Wrong Move Wrong Outcome. Couldn't disagree more with you on this one Pete. Keep sticking him out there in the 7th so he can get over this wall of his. These 6 inning pitchers have to become more or this team won't ever get better. Problem is if you look at all the so-called "baby bird" top guns down in the minors they are only pitching in 5 to 6 innings. Does not bode well for the O's over the longhaul.

Pete,

Trembley knows nothing about playing the hot hand. Zaun gets 3 hits Thursday night, breaking out of a season long slump and and who catches the next night, Moeller. He needs to follow his instincts more, that's what makes a good manager. Koji was on today, you, me, and everyone else knew it. Ride your hot hand. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can move chess pieces, but it's about instincts and playing the hot hand.

Brian Roberts played today as if his head was not in the game. I'm not used to seeing that from him. Real disappointing.

No Pete,as usual,on this one we disagree.Walker hasn't gotten lefties out all year.He has a sub 2 era because he's allowed everyone else's runs to score,not his.He's a situational lefty who can't get lefties out.Brian Roberts should have made the play.Roberts is slumping and Izturis is hitting,I would have rested Robeerts.And there was no reason to pull Koji other than the fact that we have a manager who has no clue how to handle a pitching staff,just like the last 3 managers.Slotting relievers,what a joke.I've said it before,and I'll say it again,we will NEVER win with Trembley as manager.Johnson should have been out of the inning,as a matter of fact he should have been brought in to start the inning.What a joke.That's 3 games we've blown for Koji.I guess he will be this years Gutherie.Our fundamental baseball skills suck and that has to go back to the manager at some point.Wigginton,first pitch swinging,double play.I would much rather see Nolan up here at this point.Actually,I thought Wigginton was a much better player than he's shown,but like Freel,more a NL type player.Another series we should have won,down the drain.And then we trade Freel for Joey Gathright?What a joke,I guess the Cubs are the only team we're allowed to trade with now.Totally disgusted with Trembley and his never ending excuses.And McFail and his parade of futility since the Bedard trade.Don't know why Freel,Wigginton and Pie were here in the first place.

Peter - it has seemed to me that for several years, the O's offense has been one marked by massive outbursts in a game, totally overwhelming a team for a game, and then marked offensive effeteness for several games. It's like they don't know how to be consistent - it has been a feast/famine/famine team for several years now.

Wrong, absolutely wrong. Wrong move by Trembley, again. You simply don't pull a pitcher when he's going well unless there is physically something wrong with him. Koji had the Yankess off-balance all afternoon. Cano owns your 38 year old lucky he has a job in Major League Baseball sub 2.0 era Jamie Walker, he was something like 5 for 16 with a home run (now 2) against sub 2.0 (you write that like you believe he's really a sub 2.0 pitcher??). Where are you from Peter Schmuck, cause it in't Baltimore and you don't know pitchers, which is exactly the problem with Trembley, he does not know how to handle them. He has no feel for the game. Sorry, wrong decision (we are lucky to have one pitcher "on" let alone 2,3 or 4 as Trembley likes to run them in there) unfortunately, expected outcome. Stephen J. Holmes, Bel Air, MD 21014

Your right, but when a manager continues to make the same exact decision over and over with mixed results, a fan might want to question his instinct of managing. One can only go to the well so often before the gator beats you there, ever heard the phrase "don't always drive home the same way, at the same time" Opposing teams just sit back and wait because other managers know Trembley is an open book, he's bound to make the same decision 9 times out of 10. Enough said, how about that Mora, "what a has been", picked off at first, in the first, killing the momentum...again, he is with out a doubt the worst at "Keeping his head in the game", talk about inflated ego!

Trembley is a nice guy but has no instincts once so ever. I was praying that I was seeing things when I saw Walker warming up after 6 innings. Put this one in the Dave Trembley loss column. He has blown games for us for years now, I think it might be time for the O's to go in a different direction managerial wise.

Pete,

I'd have to agree to disagree with you. Unless were getting beat by 6 runs, Walker shouldn't even be a consideration. He's not a lefty specialist, he's lefthanded and being paid a lot of money. He wouldn't be on ANY other major league roster. When I see him warming I get sick! Johnson had a rough outing. But to me the positive was Pie! Maybe Lou Montanez has lit a fire under Pie. He seems to be real effective against the fastball but can't handle the breaking stuff. All in all were a work in progress, Koji has been VERY good, just need to get the bullpen to settle down and establish some consistency. Maybe with Hill coming soon, Hendrickson will be effective in the pen as he seems to do well his first 3 innings (first time around). Anxious to get Wieters in the line-up and increasing our chances from the 7 spot. Hey were gonna lose 90-100 games, nit-picking an inferior product will get old soon and would just as soon point out the bright spots! Keep the faith 2011 isn't that far away!

The trained monkey with a calculator strikes again. Fire Dave T and replace him with a manager that accepts the fact that it's OK to expect complete games from starters.

Just because a move doesn't work out doesn't make it "wrong". Walker was the right move and to everyone who wants to "throw Koji out there" in the 7th, the o's seem to be handling his innings and pitch counts as they should he was hurt in 2007, pitched 62 innings in relief and last year 89 2/3's starting. this year he's a mlb rookie in the toughest division in bball. if they want him to stay fresh, stay healthy, and make it through an entire season they need to treat him carefully. since he's been our most effective starter this season it's even a bigger priority. w-l's shouldn't matter this year if it means asking players to overextend themselves.

Last start, people yelled at Trembley for leaving Koji in too long (even he was cruising and his pitch count was far lower). Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Plus, if Roberts throws out the catcher on the infield single in the 7th instead of taking his time like it was a routine grounder, would we be having this conversation? I agree with the person above who suggested his head wasn't in the game. The inning ends and the rest of the game could be very different. The bullpen isn't bad and should've come through today. Johnson was guilty of one bad pitch, but unfortunately, it was a doozy. If we put this loss on Trembley, let's also put it Roberts, Mora, Jones, and everyone else who made boneheaded plays at inopportune times.

Pete. Not you too? Between you and Jim Hunter, there won't be enough orange Kool Aid left for Manfra! Good Lord, what a stupid decision to remove Koji. Dave the Hook has to go. Remember when EBW called Joe Altobelli as a cement head. Well we now have managing the Orioles Son of Cement Head.

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Pete's reply: You know, just because this is an anonymous posting area for some, I still think you ought to try and be fair. The fact that you know, after the fact, that the move didn't work doesn't make you smarter than the guy who made the decision. Sorry, it just doesn't work that way. Trembley has guessed wrong when he took Koji out a couple of times, and he has guessed wrong when he's left him in a couple of times. That tells me that he's playing an impossible hand, not that he's so stupid that he can't guess right one out of four times.

Pete,
I can't agree on the move to go to Walker in the 7th. Koji had only 92 pitches thrown, yet hadn't slowed down, no walks etc...He should have continued. Look at his balls to strike ratio? Let alone, Walker is a lefty specialist who should be used in the 8th against Damon, Texieria or Matsui.

Unless there weren't other pitchers available to pitch this was the wrong call to the pen.

Pete, I highly disagree with you in this instance. I believe that Dave made the wrong move, but it shouldn't have costed the O's the game anyway (if Roberts fields the ball correctly, we may be writing about a win. But I would still be mad about removing Koji). Nevertheless, removing a hot pitcher after the sixth inning betrays everything baseball has traditionally stood for. It's a microcosm of what's wrong with baseball. Trembley removes Koji after the sixth, and in my mind, that's treating your pitcher like a baby -- you're spoon-feeding him. So what if he's had trouble in the seventh inning before? If Koji is to become a better pitcher, Dave has to let him work through his late-game difficulties. And so what if Koji is approaching 100 pitches? Was Steve Carlton ever on a pitch count? Nolan Ryan? Please. Stop treating your pitchers like babies and let them do what a starter in baseball is meant to do: FINISH THE GAME. This whole 100 pitches and "quality start" mentality has, in my mind, poisoned the game. Pete, I would love your thoughts.

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Pete's reply: So you were okay when he left the "hot" pitcher in the last three times to give it up in the seventh? We're playing the hindsight game here. Koji is a Japanese pitcher who pitched a long time in Japan. Dave isn't teaching him how to pitch. He's doing what he has always done, but in a tighter time frame which creates fatigue issues. It looks like he's having trouble maintaining his great command after six innings. Got to take that into account.

Trembley's misuse of the bullpen is going to get him fired. When that happens, let's make sure that bullpen coach Alan Dunn follows him out the door.

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Pete's reply: Don't really see your point on this one.

Walker 2008 vs. left-handed batters: .304

Walker 2009 vs. left-handed-batters: .364

Same old song. Just older.

absolutely the right move however, lets not blame JJ, if Brian Roberts moves like a 30 year old instead of like a 60 year old on that ground ball then the inning is over. This one falls on BR

Stubbornness is a manager's worst enemy (i.e. sticking to the plan because it looks good on paper & sounds good when you talk about it). And the calling card of a truly bad manager is that he knows more about baseball than his critics (ever heard Dusty Baker answer criticism). Baseball is the one sport many of us have played for 10+ years and know as well as "major leaguers" who had more talent. So heed some baseball advice Dave - don't tell us that Robinson Cano vs. Jamie Walker is a good matchup when Cano's hitting style matches up best against lefty pitchers. We can read lifetime averages and understand what they mean. Next time put the pitcher in who has the best lifetime numbers against Cano in and then we can applaud your superior baseball knowledge.

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Pete's reply: Don't get carried away. There's a reason they are doing what they do and you and I are doing what we do. I've been around major league baseball for three decades and I couldn't manage a pony league team.

Enough with the "pitch count" BS. I defy anyone to show me scientific survey that shows some rationale for pulling pitchers at 100 pitches. You mean to tell me that human arms typically fail after an average number of baseball pitches - and it just happens to be the nice fat easily noticed number of 100?? It's just an easy number for thick-headed managers to remember and espouse their wisdom for making a dumb move. All arms and pitchers are different - and even the same pitchers are different game-to-game. A 3/4 fastballer will hold up better than a junk baller, and a side armer or submariner pitcher will hold up better yet. But idiot managers will ALWAYS pull a hot pitcher around 100 pitches for a washed up retread middle reliever, and blow the game. You know what they say, the sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Pete,

I love your stuff and Dave Trembly might be a wonderful human being, but having played, managed and umpired his gut feeling for handling pitchers is very poor. We don't have ANY lights out guys, no Johan Santana, no Grienke, no Papalbon so you run with the hot hand. Koji is the closest thing we have to a good pitcher and has been more consistant than ANY pitcher, starter or reliever on the staff. Since he only pitches one in 5 days and knowing we have nothing better in the pen and having walked no one, he starts the 7th it is his game to lose not a lousy inconsistent bullpen. I'm sorry, we can't continue to make excuses for mistakes, Pie has no hits and we want to send him back, pulling a guy going well, is a bigger mistake. The Manager has got to know what he has left and what he has in the pen. So far this year the pen has done nothing to justify any trust by Dave Trembley and I don't know why he would lean on them any sooner in a game than absoutely necessary. With his bullpen, there is NO book, just a lot of prayers they don't screw up. Yeah, BROB should have made the play, but thats part of the game and happens from time to time. This is all about accountability for everyone. Sports bloggers too!

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Pete's reply: Keith, he did just what you suggested the last three times with Koji and it turned out to be the wrong move each time. And, wasn't it you who wrote in after the last one and said that Dave is a "solid" manager who was hamstrung by inferior talent?

I do think it's the right move but only if you let Koji go out there for the seventh and someone gets on. What's the hurt in letting him try. He doesn't get an out, then hand it to the pen.

I am still upset over this game, but the decision to remove Koji was the right one, but the fault goes to Roberts. I love Brian just as much as the next fan does, but he hasn't been great in the field this year. Tough play, but HE should have made it.

Pete, usually we argee but this time you got it all wrong. Trembly blew this game... no one else.

Do you know why situational pitching works!?!? Answer: It is because "situational pitchers" are also "good pitchers" meaning that it doesnt matter what situation these guys are put in... they find a way to get the job done and it certainly doesnt matter if the batter is a righty or lefty. They just suck it up, and make good pitches. The Orioles do not have those guys right now. And honestly... Jamie Walker has not been good since he has been an Oriole.

The truth is Koji is the only guy who could have sucked it up and gotten the job done yesturday... and Trembly blew it.

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Pete's reply: You missed my point. I don't know if Koji would have been better or not. What I do know is that he's not built to be a seven or eight-inning pitcher. This isn't some young guy you are stretching out. He's a guy with a long track record who has never pitched on this kind of schedule before. Despite the emotion of the moment, you don't grind him up to get one game against the Yankees and disregard the need to keep him healthy and strong all year. Fans and ridiculously intelligent and good-looking bloggers don't have to worry about that, but the manager does.

Johnson has been the Orioles best reliever. Trembley was right to leave him in. He went w/his best and it didn't work out, that's all.

I TOTALLY agree that the 100 pitch limit B.S. is ruining the game.

It's getting even worse it seems.... a few years ago they'd pull pitchers because they'd reached 100 pitches. Now you see more guys getting pulled because they're in the upper 80s, and might not make it thru another inning without surpassing 100. Enough already!!! Guys used to have 20+ complete games with regularity (and in a 4 man rotation no less!). You can't tell me that they were any more susceptible to injury than the endless parade of Loewens and Ainsworths who blew their arms out even while being babied.

I don't get it. Athletes today are bigger, faster with much better training available to them as they come through but they can't pitch more than 100 pitches. Everyone is worried about injury and yet it seems like every pitching prospect the Orioles bring along hurts their arm anyway. I wonder sometimes if they don't throw enough.

Pete's reply: Keith, he did just what you suggested the last three times with Koji and it turned out to be the wrong move each time. And, wasn't it you who wrote in after the last one and said that Dave is a "solid" manager who was hamstrung by inferior talent?
Absolutely correct, I couldn't have said it better myself. oh I did! I believe the point I've made on here several times, there is no go to guy in our pen! There can NOT be a preplanned arrangement for this guy or that guy because they have all been inconsistent, so you go with the hot guy if you find him that night, and last night it was Koji, Let him dig his own hole versus turning it over REPEATEDLY to the same bunch of chumps to give games away, and when you do roll one of them out there and he is going well, bring him back for a second inning! Dave has very little talent to work with and most of his options are horrid, BUT when a guy is on a roll, let him roll on!

Dave seems like a real down to earth guy, a nice guy and the world needs more really nice guys, but Dave needs to kick a little butt, and if a starter doesn't make it to the 5th he needs to put them in the pen and be prepared to pitch on days 2 & 3 after their start out of the pen! Until the bullpen starts producing, go with the hot hand!