Are you that bored? I thought you were supposed to be live blogging the game!?!! We out of market Ravens fans would appreciate some updates about THE RAVENS PLEASE!

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Pete's reply: Sorry, but I serve many masters.

Hes not the guy

Us fans can use a day off from the losing too. I don't expect to see Dave back next year, but I see nothing to be gained by firing him now. In fact if he manages to miraculously turn the team around and stop the losing I'd be open to bringing him back, but I'll not be holding my breath.

MIKE VICK GOING TO PHILLY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Skins should have got Vick and used him as an HB or if Campbell stinks use him at qb once the suspension is over.

Ha Ha Ha, I get your sarcasm regarding the breakfast portion of your post but really your being a Trembley apologist is getting old. Trembley will most likely be allowed to finish the season but if AM brings him back, I for one will be extremely disappointed. Regardless of what I believe to be poor decision making and a lack of any feel for the ebb and flow of games he does not get the most out of his players, some of whom actually have talent. Fire Trembley (at the end of the year, not now, I don't have the patience to watch another interim manager get something out of this team and then get the interim tag "removed").

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Pete's reply: I doubt Trembley will be back and I'm not trying to make a case for it. As far as what's getting old, how about all the people who are focusing all their venom on Trembley when they know his level of fault here is relatively low. I'm a little tired of the misdirected bitterness toward the guy, who was brought into a tough situation and asked to be a caretaker manager. Whether you think he has done a bad job or not, I just don't understand the need to exact some kind of misplaced revenge on him.

Mr. Schmuck,
Lets talk about something that is improving hopefully. How's Your heel? I am ready for a 12 ft dash. Think you can keep up? That is from my recliner to the cold adult frosty beverage vault.
I can only hope the O's have not forgot how to play ball, let alone win!!!!!! They don't seem focused, do they?

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Pete's reply: I'm okay. First outing tonight at M&T. The O's? They don't seem anything right now.

This move is going to haunt the NFC East.... Just having Vick on the field not doing anything at all is a nightmare for a D Cord

it's not about wins, but how the team on the field is competing. they look like they don't care, they look like they are playing out the string....again. they are making the same blunders and mistakes they were making in April. that is an extension of the manager, and when the players seem to have stopped listening, then all is lost. THAT is why he has to go, along with Crowley, sorry to say. they need a whole new approach.

Pete, like you I am so sick and tired of people placing all the blame on Trembley. As I've stated before in this blog, how many managers do they need to bring in? Not one of them have made a difference. I think they need to get rid of players like Mora and Roberts. They are malcontents. I don't know what's going on with B-Rob, but he has definitely not been himself this year. These guys should be held accountable for their lack of desire. Bring the kids up from the minors -bench these overpriced losers and let the kids play. Start firing the players instead of the managers. Then maybe we would see a difference in attitude. Though I do think the base coaches need to go.
Glad to hear your recovery is going well. I really enjoy your blogs.

Pete,
I have made my feelings about Trembley known on your blog before. I do however agree that he was given a team with very little hope of doing anything significant, especially in the AL East. I think he is the perfect "caretaker manager" as you put it. I don't think that before this season, you could have gotten a top flight manager to come to baltimore and endure this type of season. Next season, however, you should see several managers who would jump at the chance to take this team over the hump. The talent is here, the payroll is here ( PA has always shown that he is willing to spend, unfortunately it has been on the wrong players in the past), the ballpark, fans, and tradition are all here. I think Andy has a list of Managers that he is going to go after in the off season. Like you said, he is a 3 moves ahead guy. I just hope that list includes Bobby Valentine. Talk about an firey guy who brings a personality to a team! Remember the fake mustache in the dugout after he was tossed back when he managed the Mets? We need that kind of fire and personality in the dugout @ OPACY!
Great job as usual with the blog. As an out of town O's fan, you are my main source for insight on my birds.... Go O's!

Diane. You raise a good point about Roberts. Maybe all the losing is getting to him but it's not going to get better any time soon. It makes you wonder why the Orioles brass overpaid to extend him when the Orioles won't likely compete until his contract is almost over. In the meantime, we have an apparentky disgruntled player who will be almost impossible to trade and/or receive decent value due to the 10 mill/yr contract.
I wonder if Roberts and McPhail is having second thoughts now and do we see a repeat of the Alex RIos fiasco down the road where we send him packing for nothing? I always liked Roberts and obvoiusly he has a lot of skills but this lack of hustle is irritating, especially since he used to be a real fireplug, stealing more bases etc...
I'm not a huge fan of Trembley but at this point, I feel sorry for the guy. He looks like lost in the dugout and defeated before the game starts, going into battle with an inferior lineup and now many of the players seemed to have thrown in the towel and it's only August. It's almost like he's facing the inevitable and is waiting to be put out of his misery, like the past 4 Orioles managers.

Trembley should finish the season but the minute the orioles record their 27th out of their 162 game he should already have his office packed up. Why in August do you see Markakis and Jonesy flipflopping spots. I know the lineup wasn't really producing before but how can they really get a feel if before they see the lineup card they don't have a clue where in the lineup they will be, markakis goes from 2nd to 4th to 3rd and the same with jones but all the way to 5th and then back to 2nd its rediculous. Trembley has absolutely no feel for the game and only manages as text book as possible. When it comes to the bullpen its ok 5th or 6th i can only put it this guy, 7th is this guy, 8th this guy then 9th i will pitch this guy. It is almost like before the game even starts he knows exactly who he will bring in at which stage. I mean you can go in with an idea of what you would do but then you just have to gut instinct and go against the grain and change it up on the fly, which he never does. I always know exactly whos coming in, in which situation cause he is predictable. And it seems like he leaves relievers out there til they get in trouble or give up a run, its ok to say ok you pitched a great 1 2/3 inning but i think this guy can get me to where we need to be, example baez pitches over 2 inning perfect baseball, right after i say "if he stays out there much longer a HR is guaranteed" next batter walkoff goodnight.

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Pete's reply: But who's going to manage the team if the final game goes extra innings?

Well, at least DT is better than Cumberland Sam.

Peter,
You said Dave has his flaws. I'm sure he is a good guy, but baseball-wise, what do you mean?

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Pete's reply: I've explained that before. I think he's a guy who lays out what he's going to do way ahead of time and isn't very flexible. He also was a little naive about how players would react to him when things started to go really south, which contributes to the perception that he has "lost" the team. That concept is ridiculous. I've covered teams that hated the manager with a passion and still were very competitive.

All I can say is that I am just glad that the Ravens have started and they started with an impressive 23-0. My kids put on their jerseys and we watched the first half together (hey! they are all under 10 so I have to be a good dad).

It does make me sad though that the opportunity to make baseball fans out of them is passing me by. My 4 year old knows Flacco, Mason, Reed and Ray, just by jersey number...and she's a girl. Imagine the fun that parents could have with their kids if the O's actually conducted themselves professionally. Outside of them losing so much and wearing down long time fans, when we become parents, it's sad not to be able to get our kids involved and it's not for lack of trying. We turn on the TV and it is just not exciting and it's just bad TV. What do I say to my 5 year old son or 4 year old daughter "Hey guys...That guy running around the bases aimlessly is Brian Roberts. He forgot how many outs there were". C'mon!

"You have to create some energy," Riggleman said. "I told the guys to make sure to run everything out -- to keep playing hard. If you hit a fly ball, round the base hard. Let the other team know that you're beating us, but we're going to keep coming at you."
(Jim Riggleman on a 2-0 complete game shutout by the Red's Bronson Arroyo)

This is the type of statement a lot of us have wanted Trembley to make all season. To acknowledge the lack of passion and emotion his veterans have played the game with and call it unacceptable -to lose without ever succumbing to a losing mentality.

He has often talked about respecting the game but his players have rarely done it this year and he continues to ride the same horses that have veered off the racetrack and are comfortable with merely being major leaguers with all the perks that go along with that.

The players have one last chance to save Trembley. It is no longer about wins and losses. It is about how you approach the game. Will they care enough to even break a sweat or will they continue this shameless display and lack of professionalism?

Pete, what is your take on the USA Today article about Bronson Arroyo? The way he talks about what went on in Boston, really makes me wonder if this will be the first team to perhaps have an asterisk next to the championship title. People want to do it to Bonds, for both his all time season HR record and career HR record so how do those people turn around and not do the same to a team, when it's crucial players, were essentially doing the same thing as Bonds, seeking an unfair way to be better than everyone else?

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Pete's reply: Unfortunately, it's tough to say that when Baltimore is one of the glass houses of the steroid scandal.

I can't understand this "fire Trembley" movement among some of the O's fandom. What did they (the fans who want Trembley fired) expect out of this team? If they were looking for a contender then they have been hallucinating, and I doubt how astute they are in assessing talent. The O's are composed of young and inexperienced players, a pitching staff made up initially of American and Japanese League castoffs, with rookie pitchers now added to the mix as the major portion of the starting rotation, have a lineup lacking any real serious power/rbi threats on the team. Above all else, the O's play in the toughest division in either league. The team's lucky they've won as many games as they have. Trembley has done an admirable job mentoring these young players and should be commended for it.

Jay,I totally agree that Dave should be commended for taking a decent team and turning it into a team that show almost no hustle and has once again given Orioles fans everywhere absolutely no reason to turn on an O's game for the rest of the season.He has no feel for the game,has lost the respect of his players,who know he has no feel for the game,burnt out the bullpen by June,and has never said a disparaging word about Brian Robert's lack of hustle on a consistent basis,Wigginton and aScott's propensity to swing at first pitches regardless of the situation,and flip flopping Jones around in the order so much that he's starting to look bad too.He has no idea where he's going to be from night to night.Meanwhile we gave up Bradford last year,Zaun and Sherrill this year,and keep Pie and Moeller who was batting .203 in Triple AAA and hasn't thrown anybody out since little league.No,I didn't expect them to compete in this division this year,but I did expect them to flirt with .500 for most of the season.I'll be shocked if we end up with less than 100 losses.And we got nothing for Oscar Salazar either,just like we will get nothing for Lou Montanez when he comes back.Outside of the Bedard trade,which looks even worse after the Sherrill trade,McPhail has done little or nothing to improve this team.The farm system perhaps,this team,absolutely not.I've had 12 surgeries and am metal from head to foot but I'll still run as hard as I can to first base everytime I hit the ball.I didn't say it would be fast,it would just be as hard as I could,lol.Sometimes that's all we want out of our players,not this Gomer Pyle aw shucks we lost again attitude.That's why I don't think Dave is the man for the job.Go Raven's and Terps,Hopefully this is my last Oriole comment until we hire a winning manager who isn't a yes man.

Jay:
Where have you been for the last few months? It certainly couldn't have been anywhere near an Orioles game.

For the last time, this isn't about wins and losses. I think that as Oriole fans most of us have grown accustom to losing and that being fourth or fifth in the standings isn't really so hard to deal with anymore. You sort of expect it. It's the way we're losing. It's the fact that Trembley does not inspire, motivate, instruct or command his players to do anything. And it shows on the field. Some of us have been talking about it for some time but there's certainly no denying it anymore.

As a lot of poster's have put it recently, he doesn't have a feel for the game. His lack of leadership is coupled with a tendency of making horrible in game decisions, or no decisions at all when one should have clearly been made. And again Pete, that is not a conclusion that I come to "after the fact". These moments that I'm speaking of have been quite clear to me and I'm sure many others at the exact moment they were occuring.

I'll agree with you Jay and Peter in a sense. Despite his faults Trembley does seem like a well intentioned, "nice guy". It is very easy to feel sorry for him at times because he was dealt a bad hand. But it's what he's done with it that has sealed his fate, and it's no one's fault but his own. As the manager he has the authority and the ability to control certain situations or things that were going on and he's simply chosen not to address it.

The Trembley attacks Pete, are not personal. No one is saying we want to see him homeless or thrown in jail. We are just saying that he's not a very good manager at all. That he's in a position that is clearly over his head. People have to make tough decisions all the time regarding their employee's fate. Especially lately as I'm sure a lot of us have seen first hand. It's business. And if the Orioles want to start the business of winning they need a manager that is up to the task.

I still don't get it. There is the crew that thinks Trembley's a bad coach because he "overthinks" the game and then there is another set who thinks he doesn't make enough moves in the game. When he plays the numbers, he's too textbook and when he tries something new then he's just called a moron. It all stems from completely unpredictable actions of the playeys, but still. DJPH is consistent at least in saying he does nothing right at all. Nobody looks at context when a move is made, just that at that particular moment it didn't work (i.e. you ride him for being a pitch count guy, then he loosens his pitch counts and a guy gets hammered and Trembley still hears it on here). I won't even mention how some moves are probably organizational moves (i.e. the stupiid Pie experiment). Oh and for those who think he caters to BRob and that's why he's not waking up; look at Francona and Ortiz when he was batting my weight (165) as opposed to his. That's a winning coach doing the exact same thing basically.

Speaking of "winning teams." DC won 8 games in a row and Riggleman is now the model to follow? How'd Riggleman become available to work in DC anyway? This soothsayer of the dugout who has hidden his winning touch from the world all season. All he's done is catch lightning in a bottle for a whole 8 games of a 162 game season by my watch. The answer to my question is probably tied to his winning percentage as a manager being .444 lifetime. So his methods sure hold up Cameron. Especially dropping their last 3.

Anyway, the fact is sometimes ignored that just about every veteran on this team sucks. Flat out. If they didn't, they'd have been traded by now. There's a lot of retreaded tires on the bus right now and that's because McPahil knew he needed to get through a rough patch before it's worth upgrading. Every legitimate expert says we're right where they thought we'd be right now. I don't see Peter Gammons on Sports Center wondering why that young Oriole bunch isn't winning like they should be? No one wins with this roster and everyone outside Baltimore knows it and is over it (well not Jason C in wherever it is).

There's a reason we're told not to drive just looking 3 feet in front of us. If you lose focus of the big picture just to focus on some immediate detail, you're doomed. No wonder there are so many accidents on 95 and 50 if you guys drive the same way you watch an O's game.

"Pete's reply: I doubt Trembley will be back and I'm not trying to make a case for it. As far as what's getting old, how about all the people who are focusing all their venom on Trembley when they know his level of fault here is relatively low. I'm a little tired of the misdirected bitterness toward the guy, who was brought into a tough situation and asked to be a caretaker manager. Whether you think he has done a bad job or not, I just don't understand the need to exact some kind of misplaced revenge on him."

Amen! He is not the problem just unfortunate the one that gets blamed for something that he has no control over. Kind of like the real world. Fact is all of us can coach better in hindsight.

Kind of tired of hearing how Roberts has not been hustling. He may have been slower during the time when he had a terrible chest cold, but since he has seemed to recover, I see him hustling almost all the time. In fact the A's last game he hustled more than anyone on the field. Fans should voice their opinions on the talent they do not have here, but really should not be so hard on the talent they do have. Face it the issue is that the towel was thrown in by the very people that will let Trembley go at the end of the season by signing Eaton, Hendrickson and Koji to be in the rotation. The fans (including myself) have a right to be disappointed, but really need to take the focus off of the manager, he cannot pitch, hit, field or run.

Pete et al,

Who should direct our frustration and anger toward if not Dave Trembley? MacPhail or Angelos? Yeah, I know you'll say the players.

Trembley can't have his cake and eat it too. If he accepted the job, then he accepted responsibility if his team does not deliver. He is the captain of the ship and he goes down with the ship.

Why should I have sympathy for this man? Because he is someone I wouldn't mind having a beer with? Let's be real. We don't have to like/dislike the guy. I don't care whether he says all the right things. I don't care that he is a blue collar minor league teacher. I don't care if he is the biggest narcissistic jerk in the World either . He is got one job to do: WIN. If he can't do that, I'm going to pile it on thick every chance I get.

I'm tired of losing as are many others. I'm tired of complacent people who are accustomed to losing. I'm tired of reporters who fail to provide constructive criticism and continue to make excuses for this organization. I'm tired of self labeled die-hard fans who seek sympathy for supporting a losing organization.

I love the O's as much as the next guy in my own way, but I'm not going to sit back and take this BS and keep brainwashing myself with feel good propaganda.

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Pete's reply: I think you can spread it around oretty evenly...but withhold a bit of it to see if the plan you want to abandon actually gets some results next season.

Also I am not so sure on this six man rotation.

Pete: Why don't they simply pick one to go to the bullpen? Like Berken? Limit their innings but keep them on a 5 day schedule.

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Pete's reply: I really don't have an opinion on this. In some ways, a six-man rotation makes sense, but I might be tempted to send Matusz home.

James C,

The fact that Riggleman made the statement is irrelevant. It is the type of mindset that any coach (yourself included) would want to instill in your players. Talent level is not the only component to winning. The Orioles have more lineup talent by far and the same pitching situation as the Athletics and lost 5 out of 6 games this year. The simple reason - they have not approached the game with a winning determination.

If you're satisfied to pay a guy 10 million dollars to jog out groundballs and forget how many outs there are, so be it. There are plenty of guys who would be happy to see you signing their checks.

I actually would like to have Trembley succeed but his players have not subscribed to his philosophy. They have not respected the game or its fans.

Thank you CB! Finally some one not trying to blame Roberts for all the problems this year. How is this guy an overpriced bum? 1st in all of MLB with 40 doubles, 6th in all of MLB with 81 runs and hitting .285 right at his career average. Solid defense at 2B.

Brian could have gone elsewhere and still gotten paid and had a chance to win (like to the Cubs). He stayed loyal is it too much to ask we do the same?

Micah,

I was about to post the same information. Where are the Orioles going to get a 2B with those stats?? and why would they make that a priority when we need a 1B, 3B, DH and need to sort out our entire pitching staff.

I am sick of reading all the venom directed at Dave Trembley. He didn't destroy the farm system. He didn't rush prospects to the majors before they were ready. He didn't make offers to free agents, and then withdraw them while announcing that the player had failed a physical. He has only had a short time to work on this team. I respect him, and I hope he gets a chance to take this team to the playoffs. As for McPhail, you are correct that he is a "3 moves ahead" guy. He won't replace Trembley until he has the right guy. In the meantime, I am much happier watching our inexperienced rookies failing rather than overpriced veterans failing. At least we know most of our rookies will get better.

R Jay,

You exactly prove my point from earlier. That you respect Trembley as a person not necessarily as a manager. What has he done as a manager to earn anyone's respect? Tell me how he has made this team better than we he got it. Don't tell me about the young players, because that's actually Macphail's achievement.

I want to know in the "short" 2 year specifically how has Trembley made this team better. And if you think he can take us to the playoffs, why do you say that he won't replace him 'til he finds the "right guy"? I though Trembley was the "right guy" for you.

Slugger,

No one could have made this team better. They are young and inexperienced and the proven veterans Mora, Huff and Guthrie have had sub par years.

Just the fact that Trembley has kept it together this long is amazing. He is not the issue. If he was explain why all three that have failed in 2009, had their best year last year?

It kind of is in the cards he was dealt. I think that the GM has had more to do with the train wreck than anyone but who knows next year they may do what they have to do to get the Orioles back to wining games.

CB Coach,

I beg to differ. If I'm running a business and my office manager cannot get the employees to do their job, I know how to take care of it, because I'm not in it to lose money. Baseball is a business too.

I don't have to explain why those three players had a bad year this year. I don't even care what kind of year they have. I'll put the next man up who wants is more than they do. I'll bring people from AAA / AA / A or even have open tryouts if I have to.

Slugger,

I get a kick out of that. One day a player can be player of the week the next week you would fire him if he did bad. Everyone has a down year, while the season progresses if the given team does not have the talent to replace him then there is nothing you can do but hope the player comes out of their slump.

OK ... I'm simplifying it because I've had it with the O's, but when I see a bad team like the A's hustling at every play at Camden Yards and putting us to shame as far as effort is concerned, my heart and brain just hurt just watching that happen. That is why I think Trembley is not good for this team and wasn't since day one. He cannot motivate players. Yes they get paid millions and they don't need more reasons to get motivated. I can take losses if you give me what you got every play, but what I've seen this season, I haven't seen since the losing streak started 12 years ago.

Cameron,

Your "winners" mentality doesn't work when you don't have talent. It worked for 8 games. Last I checked .444 overall doesn't make the playoffs. Under your theory, you could put Joe Torre, Jim Leyland, Earl Weaver or anyone of that caliber in Pittsburgh and win the World Series? No way. Bobby Cox is a legend and you're telling me the decline in Atlanta has nothing to do with a drop off in talent?

You want to compare the O's to the A's? Let's. The O's lost 9 in a row to the A's up until this week. You think it's the "will to win" that's the difference? How about looking at the division the two teams play in. Particularly telling is the Run Differentials. They've won just 4 more games this season by the way and are still 12 games under .500. You just praised those guys though. If we were 12 games under .500 that's when it gets to be OK for you?

Slugger,

Baseball is not some business office. If you're expectations as a CEO are for someone in middle management to make any team of employees he's given work then you should be the one fired. If you fire the manager you're still left with the under developed staff to manage somehow. While half the people on the blog think they could be an owner/coach or something, that option is out. So you then have to hire a new manager and still have an inexperienced team. Thus the problem is still there and you've wasted all kinds of money interviewing people and the down time of a lame duck interim period and just ya. I don't think that's a business model they teach in MBA programs.

If you really want to go nuts Mr. Business Man, you can always just fire members of the team too right? OK. So, if you sit out Brian Roberts, who's his equal replacement on the team? Scratch that. Who is an equal replacement that's on the market? These aren't trick questions. You want to send him a message? Maybe send your employee home? OK. So when he comes back even more pissed off, what do you do? What do you do in the next Fiscal Year when he gets even worse because you pissed him off? You have 24 other guys in the locker room wondering what pipe you're smoking since you just put in some essay contest winner. Not every guy who wants it more is some Rudy looking for his time to shine. I'm sure Jeremy Guthrie wants to win really really bad and he still sucks hard this year. He wants it bad though. Maybe move him to 2nd?

First I noted in one of your comments here Pete that you don't believe Trembley will be back next year. That, to my knowledge, is the first time I'm aware that you've actually out-and-out said that. Secondly, you describe DT as a "caretaker manager." I dare say that if DT were here, he'd say he doesn't think of himself as a caretaker manager, anymore than Weaver was a "caretaker" for any club he managed. "I"m the manager, and that's it," would likely be the reply. If DT is the Gregg Zaun of managers, then who is the Matt Wieters we have in the wings? Who is DT caddying for? Secondly, yes, you can't blame DT for alot that has transpired here. I mean, you lose practically your entire starting rotation, what are you going to do? However, that being said, there is a definite lack of mental focus in the way games have been played, and, I'm sorry, but that's the manager's job. Earl Weaver could forgive physical errors, but mental errors--NO. When you came to Baltimore, you were going to have to beat us, we were NOT going to beat ourselves. That is, as anyone with at least one good eye and a pulse can see, clearly NOT the case anymore. And you can't say it is because we lack talent. Yes, Earl Weaver had Eddie Murray, but he also had Benny Ayala and Dave Skaggs and Kiko Garcia and whole lot of other mediocrities, but somehow got the absolute best out of whatever talent and ability these guys had by drilling into them from Day One that you had better play every second of every inning of every game with your head in the game or you were going to be OUT of the game. Just ask Bobby Bonner. The ability of the team to play as a unit, to play sound, fundamental baseball comes from the top. They're not doing that. That's DT's responsibility. And if he were here reading this over my shoulder, my guess is he'd be nodding in agreement. All that being said, I hope things do improve for the club and that whatever happens, things work out for DT...it may not be as a major league manager. And that's one to grow on...

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Pete's reply: I was asked my opinion on what might happen. I am not advocating either side of the issue. I think Trembley must get a big bounce from this team over the next seven weeks to get his option picked up. My gut says that isn't going to happen with the way the club is playing and the schedule the rest of the way. So, that's how my opinion was formed, but it depends on the circumstances at the end of the year. We might all think we know what's going to happen between now and then, but we really don't.

Slugger, Beating this one to the ground. It is not lack of hustle it is lack of talent, and while you have to see the talent coming along, it has been 12 years. Face it 2 years ago we needed a left fielder, Center Fielder, First baseman, our third baseman was coming off a down year, our catcher was weak, a troubled Shortstop, a starting rotation that had Benson, Cabrera and Trachsel we had a injury riddled bullpen and our one lone prospect for pitching Loewen injures himself and calls it quits for his pitching career.

Now what do we need? I think most people agree A first and/or third baseman, an ace starter, lefty out of the bullpen and possibly a closer depending on how Johnson does.

So which club is closer to success 2006-2007 version or the 2008-2009 version? They are getting closer although there is still growing pains.

we need a DH also.

Our entire rotation is a question mark.

bergesen yes (assuming he returns from injury the same)
guthrie maybe (I lean no, but we may have no choice)
tillman maybe
matusz maybe (2011?)
hernandez maybe
berken NO
uehara bullpen

Burt -

On Opening Day, the starting rotation consisted of:
-an overworked defacto ace
-a reliever from the Japanese leagues
-a 28-year-old minor league lifer who posted a 6.00 ERA in the minors from 2005 to 2008 before cast off to Mexico
-a 6'9" lefty with an 80 mph fastball and a 5.05 career ERA
-an oft-injured 31-year-old who put up his last sub 5.00 ERA season in 2005

Did you really expect that staff to keep this team close to .500?

Slugger -

Who would you have brought up to replace to Guthrie, Mora and Huff?

Tremblay can not get the Vets to hustle. Brian stared at a ball in Fenway Park before running to first before it hit the wall - single not a double, Huff jogs to first on any ground ball, Mora? lost cause but playing almost everyday after crying about being dissed. If Tremblay had the guts he would start setting the rules and taking care of business. Baseball mind maybe but he has to up the bar and not accept all the excuses for losing. I hope they bring up the rest of their major league roster and play the young guys. Let the lack of hustlers get some september splinters make that a lot of splinters.

James C,

You seem stuck on a percentage that indicates a losing record but doesn't tell you anything about the acheivement considering the talent. Riggleman had some hitters in both San Diego and Chicago but in 7+ seasons, excluding a handful of games from Bruce Hurst, his 2 most accomplished starting pitchers were Andy Benes & Steve Trachsel. Unless you were following those teams it is impossible to tell how much he got out of his team. But no one is going to confuse those two with Roy Halladay or Johan Santana.

The Athletics are overacheiving and have less of a future than the more talented Orioles. This is the most talented team top-to-bottom in over 10 years. Yes, more talented than the smokescreen teams that occupied first place with a few real talents like Eric Bedard, Miguel Tejada, B.J. Ryan, Mora & Roberts. But it is young and just like children need the correct example to follow.

World Series champions maximize their talent through effort and smart baseball. Trembley has to stop cajoling his team and impose his will over the next couple of months. That is what the managers you mentioned accomplished and why they lasted long enough to win. If he or the next manager fails these O's will never advance past the first round of the playoffs.

All that want Trembley to go away will have to wait. AM has said he is not going to do any changes in management this year.
Good for McPhail. Hope it works out for Trembley one way or another.

Cameron,

Riggleman got a lifetime losing record, so I'm not sure what extra he's squeezed out of someone ever. Last I checked Trembley doesn't have Roy Halladay or Santana either. I was simply saying that pushing guys only gets you so far when they're only so good.

In the case of the A's, who's to say that their guys have less of a future? Brad Bergesen was our 18th prospect heading into this year, but he beat expectations. None of us can look to the future and say the A's crop of guys won't continue to play well. It's a total craps shoot for every team, for every player, for every season.

You're saying our team is the most talented in 10 years, but the record says otherwise. This crop of guys have the most "potential", which is different than talent when it comes to this season in 2009. That potential is why I haven't lost faith in Andy McPhail, but the talent isn't there completely. I wouldn't say this team is more talented than those teams, but they are more viable pieces to build around than those guys you mentioned were.

I'm just saying, you're holding the manager accountable based on the best case scenario for every single player and that's unfair. You admit they're young, but don't want to allow for the growing pains that go with that.

There is a fine line to walk when you're imposing your will on a team. Look at what happened with Tiki Barber and Tom Coughlin when Coughlin was pulling his "if you're 5 minutes early, you're late" antics. These are grown men who don't want to be dressed down like they're kids. Manny in Boston is another example. Heck, look at Melvin Mora and his crybaby interview. Trembley got him right back into the fold I might add and gets zero credit for the fact that we haven't heard a peep since. He could have lost the entire locker room that week, but he didn't.

The managers I mentioned also managed All Stars that weren't named because every team has to have one. Joe Torre was no "will imposer" either. He was about as coddling of vets as Brian Billick in training camp. There is no set way to manage. Every team needs a different touch at different times. Every player has their own internal motivators and reactions to leadership. Those needs can change dramatically and unpredictably. There's a reason there is no Phil Jackson type manager in baseball with 10 rings.

I know I probably come off as a jerk (I'm really not, I promise), but I have such a hard time with things that are inherently variable and/or chaotic in nature being presented as absolute fact. All of the "if only he did this" or "if we would have just done that" makes me think of what my aunt would be if she had ...well, you know.

James,

I think we understand each other. I am not too much of a second guesser about pitching moves and pinch hitters. I believe matchups become more important when you play playoff-type games. I would rather have young players challenged and see if they can make the adjustments going forward.

I would also rather see the team respond to Trembley than start over. The priority should be to give coaching stability to the young pitchers. If the team can use tonight as a launching pad and find a way to beat Lackey, the tough schedule could be something that brings the best out of the team.