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Triple-A Norfolk was 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position yesterday.
Must be contagious.
The Orioles have a variety of issues, including Brian Roberts' injury and late-inning bullpen implosions, but the lack of clutch hitting has destroyed the first week of their season. They're 9-for-54 (.167) with RISP after going 1-for-8 in yesterday's 5-2 loss.
The Orioles are 1-5 for the first time since 2002, when they finished 67-95. They need to stomp on the brakes before they skid off baseball's landscape.
Roberts will be placed on the disabled list today, with Justin Turner taking his spot. Julio Lugo will probably get most of the starts at second base, but we'll see how it plays out.
Lugo is a natural shortstop, but he's also played second base, third base and all three outfield positions. His next appearance at second will be No. 118 in his career, compared to 1,079 at shortstop.
"It's just the turn that's different," he said. "You've got to turn to the other side on the double play. Instead of turning left, you've got to turn right. And when the ball's hit to you, you've got a little more time at second base to react to things."
Miguel Tejada's error in the eighth inning yesterday was the first by the Orioles this season, leaving the Twins as the only team that remains flawless in the field.
Nick Markakis has nine walks, moving him past the Cardinals' Colby Rasmus for the major league lead.
Just thought you'd like to know.
Going back to the farm, Scott Moore went 3-for-4 with a home run yesterday, the 100th of his minor league career and the first for the Tides this year.
Brandon Erbe makes his Triple-A debut tonight.
Brandon Waring and Tyler Henson homered in the same inning for Double-A Bowie.
Kenny Moreland tossed four scoreless innings in relief for Single-A Frederick, after left-hander Cole McCurry struck out seven over the first four frames.
Think Moreland pitches himself into the starting rotaton or that the Keys keep him in the reliever role?
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No idea. I thought he was already in the rotation, but apparently not. - Roch
Roch,
Excellent post. I like your introduction. Yes the Orioles have a lot of problems. Some can be immediately fixed, others are from poor managerial decision and will take some time. Two years for one of them!
All is not lost this season. Losing teaches you one thing. What is WRONG with your club. The sad part is, losing is contageous. I truly believe this club starting with the manager, does not know how to win. Rehiring DT was a mistake. The guy simply put, doesn't know how to win. He manages to be friends with the players. He doesn't manage to win.
No sense in beating a dead Oriole, I mean horse. Andy, you see the problems, This is YOUR team! Remember, people are being held accountable this year and that means YOU too!
Was thinking about going to the game tonight. On second thought, the game day surchage made the decision easy! I really wanted to see Matusz pitch! It is just as easy to watch it on dvr and fast forward the commecials.
Roch morning how is it going. I was at saturdays game and seen you in the press box and wanted to come say hi but i didnt want to feel like a groupie so i didnt. I would love to meet you and i love what you do and keep so informed with all oriole news and want to thank you for all the work you do. I hope you do this for a long time. Anyway keep up the good work.
Talking baseball i really hope they can get it together. Yes its early but we the 1-5 record is a bad start and we are already in the hole 4 games under 500 with the hardest schedule in baseball. This team has way to much talent to have this bad record. It seems like we always get the short end of the stick. Walks come back to haunt us and miggy error is a big error only because of the home run after. Miggy has been great at third so we can hang the game on him. Nick needs to get the bat going with no rbi's in the first week. Wieters is the only one doing anything and we cant except him to carry the team. Well we got tampa coming in today and i hope gonzo gets it together cuz he is what we got. GO o's get it together boys
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Thanks James. Don't hesitate to give me a shout. - Roch
Morning Roch, I am still mad at the play of the O's...it happens every season where hitters go in slumps of course but I just was not ready for it to happen the first 6 games this year tihs bad and the teams that we are left to play again starting tonight like the Rays are so good...we need to pick it up or we are going to be destroying what we are trying to build on here before then fans even get back on board. We need to no more injuries too...we need as I said yesterday a big blow out win.
This team, like it is supposed to do, has taken on the look of the manager. Look out on the field 8 DTS!
The only thing that will happen, in time, is our young starters will fall right in line and become DTS. I think I actually saw Millwood throw his glove in the dugout! Watch it Kevin Dave might bench you over that. Lot of wasted talent. The O's need a Frank Robinson in the middle of the line up. A banger and a leader. And a Weaver in the dug out wouldn't hurt. How can you question a winner? Go O's!!!!!! Nothing personal Dave. But you were pushing it as a bullpen coach. You have got to know your limitations. Call Earl, please!
I ask again. What is the definition of insanity? We have not been hitting for 12 years. We complain every year and lose like hell every year. We keep the same hitting coach, but expect things to change.
We've changed managers, pitching coaches, GM, etc and we are still not hitting.
Hello???
Markakis leading the majors in walks may be an indication that the word hasn't gotten around about the big bat the O's acquired this off-season to solidify the offense and provide protection for Nick. Honestly, I'm still a little confused as to whether that is supposed to be Tejada or Atkins. Did you know they combined for 23 home runs last year?
Turner should see some action, as they will want to be sure Lugo doesn't get anywhere near the 600 AB that will trigger his $9 million option for next year.
Roch,
What's the deal with Rowell? He was supposed to be the 3B down in Frederick, but by my count, he's only played in one game so far and it was as the DH. Is this noteworthy?
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I'm not with the Keys, but Steve Melewski reported that Rowell would DH early in the season and work on his defense on the side. - Roch
Here's an idea for Miguel Tejada...when a ball is hit to you, get in front of it!!! I've seen him fielding these balls off his hip with regularity this season and I cringe everytime I see it. Obviously no one is quick enough to get in front of every ball, but he makes very little effort. It burnt us bad in the 8th inning yesterday. The guy is starting to look like Roger Dorn.
I'm a huge Markakis fan...but there are times when I just think he is way too passive at the plate for being a 3 hitter and making 10+ million a year. If he is going to take the next step in his development I really hope he starts to get more aggressive and stops taking so many called 3rd strikes.
They should put the entire team on the disabled list. Who is able on that team?
Paul87 - Matusz pitches tomorrow. You still have time to buy your ticket and not pay the day of game surcharge.
All upper deck seats are $8 so you don't have to break the piggy bank to go either.
Great Post MD
I have been trying to make this point clear all spring. Andy said one of his off season TOP priorities is a legit cleanup hitter and number 1 starter. While Tejada may make contact, he is not a legit cleanup hitter. With DT assigning Atkins in the 6th or 7th hole in the batting order, he also realizes Atkins is not a legit cleanup hitter.
So that begs the question? If it was one of our off season priorities, why did we fail to acquire one? I guess you shouldn't ask a question you already know the answer too. As one poster put it on here, the Excel "sum" button on the P/L statement is what dictates roster moves. From the years of shedding salaries while taking on not one "significant" off season free agent, brings forth the real problem. This team is not serious about acquiring the QUALITY veterans thru FA which Andy promised, to suppliment the young kids. And when the young kids are no longer young, they too will be shed for more "prospects".
I dont know the numbers off hand, but it seems to me a 100 mil team budget is probably about average? The last I heard the Orioles are about 60 mil for the last 3-4 years? So what is happening to the 40 or so million which is not being spent on players for the parent club?
International scouting and acquisitions...I forgot!
Just a little quote from Major League,
"I've never heard of half of these guys and the ones I do know are way past their prime.
Most of these guys never had a prime.
This guy here is dead.
Cross him off then".
On a side note, why are the Orioles selling a hat commemorating the 1988 season? Are we trying for a repeat of 107 losses? Seriously, it's in the store on Eutaw st...
After watching the majority of the O's 6 games so far I think they have finally changed things up. For years they have played decent baseball in the first half of the year and then completely blew up after the All Star break. This year maybe the are taking the course of losing early and then plan on finishing strong...of course the record will end up being the same.
Seriously though, 2 things come to mind after watching the O's this season:
1) When is the NFL draft.
2) When does Ravens training camp start.
Who is the baseball player here? You or Kakis? Remember that Kakis has the most walks so far this past week. I would have liked Kakis to hit the ball too, but maybe he was thinking something else. Hindsight is always 20/20. That is something we all should remember - Hindsight is always 20/20.
Really a disappointing start. At least the starting pitching has been quite good, but that's the ONLY bright spot.
The O's hitters are good enough that this current slump will even itself out, but they better snap out of this funk soon because the hole will be too deep.
Gonzalez is pitiful; horrible mechanics. Hopefully Kranitz can rework this guy and get him to function credibly or it's gonna be painful eating $12 mil.
Yes, lots of issues. Which is why I was a little troubled by DT harping on Miggy's error in the 8th as a big reason we lost. Yes, a clean play would have ended the inning but there are so many things that could have been done to change the outcome of the game. How about changing pitchers and giving the hitters a new angle to deal with? I'm not saying DT should have done that, but it would have prevented Bautista from getting his 4th AB against Milwood. I'm not saying that's the only reason we lost, because it isn't, but I would think DT would be a little less pointed in his comments.
The players, individually, are very talented. Nick, Adam, Miguel, B-Rob, etc. Now, they need to play AS A TEAM. Too many selfish at bats. I'm glad to see Nick taking more pitches.... that's what he needs to do. But you can't strikeout with a runner at third. Hit a flyball somewhere!
I'd love to see a mgr. like Ozzie Guillen or Mike Soscia(sp) here. DT is ok, but there is something wrong. I can't put my finger on it. He says the right things, but the team isn't responding.
They are too busy trying to "put up numbers" than playing as a team. That's not always the case, but the attitude or something is not right here. You can't single out one player or one thing.
We haven't won since I was a teenager. As I was thinking about that last night, I got depressed. A whole generation gone. My 2 boys (8 and 4) love to watch the game with me and the biggest lesson they're learning now is loyalty and patience. Fortunately, bedtime comes looong before the O's lose the game. Oh, to be young again.
I hate to think they'll be grown men before the O's win again.
Roch,
I noticed that Kevin Millwood's line for yesterday includes 1 earned run, and that confuses me. I thought any homerun you give up is considered an earned run. How is it possible to give up 3 homeruns, and only 1 run was earned?
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Bautista wouldn't have been at the plate without the error. The inning would have been over. - Roch
POOR ORIOLES! POOR ORIOLES FANS! So early - yet it's LATE already. Are we watching another start to the season like the one under Cal Ripken, Sr? Look out Dave - this is gonna get ugly quick!! SIGGGGHHHH!!! Poor Orioles.
Good post Roch. I have a quick question for you. It's obvious the Orioles lineup is struggling mightily. Is it possibly Trembley switches up the lineup. Maybe something like
1. Julio Lugo
2. Felix Pie
3. Nick Markakis
4. Matt Wieters
5. Miguel Tejada
6. Adam Jones
7. Luke Scott
8. Garrett Atkins
9. Cesar Izturis
Something needs to change.
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He hasn't gone with a set lineup, so anything's possible, but keep in mind that Tejada does have six RBIs. - Roch
Good morning! 1-5, it's upsetting but it's a long season, and we usually start off strong and then tank, so maybe it's actually a reversal of trend and we will finish strong this year.
Roch, I didn't hear a lot about Ryohei Tanaka (sp?) this Spring, but he seems to have some impressive numbers including 5 or so innings of shutout baseball this year in Bowie with no BBs and 4 SOs. Granted, it's one game, but he's had some impressive stats, plus he's 28. Is there any chatter about him as far as being a part of the O's future? Thanks Roch!
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Nothing at this point. - Roch
Who cares about Kakes BB's, we need RBI's if he's going to hit in the 3 hole. He has been awful at the plate this year.
I thought the error call on Miggy was a tough call, usually that would be called a bad-hop single.
You'd like to see Millwood respond a little better to that kind of situation and bear down on the following hitters to pick up his third baseman. Instead he served up a couple of room-service gopher balls. The margin for error in these games is so slight that there's no room for the pitcher to get distracted by a fielding mishap.
With Roberts out, I'd really like to see them try a lineup like this:
RF Markakis
DH Reimold
C Wieters
1B Scott
3B Tejada
LF Pie
CF Jones
2B Turner
SS Izturis
With his patience at the plate, Markakis would be a great leadoff hitter. He's a waste in the three hole right now because they can pitch around him. Move Jones to the back of the lineup until he stops doing his Corey Patterson impersonation. Jones hasn't seen a pitch he didn't like since the All Star break. Let the young guys handle the 2 and 3 slots backed up by Scott and Tejada. Atkins no longer has any power, and he shouldn't be in the lineup. Three years ago, the double he hit in the second game at Tropicana Field would have landed in the 10th row. He gets doubles now because he's a big guy; he's not the hitter he was. Let Turner play. Whether it's he or Lugo playing 2B for a month won't mean a hill of beans to how this team finishes, but it will make a difference to Turner's development. Lugo won't be here next year. Let's find out if Turner should be here next year.
I was sitting here thinking about how this year has started off. Maybe it is a good thing. No, I am being serious. After 12 years of losing, the front office needs to hear it from the fans. Losing should no longer be acceptable. Things need to change, and change quickly.
By the sounds of the fans who post here on a day by day basis, the attitude has changed. It is no longer just 4 or 5 upset with the play, it is the overwhelming majority. And this is what it might take to persuade this ownership. We are the loyal die hard fans, and if we changed with out ideology, what do you think the average fan thinks right about now.
The attendance is terrible. Look at the stands each night. There is so many seats open anymore. With the attendance dropping, so will the value of the team. And this is just what we need to hopefully force PA to sell this team. I doubt he would, but it is wishful thinking. The fans deserves a winning team. Fans deserves a committed ownership, and most of all the fans deserve a change from the same ole same ole!
-- Yesterday's loss is on the offense.
-- But let's talk about Millwood for a second. You have a 2-1 lead with four outs to go, you find a way to get that third out. Your manager trusted you to finish up. You're the staff leader, you want the ball in that spot. You've only thrown maybe 75 pitches before giving up the big HR. It's convenient for everybody to throw Miggy under the bus, but it was only one base. Late in the game, you keep stuff down and away and make sure things stay in the ballpark, not belt high inside half that gets yanked for a HR. I thought he pitched great, for 7 2/3 innings, but there's no excuse for piling on Tejada, especially when he's the only guy on this team that can hit the ball with authority right now.
I just wish why, WHY Ty Wigginton has to swing at the first pitch ALL the time. The book has to be out on him that he swings at the first pitch most of the time, so throw a junk pitch. From my count, he's swung at first pitch twice this season when we need to mount a rally (last night, and a few games ago). To start a rally, swinging at the first pitch is not the way to do it. Now, of course, if he had hit a homer, we'd all be happy, but more often than not, that has not been the case. It's just frustrating. If I was the manager, I would tell him that he, under no circumstances, will swing at the first pitch. Maybe even the 2nd. Let the pitcher work a bit.
But, at least we do have some positives. The starting pitching has been not great, but good, mostly passable. Albers has reverted back to his old form, which is nice. B-Rob missing is going to hurt.
I think it is time to change hitting coaches. Crowley has had a good career as a player and a questionable one as a hitting coach. He has been here a long time and the O's batters need a new philosophy. It is obvious they are not practicing patience at the plate. There is too much first ball hitting and not enough working the count. You always see the Yanks and Red Sox batters working the count.
My question is when Crowley was with the Twins did he leave on his own accord or was he fired becuse of the lack of results? As it was pointed out earlier, every other coach, manager and GM has changed, Why is it that someone doesn't see that a change in a hitting coach is needed?
The thing amongst all the other stuff that is bothering me is that the Orioles have no plate discipline. They arent working the other starting pitcher. They swing at either the first pitch or the first strike. Either way only Markakis and Wieters are working the counts. In turn what is happening is the Os are scoring early - because they arent working the starter, the starter is adjusting, by the time the Os adjust to him hes out of the game and the bullpen is in and yet again the Os chase the first strike. Every single starter the Os have faced has lasted til what the 6th, 7th inning? Pitch count will get the starters before the runs will especially at this rate.
I firmly believe this game is all about observation, adjustment and than finally execution. So far the Os are 0 for 3 in those categories which could be why they have only 1 win. Adam Jones wont see any other pitch than that slider that dips out of the zone away if he doesnt learn to lay off of it. Luke Scott wont see anything other than a fastball away until he can prove that he can go to left field with authority. I dont want to write a book but just some simple observations so far.
Stevie Phoneix: I didn't hear your take on the attendance this weekend. You crowed about the Opening Day record, but when 22,000 are turning up for game 2, it says a LOT about the state of the O's fanbase.
Andy has alienated a lot of fans in the last 12 months and the rebuilding process clearly has a long way to go.
And just when you thought it couldn't get worse............Guthrie pitches tonight.
Man. One error can really change the momentum in a game. That error was a pretty tough one on Tejada, though. Ball took a really bad hop. Great outing by Millwood.
There are a lot of games left, and the team should not be in panic-mode just yet... but something does need to change up a little. There are plenty of good hitters on this team, but they need to start working together. I think this team could benefit from a lot more small-ball, too. Create sparks.
I also feel that this team has too many of the "same" players. I still don't understand why we went and grabbed a declining Lugo while we have Ty Wiggington and Andino now down in Triple-A. Luke Scott, even though I dig him, should be elsewhere as well.
I propose while Roberts is out that we go with something like this:
1. Izturis - SS
2. Tejada - 3B
3. Markakis - RF
4. Jones - CF
5. Scott - DH
6. Wieters - C
7. Reimold - LF
8. Atkins - 1B
9. Turner - 2B
Stan, over Crowley's long tenure as O's hitting coach, which players have left the Orioles and improved as hitters with another team?
My biggest problem with this team is the fact that we've turned over EVERY single position in the past 12 years - save one. The hitting coach.
I'm sure the Crow is great at helping guys discover holes in their swing... but a team-wide hitting philosophy with runners-on-base of "just hit the ball hard" is, in my opinion, unacceptable. I want guys going up there looking for certain types of pitches in certain situations. But no, instead it's "hit the ball hard". Which they do. Right back to the pitcher. Right to the shortstop. That's if they manage to make contact at all.
If a hitter comes up to the plate with no one on, than by all means, feel free to "hit the ball hard" somewhere and see what happens. Using that philosophy when there are already ducks on the pond & the team desperately needs runs is one of the contributing factors to the Orioles offensive slumps. If Crowley can't adopt an attitude of patience that he can help instill in his hitters (and he hasn't shown such in a dozen years) then it's time to find someone new.
So is tonight a reverse lock? DT can only hope.
Brummie,
For the record, Tampa only had like 16k show up the next 2 games after opening night against the O's and they are actual contenders.
Roch, I don't have the numbers in front of me, but didn't the O's have a team BA last year of .287? What is their career BA with Crowley? Only reason I ask is I am not, like some here, blaming Crowley for the hitting woes. It's humorous and hypocritical of those who have been bashing the lousy pitching to now look for some other excuse since the starting pitching and the pen has been decent so far except for Gonzalez who I think will straighten out when the team hits the west coast. Hopefully he'll straighten out. I just don't see the blame Crowley. Markakis is a proven hitter; is it Crowley's fault that he's batting about a buck so far? Adam Jones? Great opener and nothing since; Crowley's fault? It's amazing how the blame game gets passed around and I've yet to read ONE SINGLE POST, from anyone, hear that Paul, or Brummie, or Dorian G or whatever name you care to use, about giving the opposing team's starting pitchers credit and the opposing team's defense credit. The Rays have some darn good starting pitching and if I'm not mistaken their bullpen was one of the best last season and yet, they never receive any of the credit from the whiners on here. Some times it's the opposition that just plays better than you being the cause of a loss and not the blame of batting coaches, managers, or GM's. The excessive whine about being "cheap", yet no mention of all the millions shelled out to BRob and Nick. I guarantee you if Gonzalez signed with the Yankees or RedSox or even the Nationals for more money than the $12 million the O's gave him, you would have heard cries of "CHEAP, CHEAP CHEAP!." So what do you hear now? How "stupid" it was of the O's to give that much money to Gonzalez. The O's outspent many clubs in the recent draft, but all you hear about from the whiners is "Hobgood was nothing but signability" Be consistant with your whines for once. But then again, with the whiners it's all about if a player does well, you don't hear anything (hear any complaints anymore about Atkins?) But when a player does bad, or commits an error, SEE? STUPID STUPID ANDY and CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP ANGELOS!. If there is one thing about the three-headed whiner on this blog, it's his validity in anything he writes because of lack of integrity in dealing with facts.
I really hope Matusz can bring a win to the team tonight. With the hitters performing they way they have, we need him to come up big tonight.
The kid has remarkable stuff for his age. Would love to see him win 15 games this year with a sub 3.50 era. Would really set the bar for the other young pitchers in the rotation. Would love to find a way to get Tillman up here soon. And then follow it up with Britton next year.
Trying to stay positive despite the miserable start!
Hey Dog, do me a favor and look in on Steve.He hasn"t been on his blog since the 6th. Tell him to post something, anything to let his friends know how he is doing.
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Do you mean Melewski? He's been posting multiple times a day, including this morning, when he wrote about Roberts officially going on the DL. He's doing well, but I'm sure he'd like to hear from you. - Roch
Brummie_Oriole | April 12, 2010 11:08 AM | Reply
Stevie Phoneix: I didn't hear your take on the attendance this weekend. You crowed about the Opening Day record, but when 22,000 are turning up for game 2, it says a LOT about the state of the O's fanbase.
Andy has alienated a lot of fans in the last 12 months and the rebuilding process clearly has a long way to go.
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Look around the league and also the history of the Orioles. The day after opening day is always low in attendance. 22,000 is actually far more than what I expected.
By the way, how come you've never mentioned anything about all the empty seats at Yankee Stadium last year? They had to drastically cut the price of their "prime seats" and they still didn't sell them all out. Why? Didn't the Yankees win the World Series last year? Aren't they always out spending every team in baseball? And yet they have to cut prices to sell seats? But you wouldn't mention that because for one it's a fact, and for two it doesn't fit your boorish agenda of negativity about anything Orioles. Go find a girl friend will you? If you can't, which wouldn't surprise me since women can't stand negative whiners, buy yourself a plastic blow up doll to help you take your mind off of your strange obsession with Andy MacPhail.
Roch,
Has Justin Turner passed Andino in the eyes of our management? Also, I know he's just in AA but where does Brandon Waring stand in terms of depth? Can we expect to see him this year?
Thanks!
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If the Orioles needed a shortstop instead of a second baseman, Andino probably would get the call. As for Waring, I don't expect to see him this season, and Josh Bell is ahead of him at third base, but he's a prospect and could really position himself with a big season. Bell shouldn't assume that he can't be passed in the organization. - Roch
Agreed Mitch. Good comment. Millwood pitched a beautiful game, but he sure caved at the wrong moment. I would have given McDonald a hit on that ball to 3rd. Seemed like a bad hop to me. This game was really lost because of lack of clutch hitting once again. I'd like to blame it all on Gonzalez, but I guess that's not really fair since he didn't play the last couple games. But the mood of the clubhouse is a fickle thing, and blowing 2 saves can do damage to a team's psyche despite how the cliche comments are usually "It's forgotten already" and "Tomorrow's another day."
Let's turn it around Birds!
JAck Webb: Please don't confuse your Friday night personal life with me. In fact, stick to baseball buddy. Notice how you can;t come up with one single defence of Dandy Andy and the plan. LOL
You have to resort to personal insults to make yourself forget how bad things are in Andy_Land.
For the record I have a lovely woman: 1/2 Romanian, 1/2 British, who has bore me a beautiful son and is about to give me a daughter. What she forgets in an hour would probably take you a decade to learn.
Cheers,
The Brumster :)
Roch, thanks for the heads up on Steve. I had his blog bookmarked and every time I went there I got a post of his from April 6th. I assume the problem is the new setup for Blogs on MASN. I have to go back into book marks and change Steve's address...thanks again.
If Matusz brings us a win tonight, I promise I'll never criticize the multi-headed troll (B-O/jack/paul/doriang/jeissca) again.
andy alienated the fanbase? Are you being serious right now? Roch, is brummie being serious right now with that comment? Don't even get me started...the attendance has been on a decline since 2002. Was Andy here then? No.
Ok so we've lost our "Spark Plug" in the batting line-up, that is B. Rob, for theh next 15 days. I understand that we've got a bunch a guys who can hit in various parts of the line-up, and I'm ok with moving things around, but what do you think about putting some sort of consistency at the lead-off spot - keep Lugo there as much as possible? Lead off is a tricky spot to bat, and very important to the success of this ball club. I think Lugo is the best, most experienced, option we have at lead-off - he's not the quickest, but he can get on base when he needs to...rotating between Lugo, Pie, and Izturas confuses their approach to batting.
Your comment is correct that attendance typically goes down after opening day because for most games it is a weekday. The Orioles managed a shockingly low attendance number for the second game of their homestand on a Saturday! Tons of empty seats so the 22K is generous. They will have a good attendance figure on Tuesday for the Wieters t-shirt if that helps your case. Baltimoreans do like swag.
I think Library Steve hit it head on. There is just something about DT that is a bit off in terms of leadership style. The content of his language is typically not too far off base. He is extremely good-natured. I think he hates to lose. He is a reasonable evaluator but gets stuck in formulas and cares about what others think of him including players. I guess I would say he is too "soft" for the type of change that is required to start winning and making tough moves to get the team going. I don't think he has the credibility to change his style this late in the game. Tough to go from "mentor" to "boss."
There are failings to go around and lots of positives. Starting pitching has been respectable. Middle relief outside of Meredith has been good. Hitting- mixed results and no key hits. Tracy's comment sums up my feelings about the Crow. When is the last time we hit behind a runner during a hit and run? Hit the ball hard??? Okay, what does one usually try to do. This team struggles with situational baseball. They do not play an intelligent brand of baseball. I hope that changes because that is needed if we want to emulate the Twins or A's.
Roch--I know we disagree on this but I truly believe the team has forgotten the little things that make a winning ball club. The attention to detail, execution feeling like you are going to win instead of waiting for something to go wrong. I mentioned it then and was told I was wrong but I will mention it again that Spring Training win/losses do matter when a team needs to learn what it takes to win. After 12 years of losing as an organization the team is always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Learning to win is important--I remember when the Ravens were coming off a poor season and Brian Billick endorsed the 4-0 preseason record as important to the team mentality and believing that they are good enough to win. I agreed with Billick then and continue to endorse the mentality--Winning is contagious for a team like the Orioles--even if it comes during Spring Training. Spring Training wins doesn't guarantee success but it sure can help a losing mentality.
Just like with Roch, they changed the url and didn't put a re-direct on the old address. I guess they didn't think people might actually bookmark the blogs. You'll find Steve Melewski here: http://masnsports.com/steve_melewski/
Hate to dissapoint you Paul but Guthie is pitching tonight.
Can't say the 1-5 start isn't disappointing. Who wouldn't be disappointed. But I take comfort in the fact it is 1-5, and not 10-50. It's a long season and there's plenty of time to turn things around. Roch, you asked where this team will be by early May. How about 12-16? Heck, I'll even take 11-17 knowing full well there is still lots of time to turn things around and finish with the 79 wins I'm expecting for 2010.
Right now, I'm not even reading any of the comments because I know the jackals are out in full force. Let them have their day. It's real easy to spew all over a team when they are down, especially when your prime motivation is to constantly prove you are right. Geez, anybody can play that game.
Let's hope Roberts heals quickly and Gonzalez gets straightened out in the next few days. The clutch hitting will come around. It's juat a matter of time. Things can turn on a dime in this game. Trembley is right. Start a new streak tonight guys.
Pass the ladle... time for another glass of orange kool-aid. A silly little 1-5 start isn't going to shake my faith in this organization.
We had a clean up hitter slip through our fingers a few years ago because we couldn't close the deal on AGon.To get a legit clean up hitter you either have to overpay through the nose and then some or give up a couple young pitchers. I'd be willing to throw Jones in to get one. I think Waring is our best hitting prospect right now but he has no where to break in at Norfolk even if he tears Bowie up.Snyder is roping too,would rather see him at 1st than Atkins.The bad part about Roberts being out is more Pie and his goofy swings.That puts Reimold on the bench and hurts our power potential.Just because Pie's fast doesn't mean he's a good lead of hitter.
Wow, I am amazed at how many people are turning on the O's just six games into the season. I like many of you am not happy with how things are going but it sounds like some of you are ready to fire the whole team and just start over. It sucks that we have started 1-5 but to be honest did any of you think the O's would go all season without a bad stretch. If you try to tell me you thought this team could go all year without a 1 and something or a 2 and something stretch you are lieing to yourself and everyone else.
I think everyone needs to settle down and stop buying into all the crap Paul and Brummie keep spilling, including some of there other names. It is a long season and for most of us we were thinking a return to 500 baseball would be a good turn around this year and a reason to be happy. What has changed from that thinking, I still feel the O's will be right around that 80 win mark. They are just a little snake bitten right now but they will shake that and play better as the weeks go by. Have a little faith people and don't just ship just yet if you are looking for the same realistic goals as I am this year. They can and still will happen.
Also for all of you who want to fire the Crow all I can say is just stop because that would be a dumb knee jerk reaction. Two or three months down the road and the entire team is still struggling, which it won't be, then maybe we need to talk but until then just take a chill pill. Two reason's I am saying this: I do not know the exact numbers but I think the O's were in the top three if not the best team when it came to batting average with runners in scoring postion during 2009. So now we come out of the gate struggling in the first six games and you all want to say the Crow stinks and needs to go. But through 162 games last year he did a really good job and had this team hitting in the clutch. To those of you who want to fire someone like this all I can say is you need to wake-up and pay attention. The Crow knows how to hit and knows how to teach it and it is proven. Go back the last twelve years of losing, I think you all know where to point the finger when it comes to the losing and this pitching, pitching, and some more pitching.
Be patient people, you will start seeing some more wins.......
Agree w/ posters that think Trembley threw Miggi under the bus. That ball was an in between hop w/ topspin - a much tougher play than the ball Jones dropped in center that went for a double a couple games back in fact.
IMO, even had Tejada's error been egregious, its the first of the year for the team, and should not be mentioned by the manager as the reason for the loss. DT is trying to deflect any blame that might fall on him for not going to get Millwood after a man got on. There's always going to be second guessers Trembley, deal with it and don't dork out. Blaming the player for a physical error is bush league.
I wrote McPhail in October to go after Kouzmaoff, 3b for Padres; he went for very little to As and is their #4 hitter. To all of those who say get better FA, realize they do not want to come to a loser. Watched Gonzales last yr in ATL...don't expect too much. But issue is what everyone agrees on...still no clutch hitting and starting pitching improving it's time for very much needed Orioles Magic! Trembly,McPhail,Kranitz and Crowley are not rbi men so condeming them will not change the picture. The top Os closers are hurt; Koji and Mickolio...their healthy returns spell relief.
-- Roch: Has anyone bothered to find out when the last time a closer blew TWO Opening Day games in the same week was? Of course, it happened to Gonzo just last week, but that is most likely a record of some sort.
-- This offense the Orioles have is the real problem. They've pitched well enough to win every game except Friday's, and they were ahead in that one. I'm still confident this will get turned around. Win a couple against Tampa and everything will look shiny and new again.
In regards to Miggy's error, Joe Angel was adamant that it was a hit. In fact he refused to score it as an error on his score sheet.
TruthBeTold - Many criticize Crowley b/c he has been on the club for all of their losing seasons. Part of rebuilding is culture change. That involves bringing in new coaches, people in management, scouts etc. Its basically doing things differently. The O's have made some strides but still need to make some changes in my opinion. Im sure Crowley is a very nice man, but the O's approach & situational hitting at the plate is awful. Many cannot bunt & refuse too...that falls on management. I said last year, I would like to have seen the O's hire Dave Magadan at manager. Magadan knows the AL east as Boston's hitting coach & their guys always know what to do at the plate. Just watch them. I hate to bash on an old lifer like Crowley, but I think the game has passed him by.
Brummie, I still think McPhail is doing a solid job. He inherited a dumpster fire. We have infrastructure now. Its agonizing but in this day & age it takes a looonnngg time to rebuild. It could be alot quicker if ownership were willing to pony up. Based on what this town has been through, ownership should have pony'd up for Tex...Im talking 200 mill.
Although it appears that the O's hitters always swing at the first pitch, well it turns out according to baseball-reference.com that the O's hitters swing at the first pitch 23% of the time which is exactly the average percentage for AL teams. The three teams with the highest percentage are Toronto, Tampa, and Texas at 29%, 28%, and 27% respectively. However, the O's lead the AL in fewest pitches seen per at-bat which stands at 3.65 pitches/at-bat. The league average is 3.88 with the most pitches seen per at-bat going to the Indians (4.17).
http://www.goatriders.org/archives/2006/09/the_case_agains.html
Has anyone seen this??
I hope it is not a sign of what is to come from Andy here in Baltimore.
Sorry for jumping the gun and wanting Matusz to pitch tonight. I am just as hungry and anyone for a win. So shame on me for being one day off.
The fact is......how many feel confident with Guthrie taking the mound tonight.
Sorry but my confidence just went out the window when one poster pointed it out, "tonight is Guthrie's turn in the rotation"
: (
No matter how you slice it, Trembley thru Tejada under the bus. Then back up and over him a few times!
Brummie/Paul/Jack,
Well the Nestor cronies are coming out again. Same old story from you guys. You post under many aliases and act like the Majority wants Angelos to sell and MacPhail to be fired. Why don't you do another walkout again. That was a real intelligent thing to do, that showed them.
You talk about signing a clean up hitter, who would you have signed? Holliday? He got 7 years for 120 million which means we would had to have beat that. Jason Bay got 4 for 66 million, we would had to beat that too. Both were grossly over paid and both teams will be trying to dump those salaries in 3 years with no takers so they will have to eat money to get rid of them.
Brummie, you made a comment about Jack Webb sticking to talking baseball. Most of his post was about baseball, but of course you don't address his facts, to go after the last sentence he has which is about you personally, well buddy, you attack alot of people here personally so go look in the mirror.
You have no creditability, I ask you to meet me at a game, you never show, you say you see Roch but don't say anything, I give you my email and tell you send me a picture of you by a landmark in Berlin, I never get one. Roch ask you to send an article with proof it is you, he never got it, Your a fraud.
Now back to baseball talk, None of those free agents were top tier players last winter, not one would have put us over the top, but you would have beat Boston for Lackey, St. Louis for Holliday, and New York Mets for Bay. Then to pay for them you would have had to double ticket prices. Well Nester cronie, the fans from this town would have run you out on a rail.
Are people upset with the start, yes, but at the players, not the management. The Yankees, Red Sox, Tampa, or any other good team will go 1 and 5 sometime during the season, most all do, we just happen to do it first of the year. Nestor cronie, get over your Angelos and MacPhail hate. Quit using aliases, go root for the Yankees or Red Sox, your not an Oriole fan.
Roch
Moreland is too small to be a starter. They are doing the right thing. He could be like an O's version of Flash Gordon.
A walk is as good as a hit...except when it is not.
Wow! So many inaccuracies in you post.
Frank Francisco of Texas blew 2 saves last week as well.
It's six games. That's 1/27th of the season. I'll admit I'm not thrilled with the 1-5 start, but I'm not going to panic yet, either.
The O's ahve a good team ERA so far. Hopefully, they can keep that up.
RISP... meh. Small sample size. The offense as a whole hasn't started off well, so it stands to reason they won't be hitting well with RISP.
Wrong. EVERYONE is upset about the team's play. How can you not be? However, some people approach the team's problems with common sense and without an agenda.
Sorry, not Steve, but still want to reply. NOBODY is expecting the attendance to be anything special outside of opening day and Yankee and Red Sox games when The Yard is overun with the opposing team's fans. That is the effect of 12 straight losing seasons. McPhail, however, has only been here for 2 and a half. You are simply making things up when you say that McPhail is allienating large portions of the fanbase. McPhail, IMO, has done more to shore up the organization (yes, despite the W/L record) than anybody since Gillick. This is due mostly, I assume, to the autonomy his is given by Angelso. Previous GM's were not given this autonomy. Win or lose, I for one, am excited to watch this team on a nightly basis because of the young talent, which was largely assembled by Andy McPhail. And, we have a ton more, granted it is disproportionately on the pitching side, coming up through our Minor League system. You choose to ignore all of this.
Well mastermind Rich D since you inserted my name in your post, what excuse are you going to drum up for Tex not signing here?
We low balled him and he told us to pound sand. What if we would have offered what the Yanks did in the EARLY part of the process? Hmmmmm, now come up with the excuse he never wanted to play here? The fact is, MacFail low balls every FA or waits until the crop has been picked and then cries the blues because nobody wanted to come here. When it comes to " FREE AGENTS " the Orioles are CHEAP! They wont live up to their end of the bargain. We grow the pitchers and sort of buy the bats, until we see their asking price!
What a sick excuse for a fan. Nothing more then a follower!
I agree. A 2.62 CAREER ERA is pitiful. You're quite the scout!
LAUGHABLE!
HAHAHAHHAAHAH
Everybody hear that? Brummie is a "die hard" fan. LAUGHABLE AT BEST!
Need a new phone book to see over that steering wheel? Maybe one day the training wheels will come off.
I was taking a page out of your book and thriving on sample size!!! You know, since that's ALL you do!!!
Well said Scott.
Uh, Guthrie starts tonight. DOH, you did it again! What was your "favorite" team again? I forgot.
We have to improve this time around vs the Rays. We can't be 1-8 in the division and expect that to pick up when we play the Yankees and Red Sox. Whatever testicular fortitude they show when they play the Yankees and Red Sox they need to find it and play this series with.
I guess you could say the pitchers are ahead of the batters right now.
So what if Dave Trembley threw Tejada under the bus. Tejada deserved that for all those plays he took off Tejada 1.0 when Dave couldn't say anything to him. That cost us the game and if Tejada 2.0 continues to screw up will cost DT his job. The time for covering up mistakes is over. He makes that play and Big Mo is still on our side going into the ninth. Millwood gets a breather and we possibly win the game.
If it takes a little "red headed Rudy" to get this team back on the right track then so be it... start Turner. I'd put in my all hustle team tonight. That means Turner, Pie, Reimold get the start and anyone else that wants to keep up with that level of enthusiasm is allowed to stay in the line up. I think Miggi would want a shot at redemption, I think Markakis can't wait to step it up.
Prediction of the day... Nick hits Eutaw Street tonight. Lock it up.
Like drtomfowler, I'm not happy, but geez, all six of these games were BALLGAMES. Last year at this point, they were 4-2, but two of the losses were absolute blowouts and three of five starters were total question marks (Simon, Hendrickson, EATON). Yes, they're not winning one-run games, but the starters and middle-relief are looking good. If the starting pitching holds up this year like it has these first six games, and they still finish 78-84 or whatever, Angelos needs to go shopping in the off-season for some big expensive bats. And next year, we'll contend.
And if the O's DON'T hit the free agent market hard for 2011, OK, then I'm on Brummie's side!
Not that 1 week is a true barometer, & I hope he improves, he HAS to, BUT I did say UTOH & SWWWWWING & a miss when they $igned Gonzalez to close.
A few better ones were still available then too...Velvarde & Capps for instance. He has had injury trouble & been traded twice before becoming an FA. He is better as a setup guy to face mostly lefties. That's what they get for going after the cheaper ,1 yr stopgap attempt. Velvarde was a bit more but worth it, Capps was cheaper or about the same $$ too.
Things will improve, especially when the good hitters start hitting.
Did Roch take the day off? Of course he's certainly entitled to, but I have nothing to read when I take my breaks(kill time) at work...particularly on Mondays!
Roch,
I like the new site but I was wondering if you could get your IT guys to consider two minor changes.
1. Add the next entry - previous entry links to the end of the comments section. It would make navigation much easier for those who try to read the comments.
2.Set up the comments section similar to that of the MLB trade rumors website. It allows for replies to be tabbed below the original comment rather than the chronological order we currently we have. I think this would help a great deal to organize the "conversations" we attempt to have. It would allow the intelligent conversations a somewhat separate place to operate. The trolls could comment to each other. It'd be a happier world.
Bad hop for Miggy......O's are snakebit! They need a laugher so they can loosen up at the plate!
Batting average is not the best measure of a hitter, and especially not a team. Runs scored correlates to team OBP (more runners on base provides more scoring chances), and the Orioles' history with Crowley as coach is below league average team OBP and below league average runs scored. This season has started out the same. Most of the hitters are overaggressive. Crowley has always preached aggressiveness at the plate, presumably to limit strikeouts, though in almost every situation a strikeout is just an out, albeit one that requires pitchers to throw a few pitches to a hitter. Plate discipline and making pitchers work have never been mantras for the Orioles, unlike the Yankees and Red Sox.
Team OBP last season - Orioles .332, Yankees .359 (higher than all O's players save Reimold.)
B-o/jack/now shaun--you posted that article last year.
On the one hand, Tejada is leading the team in RBI.
On the other, he will probably lead the team in GIDP if they keep walking Markakis. Do these two need to switch spots in the order?