Yesterday afternoon, a co-worker and I were talking about the Ravens and football in general; however, in the course of out conversation, our sports chat somehow went on another tangent and migrated towards the Baltimore Orioles. While my co-worker truly believes that things are getting better with the Orioles, he had some deep reservations about the fact that Dave Trembley’s option as manager of the team was picked up for 2010.
The co-worker said, much like I heard on a multitude of blogs and talk radio, “I like Dave Trembley, but I cannot believe that he’s still manager of the team. He seems to be a great guy, but the team is so bad. They don’t have any fundamentals, they don’t have any pitching, and I just think we needed a change.”
Now, he didn’t think that Trembley was incompetent or terrible, just that he thought the organization could find a better leader on the field. I asked him who would you replace him with, and he didn’t give much of an answer — he brought up a few names: LaRussa, Leyland 8 Fredi Gonzalez (and he said, “oh, we also could have had Girardi…”).
Then again, all the aforementioned names are employed by other organizations — winning ones.
I was not suprised to hear this, but I told him at this point, it looks like the Orioles are going to give him another shot, and this year is certainly not based on wins and losses, but to see what they had. Now, I don’t think my co-worker was that impressed with my logic; however, he just wants to see wins rather than the big picture, and I would not blame him for his opinion.
Then again, I might be in the minority as to how fans feel about Dave Trembley.
It might have been assumed he’d be back anyway, but of course no one really knew that except the principals — the front office executives, MacPhail and Trembley. We don’t know what goes on in the clubhouse or in meetings, so I guess we all have to go on by what we see. Well, James Baker of Oriole Magic and I met over the weekend — after the Orioles 162nd game on Sunday, and we came to the conclusion that the decision to bring back Trembley was made well before the announcement. I think the Orioles knew what they had down on the farm, and in hindsight the team was going to struggle in the AL East anyway, and that should really have no bearing on his job status in ’10.
I was listening to the radio this weekend, and Tom Davis along with Dave Johnson felt what we saw in course of the summer was the Orioles giving young players a chance to prove themselves — wins and losses were not really a factor.
However, I have a feeling W’s will now have a huge role in Trembley’s future. We all want wins, but at this point, this team must be rebuilt properly, and what from what I read, the players appreciate Trembley. I’ve got absolutely no idea as to what happens in a Major League baseball clubhouse, much less the Orioles, but while everyone might have been frustrated, no one blamed 2009 at the feet of the manager.
I’m glad he’s getting another shot, now let’s win some games in 2010 and get some talent in Baltimore.
