Weekend Buzz: At long last, Orioles taking flight

The Weekend Buzz while you were studying your horses before the Kentucky Derby:

1. Wild Bill Hagy would be proud: It was a very quiet moment over the weekend in Anaheim, no bells, no whistles, no wild-and-crazy folks spelling out "Orioles" in the background.

First-year Baltimore manager Dave Trembley pulled veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez into his office, away from the spotlight, away from the other players, and quietly told him: Hey, stop with the storming around every time you don't like an umpire's call. Don't toss your equipment. You're a very good player, and we both know it. But when you behave like that, I can't put you in the lineup.

Dave Trembley stresses fundamentals with his club. (US Presswire)

Will it work? We'll see. But as the Orioles ripped through April with 15 wins, their most in the month since 2005, the most important thing wasn't their record or the fact that, for once, they weren't dead and buried in the AL East before the Kentucky Derby (they enter this week 16-15, tied for second in the AL East with Tampa Bay and the Yankees).

No, the most important thing is that a franchise that had grown toxic is in the midst of changing its culture.

"What's really been different, with Andy (MacPhail, Orioles' president of baseball operations), we've been saying since day one how we have to do things here and, for the most part, we've done it," says Trembley, the affable, 56-year-old skipper finally (and deservedly) getting a major-league chance after managing close to 3,000 minor-league games since the 1980s. "Pitching, defense and a return to fundamentals.

"All those things people say get lost in the shuffle."

You know, all those things that once were easily identifiable as part of the Oriole Way, way back in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s before the Orioles lost their way.

"People have been asking, 'The way you do things in the minor leagues, you can't do that in the big leagues, can you?'" Trembley says. "Why not? Why can't you?"

This guy is such a renegade that the Orioles actually were seen taking infield after batting practice Friday in Anaheim. Infield! Some 60 minutes or so before first pitch, just like in the old days!

The Orioles take it on the first day of every road trip and before the first game of every home stand. Earl Weaver and Cal Ripken Sr. would be proud.

"I've never met the man, but John Wooden was the greatest teacher of all time, there's no doubt," Trembley says. "And one of the things he always said was, 'There's no substitute for preparation.' I tell the team, I'm not here to punish you. I'm held accountable. If we fail and you're not prepared, it's my fault."

Trembley, who was named full-time to the job Aug. 22 last summer after managing well enough as interim skipper, stresses accountability. There are no separate rules. Everybody comes out for stretching at the same time. There is no player on his own program.