NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter made contingency plans yesterday in case Chris Tillman was too sick to take the mound tonight at Yankee Stadium.
Showalter sent Tillman back to the team hotel yesterday with antibiotics and instructions to stay in bed.
Tillman almost was sent to the showers in the first inning tonight, but he survived the Yankees' five-run onslaught and shut them out over the next four frames.
"We talked to him that first inning," Showalter said following the...
NEW YORK - The Yankees don't have Mark Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez tonight, but they still have Chris Tillman's number.
They grabbed a 3-0 lead only three batters into the game, and it took Tillman 15 pitches to record his first out. Two more runs scored, as the Yankees sent nine batters to the plate and Matt Lindstrom began to warm in the bullpen.
Four of the five runs were earned. Tillman committed an error on Ichiro Suzuki's comebacker before Russell Martin's RBI single.
Yes, it's...
NEW YORK - Robert Andino is back with the Orioles. Now he has to get back in the lineup.
Andino will begin tonight's game on the bench, but at least he's off the disabled list after a brief injury-rehab assignment at Triple-A Norfolk.
"Played two games down there pain-free," he said. "Did a little bit of sliding and everything. Ground balls. No pain. See how it goes.
"Hardest thing was probably diving glove side right now. The other thing was probably sliding head-first."
Andino...
NEW YORK - Executive vice president Dan Duquette just completed a conference call with reporters following today's non-waiver trade deadline, which passed without the Orioles making a deal.
"The opportunities we looked at had a cost and I wasn't convinced that they weren't a lot better than the people we had in the organization, and you know, hence, we weren't able to make some of the deals we had on the table," Duquette said. "There will be some other opportunities in the month of...
NEW YORK - The 4 p.m. non-waiver deadline has passed and the Orioles didn't make a trade.
Executive vice president Dan Duquette will be available to the media in a conference call later this afternoon.
So much for the heated trade talks with the Phillies for pitcher Joe Blanton. Nothing came of it.
Keep in mind that trades can still be made after today. However, the players must pass through waivers.
Update: I talked to an Orioles official who said, "We're trying to improve on what...
NEW YORK - Second baseman Robert Andino has arrived in New York after playing two games at Triple-A Norfolk. He's prepared to join the team, which necessitates a roster move.
Andino went 3-for-9 with two RBIs, a run scored, a walk, a strikeout and an error that led to an unearned run last night off left-hander Brian Matusz.
The Orioles could place designated hitter Jim Thome on the disabled list to free up a roster spot for Andino, but it depends on the MRI results from earlier...
NEW YORK - I've been wrong before and I'll be wrong again. That's my promise to you. But I'm saying right here and right now that the Orioles will not trade minor league infielder Jonathan Schoop to the Phillies for pitcher Joe Blanton.
It's more likely that a bottle of Scope will be included in a deal than the Orioles No. 3 prospect, as dubbed before the season by Baseball America.
That doesn't mean the deal is dead. The two sides will continue talking today, perhaps right up to the 4...
NEW YORK - The Orioles improved to 20-6 in one-run games, including 13-2 on the road. The lead was built partly tonight by Nick Markakis' two RBIs, it was narrowed after Miguel Gonzalez gave up the back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning, and it stayed intact because Jim Johnson escaped a jam in the ninth to record his 31st save.
Here's manager Buck Showalter on Gonzalez:
"I thought he was outstanding. We talked a little bit yesterday about attacking them and just being aggressive. You...
NEW YORK - Closer Jim Johnson, coming off a blown save and raising more concerns about his second-half performance, was handed the ball and a one-run lead tonight in the ninth inning.
After one batter, the Yankees had the tying run on second base. After three batters, they had the winning run at first base.
Nick Swisher led off with a ground-rule double to right-center field. Raul Ibanez struck out, but Eric Chavez walked.
Ichiro Suzuki bounced into a 6-4 force and later stole second, and...
NEW YORK - Wilson Betemit homered into the second deck in right field leading off the top of the third inning tonight to tie the score, 1-1.
Betemit had one homer since June 26 and one RBI since July 22. He's totaled four RBIs since June 29.
Betemit has two hits in seven career at-bats against Yankees right-hander Freddy Garcia - both of them home runs.
The Yankees claimed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning after Miguel Gonzalez was called for balk with two outs that allowed Raul...
NEW YORK - The Phillies sent pitcher Joe Blanton's medical records to Orioles orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens this afternoon, according to a source. This is another indication that a trade is close to being finalized.
That's it for the Blanton update.
Jim Thome had a trigger point treatment and a cortisone injection in his neck yesterday, "but it wasn't much better today," said manager Buck Showalter. "A little bit. Not much."
Thome will return to Baltimore tonight and undergo an MRI...
NEW YORK - The Phillies sent pitcher Joe Blanton's medical records to Orioles orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens this afternoon, according to a source. This is another indication that a trade is close to being finalized.
That's it for the Blanton update.
Jim Thome had a trigger point treatment and a cortisone injection in his neck yesterday, "but it wasn't much better today," said manager Buck Showalter. "A little bit. Not much."
Thome will return to Baltimore tonight and undergo an MRI...
NEW YORK - Designated hitter Jim Thome is returning to Baltimore and will undergo an MRI on his neck tomorrow to determine the cause of spasms that have kept him out of the lineup for the past three games.
Thome is listed among the reserves tonight, but he won't be available to play.
Thome tried to hit earlier today before giving up and meeting with manager Buck Showalter.
"It's really not getting any better, to be honest," Thome said. "Maybe a little bit of improvement, but not much. I...
The Orioles have posted their lineup for tonight's 7:05 p.m. game against the Yankees, and it doesn't include designated hitter Jim Thome, who is still sidelined with neck spasms. Thome will miss his third straight start.
Here's the lineup:
Nick Markakis RF
J.J. Hardy SS
Chris Davis DH
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Lew Ford LF
Wilson Betemit 3B
Mark Reynolds 1B
Omar Quintanilla 2B
Miguel Gonzalez RHP
NEW YORK - Not much has changed this morning. The Orioles are still one of the teams expressing interest in Joe Blanton. They've been scouting him. They've held talks with the Phillies. They're in on him, as we like to say in the business.
Whether they have the most interest depends on what measuring device you use to make that determination. Maybe it's number of phone calls or scouts. Maybe it's text messages. Maybe it's the tone in executive vice president Dan Duquette's voice. But...
I thought about taking the midnight train going anywhere, but decided to begin today's journey by hopping on the 7:50 a.m. Northeast Regional to New York.
I know you saw what I did there.
The Orioles need to bring their offense to the Bronx. They scored six runs or more in three of their last four games. They've also been held to one run in four of their last seven.
It comes and goes.
The non-waiver trade deadline will do the same Tuesday afternoon, and I plan on wearing a black armband...
Manager Buck Showalter had his pick of impact players to talk about following today's 6-1 victory over the Athletics. Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen seemed like a good starting point.
"The breaking ball and the changeup have really gotten better since the spring," Showalter said. "He and Rick (Adair) have done a great job with it. That's made his fastball that much better. I've had some really good pitchers and on nights when they're carrying really good stuff, there always seems to be deep...
Lew Ford is playing in his first major league game since September 2007, and he's become an instant favorite of fans here who love drawing out the sound of his first name whenever he does anything - hits, runs the bases, catches a fly ball, throws out a runner, comes close to throwing out a runner, towels off his face in the dugout.
Wei-Yin Chen set the record today for most strikeouts by a Taiwanese player in the majors with 12, and he received two standing ovations - once when the message...
Orioles catcher Matt Wieters missed two games with a sore right biceps. He's been missing a lot of pitches, too.
Not today.
Wieters, mired in a 1-for-31 slump, hit a three-run homer off Oakland left-hander Travis Blackley in the bottom of the third inning to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead.
Wieters had struck out in 15 of his last 30 at-bats before today. He hadn't homered since July 5 in Anaheim, when he posted his last multi-RBI game by collecting four against the Angels.
Southpaws tend to...
Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts has decided to undergo season-ending surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip.
Roberts played in one rehab game last night at short-season Single-A Aberdeen. He was scheduled to play again tonight and perhaps be activated tomorrow in New York, but the persistent discomfort in his hip led to today's decision.
One doctor recommended surgery, but a second suggested that Roberts attempt to rehab and continue playing. A cortisone injection hasn't...