...And He's Gone!!! Trembley Put Out of His Misery

Dave Trembley has been fired as the Orioles manager. Juan Samuel has been named interim manager.

The only surprise here is that it took this long. After a horrible 2-14 start, the Orioles embarked on a brutal 12-game stretch against the Yankees and Red Sox and managed to go 5-7. They then split a 4-game set with the Twins and won a series against the Mariners and looked like they may have turned the corner. However, they are just 3-15 since the Seattle series and now own, by far, the worst record in baseball.

Trembley finishes his Oriole career with a 187-283 record and his record got worse with each successive year.

Is this mess completely his fault? No. Injuries to Brian Roberts, Felix Pie and Nolan Reimold (I still contend that Reimold is not healthy yet...) did the offense no favors. Neither did the offseason signing of Garrett Atkins. He doesn't have a ton to work with this season.

But his bullpen management has been terrible in 2010 and he seems to be pressing and flailing for a way to stop the losing. He's made it worse at this point and it's time for a new voice.

Trembley was not a bad manager. He managed the bullpen well (at least pre-2010), finding contributors in unusual places and spreading the work around quite well. He was, at least, no detriment to the young players who came up from the minors the last couple years. You certainly would rather have a guy like Trembley than, say, Lou Pinella when you have young, impressionable rookies in droves.

Trembley loved being the manager and loved the fans. At Spring Training, he was the last to leave the field after games or workouts, taking all kinds of time to chat and take pictures with fans or sign autographs. He wasn't faking it; he loved every aspect of his job.

But you don't keep that job if the team doesn't win. This is baseball and it just doesn't work that way. Removing Trembley probably won't do much for the Orioles in the standings but giving Juan Samuel the interim job gives Andy MacPhail the freedom to begin his search for a new skipper.

Samuel won't get the job. MacPhail is not going to give another "interim" guy the job. The search will be wide and the next guy will surely come from outside the organization.

So don't expect the Orioles to start winning just because Trembley is gone. He was in a bad situation and the situation hasn't changed.


From the Oriole press release:

The Orioles today announced that third base coach JUAN SAMUEL has been named as the club’s interim manager, replacing DAVE TREMBLEY. Samuel will be introduced as interim manager in a press conference today at 2:30 p.m. in the Auxiliary Clubhouse at Camden Yards....

From Dave Trembley's Statement:

“I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to Peter Angelos and Andy MacPhail for the opportunity to serve as manager for the Baltimore Orioles for the past three years. The results on the field were not what any of us would have hoped for, and I understand that the organization felt the time was right to move in a different direction. While I am disappointed at the outcome, I feel it was a privilege to wear the Orioles uniform each day and I thank all the fans for their tremendous support. I hope the team will soon return to the winning tradition they enjoyed for so many years.”