Terrific story by Orioles beat writer Jeff Zrebiec on Dave Trembley in today's Sun -- you can read it here -- as the former O's manager finally granted an interview three months after he was fired.

Predictably, Trembley, always a classy guy, takes no shots at the organization that gave him his first major league managing job after a lifetime of minor-league managing.

But Zrebiec's piece also revealed a stunning naivete on the part of Trembley concerning all the storm clouds that were gathering around him in his last days as O's manager.

Trembley admits he had heard lots of rumors that he was on the hot seat.

Still, referring to his final game as O's manager  -- a 6-3 loss to the Yankees June 3 in New York -- he told Zreibiec: ". . .(T)hat was a tough day. In New York, there was a lot of people talking to you and wishing you well. You're looking at them like, what the heck are they talking about, and you're kind of piecing it together. That was a tough day."

Wow. Even in retrospect, it's amazing to think Trembley didn't suspect he was about to be fired as soon as the Orioles charter touched down in Baltimore and he arrived back at the Warehouse.

The Sun had been reporting it was a fait accompli for days. So had a number of other local media outlets. And it could even be argued the Orioles were playing even worse than they had during the team's disastrous 2-16 start.

And Trembley didn't have an inkling he was about to be fired?

Amazing.

Still, here's wishing him well in the future. He's a baseball guy through and through and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has asked him to consider remaining with the organization.

Whether he does that or moves on to another team, he can hold his head high. He did the best job he could under very difficult circumstances with the Orioles. He fought the good fight all the way.