Cla Meredith is heading to Triple-A Norfolk. You have to wonder whether Alberto Castillo will be nipping at his heels. Maybe not that close, but Castillo hasn't exactly taken full advantage of his latest opportunity in the Orioles' bullpen. His roster spot is in jeopardy. Again. Castillo entered today's game as the lefty specialist and served up a two-run homer to Lyle Overbay on his first pitch, a slider that left the ballpark in a hurry. That's the fifth homer allowed by Castillo in 12...

WOODBRIDGE, Va. --- Left-handed relief pitcher Clayton Dill continues to progress with the Potomac Nationals. He was impressive in his relief appearance last week versus the Kinston Indians. The 5'11" Dill hails from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and was a 35th round selection of the Nationals in 2008. He pitched for the GCL Nats as a rookie, Vermont and Hagerstown last season. Dill attended Arkansas-Little Rock and pitched at White Hall HS. Dill notched three strikeouts Wednesday in two...

Right-handed pitcher Randy Henry, the Orioles fourth-round pick in the draft last June, has been placed on the Delmarva Shorebirds disabled list today, retroactive to Thursday. Henry, who had Tommy John surgery and missed his senior year of high school in Arnett, Oklahoma, has not had a setback, but is dealing with some soreness that should not keep him out long. The Orioles plan called for his innings to be somewhat limited this summer anyway. Henry, who turned 20 on May 10, is 1-1, 5.64...

I am not going to jump on Jason Berken. He is finally getting a deserved chance today to pitch in the later innings and not in long relief. But O's relief pitchers seem to make bad pitches at bad times lately. See Cla Meredith recently vs. Josh Willingham and Kevin Kouzmanoff. See Mike Gonzalez from the first week. See various other pitchers at other points late in games. Berken just left a 2-2 curve ball up and in, the definition of a hanging breaking ball, that Vernon Wells crushed to...

I wondered how Chris Tillman would respond after the long wait in the dugout during the Orioles' two-run sixth inning. It wasn't a marathon, but it might have seemed that way to Tillman, who's accustomed to taking a seat on the bench, removing his cap to wipe the sweat off his forehead and getting right back up. The Orioles actually provided some rest for Tillman, along with a 2-1 lead, but Aaron Hill crushed his first pitch in the bottom half of the inning for the tying home run. Tillman...

The Orioles came up with three straight hits with two outs in the sixth inning today to take a 2-1 lead at Toronto. They took advantage of a mental error by Blue Jays left fielder Fred Lewis. First, Cesar Izturis hit a two-out double to right and Julio Lugo singled to left to tie the game, 1-1. On Lugo's single, Lewis made the wrong decision and threw home where he had no chance to get Izturis. His throw was not only well off line, but missed the cutoff man allowing Lugo to run to second...

Third baseman Miguel Tejada fielded Aaron Hill's blistering ground ball with one out in the third, tapped his glove twice and threw to second for the force. That's fine, but what about the double play? Julio Lugo threw late to first, extending the inning and tacking two more pitches on Chris Tillman's line, raising the right-hander's total to 50. Adam Lind grounded out, so no damage was done, but it appeared that Tejada lost track of the outs and thought he only needed the force. It...

There are several things that can frustrate you when you watch the Orioles hitters: *The lack of production, an obvious one. *The fact they swing at so many pitches that are not strikes. *The fact they can't seem to adjust to a pitcher as the game wears on. *The fact that some players recognition of pitches is poor and they chase so many breaking balls. It would almost be better for the Orioles to face a 96 mile per hour flamethrower without good off-speed stuff. At least they could sit...

Toronto leadoff hitter Fred Lewis jumped on Chris Tillman's first pitch, an 88 mph fastball, and doubled to center field. Lewis was sitting on the fastball and Tillman gave him one. And it only registered 88. That was a bad sign, but it also was the last one. Tillman struck out the side, freezing Aaron Hill with a 94 mph fastball and Adam Lind with a 93 mph fastball, and getting Vernon Wells to swing through another heater that ended a 10-pitch battle. Tillman needs to throw his curveball...

The Orioles don't have an extra-base hit since Garrett Atkins homered on Wednesday. It's time to raise the singles bar. Make mine a double. Brian Roberts took live batting practice from both sides of the plate earlier today in Sarasota. Those baseball-related activities are increasing. So are the chances that he'll get back in the lineup in a few weeks. The Orioles aren't completely ruling out June 9, the date Roberts is eligible to come off the disabled list, but he might need a little...