Any Orioles' mistake seems to be costly these days. In the first inning Wednesday, Tampa's Carl Crawford, batting second with one out, hit a popup on the infield. It was right near Cesar Izturis at short. But he never saw the ball. Miguel Tejada, playing third base, thought he heard Izturis calling to make the play. Tejada came over at the last moment and the ball popped out of his glove for an error. Of course, a few batters later Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer and all three runs...

Phillies catcher Brian Schneider taking on his former team in the Nats this week. He has played for the Nats, Mets and now Phillies in the last three seasons and is settling in as the backup catcher to Carlos Ruiz. When Brian was in D.C., he mentored a lot of young players for the Nats and was a leader on the field as well as in the clubhouse. I remember several times he would be walking off the field during batting practice with his arm around the shoulders of a Nats teammate telling him...

Manager Dave Trembley confirmed that Jim Johnson would "get that consideration" as Mike Gonzalez's replacement in the ninth inning. It's not a ringing endorsement, but it sounds like Johnson is the frontrunner to close. He brings a little experience, if not a lot of success, to the table. Gonzalez told Trembley that his shoulder has been bothering him the last couple of days. The club is awaiting the results of his MRI.

For the Orioles a winless first homestand. At least today there was no late-inning, gut-wrenching loss. The drama ended early. It was 6-0 after three and 8-0 after Tampa batted in the fourth. The final was 9-1, Rays. Brad Bergesen got rocked for eight runs in three innings plus. Mike Gonzalez went on the disabled list. The Orioles went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position. They weren't exactly all over the bases today. They were outscored 37 to 15 during the 0-6 homestand and...

Today's attendance: 10,248. Not a record low, but pretty darn low. That's 125,646 tickets sold for this homestand. B.J. Upton has two home runs this season - both of them coming today. He connected off Brad Bergesen in the third inning and took Jason Berken deep in the seventh. Tampa Bay 9, Orioles 1 Did two blown saves in four games really turn things around this dramatically? It's the second multi-homer game of Upton's career, the other coming July 20, 2007 at New York. See, bad...

The Orioles honored catcher Matt Wieters last night with the first T-Shirt Tuesday of the 2010 season. I have a feeling most O's fans were pleased with the choice in Wieters for the first round of T-Shirt Tuesdays, and more than 13,000 fans turned out to pick up their Wieters tees. But if you take a look at the O's Promotions schedule, you'll see that there are five more T-Shirt Tuesdays coming up this season. You'll also notice that none of the remaining names have been...

Dennis Sarfate entered today's game at Triple-A Norfolk, but he apparently left without throwing a pitch. Anybody else find that strange? The Tides lead Charlotte, 7-0, in the bottom of the seventh. Jake Arrieta tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out five. He threw 79 pitches, 56 for strikes. Update: Sarfate left the game with a strained oblique muscle. He's tossed three scoreless innings for the Tides this season, allowing one hit, walking one and striking...

Brad Bergesen is getting hit hard early today by the Rays, who already lead 6-0 in the third. He has allowed a pair of 400-foot, three-run homers, one to Carlos Pena and one to B.J. Upton. Pena has hit two three-run homers in his last two at bats here in less than 24 hours. Pena's first-inning three-run homer produced three unearned runs after Miguel Tejada dropped a pop up. Through three frames, Bergesen has allowed six runs on five hits. The Rays are 5 for 15 against him with four...

I wonder if the new reliever can get here right now. Brad Bergesen is getting the pinata treatment today. B.J. Upton just hit a three-run homer in the third inning, the second for the Rays today. Tampa Bay 6, Orioles 0. Bergesen just doesn't have it today. Upton slaughtered an 89 mph fastball, sending it 405 feet into the seats in left-center field. The Rays also collected two doubles in the inning. Four of their five hits have gone for extra-bases, with Upton and Carlos Pena touching...

Since today's game has started so well here today, let's check the minors where two O's affiliates have day games. Delmarva has already beaten Greensboro 9-4 in a game that began at 10:35. The Shorebirds are now 5-2 and had 11 hits. They've had ten or more hits in six games. Towson University product Gary Helmick hit two homers with 5 RBI today and Tyler Kolodny added a two-run shot. Jake Cowan, last year's 10th-round pick, pitched six innings of shuout ball to go to 1 and 0. He...