Connolly: Heads may roll today

[wildcard]

Dan Connolly says that Dan Duquette,  Roger McDowell and Scott Coolbaugh are all vulnerable to being fired  on today's off day.   A consequence of the O's 8-26  record.

http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2018/05/07/early-may-feels-like-perfect-fall-day-birdland/

Ken Rosenthall agrees as stated in MLBTR:

• Quote

  With an 8-26 record, it’s seemingly only a matter of time before the Orioles start making some necessary changes, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes (subscription required) in a follow-up to his piece last month about Baltimore’s evolving front office and ownership dynamic.  Since executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette seems to be losing influence within the organization, Rosenthal asks “why would they keep Duquette at all?” as the team approaches some critical long-term decisions at the trade deadline.  Duquette considered firing pitching coach Roger McDowell after last season in the wake of the poor performance of Baltimore’s arms, though it isn’t known whether moves like coaching changes are still under consideration, or if Buck Showalter could step in to prevent firing members of his coaching staff.  Whatever changes are made, fans aren’t buying into the current (lack of) direction, as attendance is way down at Camden Yards.

   

But I don't see any on that happening.   Peter Angelos does not fire managers and GM and pay for a second one.   He just puts them in a corner and waits until their contract runs out.  That is what I think happens to Dan.   The argument that Connolly gives for fire Dan is the O's  will make major trades between now and the end of July and a lame duck GM should not make them.   And Dan will not be making those decisions.   But the decision makers that replace him are all ready in place.   Buck, Brady, John and Lou are already on the job.   They will make those decisions IMO.  

As far as the coaches goes, Buck will protect them.

I do agree that heads could roll either today or soon.    But it will be players heads.   Schoop will return tomorrow to improve the team defense and  as soon as he gets him timing down to help the offense.   Veilma will likely be optioned,

The O's may DFA Tillman and promote Melville to the 5th spot in the rotation.

The O's may claim Luis Santo off waivers and DFA Mike Wright.  

And Saturday, Santander is probably  being optioned and Joey Rickard is called up. 

Those of the 4 changes that I see as more likely than Dan, Scoot or Roger being sent packing.

[maybenxtyr]

One things for sure...doing nothing will keep them strolling to the first pick. I'm not going to say fire Buck or certain coaches, but there is certainly some player moves that need to be made no matter what the long term goals are.

 

This team is an embarrassment to all of baseball at the moment. Even Cincinnati and Miami have nights where they look like major league teams. The O's, not so much. 

[wildbillhiccup]

I haven't been a proponent of firing Buck, but if this is true and his head isn't on the chopping block too then it's absolutely ridiculous. Buck pushed for the Davis and Trumbo signings and I'd be willing to bet he was the driving force behind bringing Tillman back. Buck is also stubborn to a fault. He doesn't seem willing to admit his mistakes with Davis or Tillman and continues to play them. It's almost like he's doing it out of spite now, since everyone is calling for them to benched (Davis) or released (Tillman). That's a dangerous game to play. 

I also have some serious concerns about Buck in a front office role. I don't think he's vision for winning meshes well with today's game. We need a well-rounded team that can produce runs even when they aren't hitting home runs. Especially when we can't compete with the other teams in our division (Yanks, Red Sox) in terms of payroll. I loved those teams in the 80s as much as the next person, but Early Weaver ball is antiquated strategy and it's time to move on. From Buck and from the two run homer. 

[wildcard]

4 minutes ago, wildbillhiccup said:

I haven't been a proponent of firing Buck, but if this is true and his head isn't on the chopping block too then it's absolutely ridiculous. Buck pushed for the Davis and Trumbo signings and I'd be willing to bet he was the driving force behind bringing Tillman back. Buck is also stubborn to a fault. He doesn't seem willing to admit his mistakes with Davis or Tillman and continues to play them. It's almost like he's doing it out of spite now, since everyone is calling for them to benched (Davis) or released (Tillman). That's a dangerous game to play. 

I also have some serious concerns about Buck in a front office role. I don't think he's vision for winning meshes well with today's game. We need a well-rounded team that can produce runs even when they aren't hitting home runs. Especially when we can't compete with the other teams in our division (Yanks, Red Sox) in terms of payroll. I loved those teams in the 80s as much as the next person, but Early Weaver ball is antiquated strategy and it's time to move on. From Buck and from the two run homer. 

Dan and Buck are both advocates of the home run being a good strategy in Camden Yards.   

Davis probably sits on Tuesday and Wednesday as the Royals throw lefty starters. Trumbo may play first.

[clapdiddy]

1 minute ago, wildbillhiccup said:

I haven't been a proponent of firing Buck, but if this is true and his head isn't on the chopping block too then it's absolutely ridiculous. Buck pushed for the Davis and Trumbo signings and I'd be willing to bet he was the driving force behind bringing Tillman back. Buck is also stubborn to a fault. He doesn't seem willing to admit his mistakes with Davis or Tillman and continues to play them. It's almost like he's doing it out of spite now, since everyone is calling for them to benched (Davis) or released (Tillman). That's a dangerous game to play. 

I also have some serious concerns about Buck in a front office role. I don't think he's vision for winning meshes well with today's game. We need a well-rounded team that can produce runs even when they aren't hitting home runs. Especially when we can't compete with the other teams in our division (Yanks, Red Sox) in terms of payroll. I loved those teams in the 80s as much as the next person, but Early Weaver ball is antiquated strategy and it's time to move on. From Buck and from the two run homer. 

Great post.   As much as I love what Buck has done for this franchise, I think it's just time to clean house and start fresh.  I don't think Brady is the answer, either.    I'd rather pull a younger guy from a successful organization like the Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals, etc.    We need a complete change of direction.

[Redskins Rick]

Consider the source that Conolly is quoting.

[ORIOLE33]

6 minutes ago, clapdiddy said:

Great post.   As much as I love what Buck has done for this franchise, I think it's just time to clean house and start fresh.  I don't think Brady is the answer, either.    I'd rather pull a younger guy from a successful organization like the Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals, etc.    We need a complete change of direction.

I would do the same thing. 

[Moose Milligan]

I'm not sure what firing Buck does right now, other than the appease the OH horde who is extremely thirsty for blood these days. 

You're probably going to get a 2nd rate manager in here that's just going to be replaced in the offseason after a proper manager search has been done.  But I get it, you guys need to see heads roll to make yourselves feel better.  

[wildcard]

5 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

Consider the source that Conolly is quoting.

I don't see any quotes in Connolly's article.

[Redskins Rick]

Just now, wildcard said:

I don't see any quotes in Connolly's article.

My apologies.

It was your quote of the MLBTR with Ken's comments.

Ken is not objective about the Orioles.

[clapdiddy]

3 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

I'm not sure what firing Buck does right now, other than the appease the OH horde who is extremely thirsty for blood these days. 

You're probably going to get a 2nd rate manager in here that's just going to be replaced in the offseason after a proper manager search has been done.  But I get it, you guys need to see heads roll to make yourselves feel better.  

For the record, I don't think Buck should be fired immediately.  I'm not even sure that getting rid of other people is a good idea right now.   I think at the end of the year, Buck should not be involved in the organizational decision making any longer.   If they want to keep him around in some other role, that's fine.  

[LookitsPuck]

I don’t get all the Buck bashing.

It’s convenient to blame Buck for Trumbo and Davis. But Duquette traded for Trumbo. Duquette screwed up majorly for not signing Cruz. I think he felt cornered on having to sign a Trumbo. That’s not a Buck decision, that’s a Duquette decision. The question is how much did Buck push for Trumbo?

As for Davis...will we ever know the full story here? Some say Buck. Some say Angelos. But who worked out that deal? 

[DirtyBird]

Just now, Moose Milligan said:

I'm not sure what firing Buck does right now, other than the appease the OH horde who is extremely thirsty for blood these days. 

You're probably going to get a 2nd rate manager in here that's just going to be replaced in the offseason after a proper manager search has been done.  But I get it, you guys need to see heads roll to make yourselves feel better.  

You are absolutely correct, if you ignore that fact that one's job should be tied to their job performance/results.

[Redskins Rick]

Just now, LookitsPuck said:

I don’t get all the Buck bashing.

It’s convenient to blame Buck for Trumbo and Davis. But Duquette traded for Trumbo. Duquette screwed up majorly for not signing Cruz. I think he felt cornered on having to sign a Trumbo. That’s not a Buck decision, that’s a Duquette decision. The question is how much did Buck push for Trumbo?

As for Davis...will we ever know the full story here? Some say Buck. Some say Angelos. But who worked out that deal? 

Lets talk Cruz.

I think at the time, many of us in OP was shocked they went 4 years and felt that Cruz would have 1-2 very good years, and then decline.

I would not call that a major screw up.

 

[DirtyBird]

Just now, LookitsPuck said:

I don’t get all the Buck bashing.

It’s convenient to blame Buck for Trumbo and Davis. But Duquette traded for Trumbo. Duquette screwed up majorly for not signing Cruz. I think he felt cornered on having to sign a Trumbo. That’s not a Buck decision, that’s a Duquette decision. The question is how much did Buck push for Trumbo?

As for Davis...will we ever know the full story here? Some say Buck. Some say Angelos. But who worked out that deal? 

Duquette traded for Trumbo with a year left on his deal - a season he led the league in HR's and the team ended up in the WC game.