How could the Cubs have given up so much and not even use Trachsel in the playoffs! Is Andy really that good at making other teams over-value players?

Not a bad night for the Orioles....don't forget....

Brandon Snyder homered as well....Chris Tillman threw six one-hit shutout innings, striking out six, including the side in the sixth....Zac Britton was strong early for the Shorebirds as they swept a doubleheader in Lexington....Joe Mahoney, the big, first base prospect out of the University of Richmond hit his fourth homer in the nightcap.

Let's give the best prospect we have had in 20 years at least one year in the minors before we start calling him up. But that's great.

Is it me? Or is Roch blogging less frequently this season?

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I hope it's just you, but sorry if it appears that way. When the team's on the road, I don't file game updates because, obviously, I'm not at the game. But there aren't many days that pass that I don't file at least one entry, usually more. And if I have to work on a story for The Sun - such as the Pat Santarone obit on Wednesday - or have pre-game show obligations at the MASN studio in Hunt Valley, that can cut into my blogging work. It'll heat up again next week when the Orioles return home. - Roch

Roch--Thanks for talking to us about Jake Renshaw. You brought to mind Willis Crenshaw, a bird of a different feather (Cardinals) and sport (football) from the 1960s.

Seems like the dividends from the Trachsel deal continue to go on.

I don't know about a September callup, but Wieters should be in Bowie right now. The Carolina League can't handle him.

Why is everybody so worried about Luis Hernandez being out of options? Do you think there are teams waiting to jump on him if we try to send him to the minors. If so who cares. He's not that good anyway. If he is then lets trade him for something good now before all the other teams wise up. The Orioles minor league system is full of players the caliber of Hernandez.

Love the minor league updates--bonus material on a nice O's win. Add Chris Tillman's one hitter through six last night and there was lots to be psyched about. Roch, do you know anything about Zack Britton, 6'2 lefty who won for Delmarva last night? 21 yo, good numbers at Aberdeen and good so far this year? What a trade the Bedard deal is turning out to be. Jones is a solid CF, getting his sea legs as a hitter. We haven't had that talented an athlete here in ages. Sherrill is performing as a top-line closer. Tillman is 3-0 in Bowie, Mickolio is doing well in relief there and don't forget 6'7 lefty Tony Butler who is doing fine in Delmarva, having already turned in a couple of gems. Couldn't be happier with the deal.

I am tempted to agree with the person who said in the last post that Andy should have pulled the trigger on the Roberts deal this spring--not because Roberts is scuffling, but because he has to be dealt as part of the rebuilding process. Time will tell whether waiting made sense. We'll see what we get in July.

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Zach (don't call me Chris) Britton was a 3rd round pick in 2006 out of Weatherford (Tx). High. Will be 21 in December. Had a 2.96 ERA after July 1 last year. Very promising. He never gets mentioned, though. Thanks for bringing up the name. - Roch

Weiters and Tex in the lineup next year , back to back , would make for an exciting year,,,,,,,,,,,,go O's...........

Roch,

Why do teams, like the O's, bring players up from AA ball instead of taking them through AAA first. You mention Wieters going as far as AA, with a possibility of coming to Baltimore in Sept. Why not send him to AA in May, AAA in July, then if he has shown he can hit AA AND AAA pitchers bring him to the big leagues? I don't understand the jump from AA to the bigs. Can you explain that rationale?

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I said he didn't see him going further than Bowie, but it will be tempting to bring him up in September. Tempting, but I don't see it happening. In the past, the Orioles have brought up guys from AA because they were nearby - this was a particular problem when the Triple-A affiliate was in Ottawa - or there was nobody in Triple-A worthy of a call-up. - Roch

Very encouraging to hear daily updates of Wieters , i can hardly for Wieters to make O's roster soon . Hernandez seems disappointment so far , i thought he had worked on his conditioning off season? If he doesnt pick up , Trembley might try Quiroz more often .

Go O's , sorry Royals

I still get the feeling that Trax is going to be the odd man out when we return home. There's a two-week span where we only need a 4-man rotation.. and in my opinion it wouldn't make sense to keep 5. Maybe put Trachsel in the pen for a while, put McCrory back in AAA and bring up Luis Terrero (can't believe I said that, but he deserves it).

Before last night's start I would have thought that he may even be cut come Monday...but he looked decent yesterday. If Olson & Burres have effective outings over the weekend there is still no place on our staff for Trax.

I also agree with the fact that brian roberts should have been dealt away. He was mentally prepared to be traded and you can see that his play has really suffered. He looks so uncomfortable at the plate swinging at pitches no where near the strike zone. He has way more strikouts then walks and when he is right that trend is turned around. I really feel they did him a injustice with all the trade talk and not following up on it. I also know that he is still be paid a great salary to go out and play everyday but you can see his mind isn't on playing for this team.If he continues to struggle they won't get nearly as much for him as they could. haveTo get on with this rebuiding process the orioles need to unload roberts and millar and let younger guys get more playing time.

Why does anyone want to see Wieters rushed to the big leagues. Let him develop and let him pace himself. I'm sure he has a lot more to learn and rushing him will only hurt him. We all keep hearing how good he is with the bat. Did we forget about his defense? How is he doing on defense? Does he call a good game, does he block pitches okay, can he handle a pitching staff, and how good is he throwing out would be base stealers? His defense is more important than his offense. Every year I keep hearing how good Brandon Tripp is. Why isn't he getting more playing time above AA? Is he a career minor leaguer?

Barry brought up Willis Crenshaw. Yeah I remember him backing up RB John David Crow who I believe is a Hall of Famer for the old St. Louis Cardinals. Just a little nostalga there.

Brian Roberts needs to be told that he WON''T be traded this year. Imagine waking up every day knowing that this might be the day when your roots are suddenly ripped out from under you. Whether you're a baseball player or not, this situation would affect anyone's concentration. In Brian Roberts' case, it is impacting both his offense and defense. Yes, Mr. Roberts is the consummate professional, but he is also just as human as you or me. He likes to get up in the morning with a general idea of how the day will play out. With relocation hanging over his head every day, he can't do that. And the situation is beginning to manifest on the field.

Dave---I am confused by your reference regarding Brandon Tripp and your hearing about him every year. Drafted in 2006, Brandon signed late and spent the end of the season at Aberdeen. Last year he was an all-star at Delmarva and was promoted to Frederick for this season. Tied with Wieters for the league lead in home runs, he is on pace for a mid season callup to Bowie(after the draft June 5th) and is actually on the fast track to Baltimore. He is the farthest thing from a career minor leaguer. This question and many others can be answered by viewing milb.com.

Roch Eric--A September call up for Matt Wieters is a bad idea for the following reasons:
1.It would start the three option process
2. It would start the clock ticking for arbitration.
3. It would start the clock ticking for free agency.
4.It would put his salary under the guide lines of the unions basic agreement

I don't think Wieters should be called up to Baltimore this year, but I do think he should be in Bowie no later than the beginning of June. If he performs very well in Bowie, then give him a shot in Norfolk in August. If not, let him stay in Bowie and get better against Double A competition.

Bill Wentworth,
That's not quite true.

1) As a player with less than 5 years of professional experience, Wieters gets a 4th option year. This is how Adam Loewen spent 4 seasons in the minors despite having a major league contract. Additionally, I'm not sure if 2008 would count as an option year since his contract would be purchased in September and then he would not be optioned back in '08.

2) It wouldn't necessarily start his clock ticking on arbitration. All players are eligible following their third season (and seasons are defined in total days spent in the majors). Otherwise, a player must be a "super two". To be a super two, a player must have been in the majors at least 86 days the previous season and be among the top 17% of players with at least two years experience but less than three. So its possible he'd get arbitration a year earlier, but not guaranteed. And he almost certainly would not get arbitration after 2010 as a super two if he played all of 2009 and 2010 with Baltimore.

3) I know the rule is six years for free agency, but I don't know how those six years are defined. However, using the example above where he would spend all of 2009 in Baltimore, calling him up in September of 2008 would not make him a free agent following 2013 instead of 2014. In any case, the Orioles would hopefully sign him to a long-term deal well before that and this would become a moot point.

4) Also a moot point, especially since he would be making the major league minimum for one month of the season. We're talking something on the order of $70,000. Considering the millions the O's invested in him already, if they think it would best for his baseball development to spend September in the majors, then the cost of paying his salary is not a consideration.

I would have expected Brandon Tripp to be at Bowie by now...

College Professor: thank you.

Not knowing whether it will be Chicago, Colorado, Cleveland, or Baltimore where I make my $6,300,000 this year is REALLY starting to stress me out!

I was beginning to think that nobody understands.

Make it eight homeruns for Wieters and one for Rowell