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.

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

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 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.