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June 9, 2010 · 15:53

Another Slugfest at Harbor Park: Tides Defeat Braves 10-9

Robert Andino hits a three run home run in the bottom of the 3rd inning

The Norfolk Tides offense has come alive in a big way since returning to the Church of Baseball, Harbor Park Parish last Friday.  In the five games since their return they have scored 37 runs on 68 hits by far their most productive performance of the season and maybe the past few years.  The Tides are playing like a team with a real sense of purpose now when the team is at bat those in the dugout are up at the dugout railing and have their mind on the game and this is something that I cannot remember seeing in my time attending Tides games.  The even in the games that they have lost in this home stand the offense has scored enough runs to win most any well pitched game. Unfortunately the Tides pitchers have been knocked around a bit but tonight despite falling behind 5-0 in the first inning this now potent offense went to work and produced in a big way led by plucky shortstop Robert Andino.

Robert Andino Doubles down the left field line in the 5th inning to tie the game at 5-5

Tides starter Brandon Erbe got hit hard in the 1st inning giving up 5 runs to the Braves and it looked like that Brandon was not long for the game. However after a visit to the mound by Tides Interim Manager Bobby Dickerson he got himself settled down and completed 5 innings being pulled from the game in the 6th inning after facing one batter.  Jim Miller shut down the Braves in the 6th but in the 7th inning gave up 4 runs on 3 hits and a walk which at that point tied the game.

Josh Bell connects

The Tides as I said were hit hard in the 1st inning and the silence of the Tides fans was deafening it was as if gloom was descending on our fair stadium.  The people who sat next to me in my pew in section 102 began to quietly say that the game was over and that there was no hope.  Having seen the Tides come back from worse deficits this week I told them not to count the Tides out and Padre Steve got it right.  There was something that I could sense in the air that told me that the Tides hitters would not meekly walk away from this scrum and I was right.  Brandon Snyder as he has a number of times this week ignited the Tides offense doubling to drive in Josh Bell with two outs in the bottom of the 2nd inning.  In the 3rd inning Robert Andino hit a three run homer over the left field wall to bring the Tides to within one run.  In the 5th inning the Tides struck again this time with enough force to go ahead of the Braves as the Tides tied together doubles by Paco Figueroa and Robert Andino and a single by Josh Bell.

In the bottom frame of the 6th the Tides scored three more runs when they put together hits with two costly Braves errors to make the score 9-5.  Of course as I mentioned earlier the Braves scored four runs in the top of the 7th however Kam Mickolio after surrendering the hits that plated the batters left aboard by Miller shut the Braves down in the 8th.  In the bottom of the 8th Blake Davis pinch hitting for Paco Figueroa walked with 1 out. He went to third on a single by Matt Angle and scored on a sacrifice fly in foul territory by Robert Andino.  Andino finished the game with a home run, double and 5 RBIs a stellar performance for the Tides Shortstop. Brandon Snyder, Matt Angle and Josh Bell all came up with big hits as the Tides offense continued its romp over opposing pitchers.

Blake Davis avoids the tag at home on Robert Andino’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 8th

Denis Sarfate pitched the 9th to close the game striking out Wes Timmons, Freddie Freeman and Barbaro Canizares in order to gain his 5th save of the season.  Kam Mickolio got a blown save and the win and Brandon Erbe came out with a no-decision after coming back from that disastrous 1st inning to keep the game close until the relief pitchers were ready to come out to save the game.  The “unsave” was unfortunate as many of us in the stands were rooting, hoping and praying for Brandon to get his first win of the season.

The Braves had 9 runs on 12 hits and 3 errors stranding 4 while the Tides had 10 runs on 11 hits and 1 error leaving 5 men on base to grab the win.  Kam Mickolio was the winning pitcher and Corey Gearrin (0-3 4.02 ERA) took the loss.  The teams meet tonight at Harbor Park with Armando Gabino (2-0, 2.73 ERA) scheduled to take the mound for Norfolk against Braves right-hander Tim Gustafson (5-3 5.74 ERA )  See you there.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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June 7, 2010 · 22:07

Tides Shutout Bisons 6-0: Troy Patton Pitches 7 Scoreless Innings for Win

Troy Patton dominated the potent bats of the Buffalo Bisons Monday

The Norfolk Tides bats remained on fire even as the temperature cooled into the mid 70s in Hampton Roads and today both the defense and the pitching showed up.  After losing five straight to include three high scoring games where the Tides offense produced enough runs to win each handily had pitching, defense or calls by umpires gone their way.  But this Monday was another day and Troy Patton had the answer on to how to shut down the potent offense of the Buffalo Bisons and I do hope that he starts telling other pitchers just how to do this as he went seven innings giving up just three hits with only one walk and three strikeouts to gain the victory.  Patton was aided by Ross Wolf and Mike Hinckley who pitched the 8th and 9th innings without surrendering a hit.

Jeff Salazar hit his 9th home run of the season in the 6th inning

After watching many games where the hitting showed up and the pitching did not, or the pitching showed up only to have the offense go into a coma or the defense to fail it was good to see a game where the fundamentals of the ball game, pitching, hitting and defense came together as the Tides shut down the Bisons 6-0.

Patton surrendered only 3 hits, a double in the second inning and two singles while walking only one in a dominant performance against the hottest hitting team in the International League. The Tides offense continued its strong performance since the arrival of interim manager Bobby Dickerson.  The Tides opened up on the Bisons in the bottom of the 3rd inning when catcher Adam Donachie led off the inning with a double and scored on a single by Matt Angle.  Robert Andino tripled to drive in Angle and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jeff Salazar.  They added two more in the bottom of the 6th inning when Jeff Salazar hit his 9th dinger of the season and Rhyne Hughes launched his 4th of the season both of which were solo shots to make the score 5-0.  The Tides added a final run in the bottom of the 8th when Josh Bell doubled and advanced to third when Rhyne Hughes singled and scored on reliever Michael O’Connor’s wild pitch, the second time that “Wild Thing” O’Connor allowed a run to score at Harbor Park during this home stand but at least he did not bounce it over the screen behind home plate this time….he’s improving.

Rhyne Hughes also homered for the Tides in the 6th inning

The game ended with the Tides winning by a score of 6-0. The Bisons had no runs on 3 hits and one error and left 5 men on base. The Tides 6 runs on 10 hits and no errors leaving four men aboard. Bobby Livingston (2-6 4.43 ERA) got the loss for the Bisons and Troy Patton (4-7 5.13 ERA) got the win for the Tides. Troy had his excellent performance backed up with great run support as well as solid defense to get the well deserved win.

During the series the Tides scored 27 runs on 57 hits including 6 home runs by far their most productive series of the year and a series where for the first time this season they showed consistency on offense over a sustained period and not just a game or two.  Since little has changed in the aspect of Tides offensive personnel with the exception of the addition of Matt Angle and Paco Figueroa but now for the first time that I can remember this season the Tides hitters are hitting with power as well as making contact.  Though it does not seem like much the Tides team batting average has improved from .234 on May 18th to .243 today in fact going up more in the past 4 days than the previous two weeks. While it is still early the only explanation that I can see for this turnaround is Interim Manager Bobby Dickerson.

The Tides open a series against the Gwinnett Braves at Harbor Park on Tuesday at 7:15 and we will see of the Tides can continue this merry offensive romp.  See you at Harbor Park.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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June 7, 2010 · 00:20

Tides Lose in Sunday Afternoon Slugfest 8-6

“The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers.” Earl Weaver

Getting his swing back. Nolan Reimold hammers a deep fly ball on Sunday

The Norfolk Tides lost their 5th straight falling to the Buffalo Bisons in a Sunday afternoon slugfest in which for the third time in three games they collected what should have been enough hits and runs to win. In fact today of the 8 runs scored by the Bisons 3 were unearned coming as the result of poor fielding and throwing by Tides infielders in particular a top of the 8th inning error where shortstop Robert Andino ran past what would have been an easy double play ball off the bat of former Norfolk Tides infielder Justin Turner that scored two runs at a point that the Tides were ahead in the game.  The runs gave the Bisons a lead that they would not relinquish and seal the fate of the Tides on this blistering hot Sunday afternoon.

Jeff Salazar steps on home plate following his 7th inning home run

Tides starting pitcher Chris George gave up 5 runs, 4 of which were earned in 5.2 innings work and Zack Clark so new to the team from AA Bowie that he went out in a jersey without his name affixed to it gave up 3 runs in 2.1 innings of which only 1 was an earned run.  Ross Wolf pitched the 9th inning coming in with two on and two out. He got J R House out while trying to bunt and made an excellent play to field the ball and throw out Valentino Pascucci at third. He then got Jesus Feliciano to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Brandon Snyder bunts for a hit

The big damage to the Tides came from the extremely potent Buffalo offense. For once the Bisons’ parent organization the New York Mets has invested in putting experienced and potent offensive force together despite a dearth of young prospects. The Bisons pack a huge offensive punch including Mike Hessman the all-time Minor League home run king but the Chief Tides basher has been Mike Jacobs who has beaten Tides pitching about in a rude and nearly ruthless manner over the past two days as well as former Tides catcher J R House who today had a home run, double plating 3 of the Bisons runs.

However if there is a silver lining in the past three games it is for the first time this season the Tides seem to be hitting the ball consistently using both contact and power to make things happen. The Tides picked up their first run in the bottom of the 2nd inning one singles by Rhyne Hughes, Brandon Snyder and Michel Hernandez. The Bisons collected two in the top of the 3rd inning when Andy Green reached on an error J R House doubled and Jesus Feliciano singled to drive in both Green and House.

The Tides tied the score in the bottom of the 4th as Rhyne Hughes and Brandon Snyder singled and Michel Hernandez sacrificed to right field to score Hughes.  Buffalo then scored 3 runs in the top frame of the 6th driving Tides starter Chris George out of the game and it was as the sage Earl Weaver mentioned, the part about the three run home runs as   J R  House clubbed a three run homer off of George with one out.  However the Tides did not roll over and die as they had in so many games earlier in the season and in the bottom of the 7th the now scrappy Tides offense plated 4 runs.  Michel Hernandez, Blake Davis and Matt Angle singled to load the bases. Robert Andino then hit into a double play but Hernandez scored.  Jeff Salazar then hit a 2 run home run off of Pat Misch to tie the game. Nolan Reimold and Rhyne Hughes singled and Brandon Snyder singled to drive in Reimold before Blake Davis grounded out to end the inning.

Chris George allowed 4 earned runs in 5.2 innings getting no decision

In the top of the 8th the Bisons took the lead when Robert Andino missed what looked to be an easy grounder that easily could have been a double play, the ball rolled into short left field and two runs scored and the Bisons were back in the lead and add an insurance run in the 9th to make the final score 8-6.

The Bisons scored 8 runs on 11 hits with 1 error and 11 men left on base. The Tides 6 runs on 15 hits and 4 errors leaving 8 on base including 5 left in scoring position with 2 outs.

While the Tides offense has come alive the pitching has been weak and they were not helped by four errors which allowed three unearned runs.  In spite of this the Tides are showing signs of life under Interim Manager Bobby Dickerson who took on an umpiring crew that made three obviously bad calls that cost the Tides runs the most egregious being a hit by J R House in the top of the 2nd which should have been a foul ball that was ruled fair and went for a double, a force at second in the top of the 8th which the 2nd base umpire ruled that second baseman Blake Davis who was plowed over at second had been pulled off the bag.  Later in the 8th Mike Hessman was ruled hit by a pitch which had all the marking of a ball that hit the bat before striking him. The last call got Dickerson tossed by Home Plate Umpire Chris Conroy.  Dickerson does not just manage but he leads and appears to inspire. Players that have not been performing have been benched and for the first time in recent memory the Tides took infield practice on a game day. What appears to be the new mantra in the Orioles organization is accountability and chemistry.  Things are not better yet but if I were the Orioles I would make Dickerson the permanent manager of the Tides tomorrow.  It takes time to get the pitching right and I do not see a quick fix to that with the probability that Arietta will be in Baltimore possibly within the week, however it appears that he is bringing some discipline and order back to a team that has a lot of talent but not achieved the success that it is capable of accomplishing. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming days and weeks as Andy McPhail and the Orioles begin to make the hard choices regarding players and ultimately who will remain in Baltimore and on the 40 man roster.

The Orioles defeated the Red Sox today at Camden Yards 4-3 in 11 innings with David Hernandez getting his first win of the season in relief.

The final game of the season series between the Bisons and Tides will be on Monday at 12:15 as Troy Patton (3-7, 5.73 ERA) will take the hill for the Tides against former Tide Bobby Livingston (2-5, 4.18 ERA).

Peace

Padre Steve+

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June 6, 2010 · 20:52

Tides Lose in Harbor Park Slugfest 12-9

Andy Mitchell was hit hard in the first two innings and registered the loss despite the Tides Hitters attempts

It was a hot night at the Church of Baseball, Harbor Park Parish as the temperature was high and bats were on fire. If you were looking for a pitcher’s duel this was not the place to see one. In part this was due to Norfolk Tides ace Jake Arietta being pulled from the start the day of the game in what is believed to be a move by the Orioles to have him ready to come to Baltimore in a middle relief role at short notice.  In his place veteran submariner Andy Mitchell got the start, his first start since April.  Unfortunately for Andy it was his worst outing of the year as the veteran Bisons’ line up which has the highest batting average in the league and is loaded with players who have played against him for years had his number. After giving up 6 runs in the 1st inning he lasted 2 and 2/3rds innings giving up a total of 7 runs on 13 hits.  Andy has been at his best this year in middle relief following hard throwing pitchers where his submarine style keeps batters who are locked in on the hard throwing pitchers off balance.

Mike Jacobs hit everyone that he faced including Jake Arietta

Tonight the Bisons had Andy’s number and with 2 outs in the top of the 3rd inning he was pulled for Mike Hinckley who after an inauspicious debut in the 9th inning Friday night pitched 1 and 1/3 innings allowing no runs on hits.  Jake Arrieta came into the game in the 5th to throw two innings gave up another run on 3 hits before handing the ball over to Kam Mickolio in the 7th. Kam who has struggled gave no hint of that on Saturday pitching very well in 1 and 2/3rds innings giving up no runs on 3 hits before being pulled with a 2-0 count against Mike Cervenak appearing to be injured and closer Denis Sarfate came in and struck out Cervenak to end the inning.

Mike Hinckley had a good outing in his second appearance for the Tides

The Tides hitters were not silent and as on Friday night chipped away at the Buffalo lead in a convincing manner in a performance on any normal night would have been a game winning performance.

The comeback started in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Blake Davis and Paco Figueroa both singled and Figueroa stole 2nd setting up Matt Angle who singled to drive in both runners.  In the 5th inning with a runner on and 1 out the improving Nolan Reimold homered to left to make the score 7-4. The Tides scored 2 more runs in the bottom of the 6th.  Adam Donachie singled and reached third on a double by Paco Figueroa.  The Bisons then sent in Michael O’Connor to relieve starter Dylan Owen.  O’Connor promptly threw a wild pitch in the dirt that bounce over the home plate netting into the seats to score Donachie.  He the got Matt Angle to ground out to first before Robert Andino singled to score Figueroa. Jeff Salazar struck out and then Rhyne Hughes singled Andino to 3rd base.  Jose Della Torre came into the game for O’Connor and hit Nolan Reimold with a pitch to load the bases. He then walked Brandon Snyder to score Andino before getting Blake Davis to ground out to first to end the inning.

Nolan Reimold greeted at the plate after hitting a 2 run homer in the 5th inning

Once again the Tides seemed to have momentum on their side but fortune turned against them as Denis Sarfate who has been lights out in the 9th inning gave up 4 runs the big damage coming on a Mike Jacobs bases clearing triple with the bases loaded. This gave the Bisons a 12-7 lead going into the bottom of the 9th.  The Tides did not go quietly into the night however as Brandon Snyder hit a leadoff home run and Blake Davis doubled. Adam Donachie struck out swinging and Paco Figueroa grounded out to move Davis to 3rd base. Davis scored on a wild pitch by Manny Acosta to narrow the lead to 12-9. Matt Angle then singled and it looked like the Tides might be about to pull this one out of the fire, instead Robert Andino flied out to center on a 2-0 pitch to end the game.

Once again the Tides put enough runs on the board to win a game and didn’t. Tonight as Earl Weaver said “The only thing that matters is what happens on the little hump out in the middle of the field” and that was in evidence Saturday as Tides pitchers gave up 10 runs in just two innings.  Had the pitching been there the Tides would have walked away with the win but instead dropped their 4th straight.  On the positive side for the second night in a row the Tides hitters produced hits and runs.

As I said at the beginning of this article this was not a night to see pitching.  The Bisons had 12 runs on 22 hits and no errors and left 11 men on base. The Tides with production that should get a win on any night had 9 runs on 15 hits and 1 error leaving 11 on base. Andy Mitchell (0-1 9.86 ERA) got the loss and Dylan Owen (2-1 6.14 ERA) got the win with Manny Acosta getting the save. The teams play Sunday afternoon at Harbor Park. See you there.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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June 5, 2010 · 16:00

Tides Come Back from 6-0 deficit but Lose as Hinkley gives up 4 runs in 9th Inning

Armando Gabino had his worst outing of the year

On a very warm evening the Norfolk Tides looked like they would get a big comeback win. On their first night with Interim Manager Bobby Dickerson at the helm the Tides opened their four game series against the Buffalo Bisons at Harbor Park where a crowd of 6345 gathered to celebrate “Marine Night.”

The Tides managed to rebound from a 6-0 Buffalo lead only to lose in the 9th inning when Michael Hinckley just promoted to Norfolk from AA Bowie loaded the bases with no outs to give up 4 runs in the top of the 9th inning.

Tides starter Armando Gabino had his worst outing of the season giving up 6 runs on 6 hits, though 2 of the runs were unearned due to a fielding error by Second Baseman Blake Davis in the 3rd inning which opened the floodgates. Gabino got into trouble again in the 4th and was relieved by Jim Miller. Miller would settle things down and pitch three innings before yielding to Ross Wolf in the 7th. Wolf too held the Bisons in check as the Tides offense went to work.

Jim Miller continued good work as a middle releiver

Brandon Snyder ignited the Tides in the 5th inning when with one out he hit a line drive over the right field wall into the Tides bullpen. That hit by Snyder rocked Harbor Park. The fans that had been silenced by the Bisons were back in the game and the effect was electric.  Blake Davis then singled and Michel Hernandez walked.  With 2 on and 1 out Matt Angle singled to drive in Davis to cut the lead to 6-2.  In the 5th inning the Tides scored another run when Josh Bell reached second on a throwing error on an infield ground ball.  Nolan Reimold who seems to be improving after a dismal season in Baltimore followed by a worse start in Norfolk singled to drive in Bell making it a 6-3 game.

Matt Angle with one of his four hits

The Tides tied the game in the bottom of the 7th when with 1 out Michel Hernandez singled and advanced to second on a single by Matt Angle.  Hernandez scored when Robert Andino singled and Matt Angle advanced to second base.  Jeff Salazar singled to drive in Angle and move Andino to third base and would score on a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game at six.

Blake Davis Scores in the 5th inning on a Matt Angle Single

It appeared at this point that the Tides had all the momentum and had the Bisons on the ropes.  In the top of the 9th Michael Hinckley who had just been promoted to Norfolk from Bowie when hard luck Pedro Viola was sent down to Bowie made his first AAA appearance.  He gave up a single to former Tides infielder Justin Turner and a double to Mike Jacobs.  He then walked all time Minor League Baseball Home run king Mike Hessman to load the bases.  Now with the bases loaded he walked Russ Adams to give Buffalo the lead.  At this point Bobby Dickerson brought in former Oriole Cla Meredith hoping that Meredith’s Major League experience would pay off and shut down the Bisons before more damage could be done.  This was not the case as the first batter that Meredith faced Valentino Pascucci doubled down the line in right to clear the bases and give the Bisons a 10-6 lead.  Meredith struck out Andy Green but lost it on a wild pitch which put Green on first and Pascucci on third base.  J R House grounded out to score Pascucci before Meredith got Jesus Feliciano to ground out to end the frame. The Tides went down quietly in the bottom of the 9th and the game ended with the final score Buffalo 11 and the Tides 6.

Buffalo had 11 runs on 12 hits with 1 error and 8 men left on base, the Tides 6 runs on 12 hits and 2 errors with 6 runners left on base.  Bisons’ reliever Bobby Parnell (1-1 4.73 ERA) got the “unsave” and the win and Hinckley the loss giving up 4 runs without retiring a batter.

I did notice a couple of things that I thought were important. First Bobby Dickerson did not wait and wait to make pitching changes; he got pitchers out of the game when they got in serious trouble. Unfortunately in the 9th inning he had misplaced confidence in Cla Meredith. The second thing and this was even more important, the Tides hitters got the team back in the game as relievers Miller and Wolf held the Bisons after they had gotten out to the 6-0 lead.  Another note of interest was the continued hitting of Brandon Snyder and the 4 hits of Matt Angle in the lead off position.

The Tides and Bisons play tonight at Harbor Park and it will be a hot one with temperatures in the high 80s at game time. Jake Arietta (6-2 1.77 ERA) will be going for his 7th win of the season against Dylan Owen (1-1 4.76).

See you there.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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June 3, 2010 · 19:23

Tides Shelled Thursday: Shut out by Rochester 9-0 and an Orioles Report

Brandon Erbe was Rocked again by the Rochester Red Wings

The second expedition of the Norfolk Tides to the great north ended on a cloudy and cool afternoon in Rochester as the Red Wings hammered the Tides to split the four game series.  Unlike the first three games of this series this game took an ugly turn in the 6th inning when the Wings scored 6 runs.  Tides starting pitcher Brandon Erbe’s woes continued as the young right hander was hit hard giving up 5 runs 4 of which were earned runs on 5 hits in 5 innings before being pulled in the 6th after facing four batters without getting any out.  Erbe (0-9 6.14 ERA) was followed by another pitcher that most thought last year would be in the Orioles bullpen possibly as a closer and that is Kam Mickolio (1-2 10.43 ERA).  Mickolio gave up 2 runs on 4 hits getting just one batter out before being replaced by Andy Mitchell.  Mitchell gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in 1.2 innings work before Pedro Viola (0-2 15.23 ERA) entered the game in the bottom of the 8th giving up no runs on 1 hit.   Rochester starter Jeff Manship (3-2 3.64 ERA) pitched 9 innings of scoreless ball scattering just 4 hits, walking none while striking out 6.

The Red Wings runs came the 5th, 6th and 7th innings.  In the 5th the Wings scored a run on 3 singles, an error and a wild pitch.  In the 6th inning they scored 6 runs on 8 hits against Erbe and Mickolio and in the 7th 2 runs on Mitchell.  Of the 16 hits produced by the Wings 13 were singles and the three extra base hits were all doubles.

The Norfolk offense was non-existent today just the four singles to Robert Andino, Jeff Salazar, Nolan Reimold and Blake Davis.

The Tides return to Harbor Park on Friday to play the Buffalo Bisons at 7:15 on Marine Night, a tradition here in Norfolk where the Tides honor “the Few, the Proud, the Marines” that serve in our midst.

As for the Orioles one commentator referred to them today as “hapless” after losing 6-3 and being swept by the Yankees.  They fall to 15-39 with a .278 win percentage 21 games behind Eastern Division leader Tampa Bay.  The O’s go into a 3 game series against the Red Sox at home on Friday with Chris Tillman on the mound hoping to help the Orioles turn things around.

Dave Trembley: Will he survive the week in Baltimore?

I doubt if Dave Trembley will be around much longer as the Manager of the O’s, some are speculating that he will be relieved of his duties as early as today or tomorrow.  It will be a sad day for the O’s as Trembley is well liked who always tries to be positive about things even when you can see the suffering on his face, night after night and loss after loss.  He has been saddled with a near impossible task for the past number of years, working on a rebuilding program but having to call up many of the Orioles best prospects before they are ready to play every day in the toughest division in baseball.  Since the end of the last campaign I have felt that he needed to be let go but I feel bad for him and the team, especially all the young players who look up to him and his caring leadership.  Trembley never had enough of a solid veteran nucleus to build around and had to throw his young guys into situations that were often impossible.  They now need someone that can turn the organization around someone who can combine patience with urgency and caring with cold steel and blazing fire. The Orioles need to move some of the non-producing veterans and pick up some winners who will help the team win now and serve as mentors to the young players.  They also need to look at their 40 man roster as there are some hard decisions that will have to be made there as they cannot afford to keep players on the 40 man roster that cannot consistently perform at the AAA level.  This includes some of the Norfolk pitching staff. I find it notable that the Tides pitchers having the most difficult time and the worst seasons imaginable are all on the 40 man roster while the ones performing really well to include Jake Arietta and Denis Sarfate are not on it.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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June 2, 2010 · 20:55

Tides Defeat Rochester 4-3 as Cla Meredith gets the “Unsave”

Chris George pitched a great game but was left with a no-decision

The Norfolk Tides took the second game of their four game set against the Rochester Red Wings behind solid pitching by Chris George and Denis Sarfate.  With the game time temperature at a comfortable 75 degrees and a light 5 mile and hour wind blowing out to center field under clear skies it was a beautiful western New York night for baseball in front of just under 5000 fans.

The game began on the wrong foot for the Tides when on the second pitch of the game Jason Repko hit a ground ball to third which Josh Bell mishandled and was charged with an error. Repko stole second and took third on a ground out by Brian Dinkelman. He would score on a single by Trevor Plouffe.  This would be the only run allowed while George was pitching and was unearned.  The Red Wings did not score again until the bottom of the 8th inning.

In 6.2 innings work George gave up 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 Red Wing batters. Rochester starting pitcher Glen Perkins held the Tides in check until the 4th inning. In the fourth Josh Bell hammered his 16th double of the season and Nolan Reimold still digging out of his horrific hitting slump on his arrival in Norfolk then singled.  Paco Figueroa came up next and singled to score Bell and was followed by Adam Donachie who singled to drive in Reimold giving the Tides a 2-1 lead.  George would get the first two batters of the 7th inning but after hitting Brian Dinkelman with a pitch was relieved by Ross Wolf who got the next batter, Trevor Plouffe to ground out to Brandon Snyder at first.  In the top frame of the 8th inning the Tides scored again.  Robert Andino doubled to lead the inning off of Red Wings reliever pitcher Brad Hennessy.  Hennessy intentionally walked Josh Bell and got Nolan Reimold to pop up to first base for the second out. Brandon Snyder came up to the plate and singled the first pitch delivered by Hennessy into center field which scored Andino.

In the bottom of the 8th the Tides brought in newly activated relief pitcher Cla Meredith who had been optioned to Norfolk from the O’s late last week. Matt Macri singled to lead off the inning and Meredith walked Brock Peterson.  Wilson Ramos advanced both runners on a sacrifice bunt to first base and Meredith struck out Jose Morales.  On a 0-2 count Dustin Martin singled to drive in Macri and Ramos to tie the game, which netted Meredith his first blown save in Norfolk.  He was able to retire Jason Repko to end the inning.

In the top of the 9th with one out Joey Gathright singled on a ground ball to second and advanced to second on a throwing error by second baseman Brian Dinkelman and Matt Angle singled to bring Gathright home to retake the lead for the Tides. In the bottom frame the Tides brought in Denis Sarfate sent the Wings down in order on 12 pitches for his 4th save of the season.

Cla Meredith got what I am going to start calling the “unsave” instead of a standard “blown save.” The definition that I give to the “unsave” is a blown save where the reliever who blows the save ends up getting the win.  It’s kind of like when 7-Up was called the “uncola” it’s not a save and yet it doesn’t have the same sting as a blown save, unless perhaps you are the pitcher that would have had a win had the reliever not blown the save. Unsaves are kind of wins that a pitcher falls into as he has to blow the save to get the win which if you think about it is not a way that you want to win if you can avoid it. But anyway I digress.

The Tides had 4 runs on 12 hits with 1 error and left 10 on base while the Red Wings had 3 runs on 8 hits and 1 error and also left 10 men on base.  Cla Meredith (1-0 18.00 ERA) got the win for the Tides and Denis Sarfate (0-0 S4 1.15 ERA) the save. Anthony Slama (0-1 1.80 ERA) took the loss for the Wings. Tonight the teams play game three of this series with Troy Patton (3-6 5.70 ERA) who dominated Pawtucket in his last start taking the hill for the Tides and Matt Fox (4-2 2.44 ERA) pitching for the home team.

The Orioles lost their sixth straight, this time to the New York Yankees as Miguel Tejada committed an error which allowed two runs to score giving the loss to Brian Matusz who only allowed one earned run to the powerful Yankees attack.  The loss dropped the O’s to 15-37with a .288 winning percentage.  Things do not look any brighter tonight as the Yankees have a 6-0 lead in the 5th having driven Brad Bergeson from the game.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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June 1, 2010 · 00:47

Tides Drop Final Two in Pawtucket on Consecutive Blown Saves; Arietta Wins in Rochester

Robert Andino Got his 6th home run of the year Monday

Brandon Erbe must be wondering what he needs to do to get a win and Armando Gabino making his second start for the Tides taking Chris Tillman’s spot in the rotation must be scratching his head as well.  This weekend each pitcher saw solid performances end in losses when the relief staff could not seal the deal.  For Erbe it looked like after a dismal start to the season when even his good performances could not get a win that he just might get a win in Pawtucket and this Padre was wondering why the Deity did not answer his prayers for Brandon to get the win.  For Gabino who has not delivered a bad performance to date the no-decision result had to be frustrating but most certainly not the frustration experienced by Erbe. On the other side of the coin Jake Arietta continues to win and lower his International League ERA even when he has almost no run support.

Nolan Reimold hit his 2nd home run since his return to the Tides on Sunday

In Saturday’s game Erbe pitched 5.2 innings allowing no runs on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts and just one walk.  He left with a 2-0 lead and at first it looked like the bullpen just might hold things together when Pedro Viola got the final out of the 6th inning.  Viola got into trouble in the bottom of the 7th when Dusty Brown singled and was driven home on a double by Jorge Jimenez and Tug Hulett singled to send Jimenez to third. At this point since Viola has had a number of very rough outings Manager Gary Allenson pulled him for the usually reliable Ross Wolf. Unfortunately for the Tides this was not a good night for Wolf though not entirely of his making.  Wolf walked Angel Sanchez and then Daniel Nava hit into what looked to be a force at second but Blake Davis committed a fielding error allowing Nava on and Jimenez to score. Lars Anderson then doubled to score Hulett and Sanchez but Nava was thrown out on the relay by Josh Bell when he attempted to score. The inning ended with the Tides down 4-2 and Erbe’s chance at a win gone.  Tides hitters mustered nothing more and the game went into the bottom of the 8th with Andy Mitchell coming into the game. Mitchell who has been spot on in mid-relief lately gave up 3 runs on 4 hits leaving the Tides down 7-2.  In the 9th Brandon Snyder got a one out singled but was doubled up when Blake Davis hit into a double play to end the game.

Offensively the Tides had 2 runs on 8 hits and 2 errors leaving 6 men on base. Brandon Snyder, Josh Bell and Rhyne Hughes all having doubles and Blake Davis his first home run of the year, a solo shot in the 5th inning. The Pawsox had 7 runs on 13 hits all 7 runs and 8 of the hits came in the 7th and 8th innings against Tides relievers.  The Sox committed 2 errors and left 9 men on base.

Jake Arietta picket up his 6th win lowering his ERA to 1.77

On Sunday the Tides started Armando Gabino.  Gabino scattered 3 runs, 2 of which were earned on 4 hits striking out 6 and walking 3 in six innings work.  He allowed a first inning two run home run to Daniel Nava and a run in the bottom of the 6th when Lars Anderson doubled and scored on a Josh Reddick single. The Tides offense got a run in the 4th tying together an error which allowed Josh Bell on base with one out, a double by Nolan Reimold and a RBI ground ball by Brandon Snyder to score Bell. In the 5th inning the Tides tied the score when Matt Angle just up from AA Bowie bunted for a single and took second on a throwing error. Robert Andino flied out to deep center allowing Angle to take third. Rhyne Hughes then singled to score Angle.  The Tides would take the lead in the top of the 8th as the offense when a newly hot Nolan Reimold hit a 2 run home run.

Jim Miller replaced Gabino in the 7th and pitches a scoreless inning allowing a single and walk while striking out one batter.  Kam Mickolio came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, walking 1 and striking out two. The Tides would fail to score in the 9th and Mickolio was handed the blown save and the loss, his second in the series against the Pawsox.

The Tides had 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 errors with 9 men left on base, the Pawsox 5 runs on 8 hits and 1 error with 8 runners left on base. Dustin Richardson (2-0 3.21) after blowing the save in the top frame of the 8th; got the win for Pawtucket and Fernando Cabrera got his 7th save.  Kam Mickolio had his third blown save of the season and his record dropped to 1 win and 2 losses with an ERZ of 9.42.

The Tides made the overnight bus ride to Rochester and the Tides pitching heated up with the weather on a warm western New York night with a game time temperature of 84 degrees Jake Arietta took the hill for the Tides and pitched yet another great game against the Rochester Red Wings.  This evening Arietta shut down the potent Red Wing attack allowing one run on 5 hits walking 2 and striking out 7 in 8 innings work. The one run came in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Matt Tolbert tripled to right and scored on a Jason Repko single but that would be all for the Wings.  Denis Sarfate came in to close the game and sent the Wings down in order in the bottom of the 9th. The Tides offense was generated in the bottom of the 7th when Josh Bell doubled and advanced to third on a ground out by Nolan Reimold. He then scored on wild pitch by Anthony Swarzak. In the top of the 8th Robert Andino hit his sixth home run of the season to make the score 2-1.

The Tides had 2 runs on 5 hits with no errors and left 3 men on base.  Rochester had one run on 5 hits and no errors leaving 3 on base. Arietta (6-2 1.77) got the win and Denis Sarfate got his third save of the year.  Rob Delany (5-3 4.40) took the loss for the Red Wings.

The teams match up again Monday with Chris George (1-1 3.96) taking the hill for the Tides and Glen Perkins (0-6 8.47) for the Red Wings.

The Tides parent club the Baltimore Orioles dropped their fifth game in a row dropping their record to 15-36 with a .294 win percentage 18.5 games behind the American League East leading Tampa Bay Rays.

Until tomorrow,

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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May 28, 2010 · 16:32

Tides Fall to Pawtucket 5-4 on 2 out Walk-off Home Run

Adam Donachie had a 2 RBI double and scored a run

The Norfolk Tides travelled to Pawtucket for a four game series against the Pawtucket Red Sox.  As has been the case many times this season a strong starting pitching performance was negated by a bad 9th inning relief appearance.  Last night Chris George (1-1 3.96) pitched a strong six and two thirds innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits with only 1 walk while striking out 3.  He was relieved by Ross Wolf (0-2 2.57) who pitched a scoreless one and a third innings allowing one hit.  With two out in the 9th Tides reliever Kam Mickolio (1-1 8.78) who has had a very rough season blew his second save when Dusty Brown hit a 3 run home run on a 2-1 count with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th.

Robert Andino also had a 2 RBI double

The Pawsox struck first in the bottom of the 6th inning when Bubba Bell doubled and scored on an Angel Sanchez single.  The Tides hitters more than made up for this in the top frame of the 7th inning. Rhyne Hughes, Brandon Snyder and Blake Davis singled and loaded the bases.  Catcher Adam Donachie doubled to score Hughes and Snyder.  Dustin Richardson came into the game for Pawtucket and struck out Danny Figueroa and got Joey Gathright to fly out.  With two outs Robert Andino doubled to score Davis and Donachie to make the score 4-1.  In the bottom frame of the 7th the Pawsox scored another run when Aaron Bates doubled and two batters later scored on a Dusty Brown double.

Chris George pitched a strong game but had a no decision in the loss

The score remained 4-2 until the bottom of the 9th. Kam Mickolio who as I said at the beginning of this article has had a very rough year came into the game in a save situation.  He got Daniel Nava to ground out to first before walking Lars Anderson and giving up a base hit to Aaron Bates.  With these two on Mickolio got Josh Reddick to line out to Blake Davis at second.  Mickolio then faced Dustin Brown who had already driven in a run for the Pawsox and on a 2-1 count gave up a home run to Brown over the left field wall for the game ending walk off.

For the Tides 4 runs on 9 hits and 1 error with 5 men left on base while Pawtucket had 5 runs on 7 hits with no errors and three men left on base.  The winning pitcher was Terry Large (1-0 5.27) and the losing pitcher Kam Mickolio (1-1 8.78).   Tonight Troy Patton (2-6 6.56) who looks to get back on the win side of the house for the Tides will face Pawtucket’s Felix Doubront (0-0 0.00) who was recently called up from AA Portland where he was 4-0 with a 2.51 ERA in 8 appearances where he allowed 13 runs on 39 hits striking out 38.

On the personnel side of the house the Tides brought Ross Wolf back from Aberdeen and reactivated Nolan Reimold following the birth of his child.  Talk of a fast move up the chain by Chris Tillman was squelched on Thursday who said that David Hernandez would remain in the starting rotation for the time being. This is good news for the Tides as Tillman and Jake Arietta are the potent one two punch at the top of the Tides rotation having 10 of the Tides 21 wins.  These two pitchers command respect and I expect that when they reach the majors that the two could be as potent as Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale were in the 1960s.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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May 25, 2010 · 00:29

Tides Lose Sunday 8-4 to Rochester but Win on Pitching and Defense Monday 2-1 Tillman wins his 5th Game

Brandon Snyder launches a 2 RBI double in the 1st inning of Sunday’s game

Well Sunday’s weather was best described as murky as were the fortunes of the Tides as they were defeated by a score of 8-4 by the visiting Rochester Red Wings at Harbor Park.  With a delay of 45 minutes due to rain to begin the day and the constant threat of showers throughout the day the Tides got out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning when Rhyne Hughes singled to drive across Robert Andino and Brandon Snyder pounded out a double to score Josh Bell and Rhyne Hughes.

Josh Bell waves Rhyne Hughes across the plate on Brandon Snyder’s Double Sunday

But just when you thought it was safe to go into the water the Red Wings who had hammered the Tides on Saturday night struck again for 5 runs off of Brandon Erbe in the top of the 2nd inning on 7 hits including a 2 RBI triple by Brock Peterson.  Erbe finished the second inning be he was done for the day as the Tides brought in Ross Wolf.  Wolf would pitch three solid innings allowing 2 hits and 2 walks but no runs showing his continued poise to hold an opposing team when they have the momentum. Denis Sarfate came on in the 6th inning to shut down the Red “hot” Wings allowing a hit and a walk but nothing more striking out four in 2 innings work.

The work of Wolf and Sarfate seemed to give the Tides a chance to get back into the game and Jeff Salazar got them back into the game with a solo home run, his 6th of the year off of Wings reliever Steven Waldrop.  However in the top of the 8th the Wings came back with 3 runs on 3 hits the big one being a 2 run homer by Brian Dinkleman.  The Tides would muster nothing more and the game ended with the Red Wings defeating the Tides by a score of 8-4.

For the Tides they had 4 runs 8 hits with one error and 7 men left on base. The Wings had 8 runs on 13 hits and no errors with 8 runners left on base.  The winning pitcher was Rochester reliever Tim Lahey (3-1 6.90) and the loser Brandon Erbe (0-8 6.80).

Chris Tillman delivering a called 3rd strike on Rochester Outfielder Dustin Martin

Monday night would be another matter it was the night of the pitchers.  All the scoring was accounted for in the 1st inning on this temperate and windy Tuesday night.  The Wings struck first as Jason Repko led off with a double and was driven home by Matt Tolbert.  Jose Morales then walked but Tillman got Dustin Martin to ground into a double play and got Danny Valencia to pop out to third to end the inning.  In the bottom frame the Tides got to work fast. Jeff Salazar led off with a double and was singled home by Robert Andino who would score on a Josh Bell double. That gave the Tides a 2-1 lead which starter Chris Tillman (5-4 3.24) and the relief corps tenaciously defended with the help of inspired defense.  Tillman left after completing six innings allowing just the one run on 8 hits walking one and striking out seven.  He was relieved in the 7th by Armando Gabino who was a gem of a pickup for the Tides becoming a very solid middle relief and set up man as well as occasional starting pitcher. Gabino would pitch three innings giving up 3 hits and a walk, allowing no runs and striking out three.  However good his pitching was it was defense that came to his rescue in the 8th and 9th innings. The defensive highlights were many but two most memorable came late in the game to squelch Red Wing rallies in the 8th and 9th innings.  In the 8th with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd Wilson Ramos singled to left field and Danny Valencia decided to test the arm of Jeff Salazar. Salazar threw a laser which took one hop and catcher Adam Donachie made a great tag to get the out on Valencia to end the inning.  In the 9th inning with 2 on including a runner at third base with only 1 out Gabino faced Rochester shortstop Matt Tolbert.  Tolbert hit a sharp ground ball to first baseman Brandon Snyder who threw to shortstop Robert Andino to get the runner at second who threw back to Snyder to just get the very fast Tolbert at first for the 3-6-3 double play and the win.

Armando Gabino gets Dustin Martin to ground out

Rochester had 1 run on 11 hits with no errors and 10 men left on base.  They had their leadoff batter reach base in 7 of 9 innings but between stand up pitching by Tillman and Gabino as well as the defense could do no more against a Tides team that scored 2 runs on 7 hits and no errors and left 6 men on base. Chris Tillman (5-4 3.24) got the win and Gabino (2-0 S1 1.50) got the save.  The loss went to Rochester starter Deolis Guerra (0-2 5.29).  The teams will wrap up their series with an afternoon game on Wednesday at Harbor Park with Jake Arietta (4-2 1.93) on the mound for the Tides facing Anthony Swarzak (0-1 7.00).

Peace

Padre Steve+

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