The Orioles made the roster move official. Rhyne Hughes is up, of course, and Justin Turner has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.
The Orioles are more comfortable with Julio Lugo at shortstop and Turner has options remaining. They also decided to keep the extra bullpen arm.
Turner was 0-for-9 with three strikeouts in five games.
I wish he would get some starts at shortstop with the Tides, but Robert Andino and Scott Moore apparently have dibs. I just think it would increase Turner's...
For the Orioles:
Lou Montanez LF
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Miguel Tejada 3B
Matt Wieters C
Luke Scott DH
Ty Wigginton 2B
Rhyne Hughes 1B
Cesar Izturis SS
Brian Matusz LHP
Luke Scott is 2-for-5 with two home runs lifetime against Boston starter John Lackey. Miguel Tejada is 10-for-33 with a home run and five RBIs. Nick Markakis is 7-for-23 with two RBIs.
Left-hander Brian Matusz has held opponents to a .235 average with one extra-base hit, a sixth-inning double by Kevin Kouzmanoff in his...
For the Red Sox:
Marco Scutaro SS
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Victor Martinez DH
Kevin Youkilis 1B
Mike Lowell 3B
Jason Varitek C
Bill Hall RF
Jeremy Hermida LF
Darnell McDonald CF
John Lackey RHP
Rhyne Hughes, who is joining the Orioles in Boston today, reached base via hit or walk in all 14 games that he started for Triple-A Norfolk.
Hughes batted .372 (16-43) with two homers and seven RBIs against right-handers, and .250 (2-8) with one homer and four RBIs vs. lefties.
You'll like this one: Hughes batted .429 (6-14) with one homer and nine RBIs with runners in scoring position.
He'll stick out like a sore thumb in the Orioles' clubhouse.
I'm not sure if manager Dave Trembley...
We found out that you can trust MySpace, at least when Adam Jones' brother is announcing the latest Gold Glove winners.
Can we do the same with Facebook?
Here's what Rhyne Hughes posted on his wall:
"Got the CALL! Thanking God for this blessing and opportunity! See you in Boston!!"
Thirty-nine people "liked" his post and gave it a thumbs up.
Make it 40 if I can write about a win tonight.
Hughes is batting .375 with five doubles, a triple, three homers and 11 RBIs in 14 games with...
The Orioles are 3-18 in their last 21 road games and 27-64 on the road since the start of the 2009 season.
The Orioles have scored more runs in Brian Matusz's three starts (19) than they have in the 10 combined starts of Jeremy Guthrie (seven runs in three starts), Kevin Millwood (eight runs in four starts) and David Hernandez (three runs in three starts).
The Orioles enter the series with Boston with each of their three starters having a lower ERA than the Red Sox pitcher they are facing....
For the Orioles:
Lou Montanez LF
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Miguel Tejada 3B
Ty Wigginton 2B
Matt Wieters C
Nolan Reimold DH
Garrett Atkins 1B
Cesar Izturis SS
Jeremy Guthrie RHP
For the Red Sox:
Marco Scutaro SS
JD Drew RF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Kevin Youkilis 1B
Victor Martinez C
David Ortiz DH
Adrian Beltre 3B
Jeremy Hermida LF
Josh Reddick CF
Jon Lester LHP
Guthrie has faced Matt Garza twice and Justin Duchscherer once in his first three starts, and he'll face Lester tonight and most...
Most of Nick Markakis' at-bats this season have come in the third slot in the order, where he's hitting .260 (13-for-50) with three doubles, one triple, two RBIs and a .737 OPS.
Markakis is 2-for-8 in the second slot, both hits being doubles.
Looking at a larger sample size - his entire major league career - Markakis is batting .327 with a .955 OPS in 130 games as the No. 2 hitter, and .285 with an .812 OPS in 357 games as the No. 3 hitter.
By the way, he's 5-for-9 with a home run as the...
Now that the Orioles understand the team with the worst record after 16 games doesn't get the first pick in the NFL draft, they can proceed with their three-game series in Boston.
Don't get too excited. Brian Matusz doesn't pitch until tomorrow.
I'm trying to figure out ways the Orioles can support manager Dave Trembley and find a solution "player personnel-wise" to their assortment of issues.
The offense is spinning its tires in the mud. Who can give it a push?
Focusing within the...
Brad Bergesen will make his first start for Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday.
Alfredo Simon is moving to the bullpen.
Check Steve Melewski's blog for his interview with Tides pitching coach Mike Griffin, who discusses Bergesen, Jake Arrieta and Chris Tillman.
I wondered whether Brandon Erbe was in danger of losing his rotation spot. He gave up five runs and seven hits over five innings today in an 8-3 loss to Gwinnett, and is 0-3 with a 7.98 ERA in three starts. He's never pitched above Double-A...
I know there has been rampant speculation about manager Dave Trembley's job status and the possibility that he could be fired today, but it's not going to happen.
Trembley will remain in charge throughout the upcoming series in Boston and after the Orioles return home.
Team officials remain committed to giving Trembley every opportunity to straighten out this mess.
Concerns have grown over a stagnant offense, but Trembley won't take the fall this early in the season.
That doesn't...
The first off-day of the 2010 season has arrived. No baseball after 16 straight games.
The Orioles can chill out in Boston, drown their sorrows in chowder, retell stories of Brian Matusz's two victories, resist the urge to take a header off the Green Monster.
Or they can gather with manager Dave Trembley and brush up on their baseball skills by taking the following quiz:
A runner is in scoring position with two outs and you're the next batter. You should:
A: Get a hit to drive in the...
Adam Jones appears to have injured his right arm after stumbling out of the batters box.
Jones reached down to break his fall. Let's hope that's all he broke.
MASN's cameras have caught Jones flexing his right hand and massaging his bicep and elbow. He grimaced at one point and bent slightly at the waist.
Of course, the first batter in the fourth inning hit a fly ball to Jones, who made the catch and gingerly threw the ball back to the infield.
The Orioles have enough players on the...
The Orioles got a leadoff single from their new leadoff hitter.
They got a two-out single from Nick Markakis after Lou Montanez was erased on a double play, and Markakis hustled to second base when Seattle left fielder Matt Tuiasosopo overran the ball.
Markakis stumbled as he reached the bag, but his ankle didn't snap. Possible injury averted.
Matt Wieters delivered a clutch two-out hit with a runner in scoring position, accounting for the only first-inning run off Mariners pitcher Felix...
For the Orioles:
Lou Montanez LF
Ty Wigginton 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Matt Wieters C
Luke Scott DH
Adam Jones CF
Garrett Atkins 1B
Justin Turner 2B
Cesar Izturis SS
Kevin Millwood RHP
For the Mariners:
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chone Figgins 2B
Franklin Gutierrez CF
Jose Lopez 3B
Casey Kotchman 1B
Mike Sweeney DH
Matt Tuiasosopo LF
Rob Johnson C
Jack Wilson SS
Felix Hernandez RHP
Reliever Mike Gonzalez's visit to renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. didn't reveal a more serious injury to his left shoulder than diagnosed by team physicians.
President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told me that Gonzalez received the "same prognosis as before." Gonzalez went on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 10, with a strained left shoulder.
Gonzalez, who sought another opinion that he hoped wouldn't lead to surgery, will report to...
The Orioles have claimed left-hander Pedro Viola off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.
I guess he can take Alberto Castillo's spot with the Tides. Lose a lefty, sign a lefty.
Viola, 26, appeared in nine games for the Reds last season, posting a 5.14 ERA in seven innings after going 2-2 with eight saves and a 5.47 ERA in 54 games with Triple-A Louisville.
So who's going to be the first person to mistakenly refer to him as "Frank?"
I really hope it...
Nothing major here, but I wanted to pass along via BlackBerry that Felix Pie is flying to Sarasota tomorrow to join the rest of the crew at extended spring training.
Pie could be sidelined three months with this lat injury. It's never good when muscle pulls away from the bone.
The Orioles don't believe that he'll require surgery, which would increase his recovery time. The body will just have to heal on its own.
Pie has only been cleared to run. He'll eventually begin light exercises....
I'm running a little late this morning (I always blame the kid.)
These West Coast games are killing me. They're not doing the Orioles much good, either.
The record is abysmal, but I had plenty of concerns before the season began. The schedule is absolutely brutal, and this team has issues. It was a combustible combination, and it's blown up in their faces.
I don't ask for much in this world, but I expect my players to run out ground balls and bust their tails no matter the score or...
Major League Baseball will announce the AL's Gold Glove winners around 3 p.m. You can watch live on ESPNews if your boss isn't looking over your shoulder.
Adam Jones will become official, and we'll learn whether Torii Hunter and Ichiro Suzuki will join him. You'll probably collect on your bet if you choose them.
The assumption is that Grady Sizemore's injury-filled season, which resulted in an early shutdown and two surgeries, will prevent him from taking home the hardware. But that's...