Funny you should say somebody will find a way to blame Trembley, well I have one problem with this game. This is the third time in less then two weeks he has sent Baez out for a second inning of work in a close game which resulted in the other team getting the winning run. 7/28 vs Kansas City, 8/3 vs Detriot and now 8/8 vs Toronto. I know the bullpen has gotten a lot of work lately, but you have to notice some sort of trend of Baez coming up short late in the game.

Blame it on Trembley?

Maybe not--but when a team is losing, they don't fire the players in the middle of a season.

This game illustrates why the Sherrill trade was a colossal mistake. If Sherrill were still on this team, Johnson would have been pitching in this situation. However, now he's the closer. Baez is now apparently assuming Johnson's former role.

I still maintain that a general manager has to be braindead in order to basically give away one of the better closers in the game.

It's all Dave Trembley's fault. With his great telepathic powers and ability to see through time, he should've seen this coming. He should've made Tillman pitch the whole game. Because our bullpen sucks. And Baez is overpaid. FiRe TrEmBlEy!1!1!

I'm still predicting that we'll be looking for another closer at the end of the year. Maybe we can get Sherrill back.

This is again a game that winning teams win and losing teams lose....bases loaded, one out in the sixth and your young, budding, supposed to be superstar at the plate...what does he do? Never seen the pitcher before, the bases are loaded, and he swings at the very first pitch to pop out in the infield. This was not just a physical mistake, it was the kind of rookie, mental mistake that hopefully Trembley or Crowley or somebody drives into his head....
Multiple, multiple, multiple opportunities to win this game if this team could advance runners, play small ball or run the bases halfway decently...Yes, the manager gets a large share of the blame for these deficiencies...

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Pete's reply: I have only one question about your first sentence. Which one of these teams is a "winning" team?

Well Typical Intelligent Fan the closest thing to telepathy in baseball is precedent, and what that has shown is that Baez has let the team down lately in close games.

Charles,
So the best play for MacPhail at the deadline would have been to go for as many wins as possible in 2009? It makes no sense for a last place team to keep a 31-year old arbitration eligible reliever when instead they can get a top-notch 22-year old switch hitting corner infield prospect. When you overvalue your current assets, you end up with 12 consecutive losing seasons. This trade deadline was a refreshing change.

MLB suffers from a lack of competent umpires because they are given a free pass with every mistake so this screwup shouldn't be a surprise. This time DT gets the pass because he can't hit with men in scoring position. It just happens way to often. AM has got to open the vault and get a 1st & 3rd baseman and maybe a hard hitting shortstop.

Getting tired of leading the league in "Moral Victories". The club from the top down has to instill the notion that the Orioles do not lose in July, August, & September. These second half swoons are no longer acceptable. If we find ways to win the games earl y in the season then it should be expected that the players can find ways to win in the second half.

I am also getting tired of hearing how if Oriole pitches make mistakes they are up in the hitting zone yet it seems like if the other teams pitchers make mistakes they are out of the zone. The second thing that should be drilled from the minors on up is as a pitcher you do not make mistakes up in the zone.

I have been encouraged by the last 2 games as we are getting better as we are getting younger. Tillman showed 2 plus offspeed pitches despite a nothing fastball and showed an advanced concept of pitching for his age.

Baez is being left out there to take the hits for the team at the moment. Let's just face it, we shouldn't expect to win a matchup with the Jays' bullpen which is better than ours. For all the Baez haters don't worry next year you'll get to see Dennis Sarfate walk in the winning run instead of Baez giving up a double off the wall.

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Pete's reply: And, remember, Baez got three outs worth of contact before the double. Roberts might make both of the plays Wigginton didn't make.

Don't worry Charles is the type of Baltimore fan who would have ripped Andy if he had kept Sherrill and he started blowing saves left and right like he did last year. Saying that he should dump all the veterans and get younger. These fans can't decide what they want, they just want to complain. Andy's never swayed from his philosophy of getting younger and more talented. That type of short sightedness of trying to win now, is what got us in this position in the first place

Well, Baez did it again. If DT sits Mora because he's been ineffective, why can't he do the same thing to Baez? This guy has been the Os achilles heel. Everytime he comes in the game, I know that its only a matter of time before the other team gets the game winning hit.

I hope Matusz does a great job tomorrow. Sure don't want to see no frickin Baez!

Like it or not the manager takes responsibility for loss.

When we played Detroit I was very envious of how their relievers can throw high 90s. Maybe we need to make it a goal to obtain guys like that in the draft and FA.

Nationals are going for a 7 game win streak tonight!

The biggest play of the game was Wieters pop up on the first pitch with the bases loaded and one out. I hope this kid lives up to the hype but so far he looks over matched. I think he was called up way too soon and should have spent most of the year at AAA.

Same for Tillman and Matusz. If either of these kids is hurt or gets hurt you can blame Macphail for trying to support his moves by showcasing these kids way too early.

Acquring them in trades was skillful but rushing them to justify himself to Angelos is dead wrong,

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Pete's reply: Wieters came into today's game hitting .333 in his last 15 games. That was a bad at-bat, but he's not overmatched.

Peter,
This L isn’t that bad us fans are used to it in fact it might be one of the better losses this season.

Can't blame Trembley? Why the heck was Wigginton forced to flounder at 2B? Don't you think that Mora is more capable of handling 2B or SS, while Wigginton is decent at 3B?

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Pete's reply: I don't think any manager would play two players out of position instead of one.

Re Charles "This is the kind of game winning teams win and losing teams lose . . ." Superb, incisive commentary, missing on most b-mo sports blogs.

I don't understand peoples infatuation of placing a teams struggles on the manager. Clint Hurdle was NL Coach of the Year the year Colorado made it to the World Series. But all of a sudden in barely more than a year he forgot how to coach and was fired. They bring in Jim Tracy who was fired from his last managerial job w/ the Dodgers because he wasn't winning enough and now more than likely will be declared NL Coach of the Year for bringing Colorado back into the playoff hunt. The baseball manager is the most overrated position in all of sports in terms of impact on the outcome of a game. This team is not 18 games below .500 because of Trembley.

Gil,
I don’t think the team had much of a choice man. Someone within the organization wouldn’t allow any high dollar free agents so it seems the strategy of 2009 all along is to build through the draft and prospects. It didn’t work at all for winning games but this season was not about winning games but to gain experience for the rookies that’s why DT is still around not that I know if he is helping them progress but... Hopefully the team goes shopping this offseason to patch the holes they left going into this season……….. The fanbase is dying for at least some form of record improvement.

Somebody needs to explain to DT that Wiggy is not as versatile as he thinks he is.

Bad contingency plans result in Ls!!!!!

The baseball manager is the most overrated position in all of sports in terms of impact on the outcome of a game.
--------------

Except for the head coach in the NBA.

Dwayne- So I suppose you're trying to say that Bass or Albers would've done a better job? Since when have they been consistent? Or should we stretch out Johnson as far as we can so we can F- up another arm? Because there are SO many options for Trembley to turn to.

You people sound like idiots. If Johnson had blown a save today, you fans would be clamering about how he isn't suited for the closer role. And now we're talking about Mora playing SS or 2B? LOL! Better yet, DT should've moved Jones to his original position at SS and shifted Izturis to 2B. Then Wigginton could've played 3B, move Mora to LF, and Reimold to CF. LOL Maybe we should give Markakis a shot at the mound while we're at it.

Where is the tough loss column in the standings?

I have to agree with folks when I saw that Wigginton was playing 2nd base, I was like, "WHAT?" I understand Trembley wanted to get more offense in, but I imagine Andino would have made those plays!

You lose games because of situations like the 10th inn when Nick Markakis doubled, and Huff didn't advance him to third.

Tough losses are the new wins in Baltimore. That just doesn't roll off the tongue very easily. The O's better get some bats in the lineup assuming the pitching pans out. The standings don't care about moral victories.

EC,

Phil Jackson is as much a reason Kobe and MJ have championships as those two are the reasons Phil has 10. How many championships do they have w/o Phil? I don't think an NBA coach is nearly as overrated.

It's officially that time of year. I don't know exactly what has changed between now and last week when the O's were just as bad, but I realized today that I've officially tuned out the O's in favor of religiously following the every move going on around the Baltimore Ravens, from whether our #4 receiver Justin Harper is catching the ball with his body or his hands to the fact that Joe Flacco has emerged uni-browless this season.

I love the O's, I really do, and I'll continue to check the box score and hope for an Orioles victory [and I was happy to see Tillman turn in a good performance today], but aside from tracking the performance of our youngsters Bergesen, Hernandez, Reimold, Wieters, Matusz, and Tillman, I've lost interest in the O's until spring training starts next year with Bergesen as the Opening Day starter, a new manager, and hopefully a team capable of making a run at .500.

Go Ravens!

Ryan K, that's a lot of paying attention for someone who's lost interest. Was that tongue in cheek?

To Bobby:

You got that right, bud. People just like to complain more than they want to praise. Sure, I'm frustrated, as everyone else certainly is after a game like this one, but it's a perspective thing. This team has had no trouble at all getting runners on base, but they just can't seem to find the right guy at the plate to knock them in when it counts.

With ONE clutch hit at the time it's needed, the Orioles would have won this game. It just didn't happen....again. How can anyone blame the manager? I'm a little down on Crow for not being more influential with these important at-bats that arise during the game. Talk to the guy before he steps in the box. Tell him to take a pitch. Give him some insight about what it means to hit with runners in scoring position. Instead, the guy gets in the box and wails away at the first toss and the rally dies. Grrrrrrrr.....

Great job by Tillman. He should have had a win in his best outing of his young career, but, alas, we leave 10 more guys on base because of a lack of discipline at the plate when it matters most.

chill out everyone,
at least mora feels respected now....
not that one should worry about the feelings of a hitter playing a power position who is on pace tp hit about 5 home runs and drive in 40 runs....no, you wouldn't want to offend him anymore by like say...uh.....playing someone else there??

nah....after all it's not a team game, is it?

Blow up the managers and start fresh! Bring in a good manager that can pick his staff and this team might be good to go. Well long as a good new manager can make inputs on who to pickup and draft..

Man… I don’t care who our manager is next season but we need to get more stability at the positions in case a starter goes down. Ty Wigginton can’t be the designated fill in lol. Look at how the Red Sox can switch up positions all over the field. The O’s have some flexibility but we need a lot more!

Bobby-
Phil could not have done it without Kobe/Shaq or Jordon.

You stated earlier about Hurdle, etc. The same thing happens in the NBA. When succes come, it's because
they found that elusive place where coaching ability, talented players and a touch of good fortune all come together at just the right time.

My point is the NBA is as much for show as sport at times and players run the show there.

Watch out O’s fans. The Washington Nationals are the hottest team in baseball.

Pete,
I have the headline for you....you don't even have to pay me....

Ortiz Blames "Fred Flintstone"

"yeah, i started with Pebbles and Bam Bam you know....and then I just thought why not try a few Barnies...you know...he was my favorite character....and then in 2003 I may have taken a couple Freds but I didn't think it would hurt anybodies feelings....and then right after 2003 or 4 I stopped with all those vitamins andwent right to HGH....break.... (whispers from union rep in ear).... I mean i didn't do anything except work my tail off after that."

Pete,
I have the headline for you....you don't even have to pay me....

Ortiz Blames "Fred Flintstone"

"yeah, i started with Pebbles and Bam Bam you know....and then I just thought why not try a few Barnies...you know...he was my favorite character....and then in 2003 I may have taken a couple Freds but I didn't think it would hurt anybodies feelings....and then right after 2003 or 4 I stopped with all those vitamins andwent right to HGH....break.... (whispers from union rep in ear).... I mean i didn't do anything except work my tail off after that."

Our bullpen needs to be gutted, exorcised then sterilized.

Maybe the next wave of kids to come up from the minors can start in the pen.. We need some hard throwers and more stability there. Hope some of these kids will be like Daniel Bard or Fernando Rodney and throw 95+

The Chris Tillman bashing is beyond a joke. I am pissed about 12 straight losing seasons, as much as the next fan, but after 3 starts including his best one today in which he pitched less than 100%, people are talking about his fastball isn't good enough? There is no way, no how that anyone can be judged by 3 starts in the bigs. Chris, might be a great starter or maybe he wont, but it's impossible to start making a judgment on him when he has pitched less than 20 innings. Think about that because if we went on 20 innings, Baez, might have been the Most Valuable Oriole because he was that good early on.

The people trashing Matt Wieters, might want to watch the games instead of reading the box score. He has been hitting the ball hard of late, as a matter of fact, if not for some amazing catches in Toronto and Detroit, he would've had a lot of extra base hits this week. When Nick was a rookie, people were praying he would be sent down and look how good he is now. Last year it was Jones will never be that special, but a year later and he is. Can we wait till next Matt's had a full year before we say he isn't what we thought he would be?

I am sorry to rant, as there are a lot of guys that deserve criticism this year on this team. No question that Huff, Mora, Guthrie and Roberts, have not had their best years. I, also agree with many of the posters that Roberts isn't hustling like he's done in the past and quite frankly, I wish the O's didn't extend Roberts, if this is what we can expect from him because whether he likes it or not, he is looked upon as a leader, and he is failing as one, but we have to give these young kids a chance or we are never going to remember how great it feels to be in the hunt.

EC,

That's true of all sports, it's just the way it is, even the NFL. The players run the asylum, but a great coach has a much greater impact in the NBA than MLB. Kobe/MJ haven't won a championship w/o Phil either and twice Phil took the same mediocre Laker team the year before into the championship round the next year. There's not a manager in MLB who's had the same kind of impact. Leyland improved Detroit the year he came in, but last year when they had their best team on paper they finished last. Bobby Cox hasn't gotten the Braves back in the playoffs for, what is it like 5 years, since their string of 14 straight division titles. Are they any less of a great manager? No. How their players perform dictates their success more than any sport.

stubborn is not the word to use for the home plate umpire in todays game. i would say ego. as for baez the season can't get over fast enugh so the orioles can part company with him cla meredith was doing just fiine today. if a relief pitcher is getting the other team out let him in the game. we sure wouldn't be having a tired and worn out bullpen. all of the time

Mora might've fared better at 2nd (with Wiggy at 3rd), but of course that wouldve been disrespectful to Melvin to ask him to play another position like that.

How long is Roberts going to be out for? If he is out for an extended period of time, do you think it is time to bring up Justin Turner?

When I played very game in every sport I played,every loss was a tough loss.I hated to lose,and still do,and can't play anything except horseshoes and tiddlywinks.Why bring in an undisciplined hitter with a man on first,have him not get the job done and then weaken your team defensively in the next inning,especially with no other backup 2b.As much as Earl Weaver hated to bunt,I can remember many times when he did,late in a game,especially at home and won the game in the 9th instead of losing it in the tenth.Baez's numbers have been horrible since the first of June.And we are still last in the major leagues in sacrifice bunting.That pretty much says it all,when this team gets a manager who thinks every loss is a tough loss,and lack of discipline and hustle is unacceptable,we might have a chance to win something.Until then,here comes 100 losses.And yes,the umpiring has gotten worse with no accountability ever since the strike Bud Selig acts like he's afraid of them.But "Steroids,what steroids"Bud is a whole 'nother story.It's not the rookies that are killing us it's the veterans.Here's an idea,put Melvin Mora back in the 2 hole where he was so sucessful for years,and was one of the teams better bunters,it can't be because of the hole between first and second,because Mora can't get around on a 90+ fastball and that's where he ends up hitting it anyhow.And it can't be because Roberts is trying to steal because he hardly ever steals second anymore either.And my God,what in the world happened to Luke Scott?I've never seen anybody lose their swing that badly.At least Huff has hit into a ton of bad luck as his Weiters lately.There are no moral victories in baseball,just another loss on Trembley's record.My kingdom for a bunt.Ok it's not much of a kingdom but it doesn't have to be much of a bunt either.

I havent been a huge fan of DT's game management, but it's gone beyond that now.
This team clearly needs a different voice in the clubhouse and a fresh perspective next spring. Please let Trembley go.

If Roberts is hurt, I would bring up Turner from Norfolk where he is hitting over 300.

It seems Tillman is a keeper. I didn't see the game as I was out with my girlfriend and my son but Tillman's line seemed pretty good. It's hard for me to imagine scouts being so high on him if his fastball is indeed straight as an arrow. Perhaps he has been overthrowing somewhat at this level causing his fastballs to straighten out. And that's just a complete out of the blue guess.

Bob C. I appreciate your post in response to mine about quality starts. It's good to have a difference of opinion with someone that shows class. Sometimes people get offended by things and start saying off the wall stuff but your comments showed alot of class. The quality starts term is just a bit odd overall in my opinion.

Lucky, I'm familiar with you from our blog history with Phil B. and the Colts (I go by Patrick2 over there) always respect your opinions as you are an educated guy. Your post added a little clarification which is always good and appreciated.

Someone help me figure out why Mora is still on the team? Sure he was a good Oriole but he doesn't fit into the future plans and he isn't producing at all.

I don't think anyone should be bashing Tillman, Weiters, Jones, Nolan or any of these 25 or under guys that have major talent. I've been a little down on Berken, perhaps wrongfully so, but I'm not sold on his talent level. Although I hope he proves me wrong. But really all of the young guys are out there battling under difficult circumstances and they are doing okay when you consider really how young and inexperienced they are. I think they should all be praised now some of the vets and DT on the other hand. Well that's another story.

Hopefully the zeros can put together a decent young starting rotation by next season. But when will they ever learn to hit in the clutch when it counts???

A large percentage of this team has quit or they are only trying every other day

You really can't emphisize enough how much winning teams do the little things right in order to win games. Fundamentals. For an experienced left handed hitter like Huff to not be able to advance a runner from 2nd to 3rd with no outs is absolutely rediculous.

I still honestly believe that this team is on the verge of being more than competitive in the very near future. There's no denying the talent we've seen this year. They just need someone to lead them. To help them bring it all together, and become winners.

Please replace Trembley after this season. Please.

Having Wiggy as a late inning middle IF replacement is a baaaaad idea.Running Baez out for a second inning is a baaaad idea.Of course none of this is trembley's fault. How are they going to play with a short bench while roberts recovers. put him on the 15 day DL and bring Turner up to start.

Since Pete's rules of engagment define criticism as a "whine" (unless, of course, it's by him, in which case it is "analysis") I'll simply say:

1.Gotta love Tillman

2. I am beginning to understand MacPhail's strategy: He's gonna steal Bryce Harper from the Nationals!

How can you not whine about this team unless you are secretly a Dodgers or an Angels fan like California Pete is?! This team needs to be totally revamped. AM has done a fair job with the younger players but in order to get the pitching so so he neglected the infield and the pen. I love the outfield but those positions seem to be the easier positions to acquire and we should have been more concerned with the infield dilemma. It seems like we are simply outclassed by every team we play in many areas such as management, front office etc etc you can see the frustration bleed onto the field.

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Pete's reply: So you're saying a good GM would have had this team in the World Series by now? I mean, MacPhail has had two whole years to rebuild one of the worst team's in the sport.

I don't know why DT didn't let Andino go ahead ane bat, he already had a successful bunt for a base hit earlier in the game. I'm was thinking he could of done it again,or at least move the dang runner. Andino would have still been in the game for defense? He could have pinch hit for Huff, Scott, or Mora later in the inning, is was so important to get Wiggington in the game. I know, he doesn't want to embarrass the Vets, but they did that on their own, by leaving a man on first with no outs.

This one should fall on the GM, for giving the Manager a short bench. When Salazar was traded a position player was never called up.

~~Someone help me figure out why Mora is still on the team? Sure he was a good Oriole but he doesn't fit into the future plans and he isn't producing at all.~~

Obviously I cannot speak for AM and DT but I can suggest a couple reasons.

1. We have to pay him a lot of money whether he plays or not.

2. We really dont have anyone better to replace him.

3. Moving Wiggy or Huff to 3B full time creates other problems.

Wiggy can play third. Huff can play third. But they are both sub standard major league 3B with their own problems hitting this year. People here like to throw out suggestions like just move Scott to first or let Montanez play 1B as if those position changes are automatic and immediate. Mora's D has been fine, we might even live with his 250 average, His power has been non existent. None of the above are GOOD reasons but maybe understandable reasons for a team in the O's position.

~~Since Pete's rules of engagment define criticism as a "whine"~~

Is your point that you dont think there has been any whining on this blog??? Or that nothing YOU say could ever be miscontrued as a whine? Or that you dont like Peter so you feel free to mischaracterize what he actually said as meaning every criticism is a whine?

~~(unless, of course, it's by him, in which case it is "analysis") I'll simply say:

1.Gotta love Tillman

2. I am beginning to understand MacPhail's strategy: He's gonna steal Bryce Harper from the Nationals!~~

because an overhyped young catcher is the O's biggest need? He might pitch and play 3B in high school but isnt projected at either in the majors

Bobby-
We are going to have to agree to disagree. You obviuosly like the NBA. Jackson had the best player in the game in the game on his champoinship teams. Kobe, Shaq or Jordon was the MVP in all the championship series and probably the best players in the game at the time. I can agree the best player doesn't always mean you will win, but in basketball, it its much easier when you only play 7 or 8 players and the star player has the ball 50% of the time.

I'm not bashing Jacson, but baseball is more a team sport, with more personalities to deal with and some strategy. Basketball is less scripted.