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.

Rochester 4, Norfolk 1

Our old Triple-A affiliate shut down our newest Triple-A affiliate, as the Red Wings got two hits apiece from Garrett Jones, Randy Ruiz and Brian Buscher and five and two-thirds shutout innings from starter Kevin Mulvey en route to victory. Former Oriole Jon Knott went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts for Rochester.

Jim Johnson went four innings to take the loss, allowing one earned on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Relievers Craig Anderson (2 2/3, 3 H, 2 ER, 4 K) and Lance Cormier (2 1/3, 4 H, 1 ER, BB, 3 K) were both hit pretty hard. The Tides didn't get on the board until it was 3-0 Rochester, when nine-hitter Mike McCoy drove in catcher Chris Heintz. The Tides are now 2-3.

Reading 6, Bowie 3 (10 innings)

The Baysox extended their season-starting winless streak to five games with a 6-3 loss to Reading, giving up three runs in the top of the tenth inning after having rallied to tie it in the bottom of the seventh.

Veteran catcher Ben Davis went 2-for-5, but the runs came from the bottom of the order. Eight-hitter Jonathan Tucker was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored, and Kennard Jones in the nine spot scored the other Bowie run on a 1-for-3 day. Jones also had an RBI, and the other two steaks came from Mike Rodriguez (hitting .381) and Blake Davis at the top of the lineup. Nolan Reimold was 1-for-5 with two whiffs.

On the mound, Chris Tillman made his first Junior Oriole start, and he struggled. Tillman was yanked after two innings work, allowing two earned on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Jim Miller threw three innings of relief, and Kam Mickolio and Rommie Lewis, Jr., threw two each. Old Man Manon was the goat in the tenth, giving up the three runs on two hits and a walk.

Frederick and Delmarva both had the day off.

Only counting those that were "contributors" to last year's team.

2007 O's that didn't land anywhere this spring: Adam Stern, Todd Williams, Paul Shuey

Corey Patterson did, but there's not yet a Reds roster photo of that guy, so he doesn't get to be included in this magnificent feature article.

Miguel Tejada, Houston Astros

Miggi has been scorching it this spring: .353/.411/.627 in 18 games with two homers and eight RBI. Only Hunter Pence and Jose Cruz are out-hitting our former shortstop for the 'Stros.

I really wish Tejada nothing but the best, considering his baseball exploits might get worse before they completely calm down. Plus, his lack of hustle never really bothered me. The public whining did on occasion, but I've said this a trillion times. He signed here with the idea that he was THE centerpiece of a big-time attempt to get back into contention. They surrounded him with crap.

Erik Bedard, Seattle Mariners

We've heard about how badly E.B. has struggled this spring, but check the numbers. 18 IP, 9.50 ERA, 30 hits allowed, eight strikeouts, five walks, and seven bombs given up.

So what's Mr. Bay-dar hiding? Is he hurt? Is he just not the same guy? Is he a fluke? A flash in the pan? Does he suck? Did we trade him just in time? Will the Mariners have their own Glenn Davis? Will the Mariners and their fans be beating their heads against the wall for the next two decades thanks to Erik Bedard?

Yeah, probably not. It's spring training. He's not used to pitching in Arizona. Maybe he's had real bad gas all month. Maybe he's constipated. He'll be fine. Though I don't care if he's not. I liked Bedard, but screw 'im, he's with them now.

Jaret Wright, Pittsburgh Pirates

He's pitched in eight games this spring. For eight innings. So he doesn't look like he'll be factoring into the rotation any time soon. Actually, trying to use him in a relief role, where he could dial it up every few days instead of trying to go five or six innings with his bad stuff and worse arm, isn't at all a bad idea.

Well, it's a bad idea because signing Jaret Wright is never really a good one, but if you're going to (and it is the Pirates, our NL counterpart), at least...no, he sucks. He sucked when we sent Britton away for him, he sucked in his handful of appearances last year, and he sucks now.

But I do like that murderous glare he's got going.

Chris Gomez, Pittsburgh Pirates

Sub at short
Sub at third
Need Chris Gomez? Just say the word!
Sub at second
Sub at first
Chris Gomez! It could be worse

From the O's to the ALCS-bound Indians and now to the Pirates. Good grief, some men love baseball. He's slapping the ball around at a .324/.390/.405 clip this spring. He's aging remarkably well for a utility infielder.

John Parrish, Toronto Blue Jays

Proof positive of the face upgrade that can come with just that little bit of facial hair that the Orioles think is so awful. Parrish now looks positively like a regular guy, instead of a porn star in 1983 that hasn't gotten over 1978.

Unfortunately for him, he still can't pitch, with a 7.36 ERA this spring. Parrish is one of the most frustrating SOBs I've ever seen, because he has the stuff to do some business out there as a reliever. But he's always picking at corners he can't hit, trying to be Tom Glavine.

J.R. House, Houston Astros

Dr. House has only gotten to the plate 17 times this spring, hitting .176 with a homer. He's not a major league player. He can't field his position, and his growth as a hitter was irrevocably stunted when he kept getting hurt and then tried to play major college football as a quarterback, like those schools don't recruit quarterbacks. There aren't many Chris Weinkes, but I suppose J.R. has time to try again if he wants to, since Weinke was close to AARP membership when he won the Heisman.

Everyone still in love with the idea of House has to give up the ghost pretty soon. He may have been a good prospect at one point, but that was almost a decade and way too many twists and turns ago. Forget it.

Victor Zambrano, Colorado Rockies

From the makers of Donald Trump for President and New Coke comes Victor Zambrano: Colorado Rockie!

I thought maybe Zambrano was the worst ex-Oriole still pitching in anything resembling the major leagues, but then I found out Jim Brower is at Reds camp with Patterson and Hairston, so it became a real race.

Zambrano has a 9.00 ERA and a 1-to-4 BB-to-K ratio in his five innings for the defending NL champs. He's about as likely to make the team as I am.

Paul Bako, Cincinnati Reds and Alberto Castillo, Houston Astros

If you have a buddy or relative or wife or husband or whatever that is a fan of another team, and they ever have a 1-2 catching punch so bad it makes them complain out loud in front of God and everybody, remind them of the time in 2007 when your team was starting Paul Bako and subbing in Alberto Castillo when Base Knock needed a day off.

Bako spurned the Pirates for the Reds, not that he had any real shot of making either team. This after he put up a season no different than any of his others, which followed a season in Kansas City that was just as terrible. And the Orioles gave this guy a guaranteed $900,000 contract last year, his highest salary -- by far -- ever. So here's another thing to remember: Never curse Andy MacPhail. When he went searching for your run-of-the-mill backup squatter, he came up with Guillermo Quiroz out of the super bargain bin and not a proven bum and former Maddux caddy.

Jon Knott, Minnesota Twins

Knott's in Twins camp with another eternal minor leaguer on the very fringe of a big league bench spot, the one and only Howie Clark. Two guys that I really root for to have a Tike Redman 2007 sort of season at some point.

Knott is slugging over .500 for Minnesota this spring, but that's also all he's doing. At 29, Jon is well used to awesome springs in the sun and then that inevitable call to the skipper's office to explain the red tag. Don't cry for the big guy. It's Knott over yet.

...

Gustavo Molina, New York Mets

He was barely an Oriole, and he's barely a Met.

He's got his uses as a backup catcher that can hit lefties a little bit, plus he has that last name which all but guarantees you years of service in the fool's gear in and around Major League Baseball, but anyone that caught for the O's in '07 was no damn good, so that means Molina is destined to stink forever.

There have been a lot of guys who have made very lengthy backup catching careers out of odd talents, like being good conversationalists in the dugout, dynamite pinochle players, or just all-around nice dudes, so I hope for Gus' sake he's got some of that extracurricular stuff down.

Rob Bell, Washington Expos

Everyone that yammered about wanting to see what Rob Bell could do got the answer that anyone would who'd seen what Rob Bell could do in previous major league stints knew would come. Rob Bell can't do nothin'.

He's pitched 6 2/3 innings for the Expos this spring, with an ERA juuust over eight. Same old story, same old song and dance. He's 31 years old. Game over, man.

In short, there are a billion and a half guys just as useful as Rob Bell to have around that aren't as old or as proven as him. It's possible to be proven in a bad way, too. And Rob Bell has done it.

Kurt Birkins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays

If they didn't want their team nickname to offend those that have just utter contempt for the dark lord, or whatever their stupid reason was to take "Devil" out of the name, then that's great. But signing Kurt Birkins is an affront to all mankind, isn't it?

Like all other ex-O's hurlers, he's stunk this spring. You could say he's made fans hurl. Birkins is assumedly hired to get lefties out, which has proven to be somewhat tough for him to do, but at least he's not going to be brought into pivotal ponts of games to face righties in Tampa Bay. Or is he? Can someone Sam Perlozzo their bullpen if they aren't indeed Sam Perlozzo? 

Victor Santos and Scott Williamson, San Francisco Giants

The other of the two late-season Victors that were pound-for-pound crappier than the two Jays, Santos has landed on his feet in the city by the bay, home of the roided up homer king and the Real World season that featured real world douchebag "Puck"! Not to mention the cartoonist that brought hate crimes into the world of the Green Lantern!

And he has an ERA over eight this spring, too.

Since the Giants are going to be as awful as anyone this year and have a team with a few good-looking young players and a bunch of retreads and chumps, they have one of those terribly transparent, pandering and pathetic slogans for the 2008 season. Theirs is, "All out, all season!" Williamson can't even go all out for four pitches, so I don't think he'll fit in. Or, unfortunately, he might.

The only thing I'm terribly interested in regarding the Giants this year is how long the rotting corpses of Ray Durham and Omar Vizquel can man the middle infield.

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