With the arrival of "The Calvary," there was to be an influx of young arms in the Orioles rotation and it was thought that some would seize starting jobs and not let them go. I thought that the starting rotation for the 2012 Orioles would be in much sharper focus by the end of this season. I was wrong. Due to injuries, general ineffectiveness and the rise of some unlikely candidates, figuring out who will be in the 2012 Baltimore rotation has gotten much harder to figure. Jeremy Guthrie:...

Last night's 13-0 blowout loss to Toronto was the seventh time this year the Orioles were shut out. They were blanked four times before the All-Star break and now three times in the second half. For a while there, the Orioles' bats seemed to be picking up, but now the club has been held to three runs or less in four of its last five games. In those five games, the Orioles have scored 13 total runs with a team batting average of .215 and an average with runners in scoring position of just...

He's baaack! Stephen Strasburg will be making his 2011 debut Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. This will mark his first major league appearance since last Aug. 21. I can't say I'm surprised by the announcement, but a part of me was convinced he would sit out the remainder of the season. All of a sudden, we find ourselves in a situation similar to June 8, 2010, with a week of anticipation that sees ticket sales jump and Nationals baseball dominate D.C. sports talk radio. Whether you...

The Orioles will fill up their 40-man roster tomorrow by purchasing outfielder Kyle Hudson's contract from Triple-A Norfolk. Hudson went 1-for-2 with a walk, run scored and two stolen bases tonight while leading off for the Tides in their 2-1 victory over Gwinnett. He's batting .297 with seven doubles, one triple, 11 RBIs and 26 steals in 68 games. It's been quite a climb for Hudson this season. He played in 23 games at Single-A Frederick this season, and 28 at Double-A Bowie, before...

The Single-A Potomac Nationals downed the Lynchburg Hillcats 6-3 to advance to the playoffs again and a chance to defend their 2010 Mills Cup Carolina League crown. A four-run eighth inning broke open a close game and the P-Nats led 5-1 before holding off a late Lynchburg rally. Eight of the nine players in the starting lineup notched at least one base knock as the P-Nats have now won nine of their last 12 games. Jeff Kobernus, Justin Bloxom and Zach Walters each had two hits and combined for...

It was just one of those nights. The Orioles didn't pitch, they didn't hit and they didn't stay in the game for very long. The Orioles allowed 10 runs or more for the 13th time this season. "We made a lot of bad pitches," manager Buck Showalter said following a 13-0 loss to the Blue Jays. "When you give up 20 hits ... Jo-Jo (Reyes) was pretty flat. Didn't have much angle going tonight. Didn't pitch well, obviously. "I was impressed with their kid (Henderson Alvarez). It goes without...

The Double-A Harrisburg Senators edged Portland 2-1 to clinch at least a tie atop their division over Richmond. Bowie lost Wednesday so they are eliminated from contention for the division title. The Senators (78-59) have five straight games remaining at home. Any combination of one Senators win and a loss by Richmond (73-64) and Harrisburg clinches the top spot in the division. Right-hander Stephen Strasburg can clinch the division and will pitch his final minor league rehab assignment...

So much for the recent good run of Orioles' starting pitching. Lefty Jo-Jo Reyes, coming off an outing where he gave up just one run in six innings against Minnesota, got hammered tonight by his former team as Toronto routed the Orioles 13-0 at Camden Yards. Reyes gave up eight hits and seven runs over 2 2/3 as his O's ERA jumped from 4.57 to 6.66. O's starters were 6-2 with an ERA of 3.09 and six quality starts over the previous nine games and the Orioles team ERA was 2.74 in the nine...

We don't have a brawl at Camden Yards. Just a blowout. Manager Buck Showalter sent up Matt Angle to pinch-hit for J.J. Hardy in the bottom of the seventh, and Angle reached on a throwing error by shortstop Yunel Escobar - and a horrible call by first base umpire Joe West. Jake Fox pinch-hit for Nick Markakis and bounced into a double play. Matt Wieters is the only reserve left on the bench, and Showalter won't use him tonight. Nolan Riemold moves from left to right field. Angle is playing...

Here is another update on pitcher Matt Hobgood, who was placed on the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds disabled list on Tuesday. He will not pitch anymore this season for Aberdeen, but he is not being shut down. Hobgood was examined yesterday by Orioles orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens, who did not find any injury in his right shoulder. Hobgood will soon head to Sarasota to continue to workout and the Orioles have not ruled out him pitching some during instructional league games. He...