Brian Roberts: "Things are good"

Brian Roberts: "Things are good"
Brian Roberts will play second base and bat leadoff tonight for the Bowie Baysox, as his injury rehab assignment continues in the Eastern League and he looks to soon re-join the Orioles. Roberts will play nine innings here tonight, DH tomorrow, then play second base and all nine innings again on Wednesday. He could stay with the Baysox longer, but his schedule is not certain beyond that game just yet. Roberts does say he feels as good physically now as he has at any point this...

Orioles lineup

Orioles lineup
Felix Pie LF Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton 1B Luke Scott DH Adam Jones CF Scott Moore 2B Craig Tatum C Cesar Izturis SS Chris Tillman RHP
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Roberts heads to Bowie (w/Snyder & Mahoney updates)

Roberts heads to Bowie (w/Snyder & Mahoney updates)
Brian Roberts will play at Bowie tonight for the first time since he played two games there on an injury-rehab assignment in 2006. I will be there to cover his play and get some pre and post-game quotes. Roberts was officially added to the Bowie roster today and is expected to play the whole game tonight. He is also expected to meet with reporters before and after the game, so there should be no shortage of B-Rob info coming your way later. Roberts played five games in the Gulf Coast...

Scott back, Mata down

Scott back, Mata down
The Orioles activated Luke Scott from the disabled list today and he's expected to be in the starting line up. As expected, the Orioles optioned reliever Frank Mata to Triple-A Norfolk. They're back to a four-man bench, but Corey Patterson may not be available tonight.
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Tillman talk

Tillman talk
O's right-hander Chris Tillman will take the mound at Camden Yards tonight vs. Tampa. We'll see if he can follow up on his excellent outing before the break at Texas where he beat the Rangers and out-dueled Cliff Lee. He took a no-hitter in the seventh and gave up just two hits and a run over 7 1/3. It was his first start after going back to Triple-A for three starts. O's pitching coach Rick Kranitz said this time Tillman returned a more confident pitcher and one that can now rely on...

MacPhail's Q&A with the season ticket holders

MacPhail's Q&A with the season ticket holders
O's president Andy MacPhail had his latest "state of the Orioles" address for the club's season ticket holders at the ballpark on Saturday afternoon. Here is an excerpt of some of the questions he got, topics that were addressed and his answers. MacPhail was asked about the plan to rebuild with youth. Is he staying the course with that or does he now have to go in a different direction? "I think you have tried the band aid approach here. I just don't see anyway in the American League...

Bell gets to play and someone special gets to watch

Bell gets to play and someone special gets to watch
Josh Bell is excited today. Not only is he making his fifth Major League start for the Orioles, but someone special gets to watch him play in person. "I get excited every time you get to play. My mom will be here today. She's been waiting to see me play in the big leagues since 2005 when I signed." Bell's mom made the trip to Camden Yards from her home in Florida. She got to see him play in person several times when he was in the minors. "She was a bit of a roadie, usually got to...

Escobar with a Slam as Toronto completes sweep

Escobar with a Slam as Toronto completes sweep
The Orioles are still looking for their first win of the year vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. Yunel Escobar's first homer of the year was a second-inning Grand Slam off Brian Matusz, as the Jays whipped the O's 10-1 Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep. Juan Samuel talks with the media following the Oriole's 10-1 loss to the Blue Jays The Jays are now 9-0 on this season vs. the Orioles and have won three straight series vs. Baltimore for the first time since they won four straight...

Jays top Birds to improve to 8-0 vs. the Orioles

Jays top Birds to improve to 8-0 vs. the Orioles
The Toronto Blue Jays did two things Saturday night that they have been doing a lot this season. They hit two more home runs and once again, they beat the Orioles, as their pitching staff, as usual this season, held the O's hitters in check. Toronto is now 8-0 vs. the Orioles on the year after their 3-2 win in front of 28,518 at the Yard. Juan Samuel talks with the media after the O's 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays Major League homer leader Jose Bautista hit number 25, a two-run shot off Jason...

Bundy and Britton putting up zeroes

Bundy and Britton putting up zeroes
Surely, I will jinx them by writing this once again, but the Delmarva Shorebirds are getting good starting pitching again tonight, so far. Righty Bobby Bundy has put up four scoreless this evening vs. West Virginia. Delmarva starting pitchers have now allowed just 3 ER over 63 2/3 innings over the last 11 games. In his last start, Bundy gave up just two hits and two runs that were unearned over six frames. Meanwhile, Zach Britton is making his third Triple-A start for Norfolk tonight. He...

Kevin Millwood updates his status

Kevin Millwood updates his status
Kevin Millwood has been on the disabled list since July 6th with a right forearm strain. He has not pitched since lasting just one inning July 5 at Detroit. But he says he is making progress and expects he could come off the DL when he is eligible to. He was encouraged by the bullpen session he had at Camden Yards on Friday. "Everything is feeling a lot better. I threw on the side yesterday and everything went well and I'm feeling good today. Just trying to get ready to come off the...

The amazing starting pitching run at Delmarva

The amazing starting pitching run at Delmarva
Maybe the next crop of young guns in the Orioles farm system calls Perdue Stadium home. In case you haven't noticed, the current six-man starting rotation at Delmarva is putting up some remarkable numbers lately for the Shorebirds. The Delmarva starting pitching has combined to allow just three earned runs over its last ten starts dating back to July 6th. That is 3 ER over 59 2/3 for an ERA of 0.45 during the stretch. The six players that are currently in the Delmarva starting rotation are...

Notes from the Majors and Minors

Notes from the Majors and Minors
The Orioles are still looking for their first win this year vs. Toronto and are now 0-7 after Friday's 4-2 loss to the Jays. The O's lost 7-6 to Toronto in the first game this year between the clubs. They have scored just seven runs in their past six games with the Jays and have been out-homered this year 15 to 1 in the season series. The O's are batting .216 on the season with 13 runs scored vs. Toronto. The Birds bullpen posted three innings of shutout, one-hit ball vs. Toronto last...

Win streak ends as second half begins

Win streak ends as second half begins
This time there was not a well pitched game by an O's starter and this time there was not a comeback win. The O's opened their longest home stand of the season, a ten gamer, with a 4-2 loss to Toronto on Friday night at the Yard. Losing pitcher Brad Bergesen, now 3-7, 6.37, gave up single runs over the first three frames and gave up four runs in six innings on the night. Brad Bergesen talks with the media about his start in the O's 4-2 loss to the Jays Winning pitcher Ricky Romero...

Young pitchers provide a lift for O's

Young pitchers provide a lift for O's
Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta provided something very important for the O's fans when they pitched so well over the final two games of the first half. No not wins, though those were nice, as was seeing the O's sweep four from a first-place team on the road. What they really provided was hope. Hope that the O's big three young pitchers, to include Brian Matusz, just might really turn out to be good and might become three-fifths of the O's pitching rotation that helps turn this franchise...

An impressive minor league stat

An impressive minor league stat
The Delmarva Shorebirds are at home tonight vs. West Virginia and the score is 0-0 after five innings. That is not the impressive stat, but here it is. Counting five scoreless innings pitched tonight by Pat Kantakevich, Delmarva starting pitchers have now allowed just three earned runs over their last ten games. That's in 59 2/3 innings. That works out to an ERA of 0.45 for the Shorebird starting pitchers over that stretch. Over the 59 2/3, through the fifth of that game tonight at Perdue...

Romero reversal

Romero reversal
No, that is not a wrestling move. But Ricky Romero has retired the first nine O's in order tonight on just 31 pitches. Shouldn't the O's have been swinging and not taking pitches like this during the last game before the break and not the first one after. Romero, who held the O's to just one run in a complete-game win on May 30th, threw 10 pitches tonight in the first and second innings and needed just 11 to complete a quick bottom of the third. The reversal for him is how well he is...

Wiggy talks about the All-Star game

Wiggy talks about the All-Star game
He did get to take part in his first Major League All-Star game, even if his appearance was brief. Ty Wigginton of the Orioles entered the game at third base, but never got to bat for the American League on Tuesday night at Anaheim. That did not diminish his experience at all, he said. "It was fun. It's a hectic couple days, but I tried to enjoy it as much as I possibly could. It's definitely a cool honor, a unique experience and I'll treasure it forever. "The game was actually the...

Plenty of praise for Showalter

Plenty of praise for Showalter
Among those that think Buck Showalter is the right man to become the next manager of the Orioles is ESPN's Tim Kurkjian. Kurkjian was on the Scott Garceau show Thursday that airs on MASN and O's flagship station, 105.7 the Fan. He told co-hosts Jeremy Conn and Pete Medhurst that Showalter is the right guy to lead the Orioles. "I think he will manage the Orioles and I think he's the perfect man for the job. I know Buck better than most, having sat next to him on Baseball Tonight many...

Is winning important at the minor league level?

Is winning important at the minor league level?
So how important is winning at the minor league level? You will likely get a similar answer from most people on this question. They say winning is nice, but not if it gets in the way of developing Major League players. Here is Andy MacPhail's take on this topic: "It's preferable but not at the expense of developing players. In other words, you are not going to play a 27-year-old third base filler at A ball if he's standing in the way of a 20-year-old that you think potentially one day...