Danys Baez News

The first wave of Orioles players hit the free-agency market on Thursday, as Mark Hendrickson, Danys Baez, Melvin Mora and Chad Moeller wasted no time and filed, thus taking care of Baltimore's entire list of pending free agents.

This is the lull before the storm. This is the time when major league front office people tie up loose ends, take a few days off and catch their breath before offseason begins in earnest following the World Series.

Can you please tell me why we bother shopping for a closer when we have J.P. Howell? I thought Howell did a fantastic job this year with the closer role and should be our full-time closer.

The Orioles finished the 2009 season 34 games below .500, 39 games back of first place in their division and losers of 13 consecutive games in September.

Just as Phillies fans are preparing for another foray into mid-October playoff baseball, Orioles fans are getting ready to trade in their black-and-orange for Ravens' purple-and-black -- if they haven't done so already.

BALTIMOREBaltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 Saturday night for their third straight victory.

They led by three runs and had only nine outs to get to end a 10-game losing streak that added even more heartache to a season that had already been miserable enough.

As the Orioles' focus turns increasingly towards the 2010 season, one of the biggest areas of concern is the bullpen.

Several hours before the clash of the non-titans tonight at Progressive Field, Orioles reliever and former Indian Danys Baez offered a prediction.

Aaron Hill tried to turn away, but there was little the Blue Jays' second baseman could do to avoid the 97-mph fastball that was headed his way in the eighth inning on Tuesday night.

The Orioles received one of their most efficient performances of the season from a starting pitcher and some key hits from their offense, but in the end they lost again in their dome of horrors, the Rogers Centre.

The sizable gap between the two teams in proven major league talent is a perfectly acceptable explanation for the Boston Red Sox's recent dominance over the Orioles.

Martinez' pinch-hit three-run double in the seventh inning off Danys Baez broke a 4-4 tie to deliver a 7-5 victory that sent the Red Sox into their off-day today on a high note thanks to their newest offensive threat.

Sitting in the visitor's dugout before Wednesday's game against the Red Sox at Fenway Park, Orioles manager Dave Trembley stated the team's plan.

Victor Martinez thought he was getting a night off Wednesday. With the off-day Thursday, it seemed like some rest would be good for the Sox' catcher/first baseman.

The 37-year-old Mora hit a solo homer in the second inning, a two-out RBI single in the third and snapped a 4-all tie with a two-out single in the fifth.

Kevin Millwood had a shot to beat the Twins earlier this month in Arlington. He had a 4-0 lead going into the fifth inning but allowed one run there and four more in the sixth.

Sure, pitching in the big leagues is supposed to be tough, yet the Baltimore Orioles rookie refused to believe the step up in competition was the sole explanation for his 6.46 ERA.

It hasn't been a team strength in the past, but it may be in the near future. Baltimore manager Dave Trembley sat in the dugout before Tuesday's game and raved about his bullpen, which has begun to come together in the wake of the George Sherrill trade.

's return to effective late-inning relief started with his getting healthy again.