Anyone Want this Job?

Perhaps Dave Trembley lengthened his stay with the O's with the nail-biter win over the Sox yesterday. Maybe the front office ain't gonna stick a new manager in front of 9 more games with the Yankees (6 games) and the Red Sox (3 more), but you've gotta believe Trembley is on a very short leash. I mean, in a season that was supposed to be about "wins and losses," how do you keep a guy that's managed his way to 3 wins and has certainly managed his way to 16 losses?

But here's the thing. Who would take this job? Who wants to get tagged with a potential 100-loss season?

Obviously guys with no experience would be happy to have the job, a la Rick Dempsey, or any of the league's bench coaches.

But if they'd want to hire a bigger name, would they even accept the job?

That could be what has influenced the club to sit tight with Trembley through this miserable start to the 2010 season.

But things might have been much different.

I still think that had Angelos opened the purse a lot wider, Girardi would be the manager here. The O's offered 3 million/3 years. Should have been more like 9 million over 3 years.

And don't believe Girardi was sitting and waiting for Steinbrenner to call.

The lesson here - and with other lost "free agents" is that when you have this much failure, you need to overpay for the real talent. (See Guerrero, Vlad and Teixeira, Mark.)

Phil Garner Waiting in the Wings?

There's talk of Phil Garner being a possible candidate for the soon-to-be vacant Baltimore Orioles managerial position. Here's why I like the idea:

Garner's nickname as a player was "Scrap Iron." One thing the O's have lacked over the last several years ... hell, maybe the last 25 years ... has been grit. Think of any recent roster and who stands out in your mind as a gritty player? Eric Byrnes, maybe?

Orioles players, for the longest time have seemed lackadaisical, almost passive about the game. Some of the biggest O's stars in recent years have been known for being quieter or have "led by example," starting with the biggest star of all, Cal Ripken, Jr. Even now, players such as Nick Markakis or Kevin Millwood or Brian Roberts are not "kick in the pants" style leaders. That might work when there's a winning tradition and a team is full of vets that have "been there before."

But the Orioles seriously need someone to ignite them. Dave Trembley, for all his positives ... or for any positives ... is not that kind of manager. The last fire-breathing manager here was the legendary (in my eyes) Davey Johnson (who as you can imagine would be my choice to bring back, if just to remove the curse hanging over this organization since Peter Angelos ran him outta town in 1997). And guess what? Who was the last manager to have success in Baltimore?

Davey Johnson.

Now, clearly, Davey Johnson had a different type of roster with which to deal, but his style worked on a team that needed it. I contend that this team needs it even more so.

Garner was known as manager of the Brewers for an aggressive, running style that led his team to a successful record that year. He later took over for Jimy Williams in Houston mid-season (so he's no stranger to the mid-season start) and turned the team around.

Garner has experience, just enough fire (but probably not too much that will get him entangled with Angelos) and the "grit" necessary to potentially light a fire under this organization.

The last 3 managers - Trembley, Perlozzo and Mazzilli have all had no experience and were all generally easy-going (and certainly likeable) guys who were long-time "baseball men." Angelos should have learned by now that this route won't work for this team. Granted, it's never about the manager solely, and probably in the most extreme of circumstances the manager might only make a 5-10 game difference, but that might be the difference between a 70-win and 90-win season.

Regardless, at this point, Trembley's days seem numbered.

And It Still Gets Worse ...

Wow. Who woulda thunk a 3-0 masterpiece in the 8th would descend to that mess? Gotta feel bad for the O's right now. And particularly for Matusz, who pitched a hell of a game. Couple cheap singles (one probably misplayed by Wiggy and the other a pop fly single) and the wheels come off. Should DT have gone to the bullpen right then? It's easy to say that now, but the bottom line is this ... this bullpen really stinks. I don't blame Trembley for (a) letting Matusz try to get out of it - guy's gotta learn somewhere and his pitch count was still low and (b) not relying on a bullpen that can't get anyone out. How tantalizing was it that Johnson came in and got the huge 2nd out only to blow it?

Things don't look great right now, but 2 silver linings in a season that desperately needs something positive:

1. Matusz didn't get stuck with a loss he didn't deserve.

2. Can it get any worse? It's got to get better.

St. Luke

Luke Scott may have just saved the city from burning tonight. OK, maybe the fans aren't THAT passionate, but that was a hell of an at-bar for a pinch-hit. Trembley may get credit in the press for that, but had he not made the move of pinch-hitting Scott for Izturis, he should've been fired by the end of the inning.