Just Jauss?

The Orioles fired bench coach Dave Jauss yesterday while keeping all their other coaches, even Juan "The Aztec God of Human Sacrifice" Samuel, who routinely gave runners the green light at third base, only to be thrown out at the plate. Samuel was also very critical of (and almost unprofessional in his criticism) of Orioles whipping boy Felix Pie at one point during the season.

Anyway, letting Jauss go won't get much attention by O's fans, but I think it's another troubling move by an organization that can't seem to get out of its own way.

In my opinion, Jauss should have been the only coach kept of the current coaching staff and would have made a worthy candidate for the managerial job if Dave Trembley was not kept for 2010.

Jauss' track record is impressive. He started in the Montreal Expos organization in 1988, a time when they were routinely bringing up future All Star players. Then he went to the Red Sox organization and bounced around at various positions there from 1997 to 2005 before going to Los Angeles to coach with the Dodgers before coming to the Orioles in 2008.

He's been in winning organizations before. Yet he was let go for reasons that are currently unclear.

If Andy MacPhail wants a more experienced bench coach, maybe someone with previous managerial experience, that's fine. But then why didn't he just let Dave Trembley go if he felt that the Orioles needed more managerial experience?

I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill, but given the Orioles previous track record, even the smallest moves are cause for concern.

They usually reflect on deeper issues within the organization.

Until then, I'll wait to see what MacPhail says about this personnel change or who he hires to replace Jauss.

As for Jauss, I am sure he'll catch on somewhere else. People will look at his track record and realize he's an asset to any organization.

For whatever the reason, the Orioles didn't think that of Jauss, at least not any more.