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.

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 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

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.