More on yesterday's news and a few notes

The news on Adam Jones and Chris Tillman is encouraging, according to reports out of New York. It's mildly disturbing on Steve Pearce. It's quite confusing with T.J. McFarland.

Jones remains day-to-day with a strained left hamstring, but manager Buck Showalter told reporters that the center fielder may have been in the lineup yesterday if the Orioles were playing at night. The quick turnaround led to a more cautious approach.

My guess is we'll see Jones in center field tonight against the Blue Jays' Marco Estrada.

Tillman is scheduled to play catch today and, according to Showalter, could make his next start on Sept. 9 or 10. Tillman is eligible to come off the disabled list on Sept. 5, but that's not happening.

Tillman hasn't experienced a setback. His right shoulder must be feeling good if his flat-ground session has been moved up from Tuesday.

Pearce started in right field yesterday, batting leadoff and drove in the Orioles' first three runs in a 5-0 victory. He hit a solo homer, but left the game in the eighth inning.

Showalter told reporters that Pearce felt some discomfort in his forearm/elbow area before hitting the home run, and the Orioles weren't taking any chances.

Pearce had an assist earlier in the game with an outstanding throw to third base, but the Orioles really need to be careful with him. Putting him in the outfield is a risk.

McFarland and outfielder Julio Borbon were designated for assignment yesterday while the Orioles signed Tommy Hunter to a major league deal and recalled Oliver Drake from Triple-A Norfolk.

Borbon's DFA is standard stuff. He's out of options and must pass through waivers and accept an outright assignment, which the Orioles are counting on because they value his defense and speed. McFarland's situation, however, is more confusing.

I assumed that McFarland could be optioned, which made me wonder why the Orioles designated him. They want to keep him in the organization, so what gives?

Asked about the decision to DFA McFarland, Showalter told reporters, "It's not your standard that. It's not what it may appear, we think."

I'm told that the Orioles may need "optional waivers" on McFarland in order to send him down. He'd be back on the 40-man roster in a day or so.

On the confusion meter, it registers the same as the need Saturday to DFA reliever Logan Ondrusek from the 25-man roster. Not the same as a DFA from the 40-man.

Down on the farm, Triple-A outfielder L.J. Hoes retired all five Charlotte batters he faced last night in his latest appearance on the mound. He struck out one batter.

Hoes has logged 3 2/3 scoreless innings in three pitching appearances. He was drafted as a second baseman, moved to the outfield and now is used as an emergency pitcher.

Odrisamer Despaigne allowed six runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings. He served up a three-run homer to former Orioles prospect Nicky Delmonico.

Remember him?

And finally, I was saddened to learn of the passing of former major league pitcher Rob Ramsay earlier this month.

Ramsay was on the Orioles' spring training roster back in 2004 as one of the more inspirational comeback stories in sports. He was a reliever with the Mariners in 1999 and 2000 before being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer known as "glioblastoma multiforme" and undergoing surgery to remove a baseball-sized brain tumor in 2002.

I remember interviewing Ramsay after he pitched in a March 23 exhibition game against the Expos and allowed one run in one inning, the first time he faced major league hitters in a year. He wore a batting helmet to provide extra protection.

Ramsay battled seizures for years and finally succumbed to one on Aug. 4. He was 42.