Baltimore Sports Then and Now

Team president Andy MacPhail may not have noticed yet, but the barn is definitely on first for the 2010 Baltimore Orioles.

Less than two weeks ago, Baltimore Orioles president Andy MacPhail said that the team was in no hurry to hire a new manager because “it’s not like the barn is on fire right now. The players are doing a nice job for Juan [Samuel].”

Over the last two weeks, the Orioles have won just two of 13 games and suddenly there is again reasonable doubt as to whether the Orioles can muster enough victories over the final two months of the season to avoid eclipsing the modern record for baseball futility established when the New York Mets went 40-120 during their inaugural 1962 season.

So, my question to Mr. MacPhail is whether the barn is burning now?

The energy the team showed early in the tenure of interim manager Juan Samuel has disappeared.

Since staging a dramatic comeback on July 20th to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 11-10 in 13 innings, the Birds have managed just one win in eight games and been outscored 52-20. Read the rest of this entry →

Despite their struggles in 2010, the Orioles have won seven games in extra innings.

After finally becoming the last team to reach 30 victories in 2010 with a dramatic extra inning win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, the Baltimore Orioles can now set their sights toward continuing to improve over the final two and a half months of the season as they try to avoid a 100 loss season.

It might seem like a long-shot considering that they would have to win 33 of their final 69 games (.478) to accomplish that goal after playing at a .322 clip through the first 93 contests.

However, though victories have not been plentiful so far in 2010, the Orioles have shown an unusual fortitude for late game comebacks and that might be something they can build on over the final two months.

What the Orioles desperately need is a spark, both on and off the field.

If Andy MacPhail finally gets off his duff and brings in a new manager and Brian Roberts and Matt Wieters are able to get back to top form when they return from the disabled list, they could give Baltimore the push they need.

The rumor has been that Buck Showalter would be named the manager of the Orioles sometime before the end of July. Some speculation has been that MacPhail was waiting until after Roberts and Wieters returned to the lineup so Showalter could have his lineup at full strength.
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Andy MacPhail doesn't see the urgency around hiring a new manager for the Orioles.

We all know that Baltimore Orioles’ president Andy MacPhail is known for being methodical and calculating in his rebuilding process, but at some point he has to start making decisions and signal to fans that the team understands that they can’t take forever to rebuild the franchise.

In case MacPhail hasn’t noticed, it has been 13 years since the Orioles were last a legitimate contender in the AL East and a beautiful ballpark that once was filled nightly with legions of fans is now filled on a regular basis with lots of empty seats.

Even with such a long string of losing seasons, the Orioles still have a solid national fan base that remains loyal and committed to the team. However, with every disappointing season and decision that seems to prolong the mediocrity it becomes harder for fans to believe that there is anything other than an oncoming train at the end of the tunnel.

It has been more than six weeks since MacPhail fired beleaguered manager Dave Trembley and inserted Juan Samuel as the interim skipper. With a 14-21 record and two winning streaks of four games, Samuel has at least brought some respectability back after an embarrassing start to the 2010 season. However, this is a team that needs a new direction and someone from the outside to come in and provide a spark.

MacPhail has made it clear that he is in no rush to bring in a new manager and has indicated that he is pleased with how the players have responded to Samuel. Check out this quote from Orioles Insider in an article in which MacPhail refutes those who say the process is dragging.

“Again, there is no timetable here. It’s not like the barn is on fire right now. The players are doing a nice job for Juan. I just think that kind of [talk] is just wrong.”

Excuse me Andy, but while the barn may not be on fire, as the man in charge you shouldn’t need reminding that the roof to the barn has caved in, all the animals are gone and the house and fields have been burning for years. Read the rest of this entry →

I want to start this piece by making it clear that I have been a loyal fan of the Baltimore Orioles for 40 years and hope to be a fan for another 40 years. While Tommy Lasorda may bleed Dodger blue, I bleed Orioles’ Orange.

For that reason, the start to the 2010 season has to be about as disappointing and disheartening as anything I have experienced during my long journey as a fan of the O’s.

Considering that I still have nightmares about the collapse in the 1979 World Series and endured lots of strange looks when I wore an Orioles shirt to parties during the 21-game losing streak to start the 1988 season, you can get a sense of just how hard it is to take the current state of the Birds.

All Baltimore fans have struggled with the disappointment of the last decade. It seems that since the O’s lost to Cleveland in the 1997 AL Championship Series the team has been going around in circles while the rest of baseball has been moving ahead.

Those of us who have followed the Orioles for decades still remember when we were even with, or for a long time ahead of, the Yankees and Red Sox. The biggest rivalry in the American League East in the 1970s and early 1980s wasn’t the Red Sox and Yankees, it was the Orioles and Yankees.

But now the gap between the Orioles and their two division rivals seems wider than the Grand Canyon. And to make it worse, the upstarts from Tampa, who despite the fact that they have a very good team can’t even get 15,000 people to a game on a regular basis, have also moved past the Orioles.

Like many other Orioles bloggers and fans, I have spent the last year in a state of cautious optimism. Read the rest of this entry →

Dave Trembley will have the chance to yell at more umpires in 2010.

At first reaction, the announcement on Friday that the Baltimore Orioles have retained the services of manager Dave Trembley for the 2010 season seems like a head-scratcher.

After all, typically in professional sports the fate of a manger is judged by wins and losses and in that area Trembley has failed miserably. Since Trembley became manager of the O’s midway through the 2007 season he has posted a 169-244 record and the team’s winning percentage has declined each season.

But, managing the Baltimore Orioles the last couple years as the team looks to build for the long haul has not been your typical job.

“When we embarked on this process, we made a commitment to our system to get as much young talent in there as we could,” said team president Andy MacPhail. “We knew when we made the trades that we made it would be a short term pain for us.

“While the win-loss record is obviously important, Dave’s primary job was to get as many talented young kids up here and have them grow and develop as major leaguers. In our judgment he did that. He absolutely did those things that were important.”
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Andy MacPhail has made some great moves since joining the Orioles, but continuing to make big moves will be crucial if the Orioles hope to become contenders.

As the Baltimore Orioles complete another disappointing season and prepare for 2010, there are five key questions that team president Andy MacPhail must answer.

Can The O’s Contend in 2010?
Before any other decisions about the team’s future can be addressed, MacPhail and the Baltimore front office must assess the team and realistically determine if they think the Orioles are capable of being a contender in 2010. If so, then they should be much more aggressive in the off-season looking for the final pieces to help the Orioles challenge in the toughest division in the game.

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