I was thinking the same thing, I wouldn't mind swapping Miller for Bass either.

I thought the O's comeback was a good sign. I didn't like how the game ended, but anyone who did, wouldn't be an O's fan in the 1st place.

I can't believe that I am writing this, but I would be in favor of Mark Hendrickson, coming back for another year. The BP has holes, no question. Looking at the current guys on the team, I see only JJ and Koji, as locks for the 2010 BP. I personally think Berken, would be a good middle man and I would like to see more of Kam, as he's definitely progressed since last year. The wildcards are Ray and Albers. I think Albers is tired, but he gets big time props from me, for pitching with a hole in his arm, as I thought he would be under the knife within the 1st month of action.

Pete, is it safe to say that this is the most crucial winter since Andy has taken over? He's seen the young kids, the vets we have and the manger so he must know what this team needs to take the next step. My opinion, the team needs more guys that are consistently productive than the all or nothing type guys. I know Pete, last year, you said that for whatever reason that Bobby Abreu, never really excited you, but a guy like that, who is solid at the plate, durable, steals bases and knocks in runs by using all parts of the field, is the type of guy, we need here. I could see him as the full time DH and 4th OFer and the answer to who bats #2 in the lineup. Guys like Pedro Feliz and Mark Teahen (KC wants to move him), are the guys that I would go after. Solid, patient and able to make contact. Too many games, the O's score a plethora of runs and then nothing for the rest of the game, and I feel this is because of guys like Scott, Wiggy, Mora and Huff, who are all streaky hitters/all or nothing type guys. Just my two cents

Pete, my condolences about your dog. I am a huge animal lover so I've been down the road many times and it's tough.

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: You know, I've upgraded my opinion of Abreu. Watching him from at-bat to at-bat has persuaded me that he's somebody the young O's hitters should be watching. Great patience and command of the strike zone.

Pete, Sorry about your dog, but 16 years for a dog that size is amazing. You were blessed. Lost a Shepherd and a Golden in recent years, each 4 months under 13. Question: Any chance The O's sign a closer in the offseason and start Johnson? Why not get the most innings out of your best pitchers?

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I'd be very surprised if they converted Johnson, but I wouldn't be surprised if they look at some late-inning arms. Thanks for the kind words about my pup.

Pete,
I'm not on the "Fire Trembley" bandwagon at all. But if we can find a better option, I'm all for it.

Yesterday I was reading that Bobby Valentine is leaving Japan and wants to manage MLB again. As most of us know, he has a reputation of being a very smart, well instinctive manager. But he also has a reputation to be a control freak. Do you think he could be a good fit for this team?

.............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Bobby's a good manager, but I would be concerned about how long he would last on an Angelos team. He's a dynamic guy who doesn't always rub people the right way.

Albers should have had the surgery that was needed and washed out the 2009 season.

The Orioles only have 14 days to bring everyone up, So sending Albers down is not a huge deal.

They can't bring anybody up without them being on the 40 man roster so it'll only be a handful of players recalled.I think we'll see Brandon Snyder but i don't know who else,they should have Koji,Bergy and Sarfate back by then also.

I don't see why Kam was sent to the minors (instead of Bass or even Berken)in the first place? He was pretty solid on the mound and never gave up a run. Anyway, the 40 man roster ought to something to see. Hopefully Miller will get his chance to see what he can do on the ML level.

fire trembley

Like most everyone else here, I wonder why Mickolio was sent down in the first place. I thought that you sent down the guys who needed work, not the ones who were doing well. Not only should Albers be sent down, Guthrie should go with him to figure out why he can only pitch with Zaun behind the plate.

Dave t is obviously a very nice man, but if i have to watch him one more time in the post game interview make excuses for this team , and tell everybody after every game how this team play's there ass's off in that low almost crying voice of his i think i will just scream.It's getting down right pathetic.mean while the nats are only 5 games back and the orioles are slowly fading off in the sunset.only pitts , kc, sd, and wash,have worst records. The 25/1/2 games back is the largest margin in all of baeball, it will almost be 40 by years end, so please anybody tell me how do you make all that ground up in any rebuilding program in This Divison,IMPOSSIBLE keep on dreaming

If the Nats don't sign Strasburg (I think they will, but who knows?) I'll be rooting for the O's to completely tank the rest of their games (not a stretch given the way they've been playing) and nab the #1 pick next year.

Hi Pete,

I am very sorry to hear about your dog. Our large, loveable, mixed breed mutt tore her right ACL running up steps recently and surgery looms. It is not cheap.

I attended the game yesterday and by the time I got back to York it was late, and I was beat. As has been the case all year, this team does not know how to win, even when they have the hammer.

Huff and Wigginton are taking pitiful swings. I know Wigginton got three hits but they were bleeders. I am very disappointed in Wiggenton and he is getting too much playing time.

Nolan Reimold looks a little overmatched right now, especially on the good fastball. He needs to shorten his swing.

My son and I saw this coming from the 9th inning on. I don't think the Orioles would have scored again if it had gone 20 innings.

Did Trembley actually tell the team that they played their ass off? I don't think Earl Weaver would have shared that sentiment with his team if they gave up 9 runs in one inning to lose.

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I'm not sure about that. I don't think Earl would have read the riot act to the offense after a pretty good nine innings of clutch hitting. Hope all goes well with your dog.

Actually came down from CT for the game yesterday. Good to see the O's live.
We were hoping to see Hernandez pitch. Almost impossible to watch Guthrie struggle any longer. He's different hitter to hitter, let alone inning to inning or game to game. Down 4-0 before the game is 3 innings old is no way to win a war, as they say.
Bobby Abreu can still hit. I thought he was overpriced at 17mm+ in NY. But at 5mm? The Angels got themselves a true pro at a bargain price. He's a solid player.
I like the Angels bullpen. Mostly homegrown guys. Some with ERAs actually under 4! That's surely preposterous you say. Is the Angels infield made up of players from their farm system? If so, I think that's kinda remarkable. How about Eybar throwing out Roberts first play of the game...

On the O's front, you gotta win games when you score 7-8 runs. How about scoring 8 runs with Huff as your cleanup hitter going 1-6...His season of 13 HRs/ 250 Avg are pretty pathetic. Why would you resign him to hit fourth or even fifth? If the culture is going to change, and people are going to earn their jobs, has he earned that?
Wiggington is what he is every day. 30 yr old reserves have earned reserve status for a reason. You don't want those reasons displayed every day, now do you?
They did hit a few homers, nice to see. And one more good thing: At least they did not sac bunt.

Let's see what happens tonite.

Trembley will not be upped following the season. Heard from someone who knows someone who works for a certain someone's law firm. (Heard the same rumor about Billick, from someone who knew someone who worked for someone's company, but after hearing the rumoer, the someone who owns said company goes and publicly states that Billick is coming back. few weeks later FLASH on the ESPN crawler, he's gone!)

Anyhoo...

Who do they go after? Who is out there? Let the speculating begin! Can we start Vetting candidates now?

Hey Pete,
I agree that Kam needs to be recalled, not only has he pitched well here, but he is the future of the bullpen. And I agree that albers needs to be shelved for a while but i do think he can be an effective pitcher from the pen, it all goes back to being overworked because of the poor starting pitching. Once the roster expands and there are more options I believe he will turn it around.

Valentine is the best hire now that the nats are out of the running cause they found their boy but PA doesnt like vocal managers so he will probably hire Dave Jauss or some other Schmuck.

I think the O’s might want to look at Boston’s bench coach Brad Mills. He has a good amount of experience and could bring in a winning attitude from Boston.

http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=bos&coachorstaffid=119149

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: You could say the same thing about Ron Roenicke with the Angels.

Nice to see anonymous keeping up the "Fire Trembley" drumbeat, but it won't happen.

As I have said before on these posts, Trembley will be allowed to finish the season. There is no way any GM who wants to win will bring him back. Andy MacPhail is a smart guy. He's got a couple of managers he is after. This is about PR right now. Firing another manager does not look good. You just let him go quietly.

Trembley had 2 years to provide some resemblance of consistency and has done the complete opposite. Yes most losing teams lose because they show inconsistency, but the O's have given inconsistency a whole new meaning. It used to be that they were inconsistent from the first half to the second half of the season. Then they went from being inconsistent from one series to another, to an inning from another.

I am kind of rooting for the Orioles to bring back Dave Trembley just to see fan reaction. It would be priceless.

Davey Johnson
Second baseman / Manager
Born: January 30, 1943 (1943-01-30) (age 66)
Orlando, Florida
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 13, 1965 for the Baltimore Orioles
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1978 for the Chicago Cubs
Career statistics
Batting average .261
Home runs 136
Runs batted in 609
Teams
As Player

Baltimore Orioles (1965–1972)
Atlanta Braves (1973–1975)
Yomiuri Giants (1975–1976)
Philadelphia Phillies (1977–1978)
Chicago Cubs (1978)
As Manager

New York Mets (1984–1990)
Cincinnati Reds (1993–1995)
Baltimore Orioles (1996–1997)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1999–2000)

Career highlights and awards
4x All-Star selection (1968, 1969, 1970, 1973)
3x World Series champion (1966, 1970, 1986)
3x Gold Glove Award winner (1969, 1970, 1971)
1973 NL Comeback Player of the Year
1997 AL Manager of the Year

Jimy Williams of Philadelphia.

Tony Peña, Buck Showalter or Bob Melvin all former MVPs and could help fix this mess.

Why dont the O's just hire Tom Kelly?

blancione,

To discount the whole game for one inning is about the most narrowminded thing I've seen on here in a while and that's saying something.

The team (by team I mean more than 2 pitchers) rallied, grinded and got the game into extra innings in the first place. If the team didn't play hard, we lose 8-6 in 9 innings. Two men melted down, but the team did work pretty hard in the game I watched.

Hardly one to call someone else out about sounding like they're crying. Have you read some of your posts lately?

It doesn't matter right now who the manager is because this team as comprised "wouldn't voom if you put 40,000 volts through it." I see some of the kids on the pitching staff showing some heart, but they are in danger of getting their confidence ruined because we have rushed some of them up. The vet hitters like Mora, Huff I don't think are mailing it in, but are definitely pressing. It was sad to see Huff flailing at pitches yesterday. Ok, I've vented now, and sorry bout the Monty Python dead parrot reference.

James,

your just as bad as anyone else on here for defending the O's. Both sides are crazy. The O's just need to win something! We all can agree on that!!

The Orioles can make changes to the 40 man roster anytime. If you look at the 40 man roster, there are some moves they can make. However the moves will be pitching. Since the season is a wash, they will not rush anyone. So wither or not Albers gets exchanged for Mickolio, they will both be here in September along with Miller. I do not think that Snyder is ready, so they will not rush him. Montanez wil probably be added, depending on his thumb. They have players up now that need at bats.

The Orioles pitching is dead last in the AL in almost all categories: ERA, Hits, WHIP, Strike outs and homeruns. awful.

It was great to see this team battle back for 9 innings yesterday, while the extra innings performance was a huge let down after the way they hustled to get back in the game.

As for next year, since everyone is convinced Mora won't be here (My bet is he ends up in Houston or Anaheim and has one last good statistical season with 20 HR's just to show the O's he was worth the $8 millon option), why not go after a guy like Figgins who would give the O's a great 1-2 combination at the top of the lineup? It sounds like the O's are already committing to having a competition for 1st base between Wigginton, Snyder, Michael Aubrey(not Huff), and the new kid they just received in the Zaun trade from Tampa. If they aren't going to spend a lot of money on a power hitting 1st baseman, put up the cash to improve the top of that order and get a legitimate #2 hitter.

Next year's lineup could look like this:
Roberts
Figgins
Jones
Markakis
Reimold
Scott
Wieters
Winner of 1B competition
Izturis

First things first...sorry to hear about the loss Pete, been there...always stings.
Next up...the O's must send Albers a message...he either gets his arm re-evaluated & this time follows suggested medical protocol or he risks being DFA with the internal word that he's damaged goods. Absolutely no excuse for this continued mess on the mound. I watched him for about 5 hitters yesterday & it is so apparent he is short arming the ball with no fluidity at all, no pop on his fastball & everything straight as an arrow.
Bass...back to Norfolk. Can't take his inability to put 2 innings together without pitching behind hitters all the time.
Bring back Kam & Waters & give them the same chances as these 2 have been given.
Lastly, I know you can question why you'd bunt & give up an out with your 9 hitter coming up...especially since Chad had some good swings during the game but, did anyone from the press even ask that question to Dave to get his thinking?
Let's face it...this is a bad ballclub but I really wonder if they are quite as bad as they've shown. Would someone like Leland or Showalter or Gardenhire have been able to bring out even more from this listless group of assembled has beens & neverwills? Does it take someone like a Charlie Manuel who has no problem sitting a reining MVP in Rollins down for not hustling for 5 games & then even longer because he wasn't hitting? Or is our current approach of enabling players to stink up the joint & then reward them for "busting all day"in the press really paying any dividends?
Personally, I hope these continued failings are driving Dave crazy because to think otherwise is even scarier. I think the problem we're now facing is the horses have already left the barn & for Dave to now start laying down the law & benching Jones for trotting to 1st. yesterday on a groundout would be viewed as a pathetic attempt of showmanship & would not play well at all with the players, which are really Dave's only trump cards left.
The reality is the Pirates are really bad too...however, they don't have 1/2 the "potential" talent the O's can run out on a dailey basis yet Russell has them busting every game whether they are up 2 or down 12. I think history will show that unless you are a team with limitless finances & with an abundance of superstars...the best managers for the rest of the teams are those that expect & demand hustle, have no problem communicating, take action & not only know the game...but, have a feel for it as well. They will not become predictable & will not tolerate umpires blowing calls. Dave is a great company man & I wish things had turned out better for him. However, once the team meets in November to discuss where they are & where they are going...Dave better have his best & most passioned speech ready for Andy & the family as to why he's still the most qualified to take this group to the next level. I wish him well!

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Thanks. I really don't know that there's a realistic scenario that is going to get Trembley an extension, but not because of anything he has any control over. But I guess we'll see.

I just put my Lab to sleep on Thursday Pete. Not the first dog I had to do that with - one of those things that never gets any easier huh? You just have to know that it was what was best for your dog.

I always found this piece nice.

http://www.petloss.com/poems/maingrp/rainbowb.htm

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I'm sorry to hear that. Hope you're getting through it okay. I'll check out the link and pass it on to my wife and kids.

James C this is just the point that i am trying to make. Fans like you have been brain washed into thinking that it's ok to lose. Yesterday they just happened to tie the game is that what matters now , what about another ineffective effort by our Starter. We lead the league in fewest innings pitched by our starters, and most innings pitched by our reliefer's is that something that we should be prowd of. Please we are on target to lose over 100 games this year, it's totally unacceptable to be lumped in with teams like pitts, wash, kc, this might be our worst year ever.

Peter,

Have you heard anything new on the Sano front??

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: No, sorry, but I won't keep it secret if I do.

Also will that new player Huges from the Zaun trade see any time in Baltimore this season?

...............................................................................................
Pete's reply: Haven't heard anything about the call-ups yet.

Remember the good old days four months ago. The fans kept on saying that the bullpen was the strength of the team. Yeh, right. If Andy MacPhail failed anywhere in the off season it was in not buttressing the "strength" of the team. All you had to do was look at the status of the starting pitching and you knew we needed some quality arms in the bullpen over and above what was there already.

As somebody pointed out in the last thread the Orioles might have the most mismanaged payroll in baseball. Pitt spends less than half the Orioles spend and the birds are only 2 games ahead of the Pirates. Tampa Bay spends just a little bit more than the Orioles and they can compete with anyone. The no Salary cap issue is a total excuse. There is more parody in MLB than any other sport look it up. The yanks spend big every year and haven’t won since 2000. Baseball is all about how effectively you spend your money, managers, and scouts and revenue streams. The Orioles have MASN and own the TV rights to another team which is a huge advantage, Camden Yards and a great local economy. This team should be able to compete with anyone in my book.

Jay Peterson

As much as I love to bash the Orioles the bullpen is the lesser problem. They are just burned out from the starters not being able to get the job done all season and trading Sherrill away. That move might prove good in the future but we need all the quality relievers we can muster now..

Cletis

Thats if Angelos uses MASN money for the team even. Ive heard that money doesnt

Look at the Orioles on this weeks power rankings

http://espn.go.com/mlb/powerrankings?season=2009&week=19

The bullpen was the one of our strong points. The team dealt Sherrill and that hurts because now we do not have Johnson to setup. So that was a major hit. But reality has to set in one day, the bullpen is way over worked. Albers was throwing 94 last night, but the better hitters were all over it. Then he hung his breaking balls over the middle of the plate.

I joked earlier in the year on this blog that I would breathe easier when the Orioles won their 63rd game, thus avoiding a 100 loss season.

I never really thought the team was in danger of such an outright collapse, given that Andy Macphail said he thought the team was deeper this year.

Now it is actually within reach...the Orioles need to win 15 out of the remaining 45 to avoid 100 losses.

If this is it, and the team is actually bottoming out, Let's get it over with and start looking to 2010.

Something is just gnawing at me though that next year may not be any better...and that is certainly a depressing thought. Losing is losing, whether we are watching the "kids" lose or the veterens lose.

Somebody cheer me and and tell me why losing 100games this year is actaully a good thing since we are in the "rebuilding" mode.

Why did we trade away Huff now? Yeah he was playing bad but this season is gonna get pretty ugly! Id rather them trade a position he had a logjam in like OF....

I would have much rather the Orioles trade Scott to the Tigers or Mora to the mets cause wright might be out all season. Of all the Vets I thought Huff could be salvaged.. Well I guess the real rebuilding mode starts soon!! Whos going to play 1st base Wiggy? Hughes?

As bad as the Orioles are, they have an even tougher row to hoe than teams like Pittsburgh, Washington, and Kansas City, because they play in baseball's toughest division. With the stupid unbalanced schedule, they play the Yankees and Red Sox (who always are buying the top free agents to supplement the players they develop) 18 times each. Toronto and Tampa Bay face the same speed bump. No team in any other division has to deal with that.

This being said, that is another reason why the Orioles have to play the game as well, and as intelligently, as possible. That means forcing their opponents to make plays by hustling, forcing opposing pitchers to throw strikes to get outs by showing patience and discipline at the plate, taking advantage of errors and walks and runners on third with less than two outs, and thinking when on the bases and in the field (throwing to the right base, for example.) Winning teams do these things more often than losing teams. Too often during this streak of losing seasons, the Orioles essentially gave away games they should have won, and that still happens.

Can Scott even play 1st?! I cant remember him trying it while here in Baltimore.

the orioles should have kept huff the rest of the year, offered him arbitration, and gotten a 1st or 2nd round pick for him. i think they could have gotten more than they did.

AND THE B-MORE FIRE SALE RETURNS!!! WHO WILL BE NEXT?!?! WE GOT VETS, ROOKIES, ALL-STARS COME ON DOWN TO BALTIMORE BABY! PITTSBURGH IS DEPLETED BUT NOT US!!

So much for the tough decision of whether to offer Huff arbitration. Given the fact that it was unlikely that they would have chanced that Huff would accept, the O's got something for nothing in this trade. Just hope Joe Jordan's crew scouted the Tiger system well enough to get someone with an up side.

Sure everyone was angry at Huff this second half but to trade him away for a single A RP.. I hope this one works out.

This move may make us more competitive. To sign Strasberg if the nats miss out!!

The Orioles are making Pittsburgh like moves now

Pete,

Does the Huff daddy move mean the Orioles feel good about their 2 first baseman in Norfolk? Equally, who gets the call to fill Huff's position?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4405359

Read the comments about the Huff trade

Denny,

I heard they are trying Luke Scott tonight....

Not sure about this trade. The Tigers 10th prospect and the O’s get cash back for Huff. If the Orioles had a solid fill in at 1st. I hope this move is showing the teams confidence in this AAA 1st basemen we acquired from Tampa.

Buffalo Dave: I think the O's were starting to worry that he might just accept the arbitration and then they'd have to pay him 7-8 million again and not get the draft picks at all.

I definitely think that people over re-acted after the Sherrill trade. They didn't know anything about Josh Bell and now the more you learn the more there is to like. This guy could be a very productive starter in about a year from now.

Having said that, at first glance this trade makes little sense. I know he hasn't played well most of this year ( a lot of tough luck outs too) but to trade someone of Huff's caliber for a class A 22 year old reliever? And ESPN says that the Tigers made him a reliever because of his LOW 90's fastball and awkward delivery. This does not sound good.

Wow! The way Andy pulled the trigger on this one we can guess another move will be made shortly...

Mora and Baez are outta here LOL!

I think the Tigers got a hell of a deal on this one. They gave up very little and even if Huff does so so he adds flexibility to help win a playoff spot. Especially with the White Sox creeping up with Peavy about to come back and Minnesota still in the mix

WHY!?!?!?! WHY!!! WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess its safe to say that we are going to automatically lose tonight!

I'm not sure I understand this trade, either.

In any event, best of luck to Aubrey, who was a good contributor here. Hope he makes it to the post-season.

Huff better keep his mouth shut about Detroit being a ____town! He might get his rims jacked yo

I have always given him credit though if your name is Aubrey and you are on a major league team your batting 1000. Most dudes named Aubrey are working parts or in lockup lol jk

djph, I think you're right about the O's being worried about Huff accepting arbitration. The FA salaries will retract next year I think, so paying Huff $8 mil would have been drastically overpaying for a guy who starts the season cold and could be impossible to move in July.

I'm not sold on the guy they got either, but it frees up AB's for Scott and he's someone locked in til 2012. Sucks for Trembley though, that's for sure.

Don't the Pirates have a fire sale like this toward the end of every summer?

6 weeks until end of the season people. We gave up a .250 hitting 1B that will not be with the team next year for a young prospect. They were lucky to get him since non one wanted him (He passed through waivers). They would not have offered arbritration to get draft picks as Huff would have accepted. He would then be making around 10 mil per year if he got arbritration money. The Huff from this year is closer to the real Aubrey than last year's career year version. I can't get over how over half of Orioles fans have no common sense when it comes to personel moves (Blancione, Jack)

TED,

Sorry I missed your post before, but a lot of what I say on here is just present the opposite side to someone's narrowminded rant that is often devoid of an alternative view. An argument that looks at the opposing view is a stronger one than an argument that does not. As a result, I don't take a lot of comments seriously and have fun with disputing facts with the facts they overlooked in order to feel correct.

In doing so, don't ignore anything that's being said against the team. I just don't see the point in droning on about it and I have a problem with someone preaching in terms of absolute facts and certainties, when baseball is filled with anything but.

Blancione,

You want to talk about this year being the worst of the last 12. Record wise, I agree. It could happen that way and now there isn't even the reward of getting Strasburg. To say this is the worst year for the franchise as a result doesn't make sense to me.

All of the pieces that were added this year, the guys that were given opportunities and surprised us (in the good way like Bergesen and Reimold) and the fact that we shed some burdensome contracts in October make this year better than some of the others even though the team won more games in those years. Looking back, I'd say the years we signed guys like Belle and re-upped Gibbons were bad. When we overpaid Baez, Walker and Bradford made for a bad overall "year" too.

I just don't see this year being for naught and don't see 10 wins one way or the other as anything more than window dressing.