According to Ken Rosenthal, over at FoxSports.com, the Orioles may have a plan for their new manager going into next year. The 2010 Orioles are currently stuck in a season that feels more like an absinthe-induced waking nightmare than reality. The 2010 Orioles are proof that God does not exist; because no right and just deity would allow this to happen. The 2010 Orioles are - um - very very bad. I am running out of literary allusions and loquacious, semi-colon riddled, sentences to describe it and the 2010 soundtracks has gone from upbeat indie-rock to Tom Waits and Bauhaus.

The Orioles, however, are looking to the future with their managerial search. As names like Showalter, Valentine and Melvin swirl about the Warehouse a plan may be emerging something that may be pretty controversial. As Rosenthal reports everyone in the organization is preparing for a massive shakeup and the likelihood of that happening in the middle of a season is next-to-nothing but that won't stop the Orioles from finding a manager in the near-term.

The supposed plan is to hire the 2011 manager and have them work as a special consultant to General Manager Andy MacPhail evaluating every aspect of the of the organization from the major league team to the development strategy in the minors. Current manager Juan Samuel would no-longer be the manager next year, if he is even in the organization, and the new manager would be given the opportunity to implement his changes.

This is a pretty bold idea in my mind and one I can get behind. I like the idea of the new-hire working behind the scenes and taking the rest of the season to scour through the entire organization and make changes where necessary. But there is one obvious problem; how will the players react to this situation? How does Samuel run the team when the "real" manager is in the owner's box with MacPhail? For this plan to work though the Orioles need to hire someone like a Showalter or Valentine, they need to hire someone whom brings instant credibility to his position and carries instant clout within the organization. Bob Melvin, Ryne Sandberg sorry, you will not work in a role like that but I would find it hard to believe that anyone would question the decisions or advice of Showalter or Valentine.

Say the Orioles go through with a plan like this, what would the manager be looking for? Would the rest of 2010 essentially be one long job interview for the entire coaching staff and the players themselves? What, if any, restrictions would be placed on the new boss in this plan?

Honestly, the fact we are even having this conversation shows how tragic this season is. Think back to March for a second, think about it. Even if you thought that Dave Trembley wouldn't make it through the year no one thought this was possible. No one thought that on June 19th the Orioles would have fewer than 30 wins let alone 20 wins! One thing that is for sure the 2011 organization appears that it is going to be vastly different than its current form and whether that transformation begins in July or September it is a transformation that is sorely needed.

Last night in San Diego, the Orioles fell to a MLB worst 18-49 as the Padres’ Adrian Gonzalez drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning off David Hernandez and lost, 3-2.

With Baltimore up 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Hernandez just looked awful as he had absolutely no command and didn’t seem to have his best stuff. San Diego would jump on him to the tune of a lead-off walk, and seemingly hit-after-hit (for in the frame) which enabled the tying run to come in before deciding Gonzalez’s hit.

Heath Bell earned the win for San Diego on the mound, while Hernandez took the loss.

The Orioles did rally in the top of the 9th inning and broke open a 1-1 tie with a Julio Lugo RBI-single.

Brian Matusz once again had another solid start, going six innings and giving up a run. He would strike out four.

In fact, he could have conceivably won the game on Friday night if Adam Jones hadn’t seriously misplayed a ball in the 6^th inning that allowed Adrian Gonzalez to double and plate in a run. Also, the Orioles cost themselves another run due to an interference play by Cesar Izturis in the fifth inning.

At this point, maybe Nick Markakis was right in his statements on Thursday. Once again, the offense could not get anything done and Baltimore paid for it again on Friday and throughout the season.

On the other hand, do you think it may be time to perhaps send Matt Wieters to the minors? I guess the question would who could possibly replace him day-to-day on the team, but his numbers are nothing short of awful at the moment.

He just looks very much off at the plate and I’m not sure if the losing is getting to him, he’s trying to do too much or what; however, much of the struggles of the Orioles this season can be attributed to the regression of the young players.

And Matt Wieters is a small part of the problem.

As well, even though Adam Jones has been a lot better at the plate, his play in the field isn’t leaving much to be desired. Right now, he’s just making way too many costly mistakes out in center field that aren’t helping the situation at hand.

Much like Matt, I don’t know if there’s something going on, or the strain of the season is getting to him, but these guys have to keep focus and have a plan out there.

Once again on Wednesday, the Orioles lost again, 6-3 to the San Francisco Giants. Jeremy Guthrie took his 8^th loss of the season as he went six innings and gave up four runs in his outing.

Perennial Cy Young award candidate Tim Linecum got the easy win and gave up two runs, striking out ten in six innings, plus walking four. He got hit with a line drive off the bat of Miguel Tejada and had to leave the game. Despite his solid numbers, the Orioles got him

The Orioles kept things close until the latter third of the game as San Francisco, with a 4-3 lead, scored twice in the eighth inning to decide the game.

Boy, wouldn’t Aubrey Huff look good in an Oriole uniform right now. He went 3-for-4 with a homer yesterday and for a guy who got no other offers from the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball this offseason, Huff is sure having a nice, bounce-back year.

Of course, once again the Baltimore offense was the problem and yesterday’s game was a microcosm of why they are where they are.

The Orioles managed eleven hits, got seventeen runners on base and over-and-over again throughout the game had a chance to tie or break things open; however, they were a putrid 3-for-14 with men in scoring position.

Baltimore is now 18-48, a sad 30 games under .500 and on pace to become one of the worst baseball teams to ever take the field in recent memory.

The result on Wednesday on left coast is a big, big reason why.

Moving on…

Nick Markakis finally spoke out to the media (courtesy of the Baltimore Sun) about the losing, as well as his frustration with the 2010 Orioles.

I’m glad he finally he did this, but perhaps it all came a bit too late. I can’t ever recall him ever being this vocal, but with a season down the toilet and three-and-half months to go in the 2010 season, someone on the team had to say something than the standard cliché of, “Oh, we’re trying to get better”, “or we’re doing our best..”

Nick said, “I know we have a lot of injured guys. We're in the toughest division in baseball and we're a last-place team. But at this point, it's mind boggling. You don't even know what to think, but you still have to be professional and go out and play every day."

Plus, he added about the offensive problems, "We're all bad right now. It's obvious. Everybody watches the games. They see it, they know it. It is what it is until we start making adjustments. You can't say guys aren't trying. Guys are busting their butts. I just don't think they have the right approach going up there. It's like, 'see ball, hit ball.' You can't do that. You have to make the adjustment and you have to change your approach. Until you do that, this is going to keep happening."

There’s nothing more that can be said.

Until the players work better on their situational hitting and doing something with the baseball at the plate than hoping to just make contact, the Orioles will continue to struggle offensively.

I seriously wonder if the situation with the offense – and the pitching – is only bound to get far worse with the trading deadline and the possible departure of productive veterans on the team now.

Right now, something – anything – has to be done with this team.

Finally, in terms of the managerial search, it looks like the Orioles are going to chat with Buck Showalter. I’m not personally a huge of fan of Showalter and he seems to tire, plus alienate players and front office staff – allegedly – wherever he goes, but he wins, seemingly knows how to build a team, guide them and get results. If he’s the best man available for the job, by all means hire him.

Also, give Showalter ample time to change the culture with the Orioles on the field and see if he can get anything out of them.

Let's hope that Buck isn't his worst own enemy. Showalter fired from every managerial job (three: Yankees, Rangers, Diamondbacks) that he's held.

Pitcher Jake Arrieta came through again for the Baltimore Orioles on the left coast and helped them cruise to their 18^th win of the season by defeating the San Francisco Giants, 4-1.

With the win, the Orioles snapped a painful 4-game losing streak.

Ty Wigginton drove in two runs with RBI-groundouts (one in the first inning, and in the third) and Adam Jones – who is bouncing back after a horrific start to the season – hit his 8^th homer of the season in the fourth inning. The Orioles scored another run off a double play in the fifth to finish the scoring on the evening.

Back to Arrieta: He went seven innings for the win and gave up only a run on Tuesday night for his second major league victory. His only mistake was giving up a long solo homer to ‘Kung-Fu Panda’ Pablo Sandoval in the third inning.

Other than that, he was efficient on the evening, throwing 95 pitches in his outing. He only gave up three hits on the night, struck out three and walked two.

Unlike a lot of the pitching we have seen this past month from Baltimore, he got ahead of the hitters, was aggressive and the end result was a great outing – perhaps one of the best from an Oriole pitcher this season.

David Hernandez got his second save of the season by pitching a scoreless ninth inning. Right now, I’d prefer to see him in that spot than Alfredo Simon.

Meanwhile, on the injury front: I’ll would not be surprised if Brian Roberts doesn’t play baseball again this season. From my experience, back issues are tricky and I was shocked Roberts made it to Opening Day before he got hurt.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Brian Roberts should be out at least another four to six weeks.

Also, Chris Tillman is heading to the bullpen. I guess much like with Bergesen, they want him in a long relief role – at least temporarily – to get his bearings back in place and work through his issues. I figured Tillman would have been sent to the minors this week, but I guess with things the way they have been on the pitching front, an arm is needed.

Despite Tillman’s success in the minors this season, does one have the feeling that he might have been rushed up a tad too quick to the majors and still may not be ready?

Finally, the managerial search is still ongoing for the Orioles. Now that we all know Bobby Valentine doesn’t want the job and little is known about the interview with Eric Wedge, what happens from here? Well, I think Juan Samuel is in place as interim manager for the rest of the year and finding a candidate may be harder than it looks.

At this point, the Orioles should just find someone who has the patience to deal with perhaps a year or two, or perhaps more of losing and can help develop the young players.

Could there be someone out there who could perhaps bring some sanity into a very dysfunctional and underacheiving outfit right now?

The Orioles started a 6-game, 2-city road trip that kicked off against the San Francisco Giants on the left coast last night. Unfortunately, much like a recurring scene that has taken place over and over again this season, yet another Oriole starting pitcher got himself in trouble early and literally buried his team before the game ever got going.

Baltimore lost for an astounding 47^th time in 64 games as San Francisco won in a laugher, 10-2.

Chris Tillman, before his callup has been succeeding in Triple-A Norfolk, took the loss again – his second of the year at the major league level. He didn’t look good at all as he gave up six runs in two innings of work, including a five-run second inning highlighted by a Pat Burrell (yes, the man cut by the Rays).

Jason Berken, who has held in own in relief for Baltimore this season, and Matt Albers each pitched two scoreless innings to stop the bleeding; however, the Giants busted the game open in the eighth by scoring four times off reliever Frank Mata.

Matt Wieters hit a absolute bomb – a solo homer – to left-center field in the second inning and Ty Wigginton had an RBI-double in the eighth, but that was all the offense Baltimore got.

Once again, the Orioles made another pitcher from the opposition look like an All-Star. Pitcher Jonathan Sanchez easily got the win as he gave up two runs on 7 2/3 innngs of work.

Considering the lack of offense the Orioles have in their lineup – especially at first base – wouldn’t Aubrey Huff be an excellent fit for the team right now?

The Orioles did trade him to the Tigers for a young arm, but I don’t think he really, really wanted to come back to the organization unless he was really desperate.

You’ve got to read what Huff says to MLB.com’s Cash Kruth. I guess considering he’s played for losing teams for most his career (with a few exceptions as a hired bat in playoff races with the Astros and Tigers), can you blame him?

Aside from yesterday’s loss, Bobby Valentine – who interviewed for the Orioles manager job last week – spoke to ESPN this morning about the chat he had with Andy MacPhail.

Let’s just say, I don’t think he may be coming to Baltimore. This is a case of, “it’s not you – it’s me”.

Of course, that cliched line is a subtle way of saying, “um, I’m not that into you…”

Then again, the problem with a potential relationship would be the Baltimore Orioles.

Take a minute to read the article from ESPN with the accompanying sound, and you’ll get the drift.

I thnk while he sees the team making steps to improve, the hole that they are in may be too deep for him to get involved in right now.

He said: “"It's a big challenge. I like big challenges, but I like to have some reward too, and the reward is in the standings and their standings don't look like they're going to turn around very quickly."

I think in the end, Valentine – assuming he wants to manage again – will wait for a better fit, or let’s say opportunity. In other words, he wants a better team to manage and one ready to compete.

The Ship is sinking...God's away on business.

For the Orioles, the more things have changed – the more they have stayed the same.

We are nine games into the Juan Samuel era and it looks like a carbon copy of the Dave Trembley regime.

They look just overwhelmed, overmatched and out gunned at the moment.

On Sunday, Baltimore got swept by the other New York team – the Mets – with an 11-4 loss during a steamy afternoon. The New Yorkers used the long ball to down the Birds and send them to their 46^th loss in 63 games.

Purported Orioles’ ace Kevin Milwood lost his eighth game of the season as he gave up five runs in a horrific first inning. Really, they lost the game within the first 15 minutes as he gave up a two-run homer to David and a three-run shot to Chris Carter.

The Orioles managed to score twice in the second inning and once in the third to come within two of the lead, 5-3; however, the Mets continued to being the pain throughout the afternoon.

Jason Bay added a two-run homer in the fifth inning and Wright struck again in the seventh with a two-run shot (his second of the day).

The Orioles added another run in the seventh from an Adam Jones RBI-single, but it was too little, too late.

Sadly, Orioles fans started to leave halfway through the game out of disgust.

Meanwhile, the loud, vocal Mets fans in attendance – who seemingly all congregated throughout the park (especially on the third base side) day got a sweep and saw their team back in the thick of the NL East race.

Right now, the Orioles are trying to avoid a date with infamy – that is, the record for most losses in baseball history.

There’s still plenty of time to not approach that dubious achievement; however, with what we as fans have seen, you’ve got to wonder what the hell has happened and if anything can be even done at the moment to get at least a few wins in a week.

After the game, Brad Bergesen was demoted to Triple-A Norfolk – again – to make room for the returning Alfredo Simon. The team felt that it was not doing him a favor by leaving him in the ‘pen; therefore, they want him pitching every day in the minors to get his mojo back.