Michael Gonzalez

After stringing together five straight scoreless appearances and picking up his first save of 2011 in the Indians series, Michael Gonzalez allowed three runs in Monday's 15-10 loss to the Red Sox. To make matters worse, the Orioles reliever was picked for this week's "Not Top 10" segment on SportsCenter after falling off the mound Monday while throwing a pitch. Poor Gonzalez. The guy just can't win. He is the Orioles' Charlie Brown.

Baseball Ex-Oriole Gonzalez signs with Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a one-year deal with former Orioles left-handed reliever Michael Gonzalez , according to a Fox Sports report Friday. Gonzalez, 34, flourished last season with the Washington Nationals as a midseason addition on a one-year minor league deal and pitched in key situations against left-handed batters down the stretch. According to a CBS Sports report, his deal with the Brewers is worth $2.25million with incentives, making him the second Nationals left-handed reliever to head to the Brewers, a team starved for them.

Two months ago, Michael Gonzalez stood at his stall in the Orioles clubhouse before a game against the Blue Jays. Having just found out that he had been traded to the Rangers, he packed his gear and changed into jeans and a pair of flip flops, but he was still wearing his Orioles undershirt when reporters surrounded his stall. "I'm excited. I'm going to go out there and I'm going to try to win a championship now," Gonzalez, who was traded for fellow reliever Pedro Strop , said at the time.

Two months ago, Michael Gonzalez stood at his stall in the Orioles clubhouse before a game against the Blue Jays. Having just found out that he had been traded to the Rangers, he packed his gear and changed into jeans and a pair of flip flops, but he was still wearing his Orioles undershirt when reporters surrounded his stall. "I'm excited. I'm going to go out there and I'm going to try to win a championship now," Gonzalez, who was traded for fellow reliever Pedro Strop , said at the time.

Orioles reliever Michael Gonzalez -- who is in the final year of a two-year, $12 million deal -- is wearing out his welcome with even the most patient of Orioles fans. The 32-year-old surrendered four runs in Monday’s come-from-ahead loss to the Red Sox. On Wednesday, he couldn’t get out of a jam against the Yankees. And he put the Orioles in another bad situation when he plunked Chris Dickerson , sending the Yankees outfielder to the hospital for a CT scan and Gonzalez, who was quickly ejected, to the showers early.

How it happened: A day after Michael Gonzalez stranded the bases loaded to convert a save and three days after he blew a save on Opening Day, the new Orioles closer issued a leadoff walk to Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion and then a game-tying double to Travis Snider. After a sacrifice bunt moved Snider to third, Jose Bautista drove in the eventual game-winning run with a sacrifice fly, giving the Blue Jays a 7-6 win Camden Yards in the O's home opener. He said it: "It's definitely not the way I wanted to start off, but I have the utmost confidence in my ability.

Before last night's loss to the Yankees, Buck Showalter had made all the right moves when managing the Orioles bullpen. He was playing the matchups, using his top relievers in key situations before the ninth inning and going with his gut in save situations. But last night, Showalter's moves ended up looking like the wrong ones because Kevin Gregg blew a save opportunity in the ninth inning and Michael Gonzalez allowed the game-winning run in the tenth. The 6-5 loss was the Orioles' fourth straight.

He walked the No. 8 hitter and the No. 9 hitter, both with two outs, and by the time the bottom of the second finally ended, Orioles starter Jake Arrieta had thrown 35 pitches in the inning and appeared to be on his way to a short night. But rediscovering his command and showing no signs of the hip soreness that affected him in his last start, Arrieta settled in and delivered one of the best outings of his young career, retiring 15 of the final 16 hitters he faced and allowing just one run and three hits over seven innings.

Right-hander Jake Arrieta pitched two innings and gave up a run on two hits and two walks in his 2011 exhibition debut against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium on Friday, but he didn't seem too concerned about his inconsistent command the first time out. "I felt great," he said. "It's just that the first time out there at game speed, the sinker's got more life. The fastball has more life to it. The breaking balls were sharp. Now, it's just a matter of being more consistent around the strike zone.

Each morning, Monday through Friday, I'll hook you up with some reading material to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday -- that way I'll have an excuse to do the same at the start of mine. Running it back: The Orioles on Sunday went down meekly and quietly to the surging Indians in a 4-2 loss, their seventh straight. ... Orioles starting pitcher Brian Matusz appears to be several weeks away from making his 2011 debut . ... Former Ravens linebacker Bart Scott said coach John Harbaugh changed the team’s brash, fun-loving style . ... Alex Ovechkin's own goal cost the Capitals in Game 3 and let the Rangers back in their first-round playoff series.

Two months ago, Michael Gonzalez was trying to regain a late-inning role out of the bullpen for the last-place Orioles. Lately, though, the left-hander has been so dominant that the Texas Rangers had to have him for their playoff run. On Wednesday, the day before the deadline for teams to acquire players eligible for the postseason, the Orioles dealt Gonzalez to the American League West-leading Rangers in a waiver trade for 26-year-old reliever Pedro...

Michael Gonzalez 's career in Baltimore hasn't played out as he had hoped when he signed a two-year, $12 million deal before the 2010 season. But as his turbulent Orioles career possibly winds down, the left-handed reliever is finally doing what the club paid him to do — pitch with the game on the line, and do it well. "Being in the bigger situations, that's what has driven me my whole career," Gonzalez said before Tuesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. "That's an adrenaline rush for me. That puts me on another level.

After stringing together five straight scoreless appearances and picking up his first save of 2011 in the Indians series, Michael Gonzalez allowed three runs in Monday's 15-10 loss to the Red Sox. To make matters worse, the Orioles reliever was picked for this week's "Not Top 10" segment on SportsCenter after falling off the mound Monday while throwing a pitch. Poor Gonzalez. The guy just can't win. He is the Orioles' Charlie Brown.

Ten days ago, I asked on the blog if the 2011 Orioles season could get any worse. Nine losses, 75 runs allowed and one demotion of Zach Britton later, the answer is a resounding yes -- a Marv Albert-type yes. This weekend’s four-game sweep at the hands of the Red Sox was so ugly, it’s hard to imagine that things could get any uglier for the Orioles. At least we know most of Baltimore won’t be watching if they do. The Orioles were outscored 32-13 in the series -- the only fight they showed was when Kevin Gregg got in a slap fight with David Ortiz on Friday and when Michael Gonzalez chucked a pitch behind Ortiz on Sunday -- and they entered the All-Star break on a seven-game losing skid.

In his major league debut Wednesday, Orioles infielder Blake Davis played second base for the first time this year and made a key error that allowed the Pittsburgh Pirates to score the eventual game-winner. Orioles manager Buck Showalter made sure Davis won't have too much time to dwell on that mistake. Davis started again at second base Friday against the Cincinnati Reds — the club's first game since Wednesday's loss in Pittsburgh. "It's nice," said Davis, a shortstop by trade who has played just 20 games at second base in a six-season pro career before Friday.

When Michael Gonzalez signed a two-year, $12 million deal before the 2010 season, he envisioned entering the game in the ninth inning and closing out an Orioles' victory against a tough divisional foe. Gonzalez did that in the Orioles' victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night, but not under the circumstances that he or anybody else expected. The Orioles had a seven-run lead and manager Buck Showalter originally planned to bring back Koji Uehara for a second inning of work, but Nick Markakis ' two-run double in the bottom of the eighth convinced him to go to Gonzalez.

Ten days ago, I asked on the blog if the 2011 Orioles season could get any worse. Nine losses, 75 runs allowed and one demotion of Zach Britton later, the answer is a resounding yes -- a Marv Albert-type yes. This weekend’s four-game sweep at the hands of the Red Sox was so ugly, it’s hard to imagine that things could get any uglier for the Orioles. At least we know most of Baltimore won’t be watching if they do. The Orioles were outscored 32-13 in the series -- the only fight they showed was when Kevin Gregg got in a slap fight with David Ortiz on Friday and when Michael Gonzalez chucked a pitch behind Ortiz on Sunday -- and they entered the All-Star break on a seven-game losing skid.

Even when he was imprisoned for two months as the chief suspect in a fatal New Year's Day shooting in his native Dominican Republic, Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon was confident that this day would come. Simon was activated from major league baseball's restricted list Saturday and was in the bullpen for the Orioles' afternoon game against the Washington Nationals. "Right now, I feel really happy I'm back with my teammates," said Simon, who went 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in three rehabilitation starts for Double-A Bowie.

Orioles reliever Michael Gonzalez -- who is in the final year of a two-year, $12 million deal -- is wearing out his welcome with even the most patient of Orioles fans. The 32-year-old surrendered four runs in Monday’s come-from-ahead loss to the Red Sox. On Wednesday, he couldn’t get out of a jam against the Yankees. And he put the Orioles in another bad situation when he plunked Chris Dickerson , sending the Yankees outfielder to the hospital for a CT scan and Gonzalez, who was quickly ejected, to the showers early.