More on Perlozzo - From the Cumberland Times-News (Thanks to the Roar From 34 Blog)

Well, I’m going to give the boys at the Roar from 34 Blog credit for this post, as they they forwarded me this article from the Cumberland Times-News.

Matt, I cannot thank you enough.

How a paper of out of a small town in western Maryland could get this, and a paper like the Sun couldn’t, I don’t know.

Some of the quotes you’ll see here are in stark contrast in what you have seen so far from the media in Baltimore and Washington.

To be honest, I was quite surprised I read what I did.

Mike Burke in his article, “Orioles Fire Perlozzo”, has an exclusive interview with the former Orioles manager where he is nothing short of blunt with the state of the organization and the team.

Quotes:

· About his meeting with both Mike Flanagan and Jim Duquette, he says: "I didn't say a lot to them," he said, "although Jim Duquette said he had heard I felt (the front office) should have said more on my behalf, and I said, 'Well, now that you brought it up, let me get a couple of things off my chest.' – basically, he felt that considering his tenure with the team, he should have been told what was going on.

· About the lack of public support from the front office: "I told them they should have stepped up," he said. "When all this talk became public, and they didn't step up ... That would have resolved it. But they didn't step up, and no matter what, you don't do that to me. You don't do that to a guy who has been in the organization for 12 years and has done so many things for this organization."I told them they should have stepped up and said, 'Sam Perlozzo is our manager.' And then if they want to fire me two days later, fine. Just resolve it. But they didn't. You don't do that to me."

· When Sam asked about what he did wrong to the front office in the exit interview: "I asked them to be specific and tell me what I did wrong, and they couldn't do it."I told them I can go out and make every right move - which I believe I did - and still fail because we don't hit, or the bullpen breaks down, or whatever it may be. And in that instance, there are two things you can do:"One, the organization steps up and says, 'He's not the problem. He's got one-and-a-half years on his contract, so don't even ask because we're not talking about this again.' The problem is the players aren't producing."Or, you can say nothing. Because if you do say something, then you're going to take the heat for the players you signed.

· The statement that got me: "It doesn't matter how many right moves you make and it still doesn't work. The manager gets fired. But not with the Dodgers. They fire their hitting coach. Here, we keep reshuffling managers." (Brings up a very good point, what about Crowley?)

· About the signings and his role in it: "Not really," he said. "Walker, Bradford, Baez, Williamson, they never asked me. I told them not to sign Williams. But they went out and signed four guys without asking me."They asked me to go to lunch with Aubrey Huff (in December) to see what I thought of the guy. I told them, and they signed him. I told them Jay Payton would help us."We re-signed Kevin Millar right off the bat last winter, and they wanted Huff."

· The offensive problems: "Every night, we're dealing with a one-run deficit, and we're scoring four runs, three runs, three runs, four runs ... We score three runs in the first three innings and we're done for the night. You need to score more than four runs." … "Melvin Mora is hitting 40 points below his career average," Perlozzo said. "Miggy doesn't hit home runs or drive in runs anymore. Huff just started hitting and he has four home runs. … "Kevin Millar has a high on-base percentage, but doesn't hit home runs. Do you want me to start him on the bases? Check the on-base percentage and the runs scored. It doesn't jibe. We need three hits to get him in. You want me to start running Kevin Millar, Jay Gibbons and Aubrey Huff?” … "Plus, we're without (catcher) Ramon Hernandez for six weeks. You want me to rotate these guys, but they can't hit."

· The flaws in the team: "The flaw for me?" Perlozzo asked. "Baez going south and the offense. When Danys went bad it threw the team into the kilter, and we had to overexpose (other pitchers). The offense doesn't score enough to make up for any deficiencies. When you can't score five runs playing in the American League East, you've got problems.”

· About the status of Leo Mazzone: "I'm not sure," he said. "Leo and Eric were pretty emotional today. Leo told them if they want to talk about it to talk to his agent. Again, he was pretty emotional."

· The other quote that got me: "I knew what I was getting into. I just thought I would have more backing from some people."

Wow. I don’t know what to say.

From what I read, Sam was right on the money with the issues with the team and perhaps deep down feels angry, bitter and very sad what has gone on with the team. This team is in more trouble than what anyone ever thought.

To be quite honest, there’s enough blame to spread in this situation; however, it just shows how screwed up things are with the Baltimore Orioles organizationally.

No matter what happens, the Orioles have a lot of work, and I mean a lot work to do.

I think this team really needs to do an evaluation of 2007, and rebuild from there.

Thumbing My Way - The Aftermath of the Firing of Perlozzo...

Well, if you are a Orioles' fan, today will not be a day forgotten for a while.

Today, now more than ever, I know for sure the Baltimore Orioles are more screwed up than I ever realized.

From the way the press conference this afternoon was held, to the way they treated the media covered the events at the Yard, to just the general mood of fans, things are not right with the team. From the looks of it, this team has no direction, no passion and seems to be completely lost.

A few of the players spoke out at the Yard today, but most ignored the press.

By the way, I watched the press conference again -- very surreal. It almost looked for a few moments that Mike Flanagan choked up and got emotional. It was even weirder that Dave Trombley was not even there to address the media.

Furthermore, you have to read this blurb by Roch Kubatko, as the Orioles closed access to the clubhouse and the reporters had to try to track down players in the parking lot!!!

"Meanwhile, the Orioles are keeping reporters outside the ballpark. We have to stand at the guard station on the ramp that leads to the players' parking lot. Take one step beyond that point and warning shots might be fired.

The way this team is going, I'm sure they'd be high and outside.

Heaven forbid the Orioles grant us access on such an important day. Are they worried that players will rip Perlozzo? More likely, they'll say all the right things. But who wants that?

A security guard rode up to us on his little cart and basically told us to stop bothering the players.

Has he been watching the games lately? I'm the one who's bothered."

Wow. No wonder this team is treated like a complete national joke. For an organization to not have allowed the media access to players for a breaking news story is just asinine.

As the Sam Perlozzo era came to a close today, The Sun's Jeff Zrebeic takes a look back at Sam Perlozzo's questionable moves in 2007.

While the club tries to court Joe Girardi, Rick Maese of the Sun believes the organization will not improve unless more happens -- I agree.

Baltimore Sun has confirmed that Andy MacPhail has been hired as the Orioles' COO, even though the news has been known, um, pretty much all day.

The Orioles MLB site got some fans to weigh in on the events of today.

Radio station WNST has way too many postings today on their blog to link to, but you have to give it all a read. They are just ripping the poor Baltimore Orioles and how they handled things today with the press conference -- badly.

Sam Perlozzo Fired (From the Examiner)

From the Examiner:

"A source has confirmed to The Examiner that the Orioles have notified manager Sam Perlozzo that he has been fired before the team embarks on a West Coast road trip. The team is expected to leave for San Diego later today.

Perlozzo went 122-164 during his tenure with the Orioles. During a five-year stint as a manager in the minor leagues, Perlozzo never had a losing season, going 364-263.The team issued a press release with no details of Perlozzo's firing or who would replace him.

Bullpen coach Dave Trembley is expected to take over on an interim basis until a long-term manager is hired.

The team did say it would have a news conference on the sixth floor of the warehouse at Oriole Park at Camden Yards at 1 p.m. today." (updated)

***

If you get a chance, read Oriole Magic's view on the situation and the release of Sam Perlozzo along with Mike Boehm's view on the losing streak.

I'll have my full thoughts later, but I have to work for a living...

Perlozzo to be Fired (according to the Sun)

From the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly...

"The Orioles front office is meeting this morning with manager Sam Perlozzo and is expected to fire him, according to a club source.Perlozzo, 56, a Cumberland native who called managing the Orioles his dream job, will be removed about 2 1/2 months into his second full season leading the club..."

and..

"Bullpen coach Dave Trembley, a longtime minor league skipper who has occasionally subbed for bench coach Tom Trebelhorn this season, has been named interim manager while club executives begin the search for a long-term replacement.In addition, ESPN's Buster Olney is reporting that the club has hired Andy MacPhail, former Chicago Cubs president, as the Orioles' chief operating officer, presumably replacing Joe Foss, who left the Orioles earlier this season, and is in negotiations with former Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi to replace Perlozzo."

Will Girardi be the man? Stay tuned.

If this is all true, I have a ton of empathy for Sam. In talking with him yesterday, he seemed to be a good guy and I know he tried his best; however, things need to turn around and sometimes a change can spark things for sure.

Girardi is a complete 180 from Sam Perlozzo, but this team sorely needs it.

Quick Hits: More Fear and Moaning; O's Lose Another One to the D-Backs Late, 6-4; What About Sam and the Rundown...

As we all know, the Baltimore Orioles lost yesterday to the Arizona Diamondbacks by a score of 6-4, for their eighth straight loss, and their 13th loss in 15 games. There’s no need to go over the game, just that Brian Burres pitched a great game, but yet, the bullpen could not hold onto the tie and another loss was tacked onto the record books.

The vast majority, if not all the fans of the Orioles are at a loss for words with the losing.

In a sad state of affairs, the Washington Nationals have a better record than the Baltimore Orioles.

Where do we go from here?

First off, Kevin Millar is planning to hold a players-only meeting in San Diego on Tuesday according to the Baltimore Sun. It’s too bad that the players are doing this now, rather than earlier last week or perhaps even sooner than that. There’s also a game recap in the article, but that is now beside the point.

Second, the players are obviously frustrated. Sam Perlozzo been booed without mercy at the ballpark, and I kind of feel sorry for him.

The team lacks leadership and direction, perhaps maybe someone like Millar should question what is going on, but where the voices like Mora, Roberts, or Tejada?

There’s also speculation on the job security of Sam Perlozzo, and if there’s a day for him to be canned, it would be today, on an off day.

Sorry for the delays this weekend, I had Beltway Baseball this weekend which had some tech problems, I had to cover the games this weekend for Oriole Magic, and I had to work an article on the DC United for the DC Sports Box.

This week should return to normal for me.

***

Roch Kubtako’s latest entry in his blog is a must read on the situation going on in the clubhouse and the losing streal. It looks like this team is in dire straits and something needs to happen. From the outside looking in, it’s only now that that the players are taking responsibility for their actions, but it is a little late for all this to happen now.

He also had an entry earlier on Sunday evening about the player’s only meeting, and he says this:

“He (Millar) was angry that a few members of the electronic media were joking around in the clubhouse, which is frowned upon when a team is losing. He reminded everyone that this isn't a party and to be more respectful.

Most of us get that already, but for those who don't, a lesson learned.”

Are you kidding me? The electronic media? If that’s the case, that’s not good – wow.

Also, fans are turning on the team and it’s now getting under the players’ skin with the heckling and the booing? Ugh, things are ugly, ugly here…

For me, all this is entertainment, not real life. I know people get emotionally involved in sports, and a lot of people live and die with their sports teams, but let’s not take this too far.

It’s just a game, people.

***

The Baltimore Examiner has details of the sad loss yesterday in Baltimore as does the Washington Post.

David Steele believes that the players waited too late to react, and that could in turn cost Sam Perlozzo his job.

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun has his thoughts on the drama with the Orioles and if and when Peter Angelos will make a move or usher a change in the team.

Brian Burres pitched a hell of a game yesterday, and does not blame the bullpen for the loss. Jay Gibbons had a nice game yesterday, it meant very little considering what the team is going through now.

Bill Ordine of the O, By the Way Blog, has his thoughts on the loss on Sunday and the current situation with the Orioles.

The Diamondbacks used an unusual shift on Aubrey Huff in the series…

If you think the Orioles have it bad, look at the Pittsburgh Pirates...

Tike Redman is having a solid year at Norfolk, and could merit a major league call up if he is needed…

The Baltimore Sun has a question with Jamie Walker, this time about his favorite city to play in.

This weekend, Jim Hoey, and Cory Doyne promoted from Norfolk, while Danys Baez is on the DL, and Todd Williams got released. There’s more on this from the Orioles MLB Site and the Washington Post (which also has news on Adam Loewen).

Reality Bites: The Orioles and Sam Perlozzo...

Things are not good here for those who are Orioles fans.

Not good at all. Today, I covered the game for Oriole Magic on the MVN network, and the day started off early.

It was memorable.

Besides Jim Palmer telling me in person how bad the team was, to hearing Dave Johnson's rant on WHFS radio to seeing the Orioles live in the flesh lose was horrifying.

Then I got to speak with Sam Perlozzo after the game, as I saw and wanted to get his autograph. I spoke to him for several minutes as he was getting into his truck, and you could tell the losing was getting to him by the way his face looked.

I wished him luck on the road trip and hoped the Orioles could shake the funk they are in. He looked genuinely glad to hear that and at least appreciate the words of hope.

In talking with him, he's a good man, and does not deserve the losing along with the abuse, but sports is a business and the W and L's matter.

Even moreso in a city that has seen it's team trot out losing team after losing team for a decade.

The writing my be on the wall, and Sam may not have his position in the near future, or much less next season unless there is a major, and I mean major turnaround.

The problem goes so far beyond the manager; thus, whole organization needs an overhaul.

The fans are not happy and are ready to turn on this team. If things get worse, the Orioles may need to pay fan to see the team play.

I'll have game stuff and pictures later on tonight, if not in the morning. It will be something to see what the media, other blogs and forums have to say about the Orioles and their losing streak.

I am going to open up the forum for change, rather than lecture. What do you think needs to happen to the organization? Do we for the manager, trade players, fire the GM?

What do you all think? Either leave a comment, or email me personally.

The floor is yours to comment, and those fans from other teams, feel free to join (I'd like to hear commentary from those on the outside)...

The Game Last Night, A Broken Record: Quick Hits - The Orioles Lose A Close One 6-4 to the Blue Jays, the Rundown and Wither Sam Perlozzo...

The Toronto Blue Jays picked up where they ended last week with the Orioles – yet, another win.

In front of a very sparse crowd, the Orioles lost to the Blue Jays 6-4 as Daniel Cabrera was ineffective, considering he was relatively solid all throughout his starts this season.

After giving up 2 runs in the first four innings, Daniel became unglued as he gave up 4 runs in the fifth inning as Alex Rios, Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells drove in runs and Cabrers dropped a ball that allowed Jason Phillips to score.

Brian Roberts hit his second homer of the year, and brought the score to 6-4, but the Orioles were not able to muster up any more offense.

Once again, A.J. Burnett had the Orioles’ number as he struck out 8 out a little more than 6 innings.

For the Orioles, Aubrey Huff and Melvin Mora drove in a run each in the loss.

**

The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec has a recap of the game last night, as does the Baltimore Examiner and Orioles MLB site.

Although it seems like the vast majority of Orioles fans want Perlozzo gone, you have to feel bad for the guy and wonder if there’s more at play with the situation. Thus, yesterday, Sam Perlozzo answered his critics and showed a little fire about his situation towards the media. He’s not concerned about his job (though I’d imagine the status would bother him from day to day), and wants to just go out and do things the best he can.

If I were him, I’d do the same thing; just fend of the rumors, the doomsday predictions and do my job.

However, the lack of statements of support from his own players, the front office and those high up in the organization is not good. From the looks of it, he may be series to series, week to week or month to month in terms of his job security.

Silence in this situation is not good.

There’s more on the situation from Adam Kilgore & Spencer Fordin from the Orioles.com.

Roch Kubatko has a great entry in his blog today about the latest with the Orioles including the loss, Adam Loewen and Miguel Tejada. As well, the O, by the Way blog has more on the game last night and on the status of Sam Perlozzo.

According to Adam Kilgore, Corey Patterson is benched because of his current struggles at the plate as of late.

If and when Miguel Tejada takes a day off from the grind of baseball, it will be up to him at the moment, not the manager.

The Baltimore Sun has a question with Erik Bedard about how the ball flies out of Camden Yards at certain times of the year, especially summer.

If you have a moment, read Jeff Zrebeic’s story of Miguel Tejada’s trip to the Hall of Fame on Monday. As well, in the piece there’s news on Corey Patterson, and Danys Baez.

Peter Schmuck, The Internet and the Groundswell of Those Who Want Sam Gone…

“It is the middle of May and, quite amazingly, one inning has created such a quantum shift in perspective that Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo's job security is suddenly a hot topic of conversation on all the fan Web sites and -- presumably -- in the club's front office.” – Peter Schmuck, 'Thanks to Hindsight, Manager's Status Cloudy'

Well, I am a blogger (obviously), and I often check out Orioles Hangout, Camden Chat, Oriole Magic, and the many other excellent blogs that cover the team. In conjunction with the so-called mainstream media (ala, the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post), I check them out daily for the latest in news concerning the Orioles, and sometimes find them a value resource than what I read in print.

Last night, I read Peter Schmuck’s article, “Thanks to Hindsight, Manager's Status Cloudy”, and for the most part I enjoy his work; however, but yesterday, and he perhaps a few other media members seem to have taken fans to task for wanting Sam Perlozzo deposed of as the Orioles’ manager.

Do the fans not have the right to be angry with Sam Perlozzo?

Is it just because you’re part of the media and have ‘access’ that we don’t, you seemingly have the right to pontificate about how you feel and degrade us at the same time?

Look, I didn’t want him fired (I am in the minority); however, when 95% of people want him gone, the public just might be right.

However, are you just wrong and way off-base when you start to insult fans, like Peter happens to here:

“If Guthrie hangs around for the entire ninth and throws 105 pitches (or, for the mathematically inclined, about 50 percent more than his previous longest outing of 2007) and then ends up getting a magnetic resonance imaging test Thursday, I'm guessing all the same message board geniuses would be calling out Perlozzo for burning Guthrie up.”

Um, actually, he makes a reasonable point, but everything is circumstantial when it comes to sports and human performance, especially on the major league level.

The bottom line is this: Sam Perlozzo is the manager of the Orioles; therefore, captain of the ship, so he has to take the blame, and on Sunday he made some poor decisions that led the loss against the Red Sox.

He took out Guthrie with one out in the 9th inning, even though he was up by 5 runs and had dominated the Red Sox all day.

There might have been an understanding if a runner reached base, he might be yanked from the game. However, that train of thought is asinine, especially since Guthrie had only thrown 91 pitches and shut down one of the premier lineups in the sport today.

That’s the problem in baseball today and is indicative of over-managing.

Jeremy Guthrie deserved to finish the game, and Perlozzo should have given him the right to do so – that’s why fans are upset, Peter.

The team is not doing the little things right on a consistent basis, and this will handcuff the Orioles.

I think what happened in Saturday's game in terms of leaving Leicester was even more disturbing, but Sunday's game just got me absolutely furious.

There are a litany of other examples, but the bottom line is when you perform in front of an audience and depend on fanfare to support a team, or entity, then you will be criticized – whether it is in favor of you, or not.

Heck, the whole sports talk and media industry feeds of the anger of the fans, so what happened Sunday made for good conversation and more importantly, listeners for the radio shows, and readership for the websites and newspapers.

It makes for a great, little circle...

Peter, you were a little off base in insulting the fans, bloggers and those who have message boards. The growth of the internet and podcasts, have given people like myself and others a forum to analyze, praise, but also criticize and perhaps at times, vent.

It’s also given fans another outlet to follow their favorite team and also open a gateway of new opportunities.

Well, there might be reason why everyone was in shock about the loss Sunday and repeating the same thing over and over on the various sites and boards – um, perhaps because the fans are right…

Well, Check out the ESPN Page Two Tagline -- More on the Mother's Day Massacre, The Loss Yesterday...

(click on the image to see a larger picture - thanks to ESPN's Page Two)

Sorry to add more insult to injury, but you have to check out ESPN's Page Two today. It's only been an hour and I broke my promise already.

Hopefully ESPN 1300 and MASN does not sugarcoat what happened yesterday, or I swear to God I will scream and put what I really, really think about their alliance. I'll be paying special attention to the 'Anita Marks Show' today...

Man, Sam Perlozzo should thank his lucky stars that he's in not in Baltimore, but in Canada, where people are generally super polite (heck, I was born there...)

He'd better not check the internet either, at least for a week, or until the next extended winning streak.