Poor Bergesen. Offense was pathetic as they tend to be more often than not. And I just have one question....when are we going to release Melvin Mora? I mean for christ sakes release him and eat whatever salary you have to. I would much rather see salazar or dare I say Wiggy there. I mean like I've said before as much as I want the orioles to win I can deal with losing with younger players but a 37 year old 3rd baseman. Come On!

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Pete's reply: With no third baseman ready in the organization, I think you keep the guy who's going to make $4 million the rest of this season, especially since he's been a second-half player his whole career. If you had a Matt Wieters-like prospect at third, I might feel differently. You could play Wigginton there, but then you'd be sacrificing bench depth.

Strangely, after dominating the Mariners last season, the Oriole bats have not even made it to the rack against Seattle in 2009.

Washburn worked quickly and the Orioles obliged him by making outs quickly.

Baltimore looked lifeless.

And one more thing...this season is already over and I dont even know with the way we're going if .500 is a possibility. With that being said immediately after the allstar break both Tillman and Arrieta or Matusz need to be in the rotation learning how the majorleagues work. It would work wonders for the team next year and truthfully I think the orioles played more inspired during that span when all the rookies were being called up. Does everyone agree?

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Pete's reply: If you're talking about the Orioles' playoff run, it was over sometime in early December. I think there's a lot to look at here, but if you're going to judge it on wins and losses, it was over long before this bad week.

Pete - We keep seeing a team with no fire, no "killer instinct" as you quoted Palmer, no history of winning. With that said, are Trembley's and Crowley's skills better suited for the minors? And if the answer is "they stay to develop the players", then is it time to move onto the next phase of rebuilding by trading the players with value - Huff, B Rob, Sherrill, Baez, etc.?

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Pete's reply: Just for fun, tell me who you want to be the hitting coach, and please don't say Eddie Murray.

I think we keep Roberts, huff is expendable sherill is good but I think whats his name Miko- something pitching tonight is the writing on the wall that he is gonna get traded. Baez could bring some infield prospects but I think we should focus on giving him his rest as he is valuable in the pen.
the orioles dont need a fire sale on thier veteran talent , we need a change of attitude whether that comes from a manager change or a mini - vacation during the all-star break this kids can win a few more if they had the right mentality.
Andy Mcphail starting the season off with "dont expect much from us this year is not the right mentality for players".

The Orioles need to get rid of Trembley NOW! The mentality of the team is horrible. No hustle, and lacking fundamentals. I know the team wasn't going to win this year, but I at least want to see a good solid effort, and recently I have not seen it.

when losses become "painless" we are in real trouble.

i agree with dumping Mora. we all love the guy, but i would love him a lot more if he was a utility guy, and not an everyday player...

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Pete's reply: I said relatively painless, and I said it, not the team. I'm sure they didn't have much fun last night, but it was easier to watch a great pitching performance by Washburn than another bullpen collapse. I'll stick by that.

There are two sides to every story. The O's bats made Washburn look a lot better than he actually is by not working the count, thus having to swing at pitcher's pitches and ultimatley swinging at bad pitches. So unfocused and no patience. They really helped him out. Bad defense cost more runs tonight. And I love Bergeson but they've got to put a dog collar on him and start tasering him or something when he leaves the ball up in the zone. He's having a great year obviously and hasn't made many costly mistakes, but of the ones he has I guarntee you they were all on pitches above the belt. If he keeps it down, changes speeds and locations he's nearly unhittable, but as soon as it gets up.....well you know the rest.

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Pete's reply: It's pretty tough to work the count when the guy threw an "average" of 2.6 strikes to each batter in the game. If they had been more patient, they might have been no-hit.

Andy Mcphail starting the season off with "dont expect much from us this year is not the right mentality for players".

So - the masses cry for the truth. McPhail gives us the truth. And now the truth isn't the right mentality for the players? Maybe the players should be proving the boss wrong. I'm so confused.

First of all,let's talk about Bergeson.The pitch he made to Branyan was a quality pitch that would have got nine out of ten hitters out,low and awy on the black on the outside corner.Unfortunately,Branyan has been hot as a pistol and was strong enough to go down and hit that ball out.The second run was a total result of Robert Andino's errror,a broken bat ground ball,and a single.The next two runs were a result of a pitiful effort by Melvin Mora,who after a very good first three months of the season defensively,seems to be mailing it in,and a misplayed ball by Reimold that should have been caught but his inexperience and unfamiliarity with where the wall was led to a gift double.We gave away three runs tonight,but it really wouldn't have mattered because we didn't even score one.To be one hit by Washburn,who we made look like Cy Young is pathetic,Let's see,Luke Scott is batting over .300 against lefties.Nope I'll DH Huff who is batting .183.No problem with starting Wigginton,but I would have started Salazar at third and Dh'ed Luke Scott.I am finally of the opinion that it is time for Melvin to take a seat.Let him be the infeild depth.His defense has deteriorated in the last 4 weeks and his bat has pretty much cooled off.And I think Andino knows his days are numbered and that affected him mentally.We gave away at least three or four outs tonight and when you're not scoring runs,not only does it make your pitcher have to throw more pitches and work harder,but it makes it easier on the other team.I've watched Washburn pitch at least 30 games in his career and I've never seem him pitch better than tonight,and we gave him lots of help,as did another liberal strike zone.But give him credit.Once he knew from the second batter of the game that the umpire was going to give him the high strike and the ball 6 inches outside,like the called third strike on adam Jones,there was no reason to throw the ball down the middle.And the Orioles made no attempt to work the count whatsoever.melvin Mora swung at two first pitches,maybe three.Pretty bad considring he only got up three times.I'm glad to see that the talk Trembley had really lit a fire under this team.Might have been the most patethic game I've seen all year.Where's all the Dave apologist's tonight?I said the Orioles would win 2 games this road trip,I may have to revise that,because I was counting on tonight being one of them.

Pete, a month ago, I posted that Dave wouldn't be here after the all star break, and I still believe that. This loss wasn't on Dave, but this team has no life in them. Why Dave doesn't shake things up when he can see the writing on the wall, drives me nuts. What does he have to lose?

I kept hearing Hunter talk about losing Oscar, but I have to ask, who cares? I like Oscar, but if the O's aren't going to let this guy get more than 2 ABs a week, I hope he goes to a team where he can make a contribution. The wheels are falling off, but Oscar and Felix, can't get more playing time? Please! Jones and Markakis look like they need a few days off here and there so no excuses. Dave doesn't utilize the bench as much I thought he would, given that he talked about how short handed he was last year.

Pete, I am not asking you to say that you think Dave should be fired, but honestly, do you think he was given a fair shot? I do. He was supposed to be at the helm for a week, but ended up staying the rest of the 2007 season, as well as full time status for 2008 and 2009 (so far), and while I don't think anyone would say he had the greatest talent, he had some, but what bothers me the most is the things he was known for like solid fundamentals of baseball, have gotten worse. Pete, this team wont win 20-25 more games if something doesn't change. They look like they couldn't care less.

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Pete's reply: Well, we'll see about Dave. I don't think Andy is going to fire a manager in July on a team that has won almost the exact number of games everybody thought it would. I could be wrong, however, but I wouldn't use a one-hitter as the gauge. I'd use those games last week, which exposed an overall lack of good pitching. Don't know if that's on the manager.

Hey Pete,

You say since there is no "Weiters like" prospect ready to take over at 3B, why not move Huff over there and bring up your "Weiters like" prospect at 1B? I think Brandon Snyder is showing he may be ready for a late call up. Even if Mora is a 2nd half player, he is not in the long term plan of the team. If the O's trade Huff and get prospects, maybe we will even get our "Weiters like" player at 3B and still be able to bring up Snyder at 1B?

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Pete's reply: I like Huff and he's a good run-producer, but you're not going to get a good third base prospect for him who is close to major-league ready. Huff would be a rental player, so he won't have tremendous value.

If DT insists on keeping Mora in the lineup, bat him ninth. I'd rather see Andino bat in front of Mora. You say you don't want to "lose" the bench by playing Wigginton and Huff/Salazar; well Mora in the lineup isn't helping either. I'd keep Wigginton at third and Huff/Salazar at first with Huff/Salazar and Mora on the bench. Then there is Luke Scott. Since he is now apparently a platoon player, you got his bat off the bench.

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Pete's reply: As soft as Melvin's numbers are, they are still way better than Andino's. It's frustrating to watch Melvin struggle and he may be done, but he has a history of being a second-half guy, so you wait awhile to see. The only alternative to that is rushing up Snyder and playing Huff at third, which might be fun for awhile, but wouldn't be the right thing for the team long-term.

Ahhhh I love the Bedard trade…. Until each time we have to play him! Pete any chance the Orioles trade for the Royals Brian Bannister? The Kid has a damn a good arm and I read this morning hes on the block.. Maybe we can even get a keychain with him, a couple boardwalks. And a Ryan Freel!! JK..

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Pete's reply: I would be surprised if the O's even try to deal for starting pitching and I would be shocked if the Royals trade Bannister with several years left of control over him. I'm guessing the O's, if they deal vets, will be looking for corner infield and bullpen depth.

"Painless?" Are we moving towards apathy from the fan base and those covering the team? Sad.

Drop the dead weight across the board and find the "killer instinct." Here's to getting 2 hits today.

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Pete's reply: Apathy? Because I didn't burst into tears over a great outing by Jarrod Washburn? Hey, sometimes you get beat. Other times you beat yourself. The Orioles did that for most of last week. I think that's more painful to fans than a great pitching performance.

Once again...year after year after year...we are dominated by lefthanded pitching.

Terry Crowley, while compiling so-so career stats with a lifetime .250 batting average & .345 on base percentage, never could figure out how to hit lefthanders. He still hasn't figured it out.

My only question is..."When will MacPhail figure out this management and coaching staff?"

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Pete's reply: Who do you want? I keep asking that question and nobody has an answer, because if you're a better hitting coach than Terry Crowley, you probably already have a job. Are you willing to entrust Reimold, Wieters, Jones and Markakis to just anyone for the sake of making a change? Especially when the Orioles rank in the top 10 in the majors in a bunch of offensive categories (including eighth in batting average) and rank in the top half in virtually every category?

Washburn played the role of Dr. Kevorkian. The O's, pitiful and lifeless, went down quietly. A sad team in another miserable year in the woeful era of Angelos.

PS the only reason I mention a trade with the Royals is because they are DYING for a bat and we have plenty

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Pete's reply: Yeah, but the only way you get Brian Bannister is if you deal them Reimold or Jones. Not going to do that.

The AT&T Player of the Game poll is a hilarious joke.. The 5 people that vote on it are all Orioles fans. How would other teams know about it or even care?

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Pete's reply: I know that, but I would expect intelligent fans to pick the opposing player when he is so far-and-away the player of the game. Guess I'm giving the TV audience too much credit. Of course, it you're paying for a text message to vote on the thing, maybe I just answered my own question.

Barry, EVERYONE dominated Mariners pitching last year. The difference this year is that their pitching is healthy and effective. Washburn's effectiveness isn't a joke, it's what he's done all year. Most here in Baltimore (and the East Coast) don't realize that the Mariners staff is one of, if not the, best staff in the majors right now. The big problem with the M's is...they have no offense. Seriously, if we had the Mairners' pitching staff, we would be either leading the AL East or be right there near the top, fighting for the best record in the Majors.

Yes,trembley needs to go. i predicted before this road trip the O's would go 1-6 and they're on thier way. Other teams throw lefty after lefty at us and salazar is no where to be seen.Because Trembley cares more about hurt feelings than winning.Trembley sinply doesn't know what strings to pull to turn the losing mentality around.I hate the stupid excuse that managers can't hit field and pitch. What they can do is figure out how to gel a team and have a game plan going into a game. Trembley fills out the line up card and that's it.Then you have Mcphail who doesn't know a trainwreck when he sees one. Anyone that thinks two more starters is going to turn this team around is smoking rope.

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Pete's reply: Who are you going to play Salazar in front of, Huff?

Pete,
What are the chances the Orioles let Trembley go before the season is over? I've never seen a team so up and down. They have a good mix of veterans and young stars. A team that wins 3 and than loses 5 in a row consistantly is not being managed properly. Nobody thought they would win 90 games but the inconsistency and lack of effort is too apparrent. Is Davey Johnson on the radar? Joey Cora?

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Pete's reply: I doubt they'll make a midseason change. What would be the point, other than to give the most angry segment of the fan following a pound of flesh?

As a guy who went to school with the Ripkens up in Aberdeen, it pains me so much to see the Orioles lose...and lose. It really hurts watching the Red Sox lose their focus and professionalism on 2-outs and leave the field. I'm done with Boston. Please Peter: When are the Orioles gonna REALLY turn this thing around? And who and what position do you see us draffting next?

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Pete's reply: The Orioles should be a real team next year and in 2011. If they aren't, then the rebuilding plan cannot be considered a success. The fans can't be expected to wait forever.

Trembley has no clue. No clue about lineups. No clue about managing a pitching staff. Doesn't feel the need to get after his ballplayers when they need it. Doesn't fight for his team on the field. Appears to be afraid of the umpires. Rarely argues even the most obvious bad calls. Pacifies his players. His W/L record is horrendous. Excuses poor performances by his team. Accepts mediocrity from his team. Thinks 110 pitches to clear six innings with three earned runs is a great pitching performance. Accepts defeat with ease.

Fascinating.

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Pete's reply: Trust me, he doesn't accept defeat with ease. If he was ranting about everything on the postgame show, you'd be writing how he had "lost it." Let's try go be fair. He is under evaluation and he's going to have a hard time earning a contract extension under these circumstances, but I don't think it's time to start chasing him with torches.

I have never been a Dave Trembley basher. I like the guy, but I agree with the posters that say it is time for him to go. There is no hustle or passion on this team. The fundamentals are lacking. When you see these things consistently, it is the manager's fault. He either needs to shut the locker room door and start throwing objects all over the place or he needs to be replaced. Sorry!

This is the way the season ends: not with a bang but a whimper.
Tonight the euthanasia will be administered by Dr. Bedard.

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Pete's reply: If you're quitting with 80 games to go, why are you criticizing the Orioles for it?

Guys I just solved the mystery why the Orioles are slumping. They are missing Ryan Freel!! Freel is the missing link that caused the team early success and in order to get that back we have to go back…To Ryan Freel.

Ryan Freel is much like the Island on the popular television program LOST he makes strange but wonderful things happen like Mora hitting the ball, Kakes a legitimate 3 spot and the pitching good enough to kinda win games.

Ryan Freel wasn’t ready to play when he was with us early in the season…. But he is now.

I'm just tired of the Red Sox....and their fans.

The guys at MASN are so crazy Bedard could be tossing a no no and they will be talking about how great the Bedard trade was… I am sick of them still talking about the Bedard trade! Yes I love the players we got but it didn’t make us a great team by any means yet. Until we win something STFU and please don’t talk about the trade while we are getting beat by the team we made the trade to its just really bad looking. Sometimes when our pitching stinks I kinda wish we still had Bedard!

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Pete's reply: That trade was the steal of the young century, regardless of what happens this week.

The potential of this lineup is so overrated it isn't even funny. Adam Jones makes the All-Star team? What's that all about? I mean he has been hitting about .250 for almost 2 months with one or two home runs and that is best we have? Everyone outside of Baltimore can see that the middle of this lineup is a joke. This team is full of .250 hitters who hit a few home runs in smallest ball parks. There is not a legit 3,4,5 hitter on this team. So its a lot more than pitching.

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Pete's reply: What? Are you talking about the 22 teams that rank behind the Orioles in hitting?

The Bedard trade was the best trade in Orioles history!! We got rid of the best pitcher in recent Orioles history a guy that survived our historically flawed development process and traded him for position players and more youth to screw up in the developmental process. Not to mention we now lack a veteran pitcher and look the worst in 11 years… SLAM DUNK BABY!!! BOOMSHAKALAKA!! NAILED IT!

Donald,
I agree. Almost everything about this team is overhyped. Trades, so so players etc most of the O’s team would be backups on a real club and still people want to fire the manager like thats going to do any good. Its a total joke.

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Pete's reply: Benny, you obviously are a fine evaluator of talent. Sherrill saved more than 30 games last year and is on pace for nearly 40 this year. Jones is one of the top young players in the game and Tillman was rated by Baseball America as one of the top 20 prospects in all of baseball. If you want a little more proof, the M's fired their GM after that deal.

Let’s think about the Bedard trade for a min. The Orioles got Sherrill and Jones both that have made the All star team backup mandatory squad. If I remember last years all star game Sherrill only got to pitch because Francona made a mental error with the whole Rivera/Papelbon situation and I don’t blame him on that managing those 2 on the same team would tax anybody. Sherrill is a good RP and Jones is a good player but if anything the O’s got the advantage by Bedard being hurt frequently and getting Tillman in addition. Is it probably the most overhyped trade in recent history.. YES!

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Pete's reply: You couldn't possibly be more wrong, but I respect your right to be.

This Orioles team is too young and youth gets managers fired.

Wow. Someone thinks we got the worst of the Bedard trade? Um, you're wrong. So I'm glad folks are catching on to the utter uselessness of Melvin Mora but we can't just stick anyone there and certainly not Huff, he's a butcher at 1B putting him at 3B is a crazy bad idea..Ty Wiggington is a worse defender than Mora. A team as defense challenged as this one should try something a bit more radical, use either Izturis or Andino at 3B and the other at SS. Since we're getting almost nothing from Mora with the bat the offense shouldn't suffer much if any, and the improvement in run prevention might actually generate better results for both our pitchers and perhaps in the win column. I know 3B is supposed to be a power position but the value of defense is on the rise and this team obviously needs a defensive shot in the arm.

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Pete's reply: JD. I've got to defend Huff at first. I think he has played much better than anyone expected. He's an average fielder, but certainly not a "butcher."

Pete
Let me get this traight. DT lets Bergesen throw 113 pitches? What in the world will we do in Sept. when his arm falls off? Let me just get this straight....he can struggle through six innings and throw 113 but he can't throw more than 103 when he is cruising and headed toward a complete game against the Red Sox because he's so young and all???
Does that really make sense to you????

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Pete's reply: Bill, the only thing that makes sense to you is ripping him no matter what he does. That's your right. You're correct that there is way more to the game than pitch counts, but you have oversimplified the decision to take Bergesen out of the Red Sox game to the point of inanity. He was taken out because he had thrown enough pitches and there were two effective relievers ready to go. Turns out they were not effective that day, but Dave played the percentages correctly. If they had no one in the pen, he would probably have stayed in that game, but it made sense to save his arm in that situation. In this situation, he was given the chance to get through the sixth to save the bullpen and give him a chance to benefit if the O's staged some kind of comeback. Believe it or not, there's a lot more going on than just you wanting a guy to get a complete game.

JD,
Explain how the Bedard trade improved the Orioles?
I don’t think it was a bad deal but the team has gotten much worse since then.

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Pete's reply: Explain how the team has gotten much worse. I'm all ears.

I honestly don’t think the pitch count thing is DT’s doing. I think it’s an order from above because the team is focused on the years to come which is understandable. Frustrating as hell but understandable.

Some owners are born mediocre. Some achieve mediocrity. Some, like Angelos, are both.

I understand and can sympathize on both sides of the Bedard trade. Fans are just angry we traded a good pitcher away that works better for a team like Seattle that has it more together and is playoff ready. No fan wants a long term rebuilding process after losing 11 seasons that’s why they are calling for DT’s head right now but the team is young and needs time. They might have to trade more likable players away and change everything a few more times to get it right.

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Pete's reply: I'm trying to figure out what you people are seeing that I'm not. Bedard won six games last year and has already been on the disabled list this year. He's a free agent at the end of this year. The M's traded Adam Jones, a 30-save All-Star closer and an outstanding starting pitching prospect for him. If there is one person out there that thinks the M's got the better end of the deal, that person needs to sober up.

Its a disgrace for any Oriole to have been named the MASN AT&T player of the game. They got beat 5-0, they only got "1" hit against Seattle. Give credit where credit is due! I know this is usually what happens, home town votes for home town players, regardless of who actually played better.

First of all lets mention that the Orioles are not just a mlb team, they're an organization. Two years ago Andy Macphail inherited an organization in shambles and began, finally, building from the ground up, How do you do that? Get young, talented players and prospects. So in exhange for Bedard, a 28 year old pitcher with a spotty injury history, the O's got the following: Adam Jones at the time a 21 year old cf who was a plus defender and top prospect and is now an all-star, George Sherill, a solid reliever who's been surprisingly successful for the O's, Chris Tillman, not just our top pitching prospect but one of the top 3-5 in all of minor league bball, Kam Mickolio, a young pitcher with upside who just joined the O's bullpen, plus Tony Butler a very young prospect who's doing pretty well in A ball. Considering in two seasons Bedard's made a total of 26 starts and thrown 140 innings at a total two year salary of $14.75M, and all of the players we got back our pre-arbitration it's a slam dunk of monumental proportions. So is the organization better? Worlds better and to argue the point is insane. The mlb team? Well we knew, at least some of us did, that trading players for prospects was more of a long term strategy than a win now strategy, but despite that this season the O's have a winning percentage of .434, vs .422 in 2008, and .426 in 2007, so in fact the mlb team has gotten better as well. Good enough for you Angry?

Pete,
I love this blog for your writing and the many people that write on here it’s both informative and hilarious. I was really sad today though when I saw you wrote
If it's any consolation, he still beat out Washburn in MASN's AT&T Player of the Game poll.
You know things are rock bottom when your looking for some kind of positive there…

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Pete's reply: Greg, if it's any consolation, I was being sarcastic.

JD,
I told you I didn’t think it was a bad trade you’re repeating things I know and MASN tells me every 5 min. Maybe over time I will think it’s a slam dunk but I just don’t see it now maybe in 3- 4 years.

Also if Bedard helps Seattle get in the playoffs this season its paid off for them

JD,

I have to point out both Jones and Sherrill were mandatory backup reserves in the all star games.

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Pete's reply: So were Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Zimmerman. I'd have traded Bedard for them, too.

Angry,
So if Seattle makes the playoffs one of Bedards two seasons, and in exchange they gave up their best position player prospect, their best pitching prospect, and three other players then it was worth it? I'm sorry but you seem to not grasp the concept of player valuation. After this season, no matter the result, go give the Mariners new GM some truth serum if he thought it was a good trade. Trades are about more than this guy for that guy, it's about value, and more importantly, future value.

~~Andy Mcphail starting the season off with "dont expect much from us this year is not the right mentality for players".~~

please provide link to this quote from Andy

Pete,

I really think Trembley's tenure with the club may be coming to an end. Though it is not entirely his fault, the fact of the matter is we should have a better record this year compared to last. We have made improvements in some areas, most notably the offense (but you could not tell from last night's miserable performance) however, we lack that "killer instinct" and any instinct at all for that matter. We also stink on the basepaths, and make too many silly mental errors which have been dogging us for quite some time. These are things which needed to be addressed and fixed, but they seem to just continue on and on. Usually, the manager gets the axe in these situations, and again while I can not completely fault DT, I just sense his time is coming to an end (at end of season the latest)

As much as we stink this year, I really do feel next year will be far different primarily because of the pitchers we will be calling up shortly :-)

I am a life long O fan. These are certainly tough times, but maybe remember a couple of things:
Baltimore does have a major league team where not only the Os players are on display but also the greats from the other teams.
Also, every loss puts them in a better draft posistion where it seems recently the picks are outstanding.

Can Scott play 3rd?

Maybe Mora has reached his limit as a everyday player, and could resume his role as a super-sub.

To answer your question...

I want Kirk Gibson. As hitting coach, or as a replacement for Trembley. My take on Trembley is tied solely to our August/September performance. In the last (more than a) few seasons, the team has packed it in for the dog days of Summer in ways that justify ticket prices dropping to $0 (because that's what the performances have proven to be worth).

I like Trembley's personality and approach to the game, but if this team bails on August & September again, in the way it has over the law few seasons, I just don't see how he can remain the skipper.

For those who think the O's Bedard trade wasn't any good because the team isn't any better, I can only say, imagine how much worse we'd be if we DIDN'T have Sherrill, Jones and company...we'd be lucky if we won 40 games this year. On a totally unrelated note about Steve McNair. I've read some posts where people are complaining that he's being made out to be a saint because he was a heckuva football player. I'm reminded of something Sparky Anderson once said--people would cheer Hitler if he hit .300 with 30+ homers and 100+ rbis. The question is, why is that? Why do we give our sports heroes a pass on moral issues, at least most of the time (Michael Vick anyone?). I think it is because as fans, we equate the achievement and performance of the players we like most with ourselves. That is, if the player does well, and to a greater extent, if the team does well, it means WE have done well. When the Ravens won the Super Bowl, people weren't jumping up and down in the streets of Charm City shouting, "The Baltimore Ravens won! The Baltimore Ravens won!" No, they were yelling "WE Won! WE won!" To quote Jerry Seinfeld, "No, THEY won, YOU watched." But that's the nature of sports, that's why their a multi-billion dollar phenomenon. If people didn't align their own selves with the players and teams, professional sports would be a handful of guys playing in front of a few curious onlookers wondering what's going on. So if a player screws up, fools around, what have you, we're more likely to say, well, he's human, I'M human, we'll forgive the way we would want to be forgiven. And maybe that's not a bad thing. There's a difference between forgiving a transgression and EXCUSING it. Forgive yes, but never excuse. Now back to baseball...

I must admit Mr. Schmuck your reply game has definitely stepped up. I've tried to learn how not to respond when we're doing good and also not comment when we're doing bad. It drives me crazy enough just watching the games, let alone commenting on them.

Keep up the great O's coverage.

Why is it the in thing for sports people to drop Hitlers name recently??

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Pete's reply: I think people just don't think before they speak. That's true at just about any time.

I cannot believe some of these post. First give Washburn credit.

What would you expect to gain by firing a manager or coaches? Do you think that would gain another 50 wins for the season. It is a rebuilding year. Crow cannot swing the bat for the players and Kranitz cannot pitch. Remember Kranitz was coach of the year just a few years ago. And Crow is known around all baseball circles as a hitting guru. Interesting how everyone wants to pull the plug. What are you going to do if they replace the coach, fire everybody again in October when they have 90 losses?

Yes, MASN overhypes the Bedard trade. But they overhype everything. I think Peter put it best when he said that if Jim Hunter was at the Hindenburg disaster he would've called it "a soft landing with plenty of seats available for the return flight".

That being said, we clearly got the better of the deal. (And it could get worse for the M's if Bedard leaves for free agency).

Anyone who thinks the M's got the better of the Bedard deal might want to check the M's message boards.

I wouldn't call it the best O's trade ever (F. Robinson is #1, closely followed by Singleton & Torrez for McNally & Coggins) but the O's clearly got the better deal

Regarding "losing mentality" / "no killer instinct", its not the losing that bothers us, its the fact that we lead the league in brain farts.

Sorry for bashing the Bedard trade earlier... i am just... Angry..lol this season is pissing me off and I dont want to see Bedard beat us tonight its just another low point for my fav team...

I know Mora has been showing his age, but I hope they keep him a little longer so he can retire as an Oriole. If he can get his power numbers back up, then he could still be a starter, but if not, he would still be a good back-up.

And once he retires, perhaps they could keep him in the club as a coach? I would be bummed to see one of the better Oriole players of the last five or so years be chased out of town because many people want to treat him as a scapegoat for the blunders of an entire team.

Accountability needs to be emphasized on the pitching staff. The offense and fielding aspect has been respectable all year. Once the atrocious pitching situation is remediated in the coming years, we will see the Orioles true colors.

How can anyone say that trading Bedard, was not a steal? Adam Jones and George Sherrill are both all stars. I don''t care if they weren't voted in by the fans because in case anyone hasn't noticed, O's aren't that good so most fans probably don't know who these guys are. The funniest part is that Chris Tillman might be the best part of the trade and he hasn't pitched one inning in the bigs.

Pete, how active do you think the O's will be at the deadline? Do you get a sense that they want to dump salaries or that they might look around for guys like Ryan Garko from Cleveland or Mark Teahen from KC, as potential 1B and 3B for next year? Teams like the Indians that have high priced talent, want to shed some salaries and given that it might be hard to get some big name free agents to come here, there are opportunities out there to get better.

I am not a sports expert just a fan like anybody else on here but I think we need to give credit to the M’s. Regardless of who got the better of the Bedard trade the M’s are playing with a new GM and a rookie manager also they traded Raul I this offseason who just made the all star team. I am real impressed that even though they lose Adam Jones and Sherrill they can just plug in players and be good to go. They are still in the hunt for the playoffs.

Pete, To respond to your comment on my euthanasia post

I'm an amateur critic. I love the game of baseball, I admire teams that play with talent and intensity.

The Orioles are extremely well-paid professionals. Far too often they look stumbling, flat and lifeless. Far too often they play ugly and uninteresting baseball. Not a big deal in the overall scheme of things. I'm getting a lot more reading done this summer. But it's a shame that a team that once provided so much pleasure now provides so little.

Pete - Replacing Crowley may not be the answer. My point was that someone needs to create more of a fire, more urgency, more winning ways. Both Crowley and Trembley to me seem better suited for developing the younger players before they come to the majors. Create the "Oriole way" before they are here. And if the plan is to develop while they are in big leagues, OK, then acquire more young talent and develop on the field. But this mix of laid back, non-vocal veterans and teaching new kids just doesn't seem to be working and it doesn't create a building block for 2010 season.

I think I have it now Pete. You "save his arm" when he is throwing lights out and you "give him a chance" when he is struggling". Not exactly a strong recipe for success but it is what it is.
Also, this idea that I look to "rip Trembley" is crazy. I like him. I just think he doesn't handle the bullpen well and doesn't do very well on in game decisions. He seems like a pretty nice guy. Probably a better manager than I would be....

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Pete's reply: Yes, you save him when the game is in hand. Of course you do. The fact that they suffered a 1-in-100-games collapse doesn't change the nature of the decision after the fact.

Lucky , I don't have a link to the qoute and it wasn't exactly a word for word either, I apologize for misuse of ""'s but my thought still stands however one of the goals that has been reported on a couple of websites including this one, is that one of the primary goals of the orioles is to avoid a late season collapse. (http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-schmuck704,0,147232.column)

Somebody on this team has to feel like they can win. I don't mean a world title but at least 4th or 3rd place in the standings should be a plausible goal we have been really close to getting back to .500 a couple of times this season, but for some reason we can not sustain that success. I am optimistic for the best. But I still feel it may be a motivational issue.

Charlie - no need to apologize. You took liberties in making your point and I took liberties in making mine. We all do it. My point is that this is not a good team. The kind of "bloopers", mind farts and no huste plays that every team makes are magnified because our margin is so slim. It is frustrating but sometimes you need to let your head rule your heart.This team is not good enough to win the opening series from the Yanks or to sweep the defending champions but they did that. They are too good to lose to the Nats but they did. How is anyone actually mystified by inconsistency from a team breaking in so many rookies? As compared to past years, this is what I see that keeps my assessment positive:

C Weiters has shown enough to look competent and he looks better every week. I think you have to say we are set at C

1B Huff is a good hitter and has exceeded my expectations in the field. He is not an all star but is a competent 1B IMO and it looks like the best position player in the minors is a 1B so I am satisfied with 1B

2B Roberts is still productive despite all the whining about body language and facial expressions. His new deal likely makes him untradeable so he is our 2B and I am fine with that and think we can compete with him there

SS huge improvement over last year. I like both of our new SS so think we can compete with what we have there

3B is the one glaring hole. Presumably Mora is gone after the season. Wiggy is not starting caliber IMO but is the fallback position until a better solution can be found.

The OF is set five deep IMO and we can compete with the current OF pieces IMO. If Markakis or JOnes are not the all star caliber player we think they are it hurts. IF both arent, it is a problem but we cant waste time or assets worrying about that now.

If two out of our big three is top of the rotation major league talent, we are very set in the starting rotation with Bergy, Guts and Hernandez, Birken and HIll fighting for the 5th spot with all comers. If only one of our big three comes through as a top of rotation starter, we need one of those bottom three to step up to middle of rotation quality. Either way I like our chances. If all three fail, we gots us some problems to overcome, no question. Then it would likely fall to Patton or Erbe to come through in a big way. Not as likely as the big three but still very possible.

If the above works out, the bullpen will likely work itself out too from the starters squeezed out of the rotation, and McCrory, Kam, etc

So I see basically one hole to fill right now from outside the organization. That doesnt mean that every other position is ready to compete for the WS right now. It doesnt mean that we can play bad baseball or lackadaisically and compete with Boston and NY . . . or even Toronto and Tampa. But I think that inconsistency is a given for a rebuilding team. I think that Tremblay's even temperament is the way to go while we get the roster where it needs to be. There will be time to insert a Millar type as a motivator or hold players accountable once the roster is set. I am not sure that the motivation being called for has much positive effect on this kind of team. I dont think anyone outside the lockerrom can make that call in an educated way. Meanwhile it is now possible to envision a roster that can compete. ANy piece might fall back or stop advancing but right now, the "plan" is clear. We have to let it run its course and adjust on the fly as glitches pop up.

Pete-The poll results show how stupid people can be. To qualify as a data point in that survey you should be required to own at least 2 flowered shirts like you and me.