Perlozzo Is Fired Up, But Orioles Go Down

Blue Jays 6, Orioles 4

BALTIMORE, May 22 -- Manager Sam Perlozzo cherishes the same moment each day: when he walks into his office and is greeted by his Baltimore Orioles uniform. "Slip it on, you're in the big leagues," Perlozzo said. "If it gets any better than this, somebody let me know what it is."

For the past week, amid bullpen blowups and mounting defeats, fans and media have challenged Perlozzo's right to wear the uniform. Before the Orioles' 6-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, Perlozzo passionately responded to the increasing cries for his job, while demanding his players appreciate their opportunities every bit as much as he appreciates his.

"I think that if you feel like you haven't put your people in the right places, then you should worry about your job," Perlozzo said. "I don't feel that is the case. I feel like if anybody knows anything about baseball, they'd know that any games that we lost, our setup guy and closer have been in at the end. You got to have some common sense or knowledge about the game to realize what's going on out here."

Hours after Perlozzo's articulation, Baltimore dropped to a season-worst five games under .500 and into fourth place, mostly because Daniel Cabrera couldn't make it out of the fifth inning. He gave up six runs, four in his final frame. Five runs were earned, and the other crossing on an error by Cabrera, when he dropped a throw from Kevin Millar while covering first base.

"I kind of thought he lost his composure a little bit," Perlozzo said. "He wasn't able to damage-control for us. He just didn't have his command."

Baltimore's maligned bullpen pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings, and Brian Roberts drilled a two-run homer in the fifth to cut the deficit in half, but neither could save the Orioles. Few wrongs Tuesday night could be blamed on Perlozzo, but that likely won't help quell rumblings from disgruntled followers.

The front office has been largely silent, and that has not extinguished the rumors. Asked about Perlozzo's status last week in New York, owner Peter Angelos declined to comment. Vice President Jim Duquette responded to questions about Perlozzo on Tuesday tersely, but not definitively.

"We're not talking about the manager," Duquette said.

Perlozzo said he has not spoken with Duquette or Mike Flanagan about his job security, and he feels there is no reason to do so. "Mike and Jim have been very jovial and cordial and everything," Perlozzo said.

On top of the losses, signs of clubhouse unrest have bubbled. Several players have complained through the media about playing time and lack of communication from the coaches.

"When you manage a team, you are going to have some people that might not like you," Perlozzo said. "If they can't perform because they don't like me, then they can't be very good people. Whether you like somebody or you don't like someone or you support them or you don't, a lot of people come in here to see people play. You have no right in this world not to give 100 percent out there, no matter who is in charge."

Said Miguel Tejada: "We cannot blame things on the manager. He's not playing. We're the ones that got to play better."

At the same time, Tejada did not dismiss fan scrutiny of his manager.

"I don't want to say it's unfair," he said. "The fans can think whatever they want. They want to see a better job. You've got to understand the fans, because they're tired of seeing the team lose."

For his part, Perlozzo will do his job. For now, it still doesn't get any better.

"Let's go," Perlozzo said. "It's competition. What are we, [five] games under .500 right now? We can make a move. We've got some guys that we think should be playing a little better. Have I given up on them? Absolutely not."