Bucking the 100-loss trend

Jets receiver Braylon Edwards was arrested this week for DWI. Knowing Edwards, the charges also will be dropped. Now, back to baseball... Did you know that Catonsville native and former major league pitcher Jeff Nelson recently bought a home in Sykesville? Well, he did. Nelson is doing some work for XM radio and MLB.com. It was nice to see Julio Lugo back in the Orioles' dugout last night. And yes, smiling. Lugo told reporters in Boston that he's been diagnosed with a "partially pinched nerve" in his head, which explains the recurring headaches and the difficulty sleeping. Not exactly sure what you do for that type of injury. Ice your head? The Orioles need to finish 2-9 to avoid 100 losses, making all that talk about the '62 Mets and '88 Orioles seem like ancient history. Here are the updated standings: Pittsburgh 52-98 Seattle 57-93 Arizona 60-91 Orioles 61-90 Kansas City 62-88 Cleveland 62-89 Washington 63-88 The Orioles improved to 29-17 under Buck Showalter with last night's resounding victory over the Red Sox, who will be watching the playoffs from home. Yo, RemDawg! I find it astounding that the Orioles are guaranteed their first three-game series win at Fenway Park since 2004. I know the ballpark has been a nightmare for them, but 2004? Unreal. We've seen a remarkable turnaround from Brad Bergesen, whose season looked like a total waste after he showed up at spring training on a restricted schedule due to a shoulder injury sustained while filming a commercial. He was shipped back to the minors, both games and confidence lost, but he's posted a 1.27 ERA in his last three starts and a 2.31 ERA in his last 10. Bergesen has allowed one earned run in three consecutive starts and six of his last nine. His ERA has fallen from 6.63 to 4.90 in his last 10 outings. No reason to fret about it now, but the rotation conceivably could get crowded even without the addition of another starter this winter. And we should be so lucky. The simple solution would be to trade a couple of the young guns for a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat, except that's not how Andy MacPhail operates. Therefore, it's really not a simple solution. Plus, which slugger is available and willing to sign an extension if he's approaching free agency? We don't rent here. Without any trades, we can pencil in Jeremy Guthrie and Brian Matusz. Jake Arrieta is expected to join them, assuming he doesn't decide to have elbow surgery on Opening Day. Bergesen has solidified his argument. Chris Tillman has not. Zach Britton assumed that he would already be here, and he'll likely make a strong push next spring. And Rick VandenHurk is out of options, so the Orioles will take an extended look at him. Perhaps VandenHurk and Troy Patton will work out of the bullpen, which also could get pretty crowded if you begin factoring in all the relievers who are expected back. Then again, Patton might have announced his retirement and we just missed it.