So Long, Dave

Yesterday was another dark day for the Orioles franchise, and while it probably was time to see a new manager leading the O’s, Trembley never stood a chance to succeed and now Andy McPhail should also be on a short leash. Not having a manager in place before the O’s fired Trembley makes little sense to me, though I hope that, at a minimum, Trembley feels some sense of relief, b/c he gave it his all. I’m not saying he was a great ML manager b/c I don’t think I know enough to say that, and of course we could question moves that he made, but show me a manager whose moves you don’t question sometimes? When you make a move that works, you are a genius. When it doesn’t work, you are an idiot. It’s just a really tough business and job. There were moves that Trembley made recently that baffled me, but I’m sure he was willing to try anything as the results continued to be abysmal. The mental errors and poor base running continued this year though, and that alone was grounds to fire Trembley in my opinion. He wasn’t able to get through to the players, but he also has a coaching staff that is culpable on some level too. Juan Samuel whoI’m sure is a good baseball man could hardly coach 3B, so he isn’t the answer.

Injuries doomed this team from the start, at least offensively, when Brian Roberts discovered he had a herniated disc in his back, but I still don’t understand the lack of development and struggles of Adam Jones, Matt Wieters (though he has the toughest job of anyone), and Reimold. I begin to think they may not be as good as I think, an even more depressing thought. But, these certainly weren’t all Trembley’s fault, and the lack of depth is both a product of Andy McPhail and the curse of the O’s, Peter Angelos. The division we play in certainly steers players to other teams, both inside the division in Boston and NY, but also to other teams throughout the league. It’s just a very tough situation, but Tampa bay and Toronto are doing it, and I hope that we have enough talent in the minors so that as the next few years go by, we see the fruits of this talent in the win column at the major league level.

At this point, this season ranks as the most disappointing season I have experienced. I had high hopes, and by that I mean a team who showed improvement in fundamentals, seeing the young players develop and approaching .500 in what is easily the best division in baseball. But here are so few positives so far and I feel like we’ve regressed dramatically, which is the most depressing thing of all. It will be interesting to see how the last 100+ games play out, but I’ll confess right now, that it’s become increasingly more difficult to stomach watching this team. It’s really sad, but it’s only a game. Go O’s!