BOSTON -- Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail had planned to wait until early August to address his club's managerial situation, but he decided it wasn't necessary to wait that long.
Impressed with the club's play since Dave Trembley has taken over, MacPhail announced yesterday that the interim manager will remain in the position at least through the end of this season.
"I think it is pretty self-evident that we won't be making any managerial changes in the season," MacPhail said in a conference call with reporters. "I will sit down with Dave and we'll talk a little bit about the future when we get off the road. As I have said many times before, and I think most people agree, Dave has certainly done a very nice job with this team.
"The things I always thought were important ... was the preparation level, the energy, the effort and the enthusiasm the players were displaying. And I think certainly you have to be pleased with all those things at this point."
Trembley has also gotten pretty good results since being elevated from bullpen coach to interim manager on June 18, when Sam Perlozzo was fired. After last night's 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox, the Orioles are 21-15 under Trembley, while playing a good chunk of the stretch without their left side of the infield - Miguel Tejada and Melvin Mora - and closer Chris Ray.
Players have praised his in-game decisions, particularly his handling of the bullpen, and been receptive to several changes he has made. He has had the club take infield practice at the beginning of a series and mandated that everybody stretches as part of the team. Many of the Orioles' top players have said publicly that Trembley deserves a chance to manage the team beyond this season.
"I think he should be the manager this year and next year, too," shortstop Tejada said. "They have to give a shot to him. You never know. This guy could be one of the best managers in the big leagues if they give him an opportunity. So far, [he has done] a great job."
MacPhail called Trembley yesterday to give him the news. While Trembley said that he was pleased, he maintained he hadn't given much thought to it, especially after MacPhail said publicly that no decision would be made until August.
"I'm very grateful for the opportunity and what the players and coaches have done," said Trembley, who managed 2,782 games in the minor leagues before getting the big league opportunity. "I'm just kind of getting started. There's still room for improvement. There's still things that we'd like to do. We're going to do our best to continue doing things the right way.
