Connolly: Heads may roll today

[NashLumber]

The Replacements speak for me today. Someone just take the (expletive withheld ) wheel. Sick of this directionless front office, dugout and philosophy. 

 Someone take the wheel
And I don't know where we're going
Anybody say what you feel
Everybody's sad, but nobody's showin

[LookitsPuck]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

This team and organization was a complete joke before Buck. He gave it some respectability.   99.9% chance that you like his replacement less.  

Hear, hear!

[TonySoprano]

1 hour ago, Moose Milligan said:

Kinda missed my point...I don't think Buck should be manager after this year, I just don't think there's a long term option waiting in the wings right now.  So you can fire Buck now and replace him with Eric Wedge but I'm not sure how Eric Wedge gets waaayyy better results with the roster he'd inherit.

And even so, do you want Eric Wedge to be the long term manager here?

So what good is it to fire Buck now or in October?  Other than to make you feel better?

Would you rather have let Trembley finish out the 2010 season?
 I agree with your sentiment that at this point this season is already a lost cause, so no real change will result.  Call it the "Curse of Ryan Flaherty," because while he provided little offense, his glove-work didn't hurt the team as much as a couple guys who are out there now.

That said, the crowd wants a sacrifice, now, not later,  stoked by articles in the press. 

IF Dan is fired, then Buck should go as well.  Either both or neither.  You can point to decisions both of them made which helped get us where we are.  In regard to Buck, Dan said, Still, you can make the argument that his message is stale and the shine is off. "   Maybe.  One can also make the argument that Mike Scoscia's message got stale since they had a losing record the last two seasons. Or not.  Scoscia's in his 19th season there,  did he find a new message, or is their success this year,  personnel related (Ohtani) ?  So again, if Buck goes, then the blame should be on his personnel decisions, not his "message," or in-game management.

Reportedly, Dan's been "dead man walking" since flirting with Toronto in 2014, but Angelos lets long-term contracts expire rather than cutting bait.   As Rosenthal pointed out, in Captain Obvious fashion, we don't have a contingency plan in place for his replacement. -

Quote

the Orioles lack internal candidates to replace Duquette, though farm director Brian Graham served as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ interim GM for 18 days in 2007 between the tenures of Dave Littlefield and Neal Huntington.

 

[Ballmer Bruce]

No playoffs this season. Team would have to play 28 games over 500 to be in Wild Card hunt. Let that sink in.  Focus on defense like the team did in good years. Maybe play close to 500 for rest of year, trade Manny and Britton if pitching well. 

[NashLumber]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

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.

Agreed. I haven’t read the rest of the thread, but while that strategy works when all cylinders are firing, but I’m probably stating the obvious that it helps explain the poor road records the last couple of years. They just didn’t balance the batting order with some OBP guys to get the O’s over the hump the other 81 games. And pitchers who can keep the ball in the park. That. 

[Tony-OH]

1 hour ago, Moose Milligan said:

Connolly's article is garbage, even though we come to the same conclusion:

 

There's no substance here.  He's just reminding everyone about what they already know, how long Buck and Dan have been here, what they've done and haven't done, etc, etc.  

But it does what I think happens in a lot of media today, which gets people reading headlines and starting conversations like this...like, HEY THEY COULD FIRE SOMEONE TODAY...but there's no insight here other than...it's an off day and the Orioles are garbage.  Yes, it makes sense to do it today...but is there any inside source?  

He even starts it off with a great hook:  The next 36 hours in Birdland should be fascinating.

Really, Dan-o?  Your article doesn't tell me why they SHOULD be fascinating.  It tells me why it COULD be fascinating.  

But all of this plays into what I think the media likes to do which is...talking things into existence.  Danny boy here writes a column about heads falling and then it gets picked up on morning sports talk radio.  The bloggers get into it and start speculating.  It gets picked up on message boards like the OH and others.  Soon, people are talking about something that's not based in reality at all.  

I'd be (pleasantly) shocked if anything happened today.  

I disagree. You may know some of this because I'e been leaking a lot of this over time in posts, but Dan basically just confirmed that the team is made up of several "architects" and that Brady was the one in charge this offseason. He also made some great points, if Duquette is fired, that pretty much concludes that Brady will be the major architect o the rebuild. If none of Buck's coaches are fired or Buck himself, it means that Buck will continue working with Brady on the rebuild and will be back.

If Buck's coaches are fired, it would mean that Brady is putting down the law and that Buck is vulnerable after he season unless Brady know the manager of the future that he wants and he's available.

The article was right on the nose from what I know.

[wildcard]

11 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Ok, while I don't disagree with any of those changes, I fail to see how any of them make this team significantly better.  

You have to be kidding.   Schoop is a middle of the order hitter.  MVP of the team last year.   He may take a week to find his timing but his defense alone will help this team.  Peterson should be much better at 3B than Alvarez.

Rickard in the leadoff spot and playing right field  could be a great up grade over Santander.   He adds speed which the O's have lacked.  Joey has been tearing up AAA and the O's need to find out if he is a full  time player or just a platoon player as he was used before.     Adding Joey  moves Mancini down  in the order.   

Melville is pitching well as AAA and  should be much better than Tillman.  The other 4 starters are doing well now and adding a 5th could be help reduce the stress on the pen.   

Santo's minor league stats look good.  He could be a good  long reliever/spot starter.   And he has options something that adds flexibility to the relief staff.  Wright does not offer options.    The O's are first in line for an AL waiver claim so if they want him he should be theirs.    

I think all four players could be a boost to the O's in the next couple of weeks.

[Tony-OH]

10 minutes ago, LookitsPuck said:

I agree. But let's not forget that the roster Duquette put together right now has Gentry, Valencia, Alvarez, Joseph, Sisco, Santander and Peterson all getting regular playing time. And I'm not convinced many (any?) of them are better options than batting Davis where he is.

The problem with your analysis is that you have chosen a side here. So duquette had nothing to do with acquire any major league agents this offseason, that was on Brady. What Duquette did was go out and do what he always did, find cheap, available players with major league experience who could provide depth.

Unfortunately, with injuries and and poor performance, they have played a lot more than anyone had hoped they would have to play. Duquette didn't resign Tillman and he doesn't start him every five days. He doesn't bat Davis 4th behind Manny Machado and he wasn't the guy who signed him to that large contract. He traded for one year of Trumbo and got great value while dumping a bad contract. From what I know he was not the guy who resigned him.

 

[TonySoprano]

9 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

I disagree. You may know some of this because I'e been leaking a lot of this over time in posts, but Dan basically just confirmed that the team is made up of several "architects" and that Brady was the one in charge this offseason. He also made some great points, if Duquette is fired, that pretty much concludes that Brady will be the major architect o the rebuild. If none of Buck's coaches are fired or Buck himself, it means that Buck will continue working with Brady on the rebuild and will be back.

If Buck's coaches are fired, it would mean that Brady is putting down the law and that Buck is vulnerable after he season unless Brady know the manager of the future that he wants and he's available.

The article was right on the nose from what I know.

I think you two agree maybe more than you realize.  It doesn't appear that Moose is arguing that Dan's facts are wrong.  Rather, it's only that the headline is click bait, and it offers no new insight that change is going to occur soon (not that Dan would be at liberty to leak any details)

[maybenxtyr]

I'm ok as a fan with some 25 mam changes.

 

I've complained about Buck more lately than I ever thought I would, but he probably should stay the rest of the season. After that it should be up to the GM to pick his manager.

[eddie83]

Next year will be a team with many new faces. That will benefit Buck staying on. The he has lost the clubhouse argument goes out the door. The clubhouse will be brand new.  

[MagicBird]

8 minutes ago, TonySoprano said:

I think you two agree maybe more than you realize.  It doesn't appear that Moose is arguing that Dan's facts are wrong.  Rather, it's only that the headline is click bait, and it offers no new insight that change is going to occur soon (not that Dan would be at liberty to leak any details)

Right.   Heads may roll tomorrow.   Or heads may roll next week.  Its presented as nothing more than mere speculation.

[NashLumber]

1 hour ago, Roll Tide said:

The team has many flaws that I already named and also included no speed, no leadoff hitters, low OBP. That’s why they have no choice other than to wait for the 3 run homer.

I suspect that either the FO conglomeration (whomever we can agree are  actually in the decision making chain since Dan’s Jays flirtation) don’t recognize they have flaws or that if they do, they can’t agree on what they are or what kind of team they should be. 

 

1 hour ago, Roll Tide said:

I’d hire Girardi to manage. I’m sure he’d love to stick it to the Yankees.

I’d hire him in a New York minute. He was easy to dislike when wearing the pinstripes, but he’s not a downgrade from Buck, imho. But I’m guessing he’d only take the job (if offered) if he knew there was some coherence in the FO about where the team is headed and what kind of teams they are planning to assemble in ‘19 and beyond. 

[wildcard]

47 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Sadly, that’s the truth.    Buck’s track record of success earned him a long leash, but 8-26 following last year’s 4-19 finish used up that leash incredibly quickly.    I’m not exactly saying Buck deserves to be fired, I’m just saying it’s certainly a defensible move at this point.   

Firing Buck because their are a lot of injuries, non performance, the hardest schedule to begin the  season in the  Majors is not a smart move.   Let's see what happens when Schoop, Britton, Rickard are back and Mancini knee is healed.   Tillman and Wright being replaced will also help.    The team starts playing well and things will look better.

That does not change the fact the the O's free agents need to be traded.  The O's have dug too big a hole to contend this year but this team can play a whole lot better with its injured player healthy.

[NashLumber]

1 hour ago, Bonecrusher52 said:

Hire a new GM and manager. Send Chris Davis to AAA then move Brady Anderson to first base. Brady will post better number than Chris Davis. You're gonna like the way your team going to look I guarantee it.

The mic has been dropped. Best (and funniest) post I’ll read the rest of the week.