Pete, real quick: what were your parents' names?

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Pete's reply: Damn. You got me again. Can't remember.

Having to name DCab as one of the Os 2 best starters is outright laughable, and tells one all that they need to know about a pitching staff that is one of the worst in baseball. He doesn't pitch, he throws the ball at the plate. He is barely better than he was a few years ago.No matter whether he is walking guys or not, his 5 ERA is just plain silly. I'd ship him and his 'promise' about as far from Baltimore as I could. Trembley deserves a few votes for Mgr of the Year just for being able to sit thru a yrs worth of erratic starts from a starting staff that has regressed, if that was possible. I'd be interested to hear the wonder coach Kranny's take on this fiasco, but I'm sure he has nothing to say less he indict the staff he's been given. Well at least the O's don't have to worry about him and his former Marlin cohort Girardi wrecking a bunch of promising young arms. It took Girardi just one year to all of a sudden become the protector of the youngsters in his current job. Kranny's probably wondering if there is anyone here worth protecting.
If this what bringing in a pitching coach geared to teach and coach up a group of improving youngsters gets you,,,enough already. or if you've decided that a pitching coach really doesn't matter, then give the job to the batboy and save the team a few bucks.

Peter,

The recent posts seem to imply that we may not see any new faces on the Orioles--even in September. Apparently if a player isn't on the 40 man roster, it's unlikely we'll see them this season. I think it's interesting that few of the highly touted minor league players have turned in good seasons: Erbe, Rowell, Beato, Pope, Spoone. Those who evaluate talent within the organization have missed the mark with many players. Thankfully we've seen pretty good performances from the prospects obtained from other organizations. I think at least 3 starters from Bowie look intriguing for next season--although Hernandez may be a little wild. What's your take on the best young prospects?

60-man DL? I knew injuries have been bad but wow...thats a lot of injured people

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Pete's reply: Freudian slip, obviously.

60 MAN disabled list? I know we've had guys hurt, but DAAAAAAAMN that's a lot of guys hurt. I was just hoping he could go on the 60 Day DL. Thanks Pete - just bustin' chops

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Pete's reply: See previous response.

Just got back from the game. Not only did I have to endure "Let's Go Red Sox" chants and "Youuuuuuuk" instead of "Luuuuuuuuuke", I even had to watch Red Sox fans carrying Scott t-shirts that I didn't get, despite arriving an hour before game time. Where were all these Sox fans prior to 2004? Did the Os really need a t-shirt night with the Sox in town? Here's to hoping the "This Is Birdland" theme eventually becomes reality.

It would be easy to talk about how bad D Cab was last night so I am not, but the more pressing problem is that of # 55. Why didn't he run out the grounder in the bottom of the 7th? Why does he constantly overthrow to 2nd base on stolen base attempts? I think it's time to sit this guy out for more than a day because this a joke. Dave, talks about respect for the game and I think Ramon doesn't give a rat's behind, as long as he is making the money.

Pete, in all your years of covering the O's, have you ever seen a catcher make the amount of mistakes that Ramon does? I can't think of one O's catcher that has been this bad.

I remember Buck saying during the 1st year that Ramon was here, how exciting of a two way player he is and he was right, but this drop off for a 31 yr. old who is in the best shape of his career is scary.

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Pete's reply: I don't know what to say about Ramon. He's a talented player, but seems to find a way to look bad a couple times a week. That ball cued off the end of the bat last night, but it's still no excuse. When in doubt, run hard.

It is time for DCab to go. He is actually worse than Ponson if that be told. Look how Sir Sidney is finally gettinh his act together in NY.

When the likes of pitching whizzes like Palmer, Flanagan. Mazzone and Ray Miller have mentored you, and you STILL don't get it, don't occupy a valuable slot on the 40 man roster. If DCab was listening only 10% of the time, he would be strides better than he is now.

Sacrifice him, cut him, I don't care for his antics any longer.

Pete,
Yes, the O's could put Albers on the 60-day DL, and he'd be eligible to come back on 8/26 (since he's been out since 6/26). They could also put Chris Ray on the 60-day DL and he could still come off at any time because he was put on the DL on 3/29, retroactive to 3/21.

However, such moves raise problems AFTER the season as you have to move all of the people from the 60-day DL back to the 40-man roster.

A better move in the long run may be take someone off the 40-man roster completely. Names like Fredy Deza (pitching in Frederick at the age of 26???), Eider Torres, Oscar Salazar and Jeff Fiorentino appear to me to be named that could be lopped off the 40-man roster if need be.

What was the reason for trading Bradford besides a salary dump. Just one more position to fill for next year now. Since trading Bedard McPhail hasn't done a damn thing to improve this club.A state of confusion would be a good day for him.The bullpen has gone from oneof the best to one of the worst with a collection of rag arms who can't throw strikes. If we make Johnson thecloser,there's not one reliable set up man left.

What do you think the Orioles rotation will look like next year? Without a bunch of free agent signings I think it will look the same. None of the Bowie pitchers are ready for the majors, and the Olsen, Liz, Penn group will never be ready. When do we fire Joe Jordan and find someone who can scout and draft talent? Seriously does Garrett Olsen reallt look like a first (sandwich) round pick to you?

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Pete's reply: Not right now, but I never count guys completely out. Look at Jamie Moyer. Took him 10 years to become a good finesse pitcher. Still, they need to sign a pitcher or two in the offseason.

Pete,

Has the coaching staff offered any insight into Cabrera's regression since the start of June? In the first two months of the season, he had nine quality starts in 10 outings and looked like a poor man's Roy Halladay. But his ERA went from 3.14 in May to 7.06 in June, and he's been the same old DCab ever since. What happened?

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Pete's reply: Nobody has ever figured the guy out. Why did you expect these guys to?

Peter,
Since we all knew that Albers was going to be out for more than 60 days, why do they place him in the 15-day DL intead of the 60-day?
I've seen that before but nobody has ever explained it to me.

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Pete's reply: They always start that way for flexibility. It's just a paper move.

I agree with John that McPhail has not done much for the team. If Bergeson is red hot, why bring up Liz (as Palmer hinted at, and McPhail went along with) and take the risk that he will again be shelled?

Bring up Bergeson, see what he can do, and stop teasing the fans.

McPhail has got to give these players a chance, and stop hiding behind the "we're right on schedule" crap. Come on, Angelos, wake up, smell the coffee, and write the checks needed to put the team into contention next year. 11 years of losing seasons is enough, especially for those of us who were used to the Orioles being the team in the American League East