Pete you did so great last week when you finally exposed this franchise for what it is. Please don't start having writers remorse and start looking for ways to retract what you said. You were trying to look for reasons to give the orioles some slack. They don't deserve any slack pete, there aren't any more excuses, when you don't do things the correct way you can't expect good things to happen.They are deficent from top to bottom in every phase of the game. END OF STORY.Please pete let the credit i gave you just a couple of day's ago last just a little longer THANKS

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/draft/index.jsp?feature=decade2000s

The link, with the draft order for the last ten years, shows how the teams drafting high have improved while the O’s still flounder. All but the Padres, who had a good year last year (great by O’s standards), and KC are not over .500 or better (playoff teams). And KC now has one of the top ranked farms systems in MLB. No reason to remind everyone how well Tampa evolved. And our O’s………… Alas.

Most of the teams used the same formula that AM preached so its very hard to avoid making him accountable for this mess.

Don't forget that KC has a top 5 farm system too.

They'll be joining the Pirates in Central (though AL instead of NL) contention soon enough.

And we'll still have the Stockstills being horrible at their jobs.

This team is certainly in this position by choice of the owner and Pres. of BB Ops, McPhail. Don't you know that if the State of MD agreed to donate the Inner Harbor/Fells Point and all of it's land to Angelos in the year 2016 under the conditions that the Orioles achieve a .600 final winning percentage for the next 5 years, that he'd have this team back in major contention before January 20th 2012? Angelos just wants to know how winning translates into a multimillion dollar profit for him.

This team is certainly in this position by choice of the owner and Pres. of BB Ops, McPhail. Don't you know that if the State of MD agreed to donate the Inner Harbor/Fells Point and all of it's land to Angelos in the year 2016 under the conditions that the Orioles achieve a .600 final winning percentage for the next 5 years, that he'd have this team back in major contention before January 20th 2012? Angelos just wants to know how winning translates into a multimillion dollar profit for him.

Never fear with a great second half I believe we can overtake the Astros. By the way Hardy is not a bridge to Machado. Hip flexor, knee injury, put a fork in him. Three years from now we will still be looking for a single position player in the minor league system that is major league ready. There is one thing we do lead in and that is producing the least amount of major league ballplayers by a farm system.

The O's wish they were the Royals, who finished with an 83-79 record in 2003 -- six years after Baltimore last posted a winning record.

Schmuck - it is refreshing how you are the only one in the local outlets that doesn't pull any punches. Someone has to speak the truth.

dont feel bad pete. I have followed the O's all my life and this season hurts the most. wasnt expecting playoffs but at least a decent season. maybe I can join you with that iron city beer..lol

Pete, how's this for an insane idea that's so crazy it just might work: There is something wrong with the blood of the Orioles organization. It runs deep, it's psychological, it's a lot of things, but it's deeper than anyone can fix with a few signings...so we need an exorcism of sorts, and here's what I propose, though I'm wondering if it would violate any MLB rules...the Orioles start playing their games in Norfolk, and the Tides start playing at Camden. This is not the same thing as making the Tides the Orioles and the Orioles the Tides. The O's would still be the major league team, they would just play in Norfolk. Stick 'em down there and embarrass them. Get the people in Baltimore to start rooting for the minor league team instead. Put all the focus on making the Tides a winning organization for the next 2-3 years, thus building the strength of the farm system. I know it's crazy, but something drastic needs to be done. If I owned the team, after 14 losing seasons, it's what I'd do.

I share your sentiments . I have been anOrioe fan for 54 years and I am sorry to them going from bad to worse. Hardy may not need a physical but he should undergo a mental evaluation for wanting to sign here for three years.

The Orioles are not winning because they have the toughest schedule in baseball? Please, that's starting to sound like an excuse.

Let's cut out the excuses. No whims of Fate account for over a decade of incompetence. There's no baseball god above who hates the Orioles. It's all about cause and effect. Poor management + poor ownership + poor player development = LOSER

The Orioles have a choice to compete or make excuses, kind of like the one you just made. I also doubt we would be above .500 in the Central or the West. Unless your suggesting a rotating yearly schedule where the Orioles only get to play a majority of the lousy teams each year. But whatever floats your boat.

don't do it, Pete! There's too much to live for!

Forget all of this. How does Buckey plan to get this bunch of AAA players to strat winning games? Suggestion. Each loss brings a $50,000 fine to the club to be paid by any player no getting on base.

Here's a cheery thought: The O's are 7 games better than they were last year, after 90 games...but they finished with a great August/September. Does anyone really expect this club to finish 2011 with a better record than last year?

Awful pitching, awful defense, awful production from 1B, and LFs all MIA. Woe is us.

Sorry Peter, they are not tied for first, they are in sole possession of first place (percentage points) - maybe it won't last but it sure beats the alternative.

Pete, I was in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago and it was nice to see Pirate fans reacting happily to what soon may be the end of the longest consecutive season losing streak in professional sports. Meanwhile, the Orioles organization remains adrift, with no coherent strategy, unless you count "Grow the arms and buy the bats", no desire to scout the caribbean, and no new ideas on how to develop a representative minor league system...other than trading washed up veterens for prospects, and drafting in our normal top 5 slot.

This approach could take a REALLY LOOOONG time, so I hope you are still around to see a plus .500 team some day. If you are, just stop over to the rest home, put an Oriole pennant between my fingers, empty my drool bucket and pull the plug. I want to go out a winner.

Ah, the beer with the "Pittsburg style favor and boldness". Personally I thought their lager was pretty ho-hum until they purchased the Old German Brewing Company of Cumberland, Md in the 1970s. Got better after that.

Guess it took a little dash of Maryland to give it that "Pittsburg style favor and boldness". lol.

I agree with you Pete that the current losing streak is the pits and the win loss column is the pits, but I think the signing of JJ is a turning point.

I think that this signing is to some degree, a result of the one on one meetings between Peter Angelo's and Buck Sholwater. I think Buck, who is not backward at coming forward has told ownership in no uncertain terms that the club is in crisis and the only way out is to open the check-book. I expect Prince Fielder to be here in the off season along with a veteran starting pitcher, number one or number two, to anchor the rotation. There is no rebuilding with stop-gaps and one year rentals and building totally from within. What do you think Pete?

So I see Pie and Reimold are both playing. However Pie is playing left and Reimold is DH. What is wrong with this picture?

You say all the O's have left are the Royals?

The Royals finished over .500 in 2003.

The Orioles have nobody left now but themselves.

The Royals have one of the top farm systems in the majors, what do the O's have?

Any word on the negotiations with Bundy? Or are they going to start the week before the deadline?

As always... I'm a native Baltimoron and Os fan living in Pittsburgh. It's taken me decades to forgive the Pirates for '71 and '79, but I just might be able to that this year. They've got a couple of genuine ball players in McCutcheon and Walker, and Hanrahan is doing great as their closer. But that's nothing that Os couldn't do too, with the right breaks...

The Os did the right thing in signing Hardy and giving him an extension. Adam Jones and Matt Wieters are the real deal. Nick will be alright, we just have to remember he's a .300 hitter with good defense, but he's not going to be 30 homer guy. We also need to think about life after BRob. No one could have imagined that ALL the Os starting pitchers would take a giant step backward. It's just one of those flukes. We knew Vlad and D Lee had a few years on them, but they were the best we could get; no front line free agent was coming to Balto. and there was no help ready at the minor league level. Sure Reynolds strikes out a ton, but he also hits a ton of homers, and there is no elsei n the organization ready to take over at third. Koji and Jim Johnson are solid in the bullpen, and Gregg hasn't been pretty, but he usually gets the job done (except tonight).

If they could land a couple big free agenst in the off season (say at first and in left), if they get Scott healthy, and if the pitchers get their act collective act together, 2012 could be better. Sure, that's a lot of "ifs". But it seems to me that unless you're the Yankees or the Red Sox, your fortune turns on a couple of guys having surprise career years all at the same time. Somertimes it just all breaks the right way; other years even the best laid plans fall apart. That's baseball.

Adam Jones: I like him and his attitude but, I wonder if he will ever catch on that no AL pitcher will throw him a strike when he has 2 strikes. He constantly goes after the low outside slider or curve or fastball and trys to pull it and only wiffs. What do you think Peter?

The Orioles have the toughest schedule in baseball because they don't get to play the Orioles. If only the Orioles were in the AL East and got to play the worst team in baseball 19 times a year!

The Pirates are such a parallel to the O's, it's heartbreaking: After many ups and downs, their cadre of promising young pitchers range from effective to brilliant this year. They picked up an experienced mediocre pitcher to help out, and he's nearly leading the NL in wins, and performing crazily above his career average in every way. They traded off a lot of veterans four and five years ago, and the young players are almost all having solid or spectacular seasons. They've had many key injuries (much more so than the O's), and everyone they've plugged into the lineup has met or exceeded expectations. They traded for a young closer two years ago, and now he's the best in MLB. And they have players at triple-A who really belong in the majors, and will have tough decisions to make as players come off the DL in the next few days. The Question is: How did two such seemingly-similar businesses end up in such starkly different positions? Write a column explaining that to me, Mr. Schmuck, and you'll have my vote for the MacArthur "genius" grant.

And, the best part, which I have mentioned again and again, the Pittsburgh Pirate's salaries are half of those of the Orioles. It just takes players who want to win, not just make an appearance. With the money these guys are making any one of them should either find out what he is doing wrong and fix it, or turn in his uniform because he is not good enogh to play major league baseball. Maybe it has something to do with the unions and what management can and cannot do, however, in a hire and fire at will environment the player would have to produce or lose his job. That is what happens in the real world.

Please, the Pirates, for the last month and a half, have been playing teams like the Cubs, the Astros multiple times, the Diamondbacks. The only series they won against a contending team in that timeframe are the Red Sox, and the BoSox don't play well at NL parks. Let me know how they'll do against the Phillies, the Cards, the Brewers, then we'll talk.

Reposte:

Pete: -- Believe me, you don't want to drink even one Iron City beer. What do you think they do with the water they use to cool the molten steel? Try another fine Pennsylvania product, Yuengling.