Roller coaster Dave
There have been some really well articulated speeches made the last few days on the national stage at the Democratic National Convention. But the most entertaining public speaker I have seen has been Dave Trembley and his series of press conferences during the White Sox series.
The emotional roller coaster that is Dave Trembely would be a great addition to any summer amusement park. Bring the kids--he guarantees no profanity, even when oxygen has left him and even when blood flushes his cheeks as he barks at the injustice of a bad umpire call.
This man is passionate. This man is 'the Skipper'. Oh, and make no mistake about it, he's like that crazy uncle that you see once or twice a year at family functions.
After a heartbreaking loss to the Yankees, resulting in the completion of a Yankees sweep of the Birds at Baltimore's Camden Yards, Dave Trembely faced the music as usual in his postgame press conference.
It's his job, as was noted on a recent blog on this site, but he made it known that he was not in a mood to deal with anyone but his team.
Less than 24 hours later, there was Dave Tremebly, holding court at the pre-game presser. The Cheap Seats crew truly looks forward to this and have often speculated that it would be worth making the O's Xtra pregame show an hour to show you folks at home the show that is the Dave Trembley presser.
Some days are dry, filled with the minutia that is baseball for some. And then, there is just another Manic Monday like the one that came at the beginning of White Sox series. Trembely spoke of baseball and meandered on tangents, which included his recent trip to Borders, and a lunch he had with a few old ladies.
At the office, we refer to these moments as 'Trembley bites'. (If you're thinking of creating a breakfast cereal of the same title, think again. The patent is pending and Dave has verbally committed to let us use his image. Okay, only some of that is true.)
This Trembley is the version that seems to enjoy the cat and mouse game with the press, most of which he has created himself and which consists of a victim-like vision of himself. Sometimes he is combative. Sometimes he over-praises his players. ('My heart bled for Millar tonight. I love Millar.') And sometimes he just talks to reporters as if they were catching up over coffee at the in-laws, where the conversation is never more than trivial chitchat, and everyone has a nervous laugh here, an awkward pause there.
The Skipper is indeed a character. And all the while, as you watch him attempt to work a room with perceived pearls of wisdom, ('There's three things that everybody thinks they can do better than everybody else, build a fire, run a hotel, and manage a baseball team'). And then there are times when he cuts off reporters and answers in fragments of sentences, as if he had been prompted to answer the question in three or four words.
You may look at all this and see what I see. I see a good guy, maybe a little too nice, trying to be tough, and still in awe of being a big league manager. Or as Trembley might say, "Ah, respectful. Ah, cares a lot about the players, cares a lot about the game. Tremendous." If the Orioles had a win for every time Trembley used the adjective 'tremendous,' the press would be asking him how he intends to keep the O's sharp with the AL East and home field advantage wrapped up in August.
There was the now infamous press conference from the broken Sunday Streak with the cigar moment that even the Red Sox/Yankee thirsty folks at ESPN found time to squeeze in between A-Rod RBI singles and the latest Dancing with the Stars update.
The guy even stole a moment on 'Regis and Kelly" during a road trip to Yankee Stadium. He has gone on record as not having 'had a diet soda since the season started.' He has said that 'Whole foods coffee is pretty good.' And even informed us that he 'got a new college football magazine today." And that boisterous laugh. Mercy. That toothy squinty eyed grin and an uncanny resemblance to William Shattner. You can argue all day about the ability of Dave Trembley and second guess him 'til you're as red in face as he is when he decides it's 'getting thrown out time'. But the Skipper's press conference is a reminder that Dave is a good guy, and a whole lot of fun to watch and listen to, if you've got your ears tuned to the right frequency.
So I hope you're at home reading this and that you'll continue to enjoy the 'Trembley Bites.' And hopefully, you're enjoying a glass of red wine and an Orioles win. That's what I'm doing. And so is O's 'The Skipper,' Dave Trembley.
Have a favorite 'Trembley bite' or moment of your own? Please share it. For now, as always, Mahalo. - Frenchy (Andre Cormier)
Between the rain delays, day games after night games and split-doubleheaders it's already tough for The Skipper to keep up with the dry-cleaning. That's enough to rock anyone's boat. Great article, Frenchy.