As Syd Would Say, This Dog Don't Hunt

Bob's Backstop for July 8, 2004

The current braintrust seems to be operating with the same level of competency, but without the folksy charm and malaprops. This makes it hard on the Belfry writers, who could always count on Syd for a laugh (especially Kerry, whose Syd "interviews" were the stuff of legend), but it makes it even harder on the fans, who see supposedly bright people leading the team down the same dysfunctional path as did their predecessor.

Are the Orioles victim of "bad breaks" and "injuries"?

Well, sure, in a manner of speaking. But every team has injuries, and every team has unexpected failures (Gibbons, Ainsworth), as well as unexpected successes (Mora, Cabrera). It's all in the planning, execution, and decision-making process, to overcome the obstacles in your path as best you can.

Let's start at the top.

Beattie and Flanny picked up some nice pieces of the pie this off-season in Lopez, Raffy, and Tejada. (Even with Raffy's slump, the length of his contract, his history with the team, the money he's getting, and the black hole the O's had at first, makes him, in my book, a decent signing, even if it's not looking sterling right now.) But the rest of the team wasn't addressed at all. Injury-prone players like Segui, Gibbons, and Mora were not really considered in any sort of organizational plan.

There was nothing put in place as a backup plan to Raffy. He's a total statue at first base, and hasn't played a lot of games there in years, and his BA had been dropping regardless...so he's going to play a full season at first all of a sudden? Were the guys really depending on David Segui to back him up? So now, there is basically no one to use when Raffy needs a blow, or to refresh his bat or improve the team's shoddy defense by DH'ing him, which is probably where he should be most every day.

The guys are to be commended for making the move with Melvin and sticking with it, even when he didn't start well at third. This is the sort of bold move I was expecting on an ongoing basis, but haven't seen since. (Want to give some credit where credit is due.)

But the rest of this club? Sure, it's not all the GM's fault when all three outfielders regress from a season ago...but it is the GM's fault when they build a team like a rotisserie club, without any thought to defense, or flexibility. This is a terrible defensive team, and the pitchers are paying for it. Playing as many as four second basemen per game (at a time where there is no plethora of quality keystoners available) tells everything one needs to know about the lack of depth and the disorganization that is the Orioles.

B.J. Surhoff hurt? David Segui unable to play? Marty Cordova not available? Jay Gibbons with leg problems? Melvin Mora beat up? Sidney Ponson being self-absorbed instead of a clubhouse leader? Shocking! Simply shocking! How could the braintrust have expected all of those things to happen? Round up the usual suspects...

And then, there are the walks. The pitchers may be blameless when it comes to the defense (although a team constantly on their heels thanks to one "ball three" after another can often have their defensive shortcomings more frequently exposed), but they certainly carry their share of the unacceptable...walking one batter after another. The interesting and shocking thing is, this seems to be becoming an organizational-wide epidemic, spreading across the entire pitching spectrum, like Jason Giambi's parasite. Tall pitchers, short pitchers, power pitchers, control pitchers...they are all walking batters like there's no tomorrow, all over the farm system as well as on the mounds of The Show.

And as for their hand-picked manager that "wowed" them so months ago...well, what can one say? Maz doesn't seem to understand that it's better to play a mediocre player at a defensive position he can actually handle, then to pick up 30 points on batting average and play someone out of position. I hear his talk about not having the pieces, and I sympathize, to a point. but a manager's job is to place his players in a position where they have their best chance to succeed, no matter how slim, and Maz fails at this almost daily. You've got to play Jerry Hairston in the outfield so that Brian Roberts' bat can stay in the lineup? So he can be showcased? (I think that scouts around the majors know what Brian Roberts is without seeing him every day, thanks.) Ugh.

If the O's need players in their positions, how about this? Raffy at first, Hairston at second, Miggy at short, Leon at third, Bigbie, Matos, Raines in the outfield, and Lopez and one other catcher. Newhan can DH, Roberts can be the sub, DH, and spill Jerry once a week. Luis Lopez can hit the road, while the team calls up Pedro Swann, or trades for an outfield prospect, to add some depth. Is that is a great team? Heck, no. But it isn't Chad Mattola, Luis Lopez, or a third catcher, either. Even as bad a season as he was having, you're telling me that Jack Cust wouldn't be a better alternative for this team than Luis Lopez?

A team is using four second basemen/utility infielders. They have pitching issues. They have no one to spill their statuesque, slumping first baseman. So what do they do? They pick up a third catcher off of the waiver wire, an older non-prospect who can't hit a lick. What kind of move is this? WHAT KIND OF MOVE IS THIS?

And then, there's the player management. We've seen before that Beattie has a bit of a feisty mouth on him. That's not all bad. But did he really have to put Rick Bauer down in the newspaper this morning, when Bauer says some things right after he's told he's being sent down? Isn't Bauer's bitterness understandable? Do you have to say basically that "he needs to look in the mirror"?

Last night, Mike DeJean felt he was being squeezed by the home plate umpire. Whether or not he was is beside the point. The bottom line is, he felt he was, and he actually walked off the mound to confront the ump at one point, while Merchado tried to walk the ump off of the issue. In a game where the team is struggling, and an opportunity arose where Maz could come out, back up his player, and get tossed to hopefully fire up the team, show them that at least he cares...he never moves. Ray Miller finally comes out, and Craig and I anticipate that perhaps Miller is going to get tossed when the ump comes out to break up the meeting. Nope. The manager and coaches sit there while the team bows its head and takes on another nine runs. I'm simply not impressed with much of anything about Maz. His game decisions are often bad ones (letting Luis Lopez bat for himself the other night), he doesn't keep his bullpen in any order (B.J. Ryan was warming last night when the team had two baserunners through the first six innings, and was down three runs; Jorge Julio has come into save situations several times this year not having pitched for 4 or 5 days), and he just doesn't seem to have any fire at all. Nothing.

A team isn't as bad as it looks when it's bad, or as good as it looks when things are looking good. but when the team is mocked by the home fans as the Orioles were in the 8th and 9th last night, you've got some serious problems. Not the kind that will be cured by picking up waiver wire catchers.

It's just a matter of staying the course. If they are afraid to do that because of Angelos, then Peter really is the wrong person to be owning this team. But at least if it is Peter's fault, Beattie and Flanny could at least make the right moves, instead of the panic ones like trading Bautista for Grimsley (anyone still think this was a "solid move"?), and picking up guys for which you have absolutely no use. They could also try lighting a fire under their hand-picked manager, and their team full of guys who can't run the bases, hit the cutoff man, or draw a base on balls.

Guys, we've seen GMs work in panic mode before. We were expecting better from you. Get with the program.