When Jim Riggleman managed the Seattle Mariners in the latter part of 2008, he had a journeyman reliever in the bullpen available for a variety of situations. Whether it was for a spot start, in relief of a starter's early exit or to protect a late inning lead, Riggleman could call on and trust Miguel Batista. Earlier this season, on April 18th, the skipper turned again to his trusted veteran, asking Batista to warm up quickly and save the rest of the bullpen from a 10-run, first inning...

The Orioles futility vs. Toronto continued tonight in a 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. The Orioles are now 0-11 on the year vs. Toronto and have been outscored in the season series 65-23 and out-homered 23 to 4. The Orioles fall to 2-10 since the All-Star break and are now 31-69 after 100 games. They have lost 10 in a row and 19 of their last 21 games at Rogers Centre Juan Samuel talks with Gary and Mike about the starters struggles and the O's 8-2 loss Kevin Millwood took the loss and again...

Can you believe there are people, some considered very astute in the baseball industry, that we're picking the Orioles to finish ahead of Toronto this year. It now looks like the O's are on their way to 0-11 vs. the Jays as they trail 6-0 after the fourth. It is like Ground Hog day. An O's starter gives up early runs, meanwhile the opponent starter records quick outs vs. O's hitters who nightly seem to refuse to work the count. At this point, I blame the players and coaching staff. No...

In a brief e-mail exchange with O's president Andy MacPhail, he said Zach Britton is "not" being considered to join the Orioles to start this weekend. So we can rule out any talk of Britton starting in Brad Bergesen's spot on Saturday. But Britton is being considered to join the Orioles later in the season, MacPhail said. Britton, who is scheduled to start for Norfolk tonight, is 1-1, 2.05 in four Triple-A starts since he moved up from Bowie. Over his last 11 starts between Bowie and...

The Orioles' lineup is missing Brian Roberts, who's taking a break from the artificial surface at Rogers Centre, and Ty Wigginton, who's serving the final game of his suspension. Roberts is 5-for-10 lifetime against Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero. Wigginton is 5-for-14 with two doubles. Not the best timing. Matt Wieters homered twice last night and Luke Scott also went deep. They're a combined 2-for-19 against Romero, though Scott has homered once off him. In Romero's last start...

For the Orioles: 2B Julio Lugo 3B Miguel Tejada RF Nick Markakis DH Luke Scott CF Adam Jones C Matt Wieters LF Felix Pie 1B Jake Fox SS Cesar Izturis RHP Kevin Millwood For the Blue Jays: LF Fred Lewis SS Yunel Escobar RF Jose Bautista CF Vernon Wells DH Adam Lind 2B Aaron Hill 1B Lyle Overbay C John Buck 3B Edwin Encarnacion LHP Ricky Romero Brian Roberts is receiving a scheduled night off.

While there has been a lot of focus on the O's struggling starting pitching lately - as there should be - the offense has not been pulling its weight either as the club is 2-9 since the All-Star break. The O's have scored three runs or less in seven of those 11 games and they are 3-51 this year when scoring three runs or less. Over the last six games, the O's are batting just 4 for 42 (.095) with runners in scoring position. After hitting eight homers in four games at Texas before the...

Left-hander Zach Britton is still listed as Triple-A Norfolk's starter for tonight's game at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Speculation has been building that Britton could replace Brad Bergesen in the Orioles' rotation this weekend, though he'd be working on short rest by taking the mound tonight. Bergesen is scheduled to start Saturday in Kansas City. For Britton to take Bergesen's turn, he'd have to treat tonight's start like a side session and leave the game after an inning or two. In his...

Nationals right-handed reliever Dan Leatherman made the rare two-level promotion from Potomac to Syracuse last week and got hit a little bit. But with the resume he had put together in Woodbridge, you really have to give the 25-year-old Frederick, MD native more than just two games at Triple-A to show the pitching prowess that was closing out games for nearly two seasons in the Carolina League. The West Virginia University product was lighting it up for Advanced-A Potomac, going 3-2 with a...

Potomac Nationals pitcher A.J. Morris has recovered from getting hit by a line drive and pitched well in late July. Now, the talented young hurler will skip a start because of a high inning count. Morris has been placed on the seven-day disabled list. Morris was supposed to start tonight but will be replaced by Adrian Alaniz in the rotation. In three starts since July 15, the 23-year-old right-hander has gone 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA, allowing only two earned runs over 14 innings, seven hits,...