The one positive thing (in my opinion) about the firing of Dave Trembley is that the players have one less excuse now. The almost daily distraction of wondering when Trembley would be dismissed is gone. With a current record of 15-40, the O's were obviously never held back simply by the manager; the main problem is the awful play on the field. And now that's what everyone will focus on instead of the interim manager, Juan Samuel.
Last night, in Samuel's first game as head coach, the O's played yet another terrible game and lost 11-0 to the Red Sox. Clay Buchholz threw a complete game shutout, allowing only five hits and walking just one batter. All five of those hits were singles. Buchholz also threw just 101 pitches, which is pretty difficult to do.
The hitting was terrible, and so was the pitching. Chris Tillman, in his second start this season, lasted just 1.1 innings and 57 pitches. He gave up four runs, five hits, and two walks, and never looked comfortable on the mound. The bullpen wasn't a whole lot better, giving up three home runs and allowing the Red Sox to tack on seven more runs as the game went along.
At some point, the O's are going to start playing better. Their play lately has been so ugly that it's extremely difficult just to find a few positives. The offense almost never scores more than four or five runs, and it's a miracle if the O's get some kind of rally going.
The O's are rebuilding; it's important to remember that. But even rebuilding teams are supposed to be fun sometimes. Right now, there's nothing fun about this team.
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