My O's are just stinking the place up, but last night, Julio Lugo jogs, barely, to first base on a ground ball, then jogs back to the dugout where manager Dave Trembley says exactly nothing. No fire. No heart. Any good high school or college coach would have removed him immediately from the lineup and probably engaged his attention with a little of the King's English about how the game is played full bore, 100% of the time. Trembley just stared straight ahead. (Brian Roberts, as talented as he is, has gotten a pass for years from Trembley on similar but not quite so obvious less than full tilt trips to first on ground balls.)
After the game, TV announcer Jim Palmer asked Trembley about it and got shrugged off.
The clock is ticking.... The O's have re-built their minor league rosters, and have a lot of good young talent. They have an obvious uphill climb in the AL East, but won't get there without some passion for the game, and it's not evident.
At all levels, the game is played with 100% passion, 100% effort. I remember Brooks Robinson in the twilight of his career still came to the park early and took, literally, hundreds of ground balls at third. There was a reason he was so good.
Trembley, to use an O's announcer's call on rare Oriole home runs: "See You Later!"
Original Post
