The Orioles bullpen has been completely unreliable all season. After blowing two games in Boston, to allow the Orioles to fall to an absolutely unholy 2-16, heads need to roll.
Albers need to be gone, there has to be someone in the minor leagues that can come in and pitch for three innings. The Orioles have a wealth of starting pitching talent in the minors right now and some of that starting talent needs to be inserted into the bullpen. But that is not where it will end. Dave Trembley is probably not long for this season. And that is a crime.
Dave Trembley is not a great manager, but he is not a bad one. He is certainly not the reason for the team’s struggles. A baseball manager is not like a football coach. Dave constructs a lineup and watches it go. He might call for a steal, or a hit and run. He might place players in the outfield, but largely he sits, watches and reacts. And it is the “react” that makes or breaks a major league manager. Because if the players play well he is a genius, if they play poorly he is an idiot. If the Orioles were 7-10 (A record they could EASILY have if the players played better) Dave’s job would be safe and I would be writing about the crappy bullpen and the under-performing offense that, finally, seems to be turning a corner but no.
The Orioles sit at the worst record in baseball and in the midst of their worst start since 1988’s 0-21 and baseball’s unspoken code, um, says that in this situation the manager is fired. It is more ceremony and example than anything else. Like Robespierre using the guillotine to enforce his ever maddening paranoid will or the teacher that dresses down a petulant student – examples must be made. Firing Trembley shows the players that no one is safe and shows the fans that losing is not acceptable.
While the team has been away on a, nightmarish, road-trip the gallows have been constructed waiting for a neck. Last night’s loss may have sealed the deal.
Dave Trembley deserves so much better than this. He will most likely be the first to take the fall, unfortunately, due to the failure of others.
