WHY BUCK FALLS SHORT

Buck Showalter. You know the name because you have either admired him in the past or because you remember him bashing Derek Jeter and the Yankees at the beginning of the season. Read it HERE. That was a confident Buck, a different Buck….a winning Buck. Once upon a time, Buck Showalter turned overlooked teams into postseason contenders in a short amount of time, but is this fairytale over? Buck is credited with being a strategic manager who often outsmarts other teams, but what has he done that made him so appealing to the Orioles?

After joining the Yankee coaching staff in 1990, Buck was named manager two years later. By 1994 the Yankees finished first in the American League East despite a short season thanks to the players strike. In 1995 the Yankees finally make the playoffs as the Wild card, which was their first appearance since 1981. Buck left the Yankees in 1996 when they coincidentally won the World Series and repeated their victory in four of the next five seasons.Right after Buck left the Yankees, he was hired by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1996 in preparation for when the team would actually compete in 1998. Buck’s first year in Arizona was disappointing as the team finished 65-97, but his off-season acquisitions of Randy Johnson, Todd Stottlemyre and Steve Finley helped the team win the National League West division title in 1999. After ending his second season on a high note, the 2000 season was disappointing and resulted in the Diamondbacks firing Buck. Once again, the Diamondbacks would go on to win the 2001 World Series, one year after being let go.

Clearly, Buck has been instrumental in forming winning teams even though he has not been around to reap the rewards. It is not surprising why the Orioles offered him the job after firing Dave Trembly last year. The Orioles have since reloaded their team to make them more competitive but what has he done since? If you look at the stats, he hasn’t done anything. Last year at this time the Orioles record was 44-81 and this year they are 49-77. The year has not been the typical re-build for Buck that he is used to, after making a splash in the free-agent pool and building up a talented young pitching rotation, the team has still gone “bust.”

Justin Duchscherer: After being persued by several teams during the offseason (including the Yankees), he signed with Baltimore for a one year deal. Since then, he has spent the entire season on the disabled list with a strained left hip, and was released earlier this month.

Brian Matusz: Just one of the young pitchers with high expectations for the year, Matusz has had a rollercoaster of a year with a 1-6 record and an 8.92ERA.
Jeremy Guthrie: A 5-16 record with a 4.55 ERA. He has also been battling with shoulder problems.

Brad Bergesen: Was sent down for the 4th time in the past two years to work on his mechanics and durability.

Chris Tillman: Also sent down to the AAA affiliate after poor outings.
Pitching has been the major issue of the Orioles all season, and despite call-ups and demotions to the minor leagues the Orioles have not been able to solve their pitching problems.

The Orioles made noticeable improvements to their lineup in the off-season acquiring big names Mark Reynolds and Vladimir Guerrero. While Guerrero still has respectable numbers with a .276BA, his 44 RBI total is not what the Orioles expected. Mark Reynolds is still the same hitter from last year, with “all or nothing results” as he still holds a high strikeout rate (147 so far), and a low batting average (.219) but he is still hitting homeruns, he has hit 27 this season. In addition to a struggling pitching rotation, the Orioles also struggle with scoring runs and are ranked 18th in the league, which is also not a typical Buck Showalter stat.

Buck Showalter has had success in the American League, but this is the American League East, and it is a whole new ballgame. Is Buck a talented manager? Yes, but with numbers like these he won’t be able to compete with the big dogs, and he could find himself walking in Dave Trembly’s shoes. Where is all the trash talk now, Buck?

--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Writer / Associate Editor



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