Earl Weaver Rules

It looks like, after another mediocre start and some questionable calls, that Sam Perlozzo may be on the chopping block soon.  While the Orioles haven’t been horrible and they had a decent start in April, things have fallen off and at 20-23, they find themselves 9 1/2 games back of Boston.  Even being in second place doesn’t mean much and some of those losses, like last Sundays against Boston, are Perlozzo’s fault.

Which brings up the question of what happens to Leo Mazzone.  Does he walk too because of his tight relationship with Sam Perlozzo, or do you give him the manager job.  The Orioles are middle of the pack in ERA but that’s better then year’s past when they’ve been closer to the bottom.  Of course the pitching staff is also dead last in walks allowed too.  So maybe he never got his magic done in Baltimore and it’s time to cut the losses.

I’m of the opinion that they should give Davey Johnson the job again.  He’s more sabermetrically inclined and he’s gotten done in the past.

There’s little doubt that the best baseball player to put on an Orioles uniform in the last 25 years is the Iron Man, Cal Ripken, Jr.  Now, you can relive some of his greatest moments with the Cal Ripken, Jr. Collector’s Edition DVD.  The set comes with five complete games as well a bonus disk with a bunch of extras.  Here are the games you get to relive with this set:

September 6, 1995 - Cal Ripken, Jr. passes Lou Gehrig for the most consecutive games played by a baseball player.
May 28, 1996 - Cal Ripken, Jr. hits three homeruns for the first time in his career and drives in a career best eight runs.
October 1, 1996 - Cal Ripken, Jr.’s first postseason appearance in 13 years, he goes three for three in game one of the ALDS against the Indians.
June 13, 1999 - Cal Ripken, Jr. goes a perfect six for six and sets Orioles single game records for hits (6) and runs (5).
July 10, 2001 - Cal Ripken, Jr.’s final All Star Game.  Ripken goes on to homer in the game and he wins the second All Star Game MVP award of his career.
Bonus Disk - A look at Cal Ripken, Jr.’s career.    This is a fun and fact filled documentary of one of baseball’s all time greats.

This is a must have for any Orioles fan and even more so if your a Cal Ripken, Jr. fan.

It’s been three weeks, but I’m back.  Some net problems at Baseball Historians HQ caused some posting problems so I was out of action.  I missed the four game winning streak that pushed the Orioles back up to .500 but now, after four straight losses, the Orioles are back are well back of the first place Red Sox.  Nine games in fact, but just one game back of the second place and still struggling Yankees.

It’s bad when your closer is tied for your team in wins but that’s the case for the Orioles.  And Steve Trachsel of all pitchers leads the team in ERA.  Erik Bedard is getting it done but without run support, he hasn’t picked up a win in his last five starts.  And while Miguel Tejada is hitting a nice .314, he’s hit only two homeruns.  Last I heard, they hadn’t pushed the fences back at Camden Yards.

The Orioles try to avoid a sweep tonight with Brian Burres on the mound.  He picked up his first career win in his last start so hopefully he can follow that up with a nice outing and end this skid.