Going back to my last entry, I was referring to Jimmy Dykes when I asked which Orioles manager has the worst winning percentage. I assumed most of you would immediately think 1954, which the Orioles commemorated by only winning 54 games.

It sure sounds official to me: The Orioles won't be putting "Baltimore" on their road jerseys next season. According to a team official, they didn't make the request to MLB by today's deadline.

Maybe next year.

This is a legitimate question, and I'm not trying to lead any of you in a particular direction:

If Sam Perlozzo was getting most of the blame for the losing streaks, how much credit does he deserve for the current winning streak?

Or is it more about the starters working deep into games, allowing Perlozzo to lay off his bullpen, and the offense scoring more runs - at least when Erik Bedard isn't pitching?

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (54)
                    

Hello again. I’m still trying to navigate through this new system. I wasn’t receiving your comments, which led me to believe that I had been abandoned – like you took me out for a Sunday drive in the country, pulled to the side of the road, suggested that I get out and look for something, and then sped away.

Most of my dates end that way.

I just read that Street Sense, winner of the Kentucky Derby and runner-up at the Preakness, is skipping the Belmont Stakes.

Contract dispute.

So what’s Alex Rodriguez been up to lately? Haven’t seen his name in the news.

Each day brings another controversy, the kind that you only find in New York. Now everyone wants to know what he yelled to Howie Clark that caused the former Oriole to back away from a pop up, which eventually led to three runs scoring.

Clark says that A-Rod yelled, "Mine," tricking him into thinking the shortstop had called for the ball. But A-Rod denies this.

He insists that all he said was, "I never saw that blonde before in my life!"

Did you read where Orioles reliever Jamie Walker named his new son Jim Leyland Walker?

He’s inspired me. If I have a son one day, I’m naming him Phil Regan.

Speaking of Regan, he managed the Orioles for one season, in 1995, finished two games below .500 and was fired.

Today, that would earn him a contract extension.

I’m told that Regan lost Cal Ripken, which meant he pretty much lost the clubhouse, back in spring training when he tried to change the way the infielders were positioned for cut-offs. The Orioles always did it one way, probably from the lowest levels of the minors on up, and Ripken saw no reason to fix something that wasn’t broke. Regan felt otherwise, and they never were on the same page again.

Or so I’ve been told by people who were around the team. I didn’t really get involved in the beat until 2,131 approached.

In the list of all-time Orioles managers, someone named Luman Harris holds the highest winning percentage at .630. Then again, he was 17-10 while serving on an interim basis. Still counts, though.

Does anyone remember this guy?

I’m sure you can guess who has the lowest percentage.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (62)
                    

The first wave of votes for the American League All-Star team have been released, and Alex Rodriguez is the leader with 843,550, followed by teammate Derek Jeter (657,383) and David Ortiz (601, 770).

No jokes about A-Rod cheating.

By the way, nice headlines in the New York Post:

Stray-Rod

A-Rod's a Yankee Doodle Randy

OK, back to the All-Star voting...

The leaders in the outfield are Vladimir Guerrero (578,430), Manny Ramirez (449,372) and Ichiro Suzuki (362,245).

The tightest race is second base, and it doesn't involve Brian Roberts. Robinson Cano has 322,994 votes, putting him slightly ahead of Placido Polanco with 282,251.

Pudge Rodriguez leads all catchers with 370,322 votes. He's vying for his 12th selection, which would be a record for catchers.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)
                    

I want to begin today’s first entry – and hopefully not the last – by apologizing for any recent inconveniences in posting reader comments. It’s been a little tricky for me as well. The Sun is using a different server, for lack of a better word. And I say "lack of a better word" because I don’t understand how this stuff works to begin with. So let’s go with server.

Anyway, it should get easier in time, hopefully before Bill Rowell celebrates his 50^th birthday.

I’m still using a micro-cassette recorder. And you already know about the Cavalier, which was beginning to overheat in my parking spot today. I didn’t notice until the "check gauges" light went on.

I just know that one day, a light will come on that reads: Why are you still driving a Cavalier?

Jeremy Guthrie qualifies as a rookie, so let the Rookie of the Year speculation begin.

I’m sure the Indians had their reasons, but each one of his starts must feel like a knife twisting in their chests. They drafted him in the first round in 2002 for a reason – the same reason two other teams selected him in previous years. No wonder the Orioles were salivating when he hit the waiver wire.

How many of you were predicting back in February that Guthrie and Steve Trachsel would be the club’s best starting pitchers?

Going back to my "face of the franchise" question from an earlier post, I’m leaning toward Miguel Tejada for now, but some of you got me to thinking about Brian Roberts.

I’ll probably go with the guy making the most money, with the consecutive-games streak and the MVP award – the guy who showed up at spring training in his first year with the club and announced that the losing was over.

OK, so predictions aren’t his strong suit. But he’s the best option for now.

We’ll just pretend that trade suggestion never happened.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
                    

Isn't it amazing how much smarter a manager looks when his team is scoring eight runs a game?

And how much better the starting pitching is when given big, early leads?

And how much more effective the bullpen is when relievers aren't warming up in the fourth inning and when four or five of them aren't pitching every night?

Will the Orioles play a better game than the one we saw last night - pitching, hitting, defense?

If you were asked, as I was, to name the face of the Orioles' franchise, which player would you choose, and why?

Did you automatically say Cal Ripken, as I did before realizing I was supposed to choose a current player?

Will you sit down for four hours on June 7 and watch the MLB amateur draft on ESPN2 - the first time it's been televised?

Why are the New York Jets on the clock?

Did you know that every team will have a representative in attendance at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and that Jim Palmer is representing the Orioles?

Anyone care to explain to me why Frank Howard is representing the Yankees?

When I tell you that Enos Cabell is representing the Astros, do you realize that you haven't thought about him in, like, forever?

Do you care to share your favorite Enos Cabell story? - Roch Kubatko

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)
                    

Happy Memorial Day to everyone. I hope none of you are stuck in traffic on the Bay Bridge.

(Of course, if that's the case, you're probably not reading this blog at the moment)

Remember, leave early and stay late. I think that's how it goes.

For those of you who read Davey Johnson's quotes in today's Washington Post, please keep in mind that Jeff Zrebiec's story in yesterday's edition of The Sun stated that the Orioles had internal discussions about Johnson. It's pretty hard for the guy to dispute that statement. How would he know what's being said inside the warehouse?

And honestly, did anyone expect Johnson to confirm that he wants a job currently held by one of his good friends?

Johnson went a little overboard with his rant, but it was predictable. He'll deny it right up until the day, if it comes, that he takes over.

Johnson wasn't a huge fan of mine when I first joined the beat. This was 1997, when I backed up Joe Strauss (now covering the Cardinals at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

I had the nerve to question a bullpen move - or lack thereof - in a game story. And when I say "question," I mean that I pointed out how Johnson could have brought in a reliever, but chose not to. He made certain to pull me aside after the next day's pre-game media session and remind me that if I had any questions, I should just ask him and he'd be more than happy to enlighten me.

It made sense, and I would have done so if I thought the situation warranted it.

Meanwhile, the other reporters were amused by the whole scene. The new kid on the beat had lost his virginity, in a sense. I got my first scolding from Davey Johnson, though it was quite tame by his standards.

Johnson figured I knew nothing about baseball, and shared that opinion with Strauss and Ken Rosenthal, a Sun columnist at the time. I'm paraphrasing here, but he invited them into his office, closed his door and said something like, "That Rocco is so far over his head..."

Rosenthal repeats this line frequently when we cross paths. It was an instant classic, as only Davey could deliver it.

I only hope my co-workers defended me at the time, but I'm not so sure. They might have been too busy laughing.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (59)
                    

Miguel Tejada has hit three home runs in his last four games. I guess that pitching machine really helped.

Was anyone shocked that Daniel Cabrera walked the leadoff hitter the next inning after Tejada gave him a 2-0 lead? Or that the runner scored?

We've seen that happen way too many times.

Since you asked for my take on Jeff Zrebiec's story in The Sun about the Orioles having internal discussions about Davey Johnson, it's certainly safe to assume that he's at the top of a short list of candidates if Sam Perlozzo is fired.

Johnson, not Zrebiec.

The hard feelings between Johnson and owner Peter Angelos are gone, or so we're told. It's no longer impossible to imagine Johnson coming back.

I just hope he realizes that it's not 1996 or 1997. This is a different team. And Davey's never been a big fan of rebuilding. He'd rather take a good team and make it great.

Do the 2007 Orioles qualify?

This is all premature, of course, because Perlozzo is sitting in the manager's chair. But Johnson could become a reality.

What's next, "Baltimore" on the road jerseys?

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)
                    

Forgive me for not getting all goosebumpy over the Duke lacrosse team reaching the NCAA tournament finals. The players who attended the infamous party last year might not have done everything they were accused of, but what they were doing was wrong. Very, very wrong. Certainly nothing for a university, or their families, to be proud of.

OK, I'll step down from my soap box.

Here's your lineup:

Brian Roberts - 2B

Nick Markakis - RF

Miguel Tejada - SS

Aubrey Huff - 1B

Jay Payton - LF

Jay Gibbons - DH

Melvin Mora - 3B

Corey Patterson - CF

Paul Bako - C

Daniel Cabrera - P

Payton has a scratch below his left eye after Corey Patterson soared over him, and nailed him in the face, while making an acrobatic catch at the fence last night. Payton referred to Patterson today as "Superman."

Bench coach Tom Trebelhorn is back with the team, but he said this morning that if he has to return to his Arizona home again to be with his wife, who's recovering from a stroke, he's likely to stay there.

You've probably noticed that bullpen coach Dave Trembley has been sitting in the dugout during games, whether Trebelhorn is here or not.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
                    

Jack Cust needs to stay out of Baltimore. It's not good for his game.

So what do you do with Brian Burres now? The guy might not be more than a six-inning pitcher, but he'd join a lot of other No. 5 starters.

I thought Burres might retaliate after Jay Witasick nailed the first batter he faced, Jay Payton, who didn't appreciate the gesture. Starter Joe Kennedy hit Corey Patterson earlier in the game.

Wouldn't this be a good time to give Danys Baez an inning?

The Orioles must agree. He's warming in the bullpen.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
                    

We have a Chris Gomez sighting:

Brian Roberts - 2B

Chris Gomez - 1B

Nick Markakis - RF

Miguel Tejada - SS

Kevin Millar - DH

Melvin Mora - 3B

Ramon Hernandez - C

Corey Patterson - CF

Jay Payton - LF

Brian Burres - P

I asked Gomez if manager Sam Perlozzo notified him last night that he'd be in tonight's lineup.

"Yes, he did," a smiling Gomez said, obviously getting the joke. "And it's a good thing he did, too!"

Meanwhile, the Orioles alerted Mora that they'd be serving meatloaf after tonight's game, just in case he needed to prepare for it.

At least three Oakland A's checked out video of Burres in the visiting clubhouse and were shocked to find out he was left-handed.

Seriously.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 6:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
                    

I'm smart enough to avoid doing this after a Taco Bell run.

(Confession: I typed that sentence because it provided the rare opportunity for me to use the word "run" in this blog, since it's so hard for the Orioles to score one.)

I'm not rushing to Sam Perlozzo's defense, but I didn't realize a manager was required to inform every player about the next day's lineup. It's a courtesy. It's not a requirement.

Maybe I'm old-school, but I like the idea of a player showing up at the ballpark ready to play (hence the name "player") and not needing 24-hour notice about his status. Better yet, I like the idea of a player not ripping into his manager and feeling wronged because he wasn't told that he'd be out of the lineup.

Perlozzo doesn't have to make the rounds each day and share lineup secrets, but he does anyway. It's a nice gesture that the veterans appreciate. He meant to tell Melvin Mora on Thursday that Aubrey Huff would be starting at third base on Friday, but he didn't get the chance before batting practice, and understandably didn't have it on his mind after a tough loss.

It probably didn't help matters that I walked up to Mora's locker, assuming he had seen the lineup posted in the hallway, and checked to make sure he wasn't injured. That's standard procedure with reporters. I did the same thing with Jay Payton earlier in the week when he went a second straight day without starting. I chased after him as he headed to the field for batting practice, and stopped near the dugout entrance to tape his bat handle. (Is that what you kids are calling it these days?) Payton told me he was fine and it was the manager's decision. That's all I needed to know.

Mora looked surprised yesterday - but he often wears that expression. He's very animated, even in light conversations. It's one of the things I love about the guy.

Turns out, he didn't know because he hadn't seen the lineup yet, and Perlozzo hadn't talked to him.

Both men are eager and willing to turn the page. Unfortunately for Perlozzo, Mora is the third veteran to publicly complain about him, which doesn't look good. Even if they kiss and make up - and I'm too old-school to encourage that - the damage is done.

Meanwhile, the Ravens just signed Freddie Bynum to be their fullback. He'll open a few holes.

He'll also appear in more games with them next season than the Orioles.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)
                    

Manager Sam Perlozzo said he stayed with Jay Gibbons against left-hander Alan Embree in the ninth inning, rather than pinch-hitting Melvin Mora or Chris Gomez, because Gibbons is 4-for-12 with two doubles and a walk lifetime against the Oakland reliever.

Asked after the game if he was trying to send a message to Mora after their animated pre-game discussion, Perlozzo said: "I don’t play those games. We’ve got games to win."

Mora indicated that he doesn't have a problem with Perlozzo, but he also doesn't appreciate the lack of communication that led to him finding out about his exclusion from the lineup from a reporter.

"The only thing I'm disappointed with, it's my seventh year here, everybody deserves an explanation," Mora said. "I just prepared myself last night for the pitcher I'm going to face and when I came here, one of the media told me I'm not going to play.

"I hope nothing will happen anymore. I want communication. I need communication."

Perlozzo said he apologized to Mora for the mixup.

Don't look for any quotes from Erik Bedard in tomorrow's paper about his performance tonight. He left the clubhouse before reporters were allowed inside.

Bedard has a 2.12 ERA in his last five starts, all of the "quality" variety. His 83 strikeouts this season lead the majors.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 10:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
                    

He's up to 101 pitches through the sixth inning. And he's coming out for the seventh.

Nobody is warming in the bullpen. Tired or not, it's his inning.

Oakland's Dan Haren needed only six pitches to get through the fifth inning. The Orioles might want to make him work a little harder.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 8:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
                    

Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora isn't in the lineup tonight, which came as a surprise to him when he arrived today. A reporter informed him, assuming that he already knew. Mora said he'd prefer to be notified a day in advance, which manager Sam Perlozzo intended to do, but never got the chance.

Perlozzo said he was going to tell Mora before batting practice yesterday, but wasn't able to do it. He didn't want to broach the subject shortly before the game and possibly disturb Mora's concentration. And last night's tough loss kept the subject on the back burner.

As I type this entry, Perlozzo and Mora are having a long discussion at third base during batting practice. You can never tell from a distance if Mora is angry because he's often quite animated when he speaks.

Perlozzo makes it a point to alert certain veterans if they're going to sit the next day. He's already told Aubrey Huff and Jay Gibbons that they'll probably be on the bench tomorrow, when Oakland starts left-hander Joe Kennedy.

Here is tonight's lineup - minus Mora:

Brian Roberts - 2B

Nick Markakis - RF

Miguel Tejada - SS

Aubrey Huff - 3B

Ramon Hernandez - C

Jay Gibbons - DH

Kevin Millar - 1B

Corey Patterson - CF

Jay Payton - LF

Erik Bedard - P

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)
                    

Prospect alert: Garrett Olson pitches for Triple-A Norfolk tonight. He's 2-2 with a 2.31 ERA, two walks and 27 strikeouts in his last five starts.

Nine of the Orioles last 10 games have been decided by two runs or fewer. The other game ended with a three-run margin.

In all, 26 of their 47 games have been decided by two runs or fewer.

The Orioles have been involved in only four games that were decided by six runs or more, the fewest amount in baseball. And that includes the night at Camden Yards when Nick Markakis hit a late grand slam against Kansas City. The "Jon Leicester" game in Boston also was close heading into the later innings.

Taking all of this into account, it's difficult to hide a struggling reliever like Danys Baez. He needs to be used in mop-up duty, but no such animal exists in a 5-4 game.

I'm about to head downstairs, jot down the lineup and gather some notes. Be back soon.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

Baseball America released its top 200 draft prospects list, and No. 1 is Vanderbilt left-hander David Price, followed by Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters, Cypress (Ca.) High third baseman Josh Vitters, Seton Hall (N.J.) Prep right-hander Rick Porcello and Chatsworth (Ca.) High corner infielder Mike Moustakas.

For more, go to www.baseballamerica.com.

The Orioles have the fifth pick in the draft, which takes place June 7. They love Wieters, but so do a lot of teams, and he's not expected to be on the board when it's the Orioles' turn.

North Carolina State right-hander Andrew Brackman could be there, and if you like 6-foot-10 pitchers who also can rebound, he's your guy. The Orioles have checked him out, as well.

Though you never can have enough pitching, the Orioles really need to concentrate on position players. Scan their farm system and you'll see there's a need. Infield, outfield, possibly behind the plate if Brandon Snyder remains at first base beyond this season, which is a possibility. He's at low Single-A Delmarva, a long way from the majors for anyone not named James Hoey.

The Orioles also would like to nab a college player, someone who's close to being ready. But either way, at No. 5, they'll most likely be dealing with a Scott Boras client. He's tied to a slew of top prospects. There's no avoiding him.

Last night, I got the strongest sense yet that Danys Baez will be working the middle innings, preferably in games where one bad pitch won't determine the outcome, until he gets straightened out. Manager Sam Perlozzo doesn't want to give the impression that he's lost confidence in Baez, but he's already laying off him in the eighth inning. Now he'll have to do it in the 10th, too, unless he's out of pitchers.

“It’s tough," said last night's starter, Jeremy Guthrie. "I’ve had months of that at a time. I’ve definitely been there. Everybody’s been there. Pitchers, infielders, outfielders, in whatever aspect of the game. It’s not an easy game. So much of it is confidence and he’s a very confident guy and he’s going to get right back where he wants to be and where he’s been most of his career. It’s not a problem. He’s just going to keep working.”

Working is fine. It can be done in the bullpen under Leo Mazzone's guidance. It can be done in blowouts, if the Orioles ever get involved in one again.

It just can't be done in close games anymore.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
                    

Looking at the Orioles' bullpen, Jamie Walker has pitched in five of the last six games and couldn't be used much tonight beyond facing a batter. Chad Bradford was unavailable. Chris Ray couldn't go more than an inning, manager Sam Perlozzo reasoned, because he also pitched Wednesday night. Perlozzo sent Saturday's scheduled starter, Brian Burres, to the bullpen just in case he was needed.

It was pretty much up to Danys Baez to handle the load in the 10th.

"We were in trouble for innings at that point," Perlozzo said.

By the way, has anyone seen Todd Williams?

Here's what Perlozzo said about third base coach Juan Samuel's decision to send Melvin Mora on Nick Markakis' bloop hit in the eighth:

"I thought Juan was going to take a shot at it there. When that ball drops like that and you’ve got your guy coming, you really don’t’ know what kind of recovery the left fielder’s going to make. He took a shot at it and the left fielder was able to recover and made a perfect throw to home plate. If he has to hurry up and pick it up and throws it off-target, we’ve got a run.

"As it was done and the play was over, it was a pretty easy out. But I’ve been in those situations as a third base coach. When you’ve got your guy coming around there pretty good and something like that happens, you’ve got a split second to say it and you take a shot at it, especially with two outs."

It doesn't sound like Jeremy Guthrie had much left in the tank after the seventh. He noted that his body was fatigued throughout his start.

"For some reason it felt like I was a little bit tired and compensated by over-effort," he said. "That’s what it felt like with the breaking balls early, like I was trying too hard. Even fastballs, like I was trying to get a little bit extra and missing location. They put the bat on the ball when they had to in a couple situations because I was over-throwing."

And here's what Guthrie said about Baez, who has been charged with runs in five of his last six outings:

"It’s tough. I’ve had months of that at a time. I’ve definitely been there. Everybody’s been there. Pitchers, infielders, outfielders, in whatever aspect of the game. It’s not an easy game. So much of it is confidence and he’s a very confident guy and he’s going to get right back where he wants to be and where he’s been most of his career. It’s not a problem. He’s just going to keep working."

Guthrie has three straight no-decisions, which clash with his 1.61 ERA.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 10:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (42)
                    

I understand why Freddie Bynum pinch-ran in the 10th inning.

I don't understand why it took so long for him to steal second base. Were we all just waiting for a ball to be hit in the gap? How about a single bringing him in?

Just wondering.

Put me down as someone who understands why Chris Ray pitched the ninth inning. There isn't a save situation for him in extra innings. If he's supposed to be your best reliever - or second-best if you're putting Jamie Walker ahead of him - then don't lose a game while he sits in the bullpen.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
                    

Like Miguel Tejada hitting a three-run homer to give the Orioles a 4-2 lead.

This is the first time Tejada has cleared the fence since the Home Run Derby in Houston.

Actually, it was April 25, a span of 101 at-bats.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 8:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
                    

Like Corey Patterson not running hard on his fly ball in the sixth inning that hit near the top of the out-of-town scoreboard and took a giant bounce off the grass.

That should have been a leadoff triple, but Patterson must have thought the ball was going to land on the flag court. He didn't go full-speed until after he rounded first.

The next batter, Brian Roberts, flied to center field. Rather than a game-tying sacrifice fly, it was a routine out.

Tonight's paid attendance: 15,182.

Jeremy Guthrie has thrown 85 pitches in six innings.

So what kind of reception will Jack Cust receive tomorrow night with the Oakland A's?

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
                    

I asked Jay Payton if he was injured, since he's been out of the lineup the last two games.

"That's the manager's decision," he said. "There's nothing wrong with me."

Sam Perlozzo spoke with Payton earlier today and explained that he's trying to work out a rotation where certain players won't get more than one day off in succession. He indicated that Payton will probably start the next five or six games.

Here's the lineup:

Brian Roberts - 2B

Melvin Mora - 3B

Nick Markakis - RF

Miguel Tejada - SS

Aubrey Huff - DH

Ramon Hernandez - C

Jay Gibbons - LF

Kevin Millar - 1B

Corey Patterson - CF

Jeremy Guthrie - P

Tejada is 4-for-7 with two homers and four RBIs lifetime against Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum.

The Orioles had recent contact with Jaret Wright, who continues to rehab in California.

Yes, he's still on the team. Easy to forget, though.

Perlozzo also found out that Kris Benson is ahead of schedule.

"According to his wife," Perlozzo added.

Benson isn't expected to pitch this season. Wright could return after the break.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
                    

Sean Tracey, the pitcher acquired off waivers from the Chicago White Sox, has been reassigned from Triple-A Norfolk to short-season Single-A Aberdeen. The Orioles are sending him to extended spring training in Sarasota, Fla. to get some extra work.

Tracey, who made news with the Chicago White Sox last year for failing to hit a batter, under apparent orders from his manager, and being scolded in the dugout afterward, was 0-1 with a 7.53 ERA in 14 relief appearances. Right-handers were batting .171 against him, however.

More from Norfolk: Closer Corey Doyne ranks second in the International League, and is tied for fifth in the minors, with 12 saves.

Brandon Fahey has shown some signs of snapping out of a season-long slump, but he's still batting .199. He has five extra-base hits in his last six games after getting one in his first 39.

For all you J.R. House fans: He's hitting .304 and has 13 RBIs in his last 14 games. He's batting .293 vs. right-handers and .333 vs. lefties.

More on Brian Roberts: He has the best on-base percentage among all major league second basemen.

In case you were wondering.

Posted by Roch Kubatko at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)