Rockbird

The Pirates entered the talks, a source said, when the Orioles attempted to make the Marlins take starter Sidney Ponson and the $10 million remaining on his contract. ho ho! some good comedy there. 864451[/snapback] Awww c'mon! Won't ya take Sir Sid? Please? He's not so bad! He eats innings! 864459[/snapback] That's not all he eats! :lol

Enlighten me...why do the Pirates want Lowell? What do they gain out of this?

It's a fair deal even more so since we're throwing in 2 batting practice pitchers too! What more do you want, grounds crew members?

I read an article today saying how so many teams are after bullpen help. Maybe 1-2 of those is to trade away??? 863807[/snapback] Hell, you can do whatever you want with them. Make them race around the warning track in the middle of the 6th inning for all I care, just take them!!! :o 863833[/snapback] They could dress up like bratwursts sausages like they do in Pittsburgh. 863853[/snapback] Hmmm, and there could be a contest to whack them with a bat like Randall Simon a couple years ago. We might be getting somewhere here! (oh and it's Milwaukee that does the sausage race, Pittsburgh has its own offshoot called The Perogie race, though). 863868[/snapback] Oh yeah, I think it was Randall Simon being on the Pirates that made me think that. But if there is any hitting with bats than that should be there farewell tour in Camden yards. 863914[/snapback] We'd be more than happy to supply the first 25,000 fans with bats and parade them around the field like Cal Ripken making his victory lap, allowing the fans to "personally say goodbye". Ok, now we're just being mean.

I read an article today saying how so many teams are after bullpen help. Maybe 1-2 of those is to trade away??? 863807[/snapback] Hell, you can do whatever you want with them. Make them race around the warning track in the middle of the 6th inning for all I care, just take them!!! :o 863833[/snapback] They could dress up like bratwursts sausages like they do in Pittsburgh. 863853[/snapback] Hmmm, and there could be a contest to whack them with a bat like Randall Simon a couple years ago. We might be getting somewhere here! (oh and it's Milwaukee that does the sausage race, Pittsburgh has its own offshoot called The Perogie race, though).

When someone reports that the O's are asking for Billy the Marlin for a macot to be named later as part of this, I'll know it's time to go to sleep!

I read an article today saying how so many teams are after bullpen help. Maybe 1-2 of those is to trade away??? 863807[/snapback] Hell, you can do whatever you want with them. Make them race around the warning track in the middle of the 6th inning for all I care, just take them!!! :o

Hey Rock. Don't they JUST take their good ole time! :blink: 863701[/snapback] The Washington Post story I just posted is way more encouraging. I still wouldn't mind if Peter would just get lost though.

Well this is new. If it's true, thanks for taking on The Terrible Steves for us. Hopefully AJ signs an extension with us afterall: washingtonpost.com Bedard, Sosa Lift O's Over Twins Trade for Burnett Might Come Today: Orioles 3, Twins 2 By Jorge Arangure Jr. Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, July 19, 2005; E01 MINNEAPOLIS, July 18 -- They welcomed back Erik Bedard, who had been on the disabled list since May 26, and Sammy Sosa, whose bat had been on hiatus for a month, and readied themselves for an impending roster crush that figures to happen on Tuesday. The Baltimore Orioles, 3-2 winners over the Minnesota Twins, were a team on the eve of a drastic makeover with the acquisition of Florida Marlins pitcher A.J. Burnett and infielder Mike Lowell likely to be finalized Tuesday, according to several baseball sources. The Orioles will send outfielder Admin Bigbie, pitcher Hayden Penn and relievers Jorge Julio, Steve Reed and Steve Kline to the Marlins. Baltimore also will receive minor league outfielder Eric Reed. The Boston Red Sox, one of the teams actively pursuing Burnett, believed they were no longer in the running for the pitcher. "We have not heard anything official, but we do not get the sense that the Marlins are engaging us with much urgency," a Red Sox official said. "In other words, they seem more inclined to go in another direction." If, as expected, the Orioles face a drastic roster haul, the current version of the team did quite well on its final night. Bedard pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven, after missing almost two months with a sprained knee, and Sosa hit his first home run since June 18, a 420-foot two-run blast in the seventh inning. Miguel Tejada won the game with a home run in the 11th inning. As of late Monday night, according to several sources close to the Orioles, Baltimore had all but decided not to sign Burnett to a contract extension prior to making the deal. The Orioles hoped Burnett, a free agent after this season whose wife is from the Baltimore area, would sign a new contract after the trade was made. "My preference would be to sign everyone to one-year contracts," Orioles Executive Vice President Jim Beattie said in general terms and not specifically about the impending trade. "But you have to do what you have to do to get players signed. Sometimes it's worth the risk." Previously, agent Darek Braunecker, who represents Burnett, had said the pitcher would not negotiate during the season, but he softened his stance on Monday. "If they were to present something to us that we could resolve quickly, I wouldn't say we wouldn't do that," Braunecker said. Part of the reason the Orioles have decided to acquire Burnett without a new contract is so they could rid themselves of the salaries of Kline and Reed in the deal. With an extension for Burnett signed prior to a trade it's unlikely Florida would have accepted either relief pitcher, whom the Orioles are trading as a salary dump. Kline was signed to a two-year, $5.6 million deal in the offseason. Reed is making $900,000 on a one-year deal. Bigbie, Kline and Julio had all but conceded they would be traded. Bigbie and Julio joked about needing to buy sunscreen to protect themselves from the Florida sun. Kline began to say goodbye to reporters. Bigbie, who conspicuously was not in the lineup Monday, admitted, while it pained him to leave, perhaps the trade would mean a better opportunity for him with the Marlins. The team had been so uncertain about the status of the roster that it did not announce which player would be taken off the team in order to activate Bedard from the disabled list until minutes prior to the game. Long reliever James Baldwin was designated for assignment, further fueling the thought that a deal for Burnett was near. Acquiring Burnett means the Orioles will have to demote a starter, meaning there would be no need for Baldwin as a long reliever. The team had asked Kline to accept a demotion to Class AA Bowie in order to work on his mechanics. The reliever, 2-3 with a 5.61 ERA, declined to go to Bowie, so the Orioles made the move with Baldwin. At this point, the most likely candidate to fill Baldwin's spot in the bullpen is Sidney Ponson, who has a 6.04 ERA and is 2-7 in his past 12 games. He would be an $8.5 million long reliever. "I'm acknowledging that there are talks going on that might impact the roster," Beattie said. "That's all. That's fair. That's why we waited [to make the Baldwin move], otherwise we would have tried to do something earlier. But with respect to the information coming in and the timing of it, we tried not to make a move that would" hurt the roster. One move that won't be made is shifting Melvin Mora from third base to accommodate Lowell, who will be owed $21.25 million through 2007. "I wouldn't move Melvin out of third base unless Brooks Robinson came back," Beattie said.

Sorry you guys have to be strung along with our notoriously slow front office. It's always something... So, since it looks like he's not getting traded by tommorow afterall, does Burnett just make his start with the Marlins as scheduled?

Strikout of Cuddyer on a breaking ball that FELL OFF THE TABLE. Julio bringing the good stuff tonight. 2 outs.

1-2 pop up of Bret Boone on a slider to the second baseman. 1 out. Julio is amazingly not sucking. Maybe the sunny beaches you guys have down there is motivating him

Folks, buckle your seatbelts. Miguel Tejada just blasted a homerun, to give the O's a 3-2 lead going into the bottom of the 11th...and Julio is apparently going to try to close it. Updates again forthcoming.

Talk amongst yourselves or something now.

I bring good news! Strikeout on a nice slider! We survive another inning! Good luck with him.