June and the O's win a series? Maybe they just needed a Summer Solstice
Well, the post-Sammy era is three days old and the Orioles have scored at least six runs in each game. And they said the hitting wasn't Sammy's fault.
After another bullpen meltdown on Tuesday, the Orioles stepped up and won their first series since May. The excruciating month of June that had started at 2-14 (hurts just to say it) now has double the victory total. See guys--it's amazing what Guthrie and Bedard can do with a decent offense. Bedard's hamstring has me concerned as does Tejada's wrist, but we'll have to wait and see. On the other hand, when I didn't hear why he came out, I thought Dave Trembley was playing the "to hell with this, I'm interim manager and out of here anyway--let's let the bullpen blow it sooner!" Actually, the bullpen was very good--almost what the Orioles expected to get for $42M. Chad Bradford with a perfect 7th. Jamie Walker recovered from a Corey Patterson error to strand a leadoff runner at 3rd. And while Ray gave up a run, Patterson should've caught that ball--he slowed up for some reason. Still, 3 IP and 1 run--that's fine by me. Beginning of a new bullpen? Let's hope.
Of course, today's victory couldn't be enjoyed without a little drama. Seems like Joe G. (I won't write his name because everyone has been really discreet about it) doesn't want the Oriole job. Maybe he watched the pen on Tuesday. Maybe he watched John Kruk or the millions of other guys keep ripping the Orioles. Maybe he's heard all the Angelos stories. But given he turned down the Nationals with their impending new ballpark, strong fan base, and future All-Star Ryan Zimmerman, I am not completely surprised. Plus, he brought up his family and Washington and Baltimore aren't exactly on opposite coasts. If they didn't want Washington, I don't see how they'd differ on Baltimore.
The question is: is this really such a bad thing. Mr. G.--oh heck, I'll break the story, it's Joe Girardi--did indeed win Manager of the Year. He did do it with zero payroll and a bunch of kids. But those kids are legit big leaguers and who knows how much credit goes to Girardi. And at the end of the day, he butted heads with the owner and finished under 500. I'll admit that he overachieved--Oriole managers usually do one or the other (with Johnny Oates and Davey Johnson being the only winning managers and the only ones who Angelos didn't seem to like). So would Girardi have been good here? Miguel Tejada is a long way from Hanley Ramirez and managing them is a huge difference. Even Dave Trembley pointed out that the Orioles need to be grateful for the opportunity to play major league baseball. A young hungry team like the 2006 Marlins don't have that problem. They've been riding busses to no-name towns in the deep south for years. They're in the Show. Motivation is not an issue. No, Girardi needs to tell Jay Gibbons to quit swinging at the first pitch and not be laughed at when Gibbons reminds him that he has 4 years left on his contract at $5M/per. Is that a Girardi thing? I don't know. Personally, I smell a Lee Mazzili.
Who should take this job? Someone with experience. Someone not afraid of being unpopular. Someone who'll anger the ace or the star player and not lose the clubhouse for it. Someone who has won in the past, but won't stick it in anyone's face (like Mazzili did with the "Yankee Way", which rubbed the people the wrong way). Dusty Baker had a good run in San Francisco and nearly took the Cubs to the Series. I'd consider him. Davey Johnson. How can you not consider him? He shouldn't have left in the first place. I know there are a lot of ex-O's who want it, but no one is worthy (except maybe Jim Palmer, the smartest broadcaster I've ever heard, who has no interest in going into the dugout). Sorry Rick Dempsey--you don't have what this team needs. Eddie Murray, you can't even stick as a hitting coach.
So the drama will continue. I don't think it's a mistake to let Trembley go for a little while. Better that than rushing in the wrong guy. Besides, he's on a two-game win streak. Let's see if the Orioles can't exact a little revenge on the D-Backs. Bring on the summer.
After another bullpen meltdown on Tuesday, the Orioles stepped up and won their first series since May. The excruciating month of June that had started at 2-14 (hurts just to say it) now has double the victory total. See guys--it's amazing what Guthrie and Bedard can do with a decent offense. Bedard's hamstring has me concerned as does Tejada's wrist, but we'll have to wait and see. On the other hand, when I didn't hear why he came out, I thought Dave Trembley was playing the "to hell with this, I'm interim manager and out of here anyway--let's let the bullpen blow it sooner!" Actually, the bullpen was very good--almost what the Orioles expected to get for $42M. Chad Bradford with a perfect 7th. Jamie Walker recovered from a Corey Patterson error to strand a leadoff runner at 3rd. And while Ray gave up a run, Patterson should've caught that ball--he slowed up for some reason. Still, 3 IP and 1 run--that's fine by me. Beginning of a new bullpen? Let's hope.
Of course, today's victory couldn't be enjoyed without a little drama. Seems like Joe G. (I won't write his name because everyone has been really discreet about it) doesn't want the Oriole job. Maybe he watched the pen on Tuesday. Maybe he watched John Kruk or the millions of other guys keep ripping the Orioles. Maybe he's heard all the Angelos stories. But given he turned down the Nationals with their impending new ballpark, strong fan base, and future All-Star Ryan Zimmerman, I am not completely surprised. Plus, he brought up his family and Washington and Baltimore aren't exactly on opposite coasts. If they didn't want Washington, I don't see how they'd differ on Baltimore.
The question is: is this really such a bad thing. Mr. G.--oh heck, I'll break the story, it's Joe Girardi--did indeed win Manager of the Year. He did do it with zero payroll and a bunch of kids. But those kids are legit big leaguers and who knows how much credit goes to Girardi. And at the end of the day, he butted heads with the owner and finished under 500. I'll admit that he overachieved--Oriole managers usually do one or the other (with Johnny Oates and Davey Johnson being the only winning managers and the only ones who Angelos didn't seem to like). So would Girardi have been good here? Miguel Tejada is a long way from Hanley Ramirez and managing them is a huge difference. Even Dave Trembley pointed out that the Orioles need to be grateful for the opportunity to play major league baseball. A young hungry team like the 2006 Marlins don't have that problem. They've been riding busses to no-name towns in the deep south for years. They're in the Show. Motivation is not an issue. No, Girardi needs to tell Jay Gibbons to quit swinging at the first pitch and not be laughed at when Gibbons reminds him that he has 4 years left on his contract at $5M/per. Is that a Girardi thing? I don't know. Personally, I smell a Lee Mazzili.
Who should take this job? Someone with experience. Someone not afraid of being unpopular. Someone who'll anger the ace or the star player and not lose the clubhouse for it. Someone who has won in the past, but won't stick it in anyone's face (like Mazzili did with the "Yankee Way", which rubbed the people the wrong way). Dusty Baker had a good run in San Francisco and nearly took the Cubs to the Series. I'd consider him. Davey Johnson. How can you not consider him? He shouldn't have left in the first place. I know there are a lot of ex-O's who want it, but no one is worthy (except maybe Jim Palmer, the smartest broadcaster I've ever heard, who has no interest in going into the dugout). Sorry Rick Dempsey--you don't have what this team needs. Eddie Murray, you can't even stick as a hitting coach.
So the drama will continue. I don't think it's a mistake to let Trembley go for a little while. Better that than rushing in the wrong guy. Besides, he's on a two-game win streak. Let's see if the Orioles can't exact a little revenge on the D-Backs. Bring on the summer.
posted by sandyk at
8:12 PM
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