Bowie

He is a basketball vagabond, playing at three different high schools, at the NCAA Division I level two times, in the junior college ranks and currently at Division II Bowie State. Finally, at the age of 24, Gil Goodrich has found his niche. Order and commitment now rule the Linthicum native, who is a serious contender for the national scoring title and a fan favorite wherever he appears in the predominantly African-American Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The white point guard has immense skills, a flashy style and the ability to find open teammates whenever he is double- and triple-teamed, which is almost always.

Before pitcher Rommie Lewis could regain the velocity on his fastball, he needed to rediscover his love of the game. It took a full year for Lewis to realize he missed baseball enough to rededicate himself to it. Once chosen as the Orioles' fifth-best prospect by Baseball America, he got off to a sizzling start at Double-A Bowie this season before beginning to struggle. But at least he was on the mound again, and on the mend. Lewis, a 6-foot-6 left-handed reliever chosen in the fourth round of the 2001 draft out of Newport (Wash.

BOWIE -- The economic promise for Maryland of military base realignment could falter if lawmakers fail to approve tax increases the O'Malley administration is seeking to upgrade highways and transit systems, Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown warned yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of Cabinet secretaries, Brown added an inability to cope with base-related growth to the litany of dire consequences that state officials say could befall Maryland if Gov. Martin O'Malley's package of tax increases and revisions is not adopted.

The Orioles rushed reliever Jim Hoey to the majors in 2006, making it the last of his four stops in a season that began at low Single-A Delmarva and ended with his being named the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Year. This season, they're content to let him dominate at Double-A Bowie, where he entered yesterday having not surrendered a run in 13 2/3 innings, with eight hits allowed, 21 strikeouts and nine saves. He could have been promoted to Triple-A Norfolk by now, if not higher, but what's the rush?

When James Hoey left Double-A Bowie last season on his way to the majors, Baysox pitching coach Scott McGregor thought he wouldn't see an arm like that again for a while. Then along came Bob McCrory. A fourth-round pick in the 2003 draft out of Southern Mississippi, McCrory has thrust himself into the Orioles' prospect picture - with vigor. His fastball touches 98 mph, and he unleashes a two-seamer that ranges from 95 to 98 mph. He also has a good breaking ball and a developing changeup that he used more effectively at the Single-A level.

BOWIE -- Someone asked Matt Riley when he expected a promotion to the Orioles. He responded with a high, hard fastball."I'd like to be up in the next couple of months," he said, "if things keep going well. If not, September."It's a temptation, for sure. The Orioles are desperate for a left-handed starter, and Riley is their best pitching prospect since Mike Mussina.But it's a temptation the Orioles should resist -- if they want another Mussina, that is, instead of another Rocky Coppinger.

From baseball's days of yore, we now introduce Rick Short."He is a guy cut out of the old mold, a throwback, a down and dirty player," said Bowie Baysox manager Joe Ferguson. "He plays hard all the time."And wherever he goes, Short hits. His name is beside virtually all the major Frederick Keys batting records; he won a Carolina League batting title in 1997, and he has a career .309 average since signing with the Orioles as a 33rd-round draft selection five years ago.The problem: Where do you play him?

The teen-age years end today for Matt Riley, who celebrates his 20th birthday on a day off for the Double-A Bowie Baysox.Now, the climb to the majors turns even more serious for the Orioles' most prized pitching prospect.Riley eschewed the Pan American Games and the Double-A All-Star Game and threw only one pitch in the Futures Game in Boston because he wants his minor-league education to continue unabated."I just didn't feel it was best to get caught up in all those things," Riley said. "I felt it was better to stay here and work with Schmitty [Baysox pitching coach Dave Schmidt]

The 11-year odyssey was frequently frustrating and sometimes excruciating.But Javier De La Hoya endured it all and a week ago made his first start in Triple-A baseball a winning one after stops with four major-league organizations, and appearances in his native Mexico and in Taiwan.In his debut with Rochester, De La Hoya shut down the New York Yankees' Triple-A franchise, Columbus, on two runs for seven innings in a 10-2 victory that ended the Red Wings' season-high nine-game losing streak.

Bowie Community Theatre. "Night Watch," a murder mystery with a twist. 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 20 and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 21 at Bowie Playhouse, Whitemarsh Park, Route 3 South, near Route 450. Needed are two women ages 30-40; two women, ages 40-60; five men, ages 30-60. Cold readings from the script. Call 301-490-1437.Children's Theater Association. Actresses, ages 22-45, needed to perform in plays during the schoolday. 9 a.m. to noon today at 100 W. 22nd St., Baltimore. The company of adults performs for children in schools throughout the state.

Carlton Jackson threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Edwin Baptiste in overtime to lift Morgan State to a 16-10 win over Winston-Salem State on Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J. Jackson, who completed 16 of 21 passes for 146 yards, connected with Jephte Cherenfant on a 4-yard touchdown to give the Bears (1-1) a 7-3 lead in the third quarter. Baptiste finished with five catches for 70 yards. The Rams (0-3) regained the lead at 10-7 on Jarrett Dunston's 18-yard touchdown pass to Austin Higgins in the third quarter.

PLAYER AGE DRAFTED STATS SKINNY FUTURE RHP Jake Arrieta 23 2007, fifth round, Orioles 6-3, 2.59 ERA at Double-A Bowie; 5-8, 3.93 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk The only member of the highly touted "Big Three" who didn't make his big league debut in 2009, he ripped through Double-A before a few rough patches at Norfolk. Likely will start 2010 at Triple-A but could get an in-season promotion. OF Xavier Avery 19 2008, second round, Orioles .262 average, 2 homers, 36 RBIs , 30 steals at Single-A Delmarva Held his own in first full pro season despite age. Could have played running back at the University of Georgia.

What a difference a year makes. Eddie Gamboa was 1-7 with a 3.63 ERA in 12 starts for Rookie-level Bluefield in 2008 but has thrived after moving to the bullpen this season. The 24-year-old right-hander, who was promoted to Double-A Bowie on Aug. 17, is 10-0 with a 1.20 ERA in 34 total appearances at three levels - Single-A Delmarva, Single-A Frederick and Bowie - in 2009. "You just have to be ready to come in and throw strikes right off the bat. I think that's one of my strengths as a pitcher," Gamboa said.

Sure, it's 90 degrees out. But what is stopping us from looking ahead for a moment to the hoops season? Absolutely nothing. So let's proceed. What do you think of coach Gary Williams' recent tweet? The one in which he said: "With Greivis [Vasquez] back and our '09 class and the rest of our team improving every day, I truly believe we have the chance to be top 25 next year." Here's my take: Maryland could be a Top 25 team, but some things would need to happen. Vasquez coming back for his senior season is welcome news for Maryland, but it still needs more offense.

BOWIE -- The successful Double-A debut of pitcher Brian Matusz, the Orioles' first selection in the 2008 draft, coincided Wednesday night with the giveaway of 1,000 palm-sized Matt Wieters action figures at Prince George's Stadium. The timing was happenstance. The organization said it wouldn't want to place undue pressure on Matusz by likening the cherubic-faced left-handed starter's development to that of Wieters, the fifth overall pick in 2007 who hit .345 here last season and arrived in Baltimore on May 29 from Triple-A Norfolk.

In his past two outings, Orioles left-handed specialist Alberto Castillo has faced four left-handers. Three of them have reached base safely. And three runs have scored. It has gotten the attention of Orioles manager Dave Trembley. "There [are] times when you put a left-hander in there to get a left-hander out, and [if] it doesn't happen once, you are OK with it," Trembley said. "If it doesn't happen twice, the red light goes on. Three times, you start going, 'Hey, maybe you've got to start putting guys in and play the game as if you don't have a left-handed guy.' And that's honest.

Left-handed starting pitcher Brian Matusz was transferred to Double-A Bowie on Monday and will make his Double-A debut Wednesday at 7:05 p.m., against Reading. Matusz, the Orioles' first selection in the 2008 draft, taken fourth overall, started the year in Frederick, going 4-2 with a 2.16 ERA in 11 starts for the Keys. He has thrown 66 2/3 innings and has not allowed a run in his past 23 innings. Rays: : Reliever Jason Isringhausen will miss the rest of the season after tearing a ligament in his surgically repaired right elbow.

A man identified in court documents as a gang leader who had fallen out of favor with the organization has been charged by Baltimore police with a September killing after being picked up last week by federal authorities. Frank Williams, 25, also known as Lee Kelly, was one of more than 30 people rounded up last week as part of a racketeering indictment targeting the Maryland and California leadership of the Pasadena Denver Lanes unit of the Bloods gang. Authorities say the gang is responsible for a host of violent incidents, and Baltimore police announced Tuesday that they have placed a detainer on Williams linking him to the fatal shooting of Tyrone Bowie, 26, on Sept.

Lou Montanez won the Triple Crown in the Double-A Eastern League after hitting .335 with 26 home runs and 97 RBIs in 116 games for Bowie. He hit .295 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 38 games for the Orioles. He deserves to have a chance to play every day in the majors. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/osondeck)

Mary M. "Macky" Bowie, a former newspaper reporter and publisher who had been active in historic preservation issues, died of cardiovascular disease Jan. 6 at Keswick Multi-Care Center. The longtime Lutherville resident was 92. Mary McIntyre Pennington was born in Hagerstown and raised there and in Annapolis. After graduation from Hagerstown High School in 1933, she went to work for The Herald-Mail in Hagerstown, covering social and civic events as well as writing celebrity features. Mrs. Bowie, who later became woman's editor, purchased The Boonsboro Times in 1944, a weekly newspaper that had been founded in 1842.