WP: Rodrigo Lopez (10-6)
LP: Ervin Santana (6-5)
S: B.J. Ryan (23)
BAL: 52-56 (4th in AL East, 10.5 behind Boston)
The Orioles combined stellar pitching with timely hitting to end their eight game losing streak on Thursday.
Rodrigo Lopez went five innings, giving up one run on two hits to get the win, and Sammy Sosa went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer.
Sosa's homer came in the fourth inning and gave the Orioles a 4-0 lead.
The O's got their first two runs in the third inning after the Orioles got runners on second and third with none out. After Luis Matos flied out too shalow to score the runner from third and Brian Roberts struck out, Eric Byrnes turned around the O's misfortunes with runners in scoring position by hitting a pop-up into very shallow left field that bounced off of shortstop Orlando Cabrera's glove and skittered away for what was ruled a triple.
Vladimir Guerrero kept torturing the Orioles, knocking in the only Angels run in the fourth.
Todd Williams, Tim Byrdak, Jorge Julio and B.J. Ryan combined for four shutout innings to hold the 4-1 lead.
The O's travel to Texas to start a three game series with the Rangers tomorrow at 8:05 p.m. Bruce Chen (7-6, 4.31 ERA, throws left) which make his first start since his pair of emergency relief appearances for the Orioles. He will face C.J. Wilson (0-3, 7.91 ERA, throws left), who has had a rough go of it in four starts since joining the rotation on June 19. He is 0-3, averaging just over four innings per start and posting an ERA of over 10.
THOUGHTS:
After the firing of Lee Mazzilli, this game was huge. Don't get me wrong, it was big already, but the O's needed to prove that they still had a spark, and they did.
It was great to see Perlozzo up on the railing in the dugout during the game. That was one thing that I noticed that really irked me about Mazzilli, and I didn't know why until the series against the White Sox. Every shot ChiSox manager Ozzie Guillen was in, he was up on the railing, as if he was studying what was going on and was more interested than anyone else in the stadium in every pitch. Meanwhile, Mazzilli sat there, slouching, with his hands in his pockets (something he learned from Joe Torre, no doubt).
I've got to think that, as a player, you want to harder when your manager looks really into the game, not when he looks like he is completely bored.
Is Perlozzo the answer? I don't know. Maybe he should have gotten the job in the first place. You can bet, though, that if the team turns it around -- even if it's just enough to finish over .500 -- that Perlozzo will start at the top of the running to become the more-than-interim manager.
Friday, August 05, 2005
Thursday, August 04, 2005
MLB: Orioles fire manager Lee Mazzilli
The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the Orioles have fired manager Lee Mazzilli this afternoon.
The Orioles have lost eight in a row and 16 of 18 to fall 10.5 behind Boston and all the way to fourth in the American League East after leading for much of the first half of the season.
The Sun said that this is the first time owner Peter Angelos has ever fired a manager, but that's ignoring that he ran Davey Johnson out of town after the 1997 season (coincidentally the last time the Orioles made the playoffs).
The Orioles will use bench coach Sam Perlozzo as interim manager. Perlozzo was a highly-regarded candidate when the O's were looking for a manager before the 2004 season, but the job went to then-Yankees coach Mazzilli. Perlozzo said he was disappointed at that time, but he stuck with the team.
Perlozzo has never managed in the majors.
Mazzilli's record as a major league manager stands at 129-139 over two seasons.
OPINION:
I was never really on the Fire Mazzilli Bandwagon until a few weeks ago, when the team started doing REALLY bad. I always cut him some slack for being a rookie manager, which we knew when we hired him.
Recently, though, this move became a necessity. Everyone knew it was coming at the end of the season, and the only thing stopping it from happening was that Angelos doesn't like to fire people ... he just runs them out of town.
The thing that turned me was the losing. It sounds obvious, and it is. All year, we were winning despite some truly awful decisions. Maz never stuck with a lineup, he made horrible pitching changes/non-changes all the time, and he didn't seem to realize when it was time to light a fire under his team by flipping out at an ump.
This morning I was thinking to myself: This has gotten real bad. Everyone knows Mazzilli's going to be fired; just do it now. Besides, last year the Astros fired their manager mid-season and they turned it around and made the playoffs.
I'm not saying the O's are destined for that type of run, but this move CAN'T hurt. Hopefully we'll see some positives from Perlozzo as the manager.
Another thing I like about the move is that Maz was never a "Baltimore guy." When I found out late in 2003 that the O's were hiring a Yankees coach, who was born in New York City no less, my heart sank a little. It was a "If you can't beat them, become them" move. Despite that, I gave Maz a shot, and I never thought he should have been fired, like I said, until a few weeks ago. Perlozzo's a Maryland guy. He was born in Maryland. He went to college at George Washington in D.C. Plus, he's been with the O's for 10 seasons as a third base coach and bench coach.
I agree with the decision. I think it was a good move. But I hope Maz lands somewhere. He seems like a real good guy -- just not as our manager.
The Orioles have lost eight in a row and 16 of 18 to fall 10.5 behind Boston and all the way to fourth in the American League East after leading for much of the first half of the season.
The Sun said that this is the first time owner Peter Angelos has ever fired a manager, but that's ignoring that he ran Davey Johnson out of town after the 1997 season (coincidentally the last time the Orioles made the playoffs).
The Orioles will use bench coach Sam Perlozzo as interim manager. Perlozzo was a highly-regarded candidate when the O's were looking for a manager before the 2004 season, but the job went to then-Yankees coach Mazzilli. Perlozzo said he was disappointed at that time, but he stuck with the team.
Perlozzo has never managed in the majors.
Mazzilli's record as a major league manager stands at 129-139 over two seasons.
OPINION:
I was never really on the Fire Mazzilli Bandwagon until a few weeks ago, when the team started doing REALLY bad. I always cut him some slack for being a rookie manager, which we knew when we hired him.
Recently, though, this move became a necessity. Everyone knew it was coming at the end of the season, and the only thing stopping it from happening was that Angelos doesn't like to fire people ... he just runs them out of town.
The thing that turned me was the losing. It sounds obvious, and it is. All year, we were winning despite some truly awful decisions. Maz never stuck with a lineup, he made horrible pitching changes/non-changes all the time, and he didn't seem to realize when it was time to light a fire under his team by flipping out at an ump.
This morning I was thinking to myself: This has gotten real bad. Everyone knows Mazzilli's going to be fired; just do it now. Besides, last year the Astros fired their manager mid-season and they turned it around and made the playoffs.
I'm not saying the O's are destined for that type of run, but this move CAN'T hurt. Hopefully we'll see some positives from Perlozzo as the manager.
Another thing I like about the move is that Maz was never a "Baltimore guy." When I found out late in 2003 that the O's were hiring a Yankees coach, who was born in New York City no less, my heart sank a little. It was a "If you can't beat them, become them" move. Despite that, I gave Maz a shot, and I never thought he should have been fired, like I said, until a few weeks ago. Perlozzo's a Maryland guy. He was born in Maryland. He went to college at George Washington in D.C. Plus, he's been with the O's for 10 seasons as a third base coach and bench coach.
I agree with the decision. I think it was a good move. But I hope Maz lands somewhere. He seems like a real good guy -- just not as our manager.
MLB: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8, Orioles 4 (August 3)
WP: John Lackey (9-4)
LP: Erik Bedard (5-4)
BAL: 51-56 (4th in AL East, 10.5 behind Boston)
The Orioles best starting pitcher, Erik Bedard, was pitching well -- he even had a lead -- until the fifth inning.
In the fifth, the Angels sent 11 batters to the plate, got five hits, three walks, and went through three Orioles pitchers to score six runs and take a 7-2 lead.
Orlando Cabrera, Darin Erstad, Garret Anderson and Jose Molina all had RBI singles in the inning, with Anderson's and Molina's each scoring two runs.
Vladimir Guerrero kept dominating the Orioles, hitting an RBI double in the first inning and another in the sixth.
The Orioles briefly grabbed the lead in the top of the fifth after Luis Matos doubled, Brian Roberts singled him home, Eric Byrnes singled to move Roberts to second, then Javy Lopez singled Roberts home.
It wouldn't last, though, and the Orioles dropped their eighth straight game.
This afternoon, the Orioles and Angels wrap up this three-game set, as the O's send Rodrigo Lopez (9-6, 4.85 ERA, throws right) to the mound to try to avoid the sweep. He will face Ervin Santana (6-4, 5.19 ERA, throws right).
THOUGHTS:
Another day, another loss. Big surprise.
Jay Gibbons was on Comcast SportsNet's SportsNite last night to talk a little about the Rafael Palmeiro scandal, and he actually said that the mood in the clubhouse was pretty bad. Normally, players will give some crap answer like, "well, you know, we're just trying to work through this and not get too down on ourselves." I guess it's too bad to lie about (apparently unlike Palmeiro's positive steroid test... zing!).
The Orioles are now over 10 games behind Boston, and it appears that the season is lost unless they go on a monster run, which they haven't shown any signs of doing (you need to win one game before you can go on a run).
The O's need to avoid this sweep to take something from this series. They need a win... They don't just need a win -- they've needed a win for three weeks. They NEEEEEED a win.
Hopefully they can get right against this 22-year-old Ervin Santana kid, who has had a rocky go of it so far this year. But he's smoothed it out in his last three starts and has pitched well -- just in time for the Orioles, of course...
LP: Erik Bedard (5-4)
BAL: 51-56 (4th in AL East, 10.5 behind Boston)
The Orioles best starting pitcher, Erik Bedard, was pitching well -- he even had a lead -- until the fifth inning.
In the fifth, the Angels sent 11 batters to the plate, got five hits, three walks, and went through three Orioles pitchers to score six runs and take a 7-2 lead.
Orlando Cabrera, Darin Erstad, Garret Anderson and Jose Molina all had RBI singles in the inning, with Anderson's and Molina's each scoring two runs.
Vladimir Guerrero kept dominating the Orioles, hitting an RBI double in the first inning and another in the sixth.
The Orioles briefly grabbed the lead in the top of the fifth after Luis Matos doubled, Brian Roberts singled him home, Eric Byrnes singled to move Roberts to second, then Javy Lopez singled Roberts home.
It wouldn't last, though, and the Orioles dropped their eighth straight game.
This afternoon, the Orioles and Angels wrap up this three-game set, as the O's send Rodrigo Lopez (9-6, 4.85 ERA, throws right) to the mound to try to avoid the sweep. He will face Ervin Santana (6-4, 5.19 ERA, throws right).
THOUGHTS:
Another day, another loss. Big surprise.
Jay Gibbons was on Comcast SportsNet's SportsNite last night to talk a little about the Rafael Palmeiro scandal, and he actually said that the mood in the clubhouse was pretty bad. Normally, players will give some crap answer like, "well, you know, we're just trying to work through this and not get too down on ourselves." I guess it's too bad to lie about (apparently unlike Palmeiro's positive steroid test... zing!).
The Orioles are now over 10 games behind Boston, and it appears that the season is lost unless they go on a monster run, which they haven't shown any signs of doing (you need to win one game before you can go on a run).
The O's need to avoid this sweep to take something from this series. They need a win... They don't just need a win -- they've needed a win for three weeks. They NEEEEEED a win.
Hopefully they can get right against this 22-year-old Ervin Santana kid, who has had a rocky go of it so far this year. But he's smoothed it out in his last three starts and has pitched well -- just in time for the Orioles, of course...
MLB: Nationals 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 1 (August 3)
WP: Tony Armas Jr. (6-5)
LP: D.J. Houlton (4-5)
S: Chad Cordero (36)
WAS: 57-50 (2nd in NL East, 4.5 behind Atlanta, 1.5 ahead of Philadelphia)
The Nationals found some power in notching a much-needed win against the Dodgers on Wednesday night, as Preston Wilson and Nick Johnson both homered.
Milton Bradley got the scoring started with a solo home run of his own in the third inning, but Wilson answered in the fourth with a blast that scored himself and Jose Guillen. Wilson also had a double in the game.
Nick Johnson added an insurance run in the eighth before Chad Cordero came out and shut down the Dodgers in the ninth for his 36th save.
Tony Armas Jr. went five innings, giving up one run on four hits before yielding to the bullpen. Luis Ayala, Mike Stanton and Gary Majewski combined for three shutout innings before the Chief came in to close it out in the ninth.
The Nats picked up a game on the Braves, because the Braves lost to Cincinnati last night, 8-5.
The rubber game of this three game set is tonight at 7:05 at RFK, when John Patterson (4-3, 2.60 ERA, throws right) goes against Brad Penny (5-6, 3.62 ERA, throws right).
THOUGHTS:
Despite the recent struggles -- and they've been rough -- the Nationals are still in contention with two months left in the season. This win was big, because the Braves lost and it's really important to take advantage of these opportunities to pick up a game, especially when things aren't going well.
It was promising to see some home run power from Preston Wilson and Nick Johnson, but the team still only got three runs and had to rely on stellar pitching to get the win. That's how they did it in the first half of the season, though, so go with what works, I guess.
Tonight is a huge game. The Nats haven't won a series since they swept the Cubs to start July, and they haven't won two games in a row since then, either. They can do both tonight when they send John Patterson to the hill.
Speaking of Patterson, I really feel for the guy. He's got a 2.60 ERA. He's got a 1.13 WHIP. He strikes out almost three times as many batters as he walks. He's notched 13 Quality Starts out of 19 this season. On a team with more offense, he would have at least 12 or 13 wins. But how many does he have? FOUR. The guy has thrown a Quality Start in ALL of his last six games. In that span, he's given up seven runs in 41 innings. That's a 1.54 ERA! Somehow, though, he's 1-1 in that time. Someone get this guy a few wins!
Hopefully the Nats bats will come through for Patterson tonight and he'll nail down big win number five... Shameful.
LP: D.J. Houlton (4-5)
S: Chad Cordero (36)
WAS: 57-50 (2nd in NL East, 4.5 behind Atlanta, 1.5 ahead of Philadelphia)
The Nationals found some power in notching a much-needed win against the Dodgers on Wednesday night, as Preston Wilson and Nick Johnson both homered.
Milton Bradley got the scoring started with a solo home run of his own in the third inning, but Wilson answered in the fourth with a blast that scored himself and Jose Guillen. Wilson also had a double in the game.
Nick Johnson added an insurance run in the eighth before Chad Cordero came out and shut down the Dodgers in the ninth for his 36th save.
Tony Armas Jr. went five innings, giving up one run on four hits before yielding to the bullpen. Luis Ayala, Mike Stanton and Gary Majewski combined for three shutout innings before the Chief came in to close it out in the ninth.
The Nats picked up a game on the Braves, because the Braves lost to Cincinnati last night, 8-5.
The rubber game of this three game set is tonight at 7:05 at RFK, when John Patterson (4-3, 2.60 ERA, throws right) goes against Brad Penny (5-6, 3.62 ERA, throws right).
THOUGHTS:
Despite the recent struggles -- and they've been rough -- the Nationals are still in contention with two months left in the season. This win was big, because the Braves lost and it's really important to take advantage of these opportunities to pick up a game, especially when things aren't going well.
It was promising to see some home run power from Preston Wilson and Nick Johnson, but the team still only got three runs and had to rely on stellar pitching to get the win. That's how they did it in the first half of the season, though, so go with what works, I guess.
Tonight is a huge game. The Nats haven't won a series since they swept the Cubs to start July, and they haven't won two games in a row since then, either. They can do both tonight when they send John Patterson to the hill.
Speaking of Patterson, I really feel for the guy. He's got a 2.60 ERA. He's got a 1.13 WHIP. He strikes out almost three times as many batters as he walks. He's notched 13 Quality Starts out of 19 this season. On a team with more offense, he would have at least 12 or 13 wins. But how many does he have? FOUR. The guy has thrown a Quality Start in ALL of his last six games. In that span, he's given up seven runs in 41 innings. That's a 1.54 ERA! Somehow, though, he's 1-1 in that time. Someone get this guy a few wins!
Hopefully the Nats bats will come through for Patterson tonight and he'll nail down big win number five... Shameful.
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
MLB: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 10, Orioles 1 (August 2)
WP: Bartolo Colon (13-6)
LP: Sidney Ponson (7-10)
BAL: 51-55 (4th in AL East, 9.5 behind Boston)
Another game that was over before it began.
After three innings, the Angels had already taken a 4-0 lead on Sidney Ponson and the Orioles via a Vladimir Guerrero RBI single, a Guerrero two-run homer and a Garret Anderson solo homer.
Guerrero would hit another two-run homer later in the game, and the Angels would put a total of 10 runs on the board.
The Orioles got their only run when B.J. Surhoff hit an RBI single that scored Javy Lopez from third base in the fourth inning.
For the O's, Eric Byrnes continued to bat .400, going 2-for-5 with a double, and Brian Roberts went 3-for-5, also with a double.
Tonight is game two of this three-game set at 10:05. Erik Bedard (5-3, 2.32 ERA, throws left) will start for the Orioles against John Lackey (8-4, 3.70 ERA, throws right).
Bedard struggled in his last start, going just five innings and giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks.
THOUGHTS:
I took no positives from this game. I see no end to the struggles, and it looks like the dark cloud that has been hanging over the entire team is actually a loooong-lingering tropical depression. It could be a long August.
Shocker. Ponson gets shelled. That's all I'm going to say about his performance.
You'd think the ridiculous name change from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Anaheim, by the way, is not in Los Angeles County) would draw the ire of the baseball gods. But clearly not as much as having one of your players reach sacred statistical territory only to then be suspended for steroids.
This is all I can think at this point. We are being punished by the baseball gods for Palmeiro's actions.
In actuality, it has to be a distraction. How could it not be?
Also, since the All-Star break, a lot of fans have been calling for Mazzilli to step up and bring some fire; to throw a Lou Piniella-like fit in the locker room calling everyone scrubs and pansies and really whooping everyone into shape. Now it appears that the problem looming over everyone in the clubhouse was the Palmeiro scandal. So it's pretty clear that Lee throwing a fit wouldn't have helped much. When something this depressing happens to your ballclub, the manager throwing a fit and telling you that you suck doesn't really help. If it was just a slump, sure, throw some chairs, flip the tables with the post-game spread (ideally when Ponson is standing where it could land on him ... although where else would he be?), go nuts. But in this situation, yelling won't help. The team is just going to have to fight through it.
This, to me, kind of raises another question, though. Is it now bad form to fire Mazzilli when it looks like the collapse is something that was occurring outside of his control? The answer is probably that it could draw criticism from some writers, but in the end, this is sports. You can fire your manager/coach whenever you damn well please.
LP: Sidney Ponson (7-10)
BAL: 51-55 (4th in AL East, 9.5 behind Boston)
Another game that was over before it began.
After three innings, the Angels had already taken a 4-0 lead on Sidney Ponson and the Orioles via a Vladimir Guerrero RBI single, a Guerrero two-run homer and a Garret Anderson solo homer.
Guerrero would hit another two-run homer later in the game, and the Angels would put a total of 10 runs on the board.
The Orioles got their only run when B.J. Surhoff hit an RBI single that scored Javy Lopez from third base in the fourth inning.
For the O's, Eric Byrnes continued to bat .400, going 2-for-5 with a double, and Brian Roberts went 3-for-5, also with a double.
Tonight is game two of this three-game set at 10:05. Erik Bedard (5-3, 2.32 ERA, throws left) will start for the Orioles against John Lackey (8-4, 3.70 ERA, throws right).
Bedard struggled in his last start, going just five innings and giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks.
THOUGHTS:
I took no positives from this game. I see no end to the struggles, and it looks like the dark cloud that has been hanging over the entire team is actually a loooong-lingering tropical depression. It could be a long August.
Shocker. Ponson gets shelled. That's all I'm going to say about his performance.
You'd think the ridiculous name change from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Anaheim, by the way, is not in Los Angeles County) would draw the ire of the baseball gods. But clearly not as much as having one of your players reach sacred statistical territory only to then be suspended for steroids.
This is all I can think at this point. We are being punished by the baseball gods for Palmeiro's actions.
In actuality, it has to be a distraction. How could it not be?
Also, since the All-Star break, a lot of fans have been calling for Mazzilli to step up and bring some fire; to throw a Lou Piniella-like fit in the locker room calling everyone scrubs and pansies and really whooping everyone into shape. Now it appears that the problem looming over everyone in the clubhouse was the Palmeiro scandal. So it's pretty clear that Lee throwing a fit wouldn't have helped much. When something this depressing happens to your ballclub, the manager throwing a fit and telling you that you suck doesn't really help. If it was just a slump, sure, throw some chairs, flip the tables with the post-game spread (ideally when Ponson is standing where it could land on him ... although where else would he be?), go nuts. But in this situation, yelling won't help. The team is just going to have to fight through it.
This, to me, kind of raises another question, though. Is it now bad form to fire Mazzilli when it looks like the collapse is something that was occurring outside of his control? The answer is probably that it could draw criticism from some writers, but in the end, this is sports. You can fire your manager/coach whenever you damn well please.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
