I've got a busy morning ahead of me, which includes a three-hour stint on "Wall to Wall Baseball" with Tom Davis and Dave Johnson. The first hour, beginning at 11 a.m., will air on MASN. You can catch the entire show on ESPN Radio 1300.
Or you can sleep late. Depends what you did last night.
Do you get the feeling that Orioles manager Buck Showalter is looking at life from both sides now (see if that song sticks in your head for a while.)
Showalter has seen the good. A lot more than he...
Tonight's attendance: 13,507.
Welcome to the first three-game losing streak under manager Buck Showalter.
"(Matt) Garza's got good stuff, but there's some things we've got to do better," Showalter said. "We missed the cutoff man, cost us a run. And a couple other things we'll correct."
How about that 5-32 record against AL East opponents besides the Red Sox?
Kevin Millwood lost his 15th game, which leads the majors. This is the first time he failed to complete six innings since...
It's one thing to tick off the opposing team. It's quite another to rile your own manager.
Matt Garza was upset that Rays manager Joe Maddon removed him from tonight's game with two on and two outs in the sixth. He had just issued his second walk of the inning, losing Corey Patterson on four pitches, but still held a 4-1 lead.
Garza began to walk off the mound before Maddon reached it, showing up his manager in the process. Maddon took the ball from him, turned and shouted something at his...
This game is getting away from the Orioles.
The Rays scored twice in the third inning and twice in the fourth to stake Matt Garza to a 4-0 lead.
If you still feel good about this one, I admire your loyalty. Or you're still at Happy Hour. Either way, props to you. Just root and drink responsibly.
Rick VandenHurk was warming in the bullpen, but he sat down after Kevin Millwood struck out Carl Crawford to end the fourth.
Millwood has allowed six hits, walked three and thrown 73...
It's that time again when I remind everyone how Kevin Millwood usually gives up runs in the first inning.
He didn't run into the run problem in his last start, blanking the Angels on six hits over eight innings, and he stranded Carl Crawford on third base and Evan Longoria on first tonight.
Millwood retired Carlos Pena on a popup to shortstop Cesar Izturis, leaving his first-inning run total this season at 38.
This is only the fifth time in his last 18 starts that Millwood didn't allow at...
Rays pitcher Matt Garza doesn't lack for confidence and he doesn't worry about firing up the opposition.
He challenged the Orioles today in a St. Petersburg Times notebook item, still fuming over the four home runs he surrendered against them on July 20, which prompted this response from manager Buck Showalter:
"There are a lot of people who feel that way that just don't say it publicly, so what's the difference? A lot of them feel that way. He's certainly a good pitcher and that was a...
Chris Tillman has been summoned from Triple-A Norfolk and will join the Orioles later tonight or tomorrow.
Kevin Millwood is starting tonight, and Jeremy Guthrie goes tomorrow. Sunday's slot is being left open, and Tillman is going to fill it. He'll be working on normal rest.
Everyone else in the rotation gets pushed back, bringing the expected six-man rotation. The names will likely change over the course of the month, however, as the young starters reach their innings limits.
Adam...
Brian Roberts 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Luke Scott DH
Felix Pie LF
Corey Patterson CF
Matt Wieters C
Cesar Izturis SS
Josh Bell 3B
Kevin Millwood RHP
The Orioles haven't posted their lineup yet. Still checking on the wounded.
Outfielder Corey Patterson told me that he swung in the indoor cage earlier and is "good to go."
He's been receiving treatment for a sore neck that restricted him to bunting duties last night.
A few items from my conversation this morning with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, who was returning from his visit to Delmarva:
* MacPhail hadn't intended to add any more position players to the expanded roster, but injuries to Adam Jones and Corey Patterson could force another move. Jones (back) is expected to miss at least a few more games. Patterson (neck) was available to bunt and run last night, but nothing else.
"We might have to revisit it if we think those injuries...
We love to second-guess here, and the ninth inning allowed us to work our craft.
Should Corey Patterson have been sent up to pinch-hit for Nolan Reimold? Should you bunt with Cesar Izturis on deck? Should Izturis be allowed to hit in that situation? What about Josh Bell?
Reporters were kicking around suggestions after the game. We basically agreed that manager Buck Showalter's options were limited, which is odd in September. Teams can expand their rosters, yet the Orioles looked like they...
Brad Bergesen gained some satisfaction from working into the sixth inning tonight, but it was a small victory - and one that didn't count in the standings or on his record.
The five-run second inning was a killer.
"It is what it is and you've got to put it behind you and go from there," he said. "I was able to do so tonight and chew up some more innings, not put that stress on the bullpen. That was really the positive for me tonight."
The Red Sox kept falling behind in the count and...
The Orioles are 1-12 in games that decide the winner of a three-game series, including 1-7 at Camden Yards. Their only victory came on May 13 against Seattle.
Better execution in the field might have changed tonight's outcome.
Ty Wigginton committed a costly error at first base and couldn't field Brian Roberts' one-hop throw on a potential double play. Josh Bell threw behind Roberts, which disrupted the second baseman.
"There are situations in a game that you can go back on," manager...
But enough about my love life.
The Orioles put the potential tying runs on base in the ninth inning against Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Too bad the bottom of the order was coming up.
Pinch-hitter Corey Patterson laid down a nice bunt to advance Felix Pie and pinch-runner Julio Lugo, who entered the game for Matt Wieters (3-for-4, two RBIs). Patterson's neck must be feeling a little better, though he didn't have to take any swings against Papelbon.
Manager Buck Showalter let Cesar...
Rick VandenHurk is appearing in his third game with the Orioles. Call off the search.
VandenHurk replaced Brad Bergesen with one out in the sixth and coaxed a double-play grounder from Victor Martinez. Two pitches and he was done.
We'll see him again in the seventh.
VandenHurk tossed a scoreless inning against Texas, striking out two, in his Orioles' debut on Aug. 22. He gave up two runs (one earned) in three innings in an Aug. 26 game in Chicago.
The Orioles acquired VandenHurk from the...
Brad Bergesen got into another jam in the third inning with a one-out single and two-out walk.
I stress that it was a two-out walk.
Marco Scutaro sent a grounder up the third base line. Josh Bell fielded the ball and stepped on the bag. The inning was over, except Bell forgot the number of outs. He went for the unnecessary double play, firing the ball to first baseman Ty Wigginton, who tried to knock it down as it skipped in the dirt.
Players sort of milled around the infield for a few...
A very underrated movie. Also a keen strategy by the Orioles that got Brad Bergesen through the first inning without any real damage.
The Orioles shifted their infield with two outs in the first inning, Victor Martinez on first base and left-handed slugger David Ortiz at the plate. A typical maneuver that worked perfectly as Ortiz sent a sharp grounder past first baseman Ty Wigginton. The ball was headed for right field, but Brian Roberts had moved to the exact spot and made the pickup and...
Breaking news: Jake Arrieta shaved off his mustache.
Double-A Bowie outfielder Xavier Avery has been added to the Scottsdale Scorpions' roster in the Arizona Fall League. He'll join pitchers Kam Mickolio, Wynn Pelzer, Oliver Drake and Pat Egan, infielders Ryan Adams, Greg Miclat and Tyler Townsend, and catcher Caleb Joseph. Single-A Frederick pitching coach Blaine Beatty will serve as pitching coach for Scottsdale.
Manager Buck Showalter says he's familiar with Bowie's Joel Guzman, who...
Adam Jones doesn't think he'll be cleared to play for a few more days because of soreness in his upper back. Felix Pie is starting in center field tonight.
"He had that one swing that really bit him last night," manager Buck Showalter said.
Update: Jones was given the option of receiving a cortisone injection, but he's undecided. He's never had one. For now, he still hopes to return in a few days.
Showalter said it's too soon to determine whether the club will call up an outfielder...
For the Orioles:
Brian Roberts 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Luke Scott DH
Felix Pie CF
Matt Wieters C
Nolan Reimold LF
Cesar Izturis SS
Josh Bell 3B
Brad Bergesen RHP
For the Red Sox:
Scutaro SS
Drew RF
Martinez C
Ortiz DH
Beltre 3B
Lowrie 2B
Lowell 1B
Nava LF
Kalish CF
Matsuzaka RHP
Update: Brian Matusz was named AL Rookie of the Month for August. In six August starts, Matusz went 4-1 with a 2.43 ERA. He's the first Oriole to be named Rookie of the Month since Nolan Reimold (June...
