Let me see if I have this right: we stink, we don't spend money, we make terrible player personnel decisions, and we're stuck in a division with two perennial World Series contenders. Oh yeah, and we've lost eight in a row, darn. What should we do about this? I know, let's fire the manager! Maybe the situation in Baltimore didn't strike you as such, but that's how it came across to me. How can you fire Sam Perlozzo and blame him for the team's failures? Baseball is a game of ups-and-downs. The same club that went 2-13 in June also had separate four-game and six-game winning streaks in May.
Even with the hideous recent play by the O's, Baltimore was still only 29-40 at the time of Perlozzo's firing, not 26-43 like Texas or something. I'm not saying that losing is acceptable, but what did Baltimore's management group really have in mind for this year's team? A playoff berth? A division title? A World Series run? Honestly, look yourself in the mirror for a second before you run your manager out of town.
Baltimore has a slightly below average offensive lineup for an American League club. It's far worse than any other team in the division, without comparison. Their starting pitching has been pretty good, with Erik Bedard and Steve Trachsel being backed by successful youngsters Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Burres. The problem in Baltimore has been the bullpen -- it's dreadful. And when you don't have a good bullpen, you're going to wind up blowing a lot of games -- contests you should have won. Witness Baltimore's pythagorean win total, they'e expected to be 33-36 based on their current runs scored vs. runs allowed differential.
So if Baltimore's bullpen has been the problem -- and let's be clear here -- it's a difference of the Orioles being three games under .500 and still at the bottom of the division, or being 11 games under .500 and in the cellar, then why does Sam Perlozzo get the boot? Is he the one who signed Jamie Walker, Danys Baez, and Chad Bradford to monster deals in the off-season with hopes of bolstering the bullpen? Is he the one who's grown impatient with the team's problems? Didn't think so. So why can him? The answer is simple: Baltimore is a mess of a franchise, stuck in the worst possible division, and the only way they can make themselves look decent is by giving the manager the chop.
Like I said, Sam Perlozzo was an undeserving scapegoat. Strangely though, I think he's better off unemployed than being saddled with the unrealistic expectations and capricious mindset of Baltimore's management group.
Previously at FanHouse:
Canned in Baltimore: Sam Perlozzo Fired
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-19-2007 @ 8:34PM
samross said...
i second your thoughts...it was not sam's fault the team didnot hit....for the most part he put them in position to win...but his offense let him down....1 and 1/2 seasons was mot a fair time pwriod for a new manager.....his middle relief alruggled and they lost a lot of close games and games they were leading in late innings....i hope he gets another chance with a quality organization....he gave the oriole organization alot......sam ross
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6-20-2007 @ 12:02AM
Dick Reed said...
Sometimes we don't see the forest for the trees. The O's have had a winner on their payroll for years.
This former all star veteran managed winning minor league teams at Albuquerque for the Dodgers and Tidewater for the Mets. As a former catcher, Rick Dempsey knows pitching. Duh.
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6-20-2007 @ 4:17AM
Alan said...
I totally agree.
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6-20-2007 @ 9:23AM
JOSEPH MARKIEWICZ said...
OKAY.SAMMY IS A GOOD GUY, BUT HE IS THE ONE WHO PULLS THE STARTING PICHERS WHILE THEY ARE KEEPING US IN THE GAME.JUST TO THROW OUT AN OVERPAID BULLPEN PICHER THAT BLOWS THE LEAD.LOSE AFTER LOSE,TIME AFTER TIME.SORRY SAMYY BUT YOU ARE ONLY 1 OF ABOUT 15 THAT HAVE TO GO.NOW NEXT JAY GIBBIONS SEE YA.I KNOW WE OWE HIM 5 MILLION A YEAR BUT HE STINKS.LET HIM GO.REMEMBER WE DID IT WITH BRADY.
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6-21-2007 @ 1:36AM
Luke said...
Is it Sam's fault that there is no power in the lineup (playing in a ballpark where the left field power ally is a measly 364 feet)? Is it Sam's fault there is no clutch hitting, that no one does the little things right (moving runners over, getting the runner home from third with less than two out, hitting cutoff men, getting a bunt down)? Is it Sam's fault that everyone in the lineup is underperforming? Is it Sam's fault that the bullpen is a fire hazard (but rarely had substantial leads to work with)?
No.
But it is a lot easier firing a manager than 25 guys.
Sam made one bad move all year - taking Jeremy Guthrie out of the Boston game. But a bullpen should be able to get two outs before a team gets five runs.
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6-21-2007 @ 4:49PM
JP said...
Lets hope King Peter(Angelos)is FINALLY as sick of losing as we are. Andy Mc Phail is supposedly getting full control of the team. Lets hope that is true & not a repeat of the Pat Gillick fiasco. Ten years of losing is not going to be corrected overnight but it's a start. My fingers are crossed.
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6-22-2007 @ 1:25AM
jerry said...
You Perlozzo backers, while perhaps well-meaning, are naive and missing the point. Sure, the majority of reasons for the team's failures during his tenure are not directly connected to this solid baseball man, but so what, they often aren't whenever coaches get fired in sports. What was the most likely scenario for Sam the day he accepted the job (remember, the guy was in his mid-50s and had been passed over for at least slightly better jobs before, he couldn't wait forever)? The team would struggle through a couple of mediocre seasons while fighting a payroll dwarfed by New York and Boston and rosters equally as outclassed and he would then be fired during the course of a conveniently lengthy losing streak in either season three or four. Guess what folks, that's pretty much how it went down. It's very unfair in a sense for sure, but Sam knew it was an uphill battle the day he was given the job and had to believe in the back of his mind, regardless of what he bravely vows publicly, that he'd likely be sacrificed before taking part in any clubhouse champagne celebrations with the Orioles. Call that analysis cynical or attribute it to hindsight being 20/20 if you want, but I'd say the reality of what ultimately happened speaks for itself.
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6-22-2007 @ 11:26AM
Nick Gleichman said...
Who ever posted last got it right. You Perlozzo apologists, including Larry Brown, just don't understand how baseball works. We have these things. Called numbers. they're great. like the number four, or the number 90, or the number 76. As in "FOUR Orioles relievers (Chad Bradford, Jamie Walker, Chris Ray and Baez) were on pace to pitch in nearly 90 games this year. And here's all you need to know about how insane that is: No pitcher in the history of the franchise has ever appeared in more than 76 games in a season. Those four, said one AL executive, "were totally abused."
I realize you'd have to do you know, "research" to know that but maybe you should next time before you write this garbage.
Here's another number for you: 95,107,807. as in, the number of dollars the orioles pay their team, which is 9th among major league teams. So again, do your research before publishing something like "the orioles dont spend money"
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6-22-2007 @ 11:34AM
Nick Gleichman said...
Who ever posted last got it right. You Perlozzo apologists, including Larry Brown, just don't understand how baseball works. We have these things. Called numbers. they're great. like the number four, or the number 90, or the number 76. As in "FOUR Orioles relievers (Chad Bradford, Jamie Walker, Chris Ray and Baez) were on pace to pitch in nearly 90 games this year. And here's all you need to know about how insane that is: No pitcher in the history of the franchise has ever appeared in more than 76 games in a season. Those four, said one AL executive, "were totally abused."
I realize you'd have to do you know, "research" to know that but maybe you should next time before you write this garbage.
Here's another number for you: 95,107,807. as in, the number of dollars the orioles pay their team, which is 9th among major league teams. So again, do your research before publishing something like "the orioles dont spend money"
Reply