text: Posted on: July 29, 2010 5:40 pm
  Buck choice wasn't unanimous
  Buck Showalter could turn out to be the right choice for the Orioles. But he was hardly a unanimous choice. Sources familiar with the team said that owner Peter Angelos originally favored former Oriole Rick Dempsey, who he thought would excite the fans and fire up his team. General manager Andy MacPhail, meanwhile, was said by sources to favor ex-Indians manager Eric Wedge. Angelos was talked out of Dempsey by people who work for him, and Showalter was his second choice. Since Angelos favored Showalter, he got the job. Angelos' meddling is nothing new, and it's one reason that some people close to the team wonder if the Orioles will ever win again under his ownership. The Orioles have enough good young talent that they should be a perfect turnaround candidate, but it will take support from ownership that hasn't always been there in the past. Showalter, who has proven adept at turning losers into winners -- if not at turning them into champions) -- could be a strong enough personality to overcome the obstacles. He has dealt with strong owners before at each of his three previous stops. In any case, the best thing the Orioles did was to get the manager in place now, giving him time to watch the team from the inside for the final two months of the season. By October, Showalter should have a much better idea of which current players need to go, and which ones could be part of a better future. Category: MLB
  Tags: Buck Showalter, Orioles Add a Comment | Comments (16)
  Edited on: July 29, 2010 2:17 pm
  Showalter to be named O's manager next week
  Buck Showalter will be the next manager of the Orioles. A source familiar with the talks confirmed to CBSSports.com that the Orioles are putting the finishing touches on Showalter's contract, and expect to introduce him at a press conference Monday. The Orioles, whose 31-70 record is the worst in baseball, are off Monday and open a seven-game homestand Tuesday against the Angels. The 54-year-old Showalter last managed in the big leagues with the Rangers, in 2006. He spent 11 seasons with the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Rangers, earning a reputation for being able to turn around losing franchises, but never taking any of the teams to the top. The Yankees and Diamondbacks both won the World Series in the season immediately after Showalter was fired. Showalter had been considered a strong candidate in Baltimore since soon after the Orioles fired Dave Trembley on June 4. While Juan Samuel won praise for his work as the interim manager, the Orioles went 16-31 on his watch and he wasn't given serious consideration for the full-time job. Showalter's hiring was never a slam dunk, though. Sources familiar with the team said that owner Peter Angelos originally favored ex-Oriole Rick Dempsey, thinking that Dempsey would excite the fans and fire up his team. Meanwhile, according to multiple sources, general manager Andy MacPhail wanted to hire ex-Indians manager Eric Wedge. Angelos apparently was talked out of hiring Dempsey by people who work for him, and Showalter was his second choice. MacPhail was said to strongly believe that the Orioles needed a manager with prior big-league experience, preferably one who had taken a team to the postseason. Showalter's hiring was first reported by his current employer, ESPN. Category: MLB
  Tags: Buck Showalter, Dave Trembley, Juan Samuel, Orioles, Peter Angelos, Rick Dempsey Add a Comment | Comments (18)
  Posted on: June 4, 2010 9:38 am
  Edited on: June 4, 2010 9:44 am
  Orioles fire Trembley as manager
  The disappointing Orioles season has cost Dave Trembley his job. The team fired Trembley after nearly three years as manager. Third-base coach Juan Samuel will take over as the interim manager, while club president Andy MacPhail searches for a full-time replacement. Gary Allenson, who had been managing the Orioles' Triple-A Norfolk affiliate, will be the new third-base coach. Phil Garner and Bob Melvin are expected to be among the candidates the Orioles consider. The Orioles never expected to contend in the tough American League East, but they expected to make progress this year. Instead, after losing leadoff man Brian Roberts and closer Mike Gonzalez to injuries, they have a worst-in-baseball 15-39 record, and have lost their last eight games. Trembley, who took over when MacPhail fired Sam Perlozzo in June 2007, finished with a 187-282 record. The Orioles haven't had a winning season since they last made the playoffs in 1997.
  Tags: Dave Trembley, Juan Samuel, Orioles Add a Comment | Comments (11)
  Posted on: May 7, 2010 9:53 am
  Edited on: May 7, 2010 9:56 am
  3 to watch: The Ernie and Robby edition
  In Detroit, 10,000 fans showed up at Comerica Park on a day when there was no game. That's what Ernie Harwell meant to people in Michigan. In Philadelphia, players will hang a No. 36 jersey in their dugout for every game the rest of the season, in honor of a man who last played for the team before any of them were born. That's what Robin Roberts meant to the Phillies. If you didn't know Harwell -- or especially if you did -- check out "Ernie Harwell: We'll Remember," the tribute produced by Fox Sports Detroit. If you didn't know Roberts -- or especially if you did -- check out the fine tributes on philly.com. And join us for this memorial edition of 3 to watch, focusing on Harwell's beloved Tigers, Roberts' beloved Phillies, and the Orioles, the one team that employed both of them: 1. When Harwell came to the Tigers in 1960, his first game was a 15-inning, 4-2 win over the Indians in Cleveland. This weekend, it's Tigers at Indians, Friday night (7:05 EDT) at Progressive Field . 15 innings, anyone? The Tigers will be wearing an "EH" patch on their uniforms, as they will for the rest of the season. 2. 15 innings? That's nothing. In Philadelphia, they still talk about the day in 1952 when the Phils played a 17-inning game against the Boston Braves -- and Roberts went the distance. What a pitching line: 17-18-6-5-3-5. And, of course, he won, improving to 23-7 on the season. We're not expecting more of the same in Braves at Phillies, Friday night (7:05 EDT) at Citizens Bank Park . But we do know that Phillies starter Jamie Moyer, like so many of his teammates, is a longtime Roberts admirer. 17 innings, anyone? 3. Harwell's first major league job was with the Dodgers, famously going to Brooklyn from the minor league Atlanta Crackers in a trade for catcher Cliff Dapper. He went from the Dodgers to the Giants in 1950, and was the television voice for Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World. But he had stronger ties to the Orioles, who he joined in 1954, the year they moved to Baltimore from St. Louis. Harwell left for Detroit after the 1959 season. Roberts arrived in town three years later, after he was released by the Yankees. Harwell's first Orioles team lost 100 games, and changed managers at the end of the season. Roberts' Orioles didn't lose 100, but they did release him midway through the 1965 season. Things aren't too good in Baltimore now, and with another tough series this weekend, including Orioles at Twins, Friday night (8:10 EDT) at Target Field , time could be running out on current manager Dave Trembley. Category: MLB
  Tags: 3 to watch, Braves, Ernie Harwell, Indians, Orioles, Phillies, Robin Roberts, Tigers, Twins Add a Comment | Comments (8)