peter if the orioles would get in their heads to be more patient at the plate i feel they would be 500 or above. they plain and simple do not want to play ball and really do not care. if they did their won loss record would be much better. the way the orioles are playing at this time, i would expect they get swept by the rangers and the red sox,most likely putting buck's job in jeopardy. i also do not expect andy macphail to be GM in 2012. no matter what is said about peter angelos spending money on players, he is still the cause of the orioles being in their present state of afair. how close are the orioles to signing their 2011 # 1 draft pick. we haven't seen any ink spread on that subject lately.

The Orioles are hopelessly out of contention by definition, because they are the Orioles.

Pete no matter how postive a guy you are this team will finish just about where they did last year.Maybe when you are in the locker room again you can try and tell the players to adopt the new and improved NICK M swing. Just choke up and hit singles. Not only will you raise your average to respectability but you will get everybody off of your back except of course that nut case bob lancione. But what i failed to tell you is that NICK M is still only hitting 229 with runners in scoring position.With that new and improved swing he has sacrificed any chance of hitting for power and driving the ball. Instead he has done just enough lately to be considered satisfatory and that is more then enough for the fans and the media in this town.

See the title of your artice Is it APOCALYPSE now and with the obvious problems that the orioles are having 1 Brian m being sent to the minors,not being able to hit 88 on the gun 2 Jake with a large bone spur on his elbow start pushed back to tonight.3 veteran players that you acguired in the off season hoping that they would have something left and at least produce enough to trade them at the break. 4 No organizational depth to even call up one average replacement .5 Not knowing when or if your 2d baseman will ever play again i would say that we are falling off the competitive cliff without any parachute to save us. But at least with all the above obvious things wrong with this team Nick has some how fallen under the radar

Pete; Well here we go again. Different players,same results. Watching this team play is like the movie groundhog day. I can1t blame Mcphail-- I think bhe`s done a good job under the circumstances. People have to remember that he is under budgetary constraint. Unfortunately, the ownership has ,in my opinion,put more emphasis on making money than winning. Competing in this division is difficult,no doubt about that. Having said that we need an owner who is passionate about winning. Signing Tex would have been the right move. He is a local boy and could have been the face of the franchise,but instead of making a serious offer we came in fifth! We can`t get better without better players. Signing these over the hill vets is getting old, They claimed last year that they wanted Vmart,so what do they do ? They underbid the Tigers for his services. No athlete is worth the money they`re signing for but this is the price of doing business in today`s climate. The way the Orioles are going about it hell will freeze over before we have another winning season.

I agree Pete-and I am so disappointed.Theres no Fire,no knock me down and I'm gonna come atcha attitude.Its like they get timid after getting brushed back.they need a Frank Robinson(not for his playing ability,but his example of hustle and aggressiveness.or an Alan Mills,a Bill Ripken.Lord someone needs to yank theses guys out of their foxholes and makem fight!They are the absolute panseys of baseball.
This team can't beat srub pitchers,let lone a Jurrjens.They can't play smart,,I managed American Legion teams that played SMARTER baseball-hit cutoffs,moved guys over,caught the ball in position to throw and most of all were not afraid to get in front of a hard grounder.Hardy is the only one that does that and knows when to set and throw instead of trying to catch and sling off balance.
How can Buck stand it.And I think changing pitching coachs this year hurt.Connor has changed mechanics and they all lost velocity(young ones)They need to bring Griffin here and get them back to what broughtem here.
They are also clueless on the basepaths.
I am so frustrated.I've watched since '54 and have never been more dissappointed in a team.

ummm Peter, they fell off the wagon a few weeks ago, and yes it will get worse and worse and worse.. you figured that out by now

They are over the cliff. It doesn't help that we seem to not play smart baseball. We've seen that all season with their consistent inability to drive home runners from third with less than two outs via a productive out, for example, because they don't seem to look for pitches to drive in the air. Little things like this can win games.

Last night, they were facing a pitcher who lived on the outside edge of the plate. How do you try to beat such a pitcher? By trying to hit to the opposite field. O's hitters, though, save for a couple of ABs, tried to pull those pitches all night. Doesn't the hitting coach or manager see that, and tell the hitters to go the other way? Jim Palmer is saying it. Rick Dempsey said it after the game. Shouldn't someone in uniform say it during the game?

Pete, I know this is beating a dead a horse kinda statement, but how long does this team expect us fans to put up with this. Every year it's the same story. Same excuses. Same so-called "plan." Just sell the team already, it's obvious you don't care about baseball, or it's fans.

When you think of the O's being competitive, what immediately comes to mind are how many ways they can lose a game rather than win one. While that mindset remains, they'll never be over .500.

This is one of the more poignant aetcles you have written . Your comment on organizational depth is especially insightful.Each year it's the same shotcomings; no clutch hitting and a weak bullpen made weaker by short starts. Additionally, it seems that the O's lack clubhouse leadership although I am not privy to team inner workings.

PETER NO arguement they are much better off at SS and 3B, Worse at DH ?? in LF, still way off at 1B and DH.. I would love to see a true onnbase/speed/leadoff guy who could play OF or IF in the DH. Who didn't kill you playing in the field..Vlad would be much better PH for a contender down the stretch even with us paying most of it.. LEE with his track record 2nd half might be sent or here rest of the year at least he can play defense although I would love to obtain a DAVIS,tx., GOLDSCHMIDT az., ALONZO cin, or other blocked 1B there the rest of this year.. DREAMING OF FIELDER OR PUJOLS might be nice but the next HOWARD, VOTTO,GONZALES, might be there for much less finding themselves blocked or overlooked n AA-AAA.. PITCHING DO NOT bring Tillman, or Matusz back up unless their arm strength and total command are there.. I question if Tillman can make it this year.. We might suffer at the ML level but developing those type pitchers are far more important, especially Matusz, I believe matusz could pitch up here without his full velocity but the location, movement and command of his pityc hes has to be as sharp as before.. ANDY KEEP THE COMMITMENT to make us better even if us impatient fans have to wait..

No your not the most positive...Steve Meleski(sp). He is drunk on the orange cool-aid. He's so bad that he has NO credibility and I used to like him on WBAL. What was I thinking

Put a fork in them they are done! ...and they realize it as a team.

A team of losers, starting with Markakis & Guthrie..oh and roberts. Each find ways to come up short. Build around Hardy, Jones, Weiters and maybe Reynolds who gives the impression of caring.

Keep the young starters & move JJ to the rotation next year. Set up guys can always be found and who needs one when you never lead? The rest can go!

Pete,

The Orioles fell off the competitive cliff during the last road trip when they went 3 and 6 against the Blue jays, the Nats, and the Pirates. That was the official beginning of the end of the 2011season for all intents and purposes.

As I just posted to Jeff, this season looks like most of the past 13. The pitching prospects have become suspects, we are stuck with injured and aging players that can't be traded, bad contracts, and a farm system devoid of imminent position players. You can't make this stuff up.

Bad luck? Yes, but other organizations seem able to plow through adversity. Bad scouting? The best answer is, "what scouting.?" Bad "player development?" That term is an oxymoron when it comes to the Orioles.
Bad FA aquisitions? Not if you think that cheap is always best. Bad front office? From Macphail on down they all must all pinch themselves everytime they see that the ACH has hit their bank account. Bad ownership? Not if it means putting money in the bank from MASN. See, it's all relative, depending on what side of the dollar you are on.

I think the plan still came into place a bit with Hardy and Reynolds. I could easily see the O's signing Hardy to an extension and trading Vladdy, Lee, or Scott for something before the deadline. That would constitute an improvement over last years squad. As always though, way to many holes to fill on this roster. 2nd base, 1st base (Lee gone), maybe 3rd, two starting pitchers, two bullpen guys, and a better bat boy.

The Orioles ARE dead.
Really, they are a patchwork rag tag example of a management team NOT committed to winning. Sure, they HOPE they will win. But in reality, management puts a bad product on the field and tries to get the fans to believe they will compete with the big boys, Boston and New York.There, they have one goal - to win! They do what they have to - buy talent - to win. Its been amusing listening to the talk radio the last few months and hearing all the optimism, knowing the hometown team has few quality players to make it happen. Here we are in July and 10 games back. Well, that may be an improvement over last year, but not nearly good enough to compete in the AL East.

Peter I am back I just read a very discouraging, disappointing article.. The orioles according to BA are predicted to be simply bargain hunters in the international scene.. I can't believe ANDY doesn't realize the importance this resource is to building a strong competetive farm system.. I don't usually criticise PETER but can't believe anyone knowing baseball doesn't see the same except as someone seeing only dollar signs. Meanwhile BOS, NY, TOR, CIN, TB, ATL, PHI, WILL ALL LEAP FARTHER AHEAD OF THE ORIOLES GETTING FARTHER BEHIND.

*sobs quietly*

time to start selling veterans for prospects....again. seems like we need a better conditioning coach too.

I say it every year.. O's are out of contention before they start.. When the Unawarehouse finally gets the fish hooks out of their pocket we might sing a different tune. We agree on Prince Fielder.

Pete; Here we go again--groundhog day. Different players,same results. Don`t blame McPhail people. He is under budget constraints c/o Mr. Angelos. Unfortunately we have ownership that cares more about the bottom line than winning.We need ownership that is passionate about the team and cares about WINNING!!! Until that happens I`m afraid hell will freeze over before we ever see another winning season.

Here's a link to a story on ESPN that spells out in a nutshell one of the key reasons the Orioles stink, and most other teams don't. http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/news/story?id=6732843. The story details how the Texas Rangers just spent a record $5 million bonus on a Dominican 16-year-old power hitting OF, and $4 million on two other Domincan budding stars. That's a cool $9 mil. The Orioles, on the other hand, who may or may not know where the Dominican Republic is located, spent their $9 million on aging, over-the-hill Vlad Guerrero.

The O's are definitely less than the sum of their parts. Where is that competitive intensity we glimpsed at the end of last season? It's MIA this season.

It's the 4th of July weekend and we are just waiting for the NFL to get started so we can have something relevant to talk about. The Orioles, like the Irsay Colts, have become irrelevant to Baltimore sports fans.

it's pretty much the same tune year after year

I'm right there with you Peter. This year's goal wasn't to do slightly better than last year. It was to finally get to .500...like it has been for the MacPhail era. Doesn't look like this team will have enough to do that again this season and they should start looking to sell off their trade pieces once again in and effort to get pieces here we don't have.

They've drafted a ton of pitching so you'd hope that in a few years they could get somebody to replace Guthrie. Hardy was a 1 year risk to begin with, trade him now before he gets a multi-year deal and misses about a year and a half on the DL again.

Mr. Angelos,
If your law firm lost 60%-70% of its cases because your attorneys(players) were smart enough to pass the bar exam (AA, AAA), but not talented enough to win in the court room(MLB), would you continue to allow the "not-so-good" attorneys to represent your law firm, while losing clients(fans) by the day, or would you hit the streets and recruit new attorneys(FAs) who are winners in the court room, hence salvaging the reputation of your law firm(Os) and restoring the client's faith in you? I'll bet that you'd save that law firm from sinking.

Sorry Peter, you are usually as positive as Dan Shaughnessy is when the Red Sox are losing in the 3rd inning.

As an Orioles fan living in NH, I have to deal with Red Sox people all day every day and every April I still have hope.

Individual performances have been interesting..Wieters throwing out runners, Jones throwing out runners, Jones making amazing catches but this "whos this guy playing second" routine and "whos on first" and "guess the pitcher on the DL" means it's just another year of waiting until next year.

I don't have high hopes. I just want to be at .500. I mean if the Nats can do it, why can't we.

The only positive is that we (O's) have one of the toughest 1st halves based on strength of schedule of any MLB team. Maybe it will indeed get better.

It's not about being positive or negative Pete. This team is what it is, very ugly. You said it exactly the wat it is. . . The hitting is typically overmatched, and the pitching has detereated AGAIN.

While Andy inherited a mess, wasn't he suppose to be different? And ask yourself, if a new gm came in tomorrow, wouldn't he be inheriting a mess?

It's just about as pitiful as you can get. There's only 1 good thing I can keep my mind on at this point. No more Andy MacFail after this- his last miserable season as Oriole GM.

Usually by this time in the season, the real talented teams emerge. They have. Second half will be ugly as young pitching takes its pounding learning the ropes. There is no bullpen so loss strings will be often and deep. O's need to develop a set lineup and play it every day including Reimold in left. He either develops or we move him this winter. Do as many deadline trades as possible in hopes of adding some position players for the system. Those who should be shopped... Vlad, Lee, Scott, Gregg, Guthrie (give the guy a break and get him out of here).

I think we are at the beginning of the end of the McPhail era. I think it's been 4 years now for McPhail and nothing has really changes.

The arms we are supposed to be growing are falling off. Loewen is done. Tillman and Matusc have lost their fastballs. Arrieta declines management recommended surgery and is missing time for not getting this surgery. The renowned pitching coach Mazzone could not do anything with our collection of pitchers. Our pitchers drove Mark Connor into retirement. Gonzo is a disaster. Gregg is an accident waiting to happen.

As far as buying the bats, what a joke.

I don't know where Angelos goes from here or even if he cares to go anywhere other than counting his MASN money.

I've given up and I've been watching the O's since the early 1960's.

Return with me now to this point in1996.
The Orioles had a very over-rated manager who basically had given up on the team's post-season chances and, along with his old pal/general manager, advocated trading away certain key players simply because he didn't like them personally.
He too had brought in his own coaches, replacing perfectly good ones from the previous year..... most notably Mike Flanagan (one of our most UNDER-rated pitching coaches) who was replaced by the mental minimalist, Pat Dobson.

Say all you want to about Davey Johnson having taken the Orioles to the playoffs in 1996. The truth is, if he had had his way, and if his instincts had been correct, the team would have never caught fire the second half as they did because their personel would have been in a state of flux.
That Orioles team would have finished the same way as they did even if Phil Regan had stayed on...... maybe even better. All they had done under Regan and Flanagan was finish 1995 with five consecutive shutouts. Of course as soon as word trickled down the rumor boulevard that Regan had been fired and Johnson was being sought to replace him, Three of those pitchers who had pitched the shutouts filed for free agency and left Baltimore. Those pitchers were Kevin Brown, Jamie Moyer, and Ben McDonald, who went on to start 1996 8-0 with Milwaukee before an injury shut him down.... maybe a different pitching coach messed him up and he would have stayed healthy under Flanagan. We sure could have used any ONE of those guys in 1996..... let alone all three. And our "genius" GM (Pat Gillick) never even tried to keep them.

Of course he let Bobby Bonilla get away the following winter. Anyone think the Florida Marlins would have made it to the World Championship, the World Series, or even the playoffs in 1997 without Bobby Bo and Kevin Brown ?
Of course the Orioles were busy going "wire-to-wire" that year.
That's where the business stopped, though.... for in the '97 ALCS, Johnson was vastly out-managed by Mike Hargrove, who remembered how to move runners into scoring position (especially in close games) while Johnson allowed his team to hit into double-play after double-play.

Gee...... this sounds so familiar, doesn't it ?

How is it that the Orioles' pitching was so good the second half of 2010 and is so inconsistent now ?
I believe the absence of Rick Kranitz has a lot to do with it.
Mark Connor was not needed here.
I think he messed up Matusz.
And I think Showalter messed up all of them by springing Connor upon the staff after they absolutely excelled under Kranitz.
Now Connor has quit.
And as far as Adair is concerned, where is HIS "track record" ???
Let's review:
Buck Showalter=Davey Johnson.
Mark Connor=Jim Riggleman
Rick Adair=Pat Dobson
Brian Matusz=Ben McDonald
Jake Fox=Bobby Bonilla
Rick Kranitz=Mike Flanagan
John Russell=Dave Trembley
Willie Randolph=Juan Samuel
Felix Pie=Corey Patterson
Luke Scott=Larry Sheets
Wayne Kirby=Jim Presley
Michael Gonzalez=Roberto Alomar

The Orioles ARE dead.
Really, they are a patchwork rag tag example of a management team NOT committed to winning. Sure, they HOPE they will win. But in reality, management puts a bad product on the field and tries to get the fans to believe they will compete with the big boys, Boston and New York.There, they have one goal - to win! They do what they have to - buy talent - to win. Its been amusing listening to the talk radio the last few months and hearing all the optimism, knowing the hometown team has few quality players to make it happen. Here we are in July and 10 games back. Well, that may be an improvement over last year, but not nearly good enough to compete in the AL East.

The late-season run last year was due to Showalter's intimidating stature as the new manager, and the outstanding pitching of an emerging Brian Matusz.

Well, Showalter's emporer no longer has any clothes as he turns out to be just another skipper of just another lousy team. And - unlike this year - the organization hadn't had enough time yet to ruin Matusz's' arm. Well, now they have worked their magic and he's done for the year at best, and probably forever.

Watching Saturday Braves game. Scott doesn't make a tough play that Reimold likely would have handled. Score could be 4-0. How much longer do we have to put up with this?

I think we got a good run or two left in us, let's not reach for the towel just yet.

Most hitters have better statistics for the last 30 games than year to date, and they have a big pool of pitchers who might work out, so it isn't hopeless, yet.

PETER good point.. MY FRUSTRATION is now named ANGELOS and McPHAIL I don't usually bash them but right now of all times the timing is right to question WHY.. I would love to hear ANDY explain why the orioles with their lack of depth in the system aren't going all/in or all out to increase that depth.. several teams have slugging 1B blocked or backed up at AA-AAA. PLUS the international signing period just started. No draft just show some money.. but no let BOSTON, NEW YORK, CINCINATI, ATLANTA, TEXAS, TAMPA BAY, TORONTO, ATHLECTICS, get all that talent just wait we will catch them.. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, bull poop we will stay losers until our minor league system is built up. THAT is what ANDY claimed 4 years ago. WE are being sold out, it can't be done just on the diluted U.S. talent pool.. EVEN as baseball claims they want to balance the playing field they make they best better giving them xtra draft picks to the point of absurdity.. THE RICH GET RICHER but I guess that is what baseball figures the fans want.. JUST A FEW POWER HOUSE TEAMS WITH MONEY..THAT LEAVES US OUT..

Can you please give us a reason why we should care anymore?

Apocalypse now?

The Horror. The Horror.

Not even Marlon Brando and Marty Sheen could save this team. Not even Charlie Sheen as Wild Thing from Major League. Francis Ford Coppola doesn't write happy endings and there is none for the Os this year. That is not the smell of victory following them in the morning.

This is the end...

Like Dandy Don Meridith used to sing..."turn out the lights the party`s over."

Moving Reynolds to bat clean-up would greatly improve offense. Just why hasn't the F. O. seen this. It's like their feet are stuck in concrete.

Sifting through some stats for where the O's are really screwing up, since the overall numbers do not look as bad as the team does. Here are a few that catch my eye: Leadoff position, .304 OBP, (13th in AL). Hitting 3rd, .365 SLG (13th), 32 RBI (12th). Cleanup, 29 RBI (Last), .356 SLG (13th). Total pitches seen, 13th in the AL. 13th in walks. Last in stolen bases. There's more, but I'm planning a happy holiday with my family. Confirms what we see every night: Key batters not doing their jobs, but enough meaningless hitting here and there to keep the overall team stats deceptively mediocre. Also a team-wide policy of swinging the bat whenever possible.

The end is not near - - it is HERE. The Orioles are now showing their true colors and with the upcoming schedule, it is about to get real ugly. But MacFail, Jordan, and the rest of the Orioles management won't worry. As long as Angelos has the MASN cash flow coming in, there is no great urgency to REALLY improve this team, long term. And who are the biggest losers? The fans, of course.

As a sideline, has anyone noticed the significant improvement of the Pirates and Nationals? They have been drafting well, and spending well. And it is beginning to show.

Your headline was misleading. It had me hoping that they would take this rancid, embarrasing franchise and relocate; then implode the yards, sow the fields with salt, and leave us (some of us, anyway) with memories of better days. Frankly, at this juncture, I'd be just fine with that.

Honetly, what has really changed over the years? The names change but ultimately, things are just as they have been.

It's time to start wearing the brown paper bags again. This team is an embarasment to the city and the state. I have been carping for years about the O's lack of ability to identify and evaluate talent and to develop the needed skills of the players in the minors. Add to that a reluctance to invest in the international market and you have the recipe for 13 losing years.

My proposal for 2011: Fire sale-Get rid of everybody except Markakis, Wieters, Jones, Hardy, Britton, Arrieta, Johnson, and Koji. Those are the only people on this roster that have any merit to this team in all dimensions. Which means that Peter Angelos must pony up the cash that he's saving for God knows what.

In short, I was hoping Buck would end this civic disgrace that Angeloss created, not his fault he has garbage players

I grew up in northwood, etc. Both of my 20something kids have moved from sw va t arlington and my first visit will include a natsngame. I look forward to it and regret all the $ i spent in balto when they were younger takingbthem to see this stench of a franchise. Inwill never see them play again, not even on tv. Mlb, do something. Mcphail, leave. Angelos ...

Nick i will certainly tip my hat to you today. I hope you just play half that good the rest of the way.

The fat lady has finished singing..................

what a joke of a team

There are outfielders whose offensive production is enough to more than compensate for their poor fielding. Luke Scott is not one of them. He's up at bat maybe five minutes per game, and "manning" the outfield about eighty minutes. He makes the game hard to watch. (Off the topic, but I had a burning need.)

things are just as they have been.