Outfield prospect Nolan Reimold continues to hammer the ball and make an argument for promotion to the majors. He hit his seventh home run during tonight's game at Scranton/Wilkes Barre and currently is 2 for 3 in the game, which has raised his average to .414. He has driven in two runs tonight and has 21 in 19 games. The game is still in progress.

Matt Wieters is not ending the month on quite the same roll. He's hitless in three at-bats and his batting average is down at .250. He has one homer and five RBI in 13 games after missing some time with a sore hamstring.

Bowie pitcher Brandon Erbe finally got some offensive (and defensive) support yesterday. The Baysox banged out 15 hits and Erbe got his first victory in four decisions, even though his ERA is 0.90 and his WHIP is 0.95. Teammates Jake Arrieta finished the month with a 2-0 record and a 2.00 ERA and Troy Patton went 2-0 with a 1.21 ERA. All three pitchers made four starts.

Brian Matusz also made four starts at Class-A Frederick and was 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA. He struck out 26 in 21 1/3 innings.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
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Woke up this morning hoping the past two days were a bad dream. Many great people -- including sports columnists Rick Maese and David Steele -- were laid off as the Sun continues to suffer the effects of this horrible economic downturn. Of course, this recession is hitting home everywhere, but it was surreal to watch Rick and Dave pack up their stuff in the press box at Camden Yards during yesterday's game and head into an uncertain future.

Lefthander Rich Hill gave up just one hit over 3 1/3 innings in his injury rehab start at Norfolk last night, but he gave up two runs. He walked a guy and surrendered a home run and that was enough to get tagged with the loss. With that kind of luck, he'll fit right in with the O's pitching staff.

The Orioles open a weekend series at Rogers Centre in Toronto tomorrow with Mark Hendrickson facing Roy Halladay in the opener on Friday night. The matchup fulfills all the requirements for a classic "reverse lock," but I can't in good conscience predict an Orioles victory. Not sure the reverse lock rule applies outside the continental United States.

The drumbeat continues to increase for the Orioles to pull the plug on the Felix Pie experiment, but I wouldn't hold your breath. Andy MacPhail said Pie would get at least a couple of months to see if he can settle into the starting lineup and become a productive and dependable player. MacPhail is a stubborn guy and he's probably going to let the thing play all the way out. In a weird sort of way, I like that about him.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (77)
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When you're looking for reasons the Orioles have lost 10 of their last 13 games, you can't let the offense entirely off the hook. The O's again were in a position to take control of today's game during the first two innings, but largely squandered a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity in the first and failed to score after Chad Moeller led off the second with a leadoff triple.

Angels starter Shane Loux did everything but personally escort the Orioles around the bases, but somehow they managed to turn a triple, two singles and two walks into just one run after two innings. The worst of it was after Moeller reached third with no outs and was caught off third on a one-out comebacker.

There have been several instances where the Orioles have taken big leads or been in position to, only to let teams hang around or quickly get back in the game. They've got enough problems without making things so much easier on this series of quality opponents.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)
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Los Angeles Angels

Chone Figgins 3B
Maicer Izturis SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter DH
Kendry Morales 1B
Howie Kendrick 2B
Gary Matthews CF
Juan Rivera LF
Jeff Mathis C

Shane Loux RHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Luke Scott DH
Ty Wigginton 3B
Chad Moeller C
Felix Pie LF
Cesar Izturis SS

Koji Uehara RHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Manager Dave Trembley had calmed down considerably by the time he held his pregame news briefing today. He indicated there would be no carryover from last night's run-in with umpire Angel Hernandez.

"It's over, done with,'' Trembley said. "You just don't carry anything from game to game. You really have to be professional. Once the game's over, you turn the page. You can't carry a grudge in this business."

Guess we'll find out soon enough if the weather holds.

Melvin Mora is not in the starting lineup, but not for any reason other than the fact that Trembley already had planned to sit him today before the Toronto series. The morning rain just cemented the decision.

"I wasn't going to play him anyway,'' he said. "We're going to Toronto and have a night game, day game, day game. I just thought it would be best not to start him today."

Gregg Zaun continues to struggle at the plate, but Trembley was complimentary of his effort and approach. Hitting coach Terry Crowley called him "Mr. Lucky,'' which is a sarcastic reference to all the line drives he has hit at people lately.

"I thought last night was going to break the ice for him," Trembley said. "He hit that line drive and (Juan) Rivera made a great catch...He's doing a very nice job behind the plate. Offensively, I know he wants to give us more at the plate and he needs to."

Zaun's struggles also raised questions about the likelihood of Matt Wieters being called up from Triple-A Norfolk. Trembley said the two issues are not connected.

"I think the Wieters thing is a separate entity all to itself,'' Trembley said. "I don't think the decision on Wieters has anything to do with what Zaun does or doesn't do."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Home plate umpire Angel Hernandez called the controversial balk that led to the ejection of manager Dave Trembley and angry postgame comments by both Trembley and reliever Jamie Walker.

We haven't heard the end of this -- especially after Walker's particularly inflammatory comments -- but there was no response from Hernandez, who declined comment to a pool reporter.

Though I generally defend the umpires, because they have no ax to grind and the players generally do, it's disappointing that Hernandez hid behind a closed door after making a call that affected the outcome of the game.

If he were following normal MLB protocol, he would have given the media an explanation of his ruling. The fact that he did not want to do so leaves room to wonder how confident he was in the correctness of his call.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
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Relief pitcher Jamie Walker was livid after the game because of the balk call by umpire Angel Hernandez that led to the ejection of manager Dave Trembley, and he may have said way too much about it for his own good.

"No way in hell did I balk on that pitch,'' he said. "That was a horse----- call. I don't know if the guy has a problem with me or what, but it was a (expletive) call...I don't know if he had money betting on the game, but that was a (expletive) call."

Wrong thing to say. The Commissioner's Office does not take kindly to anyone questioning the integrity of the umpires, especially with a reference to gambling. It was a flip comment made in anger, but it likely will earn Walker an unpaid vacation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
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Adam Eaton could not follow up on his terrific performance last Thursday against the Chicago White Sox. He lasted six innings and gave up five runs (earned) on six hits. He walked four and struck out just two after striking out nine and walking none in his previous start. He threw 109 pitches, 62 for strikes.

"They fouled off a lot of balls,'' Eaton said. "I didn't get behind as much the last time. I didn't get at-bats over very quick. My gameplan was good, but I didn't execute it very well."

The Orioles continue to have trouble in the bullpen, too. Chris Ray came on with a chance to keep the game close in the top of the seventh, but allowed a two-run double to Kendry Morales that gave the Angels a three-run lead.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Manager Dave Trembley just got thrown out of a game for the first time since last Aug. 23. He went wild on home plate umpire Angel Hernandez after Jamie Walker was called for a balk on a seemingly successful pickoff move.

Trembley doesn't get the hook very often, but a lot of frustration bubbled up in a hurry on the way to his seventh career ejection. If anybody doubted that he gets emotionally involved in the game, there was little question about that tonight.

Bench coach Dave Jauss took over as manager. Hopefully for him, there won't be another big dispute, because he just got his tonsils out and probably shouldn't be raising his voice so soon after the surgery.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Utilityman Ryan Freel (left) will start an injury rehabilitation assignment on Friday, but he obviously would rather be on his way out of town for good. He repeated yesterday that he doesn't feel like there is a real place for him in Baltimore.

Though he stopped short of demanding a trade, it was pretty apparent what he was saying as he talked to reporters today.

"There's nothing wrong with change,'' Freel said. "I believe in change and I don't think I fit here. I don't think I fit anywhere they want me to fit in this organization."

Freel said he was ecstatic when he was acquired by the Orioles in the deal that sent catcher Ramon Hernandez to the Cincinnati Reds, but he isn't ecstatic now.

"I'm not happy about the situation, but there's nothing I can do about it,'' he said. "It's not the same. I was thrilled to death coming here. I'm definitely not as happy as when I first came here, but we'll see what happens."

AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (32)
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Los Angeles Angels

Chone Figgins 3B
Macier Izturis DH
Bobby Abreu RF
Torii Hunter CF
Kendry Morales 1B
Mike Napoli C
Howie Kendrick 2B
Juan Rivera LF
Erick Aybar SS

Joe Saunders LHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Ty Wigginton DH
Lou Montanez LF
Gregg Zaun C
Cesar Izturis SS

Adam Eaton RHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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The Orioles have activated Melvin Mora from the 15-day disabled list today and optioned Matt Albers to Triple-A Norfolk. The original plan was to send Mora to Triple-A to play one game with the Tides tonight and activate him on Friday, but apparently club officials decided they might as well have him take those three at-bats against the Angels.

I'm headed down to check the lineup, but you have to assume he'll start against Angels left-hander Joe Saunders. Otherwise, there would be no reason to put him back on the active roster.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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If you were on your way to work downtown today, you might still be in your car after a huge water main break near Lombard and Gay Streets snarled traffic all morning. Don't know how long it's going to take to get things cleared up, but you might want to consider an alternate route into town if you're planning on attending tonight's game between the Orioles and Los Angeles Angels.

Obviously, it's going to be easier to come in from the south than northwest of the city, so if you're west of town you might want to come around the beltway and take 95 North to 395, which has an offramp right into Camden Yards. There's also 295 North, which turns into Russell Street and takes you straight to the ballpark lots (and nearby downtown lots).

The Orioles are monitoring the situation and expect the water main break to impact traffic well into the evening. The team advises fans coming down I-83 to exit at Fayette Street and come across downtown, Pratt Street will be open after the game, so fans will be able to get to I-83 when they head home, though traffic could be heavy.

We'll have updates on the situation on the Web site, and I'll forward any advice from the Orioles when there's a better idea of the impact on rush hour traffic.

Instant update: Also, if you were headed down to ESPN Zone for the Orioles Q&A with relief pitcher Chris Ray, that has been postponed because of the break. Many of the buildings in the area are without water and have had to remain closed until the water main is repaired.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie was staked to a four-run lead tonight and allowed three runs before manager Dave Trembley turned the ball over to the bullpen. It wasn't quite as discouraging as the seven-run lead that got away on his watch in Boston, but it still left him to answer for what went wrong after he again was handed a seemingly comfortable lead.

"My approach is always the same, whether I'm down by four or up by four,'' Guthrie said. "I'm trying to put a zero up. It hasn't worked out that way on a couple of occasions. There's nothing I'm doing differently than I've been doing. You just hope for better results in the future."

Trembley seemed to concur, and gave a lot of credit to the Rangers for forcing Guthrie's pitch count up early in the game.

"His command wasn't off tonight,'' Trembley said. "He was around the plate tonight, there were a lot of foul balls. There were a lot of two-strike foul balls. They fought some real good pitches off. I don't think it had anything to do with him protecting a lead. He was very aggressive. I thought is command was good, his tempo was good. He just had to work real hard to get outs."

Trembley said he didn't feel that the offense went flat after getting four runs in the first two innings, even though the bats were almost completely silent after the second inning.

"We had good at-bats tonight, we didn't chase pitches, we didn't get ourselves out,'' he said. "In tonight's case, (Matt) Harrison pitched where his tempo was real quick, his location was good, he changed speeds. We needed an RBI hit with two outs a couple of different times and we needed to turn the lineup over on the bottom, and that didn't happen."

Matt Albers made no excuses after giving up three runs over 2/3 of an inning.

"We had the lead and I came in and didn't hold it,'' Albers said. "I didn't execute pitches. I felt healthy, but I didn't make pitches when I needed to. That's definitely a good lineup. They can do some damage, but you've got to execute pitches. You can't let them intimidate you."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)
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Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton, who has been in and out of the lineup with a sore rib cage, was originally in today's starting lineup but was scratched after batting practice. Andruw Jones took his place in the lineup, but not in the No. 3 slot. Jones is batting cleanup and Michael Young moved back from No. 2 to bat third. Outfielder David Murphy moved up from the sixth spot to bat second.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Manager Dave Trembley confirmed that Melvin Mora will make a rehab start at third base at Norfolk, play six innings and get three at-bats to test his hamstring before the final decision is made on activating him from the disabled list.

"He should, if all goes well, be activated on Friday for us,'' Trembley said.

Trembley said Rich Hill had very good command of his curveball in his first rehab appearance at Frederick. His next start will be Wednesday for the Tides and he'll stay on a five-day routine until he's ready to come up and join the major league team.

"He's already got an apartment here (in Baltimore), so I think he's anxious to get here,'' Trembley said.

Other business: Don Werner has come up to the big league club to fill in for Dave Jauss, who had to have his tonsils out.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Texas Rangers

Ian Kinsler 2B
Michael Young 3B
Josh Hamilton CF
Hank Blalock DH
Marlon Byrd RF
David Murphy LF
Chris Davis 1B
Taylor Teagarden C
Omar Vizquel SS

Matt Harrison LHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton 3B
Luke Scott DH
Lou Montanez LF
Gregg Zaun C
Robert Andino SS

Jeremy Guthrie RHP

Lineup note: Manager Dave Trembley said that Andino is in the lineup just to give Cesar Izturis a day off before his brother, Macier, comes to town with the Angels.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Norfolk outfielder Nolan Reimold had two more home runs on Sunday and now has six homers and 19 RBI in just 16 Triple-A games, which is -- quite understandably -- putting the Orioles decision to gut out the early weeks of the major league season with Felix Pie under a microscope.

Reimold is a solid prospect who will be here eventually, but I think the Orioles have committed to giving Pie another month or so and, at least from a standpoint of organizational credibility, they need to let the situation play out a little longer.

Keep in mind that Reimold (shown here after one of his spring training home runs) put up those great numbers in the minor leagues. There's no guarantee he doesn't come up and bat .110 for his first month in the bigs. Lou Montanez just came up after getting off to a hot start at Norfolk and managed one hit in his first nine at-bats. He'll be fine, but the point is the same. The game is a little harder up here.

My question for the people who want to see Pie on waivers is this: If you get Reimold and he struggles for the first three weeks, are you going to treat him with the same impatience?

Yes, Pie has had other major league opportunities, but this is supposed to be the one where he gets 200 at-bats and a chance to establish himself and prove he can harness his great raw talent. If Andy MacPhail and Dave Trembley pull the plug early, how much confidence is the next guy up going to have that he'll get a fair shot to battle through his first major league slump.

I'm eager to see Reimold up here, too, but I think the situation is a little more complicated than some fans want to make it.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (40)
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When the Orioles win, it's usually not hard to see why. Just look at the first three lines in the O's half of today's box score and add up the performances of Brian Roberts, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. Today, they combined for six runs, nine hits and six RBI.

Pending the end of some other games, Markakis now leads the major leagues with 21 runs scored and Jones is tied with Albert Pujols and Kevin Youkilis for second with 20.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
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Can't say enough about the way Danys Baez has gone about his business since being told late in spring training that he would no longer be a candidate for the starting rotation. He immediately refocused on making a contribution out of the bullpen and has had some success -- today's three-inning performance (no hits, no walks, three strikeouts) a particularly impressive example.

Since I'm not at the ballpark, I took the opportunity to watch him closely from the perspective of the center field camera. The movement on his pitches (when he doesn't try to overthrow) was nasty and his velocity is up into the mid-90s. If he gets proper rest and stays healthy, he could be a valuable middle guy and might even be tradeable at midseason.

That's a lot more than anybody expected after he spent most of training camp trying to get by without his best breaking stuff. Once he trotted that out, he started to look like the guy who has only once in his major league career has allowed more hits than innings in a season.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
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If you think Felix Pie is off to a bad start, imagine how Texas Rangers left fielder David Murphy is feeling right now. He just grounded out to second in his first at-bat today to remain 0 for April in regular season play.

Murphy is hitless in his first 23 at-bats of the season, but he has walked six times, so his on-base percentage is .214. Pie has seven hits and five walks in 50 plate appearances for an OBP of .240.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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New Orioles pitcher Brad Bergesen looked very good against a strong Chicago White Sox lineup in his first major league start, but the Texas Rangers present an even stiffer challenge for a young starter who depends more on command than velocity.

And, in a sense, there's probably more pressure on Bergesen today, since expectations will be higher and the Orioles really need him to pull them back from the brink of a potential four-game home sweep. He also won't have Gregg Zaun behind the plate. Chad Moeller gets the fill-in start today.

Rangers starter Brandon McCarthy is 2-0, but the Orioles defeated the Rangers in his start against them in Texas. Luke Scott and Aubrey Huff both took him deep, but he got off with a no-decision.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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The Ravens decided not to draft for need and instead draft for human interest. Each of their first three picks in this year's draft have a compelling life story, from Michael Oher's rise from homelessness to big-money first-round pick to Paul Kruger's dramatic brush with death to the checkered past of third-round pick Lardarius Webb (left).

Webb, a 5-10, 179-pound cornerback from Nicholls State, grew up in a troubled home and got dismissed from team at Southern Mississippi for violating team rules. He moved to Nicholls State, where he established himself as a solid all-around defender and kick returner. He's a great fit for the Ravens, who have soured a bit on Yamon Figurs as a return man and lost Jim Leonhard to free agency.

In an interview with nfldraftbible.com, Webb said that his mother was on drugs while he was growing up and his father is an alcoholic. He said he got in with the wrong crowd at Southern Miss, but turned his life around at Nicholls State. He was one of the players the Ravens brought in for a pre-draft visit. They obviously were impressed.

Oh, one other thing, he ran the fastest 40 (4.46) of any cornerback at the combine, which is nice.

The Ravens will make their fourth-round pick in the next 20 minutes or so.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)
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The Ravens added a big brick to the wall around Joe Flacco with the deal that moved them up into the 23rd slot in the NFL draft and put them in position to draft Mississippi offensive tackle Michael Oher. He's a premier pass protector who can only aid in the further development of Flacco as a marquee quarterback.

Oher is a great story. He was "rescued" from homelessness by a family that steered him toward a college football career at Ole Miss. Now he's going to be a major player on a team that fell one game short of the Super Bowl last season.

"I'm just happy to be a part of the NFL,'' Oher said. "It's been a long journey. Baltimore got a great player and I'm not going to let them down. I can't wait to get started."

The Ravens are believed to have traded the Patriots a fifth-round pick to move up three slots to get Oher.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
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The Orioles and Ravens are running a cross promotion today, with the Ravens' 12th Annual Spring Football Festival starting at 3 p.m. and the Orioles handing out purple-and-white O's caps before tonight's game against the Texas Rangers.

I'm torn as well. I'm at Ravens training facility at Owings Mills getting ready to join Gerry Sandusky and Stan White for WBAL's coverage of the first two rounds of the NFL draft. That also starts at 3 p.m. If you're out of WBAL (1090 AM) signal range, you can -- as always -- go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

That means I won't be at Oriole Park for tonight's game, but I may -- in the spirit of the Orioles/Ravens cross-promotion -- chime in occasionally on both the O's game and the draft over the course of the evening. For the finest in Ravens blog coverage, stop by regularly at Ravens Insider.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

For the most part, I'm on board with Dave Trembley's vision for the Orioles bullpen. It's great to have pitchers for specific roles -- horses for courses -- so they are always prepared for what they might be required to do.

What I don't like is the idea that the blueprint is so chiseled into the mind of the manager that all the adjustments depend on the pre-ordained timetable rather than the conditions on the ground.

Trembley had his guys lined up last night. He got his strong start from Koji Uehara. Where this game came apart was in the assumption that if you put each guy in a certain spot at a certain time, they'll all pitch great and everything will turn out great every night.

That's probably true if you've got, say, J.J. Putz setting up Francisco Rodriguez, but if you've got a group of relatively unproven guys, then you're dealing with a handful of variables every night. The more pitchers you send out there, the more likely one of them is not going to be at his best.

In Friday night's game, for instance, Chris Ray came on to get out of the seventh inning. He gave up a hit, but he threw just 10 pitches and had some success. There's really no reason -- and Trembley acknowledged this after the game -- why he couldn't have come out to start the eighth inning instead of replacing him with another right-hander just because Jim Johnson is "the eighth-inning guy."

If Ray throws 10 more pitches and gets another out or two, maybe Johnson doesn't give up four hits and a key run that comes back to haunt you later. And George Sherrill doesn't have to come in at the end of the eighth for an extended save situation. Who knows what would have happened, but the one thing I do know is that the reliever you know -- the guy on the mound -- is better than the reliever you don't know until he proves otherwise.

Of course, all of this depends on matchups and the number of times a guy has pitched recently, but if Ray was rested and unrestricted, the difference between 10 pitches and 20 is not terribly significant, especially when Johnson had pitched in two of three previous days.

This isn't meant as a big second-guess. The Rangers were down to their last strike with no one on base in the ninth. The Orioles should have won the game either way.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
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Manager Dave Trembley took the loss relatively philosophically, though he'll probably toss and turn some tonight wondering how many things had to go wrong to waste that great outing by Koji Uehara.

"It would have been a good one to win and a tough one to lose,'' Trembley said. "They got the hits at the end. We needed one more out. We needed one more pitch. We had chances to score more runs and we didn't."

Uehara had little to say afterward, other than the obvious. He was pleased with his outing. The difference between tonight's performance and his previous appearance against the Rangers came down to pitching ahead in the count more. He showed little emotion or regret about the victory getting away.

"That was our closer,'' he said through translator Jiwon Bang. "He gave up the runs, so you forget about it and come back tomorrow."

Catcher Gregg Zaun said George Sherrill's decisive pitch to Michael Young was on the outside part of the plate but up. He preferred to give some credit to Young for powering it over the right field fence.

"In that situation, you're trying not to let one of those guys beat us to the pull side with a homer,'' Zaun said. "He (Sherrill) got one up and he (Young) did what he does. It's an impressive swing for the guy to go over there. if you're going to get beat, you want to get beat the hard way."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
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Guess it was going too good to be true. George Sherrill looked like he was going to deliver a rare suspenseless save after he came on to get the club out of a jam in the eighth and retired the first two batters of the ninth.

No such luck. Sherrill had two strikes on Ian Kinsler before giving up a single to left, then jumped ahead of Michael Young before giving up an opposite-field two-run homer that brought the Rangers from behind.

Now, you can look back on that bases-loaded, one-out situation that could have broken the game open in the fifth or a couple of other opportunities to add a run or two. Before you lay it all on Sherrill, consider that the Orioles left nine runners on base -- all of them after scoring three runs in the fourth inning.

Tough night. Instead of an uplifting series opener and a great victory for Koji Uehara, the the O's open another four-game weekend series with a very deflating loss. O's fans can only hope the club responds better than it did in Boston last weekend.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
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The Orioles can only hope this isn't the inning when they regret squandering big scoring opportunities in several innings. George Sherrill struck out Chris Davis to get out the team out of a jam in the eighth, but that just set him up to go for the one-run save.

Stay tuned.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Here's a stat that will put a smile on the face of your pitching coach. Orioles pitchers have not surrendered a walk since Jeremy Guthrie walked Jim Thome with one out in the fifth inning of Wednesday night's game. So, when Koji Uehara retired Marlon Byrd on a foulout for the first out of the seventh, the O's staff had gone 20 innings without allowing a base on balls.

And counting...

Instant update Uehara has just been removed from the game with two outs and no one on base in the seventh. He allowed a homer to Hank Blalock to start the inning and leaves working 6 2/3 innings and giving up two runs on four hits. No walks. Six strikeouts.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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The Orioles got into the spirit of tomorrow's joint event with the Ravens by picking a "Fan of the Game" who is wearing an O's jersey with the No. 5 and "Flacco" on the back. Does that constitute cross-promotion or some strange new form or sports-related cross-dressing?

Whatever it is, it's an excuse to point out that the Orioles will give out a special purple and white Orioles hat to the first 10,000 fans 15 & over at tomorrow night's game against the Rangers, which immediately follows the Ravens' 12th annual Spring Football Festival at M&T Bank Stadium (3-7 p.m.).

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Rangers pitcher Vicente Padilla pitched to the minimum nine batters through the first three innings, but his second time through the Orioles lineup did not go quite so well. In fact, he went through almost the entire lineup in the fourth inning, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk and running his pitch count to 75.

That isn't an extreme number of pitches for four innings, but it seemed like it after he needed just 45 for the first three.

Adam Jones started the rally with a single and Nick Markakis followed with another before Aubrey Huff lined a 2-0 pitch into the gap in right center field for both runs. Huff would score the third run on a balk, but the Orioles put to more runners on base before Felix Pie flied out to left to end the inning.

Meanwhile, Koji Uehara bounced back after giving up a run in the third to retire six straight batters before Jarrod Saltalamacchia lined a single to right with two outs in the fifth. Saltalamacchia has two of the Rangers' three hits in the game.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Just baseball
        

There are two professional teams from the Mid-Atlantic region who are playing the Rangers tonight. The Washington Capitals are leading the New York Rangers, 2-0, in Game 5 of their playoff series at Verizon Center. The Texas Rangers, however, have gotten on the board first at Camden Yards.

Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia doubled with one out in the third inning for the first hit in the game by either team and Ian Kinsler poked a single through the left side of the infield with two outs to put a run up against Koji Uehara.

Meanwhile, the guy with the 9.62 lifetime ERA against the Orioles has yet to allow a hit, though he just walked Felix Pie with one out in the bottom of the third.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Koji Uehara, who struggled against the Texas Rangers last week at The Ballpark in Arlington, was in total control in the first inning of tonight's series opener at Camden Yards. He struck out Ian Kinsler, got Michael Young on a soft grounder to second base and got Josh Hamilton on a check-swing third strike to bring the Orioles to the plate against right-hander Vicente Padilla.

Lest anyone forget, the Orioles hammered Padilla for seven runs on 11 hits in just 3 1/3 innings. He has seldom done well against the O's, coming into tonight's game with a 2-6 lifetime record and career 9.62 ERA against them. Guess you just have to hope the law of averages is on vacation.

The early returns aren't good, from a standpoint of karma. Brian Roberts hit a shot down the first base line that landed inches foul before flying out and Adam Jones just lined out to Kinsler behind second base.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Manager Dave Trembley was asked to clarify his bullpen blueprint during his pregame news conference. Nothing he said should come as a big surprise, since you've basically seen the way he's using each pitcher over the course of the first three weeks of the season.

"The way I see it, it's Ray, Johnson and Sherrill in the seventh, eighth and ninth,'' Trembley said. "Walker is the situational guy who can finish an inning and come back for the next one if there's a left-hander leading off."

Trembley revealed on Thursday night that he told Matt Albers to be prepared to be the first guy up if the starter unravels in the third or fourth inning. Brian Bass also will pitch in that role, but has gotten a couple of ninth-inning appearances in non-save situations to build his confidence after some rough early outings.

"One (reason) is confidence,'' Trembley said. "The other is to have him feel what it's like to be out there at the end of the game...to be the guy shaking hands."

Melvin Mora is set to take batting practice and participate in drills before tonight's game. Then a determination will be made whether to send him out on a quick injury rehabilitation assignment.

"I plan to talk to him and see where he's at,'' Trembley said. "He may go out and play in a couple of games, but I don't know where."

Rich Hill update: Hill is scheduled to make his first injury rehabilitation start tonight at Frederick. He'll be limited to about 65 pitches.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Ian Kinsler 2B
Michael Young 3B
Josh Hamilton CF
Hank Blalock DH
Marlon Byrd LF
Nelson Cruz RF
Chris Davis 1B
Jarrod Saltamacchia C
Elvis Andrus SS

Vicente Padilla RHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton 3B
Luke Scott DH
Gregg Zaun C
Felix Pie LF
Cesar Izturis SS

Koji Uehara RHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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I want to thank everyone for pointing out the typos in my last entry of Thursday night. Sometimes I get in a hurry trying to input the postgame stuff and I type it too fast. Of course, that's only because I care.

Maybe it also was because I was so busy gloating about my amazingly accurate pre-game call on Adam Eaton's performance last night. Sometimes, I even amaze myself, especially when I get through a day without stopping at a single drive-thru.

Let me clarify the clairvoyant thing. I do not claim to have any special insight delivered to me from the great beyond. I'll leave that to that John Edward guy, who claims to have some celestial inspiration, but still can only come up with the first initial of the dead person that's talking through him. You'd think if there was some real divine inspiration, the surpreme being involved would not turn it into a guessing game.

My occasional correct prediction is the result of a couple of things, the first of which is the law of averages. Adam Eaton had struggled for quite awhile, which, in my mind, increased the chances of him pitching better this time. The other thing, of course, is the simple fact that a blind squirrel does, indeed, get an acorn once in awhile, though I've had some pretty good luck in the prediction business lately.

Here's a prediction that I know will come true: I'll be on WBAL (1090 AM) at noon today with Clarence Mitchell IV and Sean Dobson of Progressive Maryland to argue politics and take your calls and get a little nutty like I always do. If you want to join in and are not in signal range, just go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon. I guarantee we'll have fun.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
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Manager Dave Trembley, who took up for Adam Eaton during Wednesday night's postgame media conference, deflected kudos about it after Thursday's game.

"If you don't show confidence in your team, how the heck do you expect them to go out there and play,'' he said. "So my whole approach was to show confidence in not only him, but to take the emphasis off what he does and more or less let everybody know that it doesn't mean a hill of beans how the pitcher pitches if you don't play well behind him."

Trembley said he never got the sense that Eaton was worried about his performance in his first two starts or his place in the rotation.

"I've never sensed from him a panic or anything like that,'' Trembley said. "None whatsoever. So I think, in return, we have to exhibit the same. If we're going to push the (panic) button, these guys can smell that a mile away."

Eaton kept it simple when he was sizine up his performance.

"The one thing I was able to stay away from today was getting beat by a bad pitch,'' he said.

He agreed that there was no sense of panic, but also conceded that -- after some rocky outings in the spring and two straight losses -- it was time to turn things around.

"I just needed to get some results,'' he said. "I wasn't happy about the first two outings being a combined eight innings. That's putting a huge burden on the bullpen. That's not something I want to do."

The highlight of the game apparently was not striking out Jim Thome three times. It was the standing ovation he received when he left the mound in the eighth inning.

"It felt great,'' he said. It's been a long time since I had that."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
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Who would have ever predicted (except me, of course) that Adam Eaton would walk off the mound to a standing ovation from the crowd of 11,723? He gave up a couple of hits in the eighth inning and gave way to reliever Jim Johnson with two on and one out. Johnson allowed both runners to score, but that didn't really diminish the effort.

Eaton's line: 7 1/3 IP, two runs, six hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. Three of those strikeouts were against future Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who got a little revenge with the two-run hit off Johnson that cost Eaton the scoreless outing.

Perhaps the most interesting stat is the pitch count. Eaton threw 103 pitches -- 75 for strikes. That's pretty amazing.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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Adam Eaton is through seven innings and has thrown 95 pitches and there is nobody up in the Orioles bullpen. The White Sox have four hits and have managed just one runner in scoring position -- and that was the first batter of the game, Chris Getz.

Meanwhile, the Orioles offense has had at least one runner in scoring position in five of the first seven innings. Chad Moeller and Brian Roberts are the only O's hitters without at least one hit.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Adam Eaton doesn't bear any resemblance to the guy who has been pitching for the Orioles the past few weeks, though there have been times when his stuff has looked better than his results.

He gave up a leadoff single to Chris Getz in the first inning and then struck out the side. Since then, he has given up just one hit, retiring 12 of his last 13 batters. Not bad for a guy who a lot of people already have given up on.

He's coming out for the fifth with a 6-0 lead. Let's see what happens next.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Manager Dave Trembley is looking for the starter in tomorrow night's series opener against the Texas Rangers -- Koji Uehara -- to look more like the guy who lost to Boston than the guy who defeated the Rangers the first time he faced them.

"I think he has to do what he did against Boston,'' Trembley said. "He's got to pitch inside. Establish his fastball in. That's what he did against Boston and he had a lot of success."

Of course, he allowed a ton of fly balls against the Red Sox in Fenway Park and somehow got away with it, but Trembley apparently is not concerned about that.

"I think he's a flyball pitcher,'' Trembley said. "I don't think he's going to get more ground balls than fly balls."

Trembley thinks that Uehara let the tight strike zone bother him in Texas and believes he has to adapt game to game to the differing zones of each home plate umpire.

"I sensed some frustration in the game in Texas,'' he said. "He had to work hard to get through some situations. There were some pitchers that were borderline that didn't go his way."

Trembley said tonight's starter, Adam Eaton, needs to finish some hitters quicker tonight to be successful against the White Sox.

"With Eaton, every time I've seen him pitch, the most important inning has been the first,'' Trembley said. "Let's see if we can get some outs earlier in the count."

Trembley on Bartolo Colon: "Colon is predominantly a fastball pitcher. Don't chase it. He's going to try and crowd you and then elevate it. Slow him down. He works fast. He doesn't throw nearly as hard consistently as he used to, but he still throws hard...We have to stay away from helping him, because he'll expand the strike zone."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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White Sox

Chris Getz 2B
Josh Fields 3B
Carlos Quentin LF
Jim Thome DH
Jermaine Dye RF
Paul Konerko 1B
A.J. Pierzynski C
Alexei Ramirez SS
Brian Anderson CF

Bartolo Colon RHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton 3B
Luke Scott DH
Chad Moeller C
Felix Pie LF
Cesar Izturis SS

Adam Eaton RHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Don't know why I feel this way, but I'm jumping on the Adam Eaton bandwagon tonight. I think the Orioles will make some noise against White Sox starter Bartolo Colon and Eaton will change speeds just well enough to keep the Sox lineup from getting much going. This is an official Schmuck prediction.

Don't misunderstand, I'm not buying a season ticket on the Eaton Express. I've just got a feeling that he'll match up well tonight.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
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The great thing about baseball is that you can debate just about any point without getting mad at whomever you're arguing with. So I hope this is accepted in the collegial spirit of that kind of give-and-take, because I've got to take issue with my friends Tom Davis and Dave Johnson for their comments on the radio post-game show Wednesday night.

Davis, in particular, was very critical of the media and fans for the current fixation with the Orioles' youth movement, and tried to make the case that no one should even be talking about players in the minor leagues until they get here because that isn't fair to the major league players.

What a strange concept. The Orioles have spent the last two years begging fans to stick with the team because help is on the way from the upgraded player development system. The notion that fans should not be anticipating the arrival of Jake Arrieta or Chris Tillman out of respect for, say, Adam Eaton, is ridiculous.

Eaton will be just fine. He's being paid a king's ransom (though not by the O's) to get people out at the major league level and fans have every right to judge his performance and wonder if it might be more entertaining to watch Arrieta or Tillman or Troy Patton instead. I don't believe any of those guys should be rushed up to mollify the fan base, but I understand why fans are impatient to see them.

I also understand where Tom is coming from and agree that some fans need to live more in the moment, but when the team is asking them to buy tickets now in anticipation of a better future and continually exhorting the media to focus on the long-term "plan," it's kind of tough to avert your eyes from the horizon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (39)
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Just thought I'd pass along the link to a story on the website of the local NBC affiliate in New York, which documents a decline in attendance at the new Yankee Stadium because of the lofty ticket prices and the sagging economy. The Yankees apparently aren't worried, because they've already said publicly they will raise the prices of premium tickets 4 percent next season.

This comes after the price of non-premium seats increased dramatically in the switch-over from the old Yankee Stadium to the glitzy new one that features front row field boxes that cost $2,625 per game.

This also comes three weeks after Yankees managing partner Hal Steinbrenner admitted that he thinks some tickets at the new ballpark are "overpriced." He's certainly got a funny way of showing it.

Here's all you need to know. The average ticket price at the new Yankee Stadium is about $76. The major league average is about $26. And you wonder why Yankees fans are willing to use all that gas to get down to Camden Yards.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Since there wasn't a whole lot to say about tonight's 8-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox, manager Dave Trembley used his postgame media conference to set the record straight on Adam Eaton.

Trembley was asked what Eaton needed to do in the series finale. He didn't bristle at the question, but clearly viewed it as an attempt to get him to spell out how much rope Eaton has left.

"I'd like to disspell that,'' Trembley said. "I don't think every time Adam pitches it's a critical situation. With hitters, you give them at-bats. You give a guy 75 at-bats. This guy has pitched a long time in the major leagues. I don't think it's, if he pitches well he's on the team, if he doesn't, he's off the team. I don't think that's fair. Let's let him pitch and see what happens.

"What we have is what we have and we'll do the best we can and stand behind our guys."

Trembley saw what everybody else saw in Jeremy Guthrie. He struggled with his command and the White Sox took advantage while Sox left-hander John Danks delivered his third straight strong start.

"The difference between Jeremy and Danks was the location of his pitches,'' Trembley said. "The White Sox, from the first inning, made him work to get outs. I think his stuff was fine. The difference when a guy succeeds and a guy is sharp is location."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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Jeremy Guthrie allowed runs in each of the first three innings tonight, falling behind by four on a night when he probably needed to hold the Chicago White Sox to no more than two runs to have a reasonable chance to win.

Sox left-hander John Danks is off to a great start (1-0, 0.75 ERA in two starts coming into tonight's game) after establishing himself as a very solid starter last season. His 12-9 record and solid 3.32 last year doesn't come close to telling the whole story. He surrendered two earned runs or fewer 22 times last year, including 15 of his last 18 starts.

Guthrie lasted six innings and was charged with five earned runs. He has allowed 10 earned runs in his last 10 2/3 innings of work after surrendering just three in his first two starts. His command has become an issue at a time when the Orioles need him to be a steadying force on a volatile pitching staff.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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No. 3 starting pitcher Alfredo Simon told reporters today that he will undergo elbow surgery that figures to cost him the remainder of the 2009 season. Simon made two starts after winning a place in the rotation with a strong spring. Simon consulted with Orioles orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens and Birmingham, Ala., specialist James Andrews before making the decision in consultation with his agent.

He came up sore early in his second start and was diagnosed as having "degenerative tissue" in his pitching elbow. He has been replaced in the rotation by right-hander Brad Bergesen, who recorded his first victory in his major league debut on Tuesday night.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

O's manager Dave Trembley confirmed that Rich Hill will begin his injury rehabilitation assignment with a start for Frederick on Friday night. If all goes well, he'll throw 65 pitches and then bump up to 80-85 in his next outing. He was assigned to the Class-A club because it was the team in the area that will be at home this weekend. His future outings probably will be at either Bowie or Frederick, depending on which is home.

"Frederick is the only team at home, so we'll start there,'' Trembley said.

Trembley also explained that he scratched Adam Jones from Tuesday night's start partly because his hamstring was still tight and partly because of the rain delay and the likelihood that the field would be damp.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

White Sox

Chris Getz 2B
Josh Fields 3B
Carlos Quentin LF
Jim Thome DH
Jermaine Dye RF
Paul Konerko 1B
A.J. Pierzynski C
Alexei Ramirez SS
Brian Anderson CF

John Danks LHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton 3B
Luke Scott DH
Lou Montanez LF
Gregg Zaun C
Cesar Izturis SS

Jeremy Guthrie RHP

Lineup notes: Adam Jones will again try to return to the lineup after being a late scratch on Tuesday because of continuing soreness in his hamstring.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Brad Bergesen didn't hide his emotions after his solid performance. He admitted that he was very nervous when he went to the mound for the first inning, but it certainly didn't show. He got through the first without incident, even though he had to battle the White Sox hottest hitter -- Carlos Quentin -- through a 12-pitch at-bat to get his first major league strikeout.

"It was just surreal, getting up there and getting that first pitch out of the way,'' he said. "I couldn't believe it...I think nervous would be an understatement. My heart was beating about 1000 beats a second. I was trying to keep my composure as much as possible, but it was tough tonight."

The Quentin at-bat must have felt like it lasted forever, and it left an impression on manager Dave Trembley and catcher Gregg Zaun.

"I was just glad I got that one over with,'' Bergesen said, "I didn't think it was going to end. I was just fortunate I got him to chase one and get it over with."

When it was over, he got a huge ovation from the crowd, which initially booed Trembley for going to the mound to get him.

"Oh, it was unbelievable,'' Bergesen said. "It was something I've always dreamed about. To get that after the first start was something special."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (25)
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Obviously, Dave Trembley was quite pleased with the performance of young Brad Bergesen, and why not? The guy sure looked like he might be able to fill one of the holes in the starting rotation.

"It was a tremendous performance,'' Trembley said. "I think we've talked about his poise. Didn't get rattled. Great tempo. The guys liked playing behind him...He didn't flinch. He made great pitches when he needed to. Congratulations to him."

Trembley didn't shy away from the notion that Bergesen's debut might be the beginning of a new pitching era for the Orioles.

"It was only a matter of gime before it was going to start,'' he said. "I said before the game, 'Win or lose, it was going to be a big day in the history of the Orioles. There's more coming. They're not here yet. Bergesen is the first guy, let's enjoy him."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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The Orioles hitters clearly are happy to be home in front of their familiar hitting backdrop. The victory improved their record to 5-2 at Camden Yards and they have scored 43 runs in seven games here, or an average of just over six runs and just under 10 hits per game.

Nick Markakis drove home the O's sixth run with a single to left in the sixth inning that was his fourth hit of the game. It was his 10th career four-hit game. He came up one more time in the eighth inning, but walked ahead of Aubrey Huff's second home run of the evening.

Luke Scott had three hits and a walk in five plate appearances, raising his average from .267 to .306.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
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Brad Bergesen pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up three runs, leaving with no one on in the sixth after throwing 95 pitches, 58 for strikes. Dave Trembley was booed lustily when he came out to get Bergesen, but the boos turned to enthusiastic cheers as Bergesen walked off the mound.

Bergesen's line: 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K 1 HBP.

The fans weren't thrilled to see Danys Baez enter the game, but he quickly got the final out of the inning.

Don't know if the decision to remove Bergesen was because of his pitch count, because Trembley wanted to let him leave a winner or because the three batters coming up had each hit safely in their previous at-bats.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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Brad Bergesen held a pretty good White Sox lineup hitless for 3 2/3 innings and might still be working on a short no-hitter if Ty Wigginton had not made an error on a sharp grounder by Carlos Quentin with one out in the fourth.

Bergesen walked the leadoff man in the inning and struck out Josh Fields before the error. He also struck out Jim Thome before Jermaine Dye hit a sharp single through the middle for a run and Paul Konerko followed with a line single to right that scored Quentin. The inning ended there when Dye was thrown out by Nick Markakis trying to go from first to third.

Finally a fundamental mistake that worked in the Orioles favor. Dye broke the unwritten rule that you never make the first or last out of an inning at third base.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Not only did Brad Bergesen take a no-hitter through the first three innings, which was nice, but Aubrey Huff delivered a rare Eutaw Street shot in the bottom of the third to stake him to a two-run lead.

The two-run homer was right down the right field line and just barely stayed fair before becoming the 49th Eutaw Street home run in the history of Camden Yards. It was the second for Huff, who hit one in 2003 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays and the first since Sept. 8 of last year, when Luke Scott hit one against the Cleveland Indians.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Turns out, Lou Montanez will be in the lineup for tonight's game against the Chicago White Sox, if there is a game tonight. Adam Jones was originally set to return after missing a few games with a tight hamstring, but it tightened up again and he had to be scratched. Felix Pie will move over to center field and Montanez will start in left.

The tarp is still on the field and lightning continues to crackle above the ballpark, but the game probably will be played. The storm system is expected to move out at about 8 p.m. and there is little danger of the field becoming unplayable because of the ballpark's high-tech drainage system.

There's also the small matter of losing the date, since the White Sox are not scheduled to come back this way again this year and there's no offday at the end of the series. They'll do everything possible to play the game.

Don't know how the delay will affect young Brad Bergesen, who probably has had butterflies all weekend in anticipation of his major league debut. It's not the first time he's had to wait out the rain, but it's not quite the same as doing it in Bowie or Frederick.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

Former Baltimore Colt Stan White will be in studio with me tonight from 6 to 7 on WBAL (1090 AM) as we continue the countdown to the NFL draft on Sportsline.

If you're wondering how I can be so nimble, I just rushed back from the Dave Trembley news conference at Camden Yards to do the show at the WBAL studio, and I hope to be back in my seat in the press box before Brad Bergesen finishes his first inning of work. Hopefully, he'll make that a major challenge.

Tomorrow night on the program, Ravens director of Player Personnel Eric DeCosta will be my guest and Ravens beat reporter Jamison Hensley will stop in for the second half of the show. We'll have draft coverage all week, including a special preview show on Friday night.

Just a reminder: If you're out of signal range, you can go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Manager Dave Trembley made it clear during his pregame news briefing that Brad Bergesen is not here as a spot starter.

"It's a big night for the organization with Bergesen making his first start,'' Trembley said. "He was the guy we all agreed was the closest (rotation prospect) to breaking with the club. We sent him to Norfolk to work on some things.

"This is not a tryout. It's not a one-time deal. He's in the rotation."

Somebody asked Trembley what would constitute a successful night for Bergesen tonight.

"Not having to hand me the ball,'' he replied.

He also gave a quick rundown of the injury and roster situation, explaining that Lou Montanez is not in town yet and will start tomorrow night's game against left-hander John Danks. Ryan Freel returned from Boston today and will be examined by the team physician before there will be full disclosure of the extent of the head injury he suffered in Monday's game at Fenway Park.

Trembley announced that Rich Hill will leave on an injury rehab assignment to one of the minor league affiliates at the end of this week. He can stay down a month after he reports, and he'll probably use most of that month since the club wants him to make at least three or four starts and build up to more than 100 pitches.

The Orioles manager said he isn't worried about how the club will bounce back after the four-game sweep in Boston.

"I believe everybody is experienced enough to know that ups and downs are part of the game,'' he said. "I don't think we're the only team in the major leagues that's having trouble with pitching. But we need to pitch better."

The Felix Pie experiment came up in the conversation, as it probably will fairly regularly over the next few weeks, and Trembley gave the first hint that he may not necessarily be the everyday starter in left field through the All-Star break.

"I'll do what's best for him and the team,'' Trembley said, "and observe the situation closely."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Just baseball
        

White Sox

Chris Getz 2B
Josh Fields 3B
Carlos Quentin LF
Jim Thome DH
Jermaine Dye RF
Paul Konerko 1B
A.J. Pierzynski C
Alexei Ramirez SS
Brian Anderson CF

Jose Contreras RHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton 3B
Luke Scott DH
Gregg Zaun C
Felix Pie LF
Cesar Izturis SS

Brad Bergesen RHP

Lineup notes: Adam Jones (hamstring strain) was out for early stretching and batting practice and fared well enough to return to the starting lineup. Felix Pie also was out early taking fly balls in left field. He'll start tonight, even though Lou Montanez is en route from Norfolk. Look for Montanez to start tomorrow night against left-hander John Danks, though that's going to be a mixed blessing for Lou. Danks has given up just one run over 12 innings and struck out 13 batters in his first two starts.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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The Orioles weren't the only team fiddling with their roster today. The White Sox designated right-handed reliever Mike MacDougal for assignment and recalled right-hander Jack Egbert from Triple-A Charlotte.

Obviously, the Orioles aren't the only team with some bullpen depth issues, since Egbert had a 6.43 ERA (five earned runs in seven innings) in five minor league appearances. MacDougal, who broke through in 2003 with 27 saves for the Kansas City Royals, but has struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness since the White Sox acquired him in a midseason deal in 2006.

Slightly interesting side note: MacDougal was drafted twice by the Orioles (1996 and 1998), but did not sign with them either time.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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When Ryan Freel didn't get up after he was hit in the head by a pickoff throw from Justin Masterson on Monday, it wasn't hard to figure what was going to happen next. When Freel spent last night in a Boston hospital for observation, I think everyone pretty much figured that Lou Montanez was headed up today. Freel was just placed on the disabled list opening a space on the 25-man roster.

Montanez deserved to make the team out of spring training, but was blocked by the Felix Pie experiment...and he wasn't alone. Fellow outfield prospect Nolan Reimold also had a great spring and is off to a terrific start at Triple-A Norfolk, but Montanez showed last year he can be productive off the bench at the major league level.

To fill the slot vacated by Montanez on the Tides roster, outfielder Jeff Fiorentino has been moved up to Triple-A from the Bowie roster. OF Joe Nowicki will go from Class-A Aberdeen to Bowie to fill the roster spot left open by Fiorentino.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
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With Ryan Freel remaining in the hospital in Boston after getting hit in the head by a pickoff throw and Adam Jones questionable for Tuesday night's series opener against the White Sox at Camden Yards with a sore hamstring, I've got to believe the Orioles will make a roster move to bring up one of the Triple-A outfielders along with the official promotion of Brad Bergesen on Tuesday.

Both Lou Montanez and Nolan Reimold were in the starting lineup that was posted before tonight's game between Norfolk and Charlotte was postponed because of wet grounds, but that doesn't mean one of the wasn't going to get the word after the game.

My guess is that Montanez will be at Camden Yards when I get to the ballpark on Tuesday afternoon, but it's just a guess.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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Before you start talking about the "Sunday jinx," you better look at the Orioles' overall record in day games so far. They did win on Opening Day, but that game started at 4:20 p.m. after a brief rain delay. In games that start in the early afternoon (or, in today's case, the late morning), the Orioles are now 0-4.

Of course, before you start rooting for perpetual twilight, you might want to consider that only one of those four games (yesterday's) was pitched by either of the team's top two starters. So, really, it's not a jinx. It's not even a coincidence.

Sorry symmetry dept: The O's and Red Sox passed each other stepping through the looking glass over the past four games. The O's were 6-3 when the series started and the Red Sox were 3-6. Now the Orioles are 6-7 and the Red Sox are 7-6.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Mark Hendrickson pitched pretty well for five innings, especially when you factor in the drop by Cesar Izturis that played a big role in the two-run rally by the Red Sox in the first. He has pitched well enough to win two of the three times he has started, which you have to be willing to accept from the guy who was designated as the No. 5 starter out of spring training.

That said, he throws so many pitches that he isn't going to get deep into the game, which is going to cost him the chance to win some of the games in which he keeps the team close. The high pitch counts also have an effect on the sharpness of the defense. It probably isn't a total coincidence that two of the Orioles biggest defensive breakdowns have come in his last two starts, but that is no excuse for the way the club has struggled in the field recently. The O's started the season playing great defense and clearly have lost some focus as their overall fortunes have turned.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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Orioles utilityman Ryan Freel has been taken to a local hospital for tests after being his above the ear by a pickoff throw at second base. Red Sox starter Justin Masterson hit him right on the edge of the helmet and Freel stayed down for a long time, but club officials reported he was responsive when trainer Richie Bancells went out to attend to him.

No doubt, he suffered at least a mild concussion, which could create a pretext for the Orioles to place him on the disabled list and recall Lou Montanez from Triple-A Norfolk. Club officials aren't talking, but there have been whispers that they have been unimpressed with Freel's performance and attitude and may be looking for an excuse to make a change.

Why Montanez and not International League Player of the Week Nolan Reimold? Because the player who is recalled (if there is a move) will not play every day and Montanez showed with his solid performance at the major league level last year he can perform off the bench.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Norfolk outfielder Nolan Reimold was named International League Player of the Week this morning, after hitting .464 (13 for 28) last week and improving his position among the league leaders in several departments.

Reimold (shown at right after hitting a home run this spring) his batting .415 overall with three homers, 14 RBI, 17 hits and a .457 on-base percentage, to rank in the top five in the league in each of those departments. He also had a great spring in major league camp, but was sent out early because the Orioles already had decided to give Felix Pie the first opportunity to win the full-time job in left field.

Meanwhile, Pie is batting .161 with a home run and two RBI and has been an adventure in the outfield. The club seems committed to giving him several months to establish himself as the multi-tool player he was projected to be as a top prospect in the Chicago Cubs organization, but Reimold and Tides teammate Lou Montanez are not making that decision look very good at the moment.

The International League Pitcher of the Week was Lehigh Valley's Justin Lehr, a 31-year-old journeyman who starred in college at USC. He was 2-0 last week and gave up just two runs in 11 1/3 innings (1.62 ERA).

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
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The Orioles have lost two night games and an afternoon game to the Boston Red Sox, so maybe tomorrow's morning game will do the trick. There was no shame in today's 2-1 loss, but it was still the fourth loss in a row for the O's, who now have evened their record at 6-6 after a strong start.

Koji Uehara pitched very well, which was encouraging after his seven-run struggle against the Texas Rangers, but the Orioles fell for the seventh time in seven career decisions for Red Sox starter Jon Lester, who got well against them after getting off to an 0-2 start.

This one came down to bloop RBI single by Mike Lowell and -- in my mind -- a two-on, no-out situation in the sixth in which the Orioles could not get a sacrifice bunt down with the heart of the order coming to the plate. Now, it's up to Mark Hendrickson to avert a four-game sweep in a series that started with the Orioles jumping out to a seven-run lead on Friday night.

So it goes.

Minor league update: Brian Matusz appears to be destined for his first professional loss today in Frederick. He pitched six innings, struck out eight and gave up just one earned run, but the Salem Red Sox scored a total of four runs off him on seven hits and broke open a close game after he left. They lead, 8-3, in the eighth inning.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
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Koji Uehara has given up two runs on five hits over six innings, for all the good it has done him. If you had asked manager Dave Trembley to sign a contract for six innings and two runs today, he would have ripped the pen out of your hand, but the Orioles trail by two and have fallen victim to some bad injury luck.

The loss of Adam Jones -- however brief -- already has cost them. His spot in the order came up with two runners on and nobody out in the top of th sixth inning, but Felix Pie made a passing attempt at a sacrifice bunt and eventually struck out. Pie hasn't looked too sharp in the outfield either, but don't start. He's going to get more than two weeks to get comfortable in the field and at the plate.

Matusz update: Pitching prospect Brian Matusz got off to a rocky start today in Frederick, but settled down after giving up a three-spot in the first inning. He has held the Salem Red Sox scoreless since then and has seven strikeouts through five innings.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
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Koji Uehara does not seem the least bit intimidated by cozy Fenway Park. He gave up a run on the second inning, but it was on a soft fly ball by Mike Lowell that found some empty outfield between Nick Markakis, Felix Pie and Brian Roberts. Otherwise, he would be through three scoreless innings.

Down on the farm: Left-hander Brian Matusz is making his home debut at Frederick this afternoon and it's not going great so far. He gave up three runs in the first and had to work out of a two-on, two-out jam in the second. The Salem Red Sox lead, 3-2, in the bottom of the second.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The last thing the Orioles needed in the midst of their pitching crisis was for center fielder Adam Jones to hobble off the field after his first at-bat today with a sore hamstring. He was replaced in center field by Felix Pie and probably will be lost for the next few days.

That's a big hit, since he's been one of the most productive and entertaining players in the lineup. It'll be an even bigger hit if the club decides to play it safe and put on the disabled list for a couple of weeks, though that might create an early opportunity for sizzling Norfolk outfielder Lou Montanez.

Well, no sense getting ahead of ourselves. Just a "tight" hamstring until club officials say otherwise.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
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Koji Uehara is 2-0 going into today's game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, but it's hard to feel to confident after he gave up seven runs his last time out to raise his ERA to 7.20. If you want a little more uncertainty, he'll be pitching to Chad Moeller for the first time and Cesar Izturis is getting the day off.

The Orioles are 0-3 with Moeller in the starting lineup, but I wouldn't hold that against him. He has largely been assigned the lesser members of the rotation -- until today -- and plays in all the games that manager Dave Trembley uses to rest some of the regulars.

Guess we'll know more today. Undefeated pitcher throwing to a winless catcher. Something's got to give.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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This is a totally non-partisan statement that should not be construed as some kind of excuse for the Orioles' 6-4 loss to the Red Sox tonight. Home plate umpire Doug Eddings needs to go back to one of the umpire academies and learn the strike zone. He was absolutely all over the place tonight, and the only reason it advantaged the Red Sox was because they had the better starting pitcher and a catcher who wasn't subtle about pulling the ball back over the plate.

Most experienced umpires aren't fooled by framing, and nobody should have been fooled by Jason Varitek snatching ankle-high pitches and jerking them up to knee level, but maybe the odd angle of Varitek's crouch makes it hard to see over his shoulder. If so, good for him. He did his job and Eddings didn't do his.

It's pretty sweet when you're a power pitcher like Josh Beckett and you get six inches off the plate and three extra inches at the top and bottom of the strike zone. There were a couple of glaring examples while closer Jonathan Papelbon was on the mound in the ninth, too, but it was the same strike zone for both teams.

The same ridiculous strike zone, but the Red Sox did a much better job of exploiting it.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
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When you've been in this business awhile, you become pretty jaded about the way teams report injuries. After Matt Wieters pulled up on Friday night after a first-inning single against the Gwinnett Braves, the early indication was that he suffered some kind of hamstring strain.

Not that complicated.

The Orioles and Norfolk Tides, clearly aware of the heightened fan interest in Wieters, tried to water it down by calling it a "hamstring cramp" while waiting for him to be re-examined today. Now, the injury has been upgraded slightly to a mild strain, but team officials continue to say he'll be out only a day or two.

Maybe I'm crazy, but it has been my experience that guys who come back in two or three days from hamstring strains usually end up on the disabled list, like Melvin Mora did this past week.

Nobody's lying here or trying to put anything over on anybody. It's just the industry standard to soft sell injuries until it is obvious they are more significant. In this case, you have to believe the organization will handle Wieters with kid gloves and keep him on the sidelines for a week or more to make sure the hamstring is 100 percent healed. It's not like those Triple-A games count in the AL East standings.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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If ever there was a game that fit the requirements to be a "reverse lock,'' tonight's game between the Orioles and Red Sox is it. My old friend Jim Henneman, who is the keeper of the flame when it comes to the concept of the reverse lock, would certainly agree that a game that pits Josh Beckett against Adam Eaton (left) at Fenway Park would seem like a perfect candidate for one of the most unlikely upsets of the year.

Factor in the psychological ramifications of Friday night's discouraging loss and the continuing issues in the Orioles bullpen and the matchup seems too bad to be true.

That said, I'm NOT waxing counter-intuitive about tonight's game. O's pre-and-post host Jim Hunter was saying late last night that this Orioles team is "resilient" enough to bounce back, but that's my buddy Jim. If he had been at the Hindenburg disaster, he would have said it was a pretty soft landing, all things considered, and that plenty of good seats were still available for the return trip to Berlin.

I'm thinking this might be a good night to rent a movie. You can always stop by here for the occasional update on the game, because I have to watch it.

AP photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
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Got dozens of responses to my call for your best Orioles version of the classic Boston Braves lament "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." The panel of judges -- me -- carefully considered every entry and here are the winners:

1. "Guthrie and Koji and pray for snowji" -- Matt from Yorktown.

2. "Guthrie and Uehara and say sayonara" -- Several posters.

3. "Guthrie and Koji and grab the NattyBohji" -- Timothy Morris

4. "Koji and Jeremy; the other three scare me." -- Al East

5. "Guthrie and Koji and... Wait a second... Isn't Koji the guy with the 7.20 ERA?" -- b

6. "Jeremy and Koji and then we imploji" -- Eddward

7. "Minus Hendrickson and Eaton, we can't be beaton" -- Anonymous

8. "Guthrie and Koji, then three guys who blowji" -- Dave

9. "Guthrie and Uehara and send more scouts to Guadalajara" -- fox

10. "Jeremy and Koji-san, then prey for Bergesen!" -- Mike

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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When the Orioles scored seven runs off of Brad Penny in the second inning, this game should have been all but over. Most teams won't blow a seven-run lead all year, but I'm sure that no one thought the Orioles could safely chalk up the win with the Red Sox set to bat eight more times.

Theoretically, however, the Orioles also had seven more innings to build on that lead, but that's not how it works. Don't want to go all psycho-babble on you, but teams tend to sit on a giant lead and that's exactly what the Orioles did. Instead of continuing to work the count and press their advantage, they started to waste at-bats and wait for the Red Sox to battle back into the game.

Hate to be fatalistic, but I really think the O's jumped the shark after the seven-run rally. I think they're going to get torched the rest of the weekend in Boston. Guthrie walked too many guys with that big cushion and Danys Baez psyched himself out when he hit Kevin Youklis in the head and an opportunity to get a leg up in this tough four-game series went to waste in a very ugly way.

Too bad. It would have been a real nice win.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
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Jeremy Guthrie is considered the Orioles No.1 starter, but he coughed up what remained of an early seven-run lead by allowing the Boston Red Sox to go from none on and two outs to three runs across in the bottom of the fifth -- the game-tying two-run double coming on an 0-2 pitch to the No. 9 hitter.

Sure, you can point to the error by Aubrey Huff that kept the inning alive, but Guthrie painted himself into a corner by walking two guys following a two-out triple by J.D. Drew.

Let's be fair. Jeremy is a good pitcher, but he's the ace by default and his performance tonight just illustrated that he has been saddled with too much responsibility for a pitcher of his major league experience.

When your go-to guy can't hold a seven-run lead, you've got to wonder what's going to happen the rest of the weekend. Probably won't be good.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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It's not easy to blow a seven-run lead by the end of the third inning, but you had to wonder if Jeremy Guthrie was equal to that dubious task. He followed up the Red Sox four-spot in the second inning by giving up a leadoff home run to J.D. Drew in the third, but settled down to get out of the inning with the Orioles hanging onto a now-precarious 7-5 lead.

The broadcasters must have said 20 times during the Texas series that no lead was safe at The Ballpark at Arlington. Now, we're going to hear the same thing for four days at Fenway Park. With all due respect, this isn't about the size of the stadium or whether the ball carries well in Texas or Boston.

Right now, the O's pitching staff is even more explosive than the red-hot Orioles lineup.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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OK, now you can panic. Top prospect Matt Wieters singled in his first at-bat tonight against the Gwinnett Braves and then had to be removed for a pinch runner with an apparent hamstring strain. Orioles officials told O's beat writer Jeff Zrebiec they are aware of the situation and there will be an update when they know more.

Strange coincidence that this happened on the first day the Orioles could have purchased his contract and still preserved seven seasons under reserve before he can become a free agent. He wasn't coming up right away, but he had just completed the 12 days he had to stay off the roster the way Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria did last year.

Instant update: Orioles public relations guy Jeff Lantz just told the reporters in the Fenway Park press box that Wieters suffered a "hamstring cramp" and was removed from the game against Gwinnett for precautionary reasons. His condition will be re-evaluated tomorrow.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)
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Ryan Freel will start in left field for the Orioles in tonight's series opener against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, which probably seems odd since Sox pitcher Brad Penny is right-handed and Freel bats from the right side, while regular left fielder Felix Pie is a left-handed hitter.

The reason apparently is Freel's .421 lifetime batting average against Penny. He has eight hits in 19 at-bats over the past six seasons and a .522 on-base percentage. Pie has never faced Penny in a regular season game.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Since I'm rushing into town to display my terrific sense of political humor on The Week in Review on WBAL (1090 AM) at noon, I'm going to leave you with a task. I've been hearing a lot of people trying to apply their own version of "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" to the Orioles' rotation.

The most popular one seems to be, "Guthrie and Uehara and there's no tomarra" or some variation on that theme.

My favorite so far came from Matt in Yorktown: "Guthrie and Koji and pray for snowji."

By the way, if you're not familiar with the original, Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain had a total of eight 20-win performances over a five-year span (1946-50) for the Boston Braves, but the Braves only won the pennant once in that span and finished fourth three times.

Now it's your turn.

Radio dogma: If you're outside of signal range today, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon at noon. I promise to be funny and endearing at the same time.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (73)
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Won't be long before Orioles fans are clamoring for Troy Patton to get the call to enter the major league rotation, especially after he dominated the Akron Aeros for the second time in this new Double-A season.

Patton pitched six scoreless innings tonight in the home opener at Prince George's Stadium, giving up three hits and striking out six. He now has pitched 11 scoreless innings in his first two appearances for the Baysox. Not bad for a guy coming off labrum surgery.

Club officials indicated during the spring that they believe Patton should stay in the minors for much of the season because of the time and experience he lost after getting his shoulder fixed. That may be the plan, but Andy MacPhail told me on Tuesday that he will not hold a guy back if he's "cutting through his level like a knife through butter."

Patton definitely isn't a candidate to come up soon, but he might be headed to Triple-A ahead of schedule, which could put him in position to get a call later in the season.

Left-hander Wilfrido Perez, who was so impressive in major league spring training, nailed down the 2-0 victory to record his third save. He has yet to give up an earned run.

Bonus minor league update: Chris Waters bounced back from a rocky first Triple-A outing and pitched six shutout innings against Charlotte. He gave up just two hits and struck out four and, yes, is under consideration for a start next week.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
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The Bowie Baysox unveil this year's team for the home crowd tonight at Prince George's Stadium, and it's not a bad night to attend. Orioles prospect Troy Patton will start against the Akron Aeros after pitching very well (5 IP, 0R, 3H, 3BB, 3K) in his 2009 debut at Akron on April 10, and first baseman Brandon Snyder (right) has gotten off to a trememdous start at the plate. He batted .419 with two homers and seven RBIs on the season-opening seven-game road trip.

American Idol contestant Ju'Not Joyner of Bowie will sing the National Anthem and Lt. Governor Anthony Brown will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

That's just part of a big weekend for the local minor league affiliates. The Delmarva Shorebirds also kick off their home schedule tonight against Lake County and the Frederick Keys will celebrate opening night on Friday against the Salem Red Sox with a fireworks show.

The Norfolk Tides open at home on Monday night against Charlotte.

Radio days: Join me tonight at six for Sportsline on WBAL and WBAL.com. We'll be talking Orioles and getting your thoughts on Wednesday night's 19-6 beatdown in Texas. If you're not in signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Baltimore Sun photo by Doug Kapustin

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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There's a lot of pitching angst out there right now, which is probably understandable after the Orioles' staff gave up 19 runs last night. It was ugly, but let's keep it in its proper context. Did anybody think, coming into the season, that Mark Hendrickson and Brian Bass were going to be lights out? Did anyone imagine the Orioles would win their first three series against the Yankees, Rays and Rangers?

The tone of some of the posts makes me think some fans would be happier if the Orioles were 3-6 and they had lost by closer scores.

The starting rotation still has some huge holes, but everyone knew coming in that it was going to be a patchwork proposition. Nobody could have predicted Alfredo Simon would get hurt in his second start, but nobody seriously believed four weeks ago that he would even get two starts this year.

Keep in mind while you're picking the operation apart that most of the free agent pitchers fans were clamoring for the Orioles to sign in January are not pitching right now, including Pedro Martinez, who -- for some reason -- has been passed over by 29 other teams, too. MacPhail never lied about the club's intentions this year, but things are actually going pretty well right now and I'm guessing the time fast approaches when prospect Brad Bergesen begins the two-year parade of truly promising young pitchers coming up from the minor leagues.

It was always going to be a sketchy year, so you've got to enjoy the good times while you can. The glass is still half full right now. Might not be next week, so sip it slowly and savor it.

Now, back to last night's game.

Wow, what a beating!

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (72)
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Guess I picked the wrong week to sit Ian Kinsler on my fantasy team.

The Texas Rangers leadoff man has put on one of the great batting displays you're ever going to see, hitting for the cycle and adding another single and double for good measure in tonight's ridiculous 19-6 victory. In one night, he raised his batting average from .375 to .474.

Kinsler became the fourth player in Texas Rangers history to hit for the cycle, joining Gary Matthews Jr., Mark Teixeira and Oddibe McDowell. He is the first Rangers hitter to get six hits in a nine-inning game.

Teammate Marlon Byrd had to play bridesmaid with a five-hit performance in the game, and Nelson Cruz just knocked a ball off the wall with the bases-loaded to run his RBI total for the game to 6.

I didn't really sit Kinsler on my fantasy team. I don't even have a fantasy team. I do have a couple of fantasies, but I'll keep them to myself.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
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Radhames Liz didn't have to wait long to get some feedback on his breaking stuff. Nelson Cruz just launched his first pitch over the fence in right center field for a grand slam that has broken the game wide open.

Welcome back.

Liz walked the second batter he faced, gave up a triple to Elvis Andrus and just allowed Ian Kinsler's fourth hit of the game. This is tough to watch.

Strange trend: For the third straight time, the Orioles have won the first two games of a series and looked like a giant orange-and-black pinata in the series finale -- the pitching staff giving up at least 11 runs in each.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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Mark Hendrickson isn't pitching great, but you've got to cut him a little slack in the third inning. I mean, how many outs do you expect the guy to get in one inning? Cesar Izturis made his first error of the year on that bouncer by Michael Young and Brian Roberts should have made the play on the ground ball by Hank Blalock that slipped under his glove, though it was ruled a hit.

That means Hendrickson had gotten four outs before any serious damage was done. He still made life tough on himself by walking a couple of guys in the three-run inning but he's not the type of pitcher who can afford to waste playable ground balls.

Don't misunderstand. I'm not criticizing the defense. Izturis and Roberts are great defensive players, but they're not going to be perfect. I'm just trying to keep Hendrickson's outing in perspective.

Instant update: Okay, now I am being critical. Brian Roberts just made a throwing error in the fourth inning on a possible double-play ball. Hendrickson again has gotten the equivalent of four outs in this inning and he just gave way to Radhames Liz with the bases loaded and two runs across.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Several posters pointed out that in analyzing the Orioles rotation, it was incorrect to focus on Monday as the day the Orioles would have to insert a replacement for injured right-hander Alfredo Simon, who was just placed on the disabled list and could be lost for several weeks.

That's technically true, and manager Dave Trembley speculated that the team probably would come back with Mark Hendrickson on (almost) regular rest Monday morning at Fenway Park.

Maybe I'm being stubborn, but I don't know if that's necessarily the best way to go about it -- sending a hittable left-hander on what amounts to 3 1/2 days rest at one of the most right-handed-hitter-friendly ballparks in the major leagues.

If the O's decide to hold Brian Bass back to start, I would start him on Monday and keep Hendrickson in the fifth slot. If the plan, however, is definitely to bring up 2008 Orioles Minor League Pitcher of the Year Brad Bergesen, I would agree it's better to debut him at Camden Yards on Tuesday against the heavily right-handed lineup of the Chicago White Sox, regardless of the ramifications on Monday.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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The Orioles have not yet announced who will take the place of Alfredo Simon on the pitching staff. They haven't even announced that Simon will go on the disabled list -- though that's a foregone conclusion.

There has been speculation that they will call up Radhames Liz, which seems pretty logical, but it doesn't seem likely he would be brought up to take Simon's place in the starting rotation. If that was the case, there would be no reason to bring him up now, since the Orioles need somebody who can pitch out of the bullpen right away and they wouldn't bring up a guy to sit around for four days.

If Liz is recalled, that means one of two things. He will be the long guy until the Orioles need a starter on Monday in Boston, and then the Orioles figure to bring up Brad Bergesen to make the Fenway start, or Liz would come up to fill the Brian Bass role and Bass would be positioned to make the spot start.

My guess would be that if Liz comes up, he joins Bass in the long role and the Orioles call up someone for Monday. The question will be who goes to make room, and that may depend on the way Bass pitches in his next outing.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (33)
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The Orioles figured to stick with the current incarnation of the starting rotation at least for the first month of the season, but they'll have to consider dipping down into their minor league pitching reserves to fill the slot in the rotation that was just vacated by No. 3 starter Alfredo Simon.

Simon left the game in the second inning with elbow soreness and is headed back to Baltimore to have it evaluated. It fair to assume that he won't be available for his next scheduled start, so the Orioles will have to come up with another starter. They could use Brian Bass -- depending on how much he's needed over the next few days -- or call up one of the more experienced Triple-A guys, either 2008 Orioles Minor League Pitcher of the Year Brad Bergesen, David Hernandez or Chris Waters.

I'm going to guess they hold off on a pitching move, since middle reliever and possible swingman Matt Albers already is on the way back to take the roster spot vacated by Melvin Mora when he goes on the DL Wednesday. If they go for a position player to replace Simon, it probably would be Scott Moore.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (45)
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The Orioles enter tonight's game ranked fifth in the major leagues with 43 runs. That's also fifth in the American League, since the top four teams are the Blue Jays (54), Tigers (47), Rangers (47) and Rays (44). That's pretty good. Even better, if you go by average runs per game, the O's move up to third (6.14).

Now, for the flipside. The Orioles also entered tonight's game ranked fifth in the major leagues in most runs allowed (45). That's not so good and it's plenty of reason for the club to feel fortunate to have won five of its first seven games.

It's also reason for fans to wonder if the Orioles will do something to shore up the staff soon. If so, it will be from within the organization. Club officials say there is no interest in bringing somebody in from outside right now, which means you can stop clamoring for the O's to sign Pedro Martinez. The next guy up will probably be Brad Bergesen if the club needs to fill a slot in the rotation, though the front office still is holding out hope that Rich Hill will show up by early May.

If the issue is long relief, I wouldn't mind seeing David Hernandez get a chance to come up and fill that role.

Schmuck multimedia overload: Look for my column on the wide production gap between the Orioles lineup and pitching staff later tonight at baltimoresun.com and in the print edition Wednesday. Also, be sure and join me tonight for Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM).

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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Top prospect Matt Wieters had a couple of hits for the Norfolk Tides last night to raise his average to .200, which should ease some of the concern that had cropped up with his 1-for-11 performance in the team's first regular-season series against the Durham Bulls.

Nobody in the organization was worried about Wieters getting off to a slow start at the Triple-A level. He just spent spring training hitting anything that got within sniffing distance of home plate, so the Orioles are confident he'll hit at any level. I don't believe there is a competitive scenario at Norfolk that would change the date of his eventual arrival at the major league level.

Meanwhile, teammates Lou Montanez and Nolan Reimold continued to scorch the ball, getting three hits each in last night's 7-0 victory over Charlotte. Montanez is batting .588 and Reimold is batting .412, but it wasn't the best day to make the argument that either one of them should be starting ahead of Felix Pie on the major league club.

Pie's three-hit performance, which included his first Orioles home run and a key single in the Orioles' five-run rally in the fifth, raised his average to a respectable .278. His defensive performance is more of an issue at this point, since he continues to look uncomfortable in left field.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (26)
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Bet you didn't know you could hold your breath for a whole inning, but you might have to get into the habit. The Orioles hammered Rangers starter Vicente Padilla and appeared to take a commanding lead, only to find themselves up against the wall -- literally -- in the bottom of the ninth.

Nick Markakis began his campaign for the Gold Glove by crashing the fence to make a terrific game-saving catch and closer George Sherrill performed another one of his great escapes as the Orioles won their third consecutive series opener.

I mean, what did you expect at the Ballpark at Arlington, a stadium known for games just like this one. The Rangers are a big-swinging team and the Orioles have quickly established themselves as a very legitimate offensive machine. The O's swung the bats just well enough to get Koji Uehara his second victory in spite of a start that unraveled in the middle innings.

Everyone knew there were going to be games like this. Orioles fans can only hope most of them end the same way.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Maybe Aubrey Huff should thank Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon for helping him get into a groove at the plate. He got off to a slow start, but seemed to find his stroke poking a couple of balls into left field to defeat the Ray's exaggerated infield shift over the weekend at Camden Yards.

In tonight's game at The Ballpark at Arlington, he has gone the other way repeatedly on the way to a breakout four-hit performance that includes three singles, a double and three RBI. And he could get up one more time.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Baltimore Sun Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec is reporting that third baseman Melvin Mora was held out of the Orioles lineup tonight because of increasing soreness in the hamstring he injured during the World Baseball Classic.

We'll get an update from Jeff on Sportsline, which starts at six on WBAL and WBAL.com.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Today's featured comment comes from Johnboy, who read about Canada native and former O's pitcher Erik Bedard and became curious about another Canadian former Oriole:

Johnboy's take: Speaking of home grown guys making it good-- do you have any news on where Adam Loewen is and how his transition is going?

Pete's reply: Adam was assigned to the Blue Jays' Class-A club at Dunedin, Fla., but he started the minor league season on the 7-day disabled list with a shoulder injury. I put a call in to the team today and was told he is expected to be activated on Thursday and could make his minor league debut as a position player this weekend.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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David Steele and I did another live Orioles chat today on baltimoresun.com. If you missed it, click below to read the chat transcript.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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The Orioles are putting together a Kangaroo Court this season, with catcher Gregg Zaun set to preside as judge when it is called to order later this month.

Lots of teams have held court over the years, but one of the most famous Kangaroo Courts was here in Baltimore in the early 1970s, with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson perhaps the most famous Kangaroo magistrate in baseball history.

The Kangaroo Court concept is meant to be fun -- how else do you explain Frank fining Brooks Robinson for "showboating" in the 1970 World Series -- but the courts also have a practical purpose. They allow players to call other players on fundamental errors and lapses in baseball etiquette in a non-confrontational setting.

The money collected either goes to charity or is used for some kind of late-season team meal or party...or both.

"It's just a way to keep people accountable,'' said Zaun. "It's also a good excuse to raise some money and get everybody together for dinner."

A couple of plugs: I'll be holding a live chat at noon at the baltimoresun.com site along with fellow columnist David Steele today and I'll be back on the air for my nightly talk show on WBAL (1090 AM) and WBAL.com at six. So you've got two opportunities to jump me today. Don't waste them.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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Former Orioles pitcher Erik Bedard pitched into the ninth inning yesterday against the Oakland A's and gave up no runs and just three hits. He is 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA in two starts and is tied for the American League lead with 15 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings.

Now, I know for a fact that he got a little nostalgic for Baltimore last year and he can become a free agent after this year, but here's the Bedard paradox. If he has a stellar year -- and he certainly has the talent to win 17 games and have a top five ERA -- he's actually less likely to end up back here than if he wins 13 games and has a 3.90 ERA.

If he has a great year, he could be the top free agent pitcher on the market, which would probably price him out of Baltimore, since Andy MacPhail has made it clear that he prefers to develop pitching and use the free agent market to fill holes in the everyday lineup.

Obviously, the Orioles are going to be focused on the bright pitchers they already have in the organization, but even if Jake Arrieta, Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz are close, there's room for another front-line guy if they really hope to compete with the Yankees and Red Sox in 2010 and beyond.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
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This year's Masters was for all of us who have never missed that foot-wide tree trunk 20 yards in front of us. Angel Cabrera appeared ready to bow out of the three-way playoff on the first playoff hole when he dropped his tee shot into the pine straw on the right side of the fairway on 18. He gambled on bending a shot through the trees, but hit one of them squarely -- knocking another hole in the "90 percent air" theory of off-the-fairway play.

The golf gods were with him, however, and the ball caromed off the tree right to the middle of the fairway. He made a nice third shot and a six-foot putt to stay alive, then won the 20th hole when Perry's second shot missed the green badly to the left.

What a tournament. Tiger and Phil made a big rush at the end, but also faded at the end. Perry was bidding to become the oldest player ever to win a major, so he was the sentimental favorite, but he also faltered at the end when the Masters was his to win.

Great drama. Great finish. Where's my three-wood?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

Though Sunday's 11-3 loss was not pretty, it's important to keep the whole week in proper perspective. Nobody predicted that the Orioles would win both series against the Yankees and Rays -- two teams that some pretty smart people think are the best two teams in the American League.

The problem with a transitional season like this is that some early success can breed frustration over the team's unwillingness to use all of its available talent to win now. I agree with a majority of posters here that I'd rather see Brad Bergesen take the mound in the fifth slot than Adam Eaton, but the plan obviously was to give him a taste of the Triple-A level before bringing him up.

Eaton probably will pitch again in Boston. I don't believe manager Dave Trembley and pitching coach Rick Kranitz will use the offday Thursday to skip him. I think they will pitch him and give Koji Uehara an extra day of rest, because Koji is just getting accustomed to pitching in a five-day rotation.

If the results are similar to today's, it wouldn't surprise me if the Orioles then make the move to Bergesen to start against the White Sox on April 23 or against the Angels on April 28 at Camden Yards. I have no inside info on this, but it seems logical.

Don't think it was lost on Trembley or Andy MacPhail the contrast in the energy level at Oriole Park today as opposed to the previous two nights. Part of that was a very small crowd on a cold Easter afternoon. But when your starter needs 100 pitches to get through four innings, the whole team goes flat.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
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Manager Dave Trembley conceded before the game that the decision to send out Matt Albers was based more on business than competitive considerations. Albers had a minor league option left and long guy Brian Bass did not. It probably mattered that Albers pitched on Saturday night and would not have been available today, but Dave didn't hide behind that when he was asked to explain the move.

"I would say the business side, the option, probably weighed heavily in the decision,'' Trembley said. "Andy and I both agreed at the start of the season, we didn’t want to take a chance losing somebody to another club this early in the year. We felt like if we took somebody off, somebody was going to get claimed. We just didn’t want that to happen."

The move doesn't look too good right now. Bass came on in the fifth with the Orioles still within striking distance of the Rays and gave up four runs -- three of them on a home run by Ben Zobrist. Current score: Rays 8, Orioles 0.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
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Adam Eaton celebrated the end of his scoreless fourth inning by throwing his 100th pitch of the game. Somehow, he got out of the inning without a run, even though he gave up a single to center field with a runner at third base.

Rays outfielder Gabe Gross had to wait at third on a shallow fly ball by Carl Crawford. Gross still outran the throw home, but tripped over catcher Chad Moeller and missed the plate. What followed was a quick ballet in which Gross evaded a tag by Moeller and scrambled back toward the plate, but Moeller dived after him and got the glove on his foot before he could score the run.

Moeller was shaken up on the play, but remained in the game. Eaton got through the inning, but was replaced by long reliever Brian Bass to open the fifth.

His line: 4 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Adam Eaton got through a scoreless first inning in spite of a pair of hits, but couldn't get the third out of the second inning before the Rays scored four two-out runs, three of them on a triple by Carl Crawford.

He survived the third without further damage, but it has been a struggle throughout, as evidenced by the fact that he already has thrown 77 pitches.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Manager Dave Trembley reflected on Saturday night's decision to option reliever Matt Albers to Triple-A Norfolk to make room for today's activation of starter Adam Eaton.

"It wasn't an easy move,'' Trembley said. "It was something we talked about for a long time. Tough decision. We talked to Matt for a long time about it. He just has to go down and pitch and stay positive, because it's a long season and he'll be back."

The Orioles apparently will continue to jockey the roster to maximize the 12-man pitching staff, which should be sufficient if the rotation doesn't come unraveled.

"If they (the starters) give us six innings, it's workable,'' Trembley said. "If you get less than six innings on successive nights, it becomes a problem."

Somebody pointed out to Trembley that the Orioles will be donning their Baltimore road jerseys for the first time in the regular season on Monday in Texas. His thoughts on how much the fans will identify with that:

"To be honest, I really haven't been here long enough to understand the importance of that for the fans here,'' he said. "But I believe a team's identity is very important and I think we all understand who we represent."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Tampa Bay Rays

Akinori Iwamura 2B
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Carlos Pena 1B
Pat Burrell DH
Dioner Navarro C
Ben Zobrist CF
Gabe Gross RF
Jason Bartlett SS

James Shields RHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Luke Scott DH
Felix Pie LF
Chad Moeller C
Robert Andino SS

Adam Eaton RHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Guess we should have believed Jeremy Guthrie, manager Dave Trembley and pitching coach Rick Kranitz when they said right before the start of the season that they weren't worried that Guthrie's poor spring would carry over into the regular season.

Guthrie's Grapefruit League ERA was in double digits (10.57) and it was even higher if you factored in his performance in the World Baseball Classic, but he said he wasn't worried and his manager and pitching coach both said that spring stats don't mean a thing.

"I had executed a lot of pitches that were hit hard,'' Guthrie said, "and all my mistakes got hit. If I had been walking people or pitching up, I would have been more concerned. I just needed some luck to change. The defense can't be overlooked either.

"Staying positive, I've learned, is very important for a pitcher. If you change things, it can get magnified, and that's a pitfall you want to avoid."

Trembley said at the time that the only thing that he wanted to know was that Guthrie was healthy.

"Once I knew that, I wasn't worried. Confidence plays a big part. I've known Jeremy for a long, long time and I know the kind of confidence he has. It's great for the club that he's 2-0, and there's also got to be a sense of vindication because of all the games he's pitched in the past where he didn't get any run support. I told him early on. He's the leader of this pitching staff."

Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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The Orioles optioned reliever Matt Albers to Triple-A Norfolk after Saturday night's game to make room for starting pitcher Adam Eaton, who will be activated Sunday and will start the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Alber appeared in Saturday night's game and gave up a hit and a walk over 2/3 of an inning in the four-pitcher shutout. He has made three appearances during the first week of the regular season and allowed a run on four hits over 2 2/3 innings. His place on the roster was tenuous because of a fragile shoulder that limits his workload. The other possibility appeared to be Brian Bass, but he was out of minor league options and is capable of eating more innings in an emergency.

I realize I predicted that it would be Bass who would go out, but that was before Albers labored through last night's performance, making him the more logical choice to make room for Eaton.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
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This nugget comes courtesy of Orioles PR wizard Jeff Lantz, who just pointed out that the Orioles have won back-to-back series for the first time since taking two of three games from the Yankees July 28-30 and the Mariners Aug. 1-3 last year. It's the first time they've opened a season with two straight series victories since 1998, when they won five of their first six games, taking two of three from the Royals and sweeping the Tigers.

Also, starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie has won his first two decisions of the season for the first time in his major league career.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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Jeremy Guthrie was replaced by reliever Matt Albers after pitching a strong six innings and giving up just five hits and no walks. He struck out two and threw 98 pitches, 63 of them for strikes.

The Orioles added a run in the bottom of the sixth on a base-loaded bouncer by Adam Jones, who outran a double play relay while Gregg Zaun scored from third.

Albers struggled a bit in the seventh. He just gave way to Jamie Walker with two on and two out in the top of the seventh with the O's still leading, 6-0.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie just worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the fourth inning and is pitching a shutout in spite of a stretch in the third and fourth during which he gave up four hits in a span of six batters. He has thrown 67 pitches so far, so he should be able to get into the seventh inning if he doesn't get into serious trouble.

Quick minor league update: For those who have been harping the past couple of weeks about the decision to keep Felix Pie and send out Lou Montanez and Nolan Reimold, this note's for you. Through the first two games of the Triple-A season, Reimold is batting .444 with a pair of home runs and Montanez is batting .625. Pie entered tonight's game with a respectable .286 average, but is hitless in two at-bats.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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I've watched Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeff Niemann try to get people out for the past 10 minutes and I have only one thing to say: I no longer think Brian Bass would clear waivers.

Niemann gave up three balls that left the park in the first inning. Brian Roberts led off the game by bouncing a ball over the center field fence and, after Niemann hit Adam Jones with a pitch, Nick Markakis also hit a ground-rule double to center for a run. When Aubrey Huff walked to load the bases with no one out, Rays manager Joe Maddon went out to give his pitcher a pep talk.

I can tell you from knowing the man for many years that Joe is an excellent motivator. He's also the perfect guy to calm down a hinky pitcher, but this particular trip did not have the desired effect. Two pitches after Maddon returned to the dugout, Melvin Mora launched the ball 400 feet into the Orioles bullpen for a grand slam that gave the O's a 5-0 lead before there was an out in the bottom of the first.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Dave Trembley was singing the praises of the three hitters at the top of the lineup, all of whom are swinging the bat very well during the first week of the season. Brian Roberts, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis all are hitting over .400 through four games.

"What I like is all three have the ability to do a variety of things,'' Trembley said. "They can work the count -- and that's something Jonesy is getting better at -- they can walk and they can use the other side of the field."

The key has been the decision to move Jones into the No. 2 hole, where he can maximize his speed and improving power.

"Jones has really adjusted to it,'' Trembley said. "It's something he wanted to do, and when we talked about it early in the spring, I told him there were some things he was going to have to do if he wanted to do that."

Trembley again would not speculate on the roster move that will have to be made to open space on the 25-man roster for Sunday starter Adam Eaton, though it appears that Brian Bass will be the guy who goes out to make room.

When I asked Trembley if it was likely that the club will rotate long guys (Chris Waters, for instance) in from Norfolk to give the effect of a 13-man staff without actually keeping 13 pitchers on the roster, he seemed to indicate that it was a distinct possibility.

"That is something I've talked about with Andy (MacPhail) and Rick Kranitz and it is an option we've considered,'' Trembley said. "That could very well happen."

Today's prediction: Aubrey Huff, who is batting .214 and has not jumped on board the offensive bandwagon yet, will hit his first home run of the season as part of his first multi-hit game of 2009.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Tampa Bay Rays

Akinori Iwamura 2B
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Carlos Pena 1B
Pat Burrell DH
Matt Joyce CF
Dioner Navarro C
Gabe Gross RF
Jason Bartlett SS

Jeff Niemann RHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Ty Wigginton DH
Felix Pie LF
Gregg Zaun C
Cesar Izturis SS

Jeremy Guthrie RHP

Weather update: The clouds are beginning to clear over Camden Yards and the evening should be free of precipitation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Funny, but I'm not hearing from anybody who was clamoring for the Orioles to release Danys Baez at the end of spring training. There were a lot of posts calling on the Orioles to eat his remaining salary and cut him loose for the good of all concerned. Now, everybody is thrilled with the way his split-finger fastball is making some pretty good hitters look pretty bad.

It's early, of course, but Baez has made two very impressive relief appearances and vindicated the decision of manager Dave Trembley to move him into the bullpen after auditioning him as a starting pitcher all spring.

Baez said Friday night that he doesn't care where he pitches. He's just enjoying the opportunity to be so competitive after spending more than a year on the sidelines recovering from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery.

"I just want to be out there facing hitters and trying to get them out,'' he said. "I don't want to worry about anything else. It's great to be out in the bullpen with those guys. I've spent most of my career in the bullpen, so to be out there is exciting and to be doing good is great."

Maybe it won't last, but Baez and his teammates are enjoying it while it does.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)
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Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon wasn't surprised that Mark Hendrickson pitched a strong game against his team last night. He spoke very highly of Hendrickson before the game, recounting how well he pitched for the then-Devil Rays during Maddon's first season as manager.

Hendrickson actually was the winning pitcher in Maddon's first major league managerial victory and presented him with the game ball afterward -- right here at Camden Yards. They've been good friends ever since.

"I really like Mark,'' Maddon said. "When he keeps the ball down in the zone, it's got good sink on it. When he's keeping it down there, he's going to be successful. When he left us, he was our best pitcher and I still think he's a good major league pitcher."

Hendrickson also couldn't say enough nice things about Maddon, who inherited a perennial losing team and set about the task of turning it into a winner.

"He was doing some different kinds of things,'' Hendrickson said. "We really hit it off. You could tell that he was going to be good."

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Manager Dave Trembley had nothing but nice things to say about starter Mark Hendrickson and his 5 1/3-inning performance tonight against the defending AL champion Tampa Bay Rays.

"Hendrickson did a very nice job,'' Trembley said, "He changed speeds very well, located, and did a very nice job.

"When I went out to the mound (in the sixth) to see how he was, he said 'Dave, I gave it everything I had,' so I knew it was the right time to get him out of there."

Trembley also was very impressed with the performance of Danys Baez, who pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings and struck out four to build a bridge to setup man Jim Johnson and closer George Sherrill.

"Baez has been very good for us,'' Trembley said. "Obviously the difference is he's using all his pitches. In spring training he was basically just a fastball guy. I think in the shorter periods he knows he's going to go out there, his velocity is up and he's got better movement. He bridged tonight and got us to where we needed to go."

On Sherrill: "That's the first time we've seen the ball come out of the hand for George like thast. He had some crispness, velocity was up, and the ball was quick, so that was good to see."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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Closer George Sherrill kept it exciting, allowing a solo home run to catcher Dioner Navarro in the ninth to draw the Rays to within a run, but he struck out Ben Zobrist and Akinori Iwamura to record his second save in as many attempts.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria just homered off reliever Jim Johnson in the eighth inning to increase the suspense around here. It was Longoria's major league-leading fourth home run of the season and, interestingly enough, it was the first major league homer surrendered by Johnson since he gave one up in his big league debut on July 29, 2006.

Johnson made just the one appearance that year and a single major league appearance in 2007 before appearing in 54 games last year.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Reliever Danys Baez just came in and struck out four consecutive batters. He finally proved human when Akinori Iwamura bounced out weakly to second to end the seventh inning.

Baez has looked very good in each of his first two relief appearances -- 3 2/3 innings, no hits, no walks, 5 strikeouts -- which has to be considered a big bonus for an Orioles pitching staff that didn't seem to know what to do with him at the end of training camp.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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The Orioles have chased Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Andy Sonnanstine off the mound in the fifth inning. He threw 93 pitches and had runners on base in all but one inning, finally coming unraveled in the fifth when the Orioles reeled off four straight two-out hits for two runs and Sonnanstine brought home another with a wild pitch.

Meanwhile, Mark Hendrickson continues to keep the Rays off balance. He gave up two hits in the first inning, but has surrendered just two more hits and two walks over the next four innings. He has taken the mound in the sixth inning with a 5-1 lead.

The three-run rally was the ninth scoring rally in the first four games of the season, and of those nine innings with at least one run, seven have been multiple-run rallies.

Hendrickson update The big guy got the first out of the sixth and gave up a single to Carlos Pena before manager Dave Trembley decided enough was enough for a first outing. He threw 91 pitches, 54 for strikes.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Left-hander Mark Hendrickson has given up a run on four hits through the first three innings, beguiling the Rays with his offspeed stuff and working out of a big jam in the second inning. The only run so far crossed in the first on Evan Longoria's third home run of the new year. Apparently, there isn't going to be a sophomore jinx for Longo, who has picked up right where he left off in his terrific rookie season.

Going into the fourth, Hendrickson has thrown a total of 51 pitches and he's hanging on to a 2-1 lead, but the clouds are rolling in and there is a chance that the game could be delayed by rain.

Both Orioles runs scored in the bottom of the first on a single by Melvin Mora that scored Brian Roberts and Adam Jones.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Manager Dave Trembley wasn't willing to speculate on the weekend roster move that will have to be made to make room for Sunday starter Adam Eaton. He said the decision probably won't be made until Sunday morning.

"We just need to get through tomorrow night's game and then find a place for Eaton,'' Trembley said.

If I was a betting man -- and since we're not in Las Vegas this weekend, I guess I'm not -- I'd think that Brian Bass will be waived and outrighted to whereever there's room in the minor leagues. Trembley, however, made mention of his inability to use Matt Albers today, which could be a hint that he could be the first man sent out.

"None of them (roster moves) are ever easy,'' Trembley said, "but you know starting the season that there is going to be some movement back and forth. We were aware when we got (Robert) Andino that when it was time for Eaton to make the start, we'd have to make a move."

Trembley was, as usual, complimentary of the Tampa Bay Rays and the way they lifted themselves off the floor in the American League East to win the pennant last year.

"Andy (MacPhail) has said it,'' Trembley said. "They are a very good road map for us. There are a lot of things they do that we'd like to do. They were able to send David Price down. I hope we're in a position to have that kind of pitching depth and I think we will be."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Tampa Bay Rays

Jason Bartlett SS
Carl Crawford LF
Evan Longoria 3B
Carlos Pena 1B
Pat Burrell DH
Gabe Kapler CF
Dioner Navarro C
Ben Zobrist RF
Akinori Iwamura 2B

Andy Sonnanstine RHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Luke Scott DH
Ryan Freel LF
Gregg Zaun C
Cesar Izturis SS

Mark Hendrickson LHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Just baseball
        

Orioles fans have every right to be happy with a series victory over the Yankees, but the team doesn't get much of an opportunity to rest on those laurels. You can make the case that -- absent Alex Rodriguez -- the Yankees are not currently on par with the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, who arrive at Camden Yards in a few hours for a three-game series that will truly test the Orioles' supposedly sketchy starting rotation.

The Rays just finished winning a series in Boston, which was no small task, and they'll send solid right-hander Andy Sonnanstine against left-hander Mark Hendrickson in the series opener tonight.

This is where the rubber meets the road for the Orioles, who got decent starts from Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara in the two victories over the Yankees and a passable effort from Alfredo Simon yesterday. Hendrickson goes tonight, Guthrie comes back on regular rest tomorrow and Adam Eaton is scheduled to make his Orioles debut on Sunday.

Today's radio plug: Tune in at noon today for The Week in Review with me, Clarence Mitchell IV and former first lady Kendel Ehrlich. If you're outside of signal range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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Top pitching prospects Jake Arrieta and Brian Matusz made their first regular-season starts in the minor leagues tonight.

Arrieta just left the game after pitching four innings for the Double-A Bowie Baysox and dominating the Akron Aeros. He struck out eight and gave up just one hit and two walks before giving way to left-hander Bobby Livingston. Akron eventually came from behind to score a 2-1 victory.

Matusz pitched 4 2/3 innings in the season opener for Class-A Frederick at Salem (Red Sox) and allowed two runs on five hits while striking out four. The Keys scored the first four runs of the game in the top of the third and were leading 5-2 when Matusz left the game. Frederick went on to win, 8-6, in 12 innings.

Brad Bergesen also kicked off his minor league season -- which probably won't last very long -- with a solid five innings (four hits, one earned run) at Triple-A Norfolk.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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The Orioles aren't coming back in this one. The game came unraveled on that comebacker that was botched by reliever Brian Bass and it's been all downhill from there. But Orioles fans have to be happy with the overall performance of the team in the series.

Manager Dave Trembley was talking before the game about the importance of winning divisional games in April and the Orioles won a series against one of the division favorites. Mission accomplished.

Trembley also acknowledged, however, that the going could get rough this weekend because starters Mark Hendrickson (Friday night) and Adam Eaton (Sunday) figure to be rusty after waiting so long to get into their first regular season games.

Making waves: I'll be riding the airwaves later this evening as host of Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM). We'll rehash today's game and take your calls, starting at six. If you're not in radio range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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Brian Bass came on in relief of Alfredo Simon and could not get out of his own way. He kept pitching deep into counts and giving up cheap hits -- two balls poked past Ty Wigginton at third to allow the inherited runner to score and another ball looped over Brian Roberts for a run. In between, Bass had a chance to get out of the inning on a soft comebacker with the bases loaded, but threw the ball wide of catcher Chad Moeller to allow a pair of runs to score and keep the Yankees at the plate to add a fourth run in the inning.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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Alfredo Simon dueled with Mark Teixeira to a full count before Tex pulled a broken-bat single into right field. That brought manager Dave Trembley out of the dugout and Brian Bass out of the bullpen.

Simon's line: 5 IP 4H 4R 4 ER 2 W 3 K. He threw 89 pitches.

All in all, he pitched all right, but the Orioles are going to need their core starters to get through six innings.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Alfredo Simon finally blinked in the fourth inning, allowing a leadoff home run to prodigal first baseman Mark Teixeira. Simon also gave up a two-run shot to Nick Swisher later in the fourth before settling down to get out ot the inning. He has thrown 73 pitches through four and given up three hits -- it was just the length of two of those hits that was the problem.

Rich Hill update: Manager Dave Trembley said that Rich Hill will be joining the Orioles in Texas to throw a side session for pitching coach Rick Kranitz, but is not close to rejoining the team. He'll make several two-inning appearances in extended spring training and probably go on a rehab assignment to Norfolk or Bowie to stretch out before coming off the disabled list. When he comes off, Trembley said, it will definitely be as a starter.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

No. 3 starter Alfredo Simon has pitched three innings and given up just one hit in his matchup against Yankees free agent acquisition A.J. Burnett, who also has been tough in the early innings.

The Orioles just broke through for a run on an RBI single by Brian Roberts in the bottom of the third. It was the third hit of the inning against Burnett, who had give up singles to Orioles newcomers Felix Pie and Chad Moeller.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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The death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was met with shock in the Orioles clubhouse. Adenhart, who lived in Canton, was killed in an automobile accident last night after pitching against the Oakland A's.

"That's the game I was watching'' said Orioles manager Dave Trembley. "I was with my son. We went back to my apartment and we were watching him pitch. It really puts things in perspective. Don't take anything for granted. Appreciate what you have. It's a very sad day for his family.

"I talked to (Dennis) Sarfate. He was very broken up. He worked out with him all winter. Dean Albany also was very close to him. Not a good day."

Adenhart also worked out during the winter at the B.A.T.T. Academy in Glen Burnie, which is operated by former Northeast High School coach Larry Williams.

"I've known him since he was a kid,'' Williams said. "He was touted as being a potential top one or two pick in the draft, but in his senior season in high school, he blew out his elbow and had Tommy John surgery. Everybody passed on him and the Angels took a flyer on him in the 14th round.

"I'm shocked, pure and simple. Great kid who worked very hard in the offseason. He was a guy the high school and college kids could look at his work ethic fighting back from the injury. Just a great story. The kid who wouldn't quit."

Sarfate worked out with several of the Angels players in Arizona this past winter.

"He had a bright future,'' Sarfate said. "He was going to be good for years, you could just tell. It’s sad when you hear stuff like that. It’s not the first time a baseball player has died in a car accident.

"My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, and it’s one of those things that hits home and you just kind of want to go home and hang out for the day with your family just to get them close. It’s sad. It’s one of those things, you just can’t plan for it."

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
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If you're a faithful reader, you know that I predicted both Orioles victories -- the Opening Day reverse lock victory at the head of my Sunday column and last night's big offensive performance against Chien-Ming Wang in the blog -- but I'm not going to get into the business of predicting every game. I do have one concern about today's game, however.

When there were two outs in the ninth inning last night and the Orioles let Mark Teixeira get back to the plate, I wondered aloud whether he was getting one chance too many to get his season jump-started. Better for the Orioles for him to sleep on another 0 for 4 performance. Of course, he doubled in a run and -- in my opinion -- improved his chances of breaking out today.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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New York Yankees

Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Xavier Nady DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Cody Ransom 3B
Brett Gardner CF
Jose Molina C

A.J. Burnett RHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton 3B
Luke Scott DH
Felix Pie LF
Chad Moeller C
Cesar Izturis SS

Alfredo Simon RHP

Lineup notes: No surprises here. Gregg Zaun was battling some shoulder soreness at the end of training camp and it's a day game after a night game. Melvin Mora is still gimpy with a tweaked hamstring and manager Dave Trembley is going to be looking for every opportunity to get Wigginton into the lineup, so he might have started at third anyway.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
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Alfredo Simon, arguably the best starting pitcher in training camp this spring, will take the mound this afternoon against A.J. Burnett with a chance to complete an unlikely sweep of the rival New York Yankees. Is that too much to ask?

Maybe, but the Yankees are back on their heels after the Orioles scored 17 runs in the first two games. The team that spent nearly $423.5 million on three free agent players this past offseason has to be feeling some early pressure after CC Sabathia ($161 million) lost the opener and Mark Teixeira ($180 million) managed just one hit in his first nine at-bats, several of which were in run-production situations.

Orioles manager Dave Trembley chalked up the first two wins to the plate discipline of his offensive lineup, which he likened to the patient approach that the Yankees and Boston Red Sox have used to dominate the American League East for most of the past decade.

"We try and get into the other team's bullpen,'' he said. "That's what we're trying to do."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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Koji Uehara said he was very happy to record his first regular-season victory in the major leagues. When he was asked where the game ranked among his career highlights, he said "it's right at the top."

Though he is known to be highly self-critical, he described his five-inning performance as "tenacious."

"Innings-wise, it was shorter (than he had hoped), but I was tenacious,'' he said through interpreter Jiwon Bang.

Uehara said he was particularly proud of the fact that he defeated the Yankees, a team that is revered in Japan for it's history and its current status as one of the most successful franchises in the major leagues.

"The Yankees have a great lineup,'' he said, "a lot of great players. It was an honor to get a chance to pitch against them and get a win."

He struggled a little with his control at the outset, but attributed that to the chilly weather and the difference between the American baseball and the Japanese version. He said the ball was more slippery because of the cold.

The final question was about the international matchup against Taiwanese pitcher Chien-Ming Wang.

"Obviously, I don't face him directly,'' Uehara said, "but I know he has had a lot of success in the states. So, to beat him -- so to speak -- I am very happy."

Associated Press file photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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The crowd -- announced as 22,856 -- was all over Mark Teixeira for the second game in a row, and he took his booing for four fruitless at-bats before getting one more chance to come through in the top of the ninth inning. This time, against closer George Sherrill, he drilled the first pitch into right center for an RBI double for his first regular-season hit as a Yankee. If it's any consolation, he's still hitting only .111.

Hideki Matsui just popped out to end the game. Now it's up to Alfredo Simon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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I actually missed the Nick Markakis home run, because I was turning the ballpark upside down in search of an alleged new concession item called a lobster corn dog. Never found it, but I did get to the bottom of the story when I ran into Nicholas Biello, who is the general manager of Aramark at Oriole Park.

Indeed, you can get a batter-fried lobster tail on a stick off the catering menu in the club level suites, but there were whispers around the stadium that the item would be sold at one of the concession stands. Turns out, it was sold on a trial basis during the early innings tonight, but I got there too late to sample it. Frankly, I used to be quicker on my feet in situations like this, but time waits for no one.

Aramark doesn't know if the lobster corn dog will be offered as a regular item because it must be made to order and served immediately, which creates some logistical issues for the concessionaire.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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The bottom line is the bottom line, but I'm guessing Koji Uehara will not have much good to say about his five-inning performance against the Yankees. He threw a lot of pitches and got away with a few balls up in the zone and he is his own worst critic. Chien-Ming Wang just pitched a lot worse and took a sound beating -- seven runs on nine hits over 3 2/3 innings -- as the Orioles took control early for the second game in a row.

Wang (which is pronounced "Wong" for those of you who can't get your minds out of junior high) will be having nightmares about Nick Markakis, who needs a triple to hit for the cycle.

The Orioles lineup has left quite an impression on the Yankees pitching staff so far, but A.J. Burnett is waiting in the wings..

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Brian Roberts opened the bottom of the third with a walk and made the Orioles' second inexplicable out on the bases. He broke for second on a pitch to Adam Jones -- presumably on a hit-and-run play -- but stopped between first and second after Jones swung through the pitch.

Roberts probably would have been out at second anyway, but he was dead meat trying to get back to first. It wasn't easy, but the Orioles got a leadoff single and two four-pitch walks and didn't get a guy to third base.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
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Koji Uehara sent a chill through the chilly ballpark when he walked Derek Jeter to open the game. When you're known for your control and you walk the very first batter in your very first regular season game on American soil, it's fair for fans to wonder what's going to happen next, but Uehara collected himself and retired the next three batters in order.

Taiwanese starter Chien-Ming Wang wasn't so fortunate. He retired the first batter in the Orioles half of the first, but gave up consecutive doubles to Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff for two runs. The Orioles might have gotten a third run in the inning, but Huff inexplicably broke for third base while Wang was starting his motion and Wang was able to react in time to throw him out easily at third.

The baserunning mistake was magnified when Melvin Mora followed with the fourth hit of the inning.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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During Dave Trembley's pregame media briefing he indicated that Jeremy Guthrie will stay on regular rest, which means that Adam Eaton likely will make his Orioles regular season debut as the fifth starter on Sunday.

Dave on Monday's season opening victory: "It was nice to walk around the Inner Harbor yesterday after a win."

On his expectations for Koji Uehara tonight: "He'll throw it over the plate. I would expect the same approach whether he's throwing good or giving up hits. He's a pitcher who throws strikes and pitches to contact. Obviously, it's a historic day for him and the Orioles organization."

On Uehara's presence: "Coming in here he has been nothing but first class in everything he does. He has gone about his business very well and he has been accepted by his teammates."

On whether Uehara will be nervous: "I would think he'll feel the way the rest of us felt on Opening Day. The thing he has going for him is, on very large screens and very big stages, he has done it before."

On Melvin Mora's sore hamstring: "I just went up to Melvin and asked him how he's doing. He says it's a little tougher to get loose for a night game, but he said he's fine. Doesn't feel any restrictions. I don't expect him to score from first base on a double or steal any bases. Obviously, I don't want him out there if he is restricted going left or right, but he says he's fine."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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New York Yankees

Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Xavier Nady RF
Cody Ransom 3B
Brett Gardner CF

Chien-Ming Wang RHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Luke Scott DH
Felix Pie LF
Gregg Zaun C
Cesar Izturis SS

Koji Uehara RHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Can't wait to get to the ballpark today for the showdown between Koji Uehara and Chien-Ming Wang. It's almost impossible to predict what is going to happen, but I believe Koji will get more offensive support, so I'm going to go with the O's again.

It's no reverse lock this time. The Orioles lineup is legit and Uehara has some factors working in his favor. He's totally unfamiliar to American hitters, which should have an impact even if former Yomiuri Giants teammate Hideki Matsui holds a seminar on his strengths and weaknesses for the Yankees lineup before the game.

Nice story on Uehara by Dan Connolly in today's Sun, which you can read here. Koji says he's not nervous about his Orioles debut, and I would tend to believe him.

This is not anywhere close to the biggest game he has pitched in his career. He'll have 50 Japanese media members following his every move tonight, but he said during spring training that the large Asian media contingent isn't even close to what he had to deal with on a daily basis as a member of the Tokyo Giants.

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
        

I was confident that my earlier post would stir up some thoughtful commentary and I was right. Orioles fans came out in force to (mostly) disagree with me on the logic of booing Mark Teixeira for signing with the Yankees and not the Orioles.

You are not alone. I got a call from one of my press box colleagues taking me to task on the subject, and pointing out that the most vociferous boo-birds were not booing Teixeira for going over to the Evil Empire, but for saying at his introductory press conference in New York that he had always been a Yankee fan.

If that is the reason that individual fans are booing Teixeira, I have absolutely no problem with that. I believe, however, that a big segment of the Tex-bashers are angry at him for choosing the Yankees because of the money or the better chance to win right away. That rationale seems incongruous to me because so many of those same fans have fallen away from the team because of its supposed unwillingness to spend enough money and its inability to field a competitive team.

It would have been great if Teixeira had taken it upon himself to sign with the Orioles to help them get off the floor, but it certainly was not his responsibility just because he grew up in Severna Park.

Radio dogma: Since this seems to be a hot topic, I'll give you a chance to get at me in person tonight on WBAL (1090 AM) at six. I'll also have an interview I did this morning with former Oriole and current Yankees broadcaster Ken Singleton. If you aren't within signal range, you can go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (97)
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The negative reaction to Mark Teixeira during Monday's opener was even more heartfelt than I expected, considering the fairly high percentage of Yankees fans at Camden Yards for the regular-season opener.

I certainly understand everyone's frustration and anticipate similar responses over the next few days, but I found Teixeira's comments about the situation Monday very interesting. His statement that "in a perfect world" he would be an Oriole really put the whole thing on the Orioles organization -- something many of his biggest critics would be hard-pressed to dispute.

Considering who is his agent (Scott Boras), it might be fair to speculate that he would have gone for the most money no matter what, but the condition of the Orioles organization certainly played a role in his decision to sign with the Yankees. Who's fault is that?

It certainly would have been nice if he had decided he wanted to play for his hometown team, but can anyone honestly say they would have passed up a better financial and competitive opportunity when so many of the same Orioles fans who are ripping him no longer show up at the ballpark if it isn't Opening Day? Not sure you can have it both ways.

I know this isn't a popular position to take, but if O's fans don't want to go to Camden Yards on a regular basis, why are so many of them mad at Teixeira because he didn't want to either?

Associated Press photo

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (148)
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The Yankees drew to within a run of the Orioles on Hideki Matsui's two-run homer off Chris Ray in the seventh inning, which has set the stage for some interesting bullpen intrigue. Ray, Jamie Walker and Dennis Sarfate already have pitched in the game and Jim Johnson is preparing to come on for the eighth. If he can get through a scoreless innings, we're going to find out if George Sherrill really is a different pitcher when the lights come on.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
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The $161 million pitcher is sitting in the dugout trying to figure out what happened to his breaking stuff. CC Sabathia had no command of his offspeed repertoire today and the Orioles showed terrific plate discipline in the middle innings to take control of the opener.

The Orioles just scored three times in the fifth inning to take a 6-1 lead, and it should be a blowout right now. Gregg Zaun had a chance to bust it open with the bases loaded and one out against reliever Jonathan Albaladejo, but center fielder Brett Gardner ran under his shallow fly ball and threw out Melvin Mora trying to tag and score from third.

Sabathia left after 4 1/3 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and five walks. It was only the fifth start of his career in which he did not strike out a batter.

Instant update: Don't put this one in the win column just yet. Jorge Posada just opened the sixth with a mammoth home run and Jeremy Guthrie has allowed another run with nobody out. Brian Bass is up in the bullpen.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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There don't figure to be a lot of opportunities like that against CC Sabathia, who gave up a hit to Brian Roberts, walked Adam Jones and threw two wild pitches to put the Orioles in a second-and-third, one-out situation.

They came up empty, however, when Melvin Mora poked a full-count pitch to third and Roberts was thrown out easily at the plate. Aubrey Huff followed with a sharp one-hopper to short that Derek Jeter scooped and took to second for the inning-ending force.

Sabathia doesn't look very sharp, but the Orioles might want to put something on the scoreboard before he figures things out.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Orioles longtime umpires attendant Ernie Tyler took part in his 50th Opening Day as a member of the Orioles organization. Tyler is 84 years old, but when he sprinted out to take his place in the introduction line, there was general agreement in the press box that he still runs harder than Ramon Hernandez.

Congratulations Ernie.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Orioles broadcaster Jim Hunter has just taken the field to kick off the pre-game ceremonies and -- I'm guessing -- tell everyone how they can get their 2009 playoff tickets.

Jimmy knows how to work a crowd. He's already gotten a big ovation for describing the new O's road uniforms with Baltimore on the road jerseys. Now he's introducing the Yankees and getting a different reaction.

Every Yankees player has been booed lustily, but Mark Teixeira just got introduced to the loudest and most sustained reaction. Give Hunter credit. He left the moment alone, allowing the crowd to vent while Teixeira high-fived every one of his teammates.

What a scene.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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The skies just opened up and dumped a lot of rain on the field in a very short time, but the mini-storm only lasted about 10 minutes and the afternoon is starting to brighten up. It's starting to look like the start could be delayed slightly.

They still have to take the tarp off, prepare the infield and roll out the orange carpet for introductions. Don't know if they can get all that done in 40 minutes.

Instant update: The club just announced that first pitch has been moved back to 4:20 p.m.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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New York Yankees

Derek Jeter SS
Johnny Damon LF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Hideki Matsui DH
Jorge Posada C
Robinson Cano 2B
Xavier Nady RF
Cody Ransom 3B
Brett Gardner CF

CC Sabathia RHP

Orioles

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Melvin Mora 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton DH
Luke Scott LF
Gregg Zaun C
Cesar Izturis SS

Jeremy Guthrie RHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira got an earful from fans behind the Yankees dugout today when he went out onto the field for an interview with the Yes Network. Fans holding a sign that read "Severna Park Hates You" tried to drown out Teixeira's comments by yelling at him and calling him "a sellout."

Teixeira took it in good humor. He knows that local fans wanted him to sign with the Orioles.

"In a perfect world, the Orioles would play in the World Series every year and I would be playing here every day,'' he said.

Except, of course, that it's not a perfect world and the Yankees offered him the most money and the Orioles aren't anywhere close to reaching the World Series, so Teixeira said he has never second-guessed his decision to sign with the Yankees.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Because you don't get enough of me already, I'm going to join David Steele for a live chat from Oriole Park starting at noon.

Here's the link.

I'm sitting here ready to take your quesions. David is sitting right beside me and can answer your queries on a variety of subjects, including tonight's NCAA championship game.

For those of you who missed the chat, here's the full transcript:

Quick weather update: The tarp is on the infield and there's a light rain falling on Camden Yards, but the weather is expected to improve by game time. The tarp has also been rolled out at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, just in case.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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In an earlier attempt to project today's Orioles starting lineup, I referenced a projected lineup by Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec that was a much earlier general projection of the regular season everyday lineup. My bad.

Here's Jeff's actual projected lineup for today's season opener:

Brian Roberts 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Melvin Mora 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton DH
Luke Scott LF
Gregg Zaun C
Cesar Izturis SS

Jeremy Guthrie RHP

This time, I won't fiddle with it, and all you commentors who wrote in to say my earlier projected lineup (since deleted from the blog so as not to deceive late arrivals) was ridiculous are looking pretty smart now...and each of you will continue to look brilliant until you write me again asking who the player to be named later was in the Chad Bradford deal.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Don't have to tell anybody that today's the day, and there's some good news for fans who are planning to be at Camden Yards for the season opener. Vice president Joe Biden is going to throw out the ceremonial first pitch (talk about shameless plugs) and the weather is looking like it will cooperate.

Weather.com predicts that the chance of showers during the game is only about 20 percent and the temperature for most of the game will be about 60 degrees. It could get breeze by early evening, but the game probably will be played without interruption -- unless you count the loud sobbing from Yankees fans when $161 million pitcher CC Sabathia gives up that game-deciding home run to Adam Jones.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Nothing about this should surprise anyone who has been paying attention the past few days, but the Orioles just made their 25-man Opening Day roster official and here it is, direct from the club's public relations department:

ORIOLES OPENING DAY ROSTER

Pitchers (12): Matt Albers-rhp, Danys Baez-rhp, Brian Bass-rhp, Jeremy Guthrie-rhp, Mark Hendrickson-lhp, Jim Johnson-rhp, Chris Ray-rhp, Dennis Sarfate-rhp, George Sherrill-lhp, Alfredo Simon-rhp, Koji Uehara-rhp, Jamie Walker-lhp

Catchers (2): Chad Moeller, Gregg Zaun

Infielders (6): Robert Andino, Aubrey Huff, Cesar Izturis, Melvin Mora, Brian Roberts, Ty Wigginton

Outfielders (5): Ryan Freel, Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Felix Pie, Luke Scott

Disabled list: Rich Hill-lhp (15-day)

Roster note: RHP Adam Eaton is conspicuous by his absence, but that's because he was a non-roster player and will be added to the roster when his turn comes up in the starting rotation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Manager Dave Trembley alternated between the practical and philosophical during his media briefing before today's offday workout at Camden Yards. Here are a few nuggets from that session:

On Opening Day: "I'm anxious for Opening Day. It's a special time for everyone. It's a new season for the Baltimore Orioles. We're anxious to get going and get off to a good start."

On Monday starter Jeremy Guthrie: "Guthrie is a man of pride and his work habits are very good. When you're not doing well, you look for answers. He's healthy. He had a good side session. We expect him to pitch well tomorrow."

On the strengths of the club: "Flexibility ... interchangeable parts ... not just position players but also in our bullpen."

On the weaknesses of the club: "I'm very much aware of all the question marks on this club, but let's give it a chance."

On the team's diminished expectations: "I have a tremendous amount of faith. I understand what the expectations are on the other side of the coin, but I also understand what our expectations are. I think attitude is a big part of it. ... Truthfully, I think we're a lot better than a lot of people think."

On the elephant in the room: "It comes down to how you pitch. For every team, it comes down to starting pitching. I guess we're a little different because of how many unproven candidates we had. I think that question is going to be there all year. I certainly understand that."

On his general feelings about managing this year's team: "I appreciate it probably more. I think as you get older you realize there are things in life that are very special. It has hit home a lot of times -- this doesn't happen to everybody. You appreciate it and want to make the most of it and represent the team, the franchise and the city well. ... I've been on so many buses and I'm standing here with 50 people crowded around me. Who would have thought that?"

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Today's entertaining featured comment comes from regular contributor Chris Joseph, who saw a little humor in my comparing Alfredo Simon's rocky outing on Saturday night in Washington to the Apollo 13 mission. Enough so, that he basically turned the whole thing into a mini-screenplay:

A mid-April phone call placed by Dave Trembley:

Trembley: Warehouse, we have a problem. It's been a week and none of my starters have made it out of the fourth inning. Hendrickson just broke a team record--12 hits allowed in a third of an inning. I need help ASAP or we're gonna crash!...Over.

Warehouse: Roger that, Skip. Help is on the way, but it's gonna take at least a year to get there. You'll have to improvise. Try sticking Baez or Albers in the rotation. If that doesn't work, we can always bring back Cabrera...Over.

Trembley: Cabrera? You gotta be kidding! This ship is already careening out of control. I need somebody who can get people out...Over.

Warehouse: What do you want from us, Skip? We already got you a Japanese guy...Uhura, Urethra...whatever. And we scoured the Mexican League for Alfredo Simon...Over.

Trembley: Hell, I'd rather have Paul Simon. Where have you gone, Rodrigo Lopez? A city turns its lonely eyes to you. Woo woo woo...Over.

Warehouse: I think you're losing it there, Skip. You better pull it together fast. Don't make me put Kevin Bacon at the helm. Failure is not an option!

Trembley: Oh no. Eaton just gave up his third grand slam this inning. It's no use. We're doomed! Maybe it's time to further my acting career. I made a really funny MASN commercial, and people say I look a lot like William Shatner (he's the guy on the left). Ahead warp factor one!...Trembley over...and out!

AP photos

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Today's featured comment
        

Alfredo Simon finally blinked in the first inning of the Orioles' final exhibition season, giving up a first-inning grand slam to Josh Willingham to teeter on the brink of his first blow-up outing of the spring. Instead, he collected himself, held the Washington Nationals scoreless for the next 4 1/3 innings and may have benefitted from what I like to call the "Apollo 13 Effect."

If you know your history -- or you like Tom Hanks movies -- you know that Apollo 13 was the moon mission that went awry, forcing the cancellation of the surface landing and a suspenseful-but-eventually-safe return to earth for the three-man crew. Technically, the mission was a failure, but it would be viewed in hindsight as an important achievement because of the way ground control and the astronauts adapted to a bad situation and averted disaster.

Sure, it's a reach to compare Simon's outing to a space mission, but that's why this blog is the wildly entertaining info-vehicle that it is. The Orioles No. 3 starter figures to gain some psychological benefit from proving to himself that he can battle his way out of a bad performance. Guess we'll find out on Thursday.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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When The Sun unveiled its newest sports blog -- The Toy Department -- I admit I was a little suspicious. Were the powers that be trying to put The Schmuck Stops Here out of business? Did they think The Schmuck had gotten too big for his britches and wanted to put him in his place? I wondered what they were saying behind my back.

The Boss: My God, the guy is starting to refer to himself in the third person. We need a blog people can really identify with, not some guy who is so arrogant he's actually considering paying retail for those Tommy Bahama abominations.

The Boss's evil middle-management minion: Agreed. Do we have anyone who will agree to play golf naked?

Well, if you go to The Toy Department right now, you'll get your answer. Fellow Sun columnist Rick Maese gives a first-person account of playing golf at one of only two courses in the country that is located in a nudist colony.

Rick, of course, was nervous about competing with veteran naked golfers, so I had to give him a little pep talk.

"Don't give them that much credit,'' I told him. "They take their pants off one leg at a time just like you do."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Schmuck being Schmuck
        

Just read Dan Connolly's story about the last roster moves from Norfolk and had to laugh. Andy MacPhail and Dave Trembley figured out a way to have a 13-man pitching staff after all. They'll just keep Adam Eaton in extended spring training until his turn comes up on April 11 or 12 and keep a long guy (Brian Bass) on the roster until then.

The whole 12 vs. 13 debate raged for a couple of weeks, only clarifying when the O's traded Hayden Penn to the Florida Marlins for infielder Robert Andino. Getting Andino gave the club cover to back away from a 13-man pitching staff, which would have left Trembley with a big flexibility problem in the late innings.

Holding back Eaton allows the club to buy some time and see how the rest of the rotation pans out.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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If you haven't already, go check out Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly's story about the Orioles and their deteriorating spring training situation.

The Sarasota facility is a mini-disaster and the Fort Lauderdale facility looks like it's going to fall down at any moment. Coincidentally, I talked to St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa about it before I left Florida, and this is what he said:

"When I got into managing in 1979, the standard for a winning organization was the Orioles,” said LaRussa, whose team played at Fort Lauderdale Stadium several times this spring. “You watched what the Orioles did, how they ran their drills. They've been one of the organizations you wanted to emulate. It has not fit that reputation to see spring training facilities improve over the years and theirs has not. It doesn't fit the history and the reputation of the franchise."

The Orioles have been trying to straighten out the situation, but they certainly didn't gain the benefit of the doubt on this story when they tried to put a gag order on the players and personnel at Twin Lakes Park. They should have known Zrebiec wouldn't back away from the story.

The thing that always surprises me about this ownership is that they treat every situation like it can be solved by guys with briefcases arguing over leverage. The Twin Lakes Park situation should have been solved -- in the short term -- by the club spending a few hundred thousand bucks fixing the most egregious problems before some multi-million-dollar prospect like Matt Wieters steps in a hole and blows out one of his very valuable knees.

Instead, the Orioles and the people in Sarasota spend months exchanging letters and arguing over lease terms. This situation needs to be rectified now. The overall spring training situation needs to be rectified by next Feb. 15. It's that simple.

The Orioles are supposedly working out a new lease agreement with Twin Lakes Park when they should have been somewhere else years ago. Here's major league reliever Jim Johnson summing up the cramped, inadequate facilities in Sarasota, and you'll notice we even had to tone his language down.

“Triple-A, Double-A, two Single’s A’s, Aberdeen, Bluefield and Gulf Coast. That’s seven teams. You can’t house that many people there,” said Orioles reliever Jim Johnson, who lives in Sarasota and works out at the complex in the offseason. “Plus, you have coaching staffs, you have trainers, strength and conditioning coaches. Honestly, it’s like putting five pounds of [manure] into a three-pound bag. It just doesn’t work.”

Photo courtesy of South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (47)
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Guess I picked the right day to duck out of spring training camp, since I wouldn't have wanted to be interviewing Dave Trembley after today's game. The Orioles took an 8-0 lead on the New York Mets at Port St. Lucie in the fourth inning and ended up suffering their most ignominious come-from-ahead defeat of the spring.

Adam Eaton started out okay, but gave up four runs in the fourth and another run in the fifth before concluding his final spring appearance with a 7.29 ERA. This is another reason why the turtle incident remains my fondest memory of spring training.

Today's plug: We'll be talking Orioles baseball and a whole lot more on Sportsline tonight at six on WBAL (1090 AM). If you aren't in listening range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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Hopping on Southwest for the flight back to Baltimore this morning, so you'll have to look elsewhere for your updates on today's activity in Florida. The Orioles will close out the Florida portion of spring training with a game against the Mets at Port St. Lucie. They fly tomorrow morning to Norfolk for a late-afternoon game against the Nationals before returning home for FanFest and Saturday night's exhibition finale against the Nats in Washington.

Somebody asked me for my favorite recollection of spring training. It has to be saving the giant tortoise on Atlantic Avenue on the way to camp back in late February. The thing was frightened when I picked it up and peed all over me. Had to trash one of my favorite silk shirts, but I'd do it again.

Trouble is, my fellow writers insist I made up the story. Does anyone really believe I have that good an imagination?

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (28)
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Dave Trembley didn't have much to say about Jeremy Guthrie's performance rocky performance this spring, except that it's time to look ahead instead of back.

"Spring training is over,'' Trembley said. "For him, we’ll turn the page and get him ready for opening day."

Trembley had more to say about newly acquired infielder Robert Andino and the decision to go with a 12-man pitching staff:

"He gives us insurance in the middle for Roberts and Izturis. He’s a good player. Young player, good player...Izturis is a very valuable player on our team and so is Roberts. There is a day off on Tuesday and then there’s another one and then we play 13 in a row and then I guess, 17 after that. I think it’s good to be able to cover for both of those guys and it’s good to have some options. Obviously what this does, it really puts it on the starting pitchers. The starting pitchers are going to have to go deep in the games or when they get behind, they may have to go out there and eat up some more innings. We know what the limits are with the guys in the bullpen."

Shameless plug: Tune in tonight at 6 to Sportsline on WBAL (1090 AM) for my final show from Fort Lauderdale. If you aren't in listening range, go to WBAL.com and click on the "Listen Live" icon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
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In his final start before Opening Day, Jeremy Guthrie just gave up eight runs and 10 hits to the Florida Marlins, raising his spring ERA to 10.57. If you add in his World Baseball Classic statistics, he has pitched 19 innings, allowed 47 baserunners and has a combined ERA of 12.32.

This is getting a little scary.

Guthrie even acknowledged afterward that there is cause for concern, though he says that he feels OK and is looking forward to Monday's season-opening start against the New York Yankees.

"Yeah, certainly you should be concerned,'' he said. "I haven't gotten anybody out ... I can't seem to get any breaks. Some good pitches are getting hit and all the bad ones are getting hit.

"I, personally, am not going to be concerned, but that's not ignoring the performance. I'd like to be in a better spot, but as far as my pitches are concerned, I feel I'm close."

He also conceded that his velocity is down "a couple" from last year, which should raise some red flags about his mechanics, if not the overall health of his arm.

Guthrie didn't rule out the possible ill effects of pitching for Team USA, but said he had no regrets about taking part in the WBC.

"My preparation hasn't gone well,'' he said, "but I would do that again 100 out of 100 times with the same results. If I had pitched well in the WBC, I would have gotten my work in. But it's Jeremy Guthrie, not the WBC."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

Here's Andy MacPhail explaining the rationale for the Hayden Penn/Robert Andino deal and how it came about:

"When it became evident he wasn't going to break with us, we were pretty much looking at exposing him to waivers. ... We didn't think he would clear, so we called clubs that we knew had had an interest over the last couple of years and inquired about him. I happened to be sitting with (Marlins baseball operations chief) Larry Beinfest when Hayden was pitching and he asked about him. So one of the calls we made was to Larry asking if he had interest. He did."

The Orioles had given every indication they might make the defensive sacrifice and use Ryan Freel as the backup shortstop so that they could carry 13 pitchers, but Freel did not look particularly good there this spring and club officials obviously weren't sold on either Chris Gomez or Jolbert Cabrera.

"We’re too thin in the middle infield in terms of who can play defense there,'' MacPhail said. "We really weren’t comfortable with backup shortstops. We know Cesar, like any shortstop, is going to need a couple of days off. I think he played in 130 games last year. You need somebody for those other 30 games. Blake Davis broke a bone in his foot and we have Ryan Freel targeted for different positions. That was an area of need for us."

So, six weeks of talk about a 13-man pitching staff evaporated in a matter of minutes.

"It’s going to really require us to go with 12 pitchers now,'' MacPhail said. "I had been leaning toward 13. You’re not going to be able to be strong everywhere. Where we are now, you really have to pick and choose your area. But if I had the opportunity to get a 24-year-old bona fide shortstop that can play defense, it was really something I can’t pass up. You can look for us to start with 12. As the season progresses, you don’t know what twists and turns are going to take place. But we clearly are going to start with 12 pitchers and 13 position players as a consequence of this trade."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (34)
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Here are a few comments from former Orioles pitcher Hayden Penn, who was as surprised as anyone when he was told today that he had been traded to the Florida Marlins for infielder Robert Andino.

His reaction: "Somebody wants me and I'm excited to go over there and pitch. I've had a good time here, made a lot of good friends over the years. I look forward to a new start. I really do. I think it'll be good for me. I'm excited somebody wants me and traded for me and hopefully I'll get that opportunity and pitch well."

How it feels to get traded: "It's part of the game, but when it happens to you for the first time, it's a shock."

Penn also said he's comfortable going to the Marlins because of the presence of pitching coach Mark Wiley, who was the Orioles' pitching coach during some of Penn's developmental years.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
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Andy MacPhail met with reporters moments ago and confirmed that the Orioles have made the decision to go with a 12-man pitching staff to accommodate the acquisition of infielder Robert Andino.

MacPhail also revealed that veteran Chris Gomez, when informed of the deal, went immediately to manager Dave Trembley, thanked him for the opportunity this spring, and essentially released himself. Gomez and Jolbert Cabrera were competing for a job that -- until today -- might not have even existed, so neither could have been surprised at not making the team.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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The Orioles have completed a trade that sends Hayden Penn across the field to the Florida Marlins in exchange for infielder Robert Andino. Since Andino also is out of options, it may be fair to presume that he is going to make the 25-man roster, which means the Orioles brass may have decided against going with a 13-man pitching staff on Opening Day.

Andino is a slick-fielding 24-year-old infielder who makes the Orioles roster younger and shores up the infield depth so the club does not have to overplay starting shortstop Cesar Izturis. The deal almost certainly means the O's will release veteran utilityman Chris Gomez and either release or outright Jolbert Cabrera, probably later today.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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Dave Trembley just met with the media in the Orioles dugout. He remains confident that Brian Roberts and Gregg Zaun will be able to play this weekend and be ready for Opening Day.

"I talked to Brian this morning,'' Trembley said. "He took infield and hit. He has assured me he'll be ready to play in Norfolk. Zaun will go with us to Port St. Lucie tomorrow and DH. I feel good about that as well."

Trembley also made some housekeeping announcements: Rich Hill will go to extended spring training in Sarasota tomorrow, while minor league pitchers Zach Clark and Andy Mitchell have rejoined the major league club for a couple of games to provide emergency pitching depth.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Dave Trembley informed utility infielder candidates Chris Gomez and Jolbert Cabrera that a decision on their status may be coming soon, perhaps later today. When he called each of them into his office, it looked like those decisions had been made, but Trembley also called in Robby Hammock and Chad Moeller to update them on the reserve catcher situation, which will not be decided until Gregg Zaun's sore elbow clears up (or doesn't).

Looks like neither Gomez nor Cabrera are going to make the 25-man roster. Gomez said afterward that he has told the club he will not go down to Triple-A Norfolk. If he can't stay, he'll take his release and go home.

Brian Roberts is not in today's lineup against the Marlins and is not on the travel roster for tomorrow's final Florida exhibition in Port St. Lucie. That means he won't play until at least Friday night in Norfolk. Trembley already said that if Roberts does not return for an exhibition appearance, he will not be in the starting lineup on Opening Day.

The Orioles have added Saturday's game against the Nationals in Washington to their preseason radio schedule (105.7 FM). Pregame coverage starts at 5 p.m. The game starts at 6:05 p.m.

Minor league prospects Justin Christian and Justin Turner have rejoined the major league squad to fill out the roster for the final four exhibition games.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
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In honor of the popular gameshow, I'm going to give you the answer before you all start asking the question:

No, the Orioles have absolutely no interest in signing Gary Sheffield, unless he's willing to pitch.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
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