The nine-year marriage between Melvin Mora and the Orioles appears headed for a nasty divorce.
Out of the lineup Sunday for the third time in the past four games, the veteran third baseman said that he feels disrespected by Dave Trembley, wondered whether the manager has a personal problem with him and conceded that it's time for him to "move on."
"I don't appreciate the disrespect, because I've been playing hurt for a guy who won't respect you. I don't deserve it," said an emotional Mora. "Whatever he wants to do, he can do it. But like I told you before, I need to have my respect. This is not a guy who just came to the Orioles. This is a guy who's been here for nine years busting his butt for the organization."
Mora, who was acquired in 2000 and is the longest-tenured member of the club, has an $8 million option for next season that the Orioles almost certainly will not pick up. And that doesn't appear to bother Mora, who went as far as to say that he'd be OK with getting released, which is not entirely out of the question as the Orioles are looking for ways to get Felix Pie and Ty Wigginton more at-bats over the final two months.
"I'm a competitor," Mora said. "I don't like to be here and [I'm] just thinking about in October [how] I'm going to go on vacation. ... I know here they're rebuilding and they bring a lot of young guys here, good players ... I know it's time ... to move on."
Mora is hitting .256 with three home runs and 27 RBIs, easily his worst season since joining the Orioles. He has just one homer since May 7, a walk-off shot to beat the Toronto Blue Jays on July 11. Last year, Mora batted .285 with 23 homers and 104 RBIs, and was one of the league's most dangerous hitters in the second half.
On Friday, Trembley acknowledged that Mora could face a reduction of playing time, and said, "if guys hit, they'll play." Apprised of Mora's comments before Sunday's game, Trembley mostly took the high road.
"I'm disappointed that he feels that way, but that's really nothing for me to comment on because I'm not going to get into that," Trembley said. "Melvin's been a very good player for a long time, but we don't show disrespect to anybody.
"I'm trying to help people. I'm not trying to hurt anybody. If I give a guy a day off - guys who are up there in age, they've played a long time, guys who are struggling - I'm trying to help them. ... You've got to be a 'team guy' here. It's not about one guy on this team and everybody knows that. We need to stay away from that and we will stay away from that."
