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For the Orioles, it’s time to break up the nest
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Aubrey Huff’s performance has been one of the reasons the Orioles have exceeded expectations, but now it’s time to trade him for younger players, writes Examiner columnist Tony Giro.
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - When I was a kid, I used to do one of two things with any baseball card I got with an Orioles player on it.
I’d put my favorites like Al Bumbry and Eddie Murray in a binder and stare at them until I could recite their career stats, or I’d take my not so favorites like Glenn Gulliver and Tito Landrum and put them in my bike spokes so I could make some noise riding my Huffy around the block. I ran with a tough crowd.
But I never traded an Oriole. I just couldn't find it in my heart to do so.
Fast forward two decades, and I’m ready to see the Orioles trade like the New York Stock Exchange.
This is no knee-jerk reaction to the Orioles’ recent five-game losing streak, or just another Orioles bashing.
In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
It’s a testament to how Andy MacPhail, the Orioles’ president of baseball operations who never thought he’d be in the enviable position of putting a competitive team on the field, is living a dream scenario.
Let's recap:
* With a mix of veterans and young players, the team stayed at .500 — minus the past two weeks — and made the fans care until the All-Star break.
* Veterans like Aubrey Huff, Brian Roberts and Jay Payton, along with journeyman George Sherrill, have performed well enough to be coveted by teams with their sights set on October and gave the Orioles added bargaining chips to restock a Nicole Ritchie-thin farm system.
* Manager Dave Trembley with his no-nonsense, no-excuses approach — a polar opposite to the Lee Mazzilli and Sam Perlozzo experiments — has proven to be exactly what the club needs to move forward.
* Fresh faces like Adam Jones and Luke Scott, who arrived via trades, join Nick Markakis and Jeremy Guthrie to form a solid nucleus to usher in a new sense of excitement for the team's beleaguered fans.
* And the best thing to happen to the Orioles — in a sick and sadistic way, of course — is they have fallen apart at the perfect time: right before the trading deadline. Hence, we won't see another “Keep David Wells and Bobby Bonilla for a late push” campaign — what I believe was the beginning of the end.
The choice for MacPhail and company is simple: Do they sit around and watch the Orioles’ ceremonial summer swoon we've seen for the past five seasons or do they improve the squad by adding pieces through trades?
One would assume MacPhail was going to make moves anyway, and now that he’s playing with house money, that assumption won’t make a you know what out of you and me.
Plus, through early returns, he has what every executive needs: confidence from the owner and fans he will make the right move.
Saying good-bye to a guy like Brian Roberts — one of the league’s best players and the closest thing to an Oriole icon this town has seen since No. 8 hung it up — isn’t going to be easy. But this is a business and it has to be done and not just because he’s the Orioles most significant trading chip. The second baseman has earned the right to play in the postseason.
No one in their right mind thought this team had to the pieces to push any of the American League's superpowers this season. That won't come until 2010 at the earliest, and only if MacPhail sticks to the script and continues building for the future.
Sure, you hate to kill a good vibe and tear apart a team that seems to enjoy playing with each other. But that’s how it goes, especially when you’re trying to prove to your fans losing is a thing of the past.
So, it’s been fun, but see you later, Sherrill. Peace, Payton. Bon voyage, Brian. Holler at me, Huff.
But don’t worry, guys.
You’ll always have a place in my Huffy.
Tony Giro is a lifelong Baltimore sports fan who blogs on examiner.com for fans. If you subscribe — it’s free — you’ll be e-mailed each time Tony posts a column. He can be reached at timeout@baltimoreexaminer.com. And yes, he’s still bitter about the Skipjacks and Bullets leaving town.
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Tony said:
Thank you Examiner reader down below.
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Examiner Reader said:
The worst thing they did to Tony was to put him in print. He had a popular thing going on .com where he found an audience and created a community. Web and print are different animals. You had something uniqiue and devalued it by running it in print. Now, the whole reason anyone knew of him is irrelevant.
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Examiner Reader said:
I can't believe you published this without pictures!
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Examiner Reader said:
Pictures? seriously
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John J. said:
What was wrong with the astros uniform??? heck i still see people today walking around with the 70's astros jersey
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Examiner Reader said:
What is the point without pictures?
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Attila the Hon said:
I actually prefer the Padres wearing brown. Currently they look like most other teams. Incredibly dull. Dishonorable mentions: 1974-75 Washington Crapitals (White pants); 1976-78 New York Rangers; Toronto Maple Leafs during the Harold Ballard era (Wide stripes from the neck to the wrists); the current uniforms of the Houston Texans (Dull beyond belief), Washington Nationals (Absolutely no creativity whatsoever); Colorado Rockies (White Sox clones?), Chicago Cubs (They still look like losers), Arizona Diamondbacks (What was wrong with purple? Oh, it's Jeff Moorad's monstrous ego) and the Philadelphia Phillies (The dumbest uniforms in all of sports. What was wrong with the crimson ones they wore in 1980? I guess they would rather look like the depressing chokers they were in 1964).
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Examiner Reader said:
Hey, what happened to your blog? You were the one reason I went to the Examiner Web site. My buddies and I would read your blog every day at work. What's going on? You get fired? You are not good enough for a blog but good enough for the paper. Must be different standards.
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Examiner Reader said:
"...no team should be named after a Disney film. It should be strictly forbidden to make professional hockey players wear a uniform with a gigantic, duck-shaped goalie mask across the chest." ...especially when they sweep the defending champion, original 6, dynastic Red Wings BEFORE they re-jersey and reorganize to win the Cup.
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Examiner Reader said:
Dude, those astros unis were great. This article is pretty good, until you get to that one. Are you crazy? Why don't you give examples of "best uniforms" so I know what would have been possibly been better for a SEVENTIES baseball team to wear at the ASTRODOME.
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Examiner Reader said:
Isn'y a manager's job to get the most out of what he has. Trembley has done that with the exception of the Starting pitching by which three should still be in the minors. Lets see Roberts all star caliber, Huff career year, Markakis all star numbers, First year players Jones, Scott, look promising. Oh and one important thing keeping a clubhouse together. Guys like Payton, Mora in the past would have blown this team up. His managing style is just what is needed and straight forward. In all honesty if this team had a true ace, shortstop they would only be looking at 5 GB instead of ten. We really are not taht far away.
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John H. said:
Trembley, while you are correct about blowing out the pen even though his options are pretty limited with injury and starters who can't go over 100 pitches, is far more intense and on top of matters when compared to Sam and Lee. I don't think his management of the pen was what tony was going for - rather Trembley's hold yourself accountable approach. He stands up for veterans because they've earned the right. However, he holds everyone accountable and that is his job. As far as shortstop goes, none of the above would be the correct answer when choosing between Fahey, Bynum, hernandez and Salazar. What a gaping hole that needs to be filled.
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Balu said:
How is Dave Trembley different from Sam P and Lee M? Let's see, he fried the bullpen (and he had a better one than those guys had) by pulling his starters after 4 innings (even if they had a 4 run lead and pitch counts less than 80). He stands up only for the veterans on the team (How else do you explain not arguing calls that cost us 2 games in Toronto, but getting tossed when we are down 10-2 against Boston, just coz it was a bad strike call on Millar?) He keeps playing Bynum when in reality Salazar should be given a chance...
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Steve in Parkville said:
I don't know about the golf game coming around, but I do know this article is on the mark as usual. Keep up the good work.
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GambrinusOne said:
Tone-have to agree with you...as much as it pains me to say it, we need to focus upon 2010-2012...if it is not nailed down, it has to go now. Get as much value as possible and continue to build for the future. Good to see the golf game is coming around...
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