I heard from your buddy Bruce on 105.7 that you jinxed Sherrill by saying he's unhittable after changing his pitching stance (moments before giving up the game-tying hit! And all this time we've been blaming Trembley...

I won't beat myself up anymore about yesterday's loss.Everytime you start to think that they are turning the corner they always find away to disappoint you. They take 1 step forward and they take 2 steps back. I don't know if it always going to be this way but they still don't have one guy on this team that could even come close to being a team leader. They don't have one guy on this team that ever played on winning team. Boston lost that game the other night after blowing a 9 run lead , most teams would have beeen devastated but with the make up of thsi team , they can just right that off and play again. a team like the orioles can't.On another subject something that i have made a crusade about is Brian Roberts , he made another error number 6 on a [play that he half heartedly played. He is 2 for his last 22 and has noticiably started to strikeout at a alarming rate for a lead off batter. Pete i am hoping sooner or later that we start watching the same ball game because i still don't believe that you think there is anything wrong with him. You use the word frustration when you describe his lapses and continue to give him the benefit of the doubt when it's clearly obvious that he has mentally detached himself from this team. he needs to be traded not only for the orioles sake but for his. If he continues to be apart of this franchise all the good that he has accomplished throughout his career will start to turn negative. I couldn't feel any stronger about anything then this.

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Pete's reply: Bob, are you actually proposing the Orioles get rid of Roberts?

Pete, any idea if the O's are going to get any good international players? signing starts today.

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Pete's reply: I haven't really heard anything, but I'm guessing they keep that stuff close to the hip. Will they get the top guy? I doubt it, though they did work him out.

Pete, any idea if the O's are going to get any good international players? signing starts today.

Could everyone who thinks that Brian Roberts has "mentally" detached himself from the team this season and needs to be traded please explain to me that 4-year contract extension he signed earlier this year? At the time, I remember most everyone in town agreeing that it proved he thought the Os and Andy MacPhail were on the right track.

Well, what has changed between then and now? Did anyone expect us not to be in last place? Did anyone expect us not to get inconsistent (at best) starting pitching? On the other hand, did anyone expect the many POSITIVE signs of progress we've seen this year, even factoring in the many slumps and disappointments?

Between Bergeson and Reimold's promotions and success, Adam Jones's continued development, and the boatload of prospects playing well in the minors---not to mention the arrival of Matt Wieters, some very gritty come-from-behind victories, and a couple of very solid stretches of winning baseball---this has easily been the most encouraging season since the first half of 2005, and I'm certainly not expecting this year to end as badly as 2005 did.

So keeping all that in mind, what possible reason would Roberts have to change his mind about the direction of the ballclub less than 6 months after signing that contract?

Hey Pete,

Since we had a day game, did you get to see all the other deplorable coaching decisions last night?

The Marlins, Twins, Cubs, Mets, Reds, and Yankees all put in their closer to get saves. The horror!

Even worse the Angels and Giants gave up walkoff HR's. Talk about pathetic managing not predicting your pitcher wouldn't get the job done. That Mike Scoscia though, what a double moron. He left the starting pitcher in too long AND his reliever didn't get the job done after the team rallied in the top of the 9th to go up one. Don't let the door hit him on his WS ring when he's shipped outta there.

Thank God for managers like Jim Tracy of the Rockies though. Jason Hammel had a shutout through 7 and was under 100 pitches. Good thing Tracy had the brains to stuck with him into the 8th. Nevermind that he's a converted reliever and he only pitched over 100 pitches 2 other times this year (one of which times he got destroyed). That 26 year old kid was cruising last night. Well until he gave up the game winner in the 8th and the Rockies lost 1-0. Genius.

The Orioles jumped into the international market last winter and ended up with a ragged out and over rated Japanese pitcher. The signing appeared to be more for publicity and diversity purposes than staff improvement.

Transformation of the franchise into a winner will take some time , as will the development of effective and competitve international scouting effort.

The team is going nowhere as expected and it is time to unload veterens such as Huff, Sherrill, and Mora if there any takers, for more young talent. Wins and losses don't matter at this point as long as the rebuilding effort continues.

Pete,

I know how much pain you must be in, even the slightest amount of sarcasm in your tongue in cheek comment had the pain screaming at us!

Much like close family or children, to objectively assess a situation you have to step back away from the situation. I'm certain from a writers perspective, if the principal in question is affable and friendly that makes being critical much more difficult. But the reality remains, if the O's wish to soar with the eagles, they have to discard the albatross in the dugout!

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Pete's reply: Once again, Keith, you deftly question my credibility because -- oh, horror -- I'm actually there every single day and ask the actual people involved questions. Is it possible I just disagree with you. I respect your opinion and have said so many times. I don't ask you to agree with me, but when you say that the only reason I have an opinion is to mollify the players and manager, you've shifted to an ad hominem attack, which is neither logical nor appreciated.

Pete,

Please keep us posted on international signings if you could. I for one believe the Koji signing remains a good sign that the O's are interested in the international market and AM deserves the credit. While he pitched well for a short period and got little support, the fact that he pitched in a 6 man rotation (2 years ago) and pitched relief the last two years paying him $5 Million a year for 2 years and expecting him to be a starter in a 5 man rotation in a longer season wasn't the brightest move. However, in the long run it was a good but expensive move that we can only hope helps us in the long run!

Brent,

First, let me say that I think the O's are going in the right direction.

But for argument's sake, is it even remotely possible that Roberts re-signed with the O's not because he agrees with me, but--perhaps--because he knew no other team would sign him for more $$?

Roberts' signing of a contract extension told me nothing about his thoughts on "going in the right direction." If he could've gotten the same deal from, say, Boston, I would've bet the farm that he'd take it.

With very few exceptions, players are not driven by commitment to their teams or their cities. They're driven by their commitment to the highest bidder.

Ron,

If Roberts's contract had been set to expire at the end of this season, I might agree with you ... or at least, I'd agree that your argument is plausible. But (correct me if I'm wrong), Roberts was signed through 2010. The guy's coming off two of his best seasons (actually, his two best seasons other than 2005) --- I know he's 31 and probably on the downward side of his career, but (if Brett Favre has taught us anything) professional athletes are always the last to acknowledge their skills are declining, and besides, assuming he stays healthy, Roberts should still have plenty of productive seasons left.

I have a hard time believing that he would have seriously doubted he could get big offers from other teams if he waited until 2010 and became a free agent. (Or at least offers that were comparable to what the Orioles were offering.) There was no need to "jump the gun" and resign so early if he didn't genuinely want to stay in Baltimore. "Worst" case scenario, he gets traded to a contender.

Yesterday's game sums up Orioles baseball in 2009 perfectly. Going from an incredible high to a massive low is our story this year.
Can we call this the low point of '09? That is the feeling I have in my gut right now.

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Peter's reply: The high point and the low point came in the same 18-hour period.

Pete Brian signed this contract extension because the economy was bad and he wouldn't have gotten anywhere near 40,000,00. Anybody that thinks any different they are just kidding themselves. Orlando Hudson who had a great year could barely get a contract. Pete don't you see anything wrong with brian's play at all.

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Pete's reply: Sure, I've written about it a number of times. He has terrible body language, looked lackadaisical at times and has gotten picked off first more than usual. He also was leading the majors in doubles the last time I looked and has numbers that put him among the best in the league at his position.

Again, his contract would have expired in 2010, not 2009 --- who knows what the economy would have looked like then.

All I'm saying is that for a player of Roberts's caliber, waiting another year or two would only have upped the pressure on the Orioles either to resign him or trade him to a contender. To get it done with two years remaining on his contract suggests, to me, that staying in the only place he has ever played professionally, in a community that he knows and has invested in, were important considerations --- and if that's reasonable to assume, then why would another losing first half (which includes all those positive developments I mentioned earlier) have such a drastic effect on him that he would "disengage" from the team like people want to believe he has?

Personally, all this talk of trading Roberts etc is irrelevant. Roberts WILL be traded...if someone makes a "Bedard-type" offer to Andy. In fact, EVERYONE and ANYONE would be traded, barring contract clauses, if Andy gets a Bedard-type offer. If he does NOT get such an offer, expect Mr. Roberts and his teammates to continue to take the field until their contracts expire. That's it. Just that simple. All this talk back and forth is somewhat reminiscent of William Shatner's famed 1986 appearance on SNL, the skit where he addressed a group of Star Trek conventioneers: "You've taken a fun little job that I took as a lark and turned it into a colossal waste of time. How old are you people? Move out of your parents basements and grow the hell up. It's just a TV show!" It's just baseball. We get a great offer, Roberts goes. He doesn't, he stays. Another pop culture reference: Gene Hackman in HOOSIERS introducing his star-less starters to the less than enthused Hickory High School faithful. "THIS is your team. Support us for who we ARE, and not who we are not." THESE are your Orioles. Granted we have a wee bit of trouble navigating the basepaths (one thing on the Trembley front: Less TALKING to the players about improving their baserunning, more MAKING THEM PRACTICE it...I mean, does practice END after Spring Training? Or is it just batting practice til next February when they start doing basepath drills again?), but you have to admit, they're a heckuva lot more fun to watch than they used to be. Okay, enough, go O's, de-halo the Halos.

Pete,

Its your job to do, not might and I don't wouldn't want to begin telling you how or what to write. But I will continue to comment where required from afar! I have rooted for the O's long before you moved east of Mississippi and have no qualms in blogs because the last time I checked this is still America, the day before it's birthday and speech is still free and all opinions good or bad welcome! Have a great 4th of July and keep it real!

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Pete's reply: I certainly welcome your comments and appreciate the time you put in here. I will disagree with you frequently, but I thought that was the point, really. Kind of boring if we just wrote the same thing.

ad hominem, is that like the straw man argument? good stuff indeed!
As to Roberts, my favorite theme, I'd take Kinsler, Hill, Zobrist, Cano, Asdrubal Cabrera, Callaspo, and possibly Pedroia, over him, in the AL alone. I think the anointing oils have gotten to his head. And who, when recounting how many injections of HGH he received, can't distinguish between 1 and 2? I think remembering the difference between 21 and 22 might be a little harder. Here's hoping brob turns it on soon but there seems a couple intriguing replacements in the minor league system that might allow a better use of 40 mill.

Pete,

Please tell me why everyone is so down on Brob? Who else within the O's organization would you want playing second base and leading off? I'm baffled, really the guy is in a mini slump but who doesn't go through ups and downs in any job! Even my blogging isn't so sharp some days!

I think many have lost sight of managing expectations. As much as I have fought the notion of writing off this year as rebuilding, the reality IS that our Starting pitching isn't there YET! For whatever reason, our Front Office has elected not to buy credible starters and are developing our young pitchers to build their confidence. However the corp of our team, Nick, Adam, Matt, Nolan, Luke and Brian are the best corp we have had in a long time. The pitching is coming and the Front Office has some work to do in the offseason with a 3B, 1B and a QUALITY Front end of the rotation pitcher but we are approaching striking distance and beloved owner has VOWED to open the pocketbook! What more can we ask for, I guess just a little patience!