Orioles Manager

On Sam Perlozzo's job security as Orioles manager I think Perlozzo is safe, unless [Peter] Angelos wants to make a scapegoat out of him. I don't agree that Sam is completely safe. ... If they end up completely tanking and finishing behind Tampa Bay, that might raise an eyebrow or two in the Angelos suite. If Sam goes, [Leo] Mazzone becomes miserable, and the plan to rely on young pitching is out the window.

NEW YORK -- It has been four weeks since the Rumble in the Bronx. The bruises have healed. The suspensions have been served. And now the New York Yankees are coming to Camden Yards.The ugly bean brawl that spilled into the Orioles' dugout at Yankee Stadium on May 19 created bad feelings on both sides, but there probably will be no resumption of hostilities when the Orioles and Yankees face off in their second head-to-head series of 1998."I think it's over," Yankees outfielder Darryl Strawberry said.

Chances are, the man who replaces departed manager Davey Johnson already is receiving a paycheck from the Orioles. The top two candidates are members of Johnson's 1997 coaching staff.Pitching coach Ray Miller was handpicked by owner Peter Angelos last year to help re-establish the Orioles as a pitching powerhouse, and may be the owner's choice to oversee the entire on-field operation.Hitting coach Rick Down is considered a rising star among baseball insiders, and has been interviewed for several vacant managerial positions over the past two years.

If Orioles manager Davey Johnson removed left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes from Game 3 as a ploy, as Seattle Mariners manager Lou Piniella had suggested, he's taking it a bit far.Rhodes wasn't available yesterday after waking up with some pain in the upper portion of his left forearm, worse than the stiffness that led Johnson to bring in Terry Mathews in the top of the ninth inning of Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Mariners.Piniella said afterward that Johnson might have had Rhodes fake the injury to keep Seattle pitcher Jeff Fassero, working on an eight-inning shutout at the time, in the dugout an extra 10 or 15 minutes, which the Orioles manager denied.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Orioles manager Davey Johnson has ignored some of the examples offered by his former manager, Earl Weaver. Kicking the bat rack and knocking over water coolers as a sign of displeasure, Johnson suggested with a hint of a grin, may not necessarily augment the confidence of a wild pitcher.But Johnson watched Weaver run a pitching staff, watched a master at work, and now others say this is Johnson's strength as a manager."He's pretty good at getting the most out of his guys," said Chicago Cubs manager Jim Riggleman.

MILWAUKEE -- A week into June, the Orioles' bullpen was a mess. Closer Doug Jones and setup man Jesse Orosco were throwing well, but because of middle relief problems, the Orioles often couldn't get from the starters to Jones and Orosco.But the Orioles added veterans Terry Clark and Mark Lee from Triple-A Rochester, and now the bullpen is a strength. "Big-time," Orosco said. "They've been big-time. I've been saying that for awhile, watching these guys throw."Jones said, "The experience has been a contributing factor for us. I think there was a lot of pressure on the young guys [Armando Benitez and Brad Pennington]

TORONTO -- Orioles manager Phil Regan called owner Peter Angelos on Tuesday and asked for a meeting sometime in the next week, as part of the organization's general postseason review.They likely will discuss player evaluations and possible changes for next year. But at some point, Regan's status as Orioles manager is bound to come up, in the aftermath of what has been a disappointing season."I guess I'm an optimist," Regan said yesterday, "but I'm under the assumption I'm coming back. I have a contract for [the 1996 season]

The Major League Baseball Players Association will open its free-agent training camp on Friday in Homestead, Fla., and will have a manager and a full coaching staff for the nearly 200 free agents eligible to attend.It will not have Cal Ripken Sr., however, even though the former Orioles manager and coach apparently was the union's first choice to run the camp. Union official and former Orioles shortstop Mark Belanger said Ripken Sr. was offered the job but "could not commit" to the three-week assignment.

On the field: On June 3, Rochester left-hander Rick Krivda faced Syracuse right-hander Giovanni Carrarra, and the Red Wings won, 5-2, as Krivda posted this line:six innings, four hits, two runs, two walks, four strikeouts. Last night,exactly two months after that game, Krivda faced Carrarra again, in the big leagues, and had exactly the same line -- six innings, four hits, two runs, two walks and four strikeouts.In the dugout: Orioles manager Phil Regan made one slight adjustment in his lineup from Wednesday to last night.

Even if Phil Regan had been brought back as Orioles manager for 1996, Mike Flanagan said yesterday he may not have returned to be the pitching coach. "I would've probably reflected [about returning] even if Phil had Bumbry, third base coach Steve Boros, bench coach Chuck Cottier and hitting coach Lee May were fired by the Orioles. Bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks will be the only coach from the 1995 staff retained by new manager Davey Johnson, who is close to rounding out his own staff.Former Orioles right-hander Pat Dobson is expected to be the pitching coach, Sam Perlozzo the third base coach and Andy Etchebarren the bench coach.

When the World Series ends, the Orioles' exclusive 15-day negotiating window with would-be free-agent pitcher Mark Hendrickson will begin. And while that period usually comes and goes for most free agents without any serious negotiations, Hendrickson's agent is hopeful that his client's experience with the Orioles will be different. "We won't wait just for the purpose of waiting," said Joe Urbon of CAA Sports. "They have an exclusive window to talk and try to get something done, and I would hope that they'd use it because I know that's what Mark would like.

Former Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo held court in the visitors' dugout yesterday, trying hard to put his separation from the team last June in a perspective that would allow him to be honest about his feelings without sounding bitter about his dismissal. Erik Bedard joked with a couple of old Baltimore acquaintances in the visitors' clubhouse but waved off the reporters who wanted to talk to him on his first visit to Camden Yards since he was traded to Seattle. Adam Jones and George Sherrill traded pleasantries with their former Mariners teammates outside the indoor batting cages and huddled with the Seattle media contingent.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- When a player gets called into the manager's office in spring training, the news tends to be bad. Cuts are made, late arrivals are reprimanded, feelings are hurt. It's the worst time to be singled out. Orioles manager Dave Trembley broke with tradition this week. To open up the lines of communication, he decided to go behind closed doors. One by one, Trembley approached his veteran position players before Sunday morning's workout and ushered them into a meeting, where he laid out the travel schedule for the exhibition games and revealed the lineups he has already written.

It was one of the most memorable images of a forgettable 2007 season. Upset by a blown call in a game against the Los Angeles Angels last September at Camden Yards, Orioles manager Dave Trembley got in umpire Paul Emmel's face and motioned for the ejection of Emmel before vacating the game himself. Several photographers caught Trembley in the act of giving Emmel the ol' heave-ho, and now the Orioles manager can't hide from it. Trembley received a package this offseason from his brother in Illinois, and it included several T-shirts with the image on the front and Trembley's name and the date of the game on the bottom.

I wanted to pass along reliever Jim Hoey's thoughts on a minor league manager and pitching coach: "The manager at Delmarva, Gary Kendall, is amazing at how he's a motivational speaker and a coach. ... And you get to Double-A and Scott McGregor is an awesome pitching coach. More of a laid-back type who lets you do your thing." Mo Hill, a coach at Double-A, said the affiliates are giving the same instruction at each level that's found at the major league level. "It all starts in spring training, the fundamental part of it, making sure we're all on the same page with the major leagues, just in case there's a player to be moved up."

Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer remembers one of the first times he charted a game for Orioles manager Earl Weaver in 1969. Starter Mike Cuellar was beating Minnesota in the ninth inning of a close game, but he allowed a leadoff single on his 135th pitch, and the Twins had a few future Hall of Famers due up. So Palmer let his manager know how many pitches Cuellar had thrown. "I said, `Mr. Weaver, that was his 135th pitch,' and he said, `Get your [butt] down to the other end of the dugout and I'll let you know when he is tired,' " Palmer recalled.

Storied franchise looking for an on-field supervisor with good communication skills and ability to work under pressure. Applicant must be an energetic people person who can deal with stinging criticism, sometimes from thousands at once. Must be able to make split-second decisions, often while sitting next to a continually rocking employee. Experience with underperforming millionaires and undefined management hierarchy preferred but not required Willingness to demonstrate fiery theatrics (dirt-kicking, cap-turning)

Orioles interim manager Dave Trembley might not be treading on new baseball ground, but he's not exactly headed on a well-worn path. Trembley is the seventh man in modern baseball history to manage in the big leagues without any professional playing experience - minor leagues or otherwise. The highest level of competition that Trembley, a catcher, ascended to was a Canadian summer league in 1973-1974. The good news: All but two of the seven managed more than one season. The bad news: None finished his managerial career with a record over .500.

It has been since 1969, since he graduated from high school in Cumberland, that Sam Perlozzo spent a summer without wearing a baseball uniform. Yesterday afternoon in his Columbia condominium, hours before the Orioles took on the San Diego Padres, he considered that fact. "It really hasn't sunk in," said Perlozzo, 56, who was fired from his "dream job" as Orioles manager Monday. "I'm sure when the game comes on the TV tonight it will hit me. "It's sad for me, taking on a three-year deal and only getting this far with it. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I felt I was the guy to see it through.

Sam Perlozzo, Orioles manager What did you think of minor league pitcher Brandon Erbe during the Hall of Fame Game? He was pretty darn good. Leo [Mazzone] had actually talked to him in the later innings and worked on his curveball a little bit, and he picked it up immediately. ... It looks like we have a future pitcher on our hands.