Post by Fish Troll on May 26, 2007 10:05:04 GMT -5
Notes: Mora wants open lines
Third baseman prefers advance notice of changes
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
BALTIMORE -- When Melvin Mora glanced at the lineup card Friday and didn't see his name on it, he waived his right to remain silent. Baltimore's third baseman became the latest Oriole to gripe about his situation on Friday, when the two-time All-Star complained that he didn't receive the proper notification prior to his off-day.
Teammates Kevin Millar and Jay Gibbons have also gone public with concerns over playing time, but Mora didn't have a problem taking a day off -- he just wanted to know about it further in advance. The veteran took lack of notice as a sign of disrespect, a point he made clear with reporters and with Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo.
"I'm not upset that I'm not in there. I'm upset that they don't communicate with me," he said before batting practice. "I could've worked out or come here and worked early. I'm not the kind of guy that wants to work early and play the game, because I don't want to be tired. ... He's the boss and he can do anything he wants with the lineup. I don't mind that. He can give me a day off. But we're veteran players here, and we need to know what's happening the next day."
Mora also courted controversy a few weeks ago, when he was involved with teammate Jay Payton in an on-field dispute.
The two shared their respective sides of the story, and after the game, they both insisted the issue was behind them.
"If I tell the papers, I'll tell the papers," he said. "I don't have to hide anything from anybody. I'm a grown man, and if I feel something, I'm going to tell him. I'm going to tell him, 'You don't treat me like a veteran. You treat me like a rookie. And I'm not a rookie.' I haven't had it this time, but I've had it before. We talked before Spring Training."
From Perlozzo's perspective, it was all a big misunderstanding. The manager said he likes to tell players before their day off, but that he doesn't always have that luxury. Perlozzo also said that he tries not to inform his players until he's certain of his plans, because it can be counterproductive to go back and tell them things have changed.
"I missed Melvin yesterday," Perlozzo explained. "I wanted to tell him before the game in batting practice, and I wasn't able to get to him. Then I didn't want to do it right before the game, because I didn't want to disturb his thought process. And then we lost a tough game and I didn't get to him. I pretty much got to everyone else."
Perlozzo didn't know of Mora's complaints during his pregame media briefing, and after he became aware of them, he engaged the infielder in an animated conversation near third base. The two shared their respective sides of the story, and after their discussion, neither addressed the issue with the media.
Before their chat, though, Mora seemed pretty adamant that he'd been wronged. One by one, he chimed off the list of managers he's played for, and one by one he said they've given him the respect he's desired.
"Mike Hargrove did it. Even Lee Mazzilli did it," he said. "I wasn't playing in the big leagues for a long time with the Mets, but Bobby Valentine would tell me, 'You've got a day off tomorrow.' Or, 'You're going to face Tom Glavine tomorrow.' This game is about communication. This game is like how you are with your wife. If you get good communication with your relationship, your relationship's going to be strong. That's the bottom line.
"That's why I see so many players playing hard for their manager -- because their manager treats them well. That's why you see a player like Curt Schilling bleeding on the mound -- because he wants to do everything for Terry Francona."
Hot hands: Perlozzo had said Thursday that he planned on shifting most of his players out of the lineup over the next few days in an effort to make sure that playing time remains evenly distributed. He was able to tell most of the players involved, but he said it may not always be easy to keep everyone satisfied with their lot in life.
"We're here to win games, really. I'm not here to keep everyone happy," Perlozzo said. "They're here to keep me happy. I'd rather nine guys be hot and one guy's unhappy because he's not playing, but that hasn't happened yet. I really feel like this offense is going to produce. I think it will, [but] day-to-day feels like an eternity."
Perlozzo said that Mora's day off was just an attempt to get Millar, Gibbons, Aubrey Huff and Payton into the lineup on the same day. Saturday, it will be someone else's chance to sit and make room.
"We've played 27 one-or-two-run games," he said. "We're in some ballgames. We haven't had a little luck and we've given up some leads by our better guys. It's been a tough stretch, but we've got to keep plugging away. When we left Spring Training, we felt this team was going to be a little better. And I still fell we're going to be a little better."
Quotable: "The bottom line is he gave me a day off today, and he's right to give me a day off, because that's his team. He runs this team and whatever he decides to do is fine with me. The only thing I'd appreciate is communication. That's the only thing." -- Mora on the upshoot of his tiff with Perlozzo
Coming up: The Orioles and A's will meet again Saturday, with Brian Burres matched up against Oakland's Joe Kennedy. Burres was skipped in his last rotation turn and has gone a week without pitching.
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Third baseman prefers advance notice of changes
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
BALTIMORE -- When Melvin Mora glanced at the lineup card Friday and didn't see his name on it, he waived his right to remain silent. Baltimore's third baseman became the latest Oriole to gripe about his situation on Friday, when the two-time All-Star complained that he didn't receive the proper notification prior to his off-day.
Teammates Kevin Millar and Jay Gibbons have also gone public with concerns over playing time, but Mora didn't have a problem taking a day off -- he just wanted to know about it further in advance. The veteran took lack of notice as a sign of disrespect, a point he made clear with reporters and with Baltimore manager Sam Perlozzo.
"I'm not upset that I'm not in there. I'm upset that they don't communicate with me," he said before batting practice. "I could've worked out or come here and worked early. I'm not the kind of guy that wants to work early and play the game, because I don't want to be tired. ... He's the boss and he can do anything he wants with the lineup. I don't mind that. He can give me a day off. But we're veteran players here, and we need to know what's happening the next day."
Mora also courted controversy a few weeks ago, when he was involved with teammate Jay Payton in an on-field dispute.
The two shared their respective sides of the story, and after the game, they both insisted the issue was behind them.
"If I tell the papers, I'll tell the papers," he said. "I don't have to hide anything from anybody. I'm a grown man, and if I feel something, I'm going to tell him. I'm going to tell him, 'You don't treat me like a veteran. You treat me like a rookie. And I'm not a rookie.' I haven't had it this time, but I've had it before. We talked before Spring Training."
From Perlozzo's perspective, it was all a big misunderstanding. The manager said he likes to tell players before their day off, but that he doesn't always have that luxury. Perlozzo also said that he tries not to inform his players until he's certain of his plans, because it can be counterproductive to go back and tell them things have changed.
"I missed Melvin yesterday," Perlozzo explained. "I wanted to tell him before the game in batting practice, and I wasn't able to get to him. Then I didn't want to do it right before the game, because I didn't want to disturb his thought process. And then we lost a tough game and I didn't get to him. I pretty much got to everyone else."
Perlozzo didn't know of Mora's complaints during his pregame media briefing, and after he became aware of them, he engaged the infielder in an animated conversation near third base. The two shared their respective sides of the story, and after their discussion, neither addressed the issue with the media.
Before their chat, though, Mora seemed pretty adamant that he'd been wronged. One by one, he chimed off the list of managers he's played for, and one by one he said they've given him the respect he's desired.
"Mike Hargrove did it. Even Lee Mazzilli did it," he said. "I wasn't playing in the big leagues for a long time with the Mets, but Bobby Valentine would tell me, 'You've got a day off tomorrow.' Or, 'You're going to face Tom Glavine tomorrow.' This game is about communication. This game is like how you are with your wife. If you get good communication with your relationship, your relationship's going to be strong. That's the bottom line.
"That's why I see so many players playing hard for their manager -- because their manager treats them well. That's why you see a player like Curt Schilling bleeding on the mound -- because he wants to do everything for Terry Francona."
Hot hands: Perlozzo had said Thursday that he planned on shifting most of his players out of the lineup over the next few days in an effort to make sure that playing time remains evenly distributed. He was able to tell most of the players involved, but he said it may not always be easy to keep everyone satisfied with their lot in life.
"We're here to win games, really. I'm not here to keep everyone happy," Perlozzo said. "They're here to keep me happy. I'd rather nine guys be hot and one guy's unhappy because he's not playing, but that hasn't happened yet. I really feel like this offense is going to produce. I think it will, [but] day-to-day feels like an eternity."
Perlozzo said that Mora's day off was just an attempt to get Millar, Gibbons, Aubrey Huff and Payton into the lineup on the same day. Saturday, it will be someone else's chance to sit and make room.
"We've played 27 one-or-two-run games," he said. "We're in some ballgames. We haven't had a little luck and we've given up some leads by our better guys. It's been a tough stretch, but we've got to keep plugging away. When we left Spring Training, we felt this team was going to be a little better. And I still fell we're going to be a little better."
Quotable: "The bottom line is he gave me a day off today, and he's right to give me a day off, because that's his team. He runs this team and whatever he decides to do is fine with me. The only thing I'd appreciate is communication. That's the only thing." -- Mora on the upshoot of his tiff with Perlozzo
Coming up: The Orioles and A's will meet again Saturday, with Brian Burres matched up against Oakland's Joe Kennedy. Burres was skipped in his last rotation turn and has gone a week without pitching.
Spencer Fordin is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070525&content_id=1985322&vkey=news_bal&fext=.jsp&c_id=bal
