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 8, Richmond 7 (14 innings - April 23)

The Tides were off on the 22nd, which essentially gave them three straight days off, although they probably had uniforms on the previous two before getting rained out against Durham.

This one went long, with Jon Leicester throwing 79 pitches in three innings of working before handing it over to Andy Mitchell for three. Craig Anderson threw an inning, followed by one from Roberto Novoa, two from Bob McCrory, three from Lance Cormier, and one from Ryan Bukvich, who got the W.

Alex Cintron singled Eider Torres home in the bottom of the 14th with one out and the bases loaded for the winning score. On the day, Cintron went 2-for-6 with 4 RBI. Mike Costanzo was 2-for-5 with a walk and a solo homer, his second on the season. Torres went 4-for-7 with an RBI. Scott Moore was 1-for-4.

Bowie 7, Connecticut 3 (April 22)
Bowie 3, Connecticut 2 (April 23)

In the first game, Jason Berken went 5 2/3 with eight strikeouts and a walk for the win. At the plate, Jonathan Tucker, Ben Davis and Sebastien Boucher all had two hits, and Nolan Reimold was 1-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. Davis and Tucker each had two RBI.

On the 23rd, Chris Tillman put together a five-inning start for the win (4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K), with Felix Romero, Gerardo Casadiego and Julio Manon shutting the Defenders down the rest of the night. Zach Dillon was 3-for-4 to pace the Bowie offense. Sebastien Boucher had two RBI.

Frederick 4, Wilmington 1 (April 22 - Game 1)
Frederick 2, Wilmington 1 (April 22 - Game 2)
Wilmington 4, Frederick 3 (April 23)

Wieters Watch! 1-for-7 over the three games. OH GOD.

Rowell Watch! He's back in the lineup. That's good. Rowell went 3-for-9 over the three games.

Brandon Erbe threw a complete game (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) in the double header. Nobody else did too much worth noting.

Lake County 7, Delmarva 1 (April 22 - Game 1)
Lake County 11, Delmarva 1 (April 22 - Game 2)
Delmarva 6, Lake County 3 (April 23)

Game one: Delmarva made seven errors.

Game two: Delmarva made four errors.

Game three: Delmarva made no errors! Matt Angle hit a homer.

I'm not doing a photo for any of the players today because there just aren't that many available, so enjoy this:

via sportsillustrated.cnn.com

[Note by SC, 04/24/08 10:07 AM EDT ]: He was never the toughest out in baseball.

Pretty good fight last night. The right guy won. And it wasn't as close as some people might lead you to believe.

And hey, Danica Patrick actually won a race. The Orioles win two over the Yankees, and all of a sudden a marketing tool is winning IRL events and Welshmen are beating American legends on U.S. soil.

But let's get down to the nitty.

Durham 2, Norfolk 0

Nuke LaLoosh threw a shutout and Crash Davis had two solo homers as the Bulls won a close one at Norfolk.

Garrett Olson pitched really well for the Tides, and is anyone else checkin' their watches and wondering when the clock strikes 12 for Steve Trachsel? We're bumbling around with Adam Loewen and Brian Burres when there's a lefty at Norfolk that I'd rather see than either of them. Olson went seven innings (90 pitches, 62 strikes), allowing seven hits and two runs, one earned. He struck out seven and walked nobody. His season ERA is 1.61. He's got a 24-to-7 K-to-BB ratio in 22.1 innings. Bueller?

Tike Redman had a couple of hits and a walk to nudge his average up to a healthy .212, and Scott Moore actually got a hit, going 1-for-4. Mike Costanzo struck out thrice.

Bowie 5, Akron 3

Nolan Reimold, how'd your day go? 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored, and no strikeouts? You're hitting .180 now?! I like the sound of this, champ!

Ryan Finan homered for the Baysox, a two-run shot in the sixth inning. On the mound, lefty Chris Waters lowered his season ERA to 0.87 with seven innings of work (four hits, one earned run). Of course, he's 27 years old, so one would hope he could smoke AA.

Winston-Salem 3, Frederick 2

Wieters Watch! He went 2-for-4. Wieters is hitting .415/.519/.732 with four homers. Less encouraging, Brandon Snyder is hitting .226/.276/.264 with no homers. And even less encouraging, Billy Rowell still isn't back in the lineup.

Jake Arrieta did his job for the Keys, going 7.2 IP, striking out eight and walking four, allowing two runs (one earned). The game was lost by Ryan Burch. Arrieta is sporting a 2.75 ERA through four starts.

Lakewood 9, Delmarva 2

Tyler Henson and Matthew Tucker had two hits apiece, and Anthony Martinez went 3-for-4, but the Shorebirds were blown out nonetheless.

My new favorite player, Cole McCurry, had a rocky start, going four innings and being smacked around for four runs on eight hits. He struck out five, though, and walked just one. 

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

Louisville 6, Norfolk 4

Scott Moore started at second base and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, leaving him hitting .133 with seven whiffs in 15 at-bats since being sent down to Norfolk. He's always going to be a high-strikeout hitter who is prone to bouts of streakiness. He's picking a bad time to slump, I'd suppose, although I'd take the Norfolk version of Moore over Brandon Fahey anyway.

Veteran catcher Chris Heintz was 4-for-4 on the day, but didn't score a run. Radhames Liz got beaten up a little, going five innings with eight hits allowed, giving up six runs (five earned) and two homers. He walked one and struck out five. Lance Cormier and Bob McCrory both had scoreless relief appearances.

Erie 11, Bowie 10

Well, the Bowie bats have come around. But they lost this slugfest on a Max St. Pierre single in the bottom of the ninth with one out, which scored Dusty Ryan from second base. The hit was to left field.

First, the pitching. Starter David Hernandez went four innings, allowing eight runs (four earned) on six hits and three walks. Hernandez struck out eight. Gerardo Casadiego gave up just one run in three innings, but Jim Miller blew the game and took the loss for the Baysox, giving up two in one and a third.

At the plate, Jeff Nettles was 3-for-5 with four runs scored, and hit two solo homers, including one in the top of the ninth that tied the game at 10. Luis Montanez was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, and had three RBIs on the day. Kennard Jones also had a three-steak day.

And even though the Baysox rapped out 11 hits and scored ten runs, Nolan Reimold continues to flounder. He was 1-for-5 with an RBI triple. He's hitting .180/.259/.280 so far.

Mike Rodriguez and Ben Davis both had two hits.

Salem 13, Frederick 6

The Keys winning streak ended at four, and Brandon Erbe got wailed on out there. But first...

Wieters Watch! He was 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Start the panic!

Erbe went five and a third, and Salem got nine hits and seven runs (six earned) off of him. He allowed three home runs, walked one, and struck out five. Erbe started his day much like Adam Loewen, giving up a double, a single, and then a three run homer. Three batters, three Salem runs. Mark Ori hit two homers off of Erbe.

Frederick had a 4-3 lead after two, but it disappeared pretty fast. Leading 7-4, Salem piled on six runs in the top of the seventh, just murdering Kyle Schmidt. None of the runs were earned, apparently. Hey, whatever.

Brandon Tripp hit a homer for the Keys.

Delmarva 10, Hagerstown 1

Matt Angle was 3-for-6 and David Cash was 4-for-6, making the Shorebirds' 1-2 hitters a pretty deadly punch on the day. Cash had a three-run homer and four RBIs total.

Tyler Henson and Joseph Nowicki had two hits apiece, and Ryan Adams was 4-for-5.

Zach Britton and Cliff Flagello teamed up to dominate Hagerstown. Britton went five and a third and gave up a run on six hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Flagello pitched the other three and two-thirds, striking out seven and walking two, allowing only two hits.

RECORDS

Norfolk 5-9

Bowie 5-8

Frederick 8-4

Delmarva 7-6

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

Once a year or so, it's good to update these. Players come and players go, much like the asinine nicknames that generally spring out of the game threads. So here's a quick primer for anyone who's new and might not know what in God's name we're talking about during certain points of a game.

Albers, Matt

• Fat Albers

This is not in any way intended to be mean. Honest. I know the dude's a little pudgy, maybe still carrying some baby fat, or maybe he's just like most of the rest of us and likes to reward himself for a fine day's work of breathing air and being a cool dude by wolfing down a Baconator or six. I'm not here to judge Matt Albers. It's just something that happened in my head and then I put it on a blog. Hey, hey, hey!

You gotta do it right though. Listen for yourself, if you're unfamiliar. It starts loud, so be prepared. That site is long faded as far as being funny goes, but whatever. RAN-DOOOOOR!

Bradford, Chad

• ChadBrad
• Chadwick
• Chadstache

Ain't found a way to kill me yet

Eyes burn with stingin' sweat

Seems every path leads me to nowhere

Wife and kids, household pet

Army green was no safe bet

The bullets scream to me from somewhere

Yeah, they come to snuff The Rooster

Yeah, here come The Rooster

You know he ain't gonna die

Walkin' tall, machine gun man

They spit on me in my homeland

Mora, Melvin 

• MelMo
• Melly Mel
• Melvin Moron
• Playoff Hero Melvin Mora

Did Babe Ruth ever slap at someone's glove while they tried to tag him? Did Mickey Mantle? Did Hank Aaron? Did Cal Ripken? Did Dane Iorg? Did Kiko Garcia? Seriously. He's a player to admire, but a total weiner.

That's why I prefer "Brian Bob."

Sarfate, Dennis

• Dennis the Menace

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

I left at 5-5. What the hell happened!

Oh. The bullpen shat out. Because the starters can't go deep and Trembley's bullpen management is, shall we say, risque.

James/Jim Johnson is up and Scott Moore goes down. I get it, I guess. Fine. A thirteenth pitcher seems stupid for a spot start, but hey. Hey! Wait! BRANDON FAHEY is still on the team? Mother of God.

This is probably Birdland, guys. I still like this team. They have balls.

There went Baltimo'. Go, go, Godzilla!

We are now on the schneid. Minor league recap in the morning. Too many Old Styles and karaoke, and I need to sleep.

Glad blood-spittin', arm-flailin' Al Reyes could get out of the clink in time to help the Rays.