Find MASN on your cable or satellite provider.

Sunday, May 10:
Roch Kubatko updates Rich Hill's rehab: "Rich Hill has thrown 95 pitches through six scoreless innings, so he might be done today. And he might be joining the Orioles later this week." [masnsports.com]

Peter Schmuck says Luke Scott's injury could be serious: "All you had to do was see the look on Luke Scott's face -- and his arm in a sling -- after today's game to know that his shoulder injury is probably no small thing. He was clearly disheartened and talked about the importance of the power of prayer in the situation. You don't usually go there for a simple strain or sprain." [Baltimore Sun]

Jeff Zrebiec writes that Jeremy Guthrie has made a change in his delivery: "Orioles manager Dave Trembley said Jeremy Guthrie's increased velocity over his past two starts is a result of a change in his No. 1 pitcher's delivery." [Baltimore Sun]

---

Saturday, May 9:
Roch Kubatko writes that Jeremy Guthrie seems to have a comfort level with Chad Moeller: "[I]t appears that he'll be Jeremy Guthrie's personal catcher for a while. Taking away the home run, Guthrie was strong again last night, and he seems to have found a comfort zone with Moeller." [masnsports.com]

Jeff Zrebiec and Peter Schmuck also report on Chad Moeller and Jeremy Guthrie: "[Manager Dave] Trembley said there are no issues between Guthrie and [Gregg] Zaun but he wanted to keep his top starter and Moeller together after Guthrie threw a complete game in his last start." [Baltimore Sun]

Tim Brown ranks the O's No. 29 in his power rankings: "Dave Trembley decides against closer by committee, goes with closer by posse because it sounds more gangsta." [Yahoo! Sports]

---

Friday, May 8:
Roch Kubatko has information on Ryan Freel: "The Orioles have traded Ryan Freel to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Joey Gathright. Look for an announcement later this afternoon." [masnsports.com]

Dan Connolly reports on Joey Gathright: "Gathright, 28, has already cleared waivers and will be sent to Triple-A Norfolk, where he'll join the Tides' outfield. He had three hits in 14 at-bats with the Cubs this year after batting .254 with 21 stolen bases for the Kansas City Royals last year." [Baltimore Sun]

Roch Kubatko believes Ryan Freel will be traded or released: "Nothing is official yet, but Freel apparently is telling people close to him that he's going to be traded or released, that the two sides have mutually agreed to part ways. Andy MacPhail, president of baseball operations, is trying to swing a deal for a $4 million utility player who isn't happy on the bench." [masnsports.com]

Dan Connolly updates Dennis Sarfate: "Sarfate said doctors believe a muscle mass in his arm could be causing a blockage in a blood vessel. They should know for sure soon after Friday's test, which involves injecting dye into his body and tracking its path." [Baltimore Sun]

Ken Rosenthal has rumors about Ryan Freel: "The Cubs, seeking more versatility for their bench, are talking to the Orioles about a trade for disgruntled utility man Ryan Freel, according to major-league sources.

Freel, 33, plays all three outfield positions, plus second and third base. The revival of Kosuke Fukudome and emergence of Micah Hoffpauir have left the Cubs more in need of an infielder than an outfielder." [Fox Sports]

Ben Nicholson Smith analyzes the Matt Wieters situation: "If the Orioles called Wieters up today, he'd accumulate enough service time this year (almost 150 days) to become a Super Two player. This means he'd cost the Orioles more money in the future because he'd go to arbitration four times.
If they wait until June 1st to call Wieters up, he won't accumulate more than 126 days service time. This would likely prevent him from becoming a Super Two and would likely save the Orioles millions of dollars in years ahead.
Waiting until June 1st or later also allows the Orioles to make sure Wieters is ready for the majors when he arrives. They can endure their soft-hitting catchers this year, because they're not a contender, so it would be a surprise to see the prospect called up soon." [MLBTradeRumors.com]

Birds Watcher wants to see Felix Pie stick around: "Even though I like Pie, and believe we should keep him around a little longer, he should have limitations. [Lou] Montanez has a load of talent at the plate, and should get more at-bats than Pie. Everybody is all over Pie right now because he is not being productive, but he still deserves a longer chance. He has all the mechanics and speed to become a great outfielder, and at times, and I mean very limited amount of times, he shown that he can be productive at the plate. I would much rather him playing in triple A right now, but it's not worth losing him this soon. If Pie is still playing poor by the all-star break, pray he passes through wavers, and send him to Norfolk, and call up [Nolan] Reimold." [Birds Watcher]

Logan Quick thinks the Orioles should re-sign Danys Baez: "Even though he didnt do much in his 1st two seasons in Baltimore, this is a public service announcement. The Orioles need to re-sign him for 2010 at least. He is getting back to his old form, and that cant hurt the Orioles at all, as we know what he can do when he was on his game when he was a Ray. He also provides good vetern leadership and can teach these big top reliever prospects a thing or two about pitching in the majors. I was against him even making the team in spring training, unsure of how good he would be after the surgery, but he has become one of the Orioles big suprises of the early year, and am a big Baez fan this year, just like i was whe he first got to Baltimore." [Oriole Central]

---

Thursday,May 7:
Jim Hunter talked with Terry Crowley about working with Major League hitters: "Crowley has a group of dedicated professional hitters who understand the ups and downs of the game. I asked the Crow if he said anything special to Brian Roberts before he snapped an 0 for 18 slump. Crowley said he was aware of the numbers but he instead talked with Roberts about the good at bats during the stretch that went for outs. He told Roberts if he kept swinging like that and the hits would fall. Roberts then hit home runs in the last two games in Tampa Bay to prove Crowley's point." [masnsports.com]

Peter Schmuck says Ryan Freel may be on the trading block: "Andy MacPhail has been calling around to guage interest in Freel, who has expressed frustration with his lack of playing time and seems to be the odd guy out with Lou Montanez moving past him on the depth chart and Triple-A outfielder Nolan Reimold trying to force his way onto the major league club.

Can't imagine the Orioles will be able to find anyone to take that whole salary, but they already saved millions in the exchange for Ramon Hernandez and would probably be happy to recoup a million or two of his guarantee." [Baltimore Sun]

The Baltimore Sun updates the status of Dennis Sarfate: "[R]eliever Dennis Sarfate said his angiogram, which is needed to determine the cause of the numbness that he's been experiencing in his pitching hand, has been rescheduled for Friday. Alfredo Simon had ligament-reconstruction surgery performed on his right elbow by Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday." [Baltimore Sun]

Ken Rosenthal says Danys Baez and Aubrey Huff could be trade candidates: "Orioles right-hander Danys Baez, holding opponents to a .398 OPS, already is generating buzz among teams looking for relief pitching. The Orioles would be wise to move Baez before his value drops; they held on too long to lefty closer George Sherrill last season.

Orioles first baseman Aubrey Huff, ninth in the AL with 23 RBIs despite an otherwise modest start, eventually could generate interest from teams such as the Royals and Mariners. The problem with Huff is that he is a below-average defender who fits best as a DH. His 2009 salary is $8 million." [Fox Sports]

Ted Keith ranks the O's No. 28: "The O's pitching staff has given up an AL-leading 45 home runs and a big-league worst 172 runs. About the only thing going for them is that they're not the worst team in the Beltway area. Yet." [SI.com]

Anthony Amobi wonders who should close for the Orioles: "Right now, something needs to change and with the arms thin, along with [George] Sherrill being ineffective at times, I guess something bold needed to be done.

Could we see [Danys] Baez -- a former closer -- coming out to end games? Or [Jim] Johnson? Or [Chris] Ray? Time will only tell; however, the Orioles cannot have the ninth inning becoming a potential horror show." [Oriole Magic]

---

Wednesday, May 6:
Roch Kubatko wonders about Ryan Freel: "As for the Orioles, they're back home and dodging rain drops. They also must decide what to do with infielder Ryan Freel, who is eligible to come off the disabled list today.

Freel's only played in two games with Double-A Bowie because of the weather, going 0-for-6 with an RBI and a strikeout. He hasn't gotten an at-bat in four days.

The Orioles don't have to activate him. They could delay the decision and say he needs to play a few more games to knock off the rust.

I can't say with any certainty what's going to happen, especially at this early hour, but I'm not anticipating a roster move. And I'd expect Lou Montanez to stick around for a while. I don't think he needs to start packing for Norfolk." [masnsports.com]

Jeff Zrebiec says Chris Ray is working on his mechanics: "Until he can find and maintain his proper arm slot, Orioles reliever Chris Ray said he'll throw abbreviated bullpen sessions every other day to make sure his mechanics stay in sync.

Ray, one of the main candidates to get save opportunities in manager Dave Trembley's reshuffled bullpen, has a 7.56 ERA in 10 appearances and said his recent struggles - he has allowed three earned runs, four hits and a walk over his past two outings - are a result of flaws in his delivery that he feels arose from his lack of pitching assignments last year after having ligament-reconstruction surgery on his right elbow." c[Baltimore Sun]

Gordon Edes examines Adam Jones' development: "Orioles hitting coach Terry Crowley has compared Jones in temperament to one of the most hard-nosed of Orioles, Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. He also told Jones he was reminded of another Hall of Famer, Kirby Puckett." [Yahoo! Sports]

Cliff Corcoran puts George Sherrill at No. 26 in his closer rankings: "After emerging as a LOOGY (or Lefty One Out Guy) in Seattle, Sherrill was acquired by the Orioles in the Erik Bedard-Adam Jones trade as a stop-gap closer while Chris Ray recovered from Tommy John surgery. Despite a high ERA and walk rate, he acquitted himself well in the role last year, converting 84 percent of his save opportunities, but Ray is now healthy again, as is Danys Baez, and Dave Trembley just announced Monday Sherrill will have to share the job." [SI.com]

Rob Neyer thinks the O's shouldn't give up on Felix Pie: "How many more chances do you give him? I don't know, exactly. What I do know is that in Brady Anderson's first three seasons, his line was .216/.305/.301 in nearly a thousand plate appearances. He was awful in his fourth season, too. And he was significantly older than Pie, without the Triple-A credentials.

I don't mean to suggest that Pie is going to someday hit 50 homers in one season, or play in the majors until he's 38. But the Orioles didn't give up on Brady Anderson when he was 27, and they shouldn't give up on Felix Pie when he's 24. Especially not in a vain pursuit of fourth place." [ESPN.com]

Camden Chat believes Brian Roberts is going to be fine: "Roberts is still getting on base (.384 OBP), is walking and striking out at pretty standard rates for him and already has eight doubles. Really, if anything is going to worry us as O's fans, it is Roberts on the base paths. His stolen bases (4) are down, and his times caught stealing are up (3 already compared to 10 in all of 2008). Last April he had 9 steals, and was caught twice and in 2007 he had 8 steals and was caught just once. Hopefully, like those infield flies, this is not a season-long issue.

I'm no stats expert, but I've got way more to worry about than Roberts. That series in Toronto is something I would love to forget, but I think B-Rob is going to be just fine." [Camden Chat]

---

Tuesday, May 5:
Steve Melewski reports on an injury to Brandon Erbe: "O's Director of Player Development, David Stockstill, said Bowie pitcher Brandon Erbe went on the seven-day disabled list today due to shoulder fatigue." [masnsports.com]

Buck Martinez writes the O's are a growing organization: "With the Orioles, the younger pitchers will continue to develop in the minors; the big club will right itself after this most recent slide. We're 26 games into the season.

Week by week, month by month, you will see a more consistent brand of ball as we go along. There are no quick fixes; you can't change your plan midstream. The farm system needs time to develop." [masnsports.com]

Roch Kubatko says Danys Baez will remain in his current role: "With the closer's job up for grabs, and considering that Baez registered 25, 30 and 41 saves in consecutive seasons beginning in 2003 with the Indians and ending in 2005 with the Rays, he would seem a logical candidate to take over the ninth inning.

However, manager Dave Trembley indicated yesterday that Baez will remain in his current role, and I'm in complete agreement. Why mess with a good thing?" [masnsports.com]

Jeff Zrebiec reports Alfredo Simon is slated to have Tommy John surgery: "[Manager Dave]Trembley said Alfredo Simon, who has been pronounced out for the season, will have Tommy John ligament-reconstruction surgery this week." [Baltimore Sun]

Larry Dobrow ranks the O's No. 28 in his rankings this week: "All the desperate, teary pleas for Matt Wieters' elevation don't change the fact that he's slugging in the mid-.300s in triple-A ... A theory: O's fans would be more tolerant of Felix Pie's directionally impaired baserunning and lazy defense if his last name were pronounced like "pie" (as in the delicious dessert) and not "pee-AY." Who doesn't like pie, besides socialists and prom chaperones?" [CBSSports.com]

Michael Huang thinsk the O's will take pitcher Kyle Gibson: "Projectable frame, staff leader, Andy MacPhail believes in pitching, pitching, pitching." [Sporting News]

Dean Hybl features Adam Jones' development: "As the Orioles look toward the future, having an outfield with two potential All-Stars in Markakis and Jones is a great foundation on which to build.

It is a long season and doubtful that Jones will maintain his torrid early season pace, but there is little doubt that he has stabilized an important position for the Birds and should give Orioles fans lots to cheer about for many years to come." [Baseball Reflections]

---

Monday, May 4:
Roch Kubatko ponders a roster move when Ryan Freel is ready to be activated: "Ryan Freel is due to come off the disabled list on Wednesday, when the Orioles begin a seven-game homestand. They'll have to figure out how to make room for him if he's staying." [masnsports.com]

Dan Connolly features Brandon Waring: "The knock on Waring is that he strikes out at an alarming rate. Last year, he fanned 156 times in 441 at-bats in Single-A. So far this year he has struck out in roughly a quarter of his at-bats." [Baltimore Sun]

ESPN.com ranks the Orioles No. 29 in their power poll: "Brian Roberts has gone 3-for-26 (.115) during the Orioles' six-game losing streak." [ESPN.com]

Aram Tolegian has the Birds' No. 29 in his rankings: "Mired in bad losing streak with dates vs. the Rays, Twins and Yanks upcoming." [Fox Sports]

Ryan Fagan puts the O's at No. 27 in his power poll: "Rough six-game winless stretch for the Orioles; five of those losses were by one or two runs." [Sporting News]

Anthony Amobi examines the Felix Pie situation: "The problem with the whole Pie situation is that he's out of options. Honestly, if the Pie was put on waivers, he'd be grabbed by someone quick. Right now, it may be best to let him play in spells and hope he shows promise because Baltimore has lost 10 out of their last 13 games, and something needs to happen to turn the tide." [Oriole Magic]

Birds Watcher takes a closer look at L.J.Hoes: "Hoes reminds me a lot of Brian Roberts. Both of them are good at everything, consistent, and clutch. In about four years, I believe Hoes will ride the Orioles bench to learn under Roberts, and take over the throne at second base once he retires. I really enjoy his game, and knew he was going to be a steal when we selected him last year. He already has good hitting mechanics, and fielding skills. For somebody so young, and not drafted in the first round, all he needs to do is polish his game. The scouts were impressed with him his senior year in high school, with how mature he was at the plate, and his solid follow through. I'm sure he will clime the prospect list and the minors faster than anybody will expect." [Birds Watcher]

Logan Quick would like for the O's to bring up some of the young pitchers: "A year like 2009 is the perfect year to call these kids up, not just the older prospects, guys like Chris Tillman, David Hernandez, Nolan Reimold, Scott Moore, Matt Wieters, hell, even Jason Berken, who has done good in Norfolk in 2 starts, going 10 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and striking out 4. And then in 2010, Patton, maybe Matusz, etc will be ready. And bam! all of a sudden the Baltimore Orioles are contenders again, just they should be. It can happen, and hopefully the F.O see's it. Andy Macphail has been talking about this for a couple years, and i think 2009 should be the testing year if we cant get back on track. Then you will see major, big results in 2010. And even bigger results in 2011. Its bound to happen, and i say right now is the time." [Oriole Central]

The Loss Column reflects on the first month of the minor league seasons: "Norfolk Tides (12-10, 2nd IL South)
Norfolk is being carried on the strength of Chris Tillman, David Hernandez, and of course Nolan Reimold. Reimold is teaming up with non-prospects Oscar Salazar and Jeff Fiorentino to give Norfolk some offensive punch while Justin Turner (.534 OPS and 5 errors) is floundering and Matt Wieters (.373 OBP but 16 Ks and just 4 XBH in 63 AB) is adjusting to AAA pitching. Tillman and Hernandez are impressing, but with the big caveat that they aren't pitching nearly deep enough into games at all. They are averaging just under 5 innings per start, but with 12.34 strikeouts per nine." [The Loss Column]

Greg E. is seeing improvement in Jeremy Guthrie: "The Orioles, who are thin on quality starting pitching, desperately need Guthrie to return to the form he has shown in his previous two seasons with the team. Sunday's start, despite the outcome, was a step in the right direction for him and the club." [MyMASN]

Bill Begley has the Orioles as one his '3 Down': "Sunday's 4-3 loss at Toronto was Baltimore's sixth straight and dropped the Orioles to 9-16 on the season, eight games in back of the AL East-leading Blue Jays. Not a surprise - the loss put the O's road record at 2-8 this season. The offense is not that bad (a respectable .271) but pitching has been horrid - a team ERA in the 5.90 range, 161 runs allowed the most in the majors, and opponents hitting .300 this season. That's not helped by 17 errors already as a team ... probably a reason Sunday's outcome was the 10th straight time Baltimore has lost a game when the margin is two runs or less." [Hardball Cooperative]

---