FLASHBACK: Last September going into the weekend of the season, the Baltimore Orioles were headed for the unthinkable, losing 100 games. The 2009 team surely was supposed to be a little better than 2008 and 2007. Fresh talent had arrived. The bad apples had been removed. Nevertheless, results don't lie. Only by winning their last four games did they miss the century mark and wind up with 98 losses.
MOVE FOWARD: The Orioles stand at 1-6 for the 2010 season. The message to the team was in 2010 winning was supposed to matter. Every player and every coach was to be accountable for producing results. The results that matter are winning. Every loss so far is against a divisional rival in the American League East.
CONCLUSION: There sure seems to be a culture of losing in the Orioles clubhouse. Losing is okay. It's the norm. Too bad about today. There's always tomorrow, but we can say this again tomorrow and the next day and the next.... Very quickly, the team is buried deep in the basement.
While it's only seven games, the scenario is all too familiar. We can point to individual performances in just about every game that are worthy of note, but what we don't see is a Baltimore Orioles team playing as a winning unit. There's no Baltimore Ravens style intensity. We don't see players pacing the dugout and getting intense with one another over events on the field. They look like they're as relaxed as some buddies playing softball at a church picnic.
Knee jerk reactions are rarely justified and Andy McPhail, the team's president does have an intelligent blue print for success. The Orioles now are considered to have a fine farm system, and there is a lot of homegrown talent on the major league team.
When Andy McPhail announced that Dave Trembley would return as manager, it seemed like a bit of a surprise. How could someone after two and half years with a declining record be retained? Questions about intensity and chemistry were nothing new at season's close. He's a good guy, no denying that, but does he have the special talent to lead and motivate talent in the American League East?
If the culture of the team needs to change, the manager sets the tone for the team. Listen to the commentators, columnists, and many former players from around baseball. How often do we hear that the Orioles seem to be playing not to lose. They're not playing to win. There's a huge difference. Are they looking foward or nervously looking around them to avoid allowing to happen what they will see way too much of looking back.
Face it, Dave Trembley is not a rah-rah kind of guy. Some teams might not need that kind of approach, but this is a young team just beginning to come of age in the majors. A change in style and substance is needed. The Orioles need a manager who will be constantly pacing the dugout, engaging and challening players, a fellow who is totally involved with the game and everyone from the ticket takers to the starting players know it. Giving the appearance of, "Oh well, it happened again," is never acceptable. While it is not productive to show up players in the media, a manager needs to be honest about what needs to happen and be able to articulate what happened when things don't work out.
The one thing that's for certain is if things are left to stay the same, the same miserable results we've grown so weary of seeing the last several years will continue.
The time to change is right now. Thank you for your service Mr. Trembley. The Baltimore Orioles are proud to introduce Birdland to a new era in Camden Yards, our new manager is......
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