FanHouse SamPerlozzo

Interim manager has got to be a tough gig. If you're taking over for a fired manager, chances are pretty good you're inheriting a pretty crappy team. They're then left with a pretty small sample size of a season to prove that they're good enough to keep the job. If they finish strong, expectations are often too high. If they finish badly, they can be unfairly pushed out the door. Pete Mackanin is in such a position in Cincy right now. He wants to lose the interim tag, but only if the Reds think he deserves it and not because of the Reds' torrid play since he took the job:

"I feel like I'm in the mix, and I feel like I'm doing as much as I can to help my chances," he said. "I wouldn't want them to have a knee-jerk reaction to that. If and when they do hire me, I'll feel real good about it, instead of just as a reaction.

"I don't think (CEO) Bob Castellini's like that. I think he's going to think long and hard. That's fine with me. I don't want the job on a whim or a knee-jerk reaction because we play well for a week or two."

Mackanin may have trouble keeping his job just because of the bad track record of elevated interims of late. Sam Perlozzo and Jerry Narron, both fired this year, started out as interim managers. The man Narron replaced, Dave Miley, also started as the Reds' interim manager. It's possible new owner Bob Castelinni will just want a chance to start things over and I don't think anyone would blame him if he did, even with how the Reds have played under Mackanin.

As you can see, there's still no pictures of Mackanin in Reds' uniform on Getty. Maybe they're trying to tell Castelinni something.

When the Orioles fired Sam Perlozzo, the first thing they did was offer Joe Girardi the job. He declined, which may have been a blessing in disguise. Dave Trembley, who had been Perlozzo's bench coach, has gone 29-25 as the O's interim manager, and according to the Baltimore Sun, he's earned the chance to stay on board next season:

The Orioles will hold a news conference tomorrow to announce that Trembley's contract will be extended through the 2008 season, according to several team sources.

[Andy] MacPhail declined tonight to confirm that a decision has been reached, but said: "I don't think that anyone makes a secret of the good job that Dave is doing. I think the results speak for themselves."

[...] Trembley declined to comment about his status before tonight's game. However, team sources confirmed that Trembley has been notified that he'll return next season. [...] The news that Trembley will return was greeted enthusiastically in the Orioles clubhouse, which has been vocal in its support of the manager, who is just the seventh man in modern baseball history to manage in the big leagues without having played professionally.

To be honest, that last line really surprises me. I know working in baseball is all about having the right connections, but I never quite realized to what extent that was true. Congrats to Trembley for bucking the trend -- he's certainly paid his dues by managing over 2,700 minor league games before getting his break this year.

Sheesh, I haven't heard that name since ... the last time. And it's been quite some time too. Despite being diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in 2003, Baylor says he's ready and eager to return to managing. And according to The Denver Post, Don Baylor could be a candidate for the Orioles job:

He might get [a chance] after emerging this week as a strong candidate for the Baltimore Orioles' managerial vacancy. Andy MacPhail, who oversaw Baylor's hiring in Chicago, is leading the search as Baltimore's new president. Joe Girardi turned down the job, leaving Dusty Baker, Davey Johnson, Rick Dempsey and Baylor as possible successors to Sam Perlozzo.

Baylor may not have made PostmanE's list of candidates which included Baker, Frank Robinson, Johnson, and interim manager Dave Trembley, but he sure is trying to establish himself as a candidate now. Baker has a cushy gig at ESPN, so he might not be as quick to leave as some people would think. Who knows about Johnson and Dempsey. From the sounds of things, they might not find a more eager candidate than Baylor. And really, how hard is it to manage the O's to a fourth or fifth place finish every year?

Previously at FanHouse:
So, What Do the Orioles Do Now?
Is Tom Kelly a Potential Orioles Manager?

When the Orioles fired Sam Perlozzo, it became quickly apparent they had their eyes on former Marlins skipper and current Yankees broadcaster Joe Girardi to take over. A contingent of O's officials, including the newly hired president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, interviewed Girardi on Tuesday, and while their meeting didn't end with a contract offer, they are negotiating today. From the Baltimore Sun:

The Orioles are currently negotiating with Joe Girardi to become their new manager, two baseball sources confirmed this afternoon.

"There is ongoing communication with Baltimore," said Steve Mandel, the agent for Girardi. "There is no done deal, but the dialogue is continuing."

This throws a potential curve ball to the Yankees, whom many people regarded as a potential successor to Joe Torre once Torre's contract expired at the end of this season. But bench coach Don Mattingly is also considered to be in the mix for that position, so it's understandable if Girardi didn't want to gamble with his future by passing on the O's job.

Previously on FanHouse:
Sam Perlozzo: Underserving Scapegoat
Canned in Baltimore: Sam Perlozzo Fired

Let me see if I have this right: we stink, we don't spend money, we make terrible player personnel decisions, and we're stuck in a division with two perennial World Series contenders. Oh yeah, and we've lost eight in a row, darn. What should we do about this? I know, let's fire the manager!

Maybe the situation in Baltimore didn't strike you as such, but that's how it came across to me. How can you fire Sam Perlozzo and blame him for the team's failures? Baseball is a game of ups-and-downs. The same club that went 2-13 in June also had separate four-game and six-game winning streaks in May.

Even with the hideous recent play by the O's, Baltimore was still only 29-40 at the time of Perlozzo's firing, not 26-43 like Texas or something. I'm not saying that losing is acceptable, but what did Baltimore's management group really have in mind for this year's team? A playoff berth? A division title? A World Series run? Honestly, look yourself in the mirror for a second before you run your manager out of town.

According to published reports, Sam Perlozzo has just earned the unenviable distinction of being the first major league manager to be fired this year. He lasted less than two seasons on the job, posting a 122-164 record after taking over for Lee Mazzilli late in the 2005 season. Things have gone especially bad this season, with the Orioles riding an eight-game losing streak into sole possession of last place in the AL East. Needless to say, it's not like people didn't see this coming.

So who takes over? For the time being, it's bullpen coach Dave Trembley, who lacks any big-league managing experience but was a long-time skipper in the minor leagues. He'll wear the "interim" tag for the time being -- perhaps until former Marlins manager and current Yankees broadcaster Joe Girardi, considered the top name on the O's short list, accepts the job. Making Perlozzo the fall guy wasn't the only change in Baltimore: well-traveled exec Andy MacPhail was also named the team's new COO. Good decision? Tough call. As Baseball Musings points out:

During MacPhail's twelve seasons running the Cubs (1995-2006), Chicago's record was 916-1011, a .475 winning percentage, 22nd in the majors. Twenty third were the Orioles at 911-1014, .473. If they're going to hire someone new, shouldn't it be someone with a track record that's different from your team's own history?

Time will tell, though it's not like there are very many great baseball minds out there currently unemployed.

(Hat-tip: Baseball Musings)

The Orioles are not having the best of years. They've slowly slipped to fourth in the AL East, while the fans can't get a simple uniform change and the bullpen, riddled with mistakes, has adopted unity facial hair. It's been a wacky year, to say the least.

By complaining about a simple day off, Melvin Mora can't be helping things:

"I'm not upset that I'm not in there. I'm upset that they don't communicate with me," he said before batting practice. "I could've worked out or come here and worked early. I'm not the kind of guy that wants to work early and play the game, because I don't want to be tired. ... He's the boss and he can do anything he wants with the lineup. I don't mind that. He can give me a day off. But we're veteran players here, and we need to know what's happening the next day."

"Mike Hargrove did it. Even Lee Mazzilli did it," he said. "I wasn't playing in the big leagues for a long time with the Mets, but Bobby Valentine would tell me, 'You've got a day off tomorrow.' Or, 'You're going to face Tom Glavine tomorrow.' This game is about communication. This game is like how you are with your wife. If you get good communication with your relationship, your relationship's going to be strong. That's the bottom line.

"That's why I see so many players playing hard for their manager -- because their manager treats them well. That's why you see a player like Curt Schilling bleeding on the mound -- because he wants to do everything for Terry Francona."

Melvin: relax, OK? Whether Perlozzo should have told you, or meant to tell you ... come on. Just take it easy. Most people are happy to take a day off, even if they get all the way to work and their bus tells them to take the train back home. Come on, it's a day off! Go with it, baby!

(HT: BBTF)

Previously on the FanHouse:
Orioles Bullpen Gives It Up ... Again
Orioles Bullpen Debuts the 'Unity Stache'
Orioles Fans Just Can't Catch a Break

In a post last evening, I talked about how few games that major league managers really have an impact on. Today was a perfect example of a game that a manager did have an impact on, and it didn't turn out so well for the Baltimore Orioles. Sam Perlozzo watched as his young pitcher, Jeremy Guthrie, shut down the Boston Red Sox for eight-and-two-thirds innings. When the second batter in the bottom of the ninth, Coco Crisp, popped up harmlessly in the infield, this one was as good as over. But not so fast, Hernandez dropped the pop-up and Crisp reached first on the error. For no apparent reason other than to stretch his legs, Perlozzo walked to the mound and pulled Guthrie.

To that point, Guthrie had given up just three hits and two walks. He hadn't given up a hit since the sixth inning, no Red Sox base runner had made it past second base, and Guthrie had thrown just 91 pitches! Not to mention the Oriole bullpen had been used quite a bit in the first two games of the series and this was a perfect opportunity to give it a rest.

I won't go into the gory details, but suffice to say there aren't too many happy mothers in Baltimore today. Baez and closer Chris Ray combined to give up five runs on four hits and three walks, and a game-ending error for Ray.