O's Friday, 8/28

A very impressive win after a very tough loss on Thursday night to start the series. The O’s really showed me something, with Jones still on the bench with his back issues. I look at the team that is on the field right now and it’s obvious that there is talent, and talent that is developing right before my eyes. Wieters throws to 2nd have improved dramatically in a very short time, though I think he still needs to frame pitches better I think. His offense is coming alive too, and he’s using the entire field which, for a young hitter (Adam, are you listening?) is a wonderful sign. Reimold is just a ballplayer who never stops hustling. I love the kid and between him and Bergesen, they have been the highlights of the season.

It just feels like a different team except for the continued baserunning issues, though based on Trembley and Samuels blow-up with the team this week, I think it’s clear that they are trying to address them, and demanding that the players do so. But again, we saw a couple of bad baserunning mistakes that fortunately didn’t impact he outcome of the game. But in close games, they typically do. Why didn’t Scott go on contact when the infield was back in the 2nd? Samuel didn’t look pleased so I assume he told Luke to go on contact. Why didn’t Pie slide into 2nd base in the 4th on his double? Even Buck Martinez mentioned this (right after me). Pie’s fast and aggressive on the bases, but I just don’t think that always translates into a good, smart baserunner. In fact, I’m actually pretty certain it doesn’t.

Trembley seems to have evolved a little bit too, and it’s shown in his calling for a couple of bunts in the last week. Really since the All-Star break, we have been IN games on a daily basis. Obviously it starts with the starting pitching which has been, overall, much improved, even without Bergy. I know we are playing Cleveland, a team with a similar record, but what the O’s don’t consistently do is beat teams that they should beat. We’ve played the better teams in the AL tough at times over the years, but we haven’t been able to consistently beat the bottom dwellers. And that my friends is why we are among the bottom dwellers.

A couple of things I heard watching the game last night that concerned me:

1) Going into last night’s game, Berken was allowing 62% of lead-off hitters to reach base. This is absolutely awful, and he’s got to do much better than that. It also gives me pause to think that he could be put into the BP at some point. It doesn’t matter what your role is on the pitching staff, if you allow the lead-off man to get on as much as Berken does, you aren’t going to have a job in the majors for very long. I’m sure this is something that Kranitz is aware of and will be working on with Berken.
2) Last season, Jim Johnson did not give up a HR in 68 2/3 innings. This year, in 57+ innings, he’s given up 7 HR’s. More than anything, this seems to be a product of pitch location, b/c Johnson’s stuff is outstanding. Again, I’d assume that this is something that Kranitz will continue to work with JJ to correct.

Overall though, I like the way this team has started to come together. I really think the young guys are starting to take over and assume greater responsibility and leadership roles. Perhaps when Zaun was traded that helped Wieters, I don’t know, but he looks to be more confident than ever. It’s a pretty exciting time, and will be a much anticipated 2010 if these kids can finish the season strong (read ~ .500 – aim low, avoid disappointment). With Tillman and Matusz (against Masterson) in the next two games, it would be great to have a 3 game win streak going into next week. Go O’s!

Tough Loss to Start the Homestand

Tough lose for the O’s to start their home series with the Tribe. Johnson seemed to lose it quickly after he got two outs in the 9th, and when gets the ball up, the results are very predictable. You have to give LaPorta credit for keeping the game going though, and while of course he is young and this is his first season in the majors, there’s a good reason why he was the centerpiece in the Sabathia trade last year. I had already chalked this win up after JJ got 2 outs, though I WAS still watching when Marte launched his 2-run homer to put the Tribe ahead 5-4. I still really liked the way Hernandez battled and I am very pleased with how he is pitched overall this season. Who would have thought? And, Izturis and Wieters have been so impressive recently, both offensively and defensively. Wieters throws to 2nd base have been outstanding, and the way Izturis has been patrolling SS, our pitchers have to know they can throw strikes (but keep the ball down, boys) and the defense up the middle will take care of things. That in and of itself is a huge upgrade from last season. Even though I thought Markakis was on the wrong end of the 3rd strike call, the game should have been over before the O’s had to bat in the bottom of the 9th..

It’s Johnson’s first year, or portion of a year as closer, but the disturbing stat I read on Roch’s blog I think, or maybe Schmuck’s, was that he has given up a hit in 24 of his last 26 appearances. That simply won’t cut it. I’m inclined to let it play out this season and then play it by ear next season. Chris Ray seems to really have turned it around, and has closed successfully before, so perhaps he returns to closer next year. Only time will tell. While of course this loss was painful, with all that’s going on it was water off a duck’s back for me last night as I watched. And that’s really saying something. Let’s hope Berken throws well again and we win the next 3 this weekend at home. Go O’s

O's v Twins 8/24

Tillman pitched a very solid game and it’s too bad that he was bettered by Scott Baker. The Twins always seem to have a bunch of up and coming pitchers, and baker looks like a pretty good one. Tillman induced 3 DP’s, none better than the one in the 1st inning by Izturis. It was the kind of defense this young staff needs to know they have behind them. They need to know they can throw strikes and let batters put the ball in play, and it looked like that’s the attitude that Tillman had tonight. He’s only 21, so it’s tough to complain about his performance in a total 6 ML starts. The gaping hole in the middle of the line-up becomes more pronounced with Jones out of the line-up, and Luke Scott has truly looked lost for a month and a half. Again I’d say that his slump can be traced back to the last interleague series and the limited playing time he got. He has little to no confidence and truly looks overmatched. With Huff gone, this line-up has to rely on Scott, so he really needs to pick it up. Even when he does though, we still need at least one more big bat in the middle of the order.

I read this in the Sun this morning: Fourteen of the Orioles' past 25 losses have been by two runs or fewer. Of course you can look at this however you want. I choose to look at it as the O’s making progress, while trading away Huff and their closer, Sherrill, over the course of the last month, and losing their best pitcher, BY FAR, Bergesen, to an injury on 7/30. For the most part, we are playing teams tough and our starting pitching has given us some solid performances over the last few weeks. I know, it’s not much, but it still provides hope that the O’s are turning the corner. And that isn’t just coming from a homer like me; I hear it all the time listening to opposing teams broadcasts on MLB Extra innings. It’s really happening, and while I would love to see this team actually WIN more games, I DO see progress that will hopefully continue through the end of the year, and perhaps we play spoiler come September. Maybe Trembley survives? I am not sure about that, but I have seen progress in the last month or so whether the losses pile up or not. Go O’s!

More O's 8/23

Sunday’s win for the O’s was a really nice way to end the season series against the pretenders that are the White Sox. Berken in particular really impressed me. For a guy who has obviously struggled for the last couple months, he showed me an awful lot after the first two White Sox reached base on errors in the first inning. He still gave up an unearned run, but with a start like that, and a pitcher likely lacking confidence after his recent struggles, I love that he battled for 5 2/3 and got a well deserved win. He needed it, as did the O’s. The bullpen has been stellar (two earned runs in the past 17 1/3 innings), and Roberts has really turned it up a notch. Even recent comments in the Sun tell me that yeah, these guys want to win, and it’s not coming as quickly as they’d want it to, but they understand the big picture, the long term future, and it sounds like they are looking forward to it. As I’ve mentioned recently, this team just has a different feel to it, and it’s not necessarily b/c we’ve won a little more over the last week either, though that never hurts. Hopefully Tillman and Matusz throw well the next two nights and we can win another series on the road. This time in Minnesota! Go O’s!

Homer Announcers and O's 8/23

We've all heard them, but I'd suggest that there are none worse than White Sox announcer Hawk Harrelson. I believe there is an obligation as an announcer to at least look at the game with some objectivity. Your team's pitcher doesn't always throw strikes, and your base runners aren't always safe. Brian Roberts was picked off first today on a play that, initially, looked as if he was out. Then, on the White Sox broadcast, several replays were shown from different angles, clearly showing the ball arriving at 1B before Roberts got back but his arm getting back into first BEFORE the tag. Perhaps Harrelson chose not to look at the replays, but that wasn't apparent to me watching and listening to the game. What had HE just seen? Does he drink so much Kool-Aid that he can't see and convey the obvious to his listeners? I certainly understand "rooting" for your team in the broadcast booth, I really do. But when umps miss calls, I think you have an obligation to acknowledge that, and call it out. Apparently Harrelson doesn't.

Later in the game Beckham struck out on a Baez fastball that was a fine pitch, and surely too close to take with two strikes, yet Harrelson and his partner said "I can see why Gordon is upset about that. That was not a strike. That was a tailing fastball by Baez that didn't tail back." Really Hawk? Are you watching the same game as me? Apparently not, and you can "Put THAT on the board, Hawk, yes! Me gone!" Great series win O’s, and kudos to you Berken, EVEN if Ozzie doesn’t know your name. Perhaps he should learn it. Go O’s!!!

Revisiting Trembley Leaving Tillman In on 8/19

While of course you could amke an argument to leave Tillman in to start the 7th on Wednesday against Tampa Bay, but it jjst seemed like a no brainer to pull him after 6innings. Six solid innings and 100 pitches. Here's how I looked at the situation: Tillman's high pitch count this season is 110. It's August, and he's logged close to, if not the highest innings total of his young career. What were the odds that he was going to go out for the 7th inning and have a 10 pitch inning? Very small, so why not remove him from the game against one of the best offenses in all of baseball, feeling really good about his performance. Tillman battled all night and survived because his change-up and curveball were top notch, having very little success fooling the Rays hitters with his relatively flat fastball. I recognize that the BP has been overworked all season, I really do, but to not bring a reliever in to start the 7th at the expense of one of your young starters made no sense at all to me. Hopefully Trembley reads the blog, ackonwledges his mistake, and doesn't let it happen again :)

O's v White Sox 8/21

Guthrie pitched a very solid ballgame despite getting squeezed all night. The pitch that Reimold looked at to end the 4th inning was a pitch Guthrie didn’t get all night. It looked to me like Guthrie was more relexed, and I wonder if the addition of top prospects Matusz and Tillman has allowed Guthrie to relax a little more. He battled all night, and was really able to bear down after Roberts booted the grounder in the 2nd, working with Wieters and Roberts to pick off Podsednik at 2nd base with 2 on and nobody out. It was a huge play. The other huge play was the double-play that Guthrie started on Gordon Beckham’s comebacker in the 5th. Guthrie tossed high to Izturis who made a great play to jump, catch the throw and complete the DP with a strong throw to first. Tonight the O’s made plays when they had to, and really played a solid ballgame.

Izturis caught a pop-up to end the 7th and his reaction after the catch indicated that, he called Mora off but perhaps Mora felt like it was his ball. Either way, they sort of bumped into one another, and Izturis didn’t even turn around after he made the catch to acknowledge Melvin. Perhaps there are more chemistry issues than we are aware of. Regardless, it seems like a little different team since Huff was traded. This team just feels a little different now, but in a good way, and I’m not sure I can explain it any more than that. Perhaps it’s simply Brian Roberts surge, and we all know that as he goes, the O’s go. In particular, the O’s offense goes.
Markakis got a nice bounce on his groundball triple in the 8th, and with so little room for error with this team we need breaks like that. Breaks like that though also give a team confidence and with that, hopefully come more wins. The one call that baffled me was on Reimold’s line-drive down the left field line in the 7th that kicked up chalk, paint, or whatever it was, and the third base ump in perfect position, calling the ball foul. Trembley came out to argue and perhaps he wasn’t sure if it was fair himself, but I wish he had blown a gasket and gotten thrown out of the game. It was clearly fair, but it didn’t seem to phase Reimold as he singled right afterwards. I really like this kid, and apparently, first I heard of this, he’s playing with a “30%” tear in his Achilles. What’s that all about and why haven’t we heard this before?

After seeing Scott not handle Mora’s throw over to 1B in the bottom of the 7th (the throw was in the dirt but Scott needed to extend the glove so it was easier to handle, a shorter short-hop, so to speak), it was great to see Aubrey come in as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the 8th. Overall, a real nice win for this team. Let’s hope Hernandez throws a good one tonight and we can score a few against Danks tonight, no small task. Go O’s!

O's 8/20

I didn’t see any of the O’s game last night but it was a nice win, albeit a little too close for comfort. Matusz pitched pretty well again, with 7 K’s and no walks, giving up 4 runs in 5 1/3 innings and allowing 7 hits. The 3-run HR to Zobrist was the big blow, but Matusz seemed very pleased with the way he pitched. He knows what he is doing and exposure to the AL East this year should be very beneficial. With him, Tillman and Bergy, it’s a nice start to next year and beyond. What I like most about these three pitchers is there attitude and ability to understand the things each needs to work on. They seem to acknowledge that they are just getting their feet wet and have a lot to learn, and while that sounds like something that should be obvious, not all young athletes (or anyone, for that matter) are that humble, and I take that as a great sign of things to come

Probably the most pleasant surprise from the bullpen this year has been Kam Mickolio. Even though it’s a small sample size, his numbers are outstanding (8.1 IP, 10 K’s 3 BB, 3 Hits and a .74 WHIP), and most importantly he’s throwing strikes and keeping his BB’s to a minimum. He’s always thrown the ball very hard, but the knock on him has been his inability to throw strikes. He’s a big guy, so getting your body to repeat a delivery is not going to be easy, but he seems to have made tremendous strides this year, and it would be great to have another power arm in our bullpen. And, the Bedard trade just keeps on giving.

Here’s hoping the O’s win a couple in Chicago this weekend and we continue to see growth from this ever changing and youthful team. Go O’s!

Sounders v New England Revolution

It was a beautiful evening but a very disappointing night for the Sounders. While they had some good chances that they didn’t capitalize on, as has been the case in many game this season, Montero’s inability to cash in on a late 1st half PK was brutal. There was really no excuse for missing it and it would have been a fine way to end the 1st half, tying the score at 1 goal apiece. Overall, Montero is a skilled player, but, in my opinion, he lacks a fundamental element in sports: heart. Game after game I see Montero lose the ball and, instead of scrapping to get the ball back, he typically mopes and loafs back down the field. I love the fact that Kasey Keller called Montero out after the game (http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlesports/archives/177053.asp#extended), saying he “Needs to grow up”. And, with his fifth yellow card that he received, this time for heading the ball out of the Revolution goalie’s hands (how stupid is this!?!?!), he now has to sit against 1st Place Houston this weekend. How Montero thinks he’s going to get to play in a European league, with his current attitude and play, is beyond me. It’s just a shame, b/c he’s talented and has an incredible opportunity with the Sounders, but if I were a GM abroad (and I am a GM locally for the EPL Fantasy League team known as the Sounders FC) his attitude would be enough for me to take a back seat in pursuing him. Good luck in Houston Sounders. A draw is crucial, and a win would be huge. Go Sounders.

Wednesday 8/19 O's

Tillman’s secondary pitches looked outstanding and he was able to throw his curve or change-up on any count. As he was quoted in the Sun this morning, he simply needs to do a better job of throwing first pitches for strikes down in the zone. He threw a lot of first pitch strikes which is great, but I think all three homers hit off of him last night were on the first pitch. At least Zobrist and Upton’s were, b/c the Rays broadcast nearly missed both with all their jibber jabber in between innings.
The Rays made a number of big plays, but none bigger than Bartlett’s attempted catch on Izturis’ line drive with the bases loaded, picking up the ball and gunning down Wieters at the plate. Kudos to Wieters for actually holding at third to make sure the line drive gets through the infield. It was just a bad break, right after we got a big break when Pie’s dribbler hit a crease in the Tropicana rug and Niemann was unable to make a play at first. Another critical play was similar to the play Crawford made in this year’s All-Star game, as he made a great catch in the 7th on Pie’s long ball to the left field wall with Wieters on 1B after a walk (not that he would have scored unless Pie got an inside the park HR!). The bottom line is that The Rays made pitches and plays when they had to, and deserved the win. This isn’t a game that I get upset about though, as we had some chances and played a solid ballgame.

The only criticism I have is leaving Tillman in the game to start the 7th. He had thrown 100 pitches and given up a handful of hits and 2 runs. Why not take him out of the game and leave him a really nice start? Makes no sense whatsoever to me, and the point was driven home as Upton drove the first pitch of the bottom of the 7th well into the left field seats. Enter Trembly to pull Tillman. Come on Dave, protect this kid!

Aside from the pitching, which I truly believe will come around and we’ve seen the start of it, the other terribly glaring deficiency with this team is a lack of HR hitters. Now I will assume that Reimold and Wieters both continue to develop power, but neither are going to be a 35-40 HR guy, as far as I can tell. This goes back to my suggestion last year to sign Adam Dunn. Not that we needed a DH, but we need someone who hits HR, and his K’s don’t kill you all the time as they are better than a double-play, right? Anyway, I am not sure he was or is the answer, but we need more power in the middle of this line-up. The Angels, Yankees and Rays have killed us this year with the long ball. Quick and easy runs, and we see so few of them with the O’s. I am not sure how this can be addressed in the off-season without trading a lot of talent, but it’s a major concern. We just don’t score enough runs.
Here’s hoping Matusz throws a nice game tonight and we get a win. Go O’s

O's and Vin Scully

It was clear when the O’s traded Huff that they weren’t interested in bringing him back next year, at least at a salary established through the ridiculous arbitration system (i.e. The player’s representatives present and salary, team management present a salary, and an arbitrator decides. Stupid really, but that’s baseball for you) Anyway, with Michael Aubrey playing pretty well in AAA and a big upgrade from Huff defensively, as well as Wiggy being signed for next year, Brandon Snyder, and potentially Hughes, who we got from TB, there are options. None with the kind of pop Huff can display, but I don’t think it’s a bad move at all. And, I’d welcome him back next year to primarily spell the regular 1B, whoever that turns out to be, and DH, at a reasonable salary, b/c we will miss his bat. It saves the O’s some cash too, and it never hurts to have another arm in the farm, and the kid sounds like he potentially could be a middle reliever. I really want to see Aubrey succeed though, and his swing is as sweet as old batting helmet Olerud, so we shall see. It’s a low risk high reward type deal.

As for last night’s game, the O’s just can’t seem to get over the hump. Not that we have any options right now, but I hope Trembley and Kranitz are really working with Berken, both physically, and mentally, b/c the kid could be ruined after this stint in the majors. Now I know a few years ago Bonderman, while pitching for the tigers, had a similarly brutal year and came back very strong the following year, but I also think he was considered to have had much more upside than Berken. We’ll see, but at a minimum, I am hopeful Berken can stick in the BP for the O’s in the future. Wieters AB in the 8th last night was brilliant, resulting in 9 pitches and a 2-run HR to the opposite field, as all 4 of his HR’s have been. He’s got a long swing, to be sure, but he’s had the toughest job of anyone this season, and has done a very good job. In fact, his improvement over the last two months alone make this year a big success for him, and I think he’s going to have a long and successful career in black and orange.

Obviously the team is still not winning, but there are still a lot of positives to take from the year so far, which is what I need to keep reminding myself of. That, and the fact that there is only 6 weeks left of regular season baseball, so I’ll soak in as much as I can before October. That’s why I tuned into the Cards v Dodgers on Tuesday night in the 9th inning, hoping that Pop Pop’s Cardinals would hold on 3-2. I was watching the Dodgers broadcast since Vin Scully is one of the all time greats, and he didn’t disappoint. In fact, he said one of the greatest things I’ve ever heard listening to a game, on the radio or on TV. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th at Chavez Ravine and the Dodgers down 3-2, Casey Blake launched a long fly ball to left center. The crowd immediately started to roar as if the game would be tied with Blake’s HR (how many times have you witnessed this?), when Vin Scully says “That split second when the crowd is seeing things with their heart…” In my opinion, an absolutely perfect description of that particular moment in time. Brilliant! Thanks Vin, keep doing what you’ve been doing since the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. Man do I love baseball. Go O’s!

Phillies Closer Issues

What's going on with Brad Lidge? Eight blown saves this year after none last year has to have the Philles organization very concerned. Lidge is pitching the way he did in his last days in Houston, leading to his departure to Philly, and he seems to have lost all confidence. It's a huge problem in my opinion, and the Phils need to figure out Plan B and Plan C, otherwise it could be a quick playoff flameout. Perhaps Pedro could provide help at closer, or Brett Myers if he can come back from hip surgery. Myers though had a set back recently after a slipping while getting out of his truck late last week (must have been icy), and changing his story about how he sustained the injury, so a timeframe for his return is unclear. The injury and story itself raise questions, and it's not what the Phillies need right now with their closer issues. There doesn't appear to be any other pitchers who have cleared waivers that may be an option as far as I know, so it seems like the closer situation is going to have to be answered internally. However it is resolved and as well balanced as the Phillies are, to head into the playoffs with a questionable closer could be a disaster. With 6 weeks to go in the season, it should be interesting, and a little scary for Phillies fans to see how it all plays out.

O's 8/15 and Matusz

Overall, and despite the loss, I was still very impressed with the way Matusz threw on Saturday against the Angels. He's a pitcher and has a plan out there. For whatever reason, in the 3rd ining he simply lost command of all his ptches and the inning got our of control as the Angels scored 5 runs. Matusz will be fine, and he, as Tillman has showed, has great poise and confidence, and doesn't get rattled easily, if at all. Exposing him to the majors this year should turn out to be very benificial, while also giving us fans a glimpse of the future, and continued hope. B/c what else do we have other than hope right now? Here's hoping the O's get a rare Sunday and series win today with Guthrie on the hill. Go O's

8\14 Continued

O's win big, 16-6. Tillman showed good character in hanging in there against one of the best offenses in MLB. Nice work and congrats on your 1st big league win Tillman. His secondary stuff is really outstanding, he just needs to work on fastball command, in particular, and obviously, down in the K zone. Go O's

O's 8/14

Tillman isn't commanding his fastball to start but his change and curve look good. The hit that Vlad got was something you don't see very often at all. In fact, Jim Palmer said that in his 40+ years of baseball, he's never seen anything like it. The ball hit 3 feet in front of the plate and on the bounce up, he poked a pop-up into left field that dropped, leading to Pie's throwing error. Adding insult to injury, Tillman followed the run scoring error by throwing followed a belt high fastball that Rivera launched off the CF wall. At least we threw two runners out on the base paths, but it's not a good start to this one.

Roberts doubled and Jones walked so let's go Markakis, get us back in it! Home plate ump is all over the place but after Markakis' strikeout Huff came through with a 2-run 2B. Good times, rooting for the O's! Reimold walked and Wieters struck out, then Mora had a very nice AB and hit a single up the middle. Pie doubled and there is actually some excitement in baltimore, and in Seattle. Izturis dumped one in for 2 more and what a first inning. We got some breaks, including the check swing on mora that the Angels catcher didn't ask for help from the 1B ump. Gotta go, inning still going and heading out for birthday dinner

The O's are Irrelevant

This team needs to be turned upside down and the coaching staff needs a complete overhaul. What improvement have the O’s shown in the second half, in particular, in the areas that Trembley identified as team deficiencies: fundamentals. Did you watch last nights game when, in the 5th inning, on a one out Markakis pop-up Brian Roberts raced around and scored, only there was only one out and he was doubled off of 2nd base? Does Juan Samuel still coach third base? Seriously, this team is a total disaster and I believe that, as a team, both the players and coaches, don’t believe they can win games. There is so little passion from anyone, players and coaches alike, save perhaps Ty Wigginton. The O’s ran themselves out of innings again today, when Markakis followed Roberts on a double steal and was gunned down at 2nd for the second out of the inning. It’s really just stupid mistake after stupid mistake, while other teams make big plays. I know we’ve some made big plays this year, but if I am keeping a tally, we are way down the list of great defensive teams and clutch hitters. It’s truly disheartening and as I’ve said previously, my time is being freed up with the continued blunders and poor play by the O’s.

I just can’t imagine how McPhail doesn’t make a managerial change in the off-season. He didn’t bring Trembley in and has had to have seen enough. There is talent on this team, but the younger pitchers are probably two years away right now, and the overall losing culture has to be changed. We need a fiery manager to kick some ass when guys make mental mistakes. Like Charlie Manuel sitting Jimmy Rollins down, the 2007 MVP, for not running a ball out (or something like that. Philly fans probably know the whole story). Roberts should have immediately been pulled out of last night’s game and not played today. Samuel should have been relieved of his duties for the rest of the year as I have never seen more guys thrown out at the plate this season! His comments about “accountability” were an absolute joke, and even more disappointing. There is NO accountability on this team by ANYONE. Trembley’s mantra seems to be “It is what is.” Well it’s just not good enough anymore and isn’t going to cut it. Even despite the mounting losses, if I saw and felt like guys really cared and hated to lose, like I always did playing sports, I’d feel a helluva lot better. I just don’t. I want to see some fire and enthusiasm. I want guys to throw helmets and coolers and get upset when they strike out in the 7th with the bases loaded, down a run, to end an inning. I want to know these guys care half as much as I do, and it’s rare I see that, by any of them.

I believe continuity is typically important for a team, but the culture in Baltimore right now needs to change, and I just can’t see it happening with Trembley at the helm. With baseball and the length of the season, the stars really need to align in any particular season for a team to make a run at the playoffs. I didn’t expect this tem to even be .500 this year, and I know improvement doesn’t always show up in W’s and L’s, but when we consistently lose to teams like the Oakland A’s (we’d lost 9 games in a row to them before our win last night, but Oakland started another streak today!), who are also in a rebuilding mode, we must reexamine where this organization is and where we are heading. Come on, Vin Mazzarro beats us for the 2nd time this year? Here’s how he pitched coming into the game:

Vin Mazzaro picked up his second straight victory Thursday, holding the Orioles to three runs -- two earned -- in 5 1/3 innings.
Back-to-back wins may not sound like much, but they come after the 22-year-old rookie lost eight straight decisions. He's now 4-8 with a 5.53 ERA in 14 starts overall, including a sub par 49/31 K/BB ratio in 76 1/3 innings.

This summary of Mazzaro’s last couple months is a microcosm of our entire season, not beating teams who we claim are on our level and are, similarly, rebuilding and pitching young guys. I don’t expect to beat the teams in the top tier too frequently right now, but we can always play hard, no? Run balls out, throw to the right base, keep your head in the game and know how many outs there are. Stuff like that. Stuff management MUST demand daily of their professional players and coaches, or make changes. Problem is, we aren’t beating anyone. With the way the O’s have performed in the 2nd half and repeating the same mistakes as the first, I just don’t see how at this point in Trembley’s tenure the writing isn’t on the wall. Trembley’s not a bad guy, it’s just that the O’s need a change, and the sooner the better.

From Bad to Worse

The O’s season continues to spiral out of control, and the offense is anemic. With the arrival of Tillman and Matusz in the last few weeks I have certainly seen a glimpse of the future, but the future, to me, seems like 2011-2012 at this point. I’d expect both to show improvement through the end of this season as well as next, but also, plenty of growing pains. It’s a real shame that Bergesen got injured b/c he had a chance at ROY, but it’s just another indication that you can never have too much pitching, and that this organization really, really needs to start catching some breaks.

I know this organization has taken steps forward this year, but playing in the AL East means that you can’t just take baby steps forward, you need to take giant steps forward, especially considering where we have started each of the last couple seasons in the AL East pecking order. It’s pretty disheartening, really. We need at least another, if not two big bats in the line-up. I read today that we haven’t HR’d in 38 innings, and since the All-Star break, our avg with RISP has been abysmal. When you aren’t hitting HR’s and not hitting with RISP, have a pitching staff with a 5+ ERA, you just aren’t going to win many games. I know Wieters power will come around (but I really question whether he’s going to be a guy that he can hit top notch pitching, in particular, power pitchers) and I’d expect that Reimold will continue to show improved power, but will these guys be guys who, when coming to the plate, the opposing team’s pitcher is shaking in his spikes? That remains to be seen. Personally, I think the O’s probably need to say goodbye to Huff unless big things change (and we would likely get 2 draft picks for him b/c he’s a type A free agent) through the end of the year, and they need to make Luke Scott the permanent DH. After his smoking hot streak earlier this season we went into interleague play and he sat quite a bit, clearly getting rusty, and hasn’t been close to the same hitter ever since. I just think he needs to play regularly, and I’d prefer to keep him off the field unless he improves over the winter, preferably at 1B. I don’t understand why HE isn’t taking groundballs every day and devoting himself to a position, one that is a gaping hole, 1B?

Maybe they just give the job to Brandon Snyder next year and see what he can do. He’s had a very nice season between AA and AAA, and as long as he finishes strong and has a good spring training, perhaps that’s the O’s hope. He’s not a gold glover, but he’s got to be better than Huff (though he has exceeded my very low expectations this year) and Scott. Every time I see Mark Teixeira hitting bombs and scooping balls out of the dirt (or throwing home, off balance to get a streaking Oriole at home plate with no outs and the bases loaded), I get sick to my stomach. I know he didn’t want to play in Baltimore, I get that. But he was the single most important FA that could have helped the O’s in so many ways, and it’s just disappointing that after a dozen years of “trying,” the O’s weren’t in a position to convince Teixeira to play for his hometown team. Just pathetic!

I wonder who is going to get outs from the BP next year as well, much less the starters. Perhaps Uehara will be a mainstay in the pen next year, and if Chris Ray continues to get back on track, that’s a start. But beyond them and Jim Johnson (maybe Cla Meredith?), there will be quite a battle for spots b/c nobody has distinguished themselves this year, IMHO. Since I am a glutton for punishment though and my focus right now is watching the young guys get better, I’ll continue to tune in, but the Red Sox sweep and for the most part, the teams’ play since the All-Star break, has made it increasingly more difficult to devote much time to this team. It’s sad, but true. Go O’s, get that Oriole Magic back!