So, Sam Perlozzo is finally gone. It's been in the cards since the Mother's Day Massacre, but this being the Orioles, it took another month to get it done.

Perlozzo was a terrible manager, especially with bullpen usage (this just in: don't use Chad Bradford against lefties and Jamie Walker against righties), but he's just a symptom, not the cause of the Orioles' problems. Other than the bullpen of course, the offense is terrible, with only Brian Roberts having what could be called a good year, and only Markakis and Tejada in a position where they could improve. This has caused the team to blow what's been a pretty good rotation so far, thanks to surprising performances by Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Burres.

All the speculation is that Joe Girardi will be wooed to be the new manager. I don't see why he'd take the job. For one, if there's any chance that either the Yankees or Cubs jobs open up in the offseason, he'll shoot for one of those. Also, why would Girardi come into a situation as disjointed as Baltimore's? The team needs to be blown up, upper management is incompetent, and the owner is evil. A wanted commodity can pick and choose what he wants, and it's not that.

Also, Andy MacPhail as COO? Why? This means the O's have four guys heavily in the decision making: MacPhail, Mike Flangnan, Jim Duquette, and Angelos. There are too many cooks in the kitchen, and the cooks have the equivalent skill of the Swedish Chef. Call me crazy, but I bet that doesn't end well.

The result? A 10th straight year of losing, and almost certain continued mediocry with a poor farm system and past-their-prime players. At least we have the Pirates to make ourselves feel better.