Went out to the Yard last night since I was in the Columbia area doing business and wanted to see the Marlins for a bit last night. The Orioles lost their 51st game of the year last night, 10-4, to the Florida Marlins.
Jeremy Guthrie was shaky at times during his outing and took the loss – his ninth of the season. The Marlins did their damage in the fourth and in the last third of the game, where they touched up the Oriole bullpen for another six runs.
The underacheiving, but young and talented Marlins team beat up the Orioles and several players – star Hanley Ramirez, rookie Mike Stanton, Gaby Sanchez and Wes Helms – all had productive nights at the plate. Plus, every Marlin starter had a hit.
Matt Wieters had a big three run homer in the second inning to bring Baltimore within one of the lead, 4-3; however, they would not do much else. The Orioles’ newest addition, Jake Fox, made his debut in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter.
At this point, the addition of Fox is a nice insurance policy in case Wigginton gets dealt and also gives much more depth on the team. Fox can play the corner outfield positions, corner infield positions, and also go behind the plate as a catcher.
Furthermore, he’s a former Cub … and MacPhail seems to like his former North Side Chicago picks.
I love this line from Dan Connolly from yesterday’s Baltimore Sun’s Oriole Insider blog about the Fox deal along with Andy MacPhail’s love for his former picks from Chicago:
“I’ve always said that one of the best ways to build a winner is to emulate another legendary success story, you know, like the Cubs.”
Ouch. There’s nothing more than needs to be said.
Finally, the Orioles may be spared of drama for one day in the region.
For some bizarre reason – aside from the team record-wise at 34-36 – the Marlins decided to make a personnel change on the field.
This morning, they have fired manager Fredi Gonzalez, bench coach Carlos Tosca and hitting coach Jim Presley, despite having won 87 games last season!
According to ESPN, Triple-A manager (New Orleans) Edwin Rodriguez had been named interim manager, with Brandon Hyde and John Mallee the interim bench and hitting coaches
Does team owner Jeffrey Loria have some sort of temper, or does he really think that the franchise (with it’s low payroll) should be that much better?
Seriously, and we all thought the Orioles might be a symbol of some alleged dysfunction…
Somehow, I don’t think Fredi Gonzalez should feel too bad.
I’m sure the Braves may be calling (he was a part of their organization for years and manager Bobby Cox is retiring after the season), or heck, he can interview for the open spot in Baltimore!
