Brad Bergesen just stepped off a plane at BWI and is getting ready to pack up his gear at Camden Yards and head to his next destination: Triple-A Norfolk. Bergesen said he was "a little bit surprised" when manager Dave Trembley and pitching coach Rick Kranitz broke the news following last night's game that he was being optioned after only three starts. "Obviously, I haven't been pitching well, so I knew I needed to turn it around or that was inevitable. But I was surprised by it coming...

For the Orioles: Adam Jones CF Ty Wigginton 3B Nick Markakis RF Nolan Reimold DH Luke Scott LF Matt Wieters C Garrett Atkins 1B Julio Lugo 2B Cesar Izturis SS David Hernandez RHP For the Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki RF Chone Figgins 2B Franklin Gutierrez CF Jose Lopez 3B Ken Griffey Jr. DH Milton Bradley LF Casey Kotchman 1B Adam Moore C Jack Wilson SS Jason Vargas LHP

The Orioles agreed to terms today with outfielder Corey Patterson on a minor league contract. Patterson will report to extended spring training tomorrow. You might remember that Patterson played for the Orioles in 2006 and 2007. He spent the 2008 season with the Reds and appeared in five games with the Nationals and 11 with the Brewers last year. Patterson signed a minor league contract with the Mariners on Dec. 9, but opted out of it on March 31 when told he wouldn't make the team out of...

Former Oriole Ryan Minor has the Delmarva Shorebirds off to a good start in his first year as a pro manager. The Birds, who host Greensboro in Salisbury tonight, are 7-5 and tied for first in the South Atlantic League's Northern division. The Shorebirds have slugged their way to the top so far and lead the SAL with 72 runs scored and 13 homers. Shorebirds players are all over the league leaders at this early stage. Brian Conley leads the league in OBP and is second in batting at .457. ...

Here are your Spanish/English baseball words for week two. It's a pretty random mix this week. The whole class had to learn a few health words, so I added the ones that seemed relevant. Enjoy! arbitration: arbitraje to warm up (one's arm): calentar el brazo sacrifice bunt: toque de sacrificio closer: cerrador free agency: carta de libertad to score: anotar, cruzar el plato to take out the pitcher: sacar del monticulo ice pack: bolsa de hielo tying run: carrera del...

We can probably agree that Jason Berken has been invaluable coming out of the bullpen and consuming innings in long relief. The debate centers on whether he should be rewarded with a spot in the rotation or left alone to thrive in his current role. Berken has allowed two runs and nine hits in 12 innings, with two walks and eight strikeouts. He's held opponents to one run over his last three appearances spanning 9 1/3 innings. You'll recall that Berken lost 12 games as a starter last...

It's been a stunning fall from grace for Brad Bergesen. A few months ago he was being featured in that TV promo to promote the upcoming season. Even though that didn't work out well, he was considered important enough to this season that he was chosen for that spot. Now he is headed back to the minors after just three starts in 2010. I'm surprised the O's are sending him out. It will be a popular move with the fans who get restless after a player's performance falls off, even over a...

We've learned at least one thing from the Orioles' decision to option Brad Bergesen to the minors, a move that will be made official later today: They don't believe that he's injured. He's going to Triple-A Norfolk, not the disabled list. Update: The Orioles just confirmed that Bergesen is going to Triple-A. They'll announce the corresponding roster move later today. The word out of Norfolk is that left-hander Alberto Castillo is joining the team in Seattle. If you're there, please...

It looks that way. I woke up to a flashing red light on my BlackBerry and a text message that Brad Bergesen is heading to the minors. I'm assuming that president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail would prefer that I not attempt to contact him at 3 a.m., so confirmation will have to wait until later. But I trust the person who's alerting me. Bergesen is 0-2 with a 12.19 ERA after allowing seven runs (four earned) in only 2 2/3 innings tonight. We almost forget that he still has...

Not tonight: One night after scoring a season-high eight runs, the Orioles were no-hit thru six innings Monday in a 8-2 loss to Seattle. They were held to just five hits, tying their low total for the season. The Orioles have scored two runs or less in seven of their last 10 games and three runs or less 10 times on the year. The O's fall to 2-12 on the year and have lost 10 of their last 11 games. They are 1-4 on this ten-game road trip, and 2-6 in road games. The Orioles are now 0-5 in...