Marlins

Edwin Rodriguez is taking heat in Florida, but if the Marlins fire their manager, they will lose shortstop Hanley Ramirez in the process. Ramirez is a huge backer of Rodriguez's and believes responsibility for their sudden slide belongs with the players, not management. "When we do good, people look at us," Ramirez said. "It's like Ozzie ( Guillen ) says, 'Yeah, when the team is winning, you have to give credit to the players, and when they're losing, they want to fire me.' No, that's not how it (should be)

What has been more notable about the White Sox this winter — what they have done or what they have not done? They have super-sized the payroll. Specifically, they have added free agent Adam Dunn and re-signed Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski in the wake of adding Jake Peavy, Alex Rios and Edwin Jackson in the previous year and a half, taking the Opening Day figure near $130 million from $103 million at the start of 2010. They haven't extended manager Ozzie Guillen's contract.

Right-handed pitcher Ricky Nolasco signed a three-year, $26.5 million contract with the Marlins. Marlins owner and CEO Jeffrey Loria called Nolasco "an outstanding competitor. " Nolasco is expected to make $6 million in 2011, $9 million in 2012 and $11.5 in 2013. He made $3.8 million last season, when he went 14-9 with a 4.51 ERA. The 28-year-old missed the final month after undergoing arthroscopic right knee surgery. •The Padres agreed to terms of a one-year contract with Brad Hawpe to play first base, according to people with knowledge of the deal.

The Orioles' 2011 coaching staff is coming into focus with the hiring of hitting coach Jim Presley and bullpen coach Rick Adair, the first of six slots to be filled by manager Buck Showalter. The club isn't expected to officially announce its hires until the entire coaching staff is finalized, but an industry source said Presley and Adair both have agreed to two-year deals. The source said the Orioles could have the full staff completed within the next week. Don Wakamatsu (bench coach)

— Rick VandenHurk's wait has come to an end. The 25-year-old right-hander finally will get his first start as an Oriole today after month-long speculation that the opportunity would come at some point in September. "I've been (a starter) all my career," VandenHurk said. "But it's been almost two months I have been here and I have been in the bullpen, so you just go with it. " The Orioles acquired VandenHurk on July 31 from the Florida Marlins for lefty reliever Will Ohman . VandenHurk is 8-8 with a 5.92 ERA in 32 big-league starts with the Marlins from 2007-2009.

With minutes remaining before Saturday's nonwaiver trade deadline, the Orioles pulled off their second deal in three days, sending left-handed reliever Will Ohman to the Florida Marlins for Triple-A right-hander Rick VandenHurk. VandenHurk, a 25-year-old from the Netherlands who has been shuttled between Triple-A and the majors the past four seasons, will go into Triple-A Norfolk's rotation and likely will be promoted to Baltimore later this season. He is 8-9 with a 5.96 ERA in 35 major league games (32 starts)

It doesn't necessarily take experience, or even skill, to catch the winning fish at the White Marlin Open in Ocean City. All it takes is a bit of luck, says Jim Motsko, 63, president and founder of the event, a longtime summer tradition at the resort that begins Monday. "We've had many years when the heaviest white marlin was caught by a novice," he said. "Anybody can get lucky." The White Marlin Open typically draws hundreds of boats and thousands of anglers. Motsko expects more than 2,000 to enter the tournament and nearly 5,000 to watch the anglers display their catches each night during the weeklong tournament, which will feature a variety of music and food vendors, as well as other goods.

When Orioles right-hander Kevin Millwood threw quality start after quality start earlier this season, only to get handed no-decisions and losses because of a lackluster offense, he didn't complain, didn't point fingers. On Thursday, it was payback time for Millwood, who survived five shaky innings in an 11-5 Orioles win that ended an 11-game losing streak to the Florida Marlins. An offense that had scored just 33 runs in Millwood's first 12 starts has scored 27 for him in his past four outings, the past two of which have resulted in Millwood's only victories of the season.

Brian Matusz, or any of the other Orioles starters, for that matter, hasn't gotten much experience this season protecting any lead, never mind a four-run advantage. So perhaps it shouldn't have been a total surprise that Matusz looked completely uncomfortable in such a situation Wednesday night after the Orioles had one of their best offensive innings of the season. Matusz managed to get just one out before squandering the four-run lead and then allowed the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the woeful Orioles lost again, dropping a 7-5 decision to the Florida Marlins in front of an announced 13,720 at sultry Camden Yards.