Today is the first off day that the Orioles have had since May 18th, a span of 16 games. It's not the longest they'll go without an off day (that would be 20 games from mid-August through the beginning of September), but it seems like they have been playing baseball non-stop FOREVER.
I'm not going to say much about the epic failure of Dave Trembley and his rag-tag bunch of baserunners, that's been covered by zk and duck below. All I will say is that I hope Dave Trembley and the coaching staff use this day off to reevaluate their strategy and work on changes they need to make in the future. The beauty of the off day is it gives everyone a chance to take a breather and make a clean break from the past few games.
Baseball links, O's style:
- Hayden Penn has been designated for assignment by the Florida Marlins. Hayden had been used in relief for the Marlins without much success, and the final straw was last night in the 5th inning vs. the Brewers. Penn came into the game in the 5th inning with one out and two runners on. Hayden walked the first batter and then got an out, but couldn't get out of it as he then walked the next three batters with the bases loaded.
- It appears Jamie Walker is headed for DFA-land as well. We all know that JW has been terrible for the better part of a year, but if you watched him against the Mariners two nights ago you saw a pitcher so bad that it was comical.
- A topic that is discussed here every now and then is Luke Scott's ability to hit lefties. Some say he can't, some say he could given the chance. Amber Theoharis blogs about how both Luke and Terry Crowley think he's all about hitting the lefties. It doesn't really matter what people believe about it right now, because Luke is one of the only non-putrid hitters in the lineup. He's going to be in there until he proves he shouldn't be.
- This isn't O's related, but the Phillies have a new pitcher who's name is Antonio Bastardo. He made his major league debut this week and got the win. No real news about him, I just think he has a cool name.
- The Braves released pitcher Tom Glavine yesterday after his rehab start in the minors. It wasn't his pitching; he threw 6 shutout innings and his velocity was up (well, for him). More likely it's the money as Glavine's pay increases based on days on the roster. Leo Mazzone was on XM radio yesterday talking about Glavine and telling some pretty awesome stories about their days together. Leo is a cool dude. I wish the O's could have done better for him. Leo predicts that either the Phillies or Mets will take a chance on Glavine as both will need a pitcher to put them over the top in the division.
- Blog-O's-phere: Keep on top of all the recent roster changes at NumerOlogy. Check out the "mail bag" at Roar from 34. It's much better than Corey's Corner. Baltimore Sports Report is in favor of dumping Jamie Walker as well. Lastly, over at Bugs & Cranks, the real story is that Brady Anderson appears to be commenting on Patrick Smith's blog about the Brady's e-mail in the Sun. I'm guessing that Brady doesn't read every Orioles related thing on the internet but rather googles himself from time to time. If that's the case, hi Brady Anderson! Brady Anderson, please comment on MY story. I love you Brady Anderson, I used to have a poster of you, Brady Anderson, in my bedroom as a teen!