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.

Indianapolis 9, Norfolk 3

The Indy Indians touched up Radhames Liz to the tune of five earned over five innings on seven hits, and were down 6-0 before a three-spot in the seventh inning. There would be no rally, though, as Indianapolis put up three more of their own in the bottom of the eighth for the runaway win.

Ryan Bukvich allowed an unearned run, and fellow journeyman Esteban Yan gave up the last three Indian scores. Liz threw 90 pitches on the night, 53 of them for strikes. Indianapolis starter Luis Munoz also threw 53 strikes, but on 81 pitches over six and two-thirds for the win.

Mike Costanzo hit his first homer of the season, a solo shot. Chris Heintz had a double and an RBI, and Luis Terrero had a steak, too.

Akron 12, Bowie 5

Jason Berken is a 24-year old righty, a Green Bay native and a Clemson alum. How about this line? 5 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts.

After Berken was pulled, 26-year old Bloomsburg, Penn., native Ryan Keefer took over. How about this line? One-third of an inning, 3 hits, 6 runs, 1 earned, no walks, no Ks. No fuss, no muss.

Once Keefer was out of the game, 27-year old ex-Yankee Gerardo Casadiego toed the rubber. One and two-thirds innings, 2 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned, 3 walks, no strikeouts.

The Baysox committed six errors in total, allowing the 12 Akron runs on just nine hits. Bowie actually out-hit Akron on the night, 12 to nine. Mike Rodriguez, Jeff Nettles and Blake Davis all went 2-for-5, and Ryan Finan was 3-for-5. Rodriguez had the team's only extra-base hit, a triple. Nolan Reimold was 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.

The errors came from Reimold, Rodriguez and Nettles, plus Davis, the shortstop, who had three of them in total -- one on a missed catch, one on a throw, and one on a grounder. Not a pretty game for the Baysox, but these games happen. God bless minor league baseball.

Myrtle Beach 3, Frederick 2 (11 innings)

Wieters Watch! Matt went 2-for-4 with a walk. What's the bet right now on the date for his promotion to Bowie? May 31st? Here's an interesting question, though. Do you maybe try to skip Double-A with Wieters, leaving him down at Frederick a little longer than one normally might, and then see if he can skirt all the way up to Norfolk? Ben Davis is at Bowie for a reason, believe me. It's not because Chris Heintz is a better player, it's because they want Davis working with Spoone and Tillman and the rest.

Second baseman Miguel Abreu was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for the Keys, but the real standout, again, was Brandon Erbe. Erbe didn't get the win, but he was sharp for the second start in a row, going 6 1/3 with eight strikeouts and just two hits allowed for one earned run. Raise his stock back up a little bit.

The Keys held a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, when Myrtle Beach left fielder Willie Cabrera led off with a solo homer. The winning run scored when Keys reliever Ryan Oullette hit Gorkys Hernandez with a pitch, forcing in a run. Outstanding!

Delmarva 3, Lakewood 1

The Shorebirds saved the system from going winless on the day, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh to take down the BlueClaws. Who doesn't love minor league team names?

Leadoff man Matt Angle was 0-for-2, but walked twice and scored a run, and catcher Wally Crancer had two hits and an RBI on the day. Brian Parker got the win in relief, and Mike Mattaliano picked up his third save. Starter Zach Britton went six strong innings, allowing just the one run and striking out four. Britton is a 20-year old lefty who's looked pretty sharp this season over his first three appearances. He might warrant a bump up shortly if he keeps it up.

Records

Norfolk 5-4
Bowie 3-6
Frederick 4-3
Delmarva 3-4

Norfolk 3, Rochester 0

The Tides took three of four from the Red Wings with a shutout win last night, preparing to head out on an eight-game road trip to Indianapolis and Louisville. Jon Leicester pitched four innings of four-hit ball, and Andy Mitchell went to 2-0 with two innings of relief. Following Mitchell, Lance Cormier went two innings and Bob McCrory picked up his third save by working the ninth.

Mike McCoy was 2-for-3 with a double two runs scored, and Luis Terrero had a double. Tike Redman, Eider Torres and Sebastien Boucher had one RBI apiece. Norfolk is now 5-3 on the season.

Bowie 7, Akron 5

David Hernandez struck out six in five innings of work, allowing just one run, and only a meltdown by Rommie Lewis, Jr., in the ninth inning made this one close. Lewis allowed four runs in an inning and two-thirds, upping his early season ERA to 12.71. Julio Manon got the final out for his second save.

The Bowie bats finally came alive, as Nolan Reimold was 1-for-2 with a first inning, three-run homer, his first of the season. The blast plated all three of Bowie's first three hitters of the game. Jeff Nettles also went yard for the first time, connecting on a solo shot in the eighth.

Carlos Rojas was 2-for-5 with two RBI, Jonathan Tucker went 2-for-4, and Kennard Jones went 3-for-4 for Bowie. The Baysox are now 3-5 and riding a three-game winning streak.

Kinston 6, Frederick 5 (16 innings)

Wieters Watch! Matt got the day off initially, but did get a single in a pinch-hit appearance. The Keys made it a 5-4 game in the top of the sixteenth inning, but Kinston struck back with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the inning. To be fair, they got those hits off of Chris Amador, who started the game in left field and went 3-for-7. God bless minor league baseball. Amador also had the team's lone extra-base hit, a triple.

Brandon Snyder was 2-for-7 with three whiffs, and Chris Vinyard went 1-for-7 with five strikeouts. The Keys stand at 3-3.

Lake County 5, Delmarva 0

The Shorebirds fell to 2-4 after being blanked by the Captains. Matthew Angle, Joseph "Balls" Mahoney, Anthony Martinez and Pedro Florimon, Jr., had Delmarva's only hits, all singles except for a Martinez double.

On the mound, John Mariotti had a fine start (6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) but just got literally no run support.

Norfolk 7, Rochester 2

Luis Terrero was 3-for-4 and Mike Costanzo had three RBI, leading the Norfolk offense over Rochester. But the star of the game was on the mound, as Garrett Olson went six shutout innings with seven strikeouts and no walks, allowing just four hits.

Olson struggled with his command in his first outing, walking six over four innings, but breezed past the Red Wings, throwing 55 of his 86 pitches for strikes. Roberto Novoa allowed both Rochester runs, giving up a homer to Brian Buscher.

Only Terrero had a multi-hit game for the Tides (4-3), but everyone in the starting lineup had a base knock besides shortstop Travis Brown, who scored when he reached on one of Rochester's four errors. Norfolk was up 6-0 after just two innings and cruised to the win.

Bowie 3, Reading 2

After starting out with five straight losses for the '07 season, the Baysox have bounced back with two straight wins. Jeff Nettles and Carlos Rojas had two hits apiece, and Choryne Spoone picked up the win. Spoone pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Kam Mickolio pitched two scoreless, one-hit innings, and Julio Manon got the save with an inning and two-thirds of work, walking two and striking out four.

Ryan Finan had a home run for Bowie. Nolan Reimold was 0-for-3 with a walk, lowering his average to .148 on the young season. He's just 4-for-27 overall, and they're all singles. He has struck out eight times in seven games, walking four times. It's been a tough start for Reimold, to say the least.

Frederick 9, Kinston 8

Wieters Watch! 1-for-1 with a walk, a double and a run scored. And he left in the bottom of the fourth! Oh no! Calm down. Just a little game. Wieters isn't hurt -- he was ejected, along with manager Tommy Thompson.

Jake Arrieta's second start with the Keys didn't go as well as his first, as he struggled with his command through two and two-thirds, walking four and allowing four earned. He struck out two. Kyle Schmidt got the win in relief with this impressive line: 3 1/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER. Chad Thall and Jason Burch held it down in the late innings, with Burch notching his third save.

Todd Davison homered for the Keys, and Brandon Snyder went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Chris Vinyard had a Mickey Tettleton game, sans home run, going 0-for-3 with two walks and three whiffs. Second sacker Miguel Abreu was 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Delmarva 4, Lake County 1 (10 innings)

Anthony Martinez homered and Tyler Henson was 2-for-5 with an RBI as Delmarva rounds out a perfect 4-0 day in the O's system. The Shorebirds rallied for three runs in the top of the tenth to secure victory.

My new favorite player, Cole McCurry, went five shutout innings with three strikeouts. Zach Clark threw four innings of relief and got the win, and Mick Mattaliano picked up the save.

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.

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.