One man's take on Trembley's ouster

News official: The Orioles made the news official this morning. Juan Samuel is taking over as interim manger and Dave Trembley has been dismissed. Gary Allenson has been named interim third base coach. The club will hold a news conference today at 2:30 p.m. with Andy MacPhail and Juan Samuel. When Andy MacPhail sits in front of a bank of microphones and makes the announcement today - that Dave Trembley is being relieved of his duties as O's manager - I hope MacPhail also says something along these lines: "While Dave is losing his position with us today as manager, I want you to know this organization has failed Dave Trembley every bit as much, maybe more, as he has failed us." MacPhail and his front office staff, the coaching staff and for sure the players, share in the blame for a horrible 15-39 record. Who gets the lions' share of the blame for the Nightmare on Camden Street is up for debate, and opinions vary widely. But Trembley was given a first baseman that can't hit, a third baseman learning his position on the job, a closer that turned out to be ineffective and injured, and a second baseman and lead-off hitter that has played in just a handful of games. There are plenty of other issues, like young players who failed to reach expectations and a brutal schedule, but by now everyone knows all about the issues. No one expected it to be this bad. For a few weeks this winter, the Orioles seemed to be media darlings, picked by national outlets as a team on the rise. Then the season started. Then the trouble started. Rather than dwell on Trembley's poor record as manager, I choose to remember how much he cared about the team and its fans; how much he respected every player in his clubhouse; how much he respected the game. How he was open and honest with the beat reporters. How his face lit up this year when he talked about Alfredo Simon coming back from Tommy John surgery so fast and how he almost got choked up when talking about his admiration for the comeback of minor leaguer Keiron Pope. The Orioles have other problems to fix - Like the offense. If they determine it's a coaching issue, other jobs could be and maybe should be on the line. Perhaps the O's are taking a needed step today. Perhaps it will be a step that gets the team started back toward better days. Maybe one day we'll look back at today as a positive for the franchise moving forward. Perhaps we will. But today, I choose not to feel good about any of this.