Here, I'll make a prediction...30-50 at the all star break gets people reassigned

This is actually good news! Sure, I wish that they scored more runs, but at least we had men on base! It has been a while since that. We will get them in. Baby steps, baby steps....

wait until they hit bottom.it's still real early. 102 games to go, Knute. You shouldn't have reminded them.

From a Sun article..."Trembley has acknowledged that he feels that several players are pressing."

Number 37 on the most over-used cliches.

This is about talent. Nothing more, nothing less. You are what your record indicates. Anything else is excuses.

I can't wait for all the hype on the draft and the call-ups to fade away so we can see what the Orioles for what they still are.

For the love of god, make it stop! It's too painful to watch....how many runners did we strand tonight? How many did Adam Jones strand? Why isn't Reimold in the starting line up? Why is Mora still batting 5th? Did somebody put a curse on this team? I can't take it much longer...aaaarggghhhhh!

This team is could give a clinic on futility. They are like the highschool kid with glasses and acne that is always trying to make it with the hot chicks but just keeps striking out. The Orioles are down right frustrating!

Wow, what a flogging. There really just isn't a lot to say about them right now. I don't know what it will take to kick start them again, but I surely hope it comes soon, this is getting really hard to bear.

If they dont get their act together by the break, we will have a new mgr. on the bench....someone has to take the blame for the play on the field (of the so called veterans)....

I'd sure like to hear Andy MacPhail's take on the team. Trembley can talk all he wants about how the team is better than this. We fans can see the standings.

My take is football camps are stirring and the O's continue their irrelevance. Maybe one day they'll get some talent that also has the fortitude to win.

I think this spell will cause Trembley his job. Not because the team is going through a slump. All teams have that. But as a manager, you have to take steps to minimize these things. You have to do the following things which Trembley has not done...
1.manufacture runs... you simply have to bunt runners over more when your team is struggling. He has refused to do this. And yes, Markais can bunt...why not?
2. He has refused to move Melvin Mora out of the 5th hole. That is simply ridiculous. Name me one player who hasn't been moved down in the lineup when their career is on the downside.
3. quite simply the handling of the pitching staff has been predictable and he seems to get outmanaged at the end of games.
4. he just doesn't have that intangible charisma that this franchise needs. He seems like a good person and good teacher, but just doesn't get fans excited or elicit even some good chuckles from time to time.

Let's get on with the trades (Huff, Sherrill, etc) and let's get the manager (and 3rd base coach) who AM will handpick (Allenson?) in here and get Tillman up here and get this thing rolling.

Well, EC, the O's are not bereft of talent. They are just in a bad streak right now, it happens. All teams go thru it.

What you have to remember is, a baseball season is three parts, a third good, a third bad and a third can go either way. Right now the either way part is going bad...and that's what makes the difference between winning teams and losing teams. The winners keep the either way part going good.

Though I'm becoming increasing concerned about some of the manager's decisions and the O's seeming lack of on-field discipline, I believe he is correct when he says the players are pressing. Just think about what happens when you've got to get something done right away, like a deadline at work, and no matter how hard you try, things keep going wrong or there never seems to be an end. And it is SO frustrating.

Well, try doing it in front of thousands of people with other people as good as you or maybe even a little better trying to keep you from getting your work done. That's what the O's are going thru.

These are professionals, each and every one of them, and for the most part, on offense at least, they are very good at what they do. Yet instead of relaxing and putting bat on ball, they are trying to hit a six run HR every time. And the opposition knows it and will take advantage of it. But soon, the pendulum will swing the other way and Huff, Markakis, Roberts, Jones, Scott, et al can take advantage of the opposition, and things again will indeed be rosy. As Dave Johnson says, all it takes is a bloop and a blast.

Until then, all we can do is keep the faith and wait for the guys to start performing up to the numbers on the back of their baseball cards. I'm with Pete, it will happen and it will happen soon.

Pete - you have two more games for your guarantee. And a 1-0 win does not count. So, good luck - I think the O's are counting on you at this point.

And you are in serious trouble if it comes down to Sunday.

Pete,

The O's need a little inspiration and Dynamite Dave isn't the answer! We've been in several tied or one run games during this streak and we never try and produce a run with a bunt! The commentators even mention that the other teams corners are playing in and then our own announcers say, they haven't scouted the O's very well because we never bunt AND we don't!

These aren't the Earl Weaver O's waiting for a 3 run dinger, we should be manufacturing as many runs as possible. This isn't all that hard and for a guy managing a MLB team?

Pete,

Excuse me but I don't think Dave could jumpstart his hair stylist with that stoic job of managing he does. Maybe tomorrow he can meet with himself and fire himself up just a little! He looks like Star Treks Captain Kirk (William Shatner) on downers, like he is half out of it! We need a firey guy to chew a little tail and get these guys fired up not just telling them to have fun!

Pete--I'm with you. I feel a win coming on Sunday.

To break the weird funk of losing on Sunday, let's start wearing the all orange baggy uniforms that Brooks designed for the 1971 World Series. They didn't work then, but they were so ahead of the curve that they may be just the thing now.

Let the rebuilding truly begin.........

Goodbye Wigginton - trade, release, whatever, just go. You've been a bad acquisition. Cut Hendrickson - same thing here, like we couldn't see his 5.50 ERA coming when we signed him. Trade Huff, Baez, B Rob, and Sherill. They have value now, so go get a new left side of the infield for them. Keep Mora for now, only because we have nothing else at 3B; and keep Zaun, only because he's the backup and not that critical or valuable. Bring up Turner at 2B, and play Salazar at 1B until next year.

Let's go Andy, time to cut bait. And stop acquiring loser free agents! This year's crop has been horrible.

Pete.Are you sure you didn't mean end of the 'season'?
Hey, we all knew this was going to be a rebuildling season but maybe that brief hot streak gave us unrealistic hope that the O's would actually compete sooner.
I'm still not sure where we are. Do we keep rebuilding by trading markeable players like Huff, Sherill and Guthrie? In my opinion, we keep these types and make a concerted effort to field a decent team for the rest of '09 and beyond. We made a serious committment by extending Roberts and Markakis so it makes sense to keep a few more key pieces. Any solid team has a mixture of vets/youngsters. If a team like Texas can turn it around there's no reason why we can't.

Hey and you are the same guy that said the only way he gets fired is if they lose 30 games in a row. Pete you have won many awards for outstanding sportswriting been doing a excellent job with various papers for over 30 years but you are being very irreresponsible when it comes to this team and dave trembley. Either you are to close to the subject to actually see how bad it is, or you have been doing this job for to long. In any case in the best interest of this team he needs to go and the sooner the better.

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Pete's reply: I've definitely been doing this job too long, but I'm not sure how you can be too close to the subject. That's my job. If I wasn't too close, I would get mad that my fantasy players weren't doing well and insist the real manager be fired because of it even though he's managing a rebuilding team that was expected to play pretty much the way it's playing.

what did you block me now for being to honest

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Pete's reply: One more thing bob. If you ask me again why I'm blocking you -- WHEN I'M SLEEPING -- I will start blocking you. Strike two.

Was it just me or was Jim Palmer's commentary last night really insightful? Especially when he talked about good managers giving pitchers the 'opportunity to fail'. Watching the way Bobby Cox and Trembley handled their two rookie pitchers was very interesting. Cox displayed a great deal of trust, letting his rookie pitch out of jams and trusting the offense would carry them through. Trembley on the other hand played Perrlazzo baseball, grabbing the ball from Berken at the first sign of big trouble (and still lost two runs in the deal).

I love how a few weeks ago everyone was excited for this team! NOW you all are calling for trembley and MacPhail's heads! Success isnt something that happens overnight! Let's all keep in mind what the expectations of this team were 2 months ago! I could careless if they lose 100 games I still Love my O's and hope the people jumping ship now find some other ship to get on later!

They have the talent. Their hitters compare well with other teams and their young pitchers are doing better than expected. The problem with this team is a total lack of motivation caused by a PLAN to lose from Andy and an insecure dolt of a manager in Dave. The players can see it for what it is and are going through the motions playing just well enough to lose.

Pete -

I see some posters asking for Andy to make some sort of statement about the direction of the team during this free fall. But realistically what's he going to say? Any GM/President worth his salt stays in the background at a time like this, and analyzes where the team is at this point, and what moves if any, aid the rebuilding effort. That analysis includes the manager & his staff.

There are no band-aid fixes. We have some of the pieces in place, for a good offensive team (Markakis, Jones, Weiters, Reimold, Roberts). The pitching, well there will be better days. We've got 2 starters in the rotation from our minor league system this year, along with 2 mystery guys (Hill & Guthrie) and a guy better suited for relief (Uehara). By September, there's a good chance we see any of the following: Patton, Arrietta, & Tillman. And Matusz should be in the mix next spring as well. So "The Plan" as some skeptics refer to is actually working, even if the results are not there. There is depth in our farm system for the first time since the early 90's.

So, what's the next move? Well, at this point probably sit Mora (can't trade him since he has a no trade clause) and play Wigginton. He needs consistent AB's and has proven over his career that he can hit. Play Huff & Scott pretty much every nite. The idea being let's try to drive up their trade value at the deadline. Once the deadline hits, and a trade does occur, we bring up Snyder. And let's end the Pie experiment, put him through waivers, and if no one bites let the kid figure his future out at AAA.

Lastly, the manager, Trembs is a really nice guy, and solid baseball person, however if I'm Andy, I start thinking about who is my guy? Remember Trembs was already here when MacPhail came on board. Quite frankly, I'd love to have a guy like Ron Gardenhire, but that not going to happen, so then let's try to find the next Mike Scioscia. Maybe even a guy like Art Howe, his teams in Oakland were built around young pitching, and the A's were usually playoff contenders.

So let MacPhail figure out behind the scenes where the team goes from here. That's how well run organizations handle things. They don't have the guy running things in front of the cameras every time something goes wrong, or the train jumps the tracks. Just my 2 cents worth!

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Pete's reply: It's a rebuilding team in a transitional year playing like a rebuilding team in a transitional year. You're right that there is nothing for Andy to say about it. I think people who want to call the rebuilding effort a failure in advance hope somebody comes out and admits that. It's not.

Watching Trembley's facial expressions during a game lately reminds me of a deer caught in the headlights of an onrushing car. Both seem clueless as to what is going to happen next. In a flash, the Orioles season is becoming road kill.

Pete if you go back to my posting i said that you must be to close to the subject not me. And the only reason i said you blocked me was because when i hit the post button it came up that i wasn't approved.

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Pete's reply: Okay, sorry. I don't block anyone. If you get that message, push the button again, I guess.

Maybe Melvin found Flanagan's stash of compromising pictures and has become an untouchable as well...

Ken
You can make all the excuses you you and everyone is talking about 'rebuilding year' (a term made fanous in Baltimore), but your record is your record. If they play .500 ball the rest of the way, they will have 75 wins. They are playing .410 ball now. The only OBJECTIVE way to evaluate your talent as a team is your record. That's why they have standings.

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Pete's reply: True and false. Most sports don't have the option of long-term development plans. Baseball does, so there is such a thing as a successful season that doesn't include a playoff berth.

Pete,

Brother, you have a REAL hard job when the team you cover, quite honestly sucks more nights than most. I've gone back prior to the O's winning 8 of 10 and now during the losing streak and read most of your comments where bloggers are complaining about Dave or some of the poor free agent signings and you ALWAYS defend O's management! This isn't about nice guys, all of us bloggers (in most cases) are arm chair Monday morning managers and GM's though many of us stated when we signed Hendrickson, Eaton and others it was a mistake and most wanted Wieters up at the beginning of the year and most wanted Jaime Walker cut before leaving spring training, but much of what has been done or not done by Andy and Dave is indefensible.

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Pete's reply: We're all armchair GMs. Everybody knew what Eaton and Hendrickson represented. They were brought here so the young pitchers could get some time at Triple-A. Bringing up Wieters after the service time deadline was absolutely the right thing to do. If they had done everything you said, they'd still be a 70-win team and they would have wasted years of service time from Wieters and the young pitchers. The reason I'm not blasting the company line is because Andy is doing the right thing here and everybody who wants to rush the thing are falling back into same rut the team is trying to escape.