May 06, 2010 10:52 AM EST

Baltimore's offense has scored two or fewer runs in 12 of 28 games, causing Andy MacPhail put the team's hitters on notice Wednesday in a rare public display of frustration for the Orioles' president of baseball operations.

"While you can give them some allowance for the quality of pitching that we've faced, our patience isn't inexhaustible," MacPhail said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun before the Orioles' 7-5 loss to the New York Yankees on Wednesday. "There is going to come a time where we're going to be obligated to keep making changes in terms of offensive personnel, and they're going to get the opportunity to head to [Triple-A] Norfolk and hone their swings because they're not doing anything to help us now.

"I would say there isn't a great deal of time left before they have to start doing more than what they're doing now. I'm not staying with them forever. It's not a suicide pact. They either have to start performing or they'll go to Norfolk."

Via Baltimore Sun