Baltimore Orioles Fire Dave Trembley
June 4, 2010- By Jonathan Lowell
The Baltimore Orioles fired their manager Dave Trembley Friday after the Orioles were swept by the New York Yankees. The Orioles are the owners of the league’s worst record, and are dangerously close to having a franchise-record 13th losing season in a row.
Juan Samuel, the team’s third base coach, has been promoted to head coach on an interim basis. Trembley was hired in 2007 to replace Sam Perlozzo. His position was also supposed to be temporary, but the team kept him through Thursday night’s loss.
The Orioles have been struggling as of late, coming off a 0-6 road trip against the Yanks and the Toronto Blue Jays. They began the season losing 16 of 18 and are 15-39 so far this season. Poor pitching and run support were the reason for the skid. The Orioles were outscored by a total of 26 runs.
“The results on the field were not what any of us would have hoped for, and I understand that the organization felt the time was right to move in a different direction,” Trembley said. “While I am disappointed at the outcome, I feel it was a privilege to wear the Orioles uniform each day.”
Trembley is not the only boss given the axe this season. Kansas City manager Trey Hillman was let go May 13 after the Royals started 12-23. Trembley posted an overall record of 187-283 as the Orioles manager. He suffered from a growing injury list, absent offense, and poor relief pitching.
Players on the team feel responsible for the firing of Trembley. Designated hitter Luke Scott said the manager performed to the best of his ability, while the players did not.
“We’re the ones that throw the ball, we are the ones that swing the bats and catch the ball,” said Scott. “All the manager can do is put his best nine out there. I mean, it’s not his fault. What can you say? It’s a very difficult game. It’s unfair in a lot of aspects.”
When he took the reigns of the Orioles in 2007, Trembley became the seventh manager in history to run a ball club without having played professionally. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail is building the team from scratch, and said at the end of the 2009 season that Trembley would be evaluated on wins and losses.
“You now change the criteria for evaluating managers [to] wins and losses,” MacPhail said at the time. “That may not always be fair. Things happen, but at this point, going forward, I like to think we’re out of that first phase of what we hoped to do.”
Without Trembley, the Orioles have been set as the underdogs going into their series with the division rival Boston Red Sox by MLB Sportsbooks. Their line has been set at +160, and Boston’s at -175. The over/under for total runs in the game has been set at 9 1/2.
Related posts:
