Closer look at Johnson
I'm so banged up from the losing streak, I fully expected Jim Johnson to sail his throw into right field after snatching Akinori Iwamura's tapper with two outs in the ninth inning.
Johnson surrendered another run and put men on the corners before retiring Iwamura and stamping out a 13-game losing streak. Manager Dave Trembley calmly shook hands with his coaches in the dugout. I would have stripped naked and run around the warning track while making airplane noises, but that's just me.
Watching Johnson secure the save convinced me that the closer's role isn't the issue with him. He's just not locating his pitches. He could be the set-up man and still blow leads.
Johnson is known for his heavy, sinking fastball, but he hung another one up in the zone last night that was lined for a hit. Bad location, pure and simple.
I don't think his hands are shaking from nerves. The responsibility isn't weighing on him. He's just in a slump. Pitchers fall into them, too.
Johnson has permitted runs in seven of his last 12 appearances. He's allowed a hit or walk in 33 of his last 39 outings. It's just magnified more when you take the ball in the ninth with a slim lead.
On this date, the Orioles can't count on him to close in 2010. He'll be in the mix if they don't sign or trade for a proven veteran, but he'll have a heavy responsibility no matter his role. And he'll need a fastball to match it.
Yesterday, I gave you the rundown of tonight's Fan Appreciation promotions and goodies. Here's what you can expect tomorrow night:
ORIOLES OKTOBERFEST TANKARD GIVEAWAY - The first 10,000 fans 21 & over to enter the ballpark will receive an Orioles Oktoberfest Tankard courtesy of Guinness.
OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE GIFT CARDS - Scratch-off style gift cards from Outback Steakhouse featuring $300,000 worth of offers and free items will be handed out to all fans as they enter the ballpark.
SHIRTS OFF OUR BACKS - Fans will be randomly chosen to go on the field before the game to receive a game worn and autographed jersey of an Orioles player.
FANS TAKE THE FIELD - Fans will be selected to take the field with an Orioles player for the national anthem, and will receive a baseball signed by the player.
CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCH - One fan will be randomly selected from the Oktoberfest Bullpen Picnic Area to go onto the field and toss out the ceremonial first pitch before the game. (He or she might also be asked to close out games next season).
FAN OF THE GAME CONTEST - The Orioles will select a fan who demonstrates true Orioles spirit to be named "Fan of the Game" and win a 29-game season ticket plan for 2010.
ORIOLES SILENT AUCTION - A silent auction will be held on the main concourse at Gate D beginning when gates open and lasting until 8:30 p.m. The auction will feature sports memorabilia, collectibles and unique experience packages, including an Orioles grab bag that features a ball signed by a current or former Oriole, with a chance of receiving a ball signed by Cal Ripken Jr. or Brooks Robinson. All proceeds of the auction will benefit the Baltimore Orioles Charitable Foundation.
PRIZE GIVEAWAYS EACH INNING - Each inning, one seat location will be selected and announced on the scoreboard, with the lucky fan in that seat winning a prize. Fans should bring their winning ticket to Fan Assistance to claim their prize. Prizes will include: Packages to visit Sarasota, including hotel and resort stays, golf outings, and fishing trips, Southwest Airlines flight vouchers, 2010 Opening Day tickets, 2009 Orioles team signed balls and bats, private ballpark tours, Orioles Prize packs including a $50 MLB gift card, and more.
It's the same deal on Sunday, minus the Oktoberfest tankard.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
***** YES *****
I am proud to announce the O's magic number remains at TWO!
WE FINALLY WON A GAME!
We tried to lose it but there was not enough outs in the last inning.
I guess there is no need to remove Mora from the lineup at this point. If part of the plan was to evaluate talent this year, why did we waste the last month playing a player who serves this team no future benefits? The problem with a plan is when you send mixed signals to the fan base...they tend to lose confidence in your plan. And this fan base has lost confidence in the plan simply by the attendance in the stands and with all the negative talk about fans walking away after this year.
The communication was great this year!
Roch...am I doing better? I didnt mention the GM name now in TWO days!
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I'd high-five you if I could. - Roch
Chris Waters is not and should not be part of this teams future.
His recent start can be summed up by saying pure luck.
If it was agains Boston or a good plate disceplined team, he would have been sacrificed in pieces.
Waters threw 81 pitches with only 40 of them for strikes. He lacks control along with being predictable in the count.
A good hitting team would have capitalized on his inability to command the plate. A typical AAAA player on our roster. Join the ranks of Pie, Berken, Screech, Andino....and so on. This my friends is why we cannot hang with the big boys when we allow little girls to take spots up on our roster. These players are good for AAA filler....that is about it! If you dont have the players...you need to go out and them ....IF and IF
You are committed to winning?
Ha! I had the same reaction, Roch. I wasn't convinced that we had won until Aubrey caught the ball and the ump signaled out! Even then, I was looking for a penalty flag that would call the play back. Oh, wait. That's why you don't have to pay close attention to NFL games anymore. That and the incessant commercials. And replays. And timeouts to no purpose. How many days until spring training?
Good morning Roch. Back in spring training we were going to learn the Japanese language after Koji signed.
Do you have anything for us at the close of the season?
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His prolonged absence sort of ruined those plans. Sayonara. - Roch
Roch,
I think I was the only person in the bar last night that cared that the O's finally got a win, even going so far as to stand up and clap until I got looks asking "what is wrong with that guy?" Here's for ending the season like we started it. 2 out of 3 with a series win against a division opponent at OPACY!
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As if that's the first time you've gotten those looks in a bar :-) Roch
Jack-
I agree with much of what you said, but calling Pie a AAAA player at this stage of his career is absurd...
The guy is 24 years old and did not only succeed, but dominated at every level of the minors and has shown remarkable improvement since this spring.
It would not surprise me at all if he turns out to be the best all around player of all our outfielders in the very near future.
I really believe trading him would be a huge mistake.
If you want to call Aubrey, Castillo, McCrory, Waters, Andino, Fiorentino, Montanez and a slew of others AAAA players, I may agree with you, but let's keep at least a little perspective.
You're probably letting your beef with ANDREW cloud your judgment...
Roch,
Great work this year on the blog. I rarely post but I had to comment on this one... it seemed to good to pass up.
ORIOLES OKTOBERFEST TANKARD GIVEAWAY
Orioles. October. Tank.
The marketing department should have thought that one through a little more, what do you think Roch? Maybe the use of the word mug instead of tank? I'm pretty sure us fans are tired of seeing the Orioles tank in October.
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Happens too often in August and September, too. Heck, I'm just glad they're still playing in October. Unfortunately, it's only for the weekend. - Roch
Schoolman,
JJ was "lights out" last year and early this season. Do you recall if his propensity for giving up a hit per appearance started before George Sherrill left? One hit per appearance evolved to even shakier outings when he became our closer.
I think/hope you are correct that JJ's problems are less related to graduating to closer than they more likely evidence of a slump or mechanical flaw.
OFF TOPIC: OFF-SEASON ACQUISITION
FROM MLDTRADERUMORS.COM: Hank Blalock will become a free agent after the season, and there's no guarantee that the Rangers will want him back. They paid Blalock $6.2MM this year, but they have uncertain payroll flexibility going forward and an abundance of talented position players.
If Blalock hits the market, as expected, he won't be a ranked free agent, so teams won't have to hand over a draft pick to sign him. He can play either corner infield position; the 28-year-old was sharp in about 550 innings at first this year, according to UZR, but played just one game at the hot corner.
But Blalock has made his name at the plate ever since he broke in with a 29 homer season as a 22-year-old. He hit 19 homers in the first half this year, putting up an .854 OPS. Since the break, he's managed just six long balls and his second-half OPS is only .590.
The late summer slump will hurt Blalock this offseason, but some teams should still have interest. The Angels, Mariners, Twins, Orioles and Cardinals could all have openings at third this offseason; the Mets and Braves will need to sign first basemen and the Jays and White Sox are among the teams that could be looking for a DH.
Roch, I've been hearing talk over the past month or so about Nolan R. moving to first base. We have heard talk like this before with Luke Scott, Javey Lopez and now Nolan. Does Nolan have any experience at the position? If not what would make the club think he could when he is coming of an injury. He can not exactly play 1st base in winter ball. Also what do you think our chances might be of picking up Jason Bay next season? Would he be a possible answer at 1st base or is he strictly an outfielder?
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The Orioles aren't planning to move Nolan to first. That's just one option if his Achilles surgery unexpectedly limits him in spring training. But they still view him as a left fielder. He hasn't played first. DH also is possible if they could obtain a left fielder over the winter. I'd love to see Bay here, but I'm never confident about getting guys like him who will want to play for a contender and will command a lot of $$. - Roch
Roch,
Actually tuned in and out to last nights game but I did see the final out! I was watching the WVU vs Colorado game and saw the situation w/ 2 out and figured I had to watch to see what happened. Be nice to finish the season out avoiding the 100 loss record. I really haven't been gauging this team by the W's and L's for the most part but still....its just easier when you don't lose 100 games to do that :-).
Roch-
Is it me, or did this season go very fast considering it was a won/loss disaster? I was thinking about it and it seems like only last week that we were checking here to see what you found out about Tex at the Ravens game with Angelos. And then just a few days ago we looked to see how Koji was throwing on the back fields in FL. Just yesterday we were reading about Wieters coming up. Going by the w/l record this season should have been a lot more painful.
I think that tells us 2 things-
1. All of my recollections revolve around this blog. Either you need to file a restraining order or you're doing a great job keeping the faithful informed.
2. The season was more than the last few weeks showed us. Real talent coming up kept us all interested. Despite a lot of naysayers here, there is a real difference this year vs years' past. Are all the kids going to the all star game? Of course not. But real reason for optimism. We haven't seen that in some time.
It's still good to be an O's fan.
I would like to see that warning track bit if we could compromise on the naked part...
Glad they finally pulled one out last night!
What do you think they will do with the left over tankards?
Roch said: "I would have stripped naked and run around the warning track while making airplane noises, but that's just me."
Would not suggest that -- those security guys tend to be rough on people nowadays and you don't get the TV coverage like in the past.
JJ clearly hasn't had the good sinker. I believe he allowed one HR last year (8 this year), and now he has more K's, fewer walks, but a higher ERA in about the same number of innings.
I think "wild in the zone" would describe a great number of our pitchers this year with the notable exception of Matusz and Bergy (and our dearly departed Sherrill who was wild in the first couple of months). Our walk numbers are better but the HR allowed numbers are crazy.
Our top starter has 10 wins. 10. No other pitcher will finish with over 7 wins. Third highest win total is likely to be 5. Those starting stats are mind-numbing. Decent middle relievers can rack up 5-6 wins usually. The answer is to improve the talent which AM has been trying to do. I just hope we don't do the bare minimum to field a starting lineup. You need 7 ML-ready starters in the fold, not 2. Henandez, Berken, Arrietta, Patton, Hendrickson, etc., can step in but should not be counted on as part of the 5 to start the season. The idea was to make players force their way onto this team. That was far from what happened in 2009 and I don't think we were particularly ravaged by injuries this year. That is reality- players will get hurt. I don't think that is why we will lose close to 100 games.
Mr. Jack -
Well done. And a big thank you.
You touched on a pretty good point about mixed signals. And the Turner no-show all month was a nice reinforcement about the communications point you want to make.
Not that I think I am any expert, but just to give you one fellow reader's suggestion: Your penultimate sentence would have been better and more engaging to other readers without the sarcasm. (instead of 'the communication was great this year!' You might have said "This is a further example of the communication breakdown between the front office and the fans")
The problem with sarcasm is that it assumes that the reader or listner already 100% agrees with your opinion and thus will laugh at the irony behind the sarcasm. Using sarcasm in a case where you are trying to make a point, convince a reader, or even defend an opinion to folks who you know disagree will simply result in antagonizing the reader or listener.
Just my humble opinion. That being said, I finally got your point about communication through your latest post. Andy has done a lot of PR about the plan. And Dave T has done a lot of communication also. But there have, indeed, been multiple unfortunate instances where actions have run completely counter to some parts of the communications.
Andy DID say he would improve the starting pitching. DT DID say Mora would play 2-3 (or maybe it was 3-4) times per week. Both, I believe, DID stress that sound fundamentals would be the hallmark of the team. DT said that Scott WOULD get a good look at 1st Base. (I think he has started only 8 games there all year). They DID tell us that Matt Wieters would get 5-6 starts per week. (he has gotten 4.5). etc.
By the way, I never minded the poetry. Bad poetry has been a tradition in my house. And yours brought back some funny memories. And the poems gave you a chance to remind us of your prediction and the O's unbelievable progress towards it without simply repeating the same exact sentence over and over.
I am sure that some other posters will want to continue the bashing and will never believe a guy can change. And I am not thinking, by any means that they, nor you, will care too much about my opinions here. But, I did want to thank you for what seems a sincere attempt to rein it in a bit and avoid the worst of the pitfalls.
Just another in my long history of incredibley short posts! (the sarcasm works better here because it is universally understood that I post way way too long. So the sarcasm does not insult anyone who disagrees, nor does it confuse or irritate someone who is trying to make up their mind.)
How can this be?
Is Jack on day 3
of writing commments that are useful to me?
It is causing a smile
that he did all this while
he's the only one who foresaw the 100 loss pile.
Roch, the win last night was great, but I was really glad to see the Seinfeld post from last night. The show’s been off the air for 11 years and people still recite the lines and talk about it. The one phenomenon I’ve noticed, though, is that there are more and more people, particularly adults now in their 20s, who have never watched the show. I have trouble communicating with people unfamiliar with Seinfeld. It’s like we’re from different lands, speak different languages.
I have to agree with Brummie that the episode with the black market shower heads is a great one and one of my favorites. Low flow? I don’t like the sound of that!
And, of course, Seinfeld had the baseball connection with, mostly, George’s job with the Yankees (though it popped up at other times—like the Keith Hernandez set of episodes). When someone on the O’s goes through a long streak of not hitting well—like say Luke Scott this year—I’m often reciting one of Buck Showalter’s lines at the tv screen: someone’s been messing with Tartabull’s swing.
Roch, as for the game last night, I had the same feelings as you. I needed full visual confirmation that Johnson tossed the ball and Aubrey caught it before the runner arrived. Before that, I was thinking, bases clearing hit, three-run homer. Anything that spelled the O’s losing.
In 1989 at this point, we needed to win two out of three against Toronto to force a tie and a playoff game. Now, we need to win two out of three just so we don’t lost 100 games. Can you feel the magic in the air?
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And let's not forget George getting fired for having sex on his desk with the cleaning woman. (the red dot on the white sweater episode)
"Who told you that?'
"She did."
(pauses) "Is that wrong? Because if it is, I've got to plead ignorant."
And George saving the whale. It doesn't get much better than when he pulled the golf ball out of his pocket. The way he set up that story was classic. - Roch
JJ sure makes it exciting, as did Sherrill on many, many occasions.
Roch,
If DT is relieved of his duties (or reassigned to another position within the organization) at season's end, is there any chance the O's would consider bringing back Davey Johnson? I read that Johnson expressed interest in the O's managerial postion after Perlozzo was fired a few years back...
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He didn't. He was asked about it and didn't seem to appreciate the question. I think it would be a real long shot. - Roch
Jack,
I doubt that five readers here believe that you are a true Os fan. You are an attention monger who puts down one of the most competent baseball executives this team has known in hopes of making yourself look good. Remember that on this date you said you are proud of the Os. I'm sure you'll deny it in your next breath.
Jim
Roch,
I hear we are meeting at the Bud Light Warehouse Bar 6 pm on Saturday.
Am I invited? While we are there, any chance you could get me upstairs in the Warehouse? Is a "Will Pitch for Beer" sign too desperate?
Roch:
Your assessment of Johnson is right on; not enough well located strikes and pitches that look like strikes to the batter but aren't. That was Jim Johnson last year and why he was so successful. It's either a mechanical or mental problem. Hopefully he can regain that next year or it'll be sayonara!
I was waiting for a wild pitch to allow the tying run to score. Just worn down and like everyone else, expect the worst at this point. Lots of options in the off season for a closer so that he can go back to his comfort zone.
jackdunn'sbaby:
If you look at Blalock's #s, Scott's are as good if not better, esp. OBP. I don't think he is worth going after as he is lefty and not much of an improvement unless Scott gets traded.
Uggla is the man to get, for 3rd base next year. The Marlin's don't want to pay his arbitration #. Also, ala Pie, they could get Josh Fields really cheap from the Sox and hope he turns it around. I'd rather give him the ABs than Wigginton while splitting time with Scott at 1st. But a solid DH (Guerrero, Abreu, Branyon, Dye)would also help if they can convince someone to sign. That is if they do not go with Scott as DH and platoon Aubrey with Wigginton.
Lots of work and lots of options to choose from outside the organization.
Roch,
Short of the Oktoberfest, are all of the fan appreciation deals on tonight, or is it just Saturday and Sunday?
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Not sure I understand the question. It's all three games, plus the tankards tonight. - Roch
I heard on the MASN post-game show that Jim Johnson still wants to be a starter. I think Dave Johnson said he thought it would be a good idea too on the Tom Davis show Saturday. I think Dave's point was it would allow him to better mix all of his pitches. If the Orioles do not get an established pitcher, and Chris Ray rebounds in spring training, could JJ be given a chance to start again?
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It would be an abrupt turnaround if he starts, because the Orioles have stated repeatedly that he's a reliever now and they don't have any plans to put him back in the rotation. - Roch
I liked Palmer's & Thorne's running debate/whine about driving to Sarasota next spring for games. Thorne was happy because he lives there. Figures he is a snowbird.
Hey, why didn't Palmer tell Thorne the only way he will be there is if he has a ticket... if I heard Palmer whine about coming from Palm Beach one more time I was turning the channel.... OK cakes, we get it, you live in PB, BFD....
Johnson can't be the closer next year. I hope AM has Wagner, Velvarde, Hoffman, & a few others on speed dial already!
Pie... can't count on him, too injury prone at 24. 4th or 5th OFer. He'll be in traction by the time he is 30. Frankly, I have liked Florentino from what I have seen. can hit a little & play good OF D. He hasn't once held the ball while a runner ran home or thrown the ball to nowhere as guys raced around the bases either. Very refreshing to not have to hold one's breath every time the ball is hit his way.
Too many favorite Seinfeld scenes to pick a favorite, but Kramer busting into Jerry's apt and slamming the cash on the counter while saying "I'm out", is great (Master of My Domain episode)
Johnsons problems started long before he was moved into the closers role. I don't think it has anything to do with the pressure, there's something wrong with him mechanically. Hopefully he can turn it around next year, but the O's better have a back up plan just in case.
For those of you who continue to disparage the play of Felix Pie you should look at the number taken from mlb.com that are given below. The first line after the player's name shows performance prior to the All Star break and the second line is after the All Star break. It can clearly be seen that not only did Pie improve substantially in the second half of the season but he also out performed Adam Jones during that time. These are the numbers, I'll let the readers draw their own conclusions.
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
Felix Pie
42 107 15 25 3 2 2 8 10 27 1 3 .299 .355 .234
43 145 23 42 7 1 7 21 14 31 0 0 .346 .497 .290
Adam Jones
80 320 55 97 17 2 12 47 23 66 6 4 .357 .481 .303
39 153 28 34 5 1 7 23 13 27 4 0 .290 .405 .222
Roch,
Be careful when running on the field naked. The police dogs can be brutal on certain parts of you body (if you know what I mean). Mace burns down there too!
Remember the Seinfeld episode about George's wallet, now that was funny. Or the one about "shrinkage".
Jack said:
Chris Waters is not and should not be part of this teams future.A good hitting team would have capitalized on his inability to command the plate.
didn't waters go 8 shutout innings in a start last year vs. the angels in aug. and didn't he have a start similar to that one at the end of the season? i'm not saying he's sandy koufax but he could be a spot stater and long relief guy.
Jim Johnson is not a closer. He is too ineffective and obviously does not have the mental makeup to succeed. But trading Sherrill was good for the BOTTOM LINE so now we are stuck with Johnson at the helm.
It's hard to have faith in a plan when the FO is operating in two very different manners. On the one hand they tell fans and media we are trying to build a winner, upgrade the rotation, the lineup etc. On the other hand, they are very clearly operating by the profit/loss statement. If a deal or transaction saves the team money, even if it kills the competitive chances of this team, it's good for Mr No-Thrills GM.
Well done ANDREW.
As long as we are reminiscing about great Seinfeld episodes, how about when Elaine shows up in the owner's box of Yankee stadium wearing an Oriole cap. She's beautiful and an Oriole fan. What a combination. And Kramer getting hit in the head with a foul ball. All roads lead to Seinfeld.
Roch, if you post this before 1: Rio or Madrid? Everyone in my office is betting on this. CRAZY BRITS!
I got a tenner on Rio.
Hi Roch, You did a great job all season as usual...right down to the last 3 games....I read your blog every day but refrained from commenting for the last 2 months and just read and watched the O's...I just hope they can win 2 of 3 this weekend and not lose 100 games....keep Trembley and give him the best team he will have had next year and one last shot at success. He deserves it and they just need to fix 1B and 3B and the bullpen a bit and see what happens with the young rotation....gotta feel sorry for the players to deal with this and still give it their 100% effort daily...I just hope the O's plan becomes more clear next year and they have a bit of luck on injuries and make the right decisions this off season. Most of the young guys are ready to go except a couple so lets hope for the best.
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Is this Craig with dots?? Welcome back. We assumed that you ran off with Jennifer. - Roch
YES RIO! Let's party in Copacabana in 2016!
Sir Sidney Ponson said:
Roch,
I hear we are meeting at the Bud Light Warehouse Bar 6 pm on Saturday.
Am I invited? While we are there, any chance you could get me upstairs in the Warehouse? Is a "Will Pitch for Beer" sign too desperate?
October 2, 2009 10:12 AM
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Hey Sir Sydney, maybe you could look in on your love child that resides in the Baltimore area instead of swilling beer?
MarkC - To your list of O's appropriate Seinfeld quotes, I would add the description of the O's rookies who came up this year like Wieters, Reimold and Matusz . . . Sidra (Teri Hatcher) says "they are real and they are spectacular!"
Mark C.,
Your message to Jack was very kind; there was a soothing quality about it that should put Jack at ease. I trust Jack will appreciate your effort. I have complimented Jack hoping that he would respond to kindness because harsh put downs just bounce off, like Ralphie trying to bring down a Cape Buffalo with a BB gun.
I fail to understand why you condone Jack’s season-long, insufferable harangues based on the rather weak reason that too many mixed-signals were sent.
The list of stated goals, which were not reached, is accurate enough, but only Andy's goal of improving the pitching is worthy of inclusion in a debate; and, the other “mixed signals” you cited were from the manager, not from the POBO who has been Jack’s primary target.
I don’t think that Justin Turner’s playing time is anything like a mixed-signal about MacPhail’s rebuilding program; especially, if you understand that the Orioles do not intend to play Turner at third and Melvin is still our best defensive option at third as Trembley continues to try to win games using the best combinations available.
I don’t know what to say to those who grind their teeth when Turner is not in the lineup other than: he’s part of a September call up, infielder insurance, and a thank you” for a good year at AAA. Even Roch, an early supporter of Turner, agrees that his future as an Oriole is as a back up, primarily at second, secondarily at SS. Trembley knows all he thinks there is to know about Turner’s ability.
Jack and Brummie squirmed a bit when Roch started to apply pressure; now, there are signs that they are responding positively.
In retrospect, it seems obvious that only Schoolman's disapproval could bring change; also, in my opinion, B & J didn't like the rapidly growing number of accusations that they were responsible for making the blog "unreadable."
Speaking of Seinfeld, wasn't there an episode where a fight started at Yankee stadium because one of them wore an orioles cap to the game? It actually meant something then. Wear an Orioles cap in NY now, and they actually feel sorry for you.
Thanks to Johnny C for saying:
Hi Roch,
I can't remember who it was, but a few posts ago someone made a comment about how loyal fans are leaving the O's and there are more loyal fans threatening to leave also.
I wanted to put my 2 cents in to say that if a fan is leaving a team because they lose, they are NOT loyal fans....they are fair weather fans. I think we have too many fair weather fans in Baltimore and not enough loyal fans.
As a truly loyal fan that will never stop being an O's fan whether they win or lose, I want to thank you Roch for helping us through hard times ... ."
THE GIFT OF HUMOR THAT NEVER END:
Jack said:
Can someone enlighten me ... ?" The best set up question of the year! Thanks, Jack.
Dequincey said:
I second "College Professor's" suggestion of hiring Jim Palmer to manage. He's an Oriole. He is smart. He knows baseball inside and out. And he is a winner. I think he could do a fabulous job. And it would not be a trial to listen to his post-game comments.
CP & DQ,
Do you think Palmer would accept the job and be happy in his work? Jim likes his lifestyle; he is a perfectionist and I think he would find it unrewarding to manage players who are unable to achieve as "easily" as Jim did.
Brummie, you don't really have any point there. Sherrill was cheap too if you can't remember that far back. It's not like Andy saved the club tons of money flipping him. We were completely void of prospects or legit players at third and now we have a very powerful third basemen in our system almost ready to put his toes in the mlb waters. I liked Sherrill a lot but lots of guys can fit that closer mold eventually. Besides you bash our gm for selling away our closer, our gm is the one who picked him up as a closer when nobody else viewed him as that. Now he's turned a mostly unheard of situational lefty, into a really good closer, then flipped him for a much more pressing need which is a young third basemen with tons of upside. You're entitled to your opinion, i just think you're completely wrong to go after andy on the sherrill situation.
I am Jack's inflamed sense of rejection.
Roch,
ChaosLex is the latest reader to bring up Davey Johnson's name. Assuming for a minute that there will be a change in managers, do you have reason to believe that AM would be comfortable with him?
If so, do you think that Angelos would offer Davey a private apology and ask him to make the team a winner again?
As Joe Giradi has most recently shown, winning managers often have a strong ego that clashes with a strong ego on the part of an owner. Peter has essentially said that he's willing to do "whatever" it takes to make this team a winner. Bringing back Davey would be a big first step that doesn't cost a lot of money.
I respect the kind of baseball person DT is; however, I lost confidence this year in his ability to manage the pitching staff. Sure, the talent was inconsistent but a good manager adapts to that and gets the most out of them. I don't think many would argue that there were at least ten games this year where the mismangaement of the pitching staff cost us the game.
If he is replaced I hope he stays with the team in another capacity.
Here's a suggestion for a post before Monday: ask the readers to give a thumbs up or down on DT returning and a SPECIFIC reason(s) why.
One last thing: I would like to declare this weekend as "Roch Appreciation". MOST of us really enjoy your outstanding work.
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Thanks. I know that Peter and Davey sort of patched things up a while back, but I haven't heard any talk of him returning here if the managerial position opens up. - Roch
Roch,
Jim Palmer is one of the most knowledgable "ex" players we have seen here. Is there any talk or rumors of Jim ever becoming a pitching coach. Do the Orioles tap his knowedge and talents as a "special instructor" in ST?
He is one of those players....when he talks, he commands respect and people listen?
Do you ever get a chance to talk to him about this topic?
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I'm sure Palmer could have been a coach by now if he was interested. I don't think he wants to invest that much time. - Roch
***** BOTTOM LINE ****
If the Orioles take this series, they avoid the embarrassment of a 100 loss season.
If the Orioles lose this series, they will hit a milestone no team wishes to obtain.
What are the chances the Orioles take the series and rescue Mr. Lightning from the redicule which will surely follow during the off season?
Rusty,
Thanks for the stats, it was interesting to see his performance increase like that. However, I'm not sure the data supports your conclusion that he outperformed Adam Jones.
Adam scored more runs, had more stolen bases, and had more RBI. Adam had 2 less doubles and 8 less hits than Felix, which will account for most of the difference in OBP and SLUG since they had almost the same amount of strikeouts and walks.
So, Adam Jones was scoring more, disrupting the pitcher more with steals, and getting other people into home plate more, and he did this more often when you consider he played in less games than Pie (although I know Pie didn't play complete games for a lot of those and has less at-bats than Jones).
If it was me, I'd take the more runs scored/produced and the better defense. Of course, I was dead-last in my fantasy baseball league this year.
"I would have stripped naked and run around the warning track while making airplane noises, but that's just me."
That's CLASSIC!! I laughed outloud at my desk! I'm glad we can all have a little bit of humor at this point in a loonnngggg season. Great work this year Roch!
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Thanks Tim. And thanks for having the same sense of humor. - Roch
Roch,
I hate to question your memory from when Perlozzo was fired and Johnson's name came up, but that isn't how I remember it happening. I know you were at the Sun at the time. I remember Davey being questioned about having interest in the job BEFORE Perlozzo was let go and he became pretty upset about it because he didn't think it was fair to Sammy to be talking about that when Perlozzo was still officially the manager.
I'm almost positive that after he was let go, and the O's were pursuing Girardi, Johnson was asked again and said he WOULD have interest if the Orioles contacted him about the job. I'm not paying to go into the Sun's archives to look that up, but maybe you might be able to look back at their stories from then and pull Davey Johnson's actual quotes.
Thanks.
Orioles Tragic said:
Roch,
I am a radio broadcast journalism student at Montgomery College in Rockville. I have started my own sports blog and was wondering if you would check it out and give me some feedback...especially on my writing. I'm not sure if it's okay to post my site on yours, but if you would like to check it out that would be really cool.
Thanks,
Chris
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Yep, send it along. But I reserve the right to steal all the good stuff. - Roch
October 2, 2009 1:03 AM
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Quickly change your major to business before it's too late. R/T/film is not the major you want unless you wish to be poor.
In the past 24 hours, Brummie was here, and going to Sundays game, with an "invite" to go to Foxboro on Sunday, now, he's back in his office with the "crazy Brits"....what a freakin idiot!!!!!!!!
Brummie - I know I have been counseled by others not to attempt engaging you in dialog, but what the heck, I still feel compelled to do so occasionally. How can trading Sherrill in any way be considered as "good for the bottom line"? He was making a fairly low salary of $2.75M. Yes, you can argue that taking that money off the books and replacing it with the call-up of a minor leaguer saves some money for two months of the season. But trading away a proven commodity (one of the few legitimate trade chips that had any value) was likely to lead to even more short term pain in the won-loss record, which would be reflected in even lower revenues from decreased attendance. So even though there would be a reduction in expenses there would also be a reduction in income.
But in case you did not notice, the Sherrill transaction was not a salary dump. (You can make that argument for the infamous Bradford deal of 2008.) In the case of Sherrill the Orioles received in return a power hitting 3B (has anyone said we need one of those?) and a starting pitcher with the potential to be either a back of the rotation or middle relief pitcher down the road. I know it's just your schtick, like Rodney Dangerfield's "no respect", but not every move is made to be cheap, as you claim.
I do agree with you on one point - deals ARE made with consideration of their effect on profitability. You may have heard - there is a football team in Baltimore called the Ravens. They are pretty good - you should check them out sometime. Keep in mind this is American football, not the kind played in the UK that attracts hooligans and is played on a "pitch". But the Ravens have a widely respected GM whose philosophy is "Right player, right price". That means you always take into consideration the financial aspects of any player decisions. But the greater long term financial gain will be found from building an organization that has the capability of sustained success over a long period of time, rather than just a short term.
So what are you going to complain about when the Orioles are winning, the fans are filling Camden Yards, and the profits are REALLY flowing to Angelos and the rest of the Orioles ownership group? Who, it should be noted, are entitled to receive a fair return on their investment.
Lucky - Brilliant Seinfeld reference. Hysterical. Yes indeed, the 'kids' (and Terri Hatcher) are real. And they are spectacular.
Roch - I second Tim's applause for the naked lap/airplane noises. That had me laughing pretty hard this morning.
JackDunn'sBaby - Thanks for your points. It is not so much Turner not getting time as Mora continuing to get so much that bothers me. With Wiggy at 3rd, for example, Scott could have played 1st more often, Wieters could have DH'd more often. And Turner could have gotten more PT. All three of those needed to happen and DT's backtracking on the lessof Mora plan hurt all three. Perhaps it was more of DT not communicating rather than Andy. And I do think Andy has, on balance communicated pretty well. But, I thought Jack did have a point. Between Andy and DT, we communicated that we would use this year and particularly this late part of the year to evaluate and prepare for the future. To continue the march to a competitive 2010. And DT continuing to play Mora ran completely counter to that. And Andy surely could have pointed this out to Dave and corrected it.
Sitting Wieters so much during his first couple of months up here also seems to me to have been counter to the plan. On the flip side, of course, it may show one of DT's greatest strengths. Perhaps he can tell which rookies need or can handle immersion (Reimold for example), which need gradual build up of playing time - (Wieters, perhaps), and which need immersion to highlight weaknesses, followed by toe dipping, leading finally to increased playing time much later (Pie).
I actually think DT has handled the young position players pretty well. But he has been over-accomodating to the veterans, none of whom have had a trouble-free year. Just look at this list for a second:
Wiggy's awful slugging, and worse baserunning
Mora's tantrum AND his awful hitting
Markakis's self-described 'funk'
Roberts' 'focus' issues and wine bearing apologies
Huff's lack of production and terrible baserunning
Guthrie's performance melt-down
Koji's hiding his injuries and being obviously out of shape
Freel's rejection of everything
Zaun's mysterious change-of-heart about supporting Wieters
the abysmal performance of the bullpen veterans
Other than Cesar Izturis, I cannot think of a single veteran on the team that has not had significant mental/attitude or performance issues this year.
So we can lay that on Dave or we can lay it on Andy, but someone has not kept the vets on all the same page of the organizational plan.
I would just like to say... Welcome Back Craig... and your dots!!! Good to have you back!
Another Brian,
RBI and runs scored are dependent on the batters around you in the order. Jones had an obvious advantage batting third or fourth while Pie spent most of his time in the lower third of the order. The numbers less dependent on where one bats in the lineup, OBP SLG and AVG (although the quality of hitters around you determines the quality of pitches you get, again advantage Jones), all favored Pie. Clearly, something changed with Jones' approach in the second half. Perhaps he was trying to do too much to pick of the slack, the advance scouts found a hole in his swing or perhaps his All Star appearance went to his head. No matter what the reason I think the Orioles need to try to get him back to his first half of the season approach. This will only work if he is willing to listen to the advice of others and not assume that he knows what's best.
CSB Jack said:
Brummie - I know I have been counseled by others not to attempt engaging you in dialog, but what the heck, I still feel compelled to do so occasionally. How can trading Sherrill in any way be considered as "good for the bottom line"
CSBJ,
Well-reasoned and well-written. Thanks.
Mark C.,
I agree with most of your observations, especially the halting start afforded Wieters. Dave may have misspoken initially, but I don't recall that he amended his statement about Wieters' playing time; there's an explanation, but we may never know and it's too late to matter.
I still think that my analysis of Turner's situation is correct; I don't know how any manager could have dealt with the litany of problems, which afflicted our more veteran players. What a nightmare scenario for a manager who was, at the time, in the last year of his contract.