The Baltimore Orioles, plagued by injuries and underperforming all season, lost manager Brandon Hyde early Saturday, with the GM, Mike Elias, announcing that he had fired Hyde before a matinee contest against the Washington Nationals.
How would the club respond?
They didn’t, losing to Washington, 10-6, in a game that was over before the first Natty Boh had been consumed.
The Nationals put up a six-spot in the first.
The Orioles never threatened.
Someone has to pay for a team playing poorly.
Usually, it’s the wrong guy.
Not so here. Hyde deserved the pink slip, and not entirely based upon this season’s 15-28 (now 15-29) start.
This goes back to last year’s All-Star break.
Since then, the Orioles have had a record of 54-77, including another 0-2 playoff performance.
The Orioles had to make a change.
Especially after Friday’s debacle against DC.
That performance was so inept that the ownership and front office had to do something.
Anything.
So, they made the easy move; they fired the manager.
Again, no problem with this.
Hyde had, as the saying goes, “lost his voice” in the clubhouse.
Precisely what that means, I have never understood.
I’ve sat close enough to the O’s dugout plenty, and believe me, Hyde has a loud voice. At times, obscene.
Earl Weaver might blush.
No, I’ve heard Earl as well. Hye’s a choir boy to Earl Weaver.
So, Elias tore a page out of baseball’s playbook and canned the manager.
It has happened three times this year now.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, fired Derek Shelton, while Colorado showed veteran manager Bud Black the door.
Former Orioles catcher and bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks was one of my favorite Orioles of all time.
Elrod would always have a ball for me when I attended a game in both Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards.
I remember asking Elrod once why he had never become a manager.
Elrod’s response was, “Because I like being in baseball. Managers are hired to be fired.”
How true.
Hendricks retired as Baltimore’s bullpen coach after 29 years.
Serving under 10 different Orioles managers.
So, the Orioles fired Hyde and put themselves in a no-lose situation.
If the club turns around under an interim manager, the third base coach, Tony Mansolino, and ownership get all the credit.
If they continue to flounder, then at least they did something.
Next man up, next year.
Timing is everything in baseball.
I’d be shocked if the club doesn’t start playing better; they almost have to.
It won’t necessarily be due to new leadership; rather, it will likely be a result of getting players off the disabled list.
Currently, the Orioles have as many as nine players who should be on the Major League roster sidelined with injuries.
Earl Weaver would be challenged managing the current roster.
But the other culprit in this mess is Elias himself.
And he wasn’t firing himself.
There’s plenty of Orioles fans willing to do that.
Today.
Elias is the person who assembled this team in the offseason.
Elias is the genius who handed a walking band-aid, free agent Tyler O’Neill, a $49 million contract.
In six seasons O’Neill has yet to play more than 100 games.
Can you say sucker?
Elias allowed star pitcher Corbin Burnes to leave via free agency, without even a serious offer to keep him in town.
How did he go about replacing Burns?
By signing a 41-year-old AARP cardholder, Charlie Morton.
For a guaranteed $15 million.
Can you say incompetence?
Elias was bidding against no one except himself.
Oh, there’s more.
Painfully more.
He traded valuable prospects Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers last year for an ineffective starter, Trevor Rogers, who is currently struggling in Triple-A Norfolk.
Stowers currently has 10 home runs and 35 RBI for the Marlins, while Norby is an effective platoon player for the team.
This is a deal that may haunt the Orioles for years to come.
Elias has never believed in drafting pitchers high.
He believes that pitching is too fragile a position to warrant a high draft selection or a long-term contract.
Huh?
How’s that working out?
The team has played uninspired baseball this season, and there’s plenty of blame to go around.
The rumblings in town were loud, and owner David Rubenstein heard them, loud and clear.
But make no mistake, the clock is ticking on Elias.
If the team continues to be non-competitive, then the trade deadline will be exciting in the warehouse.
The decisions that Elias makes then may very well determine whether the next pink slip bears his name.
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