Nobody's hitting much, and nobody's hitting for any power. Costanzo's K-rate is absolutely terrible. Torres came up because he hit a bunch of singles -- and also because Hernandez and Fahey are just as bad, and also because there are still maybe some problems in valuing talents within the system. There's really no reason for a veteran like Cintron to be farting around in AAA when he would be the best option for the O's at short. Moore has been horrendous since his demotion, and now he's not even getting the reps at short, with Cintron playing. So why is he down there while Fahey and Hernandez and Torres are all wasting time in Baltimore? Luis Terrero continues to be a fine minor league player, leading the Tides in OPS.

Olson has been a shining star, and the peripherals for Liz and Penn are encouraging, particularly Liz's. Leicester taking starts is a little weird, since he doesn't even average four innings per. McCrory and Cormier have anchored the bullpen, but McCrory still has his problems. If Cormier or even Alberto Castillo keep pitching well, they could wind up contributing this season when the inevitable injuries hit the 'pen. Or if not contributing, at least lending more hope than dead veterans Yan and Bukvich do.

Norfolk 10, Louisville 3

Big shots carried the Tides to a blowout win, as Luis Terrero hit a grand slam and Oscar Salazar launched a three-run shot to account for 70% of the Norfolk runs. The kicker? Terrero's salami came in the top of the ninth inning, a frame in which Norfolk dropped the seven runs that were the difference in the outcome.

Everyone in the starting lineup besides Scott Moore had a hit, and everyone got on base either via base hit or the free pass. Terrero, Eider Torres, Chris Heintz, Chris Roberson and Adam Stern had two hits each.

Hayden Penn turned in another good performance, going seven innings and striking out nine Bats batsmen, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks. Lance Cormier got the win in relief.

Bowie 5, Akron 4 (10 innings)

More late-game heroics in the O's system came from Bowie, as Luis Montanez hit a walk-off solo shot in the bottom of the tenth inning to give the Basox the win over the Aeros.

Struggling Nolan Reimold went 1-for-4 with a strikeout after being dropped to sixth in the order. Montanez was 2-for-5, and third baseman Jeff Nettles homered in his third straight game, a solo shot in the second inning. It was his fifth long ball on the young season. Jonathan Tucker was 2-for-2 with two walks.

On the hill, Chris Tillman struggled with his command, going four and a third innings and walking five while fanning four. He gave up two runs on two hits. Julio Manon blew a save when Akron tied it at four in the top of the ninth, but picked up the win.

Winston-Salem 9, Frederick 4

Wieters Watch! 1-for-5 with an RBI.

Rowell Watch! He still hasn't returned from injury after "tweaking" his ankle a couple weeks ago.

The Keys scattered ten hits, all singles, and made three errors in the loss. Everyone in the starting lineup did get a hit, so I hope they all got a Coke and a piece of pizza for trying hard. Chris Vinyard, with two hits, maybe gets a breadstick, too.

Lakewood 5, Delmarva 4

After tying it at four in the top of the eighth inning, Jeff Moore gave up a solo homer to Michael Durant to lead off the Lakewood half of the frame, and that wound up being all she wrote.

Tony Butler's line: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. The Shorebirds committed four errors.

At the plate, Matt Angle, Joseph Nowicki and Tyler Henson had two hits each, including Nowick and Henson homers.

Louisville 4, Norfolk 1

Jon Leicester got his first decision of the season, going to 0-1 on a decent performance, as he pitched five innings and allowed three earned runs (four total) on three hits and a walk. He struck out six, but also gave up a three-run, two-out homer to ex-Oriole Jerry Hairston, Jr., in the fifth inning. Leicester's ERA is now 2.92.

Reds top prospect Jay Bruce went 1-for-4.

Ryan Bukvich, Alberto Castillo and Roberto Novoa shut out the Riverbats the rest of the night, but the Tides were able to score just one run off of ex-Braves prospect turned-journeyman Matt Belisle (7 IP, 8 H, ER, 6 K, BB), veteran lefty Scott Sauerbeck and Marcus McBeth, a former kick returner for the South Carolina Gamecocks in college, who earned his second save of the season.

Shortstop Scott Moore (I love that) was 2-for-4 with a run scored, and Oscar Salazar was 2-for-4, as well. The lone Norfolk RBI came off the bat of Adam Stern. Mike Costanzo was 1-for-3 with a walk. He's now hitting just .182.

And for the Tike Redman supporters here, let it be known that Tike is hitting just .220/.277/.293. Given that he's 31, his leash should be short, even for Triple-A.

Bowie 6, Erie 5

The Baysox were able to halt a late rally from the Seawolves to hold them off after opening a 3-0 lead in the second inning that became a 6-2 lead in the top of the seventh. Erie scored twice in the eighth and once in the ninth, but fell just short.

Kennard Jones and Carlos Rojas went 0-for-10 at the top of the Bowie lineup, but Nolan Reimold, Ryan Finan and Zach Dillon had two hits apiece in the 5-6-7 spots to pick up the slack. Dillon had two RBIs and scored twice.

On the mound, Chorye Spoone struggled with his command, walking four in five innings, but got the win. He gave up just two hits and one run, and struck out four. Old fart Julio Manon saved his third game, even though he gave up a run in the ninth. The delightfully named Josh Rainwater took the loss for Erie.

Frederick 3, Salem 2 (12 innings) (recap by dkdc)

The Salem starter had a perfect game through 6 innings, but the Keys came back to tie it and Brandon Snyder scored the winning run in the 12th inning.

Bergesen had a very strong start with 6K’s and a bunch of ground balls.

Wieters was returning from a funeral in Georgia so he missed the start of the game. He got to the stadium in the middle of the game and dressed in time for the 7th inning. He had a pinch hit RBI single that tied the game and sent it to extra innings.

True story.

Delmarva 6, Hagerstown 2 (Game 1)

The first of the seven-inning games in this doubleheader. David Cash was 4-for-4 and Joseph "Balls" Mahoney hit a solo homer. Wally Crancer had two RBI to raise his season average to .350. Dude's torching the ball lately. The Shorebirds had 15 hits in the game.

John Mariotti got the win with six shutout, three-hit innings, lowering his season ERA to 2.12 and evening his season record at 1-1.

Hagerstown 5, Delmarva 0 (Game 2)

And all the Delmarva offense was apparently used up in game one, as they were able to get just four runners on base via three hits and a Kieron Pope walk. Joseph Nowicki had two of the hits, and Matt Angle had the third.

24-year old righty Zach Clark was beaten up over three and a third, giving up five earned on eight hits.

Records:

Norfolk 5-8

Bowie 5-7

Frederick 8-3

Delmarva 6-6

Indianapolis 3, Norfolk 2

Garrett Olson had another fine start, going 5 1/3 with six strikeouts and one walk, allowing two runs on five hits. Andy Mitchell gave up a run in the seventh, and it turned out to be the deciding score in the game.

Eider Torres was 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Adam Stern had two hits. Chris Roberson and Sebastien Boucher both walked two times.

Bowie 10, Erie 3

Wham! The Baysox bats have come alive. Bowie was up 1-0 entering the sixth, then scored twice that inning, three runs in the eighth, and then four more in the ninth. Erie didn't get on the board until the bottom of the ninth.

Outfielder Luis Montanez was 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs, and Jeff Nettles also went yard. Mike Rodriguez, Ben Davis, Jonathan Tucker and Blake Davis all had two hits. The Baysox had 13 hits on the night as a team.

And despite all that, Nolan Reimold remained ice cold, going 0-for-5 with a strikeout. He's now hitting .143. Not a good start to the year.

All three Seawolves runs were given up Ryan Keefer. Chris Waters got the win with 5 2/3 shutout innings in the start.

Frederick 5, Salem 4

Wieters Watch! He got the day off.

Chris Amador was 3-for-4 and Daniel Figueroa was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Jake Arrieta went 5 2/3 and struck out seven, walking three and allowing one unearned run on two hits. Wilfredo Perez allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings of relief, making the game a lot tighter than it needed to be. Hey, it happens.

Delmarva 7, Hagerstown 6

Four runs in the bottom of the ninth gave the Shorebirds this big-time come-from-behind win. Here's the recap from MiLB.com:

Pitcher Change: Clint Everts replaces Kyle Gunderson.

Joseph Mahoney singles on a line drive to left fielder Aaron Seuss.

Tyler Henson singles on a line drive to center fielder Stephen Englund. Joseph Mahoney to 2nd.

With Matthew Tucker batting, wild pitch by Clint Everts, Joseph Mahoney to 3rd. Tyler Henson to 2nd.

Matthew Tucker walks.

Kieron Pope reaches on force attempt, throwing error by third baseman Steven Souza. Joseph Mahoney scores. Tyler Henson to 3rd. Matthew Tucker to 2nd.

Wally Crancer pops out to third baseman Steven Souza in foul territory.

Pedro Florimon Jr. singles on a fly ball to center fielder Stephen Englund. Tyler Henson scores. Matthew Tucker scores. Kieron Pope to 2nd.

Matthew Angle doubles (1) on a line drive to right fielder Michael Burgess. Kieron Pope scores. Pedro Florimon Jr. to 3rd.

Norfolk 6, Rochester 5

The Tides faced recovering stud lefty Francisco Liriano in his second rehab start of the season, touching him up for three earned on five hits over four innings. Liriano struck out three and walked three. He'll be up with Minnesota again soon. These things aren't so much about the results as the arm strength and things of that nature.

Veteran Casey Daigle took the loss for the Red Wings. Hayden Penn got the win for Norfolk, going 5 2/3 and allowing four earned on eight scattered hits, with three strikeouts and a walk. Much better than his first disastrous start of the season. Bob McCrory got his second save, and Esteban Yan and Ryan Bukvich both pitched.

At the plate, Luis Terrero was 3-for-3 and fell a home run short of the cycle. He also walked twice and drove in three runs, but despite getting on base five times, did not score. Eider Torres scored twice. Mike Costanzo was 1-for-4 and Adam Stern went 2-for-3. Jon Knott went 3-for-4 with two RBI for Rochester.

Norfolk is now 3-3.

Bowie 8, Reading 3

The Baysox finally got their first win of the season thanks to two four-run innings and a nice start from Chris Waters. Waters went five scoreless, two-hit innings with four strikeouts and no walks. Gerardo Casadiego allowed all three Reading runs in the top of the ninth. Between them, Felix Romero threw two scoreless innings.

Second baseman Jonathan Tucker had a big game at the plate, going 2-for-4 with four RBI. Ryan Finan was 3-for-4 two doubles and an RBI. Nolan Reimold went 0-for-3 with a walk, making him 4-for-24 (.167) for the season.

Bowie is 1-5.

Frederick 8, Kinston 7

Wieters Watch! The future All-Star was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI.

Chris Amador and Chris Vinyard also had two hits for the Keys, and Vinyard hit his first homer of the season. Jacob Renshaw, who turns 22 on April 29, got the win with a sloppy but effective five inning start (1 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 2 ER). Jason Burch got his second save, a one-outer in the ninth.

The Keys jumped out to a 7-2 lead before having to hold off the Indians. Frederick is 3-1.

Lake County 5, Delmarva 3

The Shorebirds were able to rap out just four hits on the night, two of which came off the bat of Joseph "Balls" Mahoney. Both of Mahoney's hits were doubles. Joseph Nowicki had two RBI.

Tony Butler took the loss, but had a solid start. He went five innings, giving up three earned on three hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. He gave up a solo home run to Captains third baseman Karexon Sanchez -- great name. Delmarva is 1-3 on the year.

Norfolk 2, Buffalo 1 (Game 1)
Norfolk 9, Buffalo 8 (Game 2)

The Tides swept a double-header at home against Buffalo in two seven-inning contests. Jeremy Sowers pitched all six innings for Buffalo in the opener, giving up just one earned run but taking the loss without run support. Jon Leicester went 3 1/3 for the Tides, and Alberto Castillo-Betancourt got the win in relief. Bob McCroy picked up his first save of the season. At the plate, Eider Torres was 1-for-3 with a double, and Oscar Salazar had an RBI.

In the second game, Buffalo grabbed a big 8-3 lead in the top of the seventh with a three-run inning, and Norfolk came storming back with six in the bottom of the inning for the win. Mike Costanzo singled Tike Redman in for the winning run. Redman scored three times, going 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Rich Rundles walked in two straight runs for Norfolk on behalf of Buffalo to set up Costanzo's winning hit.

Radhames Liz went 4 2/3 with seven strikeouts. Salazar, Sebastian Boucher and Adam Stern all had two hits in the game, as well. Salazar and Torres had two RBI apiece. The Tides evened up their record at 2-2.

Erie 5, Bowie 0

The dreadful Bowie lineup continued to have serious problems, scattering five hits in the game that finalized a four-game sweep at the hands of the Seawolves. Mike Rodriguez, Nolan Reimold, Jeff Nettles, Jonathan Tucker and Kennard Jones had one hit apiece. Rodriguez also walked!

This team is going to have major difficulties winning ballgames with their lineup if Wieters and even a couple more guys don't get up there to help them, fast. They are awful. Bowie is 0-4.

Lynchburg 9, Frederick 3

The Keys got just two hits on the day (one each from Brandon Snyder and Paul Winterling) and were thus steamrolled by Lynchburg. Wieters went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. Snyder and Winterling had an RBI to go with their base knocks.

Pedro Beato had a rough debut for the season, going just 3 1/3 and allowing four earned on six hits with two walks and a strikeout. Frederick is 2-1.

Hagerstown @ Delmarva, PPD

What was to be Tony Butler's first Shorebirds start was rained out.

Photos courtesy Norfolk Tides

The AAA Tides kick off their season tonight with a game at home against Buffalo, so let's take a quick look at our boys in Norfolk.

The rotation should be a strong point, with (from left to right) Radhames Liz, Garrett Olson, Hayden Penn, Jon Leicester and James/Jim Johnson. All of them are at the point in their careers where they're available to be called up -- for some, that's good news, but for Leicester in particular, not so much.

I do root for Jon Leicester, who was once a high-ceiling prospect in the Cubs organization during the Wellemeyer/Mitre period, but he's never delivered on that ceiling. He went 0-11 with a 6.78 season in his last season with the University of Memphis, but was drafted in the 11th round of the 2000 draft just because he had really good stuff. Through the minor leagues, Leicester never once had a dominant season, though he fairly frequently had flashes of true potential. He smoked the International League last year while in Norfolk (3-3, 2.22/1.08, 65 IP), but struggled as usual once in the big leagues, posting a 7.59 ERA in 32 innings.

He was in the running for the fifth spot in the rotation this spring, but finished a distant third to Brian Burres and Matt Albers. It was to be expected. As far as the Norfolk rotation goes, Leicester is the one who probably, if you want to be honest about it, tops out at the level he's at. He's 29 now; if he was going to make a major league impact, he probably would have done it by now, though he might have a nice relief season or three in his arm.

Jim Johnson had a 4.07/1.43 ERA/WHIP at Norfolk last season, which was a big, big disappointment. As Baseball Prospectus put it, he's "the same pitcher he was three years ago; that made him one of the better pitchers in A-ball in 2005, but he was supposed to build on that, not stall." Johnson turns 25 in June. He'll need an impressive season.

Liz, Olson and Penn have already been discussed here recently. They should be a really strong front three for the Tides.

The Norfolk 'pen is filled with emergency call-up guys like Esteban Yan, Lance Cormier and Roberto Novoa. There's really nothing special there, except perhaps, maybe, for Bob McCrory.

As far as the position players go...well, that's a different story.

Only Mike Costanzo (pictured) is likely to really make any impact on the major league club. This is a pitching-heavy, hitting-light system, and Norfolk is your run-of-the-mill Triple-A team filled with minor league veterans and major league flameouts.

Among the flameouts is Tike Redman, a 31-year old ex-Pirates prospect who had numerous chances in Pittsburgh to win a major league job and never did so. After being out of the majors in 2006, Redman found himself in the independent boondocks last year before the O's signed him and assigned him to the Tides. At Norfolk, Redman hit .304/.372/.416 in 336 plate appearances, which is nothing special for a 30-year old outfielder who's had plenty of Triple-A experience, but it got him a trip to Baltimore for 139 PAs, where he hit an inspiring .318/.341/.462 and stole seven bases in eight attempts. He's not someone you should expect anything from (.253/.287/.327 at AAA Toledo in 2006, for instance), but good luck to him.

He'll be sharing the outfield most nights, I'd guess, with the returning Luis Terrero and Sebastien Boucher. Terrero, 28, hit .318/.367/.560 for Ottawa in 2006, but struggled between the White Sox and Charlotte last year. He's back in the O's system as a Triple-A filler.

I figure Boucher will get more PT than Adam Stern and Chris Roberson, but I could be wrong. And it also doesn't really matter. Stern's career highlight will forever be that inside the park home run against the United States in the World Baseball Classic, and Roberson can't play. Boucher has some wheels, like the other two, but is slightly younger. We got him in the John Parrish deal last year. None of them are going to be major league contributors, though Boucher has some nice on-base skills (.372 OBP in his minor league career).

The infield's best player, past Costanzo, is recent free agent pickup Alex Cintron, who is almost certainly going to be in Baltimore as soon as possible. Cintron is nothing special at all, but he beats the hell out of Luis Hernandez and Brandon Fahey, which is more unfortunate than anything. The O's probably want Hernandez to be able to play, but once he's past proving that he can't, Cintron will take his job. And Fahey is only there because the Cubs signed and released Cintron before the season started. If Alex had signed with the Orioles to begin with, he'd be in Baltimore right now.

33-year old Chris Heintz and Omir Santos will handle the catching duties. Heintz has been plugging away in the sticks since '96, when the White Sox drafted him. To put that into perspective, that was the second-to-last year the Orioles made the playoffs. The only way either of these guys sees major league time this year will be if Ramon or Quiroz live up to their reps and get hurt.

AAA is generally not the most exciting or interesting level of a minor league system, and that's true here, as well. It's a holding zone for fringe major leaguers in most cases. But 3/5 of this rotation could have beaten out Brian Burres this spring and I'd have been OK with that. That's something to pay attention to.