1. Woes of the O’s » Blame former manager Dave Trembley if you want. Baltimore general manager Andy McPhail and owner Peter Angelos both did on Friday when they fired him. But both men also know that the problems in Birdland run far deeper. Young “stars” like Adam Jones, Brian Matusz and Matt Wieters just aren’t contributing enough. Why? Because all three are still learning at the major league level. And as long as the Orioles don’t surround this crew with a stronger group of veterans, this is what you’ll get — by far the worst record in the game and a good man canned for it. There are still more stud pitchers on the way from Norfolk. But fans who fancied Baltimore a contender were kidding themselves. Maybe in 2012.

2. Saying goodbye to “The Kid” » Ken Griffey Jr. retired with 630 home runs (fifth most all-time). He won a Gold Glove every year in the 90s and made 13 All-Star Games. But he remains one of the biggest “what ifs?” in baseball history. As a 30-year-old, Griffey was traded from the Mariners to the Reds and proceeded to miss 453 games in eight full seasons in Cincinnati. Imagine if Griffey was not plagued with injuries. How many records would he have broken? Would he have become the greatest player since Babe Ruth? During his prime he had power, speed and charisma. Griffey will be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and is one of the best players of his era. But it’s hard not to imagine “what if?”

3. Instant replay and MLB’s umpires » Jim Joyce’s blown call cost Detroit’s Armando Galarraga a perfect game and demonstrated the need for greater use of instant replay in Major League Baseball. Even commissioner Bud Selig grudgingly admits this now. That doesn’t mean Selig should ignore the umpires, however. Yes, Joyce is one of the game’s best and should not be pilloried. But if even he can make a mistake of that magnitude under pressure then Selig needs to act before a similar call costs more than an individual honor. When it happens in the postseason — and there were some stinkers last October from the men in blue — it will really give the sport a black eye. Create a system that holds umpires accountable for mistakes and promotes the best in the postseason. More replay is just part of the equation.

SERIES TO WATCH
Padres at Mets, Tuesday-Thursday
San Diego entered the weekend with the best record in the NL, but they must keep up the pace because the Dodgers — which went 20-8 in May — are coming on strong. The Padres’ pitching staff leads the league in ERA. But it was slugger Adrian Gonzalez and San Diego’s offense that kicked off last week’s series against the Mets with a boom, scoring a Petco Park record 18 runs Monday. The Padres won that series 2-1. This week New York will try to take down the NL’s best at Citi Field, where the Mets have one of the best home records in the league.