Last night, the Orioles saw their winning streak end as the Oakland Athletics defeated them, 4-2. Well, for the umpteenth time this season, a lack of offense (despite seven walks) and not getting runs in with on bases (they were 2-for-11 with men in scoring position), along with a huge gaffes by Ty Wigginton and Miguel Tejada in the field did Baltimore in.
The Orioles could not recapture the magic from over the weekend facing a swooning Nationals team against Oakland.
Oriole pitcher Brian Matusz pitched well, but earned his 9th loss of the season as he went 6 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. Koji Uehara made his return last night and pitched the ninth inning, allowing in a run.
The Athletics played a relatively solid game and Vin Mazzaro (despite being very wild on the mound) got the win, going six innings and allowing one run; meanwhile, closer Andrew Bailey got his 15th save of the season.
Moving on…
I guess the biggest news from yesterday involving the Orioles featured Cal Ripken and his on-going talks with Peter Angelos and Andy MacPhail about a front office role in the organization.
Ripken says that he chats with Angelos and MacPhail often, so I wouldn’t worry about him working with the team in some capacity in the future – it should happen.
It seems like the sides are talking and have some open dialogue, therefore, as much as the fans want Ripken involved, let the talks take their course.
Really, it could be the matter of everyone taking their time and coming to an agreement in the near future.
Finally, it looks like Rick Dempsey will be interviewing with the team on Thursday. Honestly, if I were a betting man, I’d say Buck Showalter gets the job with Eric Wedge as the runner-up, but there’s a lot of support for Dempsey and his background with the team, plus desire for the job make him a candidate.
The Orioles are obviously looking for someone with experience. They are seemingly trying to avoid candidates with little to no major experience, although Dempsey is an exception.
As well, will the Orioles really replace Juan Samuel within the season? Who knows. I think Samuel should have ample chance to at least prove himself, although it seems that he will not be in that position for long.
Then again, if the flighted ones start winning Samuel may stick around for a while…
