The Orioles' march towards infamy continued last night as they squandered a brilliant start by Jeremy Guthrie and in the end were shutout by the Blue Jays, 5-0.

For the umpteenth time this year, the Baltimore offense couldn't get going and Jays' rookie Brad Mills contained them. They only mustered three hits on the night and a huge error by Corey Patterson led to Toronto's first run of the ball game in the first inning. The Jays were held at bay until the eighth where they plated four runs off the Oriole bullpen (Koji Uehara and Will Ohman).

Wednesday's game pretty much underscores why the Orioles have been so terrible all year and easily headed for 100 losses. There seems to be no plan of attack at the plate, and they are not making the pitchers work at all in their at-bats. Whether it's a lack of fundamentals, talent, or preparedness by the hitting coach -- the results have not been good at all for the Orioles.

Finally, there may finally a decision on the managerial front with the Baltimore Orioles.

ESPN's Tim Kurkjian reported:

The Baltimore Orioles hired ESPN analyst Buck Showalter as their next manager, a source confirmed Thursday.

Showalter's first game as manager will be Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels, the first game of a seven-game homestand.

The Orioles, a major league-worst 31-70, fired manager Dave Trembley on June 4 and replaced him with Juan Samuel on an interim basis.

I've not read or heard anything in Baltimore media as of yet, but if the news is true, all the rampant speculation about who guides the team on the field will cease. It's too bad that Juan Samuel probably won't get to manage the team much more after this week from the looks of it (again, if the reports are true).

It seems that the players like him and that Samuel tried his best to do his job with the cards he was dealt, but it was pretty obvious that the organization was looking for someone with experience.

However, not much with the organization will change unless there's an infusion of talent at the major league level and the team continues to build through the draft.

Just my opinion.

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