There was a clear-cut winner for May's round of 'Where in the Yard?' here in the Orioles Buzz, even if I'm a little belated in announcing it. Avi M took the crown last month, truly earning his victory after hitting each answer on the head and racking up a flurry of bonus points, many of which came from posting fan photos to the MASNsports.com Facebook Page. Check out his photos (which gave him the winning edge) here: So nice work to Avi for his hard work throughout the month of...

Nats fans, don't forget to pick up your copy of Sports Illustrated this week. Stephen Strasburg, "National Treasure," will be on the cover. With 22 strikeouts, 2 wins and a storybook debut, Strasburg also earned the National League's player of the week award. The cover story is a feature piece on Strasburg by Albert Chen. It caps a big week for the rookie pitcher, who also announced the "Top 10" on the David Letterman Show last Thursday. The only over Nationals related Sports...

The debate is obvious, but not the decision. Do the Orioles send down Chris Tillman or keep running him out there every five days and hope that the education proves beneficial? Do they allow him to work out his issues in a less-pressurized environment and protect his ego, or figure he has nothing else to prove at Triple-A? The guess here is Tillman will land in Norfolk's rotation after he fell to 0-3 with an 8.40 ERA. He lasted only two innings last night, allowing six runs and six hits, and...

The Orioles fell to 17-47 on the year when they began a six-game interleague road trip with a 10-2 loss at San Francisco Monday night Another slide: The Orioles have now lost four in a row and have been outscored 29-8 in that stretch. They have lost six of seven, 18 of 21 and are just 5-23 over their last 28 games. Road woes: The Orioles fall to 6-26 on the road on the season. They have now lost nine straight road games. For starters: Chris Tillman got rocked in his fourth Major...

I expect the losses to pile up, but can we please limit the number of blowouts? The offense managed only two runs tonight, though Ty Wigginton should have been credited with a home run instead of a double. That was one of three blown calls against the Orioles. They didn't influence the outcome, not with the Giants scoring 10 runs, but they still were infuriating. It's bad enough to rub salt in the wound. You don't have to empty the entire canister. Interim manager Juan Samuel came out to...

Am I the only one with anger-management issues around here? Second base umpire Rob Drake calls Corey Patterson out on Miguel Tejada's grounder to short, which would be fine if Freddy Sanchez had been within 12 feet of the bag when he took the throw. But since he wasn't, it rates as one of the worst calls I've ever seen. The Giants turned the double play, which never should have happened, and interim manager Juan Samuel bolted from the dugout. Samuel protested briefly and went back to the...

In Cleveland, I got the opportunity to speak with Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo regarding this year's #1 first-year player selection, catcher/outfielder Bryce Harper. Mike, having worked with agent Scott Boras while signing Stephen Strasburg last season, does that give you a leg up in the negotiations with Bryce Harper this year? "Each case with each individual and each representative is unique. We are not going to put any timetables on it. We feel with Bryce like we did with...

Show of hands if you knew that Pat Burrell was playing for the Giants. Burrell gave the Giants a 2-1 lead in the second inning with his second home run since returning to the National League. Chris Tillman's fastball isn't breaking 90 mph and it's up in the zone. And would you believe he's getting hit hard in two innings? Pitching coach Rick Kranitz went to the mound, presumably with instructions to keep the ball down. Matt Wieters briefly tied the game, 1-1, with his fifth home...

For his second act, Jake Arrieta will switch leagues and coasts and still try to win. After beating the Yankees last week, maybe the Giants won't look too tough when Arrieta takes the mound tonight. He says he is settling in with the team nicely at this point. "The first day I was kind of high strung a bit, lot of nerves, lot of tension. I didn't really know what to expect but everything went well. Adrenaline was through the roof. But now I feel a lot more relaxed, kind of laid back. ...

OK, no promises, but for now the plan is to stay up late (or is that early?) and watch tonight's entire Orioles game. No, I don't need my head examined. It comes with the job. Plus, I am a late-night and not an early morning person. If the game began at 7 a.m, I'd plan to miss a few innings. It will hold my interest well into tonight and tomorrow if Chris Tillman pitches well, or the game is close throughout or if the O's offense breaks out (stop laughing). Plus I know Buster Posey...