Ryan Hannaman I believe.

Ryan Hannaman?

I believe the 3rd pitcher was Ryan Henneman (I may have it spelled wrong).

I liked the Ravens draft and the way they went about getting Flacco. I think they brought in some impact players and especially like the Rice and Gooden moves. If there are still other needs they can use other means than the draft to do it.

When do we release Trachsel?

I believe Ryan Hannaman was the 3rd pitcher in the Ponson trade...

I was at the Frederick game yesterday, and man, that home run was HUGE. I was bummed to miss both Wieters and Rowell, though.

Ryan Hannaman was the 3rd pitcher, not really sure who got the bad end of that trade. Sir Sidney did not exactly light it up for the Giants either.

I don't understand why Trembley doesn't start Trachsel on short rest on Wednesday. He only pitched three innings in his last start, and now everybody else gets bumped back. Trachsel is the veteran we are paying to pitch innings until other people are ready, we don't need to protect his arm. Throw him and hold johnson in reserve, I say.

Aquino's spot appears to be eating up innings out of the bullpen in losing situations ( ie down by 3 or 4 in the 7th). Because this is a low stress situation , it really should be a development spot. I remember in the 90's when Arthur Rhodes clearly suffered in high stress situations, particularly throwing out of the stretch. When put in the long relief role, he flourished and in fact was at one time 9-0.

Aquino's spot is better utilized with a young potential relief pitcher awho can give you two innings. Under the circumstances in which he would appear , the pressure would be off.

It was Ryan Hannaman or some such. He was a 19 year-old and tall, and supposedly he was the stud of the trade, if I remember correctly.

On the flip side, other than resigning Ponson, that was a great trade: nobody won! haha. Oh well. At least things seem to be heading in the right direction now.

J is for "just enjoying the moment."

Went to the Keys game on Saturday, where Wieters hit his 5th home run, and made a real good throw to cut a man down trying to steal second. Even though the Keys didn't win, it was a great game. It was fun to see him & Rowell & Snyder - the O's future certainly does look bright :)

Curtis Dickey? I'll always remember him for getting screamed at by Bert Jones for screwing up a running play during that miserable 1981 season. He went on NBC's pregame show the next week and claimed Bert's tirade was racially motivated.

Aquino down, Olson up?

I was at the Keys game also on Saturday and was not real impressed with a few of the prospects --Billy Rowell struck out 3 times--once watching all three pitches without lifting the bat off his shoulder. Matt Wieters had the homerun but looked overmatched the other 3 plate appearances. Brandon Snyder had an RBI double. The most impressive prospect that day was the Nationals # 2 hitter. He had 3 hits and hit everything real hard. Billy Rowell especially has a long way to go--I wouldn't be looking at him in the Orioles lineup anytime soon. He even turned a routine groundout into a very close play at first by triple pumping before throwing the ball to first.

Rock - please never again use the word "myself." The word has so few correct uses. I hear/read it all the time, in interviews, in meetings, and it is used incorrectly every time. "Me" is a perfectly good word - don't be afraid of it as so many seem to be.

If you must use "myself," a good rule of thumb that will cover you 99% of the time is to only use it along with the word "I."

"I, myself, love Rock's column."

"Speaking for myself, I read Rock's column every day."

Any other use and you're entering the "big or unusual words make me look/sound smart" realm.

Ryan Hannaman.

Right now I'd rather have Ponson hen any of those three. He looked decent for the Rangers last week.

Speaking of Wieters, I am getting just a tad bit concerned about the amount of strikeouts he is accumulating. I would think it is because folks are pitching around him and he is trying to make things happen by chasing balls out of the zone.

The game Trax pitched over the weekend was a prime example of why I don't care for him. I stand by my spring training prediction that he will be released or on the DL by the all star break.

I don't understand the Aquino situation. Trembley does not have confidence in Aquino because Aquino has not been effective, so Aquino doesn't pitch much. Aquino's not been effective (he's "rusty") because he's not getting enough work. Keeping a guy on the roster while the manager has no confidence in him makes no sense. Fish or cut bait!

I think the third guy's name was Ryan Hannaman or something like that... wasn't he just some reliever in the deal? Either way, he didn't last long.

It's really funny to look back on that trade.

That Ponson trade took all first half that year to complete. The Giants were going back and forth trying to save their future by holding onto Kurt Ainsworth, Jesse Foppert, and/or Jerome Williams. Eventually they caved a little by breaking up the triumverate of top pitching prospects by dealing Ainsworth. They also put in Moss and Hannaman to round it out. The league generally graded the trade to favor the Orioles at the time.

It's amazing but very telling that none of these well regarded pitchers ended up being even major league average. They barely ended up being even just major league "useful." Since then Ponson, Williams, Foppert, Ainsworth, Hannaman, and Moss were all busts.

I KNOW it's only April and strange things happen...but who here would have believed it if they were told that the next time Tampa came to Baltimore it would be for a battle over 1st place?! I haven't lost site of what this season is about (so need to start on me), but this upcoming series does make it fun to think about what the September races could look like in another couple of years!

I think, if not sooner, Aquino is gone when Rocky Cherry is ready to go wherever the heck he is.

Speaking of lost pitchers...does anybody know whatever happened to Brian Finch? Never heard anything about him being traded or calling it quits, but he doesn't seem to be on any rosters anywhere.

Barry - thanks for the shout out on Saturday.

Gr8est - I, too, would love to see us get Teixeira. And I think exploring a trade in June might be worthwhile. But trading any of our better prospects without getting a signing window in return would be crazy. Hometowns count. But NYY will be ready to pay the guy nearly AROD money. We just can't trade value for the hope we can sign a guy (a Boras client, no less) who can hit the FA market 3 months later. Unless we get a window. And from what I have read, Atlanta seems pretty high on their chanes of resigning Tex, so it would probably take a sweet package.

I suspect that AM will have to explore the BRob for 5 players option, the Sherrill for prospects option, And any options to trade prospects for Peyton, Huff (if he his hot), Bradford, Walker, and Ramon Hernandez (if he is hitting over .235). All of those guys will be overvalued (well- not BRob - hard to overvalue him) by contending clubs looking to add a key bench player for a pennant drive.

If we look closer to contending next year when we get to to this year's deadline, I suspect we will want to keep BRob. If we are 30-50, maybe we pull the trigger.

Speaking of lists of destined players, which list is Ramon Hernandez destined for. I think it may be the list of most overpaid, over-hyped Orioles FA signings...right along with Fat Albert.

Hernandez is done. Last year was not a fluke. In fact, last year was a prelude of things to come. He can no longer hit, he cannot throw out would-be base stealers, he cannot block the plate on close plays at the plate, and apparently yesterday, he thought he had to throw to second base with the runner coming to the plate. Simon Cowell might have him pegged the best...dreadful!

Kirk wanted to kick the snot out of 2 idiots? Doesn't Crowley know the Vulgan nerve pinch? Not to be confused with the pinched ulnar nerve....

OK, I can't resist, did anyone tell the ravens that 3 All American QB's from top flight schools were still available when they took Flacco from Delaware? Do you guys realize Flacco couldn't get PT at Pitt? Last time I checked, James Madison & Towson weren't on the ravens schedule....
I have to say though, I was mortified at what those two twits did with the Skins picks. Vinny & little danny made my fantasy league owners look astute. Then we have Zorn sitting there sucking his thumb, probably afraid to speak up. He even admitted this was the FIRST draft room he had been in! Think about it, those 3 neophytes & Cerrato's flunkie were the 4 guys making the decisions. If it wasn't so sad it would be laughable. ONE WR OK, BUT two along with a TE??? I guess little danny forgot he just signed Cooley to a large , long term deal to play TE. Just one CB or DL would have been nice there... I won't even get into the punter in the 6th round.

Easy solution here & it keeps Johnson in his "role". Send down Aquino to get some innings & maybe get called back up, send down Fahey too. Call up the SP of your choice, it would probably be Olson, which I say is too soon & he'll just nibble again. Also recall a RP or Moore. IF they think the pen is OK, it's Moore, that way they can give some of the guys like Mora, Millar, & Markakis a day off during this run of consecutive games. This would not be long term. Olson goes right back after his start. Whether they bring up a P or Pos. player is determined by whether they brought up Moore or a P earlier.

My brother asked me how the O's were doing this morning and I said:

"They are tied with the Devil Rays in First place."

I never thought a sentence like that would come out of my mouth. I had to think about it after I said it. We need to get a winning streak started. Keep those Red Sox away!!!

Lauren...I just happen to know that the real reason you went to the Keys game was to pretend that you and cronies were the Keys players girlfriends ;)

Hmmm...now how would I know that? :)

Hi, Roch!!

I was at the game yesterday in Chicago, and it reminded me too much of the last 10 years. It was a bad game and hopefully they got it out of their system. It is becoming more and more apparent that the Orioles need a shortstop. I don't know if Torres is the answer, but something has to happen.

They may also need to make a switch at catcher. Ramon's defense has only gotten worse. He's not hitting, and it may be that Quiroz needs some more playing time. It just seems that Ramon cannot throw anymore. 4 errors in April is totally unacceptable.

Some interesting comparisons between Eider Torres and Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio.

* Torres' first start for the Orioles was at shortstop against the Chicago White Sox; Aparicio was a shortstop who spent significant years playing for the Chisox and Orioles.

* Like Aparicio, Torres is around 5 ft 9 in tall or so (some argue that Eider's listed height in the O's media guide's is generous by a couple of inches).

* Both are adept base stealers: Aparicio led the AL nine times in base swipes, and Torres, in his six minor league seasons through 2007, stole 40+ three times, over 30 twice and 22 last year.

* Both hail from the same city: Maracaibo, Venezuela

Now, if Eider can have a comparable career....

Rob in DE -- The Giants definitely got the better of the deal, because although he never worked out for them, neither did he give them the steady diet of grief he gave the Orioles after they brought him back.

Living just outside of Manhattan, I'm very familiar with the High School & College career of Ray Rice. This kid is SPECIAL. The Ravens are very fortunate to have drafted him! In addition to his football prowess, he's an amazing kid. I wish him all the best of luck in the NFL...I'm just sorry he wasn't taken by my Jets!

I agree with Ben, Trachsel should be starting Wednesday and for the reason Ben said. He didn't pitch that much and his pitch count wasn't that high, but maybe they want to see these pitchers start cause they want to see how they fare. See where they stand. I do believe Loewen is gone for at least a month if not more.
As far as Aquino goes, we have enough in the minors to cover for him if we need someone to come up. Let him catch on with a national league team where I believe he would pitch better.
When you talk about prospects, we have alot and have to be ranked in the top. Our Pitching top to bottom is very good in the minors, and not only do we have Wieters, Rowell, and Snyder, but also Vinyard and Tripp in my opinion will be good major leaguers, Salazar in Norfolk as well as Reimold with Bowie. We are looking very good for our future.

Ryan Hannaman.

I love the "I'm concerned about Wieters" comment. Horrors, he struck out a bunch of times during the first few weeks of his first pro season. He also hit five homers and threw out several runners. I guess we should give up on Flacco too since he didn't exactly bowl us over in his press conference. O is for oh you got to be kidding.

Patrick,

It's "Roch," babe. But you probably should have known that "yourself."

Trachsel Press Conference Today:

Orioles Pitcher Steve Trachsel denied again today that he had ever had an inappropriate relationship with French Actress and singer Sarah Bernhardt. Despite their similar ages and athletic abilities, Trachsel insists that the rumours are just not true. Bernhardt was unavailable for comment but a French spokesman dismissed the rumours as idiotic. "Anyone who knows Sarah knows she would never go for a sober type with less body hair then herself..."

In an unrelated note Orioles DH Aubrey Huff was seen recently dining at the local Steakhouse / adult nightclub Scores Baltimore, along with none other than Mr Ed, the world famous Talking Horse. When asked if the report was true, both parties replied "Of course, of course..."

I wasn't pretending to be anything - I was there to watch the game. Now as for my friends, well, let's just say not all of them love baseball like I do.

And to give Rowell & Wieters some credit, the home plate ump made several questionable calls that day..

I did not say I was worried, I did not say he is a flop. I said "I am getting just a tad bit concerned ", that is in fact less then what you paraphrased me as saying. 13 strikeouts in 60 at bats is high for someone who came in with a reputation for good strike zone judgement. The fact that his K/BB ratio is at 13/11 despite 2 intentional walks is also a less then cheery stat.

Other then that, yes he has been very very good and I am pleased the O's selected him last year.

As for Flacco, eh this is a baseball blog and to be honest I am more worried about why the Skin's felt a need to draft a tight end in the 2nd round.