It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.
The opening sentence of Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” referred to the time of the French Revolution, but it can easily be applied to last week’s Orioles-Nationals series at Camden Yards. Washington’s three-game sweep meant the Nats won the season series 4-2. Orioles’ skipper Sam Perlozzo surely saw his job security slipping away as Washington left town. That the Orioles would drop three more over the weekend to Arizona only sealed Sam’s fate.
In a weird scenario, the Orioles started digging Perlozzo’s hole on Mother’s Day in Boston (when the Red Sox scored six in the bottom of the ninth to win, 6-5), and finished it Father’s Day in Baltimore. After spending more than $40 million on bullpen upgrades last winter, they surely thought they’d get back to .500 for the first time in 10 years. At the one-third pole the Orioles were exactly .500 – 27 up, 27 down – but since then have gone 2-13. They open a west coast road trip tonight in San Diego and will face Arizona again before heading home for three each with the Yankees and Angels. It may get worse before it gets better.
Perlozzo’s approach to managing didn’t seem a whole lot different than his predecessor, Lee Mazzilli. He seemed to care whether the players liked him or not, and seemed reluctant to come down hard on anyone who appeared to give less than 100 percent.
Baltimore first baseman-DH Kevin Millar had it right on Sunday when he said Perlozzo “doesn’t hit the ball, catch the ball or throw the ball. We’ve got to do it.” A “players only” team meeting in San Diego tonight likely won’t be necessary now.
There is a Web site (benfry.com) that charts major league team’s performance vis-à-vis their payroll. A steep blue line means the club is playing well, that team management has spent money wisely; a steep red line means the opposite. Following Sunday’s games, the Orioles – with a payroll topping $93 million – had the second-steepest red line, just behind the White Sox. The Nationals’ blue line, on the other hand, was two spots above even, meaning they’re getting more than their money’s worth ($37 million).
It’s not unusual for a big league ballclub to completely overestimate the quality of their roster at the end of spring training. Heck, I thought the Orioles would be better this year, maybe top the .500 mark by a game or two. A 29-40 record with more than 90 games left on the schedule doesn’t seem like the end of the world. Deduct their results against lowly Tampa Bay and Kansas City, however, and you get 18-39. Scary stuff.
Perlozzo has a lot of friends in the D.C. area, dating back to his days as a student at George Washington University. He may never get another shot at managing a big league club. It’s a shame his one shot came with the wrong team at the wrong time.
Hear Phil Wood Saturdays at 10 a.m. on SportsTalk 980 AM and weekly on Comcast SportsNet’s WPL through the World Series.
