This team sucks. Total joke at this point.

Growing pains. It's gonna happen. I don't have too many expectations for the team for the rest of this year, but hopefully there will be some positives as the new kids grow more comfortable each day. Patience, people. At least we're not Nats fans.

Oh come on Anonymous, don't be so negative and for God's sake, stop whining, take a deep breath and drive over to Westminster. Let's be thankful that we get to bear witness to all of the wonderful young talent now coming in to help the team lose 100 games. It's a great time to be an Oriole fan, after all the string of losing seasons may not extend beyond, let's say, 14 or 15 years in a row.

Don't despair when Brian Roberts makes a right turn towards the dugout after a hitting two hopper to second, or when the team can't score after loading the bases with nobody out.

After all, the team is rebuilding, and that's what rebuilding teams do....the veterens loaf and look forward to cleaning out their lockers, and the young kids watch and learn.

Shame on you for disparaging such a great moment in Oriole history, losing with a purpose in mind. You see, winning isn't everything, it actually isn't important at all. It's rebuilding that is important.

Get a beer and check back with me in 2014.

Gil -

What would you have done with this team if you took over in June of 2007?

Be realistic. You can't just say you would have signed Teixeira and Burnett and a bunch of other big name FAs. You have to deal with the fact that big name FAs don't want to play here.

So go ahead...

And one more thing...

How do you expect this team to win if it doesn't rebuild?

After being spurned by ever free agent under the sun (aside from Miguel "I like the colors (aka money), orange and black (aka $72M over 5 years), very much" Tejada), do you really think that any decent player wants to play here? That said, it's impossible to win by spending.

So what's the other option? Drafting well and trading aging vets for young players with upside. In other words, rebuilding. And the fact is, rebuilding teams lose for two or three or four years, and then, everything clicks, and you've got a contender full of 26, 27, 28-year-old players that are under contractual control for four, five or six more years.

The big problem here is that the jokers impersonating General Managers that were running the show before Andy MacPhail had no idea what they were doing. "Rebuilding" plans were based around Luis Matos, Jason Johnson, Corey Patterson, Rodrigo Lopez and a bunch of other non-prospects and journeymen. Unfortunately, those GM's, who will remain unnamed so they can hold on to whatever little self respect they have left, told fans that they were rebuilding and those fans bought it.

Now, Andy MacPhail holds the reigns to a true rebuilding project. So he trades a 32-year-old lefty specialist posing as a closer for a corner infield prospect and a local power arm and he gets blasted because Baltimore fans don't understand what a real rebuilding project entails.

Then, knowledgeable media guys, like our blogger here, tell fans to keep the faith, endure the losing for another season and or two, and you'll be rewarded with a contending team, year in and year out. And while it's understandable that enduring more losing can be frustrating, what's so bad about waiting until 2010 or 2011 to contend when you've already waited 10 years? Any sane person can see that the base for that contending team is in place with Markakis, Jones, Roberts, Wieters, Reimold, Bergesen, Tillman and Matusz. Jake Arrieta, Brandon Snyder and Josh Bell are on the way to help out as well. But for some reason, a select group fails to see that these young studs are going to be the nucleus of a very good team in 2010 or 2011.

And the whining continues...

Hey Eric from Murrayland the nats are winning games right now and will probably get close or better than the O's record.

Eric from Murrayland

You’re a moron. Too bad the nats have won 5 games in a row now. Hmmmmm maybe that can be attributed to them firing their manager. After DTs pathetic antics last night he proved he’s not fit to even be a interim manager. I love the strategy of having a AA manger on an MLB to get the kids ready but we are supposed to be competing on this level!

You people are either completely retarded or just like to hate. We are rebuilding and have tons of young talent but that comes with the fact there will be bad days. But these bad days are what they need to figure out how to suceed. But Huff, Mora and Guthrie need to go!

Let's see, Berken pitching tomorrow so let me put my rebuilding mode hat rather than win/loss hat on.

Ok, got it, now I guess I have to hope that Reimold & Wieters are playing to give me any incentive to tune in. :)

b,

I don't disagree with anything you said.

Consider that potential is only that until it is realized. There are no guarantees that any of the young pitching prospects will stay healthy, or will succceed in the Major Leagues. The Orioles have a dreadful 10 year history with young pitching prospects and arm injuries. The Orioles also need twice the number of top pitching prospects they have now in order to hedge against injury and the fact that some of their top prospects may stay healthy but not suceeed at the major league level.

Macphail is already doing some things that give me pause, such as rushing Matusz up, after stating adamantly that he would be shut down at the end of the minor league season. He also can see that the team has the potential to play better even now but he has let Trembley continue to hang on.

I am cynical because I don't believe that Macphail will be around if the teams continues to lose like they are while rebuilding.

The team is not hustling and not playing sound fundamental baseball, and all of the young talent in the world can't fix that.

It is my opinion that long as Angelos owns the team they will never win. He will figure out a way to screw it up somehow.

Gil -

Matusz can still be shut down when the AA season ends. And I expect that he will be. But why not let him throw however many starts against big league competition if he can handle it?

I love all of the "rebuilding" versus "win-loss" banter.....all I know is that my 12 year old son has never experienced a winning Oriole season. I'm not talking playoffs, just an 82+ win season.

b,

Because he has already pitched more innings this year than any year in college and he needs to build up his arm strength over time before being stretched out. He appears to be for real and there is absolutely no reason to risk anything with the kid.

Also, these are tougher innings for him up here with higher pitch counts. Macphail had the right idea earlier, he should stick with it.

Gil -

I looked back at my previous post and realized that I didn't say anything close to what I meant to say.

I meant to say, why not bring up Matusz and pitch him in the bigs for as long as he'd throw in the minors, then shut him down.

~~I love all of the "rebuilding" versus "win-loss" banter.....all I know is that my 12 year old son has never experienced a winning Oriole season. I'm not talking playoffs, just an 82+ win season.~~

SO you are saying your son is a jinx? lol j/k

b,

You may be right anyway. I am still actively involved in baseball, coaching an American Legion team up here in York. I love the game, and saw my first major league game at Memorial stadium in 1954 with my Dad. I signed a professional contract myself in 1964 but got drafted and it was too late to start again when I got back.

No matter what level it is, you can tell when players are hustling or not. I have driven down to 18 games this year and the Orioles have several players who are not going all out and you know who they are. I respect your opinions. I still think the current team should be performing better as they rebuild. I hope I live long enough to see a world championship pennant fly above camden yards, but I am 63, and the odds are not good.

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Margaret

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Pete - you've hit the big time, an actual spammer came to your blog. LOL