar, Hernandez, Mora, Payton. Maybe we take a flyer on a starting pitcher who can step in right away as opposed to a blue-chip prospect who is still at the lower levels of the minors.

What's the status on Mora's knee??
Did anyone else hear the loud crack when Mora was hit-by-pitch.
He was replaced at 3rd in the 9th by Castro.

Is Dave Trembley starting to lose focus? Going into the 8th inning tonight the O's trailed by a run, 6-5; in other words, it was still a ballgame. Why didn't Jim Johnson come out in to pitch?

The arguments that he pitched yesterday or that the Orioles didn't have the lead don't up hold for me. Why? Simply because this was a much win game morale wise and should have been managed that way. Trembley elected to roll the dice with Fernando Cabrera, instead of turning to the tried and true Johnson, and by the time F-Cab walked off the mound in the middle of the 9th inning, the score was 11-5, way too much of a margin to expect the O's offense to mount a comeback with only three outs left. Ironically, Brian Robert's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 9th, scoring Ramon Hernadez, would have been the tying run had the bullpen only been able to do its job.

Flanagan will be O's pitching coach next year. Does he count against the 40 man roster if he puts himself in a game. Must be 85% of the time we start out a game in the 1st or 2nd inning behind. Esteban Loaiza is available, isnt garcia available as well. We need to sent a message to these young pitchers. Hey- we can sign the other Estaban to play the guitar to keep the moral up in the dugout

The O's already said that you build pitching through the minor leagues. Look at all the busts on the FA market when it comes to pitching. Hampton, Zito and Pavano come to mind. And lets not forget a player like Silva gets $12 mil a season.

MacPhail rebuilt the Bullpen. Now he has work to do on the rotation. A young 1B or 3B wouldn't hurt. but I guess we wait on the minors.