Rehabbing Orioles
Chris Ray and Greg Aquino each threw a scoreless inning, with two strikeouts, at Aberdeen. Ray allowed two hits.
Garrett Olson started tonight for Triple-A Norfolk and allowed five runs (four earned) and nine hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out five.
Newly acquired reliever Gary Knotts replaced Olson and tossed two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, walking a batter and striking out two.
Should Orioles manager Dave Trembley have ordered an intentional walk to Xavier Nady with first base open in the eighth inning and let Jamie Walker face the next two batters, left-handers Hideki Matsui and Robinson Cano, instead of bringing in Kam Mickolio to face Nady?
Mickolio's first pitch went to the backstop, and Ramon Hernandez's underhand flip - bad choice - arrived too late with the rookie right-hander covering the plate. Nady then singled to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead.
It's easy to second-guess now, but hey, that's part of being a fan - and a sportswriter.
No way Walker gets two more outs without at least the tying run scoring. No way.
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Do you think there was a chance? (kidding). - Roch
Every year there are a few games the manager loses for his club, this one Trembley lost for the Orioles. Why bring in a rookie against the yankess, especially a rookie who was shaky in his first outing.
Good frickin' grief!
Can we please get rid of Gary Thorne? I'd rather have Steve Trachsel on the mound.
What the hell kind of call was ... “A-Rod hits a long fly ball to left and ... CAUGHT!. Uh, wait a minute — it's in the stands. A two-run shot! Or is it one?”
Finally Palmer rescues him by explaining what it means when a ball hits the ground and it bounces over the wall. Something called a “ground-rule double,” Gary.
Technically, that’s not right either — Jon Miller taught us all it’s actually an “automatic double.” But I think that's way over Thorne's head.
As I've said hundreds of times before, as a baseball play-by-play guy, Thorne is an excellent NHL announcer. Unfortunately for us Orioles fans who have to suffer to him every day, he continues to prove he knows nothing about baseball.
What is the deal with Trembley using 6 guys out of the pen?
Obviously Walker is done, yet he keeps bringing him out to pitch.
i can say i m not second guessing because as soon as i saw the skipper coming out of the dugout i didn't like it. it's baseball 101 in that situation to walk the righty with the good bat to try and get the next hitter, a lefty with very average or below speed, to ground into a double play. i am a huge supporter of our manager and have been all along but i really think he dropped the ball on this one because giving Nady 4 is something any little league manager would do.
That is a tough call. I have no faith in Walker. He just does not get the job done (his ERA must be high since it seems like he always gives up hits and runs when he enters). He is so bad, I get jumpy when I see him take the mound and expect the worst--no lead is safe when you throw slow stuff right over the middle of the plate. However, the young guy, Mickolio, was clearly in over his head in that situation. He had to be nervous to say the least having pitched only one inning in the majors.
Maybe the best option would have been to keep Cherry in to start the 8th. Hopefully, he could make it through the inning and then hand it over to Johnson in the 9th. I think you want to try and avoid using Walker and Mickolio, but I guess they eventually have to be used or the other guys would be completely worn out.
I don't envy Trembly when you have starters only going three or four innings, your closer and best mid-inning guy (Albers) have injuries, and your bull pen options include some guys who are not pitching well at all--example Walker, Mikolio and Cabrera (Bradford being gone also hurts). How do you make that situtation work?
This one was on Trembley. If you are going to allow Jamie Walker to face A Rod(big mistake) and then he gets Giambi . . . . How could you not intentionally walk Nady to set up the inning ending double play with Matsui. A far better option than bringing in a rookie pitcher in his second career outing.
Let me ask you this Roch. If Lou Montanez were a pitcher, would he have been brought into the game in that situation? The answer is no. Seems to be a major double standard here. Montanez plays every 3-4 days, but Mickolio pitches in each of his first two games as an Oriole. Amber asked Kam what he was thinking in that situation. I'll tell you what he was thinking. He was thinking "what the hell am I doing in this game in this situation".
I'll tell you another guy who was thinking the same thing. Fernando Cabrera. Palmer asked the same question. Why the rookie and not Cabrera who had just pitched three great innings in his last inning. I know, I know. Cabrera got bombed in the ninth. Maybe he wouldn't have if the manager had shown the confidence to use him in a pressure situation in the eighth.
Going back earlier, why take Sarfate out after he had breezed through an inning and a third. Let him pitch the 7th, Cherry the 8th, and Johnson the 9th.
While I'm venting here's two other rules I'd like to see followed late in close games. Never allow David Ortiz(see Monday night/8th inning) to face anyone, but a lefthander in those situations and never let A Rod face anyone but a righthander in the same.
This is what I mean. Liz did pretty well but he gave up 2 home runs and then wasn't the same pitcher. He was doing so well before these home runs.
I still would have wanted Brad Bergesen. And what was that decision by Trembley to leave Walker in!? I immediately knew there was trouble when he was left in to face A-Rod. Do you actually think Walker could get A-Rod out? That's like asking a kid to race against Michael Phelps and win.
I agree with putting Mickolio in that situation. He needs to learn how to pitch in these situations and he only had an inning under his belt. If he gives up runs, so be it. It just means he's learned not to do that again, i.e., the wild pitch and the pitches he made.
Now let's win the last two games!!!!
Thorne also called A-Rod's early double off the left field wall a home run before it hit the wall and landed back in play. He stinks!
Ray and Aquino both looked good last night at Aberdeen...
One thing that didnt look good, was the umpiring, home plate umpire was absolutely terrible...
Gregory McClat didnt do much, afer goin 2-4 the night before..