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August 26, 2009

Felix plays it forward

Fourth outfielder Felix Pie was inconsolable in the Orioles dugout last night after his second baserunning mistake of the game, but he is back in the lineup tonight because Adam Jones still isn't quite ready to return from a back soreness.

Jones lingering discomfort is a break for Pie, because the last thing you want to do after a game like that is sit on it. This way, he has an opportunity to do something to make everybody forget the night before.

Mark Viviano said on MASN that Pie told him he takes full responsibility for losing the second game of the series. That's nice of him, but there was plenty of blame to go around. The Orioles put 17 runners on base last night and had 10 fruitless at-bats (out of 13 opportunities) with runners in scoring position. They also allowed the Twins to get runs right back three times after Orioles rallies.

It wasn't just Felix, but at least he's taking responsibility for his mistakes. Maybe some of his teammates can take a lesson from that.

Instant update: Felix just launched a long home run to center field. I was worried that he might miss second base, but he made it all around and has to feel a lot better about himself now.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:37 PM | | Comments (23)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Comments

It's nice to see a little personal responsibility these days. Actually, I think Rick Dempsey said it best after the game. He said this was just a case of a young player trying to do to much, and I believe he is exactly right. Pie's had some success lately and sometimes it leads you to do things you shouldn't.

And you are so right when you say there is plenty of blame to go around. You can't blame Pie for this. After all, if he doesn't make that catch in the two run Twins second, they score maybe a ton of runs. And then it doesn't really matter what happens later.

All I can say is, keep on keepin' on. And that goes for all of us.

WTG Felix!!!

I guess he didn't want to stay on the bases this time.

nice home run by felix. he looks better every time i watch him. i just wish we could have a four man outfield.


I blame Brian Bass.

Stop blaming the Orioles for the base running mistakes. They are using pieces of cardboard for bases in Sarasota.

Trembley is a coward for calling a rookie out like that in the media, and MASN A**holes should be ashamed of piling it on thick on Pie game after game. It does not matter that he made an out. No one would have driven home anyway. He is a rookie for crying out loud. By contrast when Golden Boy Weiters struggles in Buck Martinez eyes', Rick Dempsey's and arse kissers Jim Hunter, he can do no wrong.

Good to see Pie handling it like a man and come back tonight and make a statement with his home run.

Nice job of of showing off Pie's speed scoring on Moeller's rbi double.
Nice to see Felix try to attone for last nights cluster on the bases. I'm not sure I'm crazy about the Manager & Coaching staff blasting the team in public for their base running mistakes. Thats better handled behind closed doors.
sort of reminds me about the time Ray Miller did the same thing years ago.
We all know what eventually happened to him don't we?

Pie's hitting .292 and slugging .500 in August. Maybe all the baseball professionals who said his long-term future is bright really do know something about the game. (And maybe some of the 'fans' who said he'd never make it, don't.)

When the usually at a loss for a meaningful sentence Trembley & a third base coach start ripping you in the press...I believe the wheels are starting to come off.
This is just frustration coming out because each & every mistake this group makes is now under the microscope & may very well cost this entire coaching staff their employment.
That said, Trembley & Samuel would come across as far more sincere if they kicked some of the veteran dogs on this team the way they jumped all over a kid still learning the game. If the Orioles were any good...Pie would be in Norfolk learning & re-learning the basics of this game. Instead, we suck & have to rush him up & now he's somehow the whipping boy for all our troubles?
If this is just another rebuilding year like so many before...then shut up & keep teaching the players you have & if anyone dogs it...have the pair Charlie Manuel & Jim Leyland have & sit them. Getting on 1 player for all the serious ills of this team is a cop out.

I think Trembley sounding off is so long overdue. Pie needed it to be honest. If you don't think so, how's he doing tonight?

Throwing someone under the bus to save your ass is wrong. Calling them out because enough is enough is different. Closed door meetings didn't work and it was time to step it up. It's not like he can get benched right now.

At some point guys need to see that that they're accountable. You can admit you're at fault all you want, but he sure hasn't been fixing it yet. This isn't a guy in a slump, this is a guy making Little League mistakes in what's supposed to be the highest level of competition.

Sometimes you need to light a fire under a guy.

Felix Pie; 1-2 HR (6)

Just Felix Pie being Felix Pie.k

Not true Pie would have scored. I have no problem with what Trembley said. It is all true, over and over Pie keeps making mistakes. Hope he can get over it, but he does make more blunders than most. I think the Orioles are satisfied with him being a fourth outfielder. Trembley really could not get rid of Pie if he wanted to, Andy will not let that happen, so you go with what you have. He is better than Jeff Stone!

"Ithe Orioles were any good...Pie would be in Norfolk learning & re-learning the basics of this game. Instead, we suck & have to rush him up & now he's somehow the whipping boy for all our troubles?"

Actually Pie is out of options so they couldn't just send him down...He's also had 260 AB the last two years with the Cubs so it's not like they rushed him

James C--What in God's name are you talking about?

Trembley needs to blast Pie to get him to perform?

Dave should light a fire under his own personage.

Trembley is such a joke. What a complete all around loser. This man is starting to disgust me.

You (I'm going to talk to him as if he's actually going to read this) Trembley are a coward, plain and simple. All the mistakes. All the bad judgements, and you never say a word. You sit there on your fat butt, hiding behind the fact that there are no expectations, and continue day after day to screw this franchise and this city and its fans with your incompetence.

And now for the second time this year, you use your media time to bash the most bashable guy on the team. The silly Dominican, that despite his ADD or large learning curve, has the most passion and enthusiasm of any guy on this team. You publicly crucify him for a second time, because he's the only one you are man enough to stand up to. Because it's easy.

Trembley, I've never like you. I thought all along that you were lazy, stupid, and incredibley inept at your profession. I didn't think it was possible to despise you anymore than I already did, but you've managed to make it happen.


..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Wow, how do you really feel? I don't expect you to like anybody, but you kind of hurt your credibility here. You've been bashing this guy forever, and now we find out you hated him from the start because of his appearance (fat) and work ethic (lazy) that you have no way of actually observing other than seeing him sit in the dugout during games, which means you never gave him a chance. If you want to be an effective communicator, you might want to think your posts through a little better than this one. It makes you look bad.

"There are players who aren't ready for the major leagues, who still belong in the minors"

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Glad to see that Trembley was able to light a fire under Pie. Now what is he waiting for to light a fire under Scott, Mora, Wigginton and Jones. Hell to freeze over.

Dave Trembley is the Peter Principle Manager.

This is not to say that a decent manager can't come up from the ranks without any prior major-league experience, but he came into the job more as a result of expedience: replacing the previous rookie manager who was fired, who in turn replaced the previous rookie manager who was fired.

Trembley is here in part because there were very few, if any, proven major-league managers who would've gotten anywhere near this organization at the time he was hired. Again, I'm not saying he's terrible, but I suspect that there is a better available manager out there somewhere.

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: You're way off the mark in your last paragraph. Tell me which unemployed manager -- other than Joe Girardi, who was waiting on the Yankees -- ever turned down the Orioles. When a job opens, everybody wants it. Remember, almost every newly hired manager gets a bad team. That's why the job was open.

what does everyone think about Bob Brenly as next O's manager? he's got a WS ring, he's old school, and a fiery guy. i think he'd be great for the O's.

Responding to your response of Al East's comment - I don't know that he's "way off the mark in (his) last paragraph". The reason a spot is open for a new manager is usually because management is trying something different for a team that hasn't been performing to their capabilities.

As an aside, it isn't always the case that an open managerial spot is because a team was bad. Though they hadn't won a World Series since 2000, it'd be hard to make the case that the Skanks made the right move in not keeping Torre. (Yes, they made him an offer but a one-year contract to Joe was quite an insult, especially after the threats Steinbrenner made during the division series.) They were definitely, still, performing well, and it wasn't until they brought in someone new that they didn't reach the post-season, which was the first time since '95.

But you think Girardi and others weren't turned away from professional sports worst owner who went through four or five managers in a five season span? Who would want to work for the same guy that pushed Davey Johnson to resign after garnering the AL Manager of the Year. You have to be kidding me. There is definitely a stigma against managing for the O's under Angelos, and you can't say there isn't.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Not only can I say there isn't, I know there isn't. The last time the job was open, there was a line down the street to manage the team. The year Mazzilli was hired, Terry Francona interviewed here and wanted the job. You've got no basis whatsoever for what you're saying. When a managerial job is open, everybody who doesn't have one wants it. If this job comes open, all the unemployed big name people will be on the list and all will be willing to take the job if not offered a better one. What you don't understand is, unlike players who generally know they can't single-handedly think they can make a team win, managers have big egos and they all feel they can make the difference.

Pete,

"When a job opens, everybody wants it."

Can you name any proven major-league managers who has interviewed for the O's manager's job recently?

Seriously, my memory's a bit fuzzy, and I'm not privy to what goes on in the Warehouse, but the last proven major-league manager the O's had was Hargrove.

Post-Hargrove, it's been Lee Mazzilli, a rookie major-league manager who was fired and replaced by Sam Perlozzo, a rookie major-league manager who was fired and replaced by Dave Trembley, a rookie major-league manager.

I think this qualifies as a pattern, suggesting either that the O's F.O. prefers hiring newbies (whom they in turn fire in due time) or that managers with decent MLB resumes haven't been interested in the job.

I'm not suggesting that Trembley is the worst guy for the job, but I think it's been a convenience for the O's front office to fill the manager position by taking the 'interim' tag of the coach they recently promoted after firing the previous inexperienced manager.

It would be nice to think that they've conducted an exhaustive search for a manager and were able to choose from among many experienced and qualified applicants, but somehow I doubt it.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: The last time there was an interview process, they interviewed Francona, who had managed the Phillies, along with several other veterans. Last time I looked Joe Torre, Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa haven't been unemployed recently. You're just wrong on this and you need to give it up. Major league managerial jobs are like gold. Everybody wants one.


Yeah I know Pete. I may have had a cocktail or two before posting that one. You're probably right about hurting my credibility. But I don't take it back.

God forbid anyone show some fire and conviction with anything pertaining to the Orioles, right?

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Pete's reply: Well, I admire you for trying to fire up the team, but I don't know if any of the players read the blog.

"Pete's reply: The last time there was an interview process, they interviewed Francona, who had managed the Phillies, along with several other veterans."

By Francona, I assume you mean Terry Francona, who has been managing the Red Sox since 2004. So I take it the last time there was an interview process was before the 2004 season, which was when the O's selected Lee Mazzilli. I didn't think he was the best choice, but at least he was selected from among other interviewed candidates.

So am I to understand that there's not been any interview process since then, despite there being two managerial changes? So either the FO was happy to continue to promote unproven MLB managers in-house to preserve continuity (of what? losing?) without considering outside candidates, or there weren't many other candidates that expressed interest in the job.

If Major League managerial jobs are like gold in that everbody wants one, why would the O's FO not want to consider candidates other than their interim managers, neither of whom had any prior major league managerial experience?

If by saying "Last time I looked Joe Torre, Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa haven't been unemployed recently" you mean to suggest that the good ones are taken, there would still be plenty of other former managers and even other unproven candidates from which to select if "Everybody wants" a managerial job.

By the way, Joe Torre was available in 2008, as was Cito Gaston, Tom Kelly, etc., not to mention Davey Johnson.

Geez Pete, I think I made a valid point. I'm optimistic about the O's future, but much of this has to do with the fact that a proven GM, Andy MacPhail, appears to be bringing his experience to bear in running things, and things have been so-far-so-good under his tenure. It appears that the O's ownership has seen the error of its ways and the hiring of MacPhail was a big step in the right direction. Unfortunately, there's a lot of damage that needs to be undone and it may take a while to see tangible results.

Yes, MacPhail is the one who selected Trembley, but I haven't been calling for Trembley's head. I'm just questioning where we are going in the future to get this club back to winning.

If the players don't know how to win, as you asserted after last night's game, and the manager doesn't know how to win, then how is the team going to win?


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Pete's reply: No, there hasn't been a managerial search since then, which is another reason why MacPhail isn't considering an in-season change now. Perlozzo took over in-season and so did Trembley. Yes, a few of the vets were available last year, but that's not the point you were making. You said no good manager would want to come here and I said that's silly. You don't think Buck Showalter, Bob Melvin, Don Baylor or any number of veteran candidates would jump at the chance to take over this team? Of course they would.

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About Peter Schmuck
Peter Schmuck wants you to know that, contrary to popular belief, he is more than just a bon vivant, raconteur and collector of blousy flowered shirts. He is a semi-respected journalist who has covered virtually every sport -- except luge, of course – and tackled issues that transcend the mere games people play. If that isn’t enough to qualify him to provide witty, wide-ranging commentary on the sports world ... and the rest of the world, for that matter ... he is an avid reader of history, biography and the classics, as well as a charming blowhard who pops off on both sports and politics on WBAL Radio. That means you can expect a little of everything in The Schmuck Stops Here, but the major focus will be keeping you up to the minute on Baltimore’s major sports teams and themes, whether it’s throwing up the Orioles lineup the minute it’s announced or updating you on the latest sprained ankle in Owings Mills. Oh, and by the way, that’s Mr. Schmuck to you.

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