The Baltimore Orioles are an unmitigated disaster. I’ve come to the conclusion that Peter Angelos must have a stunt double. That must be it. What other reason could there be for the difference between pre-1997 Angelos and post-1997 Angelos? Maybe he used the same agency as Russia. I’m still convinced Boris Yeltsin died in the 1990s.

The Orioles fired pitching coach Leo Mazzone on Friday. The team did have the second highest ERA in the majors the past two seasons however the pitching staff was decimated with injuries and the front office did nothing to help. Instead, it brought in overpriced middle relief and it still hasn’t addressed the lack of depth in the minors.

“I spoke with Leo today and told him I appreciated his efforts here,” Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. “Moving forward, I felt that we would be better served with someone else working with our young staff and that it was in his best interests and our best interests to give him an opportunity to look elsewhere now.”

Yeah that’s it. Mazzone was the problem. It was said that “his rough, direct demeanor did not mesh with young pitchers and that he had trouble communicating with many of his players”.

Ramon Hernandez: “You look at all the guys on the staff that got hurt. He had a lot of young guys come up, almost every week we had a guy called up, and you don’t know what you are getting.”

Jamie Walker: “What happened with all the injuries is the minor league
system got exposed. It’s not deep. If that comment ruffles feathers, I don’t care. There is no way you have nine straight losing seasons and you don’t have a system built up … When you don’t have the kind of players you need to play the game, there’s always a scapegoat. Again, here’s another scapegoat. That’s the way I feel about it.”

He helped Eric Bedard become a great pitcher and Jeremy Guthrie has the makings of another quality starter. Daniel Cabrera is a headcase who probably needs a change of scenery. The middle relief is pretty much useless and closer Chris Ray was injured most of the season.

Mazzone’s departure was probably an inevitability once Sam Perlazzo was fired. However it still does nothing to address the deep-rooted problems in the organization that start at the top. Angelos’ interference in personnel decisions has been well documented and until he leaves, nothing will change. Hopefully Andy MacPhail is a sign of change but Baltimore won’t hold its breath. We’re blue in the face.

I don’t even know why I bother anymore. Supporting the Orioles is like continuing to go back to the same hooker that gave you gonorrhea. You keep getting burned but you keep your appointment out of habit.

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Filed under: Baltimore Orioles • Baseball • Leo Mazzone • Look Who's Burning • Peter Angelos

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