Hanging tough vs. Angels is good, but a series win would've been heavenly
After seeing the L.A. Angels up close this past weekend, I'll tell you---they're good. Their starting pitching is dominating, and their offense is powerful.
Heading to Angels Stadium on Sunday, I ran into a baseball executive who said he believes they're the best all-around ballclub this year in the American League, and he said that while their best hitter Vladimir Guerrero is in a slump.
By the way---since when did Dominican mothers start giving their babies Slavic names? The name Vladimir isn't exactly of Hispanic origin. That one has always baffled me. Maybe Mrs. Guerrero was a huge fan of Eastern bloc countries.
Losing yesterday's game 6-5 and therefore losing the entire series, was very tough for the Orioles. They battled back despite an outing in which Steve Trachsel lasted just three innings. The bullpen was phenomenal especially AAA call-up Lance Cormier who pitched three scoreless innings. The O's offense broke out of a team wide slump and came up with 15 hits. However, some very bad base-running in the first inning unquestionably cost the Birds the game. The opportunities were there, but of the 15 hits only 5 runners came in to score.
Winning a series on the road over the top team in the AL West would have been huge for the Orioles. It was tough to come that close to such a huge momentum-building win and have to walk away with the series loss.
As for Steve Trachsel, Dave Trembley says he will have to talk to pitching coach Rick Kranitz about his position in the rotation. It's not an easy decision, because however tempting it is to give a young arm like Jim Johnson or Matt Albers the spot in the rotation, Trembley says he likes what they've done out of the bullpen and would like to keep them where they are. It would be very good for their development and confidence to keep them in a position where they can succeed.
On the other hand, the Orioles can't afford to have Trachsel exit in the 3rd or 4th inning, as he has in three our of his last four starts. That would put too much of a strain on the bullpen. Another issue to consider is the fact that Adam Loewen's status is still up in the air and until he's back in the rotation, the O's might have to stick with Trachsel. They brought the 14-year veteran in to eat up innings. The hope is that he can find his command and do just that.
Amber you are doing a great job this year and it's noticable your more comfortable and growing into the job.Your writing here is very articulate also.
The problem is none of the Balto. media is calling Trembley into account for letting the players slide after games like yesterday. He has this 24 hour cooling off period before he adresses things but yesterday should have been an exception.He should have had a closed door and aired it out.That was a total embarassment yesterday and if Trembley is going to be a complete manager he has to ream butt sometimes.
I understand that you, Jeff,Roch and others want to stay on thier good side for interviews but there's times when they need to be hounded about things like team meetings after yesterdays game.
You are correct. Taking 2 of 3 would of been nice and sent the team to 17-14, 16-15 is tougher to take.