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.

Norfolk 7, Louisville 6 (11 innings)

Chris Roberson hit a three-run homer and had four RBis in the game, and Alex Cintron was 2-for-4 in his Tides debut, an 11-inning win for Norfolk in a game that both teams did their best to refuse to lose.

Norfolk jumped out to a 4-1 lead with a four-run fifth inning, but the Bats battled back and tied it up with two runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth. Norfolk took a 5-4 lead in the 10th, but Louisville tied it again. Two Tides runs scored in the top half of the 11th, but they fell short a run and left two men on in the bottom of the inning (after scoring once to cut the lead to 7-6).

Eider Torres and Oscar Salazar both went 2-for-5. Scott Moore (starting at DH) was 1-for-5, as was Mike Costanzo. Tike Redman 0-for-5'd his way another game closer to being released, probably. He's too old to be hitting .184 at Triple-A.

Craig Anderson had a good start for Norfolk, going six and giving up just one run, striking out five and walking no one. The Tides used six relievers after Anderson. Ryan Bukvich got the win and Roberto Novoa the save.

Akron 5, Bowie 1

Both teams had ten hits. Guess who took better advantage of their baserunners?

This Nolan Reimold business is starting to get a little bit bothersome. Like, really. He went 0-for-4 with another strikeout, and that brings his season line down to .167/.242/.259 with one homer and 12 whiffs in 14 games. He's been exceptionally terrible. It's not time to panic because a few good games and his numbers are turned around, but he's on the schneid in a big way (9-for-54, two extra-base hits, six walks).

Jeff Nettles was 3-for-4, and Ben Davis and Sebastien Boucher had a couple of hits each in the loss.

On the hill, Jason Berken had another good start (6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) but took the loss. Reliever Ryan Keefer gave up a run in two innings, and his ERA is still over 15. Berken's is 2.81.

Awesomely named Aeros outfielder Nathan Panther was 3-for-4.

Frederick 7, Winston-Salem 2

Yes, the Carolina League has a Salem and a Winston-Salem, and the Keys have played them back-to-back.

Wieters Watch! Sweet Wiet ended his horrible 0-for-3 slump with a 2-for-5 day, including his fourth home run and ninth and tenth runs batted in. He's now hitting .438/.558/.844. He is massacring the Carolina League. Miguel Abreu and Chris Amador had two hits each, and leadoff man Daniel Figueroa rapped out three singles and also reached on a walk.

Pedro Beato went seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits, with two walks and two Ks.

Delmarva 6, Hagerstown 4

The Shorebirds overcame a rough start by Luis Noel (4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K) to score a come-from-behind win in this one, getting two runs in the eighth and one in the ninth.

Tyler Henson went 2-for-5, and Joseph Nowicki had a couple of steaks for Delmarva. Nowicki, Matt Angle and Joseph "Balls" Mahoney all walked two times.

RECORDS

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.

Indianapolis 2, Norfolk 1

The Tides dropped this one in the bottom of the ninth on a meltdown from closer Bob McCrory, following an outstanding start from Hayden Penn. Penn went seven innings, allowing just three hits and one run. McCrory took the ball in the eighth, and got through one and a third before allowing a single to Steve Pearce, beaning Craig Wilson, and eventually giving up the game-losing single to Kevin Thompson.

Catcher Omir Santos was 1-for -2 with a double and a walk, and Sebastien Boucher had two hits. Oscar Salazar, Chris Roberson and Eider Torres also got base knocks. Scott Moore started at shortstop and batted third, and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Bowie @ Akron, PPD/Rain

The Baysox start a three-game set in Erie tomorrow.

Frederick 7, Myrtle Beach 3

Wieters Watch! 0-for-2, but he walked three times.

The Keys offense exploded for 13 hits on the day, with Brandon Tripp leading the charge, going 3-for-5 with a couple of solo homers. Chris Amador also homered, and Daniel Figueroa had three hits. Chris Vinyard was 1-for-3 with two walks in a rare start at first base, as Brandon Snyder got the game off.

Jacob Renshaw improved to 2-0 on the season, going seven and two-thirds with six strikeouts. He allowed three earned on four hits.

Lakewood 7, Delmarva 4 (11 innings)

The BlueClaws dropped three in the top of the 11th and Delmarva was unable to answer.

Pinch-hitter/left fielder David Cash had an RBI walk and an RBI single in the game, and the keystone combo of Jonathan Tucker and Pedro Florimon, Jr., had two hits each, and Tyler Henson was 1-for-5 with two RBI.

Tony Butler pitched six innings, giving up two earned on five hits and a walk, striking out four. Cliff Flagello took the loss in the 11th, giving up the three Lakewood runs.

RECORDS
Norfolk 5-5
Frederick 5-3
Delmarva 3-5

Indianapolis 4, Norfolk 3 

Craig Anderson started for the Tides, going 4 1/3 with five strikeouts, one walk, and one run allowed, but a three-run fifth inning for Indianapolis was enough to win the game, as there was no more scoring from that point on. Norfolk had led 3-1.

Chris Heintz and Chris Roberson had two hits apiece for Norfolk, with Heintz managing to leg out a triple. It was a three-bag kind of day for 30-something Oriole catchers. Roberson had two RBIs and also stole a base. Mike Costanzo was 0-for-3 with three whiffs and a walk.

Akron 7, Bowie 3

Jonathan Tucker was 2-for-4 with a double, raising his season average to .314, but the star of the loss was young Chris Tillman, who threw five innings of no-hit ball, walking one and striking out two. He was pulled after facing 16 batters, and Daniel Lonsberry took over.

Lonsberry pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing six earned runs on three hits and two walks. Kam Mickolio inherited three runners from Lonsberry, and all scored. The Baysox got all three of their runs in the top of the fifth, and Akron plated all seven of their runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Nolan Reimold was 0-for-3 with a walk. He's hitting .162.

Frederick 6, Myrtle Beach 2

Wieters Watch! Wieters was 2-for-4 with his third home run and a walk. Matt Wieters is currently hitting .524/.621/1.000 with three homers, seven RBI, seven walks and two strikeouts.

Brandon Snyder was 1-for-3 with a double. Pedro Beato pitched six innings for the win, and Kyle Schmidt got a three-inning save.

Delmarva 2, Lakewood 1

Joseph Nowicki, Tyler Henson and Wally Crancer all went 2-for-4, and Luis Noel had a good start for the Shorebirds (5 IP, 6 H, 1 ER), but the win went to Joseph Esposito in relief. Pedro Florimon, Jr., scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch from Lakewood reliever Joseph Rocchio. That's how you win a ballgame!

RECORDS
Norfolk 5-5
Bowie 3-7
Frederick 5-3
Delmarva 4-4

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.