Nick is mad as hell and he's not going to take it anymore!

Jeff Zrebiec interviewed Nick Markakis, who vented some frustration over the direction of this team and the actions of his fellow players. Zrebiec's full story is forthcoming, but here are some money quotes via Orioles Insider to get you talking and speculating in the meantime.

Sometimes, guys are going up there and it looks like they have no idea what they’re doing. I’m not saying that to bash guys. I want guys to be successful, I want this team to be successful, and I have to produce as well. I'm part of this. But it takes a lot more than one big bat. We definitely need that one guy who could hit you 40 home runs, but from top to bottom, you need guys getting on base. You need guys in there who have a plan, who have a clue and who know how to execute that plan and get on base. We don’t need every guy in this lineup trying to hit home runs. We’re paid to get on base and figure out how to score and drive in runs.

We don't need guys trying to hit home runs every time...Adam Jones (although to be fair his approach has changed recently). We don't need guys going up there looking like they have no idea what they're doing...Matt Wieters

You can have anybody come here and you still are going to have a couple of guys who are not going to change their approach and fix it. It’s worthless. You can point your fingers here and there, but it is what it is. You’re in the big leagues. You have to change your approach on your own. If you go up there clueless, you’re going to come back [to the dugout] clueless. It’s that simple.

Personal responsibility is the name of the game for Nick. If something isn't working, such as swinging at the first pitch in every at bat, Miguel Tejada, maybe you should change it.

At this point, yeah, where are we going? I know we have a lot of injured guys, we’re in the toughest division in baseball and we’re a last-place team. But at this point, it’s mind boggling. You don’t even know what to think, but you still have to be professional and go out and play every day.

Poor Nick. He really deserves to be surrounded by better players. Nick's OBP of .394, by the way, is 18th in the majors.