[外電] Mora not happy about lack of playing time
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Mora not happy about lack of playing time
Trembley disagrees with veteran's claim of being disrespected
By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com
08/02/09 2:03 PM ET
BALTIMORE -- It wasn't enough to say it once. Melvin Mora griped about his
playing time for several minutes with a pair of reporters on Sunday, then he
repeated himself for the next wave of media members. The veteran had a
message he wanted to get across, and it was largely a sense that he'd been
disrespected.
Mora, the longest-tenured Oriole, was upset that manager Dave Trembley had
sat him down three times in a four-day span. The two-time All-Star used the
word disrespect repeatedly, and he even said at one point that this is a case
of "What have you done for me lately?"
"That's what I feel like, that I don't have respect. And I say it publicly,"
Mora said of Trembley's lineup choice. "Like I've said, it's not my decision.
Whatever he wants to do, he can do it. I just know that whenever he needs me,
I'll be there. If he wants me to pinch-hit, I'll pinch-hit and help my
teammates.
"You can ask every single person here, every young guy, if I treat them
different. I always try to be happy with the guys they bring here, try to
make them comfortable in the big leagues and try to explain how the Yankees
are going to pitch to them in tough situations. That's my job. And my job
isn't to go into his office and tell him, 'I want to play tomorrow.' That's
not my job. Whatever he wants to do there, he can do it.
"But like I told you before, I need to have my respect. This is not a guy who
just came to the Orioles. This is a guy who's been here for nine years
busting his [behind] for the organization."
One clubhouse source said that Mora was offered extra batting practice on
Saturday, which he declined because he said he didn't expect to play on
Sunday.
Trembley, for his part, said that he didn't want to get into a war of words,
but he also added that two coaches have spoken to Mora about his situation
and that both were rebuffed.
Mora has been struggling through one of his least productive seasons, one
that has seen him set a career-long homerless drought. The third baseman is
on pace to record the lowest slugging percentage of his career and his lowest
on-base percentage since 2000, twin factors that play into Trembley's thought
process.
"I'm disappointed that he feels that way, but it's really nothing for me to
comment on," said Trembley. "I'm not going to get into a 'he said, she said.'
I'm not going to say anything bad about anybody. It's too bad that people's
feelings are hurt or that people feel disrespected. That was never my intent.
I'm going to do the best I can for the team. I've never taken a stance of
anything personal toward anybody, and I think everybody understands that."
Everybody, perhaps, except for Mora. The longtime Oriole is entering the
final season of a lucrative extension he signed in May 2006, and at times on
Sunday, he spoke of his Baltimore tenure in the past tense. The Orioles hold
an option year for Mora, but the native of Venezuela is already thinking
about moving on at season's end.
"Sometimes, when you have to move on, you have to move on," Mora said.
"Whatever I'm going to be next year, I'll [still] be an Oriole. It doesn't
matter. I'll be an Oriole, because I'll always know where I'm coming from.
The Orioles organization gave me a chance, they gave me an opportunity to
have a successful career here. I think I'm never going to forget the Orioles,
especially for all the people that supported me for a long time here."
Mora, who was acquired in a trade with the Mets during the 2000 season, fell
back on his accomplishments as a rationale for his discontent. The
37-year-old spoke frankly about all the pain he's played through over the
years and said that he expected better treatment as his career wound down.
"I played last year with injury. I played the first half with a bone sticking
in my nerve in my shoulder," he said. "Before the All-Star break in Boston, I
took three shots in my shoulder so I can come back for Trembley. I took the
three shots because I think he needs me for the second half. ... I'm healthy
now. Whatever decision he makes, I respect his decisions. But that's the way
I feel. I feel like I did everything for him."
Trembley, repeatedly pressed on the issue, elected to take the high road.
"I can understand that. He's played here for a long time," he said. "He's
been a very good player. But most of the times, day games after night games,
Melvin has not played. It's like I've said: We'll do our very best to get
guys in there, to rotate it around somewhat and try to give everybody a shot.
... That's just the way the game goes."
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