A sampling of Showalter

Orioles manager Buck Showalter anticipated that a team would claim Jimmy Paredes on waivers, as the Blue Jays did yesterday. However, that didn't make it any easier to accept.

Showalter likes Paredes and respects his work ethic.

"That's why he's in the big leagues today. That's Jimmy," Showalter said. "You get an emotional attachment to guys who care that much. He's a good teammate, good player. But you can't keep them all. That's why the system is designed the way it is, to keep people from hording players. It's designed to protect the guys that have the right service time and the right options and non-options to go somewhere else. That part of it I like.

"Jimmy should get an opportunity if somebody wants to give it to him. And there's always ways to keep them. We've claimed a lot of guys that I'm sure the other teams weren't too happy about losing, but that's why the system is designed as it is, to protect the players and help out teams that want somebody. It doesn't always work that way. You might want an All-Star from another team. We have ways to keep them, but it requires doing the same thing with somebody else."

The Orioles begin tonight percentage points ahead of the Red Sox for first place in the American League East with one fewer win and loss. Their 13 losses are the fewest in the American League.

When does Showalter start to check the standings?

Too soon.

"I don't look at them as much when we're not playing well," he quipped. "No, I glance at them. I don't spend a whole lot of time on them until probably June or July. The only thing I glance at now and then is the loss column. Everything else is just academic to me. Just the loss column.

"You've got to take that game and you've got to win that game and see where the math takes you at the end of it. We're all trying to get to the point where we can roll the dice in October. It's a long grind. If you get too bogged down on it from the day to day movement, it will wear you out. You can't. I understand there are a lot of people who start and end their conversations with that every day because a lot of people care about it, so that's good. I'm glad they care.

"It's all dictated a lot of times by how hot your pitching is for a while. It's cruel, isn't it? This game can be real cruel if you let it be."

It wasn't kind of Fredi Gonzalez and Carlos Tosca, fired today as manger and bench coach, respectively, of the Braves. Showalter has relationships with both that extend back many years.

"It's not pleasant," he said. "I know Fredi and I know a lot of their decision-makers there. I know Carlos. I brought him with me, his first major league job as bench coach out in Arizona. Good baseball man. Been at every level. I was with him in extended spring my first year. Helped me a lot.

"Try not to take it personally. But it's tough. I think all managers kind of cringe when you see it because you know there are a lot of things that come out of your realm of control, but it is what it is. I think we all know how we're judged at the end of the day.

"Fredi played for me my first year of coaching. He was a catcher in Fort Lauderdale in the Florida State League. A good one, too. I was his hitting coach in the Florida State League for one year. But I talked to him some in the spring. I think they all kind of knew what the job was going to be about this year. I've also known (interim manager) Brian Snitker for many years. He's been a baseball lifer."

"(Gonzalez) is good people. There's a reason why he got the job and a reason why he'll get another one."

Major League Baseball handed out its punishments stemming from yesterday's brawl between the Rangers and Blue Jays.

Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor was suspended eight games for punching Jose Bautista in the face. The running joke here is players throughout the league opened a PayPal account to cover his fine.

Bautista received a one-game suspension and Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was suspended three games for returning to the field after being ejected and inciting further fighting."

Blue Jays pitcher Jesse Chavez was suspended three games for intentionally throwing at Prince Fielder. My defense would be, "Come on, that guy's hard to miss!"

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus was suspended one game for his aggressive actions. And that's just a sampling.

"It's an emotional game," Showalter said. "It happens sometimes, not always right there where everybody can see it. Used to happen a lot more.

"We all have our personal thoughts on it and how we feel about it. There's usually so many things there you don't know or I don't that went on behind the scenes. I try not to comment on those things because you say something and go, 'Oh, I didn't know that' about a day later and you weighed on it like you're some expert, and you're afar."