Location: Baltimore, Md. | Ballpark: Camden Yards (48,876) | Spring Training: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Owner: Peter Angelos | GM: Mike Flanagan | Manager: Dave Trembley | World Championships: 3
The decision to make Freddie Bynum the starting shortstop was made rather suddenly, but it was the result of what manager Dave Trembley saw as a festering problem.
Luis Hernandez came into this season with the starting shortstop job being his to lose. He lost it. His defense had been the deciding factor, but when he seemed to have a variety of troubles in the field during the first month of the season, there was a need to think about making a change.
Hernandez, according to manager Dave Trembley, played tentatively and didn't make all the plays the manager felt should have been made.
"To be honest, there has been a lot of plays I thought could have been made, should have been made, and weren't made," Trembley said. "We've got to try something else."
Even though Hernandez committed only three errors, the manager's decision was sealed on one eighth-inning play on Wednesday. The 23-year old prospect failed to charge a one-out ground ball with the bases loaded. Although he made a clean play, his lack of aggressiveness took away a potential double play that would have prevented the tying run from scoring. As it happened, the tying run did score and the Orioles lost the game in the 10th inning.
"That was the coup for me. I didn't have to see any more at this point in time," Trembley said. "Right now, Bynum is the starting shortstop on this team."
Bynum has started both games and had two hits in each since the manager made that ultimatum.
ORIOLES 7, ROYALS 4: Steve Trachsel, who had struggled in three of his last four starts, was dominant on Friday after giving up a first-inning, two-run home run to Alex Gordon. He shut out the Royals for the rest of the 5 1/3 innings he pitched before the Orioles' bullpen crew paraded to the mound en route to the club's 11th consecutive win over Kansas City. Melvin Mora's two-run homer, his fifth of the season, tied the game in the third, and Aubrey Huff hit a three-run homer with two out in the fifth that gave the Orioles a three-run lead. Nick Markakis, Huff and Aubrey Huff scored in the seventh, while the home team scored solo runs in the seventh and eighth off the relievers before George Sherrill got his 12th save.
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I want to give Dave Trembley credit for a brilliantly managed game. Several folks on here, including myself, have expressed doubts to one degree or another about Trembley's decision-making. Tonight I thought he made all the right calls, though.
First off, I liked when I saw the lineup card he turned in. It was set up to take advant
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This off season we were all excited because it seemed like the Orioles got a GM that could 1) make good trades, 2) get Peter Angelos away from runiing the club into the ground, and 3) put a 2-3 year plan together that would make the Orioles contenders in the years to come.
What do you guys think about Olympian Jason Donald as a possibility to plug the SS spot, going forward? He's in the Phillies organization, and I understand the Phils are looking for a lefty reliever....
