So, the Orioles give their interim manager, Dave Trimbley, a contract extension and then proceed to lose 10 of the next 11 games; including 9 in a row and are "no-hit" by a rookie making his second major league start. They also lose a game; the game played the night he recieved the extension in fact, by a score of 30 - 3... the first time a major league team had given up 30 runs in well over a century (110 years to be exact...).
Now the O's find themselves in a battle of epic proprotions... to stay out of the cellar! Their lead over the last place Tampa Bay Devil Rays has shrunk to 4 games and tonight they start a three game series in Tampa Bay against the Devil Rays before heading home to face the mighty Boston Red Sox.This is the time of year when teams like Tampa Bay (and some would expect, the Orioles) to play the part of "spoiler"... the Rays did their part, in fact, by taking two of three from the Yankees in New York over the weekend!
But it could be that the Orioles are destined to free-fall through the end of the year.And that begs the question; should a manager who has just been given an extension be terminated before he starts his first full season as manager? Is it just coincidence that the Orioles have become a laughing stock almost the very minute the contract was extended?
My suggestion, much to the chagrin of the fans of the O's I'm sure, would be to tear that team down and rebuild it from the ground up. Trade who you can for what you can and release the rest. There is just something in the core of the Orioles that will not let them win; will not let them achieve even up to expectations; forget the magic of teams that exceed what they seem capable of... like the Arizona Diamondbacks this season...
So, I'd bring in the wrecking ball... and I'd start in the front office; getting rid of anybody who is involved in baseball decisions, because it's pretty obvious to an outside observer that those decisions have been wrong.
For well over a decade now...
