Game 108: Orioles 4, Angels 1

Lee Mazzilli was fired today as manager of the Baltimore Orioles. It was a painful sight since he wasn't doing a bad job. He was just dealt a bad hand with too many distractions. Look at the first half. It was a sight not seen for quite a while: winning. The team was in first place! It was actually beating the Red Sox and Yankees. The pitching was unstoppable. Then reality set in. The only pitching help they got in the offseason (Steve Kline and Reed) were being shipped to the minors. Sammy Sosa couldn't even do a quarter of what he did with the Cubs. Rafael "I didn't do steroids, PERIOD!" Palmeiro tested positive for steroids. People all across the team were rumored to be traded. Where's Burnett? Nevin? Lowell? Millwood? Wells? None came. Sure, Eric Byrnes came but he'll knock himself out against a wall in no time.

Who's to blame? The GM's, of course, in Beattie and Flanagan. They needed pitching but gave them offense plus a couple of old-timers to pitch. Sure, Burnett would've been good, but I'm glad Angelos rejected the trade. I'm not glad it took that long to resolve. All that time, the Orioles were losing. Now that they're 10 1/2 games back of the AL East and 9 games back of a wild card, it might be time to start packing it in. Let's hope that next season, Beattie and Flanagan will get what they should've gotten last season: pitching.