They had verlander on the ropes and it appears he's wiggled off - at least he'll probably only go 6 or 7...looks like Tillman's not exactly trusting his stuff which isn't that unusual. He's got some pop on that ball. But it is straight and I fear that may cause some problems at Camden yards.

So this is the great Chris Tillman and this is what all of the hoopla has been about? Now that Sherrill is gone and we are seeing what Tillman is made of, the tide is starting to turn in that Mariners - O's trade. Pathetic...and depressing.

Yeah, we should release Tillman with Mora. Frank, you're a moron.

seriously Frank? c'mon now. crazy talk.

btw, how does curtis granderson only have 11 doubles?

You do realize Jones was in that trade as well and Bedard has been injured much of his stay in Seattle? Seattle is making no effort to resign him for a reason. Tillman is still 21 years old give the kid a break. Didn't see any of the game till the 3rd inning but his curveball looked great, made a few mistakes with his fastball and had some problems with past balls/wild pitches.

While I wish Matusz was getting some time at AAA before being brought up I look forward to watching him tomorrow.

One more thing for Frank...

You do realize that the O's did get some players in return for Sherrill, right?

Moving on...

Tillman's first two starts have been disappointing, but look at the positives from tonight: Only 1 HR allowed - to Miguel Freaking Cabrera - and he made it through six despite his struggles. The wild pitches and throwing just 60% of his pitches for strikes are certainly a sign that's he's not comfortable yet. Of course, facing Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander in your first two starts can't be too comforting...

Too bad Tillman and Matusz won't get to start against Oakland next week. That offense would be a nice ease into the bigs for any young pitcher.

We all knew that this was how this season would go before it even started. They'd score some runs but they'd have problems getting people out. The only questions were regarding who they'd promote and how they'd perform. That being said, my patience is growing real thin.

Will -

This is a weird year for Granderson. At 28, he's hitting 20 points below his career average. Also, he's on pace to shatter his career high in homers (23 in 2007, 22 so far in '09) but his slg% is 20 points below his career mark as well.

After a rough first inning I think Tillman showed some toughness. He didn't roll over and get demolished, like some many starters last year did (Olson, Liz, etc.). He gave up 2 runs over the next 5 innings and gave the Orioles 6 innings on a night they were thin in the bullpen.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a quality start but it was some progress and gives some hope.
Verlander showed how top pitchers adjust and find a way to stay in game. In today's game a starter with a career era under 4.00 is very good.

Decent fastball,real good movement on the breaking ball, but appears tentative at bigs. Certainly appears that Tillman has a case of jiiters and the confidence from Trembly will benefit us as season moves along-Go O'S!

Todd -

Why is your patience growing thin?

Bergesen was the best starter on the team until he got smacked with a line drive.

David Hernandez has put up respectable numbers. 13 innings and only 2 ER against Boston and New York in his last two July starts looked pretty good to me.

Reimold's hitting .281 with 10 homers in 200 at bats. Not bad for a rook.

Wieters hasn't lived up to the hype so far, but who could? And hey, he's pulled his average up from .239 to .275 over the past couple weeks.

Tillman's been wild, sure. But what were you expecting? More often than not, young pitchers struggle with their command when they first make it to the show.

Oh, and Matusz hasn't even made his start yet.

So if the only questions in your mind were "Who will they promote?" and "How will those guys perform?" why is your patience "growing real thin"?

Whatever we may have to say about the sad state of the O's, the Bedard trade still looks sweet.

OK, three hits in innings 2-9 . did we tire ourselves out in the first?

did C. thomas howell really just beat us?

oh Danys - boy, mine 1/8 Irish eyes are weeping

Never enough is right. We stink.

O's lead the league in dick-high fastballs.

My hope for this season when it started was 75 wins, but I scaled that back to 70 not too long ago. Now, I'm thinking this team will be hard pressed to avoid losing 100. No way Dave survives that right?

5 runs in the first and lose 6-5? Looks like it's going to be another long and dreadful 2nd half of the season. Let's hope Matusz gives us something to cheer about tomorrow night.

hahahah dooz is right

The fact the O's let Verlander go 8 innings and were unable to score another run is unacceptable .

The outlook was very predictable. They should have moved Baez when they could. He's a home run machine. They are going no where but down, so why do it with guys who have no future with the club. Also, is it me or shouldn't Wieters be batting in front of someone who guarantees he'll see decent pitches??? He's been an RBI machine so why bat him 8th? Let's take a poll on Trembley's last line-up card??

Make that outcome .. that was Kettle One mistake.

To the commenter unhappy with Tillman, I think the kid will be fine .. better than fine. He's young and has excelled as he adapted at every level.

Sigh.

Oh well, maybe a better draft pick next year.

Sigh.

Clete Thomas is like a skinny hillbilly Pete Rose he’s great. Not a terrible performance though by the O’s we hung in there with a division leader.. Can’t ask for much more than that Especially against Verlander. My only gripe is that I wish we had more pitchers that can go deep into games like Bergy does.

Let's take a poll on Trembley's last line-up card??

Let's see....if it's a Sunday he'll probably sit his 3 or 4 hottest hitters to give them a day off........

"The fact the O's let Verlander go 8 innings and were unable to score another run is unacceptable . "

Yeah a potential Cy Young award winner shuts us down for 7 innings after giving up 5 runs. Alert the presses!

Never credit to the opposing team, you ever think Verlander may just have unhittable stuff? The dude was throwing 98 in the eighth inning.

Well, let's see...first we had the "Beer Summit" to get the 2 sides talking from the issues in Cambridge. If I understand correctly, that visit to the White House was prompted by a lack of communication & "respect" & involved essentially a proud yet arrogant professor & a by the book officer.
What we now need is a "Whine Summit" to be held on the O's next day off (which is just about any game they play). Once again we have the proud yet verbose antagonist looking to place blame for his internal frustrations & a somewhat by the book manager just trying to get a win.
Somehow these 2 guys have got to find a way to get over this not only for the good of the team...but, for the good of the country as our President can't keep hosting these parties...he does have real work to do.

Ouch a walk off by Clete Thomas to dead center, lose 6-5.

well much will be said about Tillman, but I agree facing Greinke and then Verlander on the road is a very very tuff task for anyone coming into the bigs. Hope Matusz does well, and goes 6 innings with less than three runs, and no HRS. When were at the bottom folks, don't hope for the best, just hope!

I usually defend this team because there's no use in getting upset since nothing has happened that people who know baseball didn't already predict.

But, how many times is Trembely going to leave Baez in the game long enough for him to lose the game for us? It's like clockwork. That's what's the most frustrating part; he pitched one good innning, why tempt fate?

How about since the bullpen got worked on the homestand to the point where you have to hope Baez steps up and can eat some innings for the team. It just didn't work out.

The schedule doesn't help much either with the complete lack of days off this month. Trembley made the schedule though I'm sure.

I'm really struggling to see where the wins come from here on out, but maybe shedding Mora will spark the locker room? I think it's telling that no one is really backing him up, well other than David Ortiz.

Tillman was rocked all night long, and Angell and Manfra talked about how fortunate he was. The kid won't really be able to help the big club for another year or two; he simply is not in Bergesen's class yet, or even in Hernandez's, because they KNOW how to change speeds and location. This team is headed for 93-95 losses; we could see 15 straight losing seasons based on the current talent.

Frank,

Are you serious? Bedard's contract is up after this year and he has spent most of his time in Seattle on the shelf. The Mariners have received all they are ever going to get from this deal. We get to keep Jones and it is laughably too early to call Tillman a flop. He is just 21 years old. Sherril who was good for the O's was turned into 2 more prospects. This was a slam dunk for the O's.

Frank,

Are you serious? Bedard's contract is up after this year and he has spent most of his time in Seattle on the shelf. The Mariners have received all they are ever going to get from this deal. We get to keep Jones and it is laughably too early to call Tillman a flop. He is just 21 years old. Sherril who was good for the O's was turned into 2 more prospects. This was a slam dunk for the O's.

Tillman has pitched a grand total of 10.2 innings in the bigs. It's a tad early to call him a bust...

He still tore through the minors putting up absurd numbers and he still has a filthy 12-6 curve

He just needs to start trusting his stuff and locating his pitches. It's only a matter of time.

Tillman has pitched a grand total of 10.2 innings in the Bigs. Anyone else think it's maybe a little too early to call him a bust?

Cut the kid some slack. He’s 21. It's ridiculous to expect him to come up and pitch 8 scoreless innings in his second start. Not sure if everyone remembers but he still tore through the minors putting up absurd numbers and he still has a filthy 12-6 curve (not to mention his changeup which, once he started to locate it yesterday, looked damn good). He'll perform, he just needs to get his feet under him. And what better time to do that than now? I'm fairly confident the O's were counted out of the playoff hunt by the end of April. What's the rush?

Settle down and enjoy the development over the next 2 months of what should be the cornerstones (Matusz and Tillman) of a great rotation for years to come.

Smitty, my patience is growing thin because despite the influx of youth, the second half results are still the same. Sure, I've been pleased with Reimold, Hernandez, and especially Bergie. However, they are still right on track for another horrendous finish. I was even optimistic at the break, but it looks like we're more of what we've seen for the past 10 years. And I don't think injuries/ineffectiveness with starting pitchers is a good justification for bringing up Matusz and Tillman. If they're ready, that's great, but would they be here if Hill or Berken could get anyone out? I doubt it. I don't expect everyone to perform like Reimold and Bergie. I'm just tired of watching the O's lose...year after year after year...Call me impatient but 10 years of this nonsense is enough.