fire trembley

Nice article. Trembley was given a chore this year, and if you decide his fate by the last two months it will be an unfair dismissal.. Face it was doomed from the beginning, with the cards he was dealt. The fact is the guy did a good job this year and last season, given the fact he was dealing with 50 some different pitchers in his 2+ years as the manager.

This is the major leagues and it is not always fair, but I would hope that MacPhail would be reasonable about his future, considering he is the dealer that dealt this hand to Trembley. And if the decision is based on grooming the young players for the future than MacPhail should renew his contract. Only one of our young pitchers have been hurt this year, and that was a bruise from a line drive. When these young guys were getting sore arms or muscles he did not pitch them, they missed starts. Since they are a team, I believe they have worked well together.

In doing the math, really if they are in a six man rotation they would only miss two or three starts. I just hope they can find a way to win 9 more games because I do not want to hear from the guys that have been blogging on this site since the all star break that the Orioles will loose 100.

Pete: On something totally non related, on this site it ask for a letter at the endin a small field. Most the time when I am on here, I am on my mobile device, and cannot make it out. Is this significant information that has to be included?

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Pete's reply: I doubt it. Some people fill out all the fields, some don't. They seem to get their posts up either way.

Nice article Pete. I don't have any beef with Trembley. I think he did what he was expected to do, and you are absolutely correct in pointing out that you can't hold a guy accountable for his team's record when you keep pulling the rug out from under him. I just don't believe that he ranks among the best major league managers and with a young rebuilding team, I feel it is of utmost importance that they learn what major league baseball is all about under the watch of the best guy you can possibly get.
Give Trembley another job within the organization. He works hard, is loyal to the club, longtime baseball guy. There has to be some job with the Orioles that he would do terrific at, but if the objective is to build a team that can become a long term contender, then the youngsters need to get the fundamentals of good baseball down early in their careers, something that Trembley preached, but for whatever reason was unable to pass along. "This is the Major Leagues, it doesn't get any bigger" Brooks once said to a young Oriole "If there was any higher league, I'd have been in it". To win at this level, especially in this division, you have to have ALL the pieces, beginning with a great manager. Who is that? I have no idea, but it obviously isn't Dave Trembley. Let him go with some dignity, offer him a good job, the poor guy has worked his ass off for the club, but he shouldn't be the manager anymore.

Hi Pete,

It is painful but correct logic to protect these assets and I said weeks ago that both Matusz and Tillman should be shut down at the conclusion of their minor league seasons.

That being said, planning to lose can only be tolerated on a short term basis and that time is up next year. Pete, do you agree that this winter is critical to the franchise and the Orioles need to make the moves necessary over the winter so that the team can begin to compete in the AL East next year? By compete, I mean .500 Baseball as a goal.

Pete,

I could have sworn, I think I saw a similar article written by you just a few years ago. That time however it went something like this:

"If you're like me, the primary reason you're still paying attention to the Orioles right now is to watch the early evolution of Hayden Penn and Adam Lowen."

Or perhaps Daniel Cabrera instead of Penn, I don't remember it very well.

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Pete's reply: Well, go find it. You've got a computer and it's in the database somewhere if I wrote that. I don't remember being all that high on Hayden Penn, but I thought Loewen would be okay. Sorry I was unable to predict the broken arm.

To create a winning team out of the mess that has been the O's over the last 12 seasons, you need to a) have the talent to be a winning team and b) have the mentality to overcome the culture of losing that is so embedded in this franchise.

I see the potential to meet the talent requirement, but I wonder, does DT know what it means to be a winner?

He seems to know how to teach fundamentals and such, and prepare the talent to enter the majors as shown by his minor league track record, but what does he know of winning at the major league level?

There is a stigma associated with losing for 12 seasons and I don't know if DT is capable of leading this team out of that...how do you overcome so much losing. Not by raising your bar to lets ride out the season...which is what he knows how to do...which is all any manager has known how to do since the late 90s.

I think he is a great guy and deserves a chance to see his team begin to win, but I say keep a short leash on him...give a one-year extension and see if he can make winners next season out of all this talent ...no more excuses, let's have some genuine accountability!

I hope you're a winner Mr. Trembley.

To create a winning team out of the mess that has been the O's over the last 12 seasons, you need to a) have the talent to be a winning team and b) have the mentality to overcome the culture of losing that is so embedded in this franchise.

I see the potential to meet the talent requirement, but I wonder, does DT know what it means to be a winner?

He seems to know how to teach fundamentals and such, and prepare the talent to enter the majors as shown by his minor league track record, but what does he know of winning at the major league level?

There is a stigma associated with losing for 12 seasons and I don't know if DT is capable of leading this team out of that...how do you overcome so much losing? Not by setting your bar to ‘lets ride out the season’...which is what he knows how to do...which is all any manager has known how to do since the late 90s.

I think he is a great guy and deserves a chance to see his team begin to win, but I say keep a short leash on him...give him a one-year extension and see if he can make winners next season out of all this talent ...no more excuses, let's have some genuine accountability!

I hope you're a winner Mr. Trembley.

LOL ... No hard feelings Pete. You know I respect you, even though we disagree on 95% of things.

Pete, your article reaffirms my hunch that MacPhail is the one running the clubhouse, not Trembley. I thought the manager's job is to decide how to use the players and the GM's job is to provide them. I owe DT a huge apology. He has been scapegoated/lameducked by Andy MacPhail.

P.S

I like you so much better when you cover Ravens stuff

I agree that Trembley did not have a full deck this year but he has to be held accountable for the bad record this season and last season that’s what a manager does. He mismanaged the pen masterfully causing losses and burning guys out, refused to play Pie, and made some real bad lineups. With all that said I think the majority of fans would love to see Dave Trembley return back to a new position within the organization that fans coming to the ball park could interact with him and vent. He should work the early shift at Boog’s barbeque on game days until Boog Powell shows up. Actually that would be a bad idea Trembley would screw that up too by eating all the food or chasing hecklers or people that enforce rules like in Seattle. Then we would have to forgive him because he cannot be held accountable for anything.

I'm not saying that Slugger is right about the article, but I will say that we've seen this before (recently) with the O's. It seems like there are always two hot young prospects just waiting to burst into the majors and make everything right in Birdland. The difference this time is that there are 5 or 6 hot young prospects. I'm no statistician, but I think that improves the odds.

"Sorry I was unable to predict the broken arm. "

C'mon Pete, don't sell yourself short I'm pretty sure the archives WILL show that you in fact, DID predict the broken arm.

Good article, this shall be a very interesting offseason I do believe.

Pete,

Who are you kidding with "If you're like me, the primary reason you're still paying attention to the Orioles right now is to watch the early evolution of Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman."??

The primary reason you are watching the O's is that you are paid to do so. LOL

You brought up an interesting point about Trembley's job security. I had never really thought of that angle. I like Roy's idea of making him a player development guy or something. I think they can do better in finding a true field general with better baseball instincts & decision making abilities for the manager of the future though.

p.s. If they have a Peter Schmuck t-shirt night there isn't enough tacky flowery print cloth in both Hampden & Highlandtown combined to make that happen. *L*

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Pete's reply: I want you to know that I get my tacky shirts on the Eastern Shore.

Pay no attention to your troubles posting bloggers. That is just MASN infiltrating your computers!!
MUHAHAHAHA
-The Emperor

This site is jacked up as the Orioles pen last night!

I think the Orioles freedom fighters just hacked petes propaganda site

I think Pete's site needs a long term rebuilding plan. I would start by firing the pimple-faced site administrator intern named Felix.

Just click post once....its not that hard.

Pete - You asked Slugger to come up with that quote regarding Loewen. It made me curious and while I didn't find that article I found a reference to an August 2006 column by you Pete reagrding the state of the O's at the time. Take out the names and it is eerily similar to right now.

It's the August 8th blog on the page entitled "Peter Schmuck Has Lost His Mind".

LOL

http://roarfrom34.blogspot.com/2006_07_23_archive.html

p.s. Thanks for cleaning up this blog, Pete!

p.s. to Micah - it's pitching an error in Internet Explorer - not the ususal delay problem that the blog always has

Pete - You asked Slugger to come up with that quote regarding Loewen. It made me curious and while I didn't find that article I found a reference to an August 2006 column by you Pete reagrding the state of the O's at the time. Take out the names and it is eerily similar to right now.

It's the August 8th blog on the page entitled "Peter Schmuck Has Lost His Mind".

LOL

p.s. Thanks for cleaning up this blog, Pete!

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Pete's reply: I think I remember that. I don't deny being too positive sometimes, but I'm not delusional. The essense of being a baseball fan used to be trying to pick out the players who will get better and projecting whether the team can keep winning or grown into a winner. Unfortunately, that has been replaced in recent years by the Yankees and Red Sox buying up all the talent. Against that background, there is little hope for the Orioles or any other medium market team except the ones that have terrific success and good luck developing their own talent. I felt the O's had a good group of young players coming along four or five years ago, but only Markakis and Roberts really came out of that group. None of the pitchers panned out, which is why they had to start over again. This time, they have a long list of pitching prospects to choose from, so maybe it will be different, but there are no guarantees. Now, you have to worry about the imbalance on the position side. I'm not nearly so upbeat about the corner infield prospects.

Yep another great year for the Orioles! Costs are down the economy is in the toilet and we still managed to stay in the black. Thanks to these dedicated Baltimore fans that don’t mind watching bad baseball and giving us their money! Well not to mention those great out of towners we welcome here to Baltimore with open arms. Here in Baltimore we love having a little Fenway on the Chesapeake, seeing the bombers bomb out our yard, heck we will open our arms to any popular team! For booking contact

333 West Camden Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

Heard an interesting stat on the radio today. If you throw out the games against the Yankees, Red Sox & Angels (7 - 30), the O's are 47 - 49 on the year. What a difference being in the Central Division would be.

Pete -

I swear, every time Chris Ray faces the Sox or the Yankees, he chokes.

And Mora alwasy boosts his season's numbers when the O's are out of contention.

I like Ray - but if he cannot produce against the best, he needs to go.

Slugger-

~~Pete, your article reaffirms my hunch that MacPhail is the one running the clubhouse, not Trembley. I thought the manager's job is to decide how to use the players and the GM's job is to provide them.~~

MacPhail is the President of Baseball Operations. Everything that goes on is his responsibility. It is his responsibility to make decisions regarding the direction of the club and how its assets are managed, utilized and protected. He delegates authority as he sees fit to subordinates like Joe Jordan and Dave Tremblay. He charges them with duties that forward his vision and the direction he has set forth for the business. I doubt that is too much different than how any team in MLB is run. You dont need to rely on hunches. MacPhail has a team of largely unproven players run by an unproven manager who was not his hire. To this point in his term, the most important things happening have been in player acquisition and development. Now as the most important prospects come up to the majors, that will slowly shift to the most important facets of the operation taking place on the field at OPACY, not like flipping a switch, but gradually. There is nothing sinister or irresponsible in any of that.

Pete - I hear you and that article is a perfect example of why so many people are skeptical. Even with 7 or 8 solid pitching prospects in the farm only 1 or 2 may truly pan out. I sure hope it turns out differently this time. Maybe the argument to trade some of the young pitching for A. Gonzalez is worth the risk. Who knows!

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Pete's reply: I'd love to see Andy make a run at the guy, though I'm not sure the Padres really are going to make him available.

Not to digress from the topic at hand, but I thought it would be important to provide some of A-Rod's comments to the students at Milford Mill Academy for those who missed Dan Connolly and Arin Gencer's article...

"Kids, do not date Madonna when you grow up. She's pure evil."

'"I can't believe you only got a 62 on that chem final. When the hell are you gonna start coming through in the clutch?"

'Never, EVER get caught in public with a stripper. Keep her in your hotel room where she belongs."

'I did not have sex with that woman...Mr.
Jeter."

"Yes, it's true--I did call Joe Torre 'A-Hole' behind his back."

"I tried Boli once but I didn't inhale."

"Kids, don't make the same mistake I did by chosing baseball for a career. There's no money in it."

"I'm living proof that you don't need a college education to succeed in making a fool of yourself."

"My favorite player is Cal Ripken. Do you think he'll be in the lineup tonight?"

"Am I getting paid for this?"

Pete, your article reaffirms my hunch that MacPhail is the one running the clubhouse, not Trembley. I thought the manager's job is to decide how to use the players and the GM's job is to provide them. It's for sure Trembley hasn't the vaguest idea how to use the players. He uses the entire roster as if Little League whether batting order or position. Does he know and can he instill confidence in the talent that is available. I say NO! He sits in that dugout like guy waiting for the Tolchester Fairyboat to be brought back. There isn't a major league team that can't beat Baltimore after fifth inning. Decisions - decisions? Don't forget the batboy!

Napoleon said 'a bad general will always defeat two good generals'. If McPhail is steering us straight toward disaster, that's better than zig-zagging there. Sail in a straight line and you're going somewhere, for good or ill. Seize on every attractive opportunity, and you're spending your life circling around in the harbor. (Okay, metaphor-mixing coppers, you got me this time.)

Hey Anonymous,

President of Baseball operations is just fancy for GM no matter how you slice it. Given that Trembley is told when to play and not to play Weiters, Pie, Huff, Mora, Scott, Reimold, and how to utilize the pitching staff, which are all a manager's responsibilities, no matter who you ask, I rightly say that you can't blame Trembley.

DT is like a one legged man in an arse kicking contest. You make him the manager but don't let him manage, and he becomes the laughing stock of the MLB.

What this does for MacPhail is that no serious manager like Lou Pinella, Joe Torre, Ozzie Guillen, Tony La Russa and other notable ones, would want to manage under this micromanaging, controlling clown. Why doesn't he make himself the manager if he thinks he can do a better job?

Since we're planning to shut down Tillman and Matusz anyway, why not keep them below 50 innings so they would both remain eligible for ROY consideration next year? Tillman stands at 40.1 innings so he could get one more good start in, and with Matusz at 30.2 he could play two more if MacPhail likes. I know ROY is a secondary consideration, but it would be good to give fans something to cheer about, and these players another goal to shoot for.

As for Trembley, my assumption all year has been that barring an amazing team performance this year (think: the "why not?" year) he was a dead man walking anyway. I doubt MacPhail was going to base his judgment on the W-L record given all the moving pieces this year, but rather what he did with what he was given. Could he make these players play to the best of their potential, with strong fundamentals and 100% effort? Could he motivate and lead this team, even in difficult circumstances? Could he (and his coaches) make the right calls and adjustments to improve the team's chance of winning games? I think the answer to each of these has been "no", and that, rather than how many wins the team ends up with, is what has already sealed his fate.

I think Trembley has served his purpose well as a placeholder manager to ride out these tough rebuilding years. But now is the time to find a winner, and I hope that is at the top of MacPhail's priority list for the offseason.

What's up with giving Fiorentino #70? Geez, give the kid a little dignity and give him a real #. I don't care if he is a Sept callup.

Chris: Maybe giving out the jersey number 70 is a good thing, a reference to the next-to-last time we won the Series! (sob)

What has Huff done for the Tigers since joining them? .038 the last time I checked. Huff at first base was not the long term answer for this club. So we got a prospect for the minors in exchange for dumping two months before the season ends. Makes sense to me. It gives us a chance to see what Scott can do at first. I am in favor of shutting down the young arms, they are the future of this team. Why chance it? Between winter ball, instructional league, and then the minors, they have some innings under their belt. Why push it. Not exactly like this year is going anywhere.

Everyone is looking for Trembley to be fired but no one has come up with the name of his successor. Here I am again putting in a plug for Palmer. Throw enough money at him and I believe he'd ...Aw Shucks, O. K....take the deal. Biggest problem would be that he would also be the Pitching Coach. Angelos might like that idea. Seriously, I believe Palmer would select a P.C. who he respected, had ideas similar to his and had had success already. I know one thing: pitchers and position players would respect him knowing he has more baseball knowledge than anyone they've ever known. Pick Dempster as his Ripkin, Sr. type and the O's wouldn't have all the gaffes on the basepaths and in the field as has been the case the past two years. Crow, of course, would stay and, I think, a few top-notch O's of the past would line up for interviews. Palmer signing would probably add 10 years to Earl's life just because he could hound Palmer about every little thing wrong that he thought happened in an Oriole game. Sure would be fun. Happy Days Would Be Here Again!