Orioles' Play Sends Message: Coaching Staff Needs Overhaul

Something with these Orioles needs to change. It doesn't have to be now, necessarily, but judging by the Orioles' recent play, it has to be soon if they want to contend in the near future. This Orioles game tonight, an 11-4 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, puts everything into perspective for me. I did not watch the whole game, but I managed to catch the Orioles giving up the lead on the radio, and then completely blowing it on television. Tonight wasn't just a blip on the radar screen; tonight was the continuation of a recurring theme for a young, Orioles squad. Mental mistake after mental mistake killed them in this game, from the pop up that dropped in between Roberts and Markakis that gave the Angels the lead, to the poor throw by Andino to Mora that allowed the Angels to lead off the eighth with runners on first and third and nobody out.
These mental errors have been a constant in this Orioles season, leading me to believe coaching changes should be on the horizon. They will not happen tomorrow, and they may not happen within the next month, but, if things continue the way they have been, they may happen by the end of the season. Most of the mental errors the Orioles have made have come on the basepaths, with runners trying to extend singles to doubles (Melvin Mora) and getting picked off of third base (Aubrey Huff), but tonight was a sign that the Orioles have more mental problems than just on the basepaths. In their last four losses, the Orioles have committed five errors. The defense was supposed to be a strong suit on this ballclub, but it certainly has been having its troubles recently.
The mental errors haven't been occurring in spurts, nor are the Orioles just in a mental funk; it has been a season-long problem. Dave Trembley has been mentioning to reporters that the Orioles need to stop making these mental errors, but has he been doing anything to change it? Day in and day out we see this team make mistakes that ultimately lead to a loss, and Trembley sits idly by, complaining, but not changing.
Along with this, there have been many other problems I have noticed with this ballclub that, if this team wants to contend within the next couple of years, need to stop. Here are two positions on this ballclub that Andy McPhail and Peter Angelos might want to look in to tweaking in the coming months.

Manager: Dave Trembley
Dave Trembley is a very likeable guy. He has a solid personality, and obviously loves the game of baseball, but here are things I do not like about his coaching style (other than the mental error problem that he cannot control). He doesn't know how to deal with pitchers. I often am frustrated by how long he leaves pitchers in, and by how quickly he takes them out. Rarely do I find myself going, "Yes, this is a good time to take this pitcher out" when Trembley goes to the mound. In the game on Wednesday, Brad Bergesen had pitched a gem of a game against a strong Red Sox ballclub (8 innings, 4 hits, 0 walks). The score was 5-1 Orioles, and it was the top of the ninth inning, with the Sox coming to the plate. Bergesen had just pitched a 3-up, 3-down eighth inning, but Trembley goes to the bullpen. Trembley should have trusted Bergesen, who has become the staff ace since coming to this ballclub. Do not take him out of this ball game until he allows another base runner. Let him pitch his way through the ninth until he shows signs of a struggle. But, no. Trembley can't put that much trust in a young pitcher, so he goes to the bullpen, which conveniently gives up four runs, and the O's lose the game in 11 innings. There are many more, worse, situations with pitching that Trembley has been somewhat at fault, but this one is fresh in Orioles fans' minds.
Another problem is Trembley puts too much trust in players who have done poorly this season. Chris Ray started the season off terribly, so he was sent down to the minors. After doing "great" at AAA for, I don't know, a week and a half (that's what it seemed like), he comes up and fails immediately. Rather than complain to the front office and say, "Get Ray out of here. He is not good," he sticks with him, and puts him in ball games in crucial situations, when the Orioles are up or down a couple of runs. Jason Berken is another example of a player who should be down at AAA, yet Trembley sticks with him. After having two solid starts to begin his major league career, he has had one outing where he has pitched five-plus innings and allowed less than four earned runs. Time for him to get some more work in the minors. BRING UP CHRIS TILLMAN.

Hitting Coach: Terry Crowley
Terry Crowley has been a solid hitting coach since coming to this ballclub, but this year has gotten me worried. Certain players on this team have gone cold at the plate far too often on this ballclub. Nick Markakis had a month-long slump, Adam Jones has been cold of late, and veteran Brian Roberts has been up and down all season long. Yes, Markakis and Jones will be solid all-around players in the coming years, but it's frustrating to see them stay in slumps when all Crowley needs to say, repeatedly, to them is "be patient." I have had people tell me, "Well, there is so much a hitting coach can do. After a while it's on the player to do well," but if the hitter isn't listening to his hitting coach, it may be time to install a new one. It's frustrating seeing veteran Brian Roberts get into a long slump where part of it is, obviously, that he's trying to pull pitches on the outside corner of the plate. It's frustrating to see Nick Markakis take an upper cut at every pitch, and not try to serve one down the left field line. It's frustrating to see Adam Jones swing and miss at three breaking balls in the dirt in three straight at-bats. All you need to do as a hitting coach is watch some tape with the player, show them what they're doing wrong.
Tell them to change their stance if they have to. Change something. Someone needs to get these players out of these slumps, and while most of it is on the hitter, the hitting coach needs to fire them up, also.

These are the major cuts I would make as the young prospects continue to make their way up. If they want to contend, they need coaches who want to win, and not coaches who are waiting to get through the rebuilding process.