Last-place Orioles fire manager Dave Trembley
BALTIMORE — Desperate to rejuvenate a team drained by losing, the Baltimore Orioles fired manager Dave Trembley on Friday.
The Orioles (15-39) owned the worst record in the major leagues entering Friday night’s game against Boston. They had lost eight straight and were coming off an 0-6 road trip in which they were outscored 34-8 in Toronto and at Yankee Stadium.
Third base coach Juan Samuel was appointed interim manager by president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail.
“What you’re hoping to accomplish when you make a change like this is, you’re hoping to ignite a spark, give everybody a clean slate,” MacPhail said. “Sort of get out of that drumbeat of what’s going to happen day-to-day.”
After getting off to a 2-16 start — second-worst in franchise history — the Orioles appear to be staggering toward a 13th consecutive losing season.
“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,” Trembley said in a statement. “While I am disappointed at the outcome, I feel it was a privilege to wear the Orioles uniform each day.”
Trembley seemed to know what was coming.
“When Dave came up to see me, I hadn’t even gotten a sentence out, he just waved me off and said: ‘Don’t worry about it,”’ MacPhail said. “He was fine. He was gracious. I didn’t even need to go into any kind of speech.”
Trembley is the second major league manager to be fired this season. Trey Hillman was dismissed by Kansas City on May 13.
“Dave has been a great guy,” third baseman Miguel Tejada said. “He respected everybody, gave everybody an opportunity to speak. I’m sorry for him because he’s a great man in and outside the room.”
Starting pitcher Kevin Millwood said, “It (stinks) that we as a team didn’t play well and he takes the fall for it. In some ways, we have to feel somewhat responsible.”
The 58-year-old Trembley had a 187-283 record with the Orioles. As caretaker to MacPhail’s massive rebuilding project, Trembley never had much talent at his disposal, and his job was made tougher this season by an expansive injury list, a lackluster offense and an ineffective bullpen.
“This is a negative reflection on the entire baseball operations department, starting with me,” MacPhail said. “Nobody believes the reason we have the record we have is somehow Dave Trembley’s fault or that making this change is going to magically solve all the issues and problems we have.
“But we did reach a point where we thought this was the appropriate thing to do.”
Samuel, 49, was a three-time All-Star during a 16-year playing career that ran through 1998. His only managerial experience came in 2006, when he led Binghamton of the Eastern League to a 70-69 record and a second-place finish.
Before that, Samuel served seven years with the Detroit Tigers as a coach. This is his fourth season with the Orioles.
Samuel becomes Baltimore’s sixth manager since 1997, the last time the team had a winning season. He follows Ray Miller, Mike Hargrove, Lee Mazzilli, Sam Perlozzo and Trembley.
“It’s an opportunity that I’m not taking lightly,” Samuel said. “We’re going to turn the page. We’re going to let these guys know, hey, the season starts today. The past is the past. What we do from now on is what we will be judged on.”
MacPhail said he will “talk to other people” in the weeks ahead about taking over the job on a full-time basis.
“We need to find the right fit here,” he said.
Gary Allenson, previously the manager of the Orioles’ Class AAA affiliate in Norfolk, was appointed interim third base coach.
Trembley became a major league manager for the first time on June 18, 2007, taking over on an interim basis after Perlozzo was fired. Trembley became the seventh man in baseball history to manage in the majors without having played professionally.
In August 2007, the interim label was removed.
When MacPhail announced last October that the club would exercise the 2010 option on Trembley’s contract, the stipulation was that the team must improve.
Unfortunately, the offseason acquisitions of closer Mike Gonzalez and first baseman Garrett Atkins did not pan out, and standout players in 2009 such as Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Nolan Reimold and Brad Bergesen failed to perform up to expectations.
“Maybe most disappointing of all to me, and most distressing, is the fact that we’ve had some of our young players go backward from where they were the year before,” MacPhail said.
Trembley never really had a chance after early season injuries claimed leadoff hitter Brian Roberts, outfielder Felix Pie, Gonzalez and late-inning relievers Jim Johnson and Koji Uehara.
Through Thursday, the Orioles were 6-25 on the road, 6-21 within the division and 21 games behind first-place Tampa Bay.
Baltimore ranks near the bottom in virtually every AL offensive category, including batting average, runs and stolen bases. The pitching staff has allowed more home runs than any team in the majors except for Arizona and ranked 12th in the AL with a 4.70 ERA.
The makeshift bullpen had more blown saves (10) than saves (9). Alfredo Simon, who followed Gonzalez and Johnson in the closer’s role, had six saves in seven tries before being placed on the disabled list on May 25 with a strained left hamstring.
“Alfredo Simon gets hurt and then you get to the tough part of your schedule, and things start to cascading down again,” MacPhail said. “Which led to, in some respects, the announcement we’re making today.”
Imperfect game diplomacy
WASHINGTON — Call it baseball diplomacy.
Relations between the United States and Venezuela may be testy, but the State Department is lauding the gracious reaction of Venezuelan-born pitcher Armando Galarraga to an umpiring blunder that cost him a perfect game.
Spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Friday that Detroit’s Galarraga deserves credit for the “the display of grace and sportsmanship that he has given us in the wake of his 28-out perfect game.”
Crowley’s comments about Venezuela are generally criticisms of the country’s leftist President Hugo Chavez.
On Wednesday, Galarraga was robbed of a perfect game when umpire Jim Joyce got the call wrong on what would have been the final out. He called Cleveland’s Jason Donald safe at first base but replays later showed he missed the call. Joyce admitted he blew it, apologized to Galarraga in person and hugged him after the Tigers’ 3-0 win.
Galarraga said he respected Joyce for apologizing and admitting his mistake.
“We certainly salute him and what he has done for the good of the game as a proud son of Venezuela and the Detroit Tigers,” said Crowley.
Rays put Bartlett on DL
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Tampa Bay Rays have activated catcher Kelly Shoppach from the 15-day disabled list and placed shortstop Jason Bartlett on the DL with a strained right hamstring.
Shoppach played four games for Class AAA Durham on a rehab assignment, the final step in his recovery from right knee surgery on April 19. Shoppach, who grew up in nearby Fort Worth, was in the lineup against Texas on Friday night.
Bartlett is batting .231 with one homer and 22 RBI in 48 games. His DL stint is retroactive to last Sunday.
Sean Rodriguez takes over at shortstop with Bartlett out.
Yanks Eiland takes leave
TORONTO — New York Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland is taking a leave of absence and will be away for the team for an unspecified length of time, manager Joe Girardi said Friday.
“Dave Eiland took a personal leave of absence and will be gone as long as he needs and that’s all I’m going to share,” Girardi said before the Yankees played the Blue Jays.
Bullpen coach Mike Harkey will serve as pitching coach while Eiland is away with batting practice pitcher Charlie Wonsowicz taking over in the bullpen.
“Obviously Dave is very valuable to us,” Girardi said. “We’re going to miss him. Just like when you have a player go down, people have to pick up and help out. Everyone will help out and we’ll make it work.”
This is Eiland’s third year as New York’s pitching coach and his eighth year with the organization. The 43-year-old pitched 10 seasons in the major leagues with the Yankees, San Diego and Tampa Bay. His last season was 2000.
Harkey is in his third season as bullpen coach and previously worked as Girardi’s bullpen coach in Florida. He spent six seasons as a minor league pitching coach with San Diego.
Brewers activate Gamel
ST. LOUIS — Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Mat Gamel has been activated from the 60-day disabled list and sent to the minors.
The team on Friday also released right-hander Claudio Vargas, who was 1-0 with a 7.32 ERA in 17 appearances. Right-hander Marco Estrada, who was already in the minors, was put on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 1 with shoulder fatigue.
Gamel injured his upper back in spring training. He batted .242 with five homers and 20 RBI in 128 at-bats last season.
Giants bring up Burrell
PITTSBURGH — The San Francisco Giants have purchased Pat Burrell’s contract from Class AAA Fresno, three weeks after the outfielder was released by Tampa Bay.
The 33-year-old Burrell hit .313 (5 for 16) with one homer and six RBI in five Fresno games. He went hitless in two at-bats at Las Vegas on Thursday before joining the Giants in time for Friday night’s game in Pittsburgh.
Burrell was in the second year of a $16 million, two-year contract with Tampa Bay when he was released May 15. He hit .202 with two homers and 13 RBI in 24 games for the Rays. Last season, he batted .221 with 14 homers and 64 RBI in 412 at-bats.
Burrell has 267 home runs and 904 RBI with Philadelphia (2000-08) and Tampa Bay (2009-10).
Mets put 2B Castillo on DL
NEW YORK — Second baseman Luis Castillo has been placed on the disabled list by the New York Mets, who also cut slumping backup outfielder Gary Matthews Jr.
The Mets recalled 20-year-old Ruben Tejada from Class AAA Buffalo to fill Castillo’s starting spot. Omir Santos was called up from Class AA Binghamton, giving the club three catchers on the big league roster.
The moves were made Friday before the opener of a three-game series against Florida.
Castillo was put on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Wednesday, with a bruised right heel. He had a CT scan Thursday that was negative, the team said.
Castillo has been hobbling for weeks, first because of pain in his left foot, then his right. He is batting .241 with no homers and 14 RBI.
Pirates farm out Burres
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates optioned left-hander Brian Burres to Class AAA Indianapolis to create a roster spot for left-hander Dana Eveland, who was acquired in a trade with Toronto on Tuesday.
Burres went 2-3 with a 5.62 ERA in 10 games for Pittsburgh, making seven starts.
Eveland will start Monday against the Cubs as he pitches for his fifth major league club in five seasons. He was 3-4 with a 6.41 ERA in nine games with Toronto, allowing eight runs in 11/3 innings during his most recent start May 22 at Arizona.
Series ring stolen
TAMPA, Fla. — A coach for the New York Yankees Class A team says his $10,000 World Series ring was stolen after a night of partying in Tampa.
A Tampa Police report says Patrick Daneker, a pitching coach for the Staten Island Yankees, said the ring was missing after he invited two women to a hotel room in the early hours of May 30. Two cell phones and $120 in cash also were reported missing.
The 34-year-old Daneker told officers he was “extremely intoxicated” and doesn’t remember much of what happened after they got back to his room.
A second coach, Yankees minor league instructor Carlos Chantres, said Friday he was with Daneker when they met the women at a bar, but he did not return to the hotel with the three of them.
Associated Press
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