Hey pete while i agree with you 100% on your article, i want to once again prove the bias shown Nick M in this town by every media memeber and radio show talk host.See I don't remember any articles saying that Nick should be removed from batting 2nd or sat down when he was batting 239 after a significant AB's. He went well over a month before he got a extra base hit. Now that he has a 17 game hitting streak he has been given full absolution for totally under performing.

Let me give you some stats pete to help me make my point. Vlad was signed by the orioles for 8 million to hit hr's and drive in runs. So far in 278 ab's he is batting 282 and has 17 extra base hits with 6 hr's and 28 rbi's with a slugging % of 386. Nick was signed to a 66 million contract extension based on the premise that he would hit between 18 and 25 hr's knock in between 90 and 100 rbi's every year and has faild miserably the last 2 years doing that.He is currently batting 277 with 6 hr's and 31 rbi's with a slugging % of 365. Vlad has 38 fewer AB's then nick and is either tied or ahead in all categories. See pete i get why it's easier to jump on Vlad and not the favorite son but once again it shows just how the media fails to hold him and themselves accountable. Jen royal said in the pregame how it's amazing how hardy has almost twice as many hr's as vlad but i don't here her or anybody else ever say that hardy has twice as many hr's as nick.Way to go nick 18 game hitting streak and another RBI.Way to start earning your money.

I totally agree that the Orioles need to make a move, but it appears they will wait and hope he heats up before the trade deadline. But if he doesn't I think they should simply release him and allow a younger player to get some at bats this season in preparation for next year. Peter, tell me what you think about my Orioles blog: http://battleofthebeltway.mlblogs.com/

He's killing them, and I'm disappointed that Buck has taken a half season to realize what was obvious to most of MLB after last year. It's not like teams were lined up to sign Vlad and watch him hack at junk all season long.

But like most things with the Orioles, it's a compound problem. Who's going to bat fourth? What do you do with Vlad? And frankly, he's not the only problem, or even the biggest one on a flawed team.

I wonder who could have been had over the last four or five years if the O's had wisely invested the money that paid for Tejada, Atkins, Vlad, Lee, Gonzaless, Gregg, and other cast-offs?

The O's spend -- they just never buy the right pieces.

Sorry, your reverse jinx didn't work.

Who then, to hit #4?

Why don't the Orioles fans just face the truth. The Orioles are a bad team. It would not matter who you put in the cleanup spot. They are not going to produce. They are not produceing in the spots that they are hitting in now. These guys on the Orioles are bad ballplayers. They do not play the game very well and they are not coached very well. I might be wrong but in the game last night. Pie looked like he mis-read a fly ball, Adam Jones has been in the majors long enough to have learned patience. I am sick and tired of night after night of poor played Oriole baseball.

To paraphrase Tony LaRussa commenting on his team's slow start earlier this season, "What.... you think Guerrero can't hit ?"

C'mon, Peter..... Vlad is STILL one of the most feared hitters in the game.
If you're going strictly by numbers, you need to consider that Hardy, Markakis, and Jones (the guys who bat ahead of Vlad) are all having pretty successful years driving in runs. That leaves less left on base for Vlad. I really don't see where he's failed to any great extent.
I know he's been on base quite a bit and has had guys who bat AFTER him fail to drive him in.

Are those guys the ones you're proposing to replace him at cleanup ?

I acknowledge the at-bat you described in which he swung at the first offering by a pitcher who had walked the bases loaded. I've seen Vlad do that on other occasions circumstantially similar as well.
But I've also seen every other hitter in baseball do the same thing at one time or another.
Unless the manager controls each and every thing at batter does on each and every pitch, then those things will happen. I mean if it's such a great problem, then why doesn't the manager simply flash him the take sign on every first pitch ? That would be more effective than making subtle threats via the media.

The fact is, no one else on the team is better suited to bat cleanup than Guerrero and here's why:
The moment you move a guy into that position in the lineup, he's going to get pitched to a little differently. The reasons could be psychological or circumstantial....... but he's going to get approached in a different way.
That's why some guys are simply more successful batting in certain places in the order but the moment they get a shot at cleanup, the success rate diminishes.

The only exception to that rule that I can think of is Vladimir Guerrero. And the reason is that no matter how pitchers approach him, he's going to hit them.

I can't believe that we have a guy like this batting in the middle of our lineup and all certain people around here want to think about is trading him.
We didn't sign him for half a season.
And we're still going to need to score runs in the second half.

Who's going to bat cleanup..... Luke Scott ? I don't think so. Luke should be in a shoulder cast right now.
Weiters ? Sure.... just put MORE pressure on him that he's bearing already.
Jones ? Too valuable batting third.
Markakis ? Too valuable batting second.
Reynolds ? Doing well where he's at, too.
Lee ? Uh..... no.
Hardy ? Who's gonna lead off, then ?

I will go on record as saying this:
Leave Guerrero right where he is and he will end up batting .300, hitting 20 homers, and driving in between 90 and 100 runs.
There is no rule that says he must slow down his production as the season progresses. I think he's going to heat up.

Does it really matter Pete? Seriously, it's not like we've got a great power hitter waiting in the wings to be the cleanup instead. Who would you put there? Jones perhaps, maybe Weiters? I just don't think it'll make a lot of difference, it seems nobody on the team can come up with the big hit when we need it. Unless we can find a way for Hardy to bat in all nine spots, juggling the lineup seems like rearranging deck chairs.

Pete...One of the great things about Showalter at the end of last season was that nobody's job was safe. He was playing to win every game, and everyone know that; they all played hard because they knew if they didn't, Buck would put someone else in.

This year, there is way too much "giving the vets the benefit of the doubt". Heck, he won't even move a guy down in the order. What has changed? It seems like Buck has softened up, and not in a good way.

At Atlanta, while V is on the bench, put Reynolds in the 4 slot. Less DP's, more patience, more fastballs for HR's. Nothing to lose.
Nobody else except Lee has the mental frame of mind for it.