Good Luck!!!!

I hope you make enough to bring home a starting pitcher :)

People may laugh, but I honestly think we could contend for the wild card spot in the playoffs.

koji throws only 76 pitches and he's done. last night the teperature here was 74 instead of the expected 90 because of rain all day and no sun. 6 inn.-76 pitches. he pitched well but should have been able to go deeper in the game. he is better suited for the bullpen. good luck in a.c.

HITTERS hitting .330 against Koji 3rd time through the order. Its fun to watch him change speeds, but it seems all his pitches are straight. Def better suited for the bullpen, however in a patchwork rotation, he's gotta start right now...and be able to throw more than 76 pitches.

Pete, keep this Collective Soul tune in your head "Where The River Flows"

You have minions? That's sweet, I want minions.

I wish people would stop with the repeat posts.

I wish people would stop with the repeat posts.

I wish people would stop with the repeat posts.

I guess one of your electronic minions doesn't have a filter to block repeat posts. I wonder if it blocks profanities. Hmmmm...

It would be awesome if people would hit post only once and realize there is a delay, I repeat lol you only need to hit post ONCE.

What a great game last night even if we were on the losing end. If anyone wants to question the heart of this team, you only have to look back to these series after the west coast trip.

They don't quit.

PUT IT ALL ON LUCKY DAN

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Can't T-Bone control his baserunners coming around first base? It's hard for me to imagine he was shouting at WiggingTON to try for second in that situation.

The O's coaches seem to have about as much influence over the players as Governor Sanford's handlers have over his travel schedule.

Jess, that is not a first base coaches call - when the play is in front of the baserunner, it's on him to make the correct call...so first to 3rd and the ball in right field sometimes it's the call of the 3rd base coach (some runners do not look for them however)...the 3rd base coach therefore makes all the calls going home as the ball is always behind the runner. the first base coach helps on pick-offs and reminders "make sure the line drive goes through" - and that one is a real pet peave of mine because the runners usually do not make sure the ball gets throgh and are often double off. even on line drives to the left side of the infield. So Samuel is in no way responsible for that...it's all on the runner.

Pete,
I would be surprised to see any Oriole traded before July 31st except Pie and/or Baez. I think the current team could be a .500+ team by season's end.

Only play Ace-Jack or better / any pocket pair until 75% of the field is thinned.

Try to win one big pot per hour.

Don't three-bet (re-raise before the flop) the big stack without pocket jacks or better.

Most importantly, do not order the fish sandwich from the hotel restaurant.

Why Michael, what's wrong with the fish sandwich?

In any event, given Pete's taste for cheeseburgers I doubt he'd gravitate to the fish sandwich no matter how good or bad.

Pete,

By moving Huff to 1B instead of DH, won't Huff probably be a Type B free agent vice Type A? If Huff is a Type B (sandwhich pick), then I say a trade will yield better results. I still have a hard time believing he will re-sign. If Huff will be a Type A (two draft picks), then lets keep him, offer arbitration, and see what happens.

Does Koji Uehara's translator know the english word for seven or eight (as in innings)?

Huff's Elias Player Ranking at the end of the year is in the DH/1B/OF category. So it really doesn't matter whether Huff is a 1Bman or DH. They group all players in the AL that were a 1Bman, OF'er and DH. Huff just needs to match or excel what he did in 2007 to help maintain his Type A ranking. Rankings are based on 2 years, so this year it will be for the years 2009 and 2008.

Uh, arbitration for Huff?

That might've worked 4 years ago.

Pete- May good luck follow you to Atlantic City =)

I am really disappointed in Mora , he is one of my favorite O's ever since they acquired him from Mets in 2000 Purge . He hit .340 one year , represented us in All Star games , he didnt complain when they moving him around from OF to 3B . Four years ago , he signed contract with O's when he could have tested Free Agency . He has never been on winning O's team yet he really connected with Baltimore community .
Which is why its not easy watching Mora struggling at the plate . This is the final contract year ( tho O's do hold an option ) . His glove work is great , but STILL he better wake up his bat before year is up . Otherwise we will be reading about Wiggy or Huff being the O's 3B for 2010 . Some of you demanded Mora to be traded , sorry but he has no trade clause in his contract.

"Uh, arbitration for Huff?

That might've worked 4 years ago."

Wrong arbitration. Any player that is a free agent at the end of the year. Teams can offer him arbitration to try and keep him. If he doesn't accept and signs with another team, than depending on whether he's a Type A or B free agent. The losing team will get draft pick(s) in the June First Year Draft of next year.

Good explanation of the arbitration and draft pick compensation rules, Mark. The real question is whether Huff would refuse arbitration. I think he might very well accept, and force the O's to pay him $8-$10 mil on a one year deal, rather than sign a 3 year, $18 mil deal somewhere else. The A's are going to face this dilemma with Matt Holliday. They certainly don't want to end up paying him $14 mil next year, but to get the draft picks that Billy Beane so covets, they're going to have to risk it.

Ah yes. I apologize for not recognizing that arbitration.

That said, I see no way Huff accepts it unless he feels he can't get any offers from around the league. And assuming he puts another decent year, he's gonna get offers.

I believe the Orioles will make a legit offer to him and not arbitration.

Pete,

I don't understand this trade with the Indians. 27 year old first baseman? I may be wrong, but isn't Brandon Snyder younger, with better numbers? I don't understand the idea behind this, I guess maybe organizational depth?

the omen of losing last nights game is bad for tonights game. It seems that they are not hitting again. Unless the late game heroics happen.

I believe that last nights game played out wrong when Andino missed the play at second base. If he gets the out then Baez does not pitch down the middle to H. Ramirez. Maybe walks him and goes after the next batter and it is only a one run game.

Mora is not a great third baseman, never was.He makes some nice plays, yes, but for the most part his bat covered his glove.
This year because he's hitting like a shortstop, some folks marvel at his glove. If Mora is not hitting like a corner infielder, then the O's have another hole in the lineup. The way Mora fields, just get a bat in the lineup and don't worry about the glove. Make a trade.Somebody probably has a third baseman buried or stowed away in the minors. Or play Wiggy. Or maybe do the honorable thing and let the guy play out the string. He can slip away quietly at the end of the year. Like a good soldier.

I think if someone makes you a decent offer for Scott, you pull the trigger. He's living up to his rep as a streaky hitter.It opens up some time for Pie, they can move Huff to DH, and so what, play Wiggy at first for a while.
Berken pitched ok tonite, without the gold glovers error, he might have gone a clean 5.
I think we're watching hendrickson pitch himself off the team.He's plain awful, and you gotta have someone in the minors as good or as bad as him-take your choice.

Bunt.Ohno

Are you kidding me?

Bunting in the 7th inning on the road down by one run?

That's just plain dumb.

And Andino has been pretty good with the bat.

I can not wait for a change at the helm.

Pete, do the players get ticked off when they see poor managing like this?

What other manager would haqve bunted in that situation.

As Weaver said "you only get 27 of them". You do not play for a tie in the 7th inning!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arrrgggghhhh!!!!!!

Yay Bill!
Soon to be beat down by the Bunting Is The Answer crowd.
You are a brave man...

In the top of the sixth inning, Nolan Reimold pinch hit for Jason Berken. Luke Scott made the last out of the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, Mark Hendrickson came on in relief.

Shouldn't Dave Trembley gone to the home plate umpire and reported Hendrickson in for Scott, thus allowing Reimold to play left field and keep the pitcher's at bat from coming up until nine batters later?

Am I wrong or is this beyond Trembley?

Sometimes i try to figure out how this team can be 6-10 games under 500. Then I watch the last 2 games and it all becomes pretty clear.
When's the last time an Oriole scored from first on an attempted steal of second and a catcher error? Can you make this stuff up.
Fundamentally unsound.
I'm not a DT basher, but they will never win playing this kind of baseball.

We need to get rid of this excuse for a ballplayer, Felix Pie. I don't know if we can throw him back in the minors, but we need to get rid of him and bring up Joey Gathright. If it's possible to get him down there, we should leave him down there since it seems that's the only place he produces. Two hits don't make up for that run he gave up.

OK, I have now officially seen enough of Felix "Bonehead" Pie. He gets tonight's Head Not in Game Award. I know they needed to rest Adam Jones, but I'd rather see Reimold out there than Pie.

Has Matty thrown anyone out yet?
Is Greggy working with him?

oh, beyond Trembley, sorry for the late reply

I'd rather see Jay Gibbons in the OF right now instead of Felix Pie. Pie is not apparently capable of running down a fly ball or throwing the ball back to the infield. Luke Scott showed more effort on one play tonight, than Pie did all game. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE keep Pie on the bench until he's knocked off the roster by Lou Montanez.

I just don't see the comeback tonight...Or I am not being optimistic enough?

Are they playing tonight?
Oh, a wild pitch.
Is there anything left to do?
Hey, somebody get thrown out going from first to third. That should do the trick...

I'd love to hear a scout's take on the Orioles

I am getting frustrated with the hitters around mora...He is actually hitting respectably. (275 is not bad and 2 for 4 is ok). What is not good is luke scott throwing out the 0 for 4 and the hitters in front of him doing the same. Markakis needs to get his head back into the game as does jones and huff. Without them setting the table it is difficult for the rest of the team.

The pie experiment has truly turned into a pie in the face for the O's. Let's hope he goes when Lou comes back. At best, he's a AAA player.

Still laughing over Peter's comment that Trembley managed his butt off last night.The last two games have once again proved that Trembley is overmatched in close games,hence our record in one run games.The play by Pie was a bonehead play,Weiters has to throw that quickly because the pitcher didn't even look at first base with one of the fastest players on either league just itching to run.Luke Scott is a mediocre outfielder at best as has been proven time after time,he could have caught that pop up,hardly ever see him dive.Melvin Mora should have been playing the line in the 8th inning.The next inning Bonofacio was playingthe line,Melvin hits the same kind of ball,and he knocks it down ,keeps it in front of him and throws the runner out.I watched 2 very similar teams play tonight and the difference in both games is managerial style.You wasteReimold,and Jones and Salazar and then have no right handed batters but Wigginton and zaun against a lefty and don' use them.The Pie experiment needs to be over.At least Gathright has had major league sucess,is a nuch better outfielder and baserunner,and I say it's time to move on.Trade Wigginton,play Salazar more,especially against lefties,because Lukes average againstthem is brutal.For all you people who think we've turned the corner welcome to reality.This one one of the poorest coached,least disciplined teams in either league and it's cost us at least 10 =15 games this year.By the way,as a side note,I guess the thought that Joe Torre can't manage anymore was a bit premature ,huh.Nice move,Skankees.

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Pete's reply: I'm not going to bother with this kind of stuff anymore. The notion that you can go back to Tuesday night, deconstruct the game, and second-guess every move by the manager, based on the insane notion that if he had done something the way you say he should have -- all the other things would have happened the same way for the next several innings and the Orioles would have won. It doesn't work that way. The Orioles got five straight singles with two outs in the ninth. The same hitters would not have come up if -- as one poster put it -- he had handled Reimold differently. Jeez, this is getting really tiresome. I'm sorry the Orioles are screwing up your World Series plans, but you should have read the fine print at the beginning of the season.

Looks like Koji won't be making his next start.Time for him to move to the bullpen.76 pitched,6 innings and he's fatigued?But SuperDave says there's no thought of taking him out of the rotation,even though they pulled Hernandez out of the game after 40 some pitches,with no injury.Sure makes me wonder,am I the only one who thinks Koji is better suited for the pen and Hendrickson gone or Baez traded?

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Pete's reply: I don't know about that. I'm not sure these issues go away if he goes to the bullpen.

About the dumb fundamental mistakes, Trembley said "that's not what we're all about." Sadly, he's wrong. It's been that way all year. These guys learned this stuff from HS all the way through to MLB. OF: after you get the ball, throw it in to the infield. C: don't bother trying to throw out a speedy runner after you've had to fish around in the dirt for the ball. Baserunners: keep track of where the ball is. Stuff like that. I honestly do not know what a manager or coaching staff can do to help the players focus on the fundamentals, but most teams do it and this one doesn't. Sad.

It'd be nice to get to .500 this year, but we probably won't make it. We're not the 3-10 team that we started the month out as, nor the 7-3 team we've been since. This is a rebuilding year and we'll likely end up giving the guys down on the farm quite a few opportunities to get their feet wet after the All-Star break.

It'd be great to finish the last half above .500 with a couple strong performances by Hernandez (who might get called up to replace Koji on Sunday) and Tillman and for Bergy to keep doing what he's doing. Until then, Trembley should shuffle the lineup. We're getting our DH back so it's less a question of who to leave out, than where to bat everyone. Move a few people around so that it seems like all the attention is being placed on one player. Trembley makes performance-based decisions on how the players have done the past 10 games. Based on that, the lineup should look like this (stats from past 10 days):

Roberts S .341 BA 11 RBI
Mora R .351 BA 3 RBI
Wieters S .316 BA 6 RBI
Huff L .310 BA 8 RBI
Reimold R .296 BA 1 RBI
Markakis L .275 BA 5 RBI
Jones R .195 BA 6 RBI
Scott L .235 BA 2 RBI
Andino L .235 BA 4 RBI

I think Matt's a big enough boy to handle the 3-spot. Despite their current BA, Jones and Scott really haven't been doing that well and I think it'd be better to have them towards the back of the order, where they can work things out without the responsibility of the front end. Trembley should make it known that he's just shaking things up before the All-Star break, and that things will be re-assessed after Sherrill gets back from blowing out his arm for the second consecutive year.

We're not hurting Adam's chances at becoming an All-Star by placing him in the 7-hole. The best he'd be is a replacement, which would be decided by Maddon and is usually reserved for players that deserved the spot but weren't voted in by the popular vote. They should also be playing very well up to the All-Star game, which Adam clearly has not been doing. Thoughts on the lineup....?

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Pete's reply: My only thought is that I wouldn't do that. No offense, but this isn't a contending team in a slump that needs a shakeup. This is a team building toward the future, so you take your time with Wieters and you don't start playing with Adam Jones' head. I know they're having offensive problems, but during those 10 games, they have won seven.

Pete,as always,you seem to have a particular ax to grind with me because I don't care for Trembley,andnever like the hire to begin with.However I have also noticed when I ask a baseball related question of you,I rarely get a response,when my sole purpose is to get an opinion or information tht you probably have more access to then we as fans do.I don't see how you can argue with some of the decisions Dave has made,nor can I see how ANYBODY can argue that we are one of the poorest coached,less disciplined,lack of fundamentals both at the plate or in the field teams in baseball.So if the responsibility for that dos not fall on the manager and coaching staff,then who should it fall on?Nobody could predict that we would get 5 straight hits,that wasn't even my point,my point is,if you limit the buttons you have to push at the end of the game,then you limit your chances of winning.Another reason why I hate the AL teams having to play by NL rules in NL ballparks,but essentially the NL has the option of playing either way in AL ballparks.Distinct advantage forthem,especially gainst a team like the Orioles who have depended so heavily on the DH..Luke Scott has been in a super funk ever since we started playing NL rules,and Reimold has been out of the lineup frequently because of it when the two of them had been the best legitimate power threats we had for the last month.The fact that we got 5 straight hits to me has nothing to do with Trembley's managing.Call me dense,but if you can explain that to me,maybe I'll retract what I said,I just don't see him getting this team over the hump,so to speak,one step forward and too steps back.By the way,Bonafacio was clearly out tonight,but what in the worls was Pie thinking?That is why I don't think he'll ever be an everyday ML player.I guess the person he most reminds me of was Kwame Brown,both with the Wizards and the Lakers,loads of talent,unlimited potential,but somehow it just never clicked.To me,that's Felix Pie.

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Pete's reply: I'll concede that I respond more to your diatribes about Trembley, but I respond to you more than anyone else on this blog, so I'm certainly not ignoring you.
On Felix, I don't know if he'll ever click, but you can't say never when he's that young.

Pete,I just noticed that quite a few people made mention of our idiotic ,boneheaded play pretty much the whole year,but you only responded to me pointing out specific examples of such.Makes me wonder,well no actually it doesn't anymore,what ax you have to grind with me.IfI happen to agree with you you never acknowledge that,but if I happen to disagree with you,God forbid,I am summarily singled out and lambasted.Let this be an example to all posters,do not express your true opinion if it differs from the blog's moderator,you will soon be journalistically ex-communicated.at one point Pete,you were my favorite writer on the Sun,when there were many more who covered sports for them.Sad to say,that's no longer the case,Seems like somethingchanged when you became the big cheese,so to speak.Alas I miss the old ,funny,some irreverent Peter much more than this current version.May he rest in peace.

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Pete's reply: Nothing changed in me Burt. I don't know you, but I wonder sometimes how you can find fault with absolutely everything....everything. The manager's overmatched...or he's an idiot...or I am. I don't understand why you feel you can criticize me, make sarcastic remarks about my ability as a sportswriter, second guess everyone on the planet, then complain because I don't respond by telling you how right and wonderful you are. If you're going to throw stones 24 hours a day, then gird your loins. I miss the happy-go-lucky Peter, too, but I have no idea how I'm supposed to respond to you. I'll try to be more sensitive, I guess. But, I've got to say, don't dish it out if you can't take it.

Yea Christian, I made a few changes.
I think you were just a bit off target. Let me try to help out...
Let's hit Mora leadoff, no reason. Somebody has to hit first, that's all. Let's hit Andino second, so he can bunt Mora over and waste outs early in the game,but possibly prevent Mora from getting thrown out at third in case our new 3 man Matty singles. Tell me, why bat Roberts first when he's led the team in rbi the last 10 games? Really, respond and tell me. Obviously I'm interested. Cleanup for the little second baseman, c'mon. Lets give Roberts some protection in the 4 hole. Hit Huff behind him, as we don't want some spiteful opposing manager to rip the bat from his hands before he gets a chance to hack at a few pitches. Sixth and seventh. Hmmm, this gets tricky, but I figured it out. Working backwards after looking forward to the bottom of my new lineup, I'll introduce (without the least bit of fear of ridicule)the concept of the reverse-stagger- as I hit Scott(6th) and Jones(7th). Markakis hasn't hit sixth in 3 years,so let's do something way better. Hit him eighth, just for the hell of it, and I now have the best 8th place hitter in the league.Cool. Reimold is a clueless rookie, that's pretty obvious-the only place for him is ninth. Plus a little power pop at the end of the lineup can't hurt. Am I right? Notice again the reverse-stagger from 9 to 6! It is beautiful. Remember that you read it here first. Side note: Dave, a little credit, slight acknowlefgement in the post-game lament would be appreciated if you want to try it out.
Ask me how I did it. Ok. I'll tell you. A very large dose of the purest common diamond sense,a dash of sabremetrics(watch out-it's strong and addictive!!).Top it off with a couple pinches of UMG (Undiscovered Managerial Genius.) Voila! There you have it...Your new Baltimore Orioles ...

Pete,
Is this winning baseball?

Man on second with no outs in the 7th and down by a run on the road.

Andino up.....let's see, we have 3 chances to tie with a single.....but no let's give the other team an out first....yeah let's bunt....is that "winning baseball"

I've never been a Trembley basher,,, but his moves this year have been incredulous.

This team has played poorly fundamentally all year and had poor decisions like this bunting last night. Would you have bunted there?

Do you really believe Trembley has done a good job this year?

It seems you have a sore spot in this area and admitting the total lack of discipline the poor in game management of this team....

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Pete's reply: It's not about me Bill. You just said what you think. I agree with some of it, but I'm not going to bash the manager because Brian Roberts had some trouble this months reading pitchers. I am going to say -- and have been saying for awhile -- that the cumulative mishaps reflect on the performance of the manager. Is he doing a good job? Depends on what you thought the team's record was going to be at this point. I think it's just about where I thought it would be, so I would say he's doing an average job.

ha ha ha.
Burt don't sweat it so much. Peter's been laying the ol' editoral smack down lately on anyone who picks on his BFF Dave T. It's kinda cute. Like a mother bear watching over her young.
hilarious!!!

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Pete's reply: Glad I'm entertaining you. I think the smackdown has been on guys like you and Burt, because you're indiscriminate in your second-guessing. Most people realize that it's easy to figure out what should have happened after the fact. There are times when second-guessing if fair and appropriate, but it loses any value when you second-guess every move that doesn't work every night. It just becomes noise and stops meaning anyhting. I've said here many times that I think Dave is on the hook for the bad fundamentals, but based on the talent of the team, I think he's doing an okay job overall. His future will depend entirely on whether the Orioles play better in August and September than they are now. That's going to be the criterion. Pretty simple. Andy will let you and me nitpick individual games, He's more interested in where the team is going than where it has been.

Watchit Burt, he'll call you a "bush leaguer".

It's the first time I've been called any kind of a leaguer. DT is his boy and nothing is going to change that.

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Pete's reply: C'mon Bobby, I didn't call you that, and I'm surprised you would be so sensitive. We're having a debate here and everybody wants me to stroke them instead of engage them in a discussion. I'm not going to do that. If you can't handle a rough-and-tumble debate, then maybe this isn't the blog for you. Nobody is censored here, so I don't know how you can say I'm protecting anybody.

I just read Dave Trembley's comment on Koji Uhera . Trembley said that Koji will remain O's Starter AND he likes the way Koji has been pitching . Oh really ???? Lets see , the guy is 34 yrs old , he been relief pitcher for past 2 years , start after start , Koji looking gassed , he went to DL due to hip inflammation , then he returns and good old Dave throws him back into rotation , then tuesday night's start , after 76 pitch , 6 innings , Koji DEMANDED out of game , then Koji said his elbow getting FATIQUED , forcing O's to recall Hernandez from Norfolk . And Trembley STILL SEES Koji as an Starter ? I am sure Koji has some pride and trying his damndest . But looks like our Manager is blind .

And I am not Trembley basher .......YET

I think everyone just needs to relax! I don't like Trembley either, but this topic seems to come up when we lose. We are going to be very streaky this year, win 6 lose 6. But it seems to me that we all have short memories. Just this past Sunday we were all talking about hitting .500 in the next week. Now we are talking about the tail spin again. Lets just chill out and watch this team evolve, I think that's enough to keep interest for the rest of the year.

Technically, no, you didn't call me that, but it was implied.

Here are your words: "You know, I was going to delete your email because it is about as bush league as it could be, but I put it up so everybody else can decide."

Me sensitive?? How 'bout yourself? I think you blew it out of proportion. I, in no way, was making fun of the Sun reporters being fired. I was going to answer you that day and explain, but I figured you'd delete it after asking your readers for that ridiculous sympathy vote "to decide".

Losing your job? It happens. That's life. Move on. I've lost two jobs over my 57 years, I didn't fret about it, I went out and found another job. It may of been a poor choice of words that I used, but it was to get your attention on why you refuse on saying anything negative on DT, meaning that your afraid to lose your job if you don't tow the comapny line, meaning it's a Sun policy not to say anything detrimental about DT.

Then I got to thinking about Mike Preston, on how he bashed Boller and Billick with impunity, and the Sun didn't do anything about.

I know you have to interview DT every now and then, and maybe that's it, if you say something negative about him, he'll refuse to do anymore interviews with you.

But, as a fan, we want fair reporting, and unbiased opinions. If Trembley screws up, tell it like it is. The same if he shines.

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Pete's reply: Jeez, Bobby, you just did it again. I agree, people lose their jobs every day and more people are losing them now than ever. That's why you were so off base mentioning that in the context of a complaint about the manager of a baseball team. Sometimes, when you're getting all hot and bothered about the O's, step back and tell yourself that it's a game in which grown men hit a ball with a stick and run around in a circle. We all love it and live through it, but that's essentially what it is. And you're doing that other thing again -- questioning my integrity because I don't share your view of Trembley. Don't tell me that I am writing a certain way because I'm afraid he won't talk to me. That's ridiculous and if you knew my history with the Orioles -- and rocky relationship with Peter Angelos -- you would know that's ridiculous. It is possible for someone to disagree with you without having some ulterior motive. It's like me saying your criticism of Trembley isn't legit because you probably asked him for an autograph and he turned you down. It's just silly. We're having a discussion here. I welcome you comments -- positive or negative. I'll agree with some and not with others. It's okay to get heated about it. It's okay to disagree. Now I'm starting to sound like Dr. Phil, so I'll let it go at that.

As much as I love DT I think we need a motivator here. I would love to see Davy Johnson back. Pie and Hendrickson need to go. Uehara to the Pen. Bring Hernandez back up. Keep Salazar and make room for Montanez coming off the DL. We also need to get some more young arms up now. Get them ready for next year. I love Berken and Bergesen so keep them.

55! Okay, okay, stop it, you're my favorite sportswriter again.

If you would've said 40, you would've been my all-time favorite sportswriter, but that's reserved for the late John Steadman of The Sun.

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Pete's reply: You're quick. I rewrote that response after my computer fritzed out. I don't think the 55 reference is still there. Boy, I've gotten cranky the past few days. Watching the O's run the bases will do that to you.

Well, let me help you out Pete. You mean this reply:

Pete's reply: I agree, people lose their jobs all the time, but I don't make light of it in a public forum. I'm still trying to figure out how, even in retrospect, you could tie that to your complaint about a baseball game. Sounds like you had your priorities out of whack or let the emotion of the moment get to you. At those times, you want to take a breath and remember that baseball is a sports where grown men hit a ball with a stick and run around in a circle. It's fun and we all enjoy it, but you have to keep it in perspective and you didn't in that instance. I wasn't sensitive. I was pissed off and I said so, but I put up your comment. And 57? Stop it. You don't look a day over 55.

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Pete's reply: The later one is meatier, and allows us to bond better after the initial conflict.

Pete,I have never questioned your sportswriters integrity,but I have questioned why if you askedBrian Roberts 2 questions we only heard your response from one.I have questioned DT's decisions before they made them in front of a host of witnesses on numerous occasions and had him prove me right in my questioning time after time when the consequences of his moves paid off the way they did.I have ,on this very blog,agreed with you on different occasions and made it very public that I did so.I've made no bones about the fact that I don't care for Trembley,haven't from the start,there's a reason you're a minor league manager as long as he was,without getting a chance in the bigs.And I certainly don't question that you're an Angelos apologist because I know better.But I do often think you're a Trembley apologist,and there have been a host of other people who tend to agree.The other night,about a wek ago,you made a statement that about 95% of the posters disagreed on,yet you singled my response out.and didn't respond to 95% of the others.When I asked how long you had been here,you gave me a smart remark in return even though I expressed my only point in asking was to see if you were here during the Orioles Way,which was what other teams patterned themselves after for years.I don't consider it second guessing when myself and obviously hundreds of other bloggers have screamed at the television when we saw the move he was making and watching the same consequences time after time.And finally,this is a questio I've asked you numerous times and you've never seen fit to answer,if the coaches and managers aren't ultimately responsible for the repeated baserunning,fielding,and pitching mistakes,then who is?The headline in the Sun made it seem like Weiters lost us the game,and that couldn't be further from the truth.The pitcher never even looked at first base,the infielder tried to keep his foot on the bag,and broke too late too knock the ball down,and it was a horrible throw,but Pie didn't exactly hustle in to get it,and when it got it,he acted cluless as to whatto do with it,and that's not the first time it has happened.Weiter's will get bettr,of that I have no doubt,but I seriously question whether Pie ever will.So I'll continue to ask my questions and post my opinions and if ripping me makes you feel better,go to it.I just thought better of you then that.Believe it or not.

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Pete's reply: You've questioned many times whether I will ask tough questions because of some theoretical obligation to the team. That's questioning my integrity. If you want the answer to your question about the Roberts interview, I asked him only a couple of questions because it was postgame and I was getting quotes for my beat writer, who needed them immediately because he was on deadline. I was the only one to wait and talk to Roberts, but didn't have time to give him the Larry King treatment. I suppose that's a fair question. Hope the answer was satisfactory.

Peter

You do understand that we all knew the team was gonna lose right?

It's the way they lose and the ridiculous stuff we see each night that is infuriating.

The fact that you keep going to the "well how many wins did you think they would have" says a whole lot to me.

I expected them to lose alot more than win.

What I didn't expect is another year of putrid fundamentals and WORSE base running than last year.

Those issues are completely separate from lesser talent which we all know this team has (especially with regards to SP).

So please, stop bringing up the W/L argument because it's old and tired. I've dealt with what will be 12 straight losing seasons. I'm used to it.

But this team lacks what EVERY major league team should have no matter what kind of talent they have.

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Pete's reply: I've expressed my frustration with the fundamental issues more times than I can count. I think you're asking me to fire the manager, which I'm not going to do yet. I do, however, consider him responsible for getting this team straightened out. Remember, you've got a team that has undergone constant personnel change and is getting younger by the day, so there will be some bad days. Do you blame Trembley for Matt Wieters making throwing errors in each of the last two games? No, you don't. But the cumulative effort of the team over the next few months will make the decision on his future. That's just the way it's always been.