Andy Macphail

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter didn't know exactly what his New York counterpart, Yankees manager Joe Girardi , was going through Thursday after the death of Girardi's father became public. But Showalter, whose own dad passed away shortly after Showalter was named Yankees manager more than 20 years ago, empathized with Girardi's plight over the past few days. "Every situation is different like that. It's part of life, but you're never ready," Showalter said.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -After getting off to rocky starts in his first two outings with the Orioles, Adam Eaton exhaled Monday when he escaped his first inning against the Minnesota Twins unscathed. But this time, it was his second inning that proved problematic. Eaton, who is trying to cement one of three openings in the Orioles' rotation, was touched for three home runs and four runs in the sixth inning of his team's 8-7 loss to the Twins at Hammond Stadium. Pitching in relief of Jeremy Guthrie, Eaton wasn't scored on in his other three innings.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Seeking to add a young mind and a fresh perspective to the Orioles' front office, Andy MacPhail announced yesterday that he has hired Matt Klentak as director of baseball operations. Klentak, 27, who spent the past four years working in Major League Baseball's Labor Relations Department, will assist MacPhail, the Orioles' president of baseball operations, with scouting, player development, contract negotiations and the overall construction of the team's major league roster.

Here's a look at what other media are saying about manager Dave Trembley's status and the state of the Orioles six weeks into the 2010 season. • FoxSports.com's Jack Magruder ranks the Orioles last in his latest MLB power rankings. Just when the schedule lightened up, the best the Orioles could do was split six home games against fellow bottom-feeders Seattle and Cleveland. Brad Bergesen has been a bright spot in the rotation the last two times through. • Larry Dobrow from CBSSports.

Cal Ripken Jr. approached the Orioles about joining the club in an unspecified front-office capacity and was turned down by principal owner Peter G. Angelos, according to a story posted Friday night by FoxSports.com that cited several unnamed sources. Fox Sports reported that Ripken, the Hall of Fame infielder and arguably the organization's greatest player, met with Andy MacPhail, the team's president of baseball operations, to discuss a potential job. But, in a separate conversation, Angelos denied the request, stating that "he did not want Ripken to receive credit once the team returned to prominence," according to three Fox Sports' sources.

How it happened: This one was over early. Orioles starter Brad Bergesen had gotten one out in the top of the first inning when Carl Crawford hit a routine infield pop-up. Orioles third baseman Miguel Tejada and shortstop Cesar Izturis failed to communicate, however, and the ball fell to the dirt. Crawford reached first safely, and Tejada was charged with a fielding error. Bergesen walked Evan Longoria two batters later, and then Carlos Pena slammed a home run to put the Rays ahead 3-0. That would have been more than enough for Tampa Bay, but Bergesen went on to allow five more runs, including three on B.J. Upton's first of two homers in the game, in going just three innings.

The Orioles downplayed the likelihood of making a significant deal at the winter meetings - and I suppose there are some people who are going to downplay the significance of the deal they made - but acquiring veteran starter Kevin Millwood was a pretty good way to kick off Andy MacPhail's winter upgrade program. No, he's not Roy Halladay, but he's a solid veteran who was a good influence on the young players in the Texas Rangers clubhouse last season, and he's the guy who is going to take the monkey off Jeremy Guthrie's back in 2010.

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail has spent most of his tenure in Baltimore building with young talent and stopgap veterans around Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts, whom he signed to lucrative extensions before the 2009 season. IsAdam Jones the next in line for a big payday? MacPhail recently told MASN's Amber Theoharis that the Orioles tried to talk about a new contract with the All-Star center fielder's agent in the offseason, but Team Jones wanted to wait.

Brewers slugger Prince Fielder will be one of the most sought-after players on the free agent market this summer, and the husky first baseman is sure to command top dollar. Will the Orioles -- whose game plan is, of course, to grow the arms and buy the bats -- be willing to pony up the eight-figure salary to sign Fielder? We won’t know until this winter, but ESPN’s Jim Bowden thinks Baltimore is the most likely destination for Fielder , who has hammered 211 home runs and driven in 595 runs in 905 career games for the Brewers.