Thursday Bird Droppings

Recaps of yesterday's loss can be found at St. Petersburg Times, orioles.com, MASNsports.com, and baltimoresun.com.

Orioles Insider: Samuel and Tejada disagree on key decision
"It was a great decision," Tejada said. "You know why it’s a great decision? They’ve been killing us because we haven’t been turning double plays from second. They’ve been killing everybody because we haven’t been turning the double play. Now they said we lose the game because I didn’t throw to second? Who said it was going to be a double play? It doesn’t really matter. I’m the one that made the decision. I’m the one out there. I have to have confidence in my pitchers." Miggy's unhappy and now opening questioning his manager's authority. This is going to end well.

Orioles Insider: Roberts drops by the Yards; activation pending?
Brian Roberts dropped off a shipment of bats at OPaCY yesterday, signaling he may be back sooner rather than later. Seems to me you either activate him for this weekend or you wait until after the Toronto series. It would be beyond stupid to have his first game action on that God-awful turf.

Kevin Cowherd: Complaints about Oriole Adam Jones' bubbles are blown out of proportion
"Complaints about Adam Jones' bubbles are blown out of proportion. Orioles center fielder has improved this season, all while blowing bubbles."

The Schmuck Stops Here: Maddon's advice to O's: Be patient
"I see some good arms (in the rotation) and a lot of potential,'' Maddon said, "and I think the bullpen is chock full of power arms -- with Hernandez and Simon and Berken. They just need to gain confidence. Overall, it's about fastball command. As they become more efficient, they are going to get better. They've got high-end stuff. I don't know them, so I don't know their makeup, but if the makeup is good, they are going to have some good pitchers." Coming from Joe Maddon, that sounds encouraging. If these same words came from Joe Girardi or Terry Fancona, I'd want to tear their eyes out. Funny how that works.

Jason Berken’s Recent Struggles - 2131 And Beyond
So, what's up with my favorite pitcher? There's more to know than there was 2 weeks ago...

Virtual Vensanity: Invisible Oriole: bullpen catcher Ronnie Deck 
"Ronnie Deck pulls an Orioles jersey over his head and straps on his shin guards every afternoon." Read more about our bullpen catcher!

Despite incident, Tampa Bay Rays' Carl Crawford won't wear protective cup - St. Petersburg Times
"I'm just not going to wear a cup," Crawford said. "I just don't think that's going to happen again. It never happened in eight years, so I'm not going to worry about letting that one little incident make me change the way I do things. … If it happens again, then it just happens again." There's simply nothing I can add to this.

IN THE MINORS

The Canadian Press: Rays, Orioles pitchers in Dominican league receive 50-game suspensions
"Saulo Alcantara of the Baltimore Orioles organization tested positive for performance-enhancing substances."

Bell hops up and down | delmarvanow.com | The Daily Times
"As we continue with this stinker of a season, one of the guys I feel bad for right now is rookie third baseman Josh Bell." Honestly, I only clipped this for the headline.

MINOR LEAGUE RESULTS

Norfolk won 10-7 as Michael Aubrey clubbed two home runs (including a grand slam) and drove in six as the Tides held off a late Syracuse rally.

Bowie won to complete a sweep over the Binghamton Mets with a 6-5 victory Wednesday morning. Brandon Waring went 3-for-3 with three doubles and a walk.

Frederick won 10-7 after trailing by two runs into the top of the ninth inning, as three Keys walked to open the ninth to start a seven-run rally.

Delmarva won 10-6 as the Shorebirds plated ten unanswered runs between the third and the sixth innings to cruise past Hickory.

Aberdeen lost 6-2 as Tri-City scored in the first, second and fourth innings to chase starter Tyler Sexton.

Bluefield lost 7-6 as Bluefield starter Zachary Petersime lasted just 3.0 IP, giving up three runs and six hits.

and the GCL Orioles won 9-5 as four Orioles had multi-hit games.