Is the O’s interim manager a candidate to be the long-term skipper for this team?
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Happy Independence Day. If you’re going to be celebrating today, stay safe out there! Playing with fireworks is all fun and games until someone loses a finger.
If part of your Fourth of July festivities includes watching the Orioles, best of luck with that, too. They’ll be in action at 7:15 to open a three-game set in Atlanta, pitting the most disappointing team in the AL against the most disappointing in the NL. Who will own it? Do we care?
The O’s, at least, have played like a halfway decent team the past month compared to the truly awful one they were in April and May, more or less coinciding with the firing of Brandon Hyde and the hiring of Tony Mansolino as interim manager. So should Mansolino be credited with the team’s modest turnaround? Eh, it’s hard to say.
Baltimore Baseball’s Rich Dubroff, asked by a reader how the new skipper has fared so far, mentions that Mansolino has been more upbeat in press conferences than Hyde was and has generally used a more consistent lineup. I would also say, anecdotally, that the Orioles seem more aggressive on the basepaths under Mansolino, for better or for worse.
Record-wise, Mansolino has been more successful, currently 22-21 compared to Hyde’s 15-28 before he got the axe. Sometimes a new voice can inspire a team to play better, and maybe that’s what’s happening here. Still, it’s a very small sample size. We’ve seen some pretty impressive wins under Mansolino but also some pretty dumb losses that echoed Hyde’s early-season tenure. And the team continues to be racked by injuries no matter who is managing.
My overall assessment is that Mansolino is delivering what you’d like to see from an interim manager. He’s stabilized the team into a .500 club, which is nothing special but obviously a big improvement from what they were before. He seems to have a positive attitude and hasn’t made major in-game blunders. Still, I haven’t seen enough for me to vehemently believe that he should be the Orioles’ long-term manager going forward.
The Orioles are likely to conduct a thorough manager search this offseason, and sure, Mansolino could be a candidate. But is he the guy to lead the team back into contention year after year? Give me a couple more months and I’ll get back to you on that.
Links
Another tour of trade chips, Vázquez pitching in for Orioles – School of Roch
Roch Kubatko says that teams are “keeping tabs” on some of the veteran O’s relievers. I would trade Gregory Soto for a Tab soda.
Arms on the Farm: Breaking down Orioles pitching prospect Trey Gibson – The Baltimore Banner
Jon Meoli gives a very informative breakdown of one of the Orioles’ more intriguing pitching prospects.
Billy Hunter, last living member of Orioles’ 1954 team, dies – The Baltimore Sun
It’s the end of an era. RIP to the last original Oriole.
Orioles: Players’ dads discuss seeing their sons become big leaguers – The Baltimore Banner
The Orioles’ dads joined them for this past road trip, even getting to take batting practice before a game. My sympathies to whichever Oriole’s dad had to take his turn after Matt Holliday.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! I’ve arranged for people around the country to set off fireworks for the occasion. You’re welcome. The only Orioles player in history with a Fourth of July birthday is the late right-hander Babe Birrer (b. 1929, d. 2013). Late O’s owner Peter Angelos was also born on this day.
On this date in 1967, the Orioles traded their former ace lefty and Maryland native Steve Barber to the Yankees. Barber spent the first eight seasons of his career with his hometown team, was a two-time All-Star, and won 20 games in 1963. He was the Orioles’ Opening Day starter for the 1966 championship team.
Random Orioles game of the day
On July 4, 1996, the Orioles picked up an afternoon win over the Red Sox, 8-6, at Camden Yards. The O’s tagged Boston pitchers for three home runs by Cal Ripken, Mike Devereaux, and Luis Polonia, and Mike Mussina pitched a gem, holding the Sox to two runs in eight strong innings. The O’s held a comfortable 8-2 lead in the ninth before Roger “The Second Spitter” McDowell gave up four runs without retiring a batter, but closer Randy Myers stranded the tying run on base to secure the save.