It took much longer than I expected, but I finally made it home last night. Actually, it was past midnight, so I made it home this morning. I'll be heading to Frederick later today to watch Brian Matusz pitch in his first injury rehab game. The memories will come flooding back. And hopefully, that's the only flooding that takes place, since the forecast includes storms the next five days. I wonder if the Orioles have a backup plan in case Matusz's start gets washed away. The last time I...

Former Nationals general manager Jim Bowden was well-known for his ability to buy really cheap talent and sell it as gold. Not sell it to opposing franchises in transactions, mind you, but to the fan base. Year after year, fans were convinced that Bowden had found a good group of diamonds in the rough, and that given the right opportunity in Washington, we could help tap into their true talent. It wasn't until Bowden was gone that we realized he had us looking through rose-colored glasses....

Double-A Harrisburg Senators right-hander Brad Peacock had one of those gem outings Friday night. Peacock shut down the Richmond Squirrels, going seven innings, scattering five hits, allowing one run and striking out 14 batters in a 5-2 victory. A Miami, Fla., native, Peacock struck out at least one batter in every inning. He struck out the final five batters he faced in the sixth and seventh innings. Nationals director of player development Doug Harris said the 23-year old Peacock has taken...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - I'm having my own rain delay at the Tampa airport. My 6:55 p.m. flight is now scheduled to leave at 9:30 p.m. for weather-related reasons back in Baltimore. A storm is headed that way if it hasn't already arrived. I'm told that air traffic control could lift the delay, reduce it or extend it. I'm also told the bar's still open at Chili's Too that's a short walk from my gate. Here are some quotes from shortstop J.J. Hardy, whose grand slam broke open today's...

Jake Arrieta continued his solid season this afternoon for the Orioles, giving up just two runs over six innings against Tampa Bay. Orioles' starting pitching continued the roll that has seen the starters work to an ERA of 1.64 over the last six games. Arrieta seems to crank out six innings and two or three runs allowed each time out. He started today with some overpowering, mid 90s heat early on and later worked in that curve and sharp-breaking slider. To me, he has picked up where he left...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - I'm racing out of here to drop off my rental car and catch my flight back to Baltimore, but I wanted to pass along a little postgame Buck Showalter for you. On Jake Arrieta: "He had great stuff early. Hopefully, he'll get to a point where he can kind of maximize his pitches a little bit more and get deeper. He had a great fastball today." On J.J. Hardy's grand slam: "You're going to need it against any club and especially here in their ballpark. There were a lot...

Heading into today's game, the Orioles were batting .293 over their last five games and they were facing a pitcher, Andy Sonnanstine, whose career ERA against the O's was 6.62. Yes, it set up as a day the Orioles might post some numbers on offense and they did in a 9-3, 15-hit win against Tampa Bay to take this series, two games to one. The Orioles have won five of their last six to get to 19-20 on the season. They are 11-8 over the last 19 games. Gary Thorne meets up with Buck Showalter...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tampa Bay left-hander Cesar Ramos entered today's game in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and no outs. The bases were cleared after three pitches. Shortstop J.J. Hardy hit his third career grand slam, and first since May 12, 2007 off the Mets' Joe Smith. Orioles 8, Rays 2. Right-hander Rob Delaney walked the bases loaded - one free pass was intentional - before Ramos replaced him. Hardy gave him quite a greeting. The No. 9 hitter in this lineup must be...

Here is my take on Orioles' right-hander Chris Tillman, who is 2-3 with an ERA of 6.15 over seven starts and faces Boston tonight. He has been terrible, but in just two starts. He has pitched pretty well in five of his seven outings this year and that gets lost in the debate when fans start talking about Tillman. Tillman gave up 14 of his 23 runs this year in two starts against New York and Kansas City. Did you realize his record is 2-1 and ERA is 2.86 in his five other starts? And, by the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Before yesterday's game, Derrek Lee was 2-for-28 with runners in scoring position, ranking last in average among American League hitters with at least 25 at-bats. He was 3-for-31 (.097) with five RBIs before today. Better, but still not good. He continued to rank last among active players. Detroit's Magglio Ordonez is worse, but he's also on the disabled list. Lee came up big in the third inning today, driving in two runs with a single off Rays starter Andy...