Oh Lord, I got me the Hesitation Blues.

What in God's name was that bunt in the 9th all about? How can you give up an out with one of your hottest hitters at the plate and Markakis and Huff to follow?

And what was the sense of pinch running Bynum for Scott? Scott's run was moot, and who plays left if we tie the game?

Trembley is really getting on my nerves.

Yeah, this was one of the games we should have won. Rogers was throwing balloons out there and again, shodding baserunning cost us. Olsen wasn't too sharp either but he managed to go 6. The key AB was Inge. Getting behind the #9 hitter and then coming down the pipe on 3-2 was it. Olsen hasn't really shown much control, which is inviting disaster if you are a soft-tosser and facing a pile of veteran right-handed hitters. Even over-the-hill Sheffield went deep.
I suppose it's another learning experience for a young pitcher and a painful 2nd half loss. A quick look at the schedule shows we'll likely be 10 under by the end of July and the inevitable fire sale will unfold. The positive side of this is that we will be facing many contenders so they can see what's on the market. As far as not dealing within the AL East, why not?

I have a questions for anyone that was at the game tonight: did B-Rob cross home plate before Millar was tagged out on the game's last play? If no, did B-Rob go balls to the wall to score? There is no reason that Millar was tagged out before Roberts scored and if that happened, then it should have been a tie game and gone into extra innings. Completely irresponsible of the game announcers to not bring this up. Either Roberts dogged it or the ump blew the call, which was it?

R is for Robbed of Extra Innings (one way or the other)

Roch,
I was at the Baysox's game tonight to see Weiters play. He clearly towers over most of the players in size and talent. The kid has a great eye for the strike zone. Unfortunately....he doesnt seem to fan friendly to the kids. I was really dissapointed in that aspect along with a bunch of other parents and kids. I sense a level of arrogance that was not present with the other players....hopefully that doesnt progress along with his rise int he system. Dont ever forget what it is like to be a fan I heard one parent yell to him. One other thing I noticed, why is Montanez not being looked at...the kid can flat out hit.

In the second game, can you find out why they took Romme off the mound in the 3rd inning when he was throwing good. He was noticably upset at Komminsk as he walked to the dugout?

I love having Markakis and Mora on the team....until they become base runners! These guys (all players) make a decision to swing their bats in 4 tenths of second but can't decide whether to advance or stay put! I'm surprised Trembley has any hair left! ALSO, isn't Adam Jones supposed to be a speedster? That bunt in the 9th, was he carrying Ramon's lucky piano in his back pocket? Seems like now would be a good time for Dave to do his Lou Pinella impression, lord knows I did here in Smellaware I mean Delaware.

Roch,did anyone ask him if he thought about letting jones hit in the ninth rather than giving away his at bat? Or in the 78000 games he managed in the minors he always had the poor guy bunt...Ahhh I guess a team that can't run the bases isn't too worried about making senseless outs. Sorry for asking.

Bad decision making on the play by Melvin and the throw definitely beat him, but I swear his foot crossed the plate before he was tagged. KInd of like Navarro in the 11th of the All Star game. And then Fahey beat the throw to first but was called out to end that inning. Two missed calls there.

Roch, it's Jason Berken at Bowie, not Jason Berkman. Just wanted to let you know as a Baysox fan. But the minor league updates are awesome. Can you let us know when the O's are rehabbing at any of the affiliates? I was at the Keys game last night and had no idea Walker was around. It would've been cool to know.

Roch, it's Jason Berken at Bowie, not Jason Berkman. Just wanted to let you know as a Baysox fan. But the minor league updates are awesome. Can you let us know when the O's are rehabbing at any of the affiliates? I was at the Keys game last night and had no idea Walker was around. It would've been cool to know.
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Yeah, I corrected it. Thanks. Was in a rush and messed up. - Roch

I don't believe we have anyone with the title of baserunning coach. We do have base coaches, which seems to be a colossal waste because the players don't pay any attention to them.

On Mora's play, though it may seem somewhat Little Leagueish, I'm pretty sure Juan Samuel would have been yelling "Go" as soon as contact was made. As Trembley said, "it's just basic baseball" to run in that situation. I saw the play when it happened and in the next inning was listening to the radio. Fred Manfra said "What was he thinking?" Dave Johnson answered by saying "he wasn't".

Later when Ramon went from first to third, apparently somewhat awkwardly, Dave Johnson said he never once looked at his 3rd base coach. Then he gets thrown out at home in a situation in which he shouldn't have been running. I certainly hope that Samuel was screaming "stay" on that ball.

Ramon and Melvin are two of our most veteran guys. Melvin's mistake should never, never, never, ever happen. There is no excuse. Ramon's the same. Markakis . . . . just a poor decision. You could ask why was he not on 2nd base in the ninth on Aubrey's sac fly? He would have made it and he was the winning run.

All of these one run losses and the baserunning is just killing this team. Trembley's deal is respect the game. Making common sense, time-honored decisions on the basepaths, corectly, is respecting the game. He needs to start levying fines. Major fines. The fact is these guys don't care. They need to get their collective heads out of their butts and focus.

Dempsey said this last year and he said it again tonight, "Earl Weaver would have been waiting on the top step of the dugout for a player making those kinds of mistakes". There's nothing wrong with calling out a player who continues to make the same bone-headed plays over and over. There's nothing wrong with fines or sitting on the bench a while til you get your focus back. Does Trembley respect the game enough to take the steps to correct this teams horrendous baserunning?

I have respected Trembley's decisions most of the time, but can anyone figure out why in (censored) he didn't use Guthrie to start the 2nd half of the season? He's clearly the best starter on the team and he is fully rested (last pitched a week ago!) Rotating your 5 starters equally isn't democratic--it is plain stupid. Your best starter should pitch WHENEVER HE IS RESTED, regardless of whether your other starters have to rest an extra day.

I think you meant Jason Berken. I know it's a typo...no harm done.
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I did, and thanks. Was in a rush. Hope the poor kid didn't see it! - Roch

Roch,Speaking of when it's first and third and nobody is out...  Isn't it also basic baseball for a professional hitter like Payton to push the ball to the right side, instead of him pulling it (causing the run-down)?  He can do it as the next two times up at the plate, against the same pitcher, were hit on the right side. His job was to get the run in, and he didn't approach it professionally!  I hope that is also discussed, if the Orioles want to start winning, again.Leo

Three words:

Baserunning for Dummies!

Three words:

Baserunning for Dummies!

I don't know how Trembley maintains his sanity watching these idiots get picked off and run themselves into outs every night. This is costing us ballgames. Somebody do SOMETHING!!!!

Melvin Mora has some of the worst baseball instincts out there, and I'm not just basing that off of last night's gaffe.

If the Warehouse is interested, I'm available to become the O's baserunning coach. I was a scourge in the Northwood Little League, and now that I'm semi-retired,I can probably come to the Yard two days a week. Please tell them to call my agent,Scott.

At least the O's have perfect timing to start their swoon just in time for the start of Ravens Training Camp. Way to be consistent guys!

Inferior ballplayers. The lot of them (MLB). These baserunning fiascos and defensive blowups are all indicative of a league-wide emphasis on HITTING-ONLY, all at the expense of everything else in the game.

So while these guys are overall better hitters than yesteryear (with the exception of the ability to bunt), they are IMO inferior intellectually and thus performance-wise in every other part of the game.

Because baserunning and fielding don't earn you the big dollars. They do, of course, win you championships or put you in the division cellar. But now that doesn't feed the ego and wallet, does it?

Why didnt Hernandez try to blow Pudge up at the play at home?? I guess Trembley is saying you turn around & get yourself in a run down to allow the other runners to advance. I think thats BS, put your head down & drill the SOB. THere is nothing wrong with a little country hardball. This team still lacks that killer instinct. Hernandez is fat, slow, poor defensively and seems uninterested in being on the field. I really hope they find a way to get rid of him.

Rob...It does not matter if Roberts touched home before Millar was tagged out. It was a force out, regardless of the tag and runs do not count at any time if the third out is a force.

Do the Orioles have a form of the "Kangaroo Court" in the clubhouse? If so, there are a lot of players out some money over the baserunning and mental error blunders these days.

easywriter01: Jay Payton was playing LF last night. Scott pinch hit for Fahey and Bynum would've played SS in the 10th. All Scott was going to do was hit so you might as well put the faster runner on the bases.

Rob: It didn't matter if B-Rob crossed the plate before Millar was out at first. If the batter doesn't reach or if any force out (it didn't matter that he was tagged instead--it was still a runner that had to advance) is made for the last out then the run wouldn't count.

EasyWriter:
I am not a big fan of the sac bunt but in this position you have one of your top base hit guys coming up so you put both runners into scoring position.
Rob:
Trembley is a top notch 'in-game' manager. Putting a fast guy as the lead runner is needed to allow Roberts to try to take an extra base without a slower guy getting in his way. It was textbook baseball substitution.

I was angry they did not win a game they had every chance to win but maybe it will push the trades to start.

easywriter01 asked:

"And what was the sense of pinch running Bynum for Scott? Scott's run was moot, and who plays left if we tie the game?"

Payton would have played left, like he had been doing the whole game. Scott was pinch-hitting for Fahey, so Bynum would go in at short. Unless you wanted Scott to play short. Probably couldn't be any worse than Bynum.

If Trembley truly means what he says, either Nick or Melvin need to sit down tonight to make a point that boneheaded baseball won't fly.

Roch - Any updates on the signing of draft choices? I noted that the Orioles have not signed 4 of their top 10 choices including #5 who happens to be a shortstop. I would be nice to get #1 signed ASAP so he can get some professional experience this year. August 15th is about 4 weeks away so the signing effort needs to be stepped up,

Know why squirrels get hit by cars? Because they get halfway across the road, suddenly see a car & hesitate "should I keep running across or go back?" That hesitation gets them tagged out.

I'd rather have a guy stay put on 3rd when there is 0 or 1 out than make a bad run of it.

And these bad calls are becoming epidemic. Umps are human, humans make errors. It just seems to be getting worse, affecting more games than just ours. Even affected the All Star game.

I love having Markakis and Mora on the team....until they become base runners! These guys (all players) make a decision to swing their bats in 4 tenths of second but can't decide whether to advance or stay put! I'm surprised Trembley has any hair left! -

Excellent post Rick, I can't believe the baserunning mistakes that these guys make. I've seen little leaguers make better decisions.

Markakis and Mora both Favred - couldn't make up their minds

Roberts 2b
Jones Cf
Markakis Rf
Texeira 1b
Wieters C

How good does that look??

C'mon Andy 4 more pieces of the offense to go.

Roch, in these post-game news conferences does anyone ask Trembley about teaching fundamentals? Isn't Trembley supposed to be a big "fundamental" guys? How come the O's have been making way too many mental mistakes all year long? Anyone ever actually ask Trembley these types of questions?

I think they should have traded some of those baserunning blunders for some draft picks!

I wasn't at the game, nor did MASN show the baserunners, but my thought on Markakis not going to second on Huff's 9th inning sac fly was this. It's a ball near the fence - if it goes off the wall, Roberts still scores easily from second if he's waiting at the bag to tag up in case it's caught. If Markakis goes halfway to 2nd, he takes off if Granderson doesn't track down that ball and likely scores the winning run. If Markakis is waiting on first to tag up, he'd only get to third if the ball dropped. But watching TV, I never saw where Nick was at any point in the sequence.

Does anyone know where I can find the projected starting pitchers for the baysox?

I'd like to attend an upcoming game where Tillman's pitching, but I can't determine it from the baysox website.

I think the O's should have at least tried to make the same deal with the Phillies that the A's got for Blanton. I bet that they would have convinced the Phillies that Cabrera would be worth every bit as much as Blanton going down the stretch- if not more, beaning maybe we would have gotten a fourth prospect.

Don't get me wrong, I think D-CAB has turned the corner and is a # 2or 3 pitcher on most rotations, but ESPN ranked two of the 3 prospects in Philly's top 5, including the 2B Cardenas, who looks to have the makeup of a decent leadoff hitter (avg/speed) albeit at single A Clearwater. This would have significantly added to the rebuilding process, and frankly given the O's viable options at 2B if B-Rob chooses to sign elsewhere after his contract is up.

Go here guys, Fox Sports , & vote for the Biggest ML jerk of the year....funny stories on all the "top 10" contestants. I had a hard time between StrayRod , Clemens, & Bonds.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8355922/#4

Stay with your first decision? This man obviously hasn’t met some of the women I’ve dated.

Roch, I think Trembley is referring to decisions made with the head on one's shoulders ....

Is the ending of the blogs recently being the phrase...down on the farm, sort of like, meanwhile, back on the ranch....

Hey Clint, I'm not sure those 5 could cover the entire field.

2 penalties I would have as manager:

1.If a pitcher does not get a strike with the first pitch to a batter he pays $25 to the team. If he goes 2-0 on any batter he has to punch himself in the nuts.

2.If a pitcher walks a batter his car gets towed from the players' parking lot immediately.

The number of hitter's counts drives me crazy. I expect to see Kranitz on the bottle during some of these games.

The only other rule I would create is that any fan who sees me at the game without a beer must buy me one. Miller Lite will do. They are only $10, for crying out loud, take that padlock off your wallet.

Are the base coaches involved in
the player advancing when a steal
happens or are they on their own.

Hey Roch, ever hear any word why we do not see Luis Montanez move up to AAA? By the looks of his stats he has earned a promotion and who do we have a Norfolk that is blocking that from happening, doesn't look like anyone should be?

This may be a stupid question, but I know you have all heard that the only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask RIIIIIGHT.
The bases are loaded, there is a ground ball to third and a bad throw to first resulting in a tag play for the last out. If the man on 3rd (Brian Roberts) crossed home before the tag at first, should the run count?

Easywriter, I disagree on both of your points. You put two guys in scoring position with your two best hitters coming up if you sacrifice. And, but for a great play by Todd Jones, he would have beat the bunt out to load the bases. Sure there's a 28% chance he gets a hit, but if he grounds into a double play the rally is over. If he strikes out, it's well on its way. There's probably more of a chance that he strikes out or gets doubled up (indeed he has struck out in nearly a quarter of his plate appearances this year).

Running Bynum for Scott was a no-brainer. Bynum had to come into the game for Fahey (for whom Scott pinch hit) anyway.

Kirk - Two weeks ago I attended a Baysox game at Harrisburg. We got there early and Wieters was the only one who signed. Last night being a double-header and knowing he was going to play both games may have had something to with his unwillingness to sign.

Just because the guy was tagged out running to first doesn't convert a force play into a tag play. It's a "force" if the runner must go to the base, as is always the case with the hitter running to first. So, when Roberts crossed the plate made no difference.

Patio - You can find th Baysox phone number on their website. Call it. They cantell you what the rotation is, or at the very least who's pitching that night. Tillman's turn comes up soon.

I know it won't happen, but I'd like to see the O's make a trade for Matt Holliday. To me that would be a good movement towards rebuilding. He's still young, imagine an outfield with Holliday, Jones, and Markakis. I don't know what we'd have to give up, but wow that'd be great. Oh well, clearly that's fantasy.