I decided to take some time off from the Orioles and took a trip to New Orleans. I ate, I drank, I saw the sights.
I didn't read one boxscore to see if the O's won or lost.
And as an O's fan, it was probably the most relaxing time of my life these last 9 years. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I no longer cared what they did.
And ironically, the O's went on a 6 game winning streak to get back to .500 during that time.
So like any fan would, I started to watch the team a little more once I got back, but still didn't commit the full 3 hours it usually takes to watch a whole game.
After all, it's only .500. And we as Baltimore fans treat that as something greater than it is after getting so little out of this team. We're like the homeless guy who is grateful for a hot dog in the trash can when others are enjoying prime rib. We've forgotten what prime rib tastes like so we treat the half-eaten hot dog like it's the prime rib.
And, as usual, after getting back to .500, the Orioles lost their next 3 games, including 2 that they should have won if the offense could could get just one clutch hit and Chris Ray could get a save against a decent team.
To be honest, I expected the Orioles to do this. They had won 6 games in a row and were at .500 again. You only need to look back to 2002 when the Orioles got back to .500 in August and then finished the season with a 4-32 record.
Each time in the years since that awful finish, the O's have fallen apart once they got back to .500 as well. It's like they're so exhausted from getting back to mediocrity that they take a week off to celebrate their "accomplishment."
But what still hurts, even though you knew this was going to happen, was that the O's are still losing games like they were earlier in the season -- late in the game.
And as usual, the main culprit in these tragic Sunday afternoon losses is Chris Ray.
Sam Perlozzo is intent on using Ray in every game where he can get a save, no matter what the situation. Jeremy Guthrie pitched an excellent game today, allowing only 1 ER over 8 IP. He only threw 88 pitches. Why Guthrie wasn't allowed to finish the game is beyond me.
And just like he did on the Mother's Day Massacre, Perlozzo couldn't allow Guthrie to finish the game and brought Ray into a another tight situation that he couldn't get himself out of. After today, I wonder if Guthrie is going to beg Perlozzo not to bring Chris Ray into a game in which Guthrie has given them a lead. Especially on Sundays.
People usually balk at the "closer by committee" method because it takes away from the baseball card statistics we love and it hurts a player's fantasy value. But if ever there was a time for the "closer by committee" to be used, it's on the Orioles.
Ray doesn't need to get every save. Walker, Bradford, Williamson, Parrish... any of these guys could close out a game now and then to relieve Ray of the stress that comes with being a closer. But Perlozzo is not that kind of manager. He lives and dies by assigning players to roles and he does more dying than living by doing it.
Just another reason to fire Perlozzo, regardless of the recent 6 game winning streak the O's had despite the manager.
If anything, the 2007 Orioles are as predictable as they are unpredictable. You know they are going to fall apart once they get to .500. But just when you think that the season is over, they rattle off a few wins, even beating a few decent teams here and there, to make things interesting.
But by the time you start to care again, they just remind you why you stopped watching in the first place.
If anything, I'm getting used to it, and the shock of these kinds of losses is wearing off. Just like a lot of things wear off when you've been following a losing team for 9 years. Like caring one way or another.
Let's just hope they have a few more winning streaks in them to at least make the summer interesting until football season starts.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
More fuel for the fire.
As if I needed more ammo for this blog, I was treated to a good deal of it recently.
First among them, Sam "Damn the torpedoes" Perlozzo again inserted struggling "set-up guy" Danys Beaz into a close game last Sunday against the Nationals, and Baez promptly blew it. The difference between Sam Perlozzo and a good manager is that good managers realize when a player is struggling and they allow said player to work through their struggles in games that are out of hand.
Yet Perlozzo continues to ignore the facts and keeps plugging along with Baez who has blown game after game for the O's, including the loss last Sunday.
So glad we have Baez through 2009!
To make matters even worse, Sam then contradicts his reasoning in a recent article saying that he believes in "competition"; that no one's job is safe. Then why do you keep sending Beaz to the slaughter, Sam? Do you even hear yourself? WHAT HAS FREDDIE BYNUM DONE TO DESERVE BEING ON THIS ROSTER SINCE OPENING DAY???
Next up is whiny baby Jay Gibbons.
The shame of it is this, as the Orioles were well on their way into sucking 7 years ago, I liked Gibbons. He was a power hitter that the Orioles got for nothing in the rule-5 draft. Good on them. Gibbons then knocked in 100 RBI's and I was ready to go buy a jersey with his name on the back.
But then the worst happened. Gibbons came back to earth and his OPS constantly fell to sub-mediocre levels. The injuries started to crop up and Gibbons went from O's future clean-up hitter to David Segui-lite.
At the end of the 2005 season Gibbons first placed his foot in his mouth when he said he was "counting down the hours until the season was over."
Yes, 2005 was a complete mind-fuck. But players on MLB baseball teams shouldn't ever utter a phrase like that. They should shut up and play to win every game whether they are 161-0 or 0-161.Maybe Gibbons should start hanging out with Herm Edwards.
You PLAY to WIN the GAME!!!
Gibbons then whined about his lack of playing time a few weeks ago even though he was carrying an OPS in the .600's. And finally, when asked why the Orioles don't take infield/outfield practice before games he said, "we've never done it in 7 years."
Would you expect anything less from a Baltimore Orioles player?
I mean, really.
Who in their right mind would want to go back and change anything about the way the Orioles have done things in the last 7 years? Those were some great years!
Hey remember when you guys went 67-95? That was awesome!
Remember when you guys came within 2 games of losing 100 games? That was dope!
Oh, and remember when you guys were in first place for 60+ days and then fell completely flat on your faces in the second half of the season? That was the shiznit!
It's a shame Gibbons' OPS is .690 because if it were a little higher I would trade his ass faster than you can say Jon Knott. But with an OPS south of .700, Gibbons couldn't even get a pair of fungo bats and BP balls in return. Gibbons is a whining scrub on a losing team. No place for that kind of player here, no matter how hot your wife is or no matter how long you grow your hair.
Siyanora! Have fun playing in Japan, Jay.
New coach Juan Samuel didn't take long to learn how things are done in Baltimore. When asked why the coaches don't make the players take infield/outfield, Samuel shrugged and said "It's up to the players."
YES, I know this ain't tee-ball, but coaches are still coaches. They still have to say and do things that players won't like from time to time. And if the coaches believe that the players should be taking infield/outfield practice before games, then they should be.
After all, what else is there for managers and coaches to do?
But this organization has allowed the chimps to run the show for no reason. I could understand if the Orioles were a good team. At least then the players have an excuse as to why they don't want to do things a certain way. But what have the Orioles players done except lose for 9 years straight?
NOTHING BUT CAUSE PROBLEMS AND COMPLAIN!!!
Next up is Miguel Tejada who looks like he has cancer. Matter of fact he does have cancer, the most deadliest and contagious kind of cancer there is.
Orioles cancer.
Matter of fact, everyone on the entire team has Oriole cancer! They don't care, they don't play hard, they don't do the little things, and they lose.
It's a shame to watch Tejada waste the prime years of his career in an Orioles uniform. It really is.
The Orioles took Tejada, who was the MLB's Ambassador for the game, full of energy and excitement, and made him look like an extra from 28 Weeks Later. I expect him to impale a girl's eyeball with a shard of wood more than I expect him to hit an extra base hit or run out a routine ground ball.
You always hear about how sad it was to watch Willie Mays running in circles, trying to find a can of corn fly ball. Well, we have that here in Baltimore, and Tejada is only 31. Not 42 like Mays was when he was making himself dizzy in the outfield with the Mets.
The bottom line is that this organization is infected, from top to bottom with losing. I've said it a million times. I, and thousands of other fans like me, have also said what should be done to fix it a billion times. But as long as Peter Angelos is the owner, things will always be the same.
That is why I don't watch and that is why I don't care anymore.
It's why I write this blog.
And that's why I voted for Jordin Sparks last night.
First among them, Sam "Damn the torpedoes" Perlozzo again inserted struggling "set-up guy" Danys Beaz into a close game last Sunday against the Nationals, and Baez promptly blew it. The difference between Sam Perlozzo and a good manager is that good managers realize when a player is struggling and they allow said player to work through their struggles in games that are out of hand.
Yet Perlozzo continues to ignore the facts and keeps plugging along with Baez who has blown game after game for the O's, including the loss last Sunday.
So glad we have Baez through 2009!
To make matters even worse, Sam then contradicts his reasoning in a recent article saying that he believes in "competition"; that no one's job is safe. Then why do you keep sending Beaz to the slaughter, Sam? Do you even hear yourself? WHAT HAS FREDDIE BYNUM DONE TO DESERVE BEING ON THIS ROSTER SINCE OPENING DAY???
Next up is whiny baby Jay Gibbons.
The shame of it is this, as the Orioles were well on their way into sucking 7 years ago, I liked Gibbons. He was a power hitter that the Orioles got for nothing in the rule-5 draft. Good on them. Gibbons then knocked in 100 RBI's and I was ready to go buy a jersey with his name on the back.
But then the worst happened. Gibbons came back to earth and his OPS constantly fell to sub-mediocre levels. The injuries started to crop up and Gibbons went from O's future clean-up hitter to David Segui-lite.
At the end of the 2005 season Gibbons first placed his foot in his mouth when he said he was "counting down the hours until the season was over."
Yes, 2005 was a complete mind-fuck. But players on MLB baseball teams shouldn't ever utter a phrase like that. They should shut up and play to win every game whether they are 161-0 or 0-161.Maybe Gibbons should start hanging out with Herm Edwards.
You PLAY to WIN the GAME!!!
Gibbons then whined about his lack of playing time a few weeks ago even though he was carrying an OPS in the .600's. And finally, when asked why the Orioles don't take infield/outfield practice before games he said, "we've never done it in 7 years."
Would you expect anything less from a Baltimore Orioles player?
I mean, really.
Who in their right mind would want to go back and change anything about the way the Orioles have done things in the last 7 years? Those were some great years!
Hey remember when you guys went 67-95? That was awesome!
Remember when you guys came within 2 games of losing 100 games? That was dope!
Oh, and remember when you guys were in first place for 60+ days and then fell completely flat on your faces in the second half of the season? That was the shiznit!
It's a shame Gibbons' OPS is .690 because if it were a little higher I would trade his ass faster than you can say Jon Knott. But with an OPS south of .700, Gibbons couldn't even get a pair of fungo bats and BP balls in return. Gibbons is a whining scrub on a losing team. No place for that kind of player here, no matter how hot your wife is or no matter how long you grow your hair.
Siyanora! Have fun playing in Japan, Jay.
New coach Juan Samuel didn't take long to learn how things are done in Baltimore. When asked why the coaches don't make the players take infield/outfield, Samuel shrugged and said "It's up to the players."
YES, I know this ain't tee-ball, but coaches are still coaches. They still have to say and do things that players won't like from time to time. And if the coaches believe that the players should be taking infield/outfield practice before games, then they should be.
After all, what else is there for managers and coaches to do?
But this organization has allowed the chimps to run the show for no reason. I could understand if the Orioles were a good team. At least then the players have an excuse as to why they don't want to do things a certain way. But what have the Orioles players done except lose for 9 years straight?
NOTHING BUT CAUSE PROBLEMS AND COMPLAIN!!!
Next up is Miguel Tejada who looks like he has cancer. Matter of fact he does have cancer, the most deadliest and contagious kind of cancer there is.
Orioles cancer.
Matter of fact, everyone on the entire team has Oriole cancer! They don't care, they don't play hard, they don't do the little things, and they lose.
It's a shame to watch Tejada waste the prime years of his career in an Orioles uniform. It really is.
The Orioles took Tejada, who was the MLB's Ambassador for the game, full of energy and excitement, and made him look like an extra from 28 Weeks Later. I expect him to impale a girl's eyeball with a shard of wood more than I expect him to hit an extra base hit or run out a routine ground ball.
You always hear about how sad it was to watch Willie Mays running in circles, trying to find a can of corn fly ball. Well, we have that here in Baltimore, and Tejada is only 31. Not 42 like Mays was when he was making himself dizzy in the outfield with the Mets.
The bottom line is that this organization is infected, from top to bottom with losing. I've said it a million times. I, and thousands of other fans like me, have also said what should be done to fix it a billion times. But as long as Peter Angelos is the owner, things will always be the same.
That is why I don't watch and that is why I don't care anymore.
It's why I write this blog.
And that's why I voted for Jordin Sparks last night.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Foot in Mouth Disease
I love it when the Orioles front office speaks. It gives me so much fodder for this blog, as if I needed any more.
Such was the case when Jim Duquette spoke with the Washington Post as the Orioles take on the Nationals this weekend.
The article talks about both teams, shooting for the same thing, improvement, in different ways. The Nationals have made a committment to developing players from the farm system, which is bare since its move from Montreal to D.C., but the Nats have been open about it, telling fans, "Don't get your hopes up anytime soon. This could take a while." Needless to say the Nats won't be making waves in the free agent signing pool this offseason and the fans know what to expect, or not to.
The Orioles are trying to something similar, by focusing more attention on the farm system, mostly pitching, but they are still behind most of the league in terms of international scouting and money allocated to their minor league affiliates.
Though despite this, they tell the fans each season that "things will be different next year, we promise." Matter of fact, Angelos has spewed those words, how many times has it been now? 10? Anyhow, the front office will never come out and say what is what. Each year they enter the same dog and pony show, simply watching from the sides with their hands in their pockets. They talk a big game, but then fall silent when the money starts being thrown around. And each year, as free agents sign with other teams the fans go through the same set of emotions as the Orioles do little to improve last year's team.
The fans have been told there is "a plan." But everything we've seen them do pretty much contradicts "the plan."
The O's came out and said they wanted to develop young pitching, but then traded it away to get mediocre veterans in Kris Benson and Jared Wright, who are both out for the season.
The Orioles always say they want to get more power and speed but then sign slow, aging veterans that don't bring much in the way of either.
But the biggest difference between the O's and Nats is this, the O's have a $95 million payroll, and have only managed 3 more wins than the Nats, even with their payroll of $37 million.
Never has so much bought so little.
And when the front office tries to explain themselves, well, it gets even worse.
From the Washington Post interview...
"From our standpoint, it was always, realize there's a step-by-step process that you have to go through," Duquette said. "You can't consider yourself a contender until you get yourself to .500. And so, we've talked about .500. Once you get to .500, and you're in that range, that's good enough to be in any kind of playoff chase and allows you to do things -- make a trade or another signing of a free agent or two to get you to the next level."
So it's taking a $95 million payroll to get to .500, something that probably won't even be accomplished this year? And on top of that, what will a .500 record get you? Does that automatically mean that you will keep getting better?
The Nationals and Royals, each perennial losers, recently made .500 and above, respectively. Where did that get them? And how did the Detroit Tigers go from 71-91 to the World Series in one year?
As always, the Orioles are putting to many eggs into a basket that has a hole in the bottom. The Orioles shouldn't be shooting for a .500 record, they should adding the pieces that will get them a run at the Wild Card, and *shock* the division.
Instead of signing mediocre veterans, take a chance on a younger player with some upside, trade star players when they appear to be faltering, and most importantly, learn to live on the edge from time to time, instead of being the conservative putz at the auction who watches as the best deals get taken right out from under him.
Duquette appears to believe in this, when talking about trading any player...
"We're constantly trying to get better. [No] player is untouchable. You have to go in with that assumption. Every player is tradeable. But some you're less likely to trade than others. We consider any person, any trade that can improve the team. We're certainly not going to be reckless about it. But who knows? It may require trading one of those that's signed through '09, or two, maybe, for us to get younger. I wouldn't necessarily say we're locked in to every one of those players through 2009."
The front office may believe this, but Peter Angelos clearly doesn't. I also question whether the front office actually has the brains to be able to pull of such moves. And if the O's wanted to get younger they could do it today and not even have to make a trade. They could make room for Jon Knott and J.R. House on the 25 man roster in Baltimore and jettison a useless waste of space in Freddie Bynum and Paul Bako.
In the end, the O's can talk a good game, they have for years, but fans have realized that it's not what you say, it's what you do. And we're still waiting for the Orioles to do.
So as the O's take on the Nats tonight, the Battle of the Beltway commences and you get to watch two teams striving for the same thing, but in very different ways.
But something tells me the $58 million that separates the two team's payrolls won't translate into many more wins for the Orioles.
Such was the case when Jim Duquette spoke with the Washington Post as the Orioles take on the Nationals this weekend.
The article talks about both teams, shooting for the same thing, improvement, in different ways. The Nationals have made a committment to developing players from the farm system, which is bare since its move from Montreal to D.C., but the Nats have been open about it, telling fans, "Don't get your hopes up anytime soon. This could take a while." Needless to say the Nats won't be making waves in the free agent signing pool this offseason and the fans know what to expect, or not to.
The Orioles are trying to something similar, by focusing more attention on the farm system, mostly pitching, but they are still behind most of the league in terms of international scouting and money allocated to their minor league affiliates.
Though despite this, they tell the fans each season that "things will be different next year, we promise." Matter of fact, Angelos has spewed those words, how many times has it been now? 10? Anyhow, the front office will never come out and say what is what. Each year they enter the same dog and pony show, simply watching from the sides with their hands in their pockets. They talk a big game, but then fall silent when the money starts being thrown around. And each year, as free agents sign with other teams the fans go through the same set of emotions as the Orioles do little to improve last year's team.
The fans have been told there is "a plan." But everything we've seen them do pretty much contradicts "the plan."
The O's came out and said they wanted to develop young pitching, but then traded it away to get mediocre veterans in Kris Benson and Jared Wright, who are both out for the season.
The Orioles always say they want to get more power and speed but then sign slow, aging veterans that don't bring much in the way of either.
But the biggest difference between the O's and Nats is this, the O's have a $95 million payroll, and have only managed 3 more wins than the Nats, even with their payroll of $37 million.
Never has so much bought so little.
And when the front office tries to explain themselves, well, it gets even worse.
From the Washington Post interview...
"From our standpoint, it was always, realize there's a step-by-step process that you have to go through," Duquette said. "You can't consider yourself a contender until you get yourself to .500. And so, we've talked about .500. Once you get to .500, and you're in that range, that's good enough to be in any kind of playoff chase and allows you to do things -- make a trade or another signing of a free agent or two to get you to the next level."
So it's taking a $95 million payroll to get to .500, something that probably won't even be accomplished this year? And on top of that, what will a .500 record get you? Does that automatically mean that you will keep getting better?
The Nationals and Royals, each perennial losers, recently made .500 and above, respectively. Where did that get them? And how did the Detroit Tigers go from 71-91 to the World Series in one year?
As always, the Orioles are putting to many eggs into a basket that has a hole in the bottom. The Orioles shouldn't be shooting for a .500 record, they should adding the pieces that will get them a run at the Wild Card, and *shock* the division.
Instead of signing mediocre veterans, take a chance on a younger player with some upside, trade star players when they appear to be faltering, and most importantly, learn to live on the edge from time to time, instead of being the conservative putz at the auction who watches as the best deals get taken right out from under him.
Duquette appears to believe in this, when talking about trading any player...
"We're constantly trying to get better. [No] player is untouchable. You have to go in with that assumption. Every player is tradeable. But some you're less likely to trade than others. We consider any person, any trade that can improve the team. We're certainly not going to be reckless about it. But who knows? It may require trading one of those that's signed through '09, or two, maybe, for us to get younger. I wouldn't necessarily say we're locked in to every one of those players through 2009."
The front office may believe this, but Peter Angelos clearly doesn't. I also question whether the front office actually has the brains to be able to pull of such moves. And if the O's wanted to get younger they could do it today and not even have to make a trade. They could make room for Jon Knott and J.R. House on the 25 man roster in Baltimore and jettison a useless waste of space in Freddie Bynum and Paul Bako.
In the end, the O's can talk a good game, they have for years, but fans have realized that it's not what you say, it's what you do. And we're still waiting for the Orioles to do.
So as the O's take on the Nats tonight, the Battle of the Beltway commences and you get to watch two teams striving for the same thing, but in very different ways.
But something tells me the $58 million that separates the two team's payrolls won't translate into many more wins for the Orioles.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Random Tasks
I'm no fan of Peter Angelos, and I will be there to call him out even after he doesn't put the toilet seat down after using the bathroom, but Drew Forrester over at WNST, you know the station that the O's hope will be destroyed by a falling asteroid, has confirmed from 3 different sources associated with the Orioles that Baltimore will be back on the road jerseys in 2008.
Angelos has done more damage than putting Baltimore back on the road jersey will fix, but if this is indeed true, Angelos has done something he's never done before -- listen to the fans and give in to their demands.
And he deserves credit, however insignificant this move may be in the grand scheme of things.
Having Baltimore on the road jersey may not mean much to most people, but for those who live inside the Baltimore Beltway, it means the world. If rooting for the home team is based on civic pride, it's nice to see the city where the team plays represented on their uniforms.
Before the Nationals arrived in Washington, Angelos turned the Orioles into a regional team, even more so than previous owners had done after the Senators left Washington in the early 70's. He removed the "Baltimore" from the official team logo. Instead of BAL on the scoreboard at the Yard or on TV, it read O's.
What putting Baltimore back on the road jerseys signifies is that the Orioles are no longer the Mid-Atlantic region's sad sack of losers, they are Baltimore's sad sack of losers. And when there is no winning on the horizon, small changes like this are huge.
No, it's not going to translate into wins, or even increased attendance at the yard. After all, Baltimore will be on the road jerseys. (But don't put it past Angelos to have the O's wearing their away jerseys at home if it makes him money!) But it does restore some of the severed bond that had been created when the O's became the Mid-Altantic region's team as opposed to Baltimore's team.
And in the end, this will make Angelos money. Those Baltimore road jerseys are going to sell like hot cakes when they are first released. I will be buying one of them as soon as I can get my hands on one. But if Angelos is going to be doing something to make money, at least he'll be making fans happy while doing it.
Now, back to the depressing stuff.
Go figure. The Blue Jays, who had lost 10 out of their last 12, just swept the Orioles. And to think that I once thought that the Orioles would sweep them, or at least take the series from them during a 9 game stretch against the Jays and Nats, 2 teams worse than the Orioles. But that's not so true anymore.
Next up are the Nationals, who many die-hard O's fans look to beat up on this weekend. But think again. The Nats have won 5 out of their last 6 games while the O's are in the middle of a 5 game losing streak and still reeling from the now infamous Mother's Day Massacre. Many players and fans are wondering when Perlozzo will be fired as well. So there's a good chance that the team is not just thinking about the game this weekend, always a good thing.
Back to Perlozzo.
He needs to go. There is no doubting that. And with today being an off day, now is as good a time as any. As replacements go, I hear Bob Barker is free.
It really doesn't matter who the Orioles replace Perlozzo with, as long as he is replaced. They can name an interim manager in Trebblehorn or Juan Samuel, but in the offseason, Aneglos needs to parlay the Baltimore-on-the-road-jersey thing into another good move and totally overhaul the front office and management staff and replace them with new, young blood that has no previous connection to the organization.
It's time to purge the losing culture that has infected this team from top to bottom. And if a fish rots from the head, meaning Angelos, the least he can do is try and do all he can to make things better. I know he doesn't have the motivation to do anything, shit, I'll be surprised if Perlozzo is ever dismissed in the middle of the season, but Angelos is a good business man, and even he should be able to see that this company, I mean team... or organization, needs a shake up.
And while you're at it, get a bunch of new players too.
Angelos has done more damage than putting Baltimore back on the road jersey will fix, but if this is indeed true, Angelos has done something he's never done before -- listen to the fans and give in to their demands.
And he deserves credit, however insignificant this move may be in the grand scheme of things.
Having Baltimore on the road jersey may not mean much to most people, but for those who live inside the Baltimore Beltway, it means the world. If rooting for the home team is based on civic pride, it's nice to see the city where the team plays represented on their uniforms.
Before the Nationals arrived in Washington, Angelos turned the Orioles into a regional team, even more so than previous owners had done after the Senators left Washington in the early 70's. He removed the "Baltimore" from the official team logo. Instead of BAL on the scoreboard at the Yard or on TV, it read O's.
What putting Baltimore back on the road jerseys signifies is that the Orioles are no longer the Mid-Atlantic region's sad sack of losers, they are Baltimore's sad sack of losers. And when there is no winning on the horizon, small changes like this are huge.
No, it's not going to translate into wins, or even increased attendance at the yard. After all, Baltimore will be on the road jerseys. (But don't put it past Angelos to have the O's wearing their away jerseys at home if it makes him money!) But it does restore some of the severed bond that had been created when the O's became the Mid-Altantic region's team as opposed to Baltimore's team.
And in the end, this will make Angelos money. Those Baltimore road jerseys are going to sell like hot cakes when they are first released. I will be buying one of them as soon as I can get my hands on one. But if Angelos is going to be doing something to make money, at least he'll be making fans happy while doing it.
Now, back to the depressing stuff.
Go figure. The Blue Jays, who had lost 10 out of their last 12, just swept the Orioles. And to think that I once thought that the Orioles would sweep them, or at least take the series from them during a 9 game stretch against the Jays and Nats, 2 teams worse than the Orioles. But that's not so true anymore.
Next up are the Nationals, who many die-hard O's fans look to beat up on this weekend. But think again. The Nats have won 5 out of their last 6 games while the O's are in the middle of a 5 game losing streak and still reeling from the now infamous Mother's Day Massacre. Many players and fans are wondering when Perlozzo will be fired as well. So there's a good chance that the team is not just thinking about the game this weekend, always a good thing.
Back to Perlozzo.
He needs to go. There is no doubting that. And with today being an off day, now is as good a time as any. As replacements go, I hear Bob Barker is free.
It really doesn't matter who the Orioles replace Perlozzo with, as long as he is replaced. They can name an interim manager in Trebblehorn or Juan Samuel, but in the offseason, Aneglos needs to parlay the Baltimore-on-the-road-jersey thing into another good move and totally overhaul the front office and management staff and replace them with new, young blood that has no previous connection to the organization.
It's time to purge the losing culture that has infected this team from top to bottom. And if a fish rots from the head, meaning Angelos, the least he can do is try and do all he can to make things better. I know he doesn't have the motivation to do anything, shit, I'll be surprised if Perlozzo is ever dismissed in the middle of the season, but Angelos is a good business man, and even he should be able to see that this company, I mean team... or organization, needs a shake up.
And while you're at it, get a bunch of new players too.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Deck chairs on the Titanic need re-arranging
As the Orioles are in the midst of a 4-game losing streak, rumors swirl about Perlozzo being on a "short leash" and that he could be fired if the Orioles don't play better in what could have been the easiest 9 consecutive games they'd play all season.
So far in that stretch of games, they're 0-2.
It's clear that Perlozzo has lost the clubhouse and deserves to be fired. Hell, he never should have been made the full-time manager after filling in for Lee Mazzilli after he was dismissed in the middle of the disasterous 2005 season. His bad decisions confuse even the most pedestrian of fans, and bewilder hard-core baseball fans who analyze every pitch.
But Perlozzo was a "yes man" and that's what Angelos wanted. Now he's getting what he deserves. And while I doubt that Angelos would fire one of his hand selected guys, the results are becoming harder and harder to ignore.
The problem is this though. Even though Perlozzo does need to be fired, it will accomplish little, if nothing at all. There are too many problems with this organization that firing one guy will fix. Sure, a better manager might be able to milk more out of this roster, but let's face it, this team was never built to contend, and that falls back on the front office.
For years, the front office has been stalling. "Wait until next year," they say. Reports come out about the team being in the mix for the best free agents the following offseason, but then that offseason arrives and the Orioles sit on their hands while the best free agents sign with other teams while Angelos pockets the leftover money and then raises ticket prices.
No, firing Perlozzo is only going to be another step in what seems like an endless cycle of incompetence that will always go back to Peter Angelos while he is the owner.
It's no coincidence that while Angelos has owned the team, the O's have only had 4 winning seasons in 15 years, and have suffered the greatest decline in the history of the organization. Angelos took a franchise that was coming off the glory days of the early 1980's and 1970's and crashed them into the ground with the force of a 747 jumbo jet.
You could say that the farm system was in shambles when Angelos took over, but it's been 15 years later and the farm system is still nowhere near where it needs to be to support Orioles with players capable of helping the O's win games.
The O's were also late to scout players in the Caribbean and are virtually non-existent in Japan. Angelos had the resources to fix the farm system and the scouting department, but he instead chose to ignore them by hiring poor decision makers at the minor league level and sunk what money he did spend into the Orioles, with poor results.
And after years of being near the top in payroll, Angelos pulled back the reigns to prove to the MLB that he couldn't survive with the Nationals in Washington. Ironically, with the Nats in Washington, the O's are back in the top half of payroll, but you wouldn't know it looking at the roster or the standings.
The managers have come and gone, the front office personnel have come and gone, the players have come and gone, and the fans have come and gone.
The only constant is Angelos.
Until Peter Angelos is gone for good, this organization will always be caught in a state of limbo where mediocrity is the goal. Angelos wants to "make it affordable for families to come to the games", winning be damned.
The problem is, if watching baseball, free of any importance of the outcome, is what families are doing, then those families will have a much cheaper and more fun time at minor league games. And by the look of it, these families are starting to learn.
So go ahead Pete, fire Perlozzo. Fire Crowley. Hell, fire Flanagan and Duquette too. But the outcome is always going to be the same because of you. You are the problem. And if firing one person is going to fix all the problems with this organization, then the person that needs to be fired is you.
So far in that stretch of games, they're 0-2.
It's clear that Perlozzo has lost the clubhouse and deserves to be fired. Hell, he never should have been made the full-time manager after filling in for Lee Mazzilli after he was dismissed in the middle of the disasterous 2005 season. His bad decisions confuse even the most pedestrian of fans, and bewilder hard-core baseball fans who analyze every pitch.
But Perlozzo was a "yes man" and that's what Angelos wanted. Now he's getting what he deserves. And while I doubt that Angelos would fire one of his hand selected guys, the results are becoming harder and harder to ignore.
The problem is this though. Even though Perlozzo does need to be fired, it will accomplish little, if nothing at all. There are too many problems with this organization that firing one guy will fix. Sure, a better manager might be able to milk more out of this roster, but let's face it, this team was never built to contend, and that falls back on the front office.
For years, the front office has been stalling. "Wait until next year," they say. Reports come out about the team being in the mix for the best free agents the following offseason, but then that offseason arrives and the Orioles sit on their hands while the best free agents sign with other teams while Angelos pockets the leftover money and then raises ticket prices.
No, firing Perlozzo is only going to be another step in what seems like an endless cycle of incompetence that will always go back to Peter Angelos while he is the owner.
It's no coincidence that while Angelos has owned the team, the O's have only had 4 winning seasons in 15 years, and have suffered the greatest decline in the history of the organization. Angelos took a franchise that was coming off the glory days of the early 1980's and 1970's and crashed them into the ground with the force of a 747 jumbo jet.
You could say that the farm system was in shambles when Angelos took over, but it's been 15 years later and the farm system is still nowhere near where it needs to be to support Orioles with players capable of helping the O's win games.
The O's were also late to scout players in the Caribbean and are virtually non-existent in Japan. Angelos had the resources to fix the farm system and the scouting department, but he instead chose to ignore them by hiring poor decision makers at the minor league level and sunk what money he did spend into the Orioles, with poor results.
And after years of being near the top in payroll, Angelos pulled back the reigns to prove to the MLB that he couldn't survive with the Nationals in Washington. Ironically, with the Nats in Washington, the O's are back in the top half of payroll, but you wouldn't know it looking at the roster or the standings.
The managers have come and gone, the front office personnel have come and gone, the players have come and gone, and the fans have come and gone.
The only constant is Angelos.
Until Peter Angelos is gone for good, this organization will always be caught in a state of limbo where mediocrity is the goal. Angelos wants to "make it affordable for families to come to the games", winning be damned.
The problem is, if watching baseball, free of any importance of the outcome, is what families are doing, then those families will have a much cheaper and more fun time at minor league games. And by the look of it, these families are starting to learn.
So go ahead Pete, fire Perlozzo. Fire Crowley. Hell, fire Flanagan and Duquette too. But the outcome is always going to be the same because of you. You are the problem. And if firing one person is going to fix all the problems with this organization, then the person that needs to be fired is you.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
$42 million... for what?
We're seeing firsthand why it's not a good idea to spend $42 million on the bullpen.
Last night, with the game tied at 3, Danys Baez allowed a 2-run HR to Troy Glaus which sealed the deal.
And the O's lose their 3rd game in a row, which, coincidentally, were all lost by the bullpen.
That $42 million would have been much better spent on the offense, which desperately needs a power bat in the middle of the line-up, since Tejada has "lost" his power (.397 SLG) and Aubrey Huff (.691 OPS) is still trying to find his groove. And even at their best, Tejada is a #3 hitter and Huff a #5 or #6.
The $42 million would have also been better spent on the starting pitching, which is doing OK, even with starters Kris Benson, Jared Wright and Adam Loewen out for most or all of the season, but could be lasting longer in games.
Yes, the bullpen did need a lot of help after last year, but it wasn't a problem that was going to be fixed by throwing money at it. Even when the Orioles signed the veterans they did to fill out their bullpen, people were scratching their heads. All that money for Danys Baez and Jamie Walker? All those years?
Small trades can always bring back value for the bullpen, but the Orioles traded away their second best arm in the bullpen in Chris Britton during the offseason to get Jared Wright, who was a severe injury risk and has thrown only 10 innings so far this season and will be lucky to make it to 11.
The tricky thing about bullpens is this. Bullpen pitchers have no rhythm. They pitch one night, then have the next night off, then throw two nights in a row, and then could have a week off before they throw again. So even the best bullpen pitchers are going to be thrown off by the inconsistent workload.
It also hurts when the manager doesn't know how to use a bullpen. Sam Perlozzo has assigned roles to pitchers, torpedoes be damned. Just another reason why he needs to be gone yesterday.
Even though the Orioles may have compiled this bullpen the wrong way, at least they tried, which is more than you can say about the organization in the last few years. They saw a huge need and worked fast to fill it. It would be nice to see them do that with the offense and starting pitching occasionally.
But they were careless with money and now they're paying for it as the bullpen continues to lose games left and right.
Last night, with the game tied at 3, Danys Baez allowed a 2-run HR to Troy Glaus which sealed the deal.
And the O's lose their 3rd game in a row, which, coincidentally, were all lost by the bullpen.
That $42 million would have been much better spent on the offense, which desperately needs a power bat in the middle of the line-up, since Tejada has "lost" his power (.397 SLG) and Aubrey Huff (.691 OPS) is still trying to find his groove. And even at their best, Tejada is a #3 hitter and Huff a #5 or #6.
The $42 million would have also been better spent on the starting pitching, which is doing OK, even with starters Kris Benson, Jared Wright and Adam Loewen out for most or all of the season, but could be lasting longer in games.
Yes, the bullpen did need a lot of help after last year, but it wasn't a problem that was going to be fixed by throwing money at it. Even when the Orioles signed the veterans they did to fill out their bullpen, people were scratching their heads. All that money for Danys Baez and Jamie Walker? All those years?
Small trades can always bring back value for the bullpen, but the Orioles traded away their second best arm in the bullpen in Chris Britton during the offseason to get Jared Wright, who was a severe injury risk and has thrown only 10 innings so far this season and will be lucky to make it to 11.
The tricky thing about bullpens is this. Bullpen pitchers have no rhythm. They pitch one night, then have the next night off, then throw two nights in a row, and then could have a week off before they throw again. So even the best bullpen pitchers are going to be thrown off by the inconsistent workload.
It also hurts when the manager doesn't know how to use a bullpen. Sam Perlozzo has assigned roles to pitchers, torpedoes be damned. Just another reason why he needs to be gone yesterday.
Even though the Orioles may have compiled this bullpen the wrong way, at least they tried, which is more than you can say about the organization in the last few years. They saw a huge need and worked fast to fill it. It would be nice to see them do that with the offense and starting pitching occasionally.
But they were careless with money and now they're paying for it as the bullpen continues to lose games left and right.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Throw us a frickin' bone!
Had Steinbrenner's Yankees suffered a meltdown like the Orioles did yesterday, you can bet that heads would be rolling by this time today.
Sam Perlozzo would be standing on Pratt Street, thumbing for a ride out of town and Chris Ray would be pitching in some bush league freakshow baseball league where players sing and dance Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals in-between innings.
Instead, it's business as usual for the Orioles. Just another tragic loss in a season quickly becoming crowded with them. You can't get too upset about these kinds of losses when you're so used to them, and that's the message the Orioles are sending to the fans by doing nothing.
And if Steinbrenner represents everything wrong with baseball, at least he's destroyed the game to improve his team. He's like the mad scientist who has destroyed the world to save his sick daughter. Yeah, you destroyed the world, but at least your intentions were good.
Meanwhile, Angelos can't even destroy his image to show fans that he even cares by doing something following yesterday's catastrophic loss.
Hell, does he even know the Orioles lost yesterday? If so, does he even know how they lost?
The fans are the ones who suffer through these kinds of losses the worst. After all, the players who were involved in yesterday's disgrace are still getting paid handsomely for their ineptitude. So the fans need to see something from the front office to show them that the FO is awake, and are still doing their jobs.
Here are the moves that should be made following yesterday's loss...
Sam Perlozzo needs to be fired. Yes, the loss can't be blamed solely on him. But yet again, he failed to put his team in the best position to win, like he has countless times this season with his head-scratching decisions. It's a wonder how the Orioles are only 2 games under .500 losses with Perlozzo at the helm.
Chris Ray needs to be demoted. Ray is a good young pitcher, but he's not mentally suited to be a closer. Never has a closer look so over-matched so regularly. Closers aren't supposed to get scared, but you could smell the fear coming off Chris Ray all the way from Boston. He needs to be made the set-up man while Danys Baez steps into the closer role. The shame of it is, Baez will probably fare no better, but it's time to find out. It's a shame that John Parrish has forgotten how to throw strikes because if he was still pitching the way he was early in the season, he would be the perfect candidate to step into the closer role.
Hernandez and Millar need to be reprimanded. Their mistakes were small but important parts to yesterday's debacle. Hernandez dropped a routine pop-up that lead to the string of events resulting in the loss, and Millar fielded a grounder that Roberts could have easily gotten to. Avoiding the always tricky bang-bang play of the 1B flinging the ball to the pitcher, covering 1B and then tagging the bag with his foot is always a good thing.
I'll admit, some of these moves are not practical, but they need to be made. You can't just sit on your hands after a loss like that. It shows the fans that the organization is complacent, that it accepts losing games that way. And players always need to be held accountable for their actions on and off the field.
Unfortunately, we have a manager who has no accountability either. Having Perlozzo reprimand the players for yesterday's loss is like a father who still smokes pot discipling his child for underage drinking.
So make these moves, bring in a manager who makes smart decisions and go from there. At 18-20, the season is far from over, but losses like the one yesterday can end them prematurely, especially if no actions are taken to make it known that these kinds of losses can't, and won't be tolerated in the future.
Sam Perlozzo would be standing on Pratt Street, thumbing for a ride out of town and Chris Ray would be pitching in some bush league freakshow baseball league where players sing and dance Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals in-between innings.
Instead, it's business as usual for the Orioles. Just another tragic loss in a season quickly becoming crowded with them. You can't get too upset about these kinds of losses when you're so used to them, and that's the message the Orioles are sending to the fans by doing nothing.
And if Steinbrenner represents everything wrong with baseball, at least he's destroyed the game to improve his team. He's like the mad scientist who has destroyed the world to save his sick daughter. Yeah, you destroyed the world, but at least your intentions were good.
Meanwhile, Angelos can't even destroy his image to show fans that he even cares by doing something following yesterday's catastrophic loss.
Hell, does he even know the Orioles lost yesterday? If so, does he even know how they lost?
The fans are the ones who suffer through these kinds of losses the worst. After all, the players who were involved in yesterday's disgrace are still getting paid handsomely for their ineptitude. So the fans need to see something from the front office to show them that the FO is awake, and are still doing their jobs.
Here are the moves that should be made following yesterday's loss...
Sam Perlozzo needs to be fired. Yes, the loss can't be blamed solely on him. But yet again, he failed to put his team in the best position to win, like he has countless times this season with his head-scratching decisions. It's a wonder how the Orioles are only 2 games under .500 losses with Perlozzo at the helm.
Chris Ray needs to be demoted. Ray is a good young pitcher, but he's not mentally suited to be a closer. Never has a closer look so over-matched so regularly. Closers aren't supposed to get scared, but you could smell the fear coming off Chris Ray all the way from Boston. He needs to be made the set-up man while Danys Baez steps into the closer role. The shame of it is, Baez will probably fare no better, but it's time to find out. It's a shame that John Parrish has forgotten how to throw strikes because if he was still pitching the way he was early in the season, he would be the perfect candidate to step into the closer role.
Hernandez and Millar need to be reprimanded. Their mistakes were small but important parts to yesterday's debacle. Hernandez dropped a routine pop-up that lead to the string of events resulting in the loss, and Millar fielded a grounder that Roberts could have easily gotten to. Avoiding the always tricky bang-bang play of the 1B flinging the ball to the pitcher, covering 1B and then tagging the bag with his foot is always a good thing.
I'll admit, some of these moves are not practical, but they need to be made. You can't just sit on your hands after a loss like that. It shows the fans that the organization is complacent, that it accepts losing games that way. And players always need to be held accountable for their actions on and off the field.
Unfortunately, we have a manager who has no accountability either. Having Perlozzo reprimand the players for yesterday's loss is like a father who still smokes pot discipling his child for underage drinking.
So make these moves, bring in a manager who makes smart decisions and go from there. At 18-20, the season is far from over, but losses like the one yesterday can end them prematurely, especially if no actions are taken to make it known that these kinds of losses can't, and won't be tolerated in the future.
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