Showalter in, Miggy Out

The Orioles finally announced the hiring of Buck Showalter as the team's new manager on Thursday, nearly two months after the club fired Dave Trembley. Showalter had been on the team's radar for some time and had multiple interviews. It was only a matter of time before his hiring was made official.

So what does Showalter bring that all of his predecessors since 1997 have not? What about Showalter makes him the man to finally turn this once proud franchise around?

Everyone knows about Showalter's track record. He has a winning record in his managing career and helped turn around both the Yankees and the Rangers in previous stints. We hear that he focuses on little details, fundamentals and is prepared for every situation. Well so was Mike Hargrove supposedly.

Since the Orioles last playoff appearance in 1997 the team's managers have included: Ray Miller, Mike Hargrove, Lee Mazzilli, Sam Perlozzo, Dave Trembley and Juan Samuel on his recent interim stint during the managerial search. Only one name in that list isn't a joke, right? Believe it or not, Hargrove had the second worst winning percentage of the managers on that list, only ahead of the biggest joke of them all: Dave Trembley. Mazzilli of all managers was the last head of the team to have the club in the AL East race at the All-Star break (two games back of Boston in 2005).

Showalter is the first proven manager the Orioles have hired in seven years. Although Hargrove didn't work out as planned, maybe things are different now that the O's have MacPhail at GM, a "new" Angelos up top and now a first-rate manager in Showalter. However, Orioles fans should still be cautious. The pitching is still lacking, the bats are still cold and the fielding recently has been suspect at best. You can have a great manager, but at some point the players have to produce on the field...

...Thursday also saw third basemen Miguel Tejada's second departure from Baltimore in four seasons. The Orioles traded Tejada and his one year, six million dollar contract to the Padres for Double A righty Wynn Pelzer.

Here's the real breakdown on the trade: Miguel Tejada is heading to NL West contending San Diego. Miggy was only on a one year contract so if the O's could get something for that contract now, then that's pretty good. Tejada is also 36 and his batting average dropped to .269 this year, not to mention he only has 39 RBI's. In comes Pelzer, a right-handed pitching prospect. Obviously pitching is something Baltimore is in desperate need of if they are to contend in the future. So far this season Pelzer has produced a 6-9 record and a 4.20 ERA in AA ball. The stats aren't impressive but he is still young and has time to grow in the Orioles farm system. He probably won't become an ace for the Orioles staff but if he can one day contribute solidly to the pitching staff then getting that for a half-season of an aging Miggy in another losing year has to be seen as a win.