Cottonmouth

It was only going to be a matter of time before the Orioles gave me some more fodder for this blog. For a few weeks there, I thought they deserved a break from me. After all, Trembley had the team playing above their talent level and they were winning series' left and right.

But now that the Orioles have lost 5 of their last 7, and have yet again made some head scratching roster moves and trades, the light is back on here at the offices of the Bad Oriole.

In case you missed it, which you probably did now that most Baltimore sports fans are obsessing over every little detail that comes out of Ravens training camp (and rightfully so -- the Ravens actually give something back to the fans), the Orioles made a small flurry of moves today, trading John Parrish to the Mariners for minor-league OF Sebastien Boucher and basically giving away one of their more useful players, Chris Gomez, to the Indians for $20,000 in return.

Scratching your head yet?

Why the Orioles decided to wait until now to start making these kinds of moves is beyond me. MacPhail has said millions of times that he needs time to analyze the organization. Did that extra week and a half since the non-waiver trade deadline really allow him to get a better understanding of the way things are in Baltimore?

Did he see a reason why Gomez should be parted with for a measly $20,000?

Gomez was actually one of the players on this team that had a role and fit in it well. Plus, unlike half of the current roster, he could have been useful here next year as well. Now I don't know what his contract status is like, if we can re-sign him next year, or if this is an issue that is even worthy of being discussed. After all, it was Chris Gomez. But on this roster, Chris Gomez is one of the guys you'd like to keep if a roster purge is suddenly in order.

And if this is the beginning of a roster purge, Brandon Fahey, Jay Gibbons, Steve Trachsel, Paul Bako, and Jay Payton better be next. I'd rather have Chris Gomez on the team over any one of these bums, even if the team is forced to eat a large majority, if not all, of their salaries.

On the other hand, John Parrish is a guy that needed to go. Parrish came up in 2000, amazed O's fans for 1 inning in his first start by striking out the first 3 batters the Yankees sent to the plate. But after that, it was a roller coaster ride with Parrish which was mostly made up of lows. He fought through injuries and control issues for 7 years and is still the same pitcher he was that day in 2000.

The Orioles didn't get much back for Parrish, and that's understandable, but it would be nice to see the O's try to get some RH batters. But Boucher will never see the majors.

But then again, these are the Orioles. Boucher could be called as soon as he arrives in Baltimore.

So in the end, I really am only crying over spilled milk. But the milk that was spilled was somewhat fresh, whereas the other cartons of milk in the fridge are all rotten and need to be poured down the drain.