Blame MacPhail

[amateurfan]

No, it's about equal. JJ's performance in the 9th last night is right on par with Jtrea's frame of mind right now.

JJ's performance last night impacts one game. If he closes it out successfully, it doesn't change the fact that the team is not very good. Last night was one game.

[clapdiddy]

I think Trea makes some valid points, but the one big thing he and those who advocated us going after high-end talent this offseason was:

THOSE PLAYERS DID NOT WANT TO COME HERE!!!!

That is all...

[JTrea81]

I think Trea makes some valid points, but the one big thing he and those who advocated us going after high-end talent this offseason was:

THOSE PLAYERS DID NOT WANT TO COME HERE!!!!

That is all...

Did we even try hard enough to get any of them?

We didn't pursue Lackey, Figgins and the most we were willing to give Holliday was below what Boston had already offered.

So you can say they didn't want to come here, and that might be true, but the Orioles didn't really try to land any of them.

[wildcard]

There is plenty of blame to go around.

MacPhail for chosing Gonzalez over Valverde. For calling up Montanez who is a fifth OF that is not hitting over Hughes who could be the DH that is hitting on a team that desparately needs hitting.

Trembley for obessing over the lose of BRob. You have to play with what you have and not emphasize the players that can't help you. Also for the use of the pen. He pulls too many relievers that are pitching well. And for asking Miggi to do more then the can. Miggi is no longer the power hitter. He is the guy that can hit .300 if he is not trying to muscle up. Its Trembley's job to get the most out of him and he has him in the wrong role.

Roberts - Brian signed a $40M contract and has the responsibility be keep himself healthy. No skydiving, No motorcycles and No over doing it in the gym. Anyone who has spent any time in a gym knows how many stories there are of guys messing up their back or their knee by overdoing it. Brian screwed up big time and it is hurting the team that is paying him the big buck.

Markakis - They are paying him like a veteran leader in his prime and he is not living up to the role. Sure they are pitching around him but he gets his opportunities. That said he is one of the guys that will lead this team to better times.

Jones - For trying to be more then he is. He pulls too much, trying to knock every ball out for the stadium. He needs to use the whole field and get his hits.

Miggi - He shares the blame for trying to be something he is not. He is a veteran. He knows what he does best.

I can't blame anyone for Atkins, Scott or Reimold. There were no great hitters available that wanted to come to the O's. Scott had no trade value in the off season market. Reimold's injury is no ones fault.

This team may have been a .500 if everything clicked. Well it didn't. When things started going wrong it wasn't hard to see where it was going.

The bright side is that the starters may actually be the foundation to build around that MacPhail planned it to be.

[Sports Guy]

1) AM had a terrible offseason...His plan was right but it was executed poorly and he brought in the wrong players.

2) Jtrea, you continue to blow small sample sizes out of proportion and act as if they are the gospel...Even mentioning Snyder and Bell as big issues because they are off to slow starts is just dumb.

[JTrea81]

There were no great hitters available that wanted to come to the O's.

Again, where's the proof?

[Sports Guy]

Again, where's the proof?

And where's yours?

You have thrown out contract numbers that you think Holliday would have signed...and they are a joke.

7/140...or more...That's what it would have taken to get him here.

[wildcard]

Again, where's the proof?

I'll show you my if you show me yours. You first. Oh you don't have any? Hmmm.

[JTrea81]

And where's yours?

You have thrown out contract numbers that you think Holliday would have signed...and they are a joke.

7/140...or more...That's what it would have taken to get him here.

And you know this how? Did you talk to Boras?

[JTrea81]

I'll show you my if you show me yours. You first. Oh you don't have any? Hmmm.

Brian Roberts said that Holliday eventually wanted to play on the same team he did. Garrett Atkins is one of his best friends.

The seeds were there if the Orioles were aggressive enough.

And you don't have any proof that Holliday didn't want to come here if the Orioles had been aggressive with negotiations.

It's easy to keep spouting "they didn't want to come here" mantra. There is no concrete proof to the contrary so it becomes a convienent excuse for lack of results year after year.

[mrbig1]

Instead of blaming this on luck, it's time to start pointing fingers at the man ultimately responsible for this horrid start to begin the season - Andy MacPhail.

Flash back to October 2009. We've just come off our 12th losing season in a row. Here was a chance to go get a manager and give this team a fresh start and a winning attitude, somebody to guide the hungry young players into a new era. So what does Andy do? He renews the same manager and brings back the same exact coaching staff minus only the bench coach.

Andy then proceeds to make this statement:

We now know 2010 is about wins and losses, and the offseason is about to begin. The Orioles have a ton of payroll room, and not much competition on the FA market, and a lot of young prospects to trade.

So what do we wind up with?

Kevin Millwood, Garrett Atkins, Mike Gonzalez and Miguel Tejada.

That was our offseason. We didn't acquire a cleanup hitter, or a consistent offensive threat or any difference making players that would give this team a real shot at a winning season. MacPhail failed to do what he said he was going to do for Dave Trembley.

Atkins and Tejada have both contributed little offensively, Gonzalez who had a max of 24 saves in his career, is now injured and owed $12 million over two years still. Only Millwood has really panned out thus far.

MacPhail's offseason efforts fell far short of what he claimed this season was to be about. He brought back the same manager and coaching staff and with him the same losing culture. And he acquired no difference making players, instead relying on the younger talent to chart the course of the team. And now we see the result.

The Orioles have steered into another iceberg with Andy MacPhail at the helm and the ship is going down... Again.

You are 100% right. Let me add that PA runs this team not AM IMO.

[mrbig1]

I think Trea makes some valid points, but the one big thing he and those who advocated us going after high-end talent this offseason was:

THOSE PLAYERS DID NOT WANT TO COME HERE!!!!

That is all...

Why didn't they want to come here? Two words, Peter Angelos.

[eddie83]

Brian Roberts said that Holliday eventually wanted to play on the same team he did. Garrett Atkins is one of his best friends.

The seeds were there if the Orioles were aggressive enough.

And you don't have any proof that Holliday didn't want to come here if the Orioles had been aggressive with negotiations.

Or he could play next to Pujols on a team that went to the playoffs last year in a much weaker division. If you think these players sign to play with their friends you are lost, this isn't a middle school playground.

[amateurfan]

I'll show you my if you show me yours. You first. Oh you don't have any? Hmmm.

You have no proof. All you can show is that those players did not want to come to the Orioles for the amount of money the Orioles were willing to pay, or the number of years, or for whatever other factors. The big issue is whether or not those factors can be changed so that these types of players come to Baltimore. To state that they did not want to come here is just over-simplified.

[eddie83]

Why didn't they want to come here? Two words, Peter Angelos.

Two words Boston, New York.