Norfolk

Baseball ASTROS -- Activated P Rick White from 15-day DL. Optioned OF Chris Burke to Triple-A Round Rock. ATHLETICS -- Agreed to five-year contract through 2011 with OF Nick Swisher. BLUE JAYS -- Placed P Roy Halladay on 15-day DL. CUBS -- 1B-3B Phil Nevin retired. DIAMONDBACKS -- Placed IF Alberto Callaspo on restricted list without pay. Called up IF Donnie Sadler from Triple-A Tucson. MARINERS -- Placed P Jeff Weaver on 15-day DL. Recalled P Ryan Rowland-Smith from Triple-A Tacoma.

For now, Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo has apparently decided to go with the nine guys who are swinging the bat the best, a decision that has pushed veteran Jay Gibbons into a reserve role. Gibbons didn't play in the Orioles' 10-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians yesterday, the third straight game the outfielder-designated hitter remained on the bench. He hasn't played since going 1-for-4 with three strikeouts in Friday's series opener. Gibbons is 3-for-his-past-37, with his average sitting at .188.

Orioles pitcher Jon Leicester remembers the exact date of his last major league start. You don't easily forget the first one. It has taken two years for Leicester to get another second chance in a rotation. He'll start Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards, taking the spot that went to Kurt Birkins earlier this week. Leicester has made three relief appearances since the Orioles purchased his contract from Triple-A Norfolk last Thursday, most recently pitching a scoreless eighth inning Tuesday.

Looking to provide depth at shortstop and second base, the Orioles recalled infielder Brandon Fahey from Triple-A Norfolk yesterday and optioned outfielder-first baseman Jon Knott to the Tides. Fahey was hitting .227 with seven doubles, six triples, two homers and 24 RBIs in 76 games. He had a .296 on-base percentage and a .315 slugging percentage. Over his past 10 games, however, Fahey hit .359 with three doubles and two triples. Knott struck out twice and walked Sunday in his only start since rejoining the Orioles.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- The news spread through this Virginia colony like a runaway virus. Lord Dunmore, the British governor, was promising freedom to any black who could get to Norfolk and join him in fighting the rebellious colonists.The offer teased Peter Southall's imagination. He already knew what freedom felt like. He'd spent four years on the run in North Carolina before his luck ran out.But the joy of freedom remained in his heart. "You see this proclamation?" he says, holding a tattered sheet of paper and grabbing a man from among the crowd clustered around him. "I want you to read it, so these people can hear it from one of their own."

BaseballBlue Jays: Placed P Joey Hamilton on 15-day DL, retroactive to April 14. Recalled former Orioles P Nerio Rodriguez from Triple-A Syracuse.Dodgers: Activated P Antonio Osuna from the 15-day DL.Mariners: Reassigned P Robert Luce to Triple-A Tacoma.Marlins: Accepted P Eric Ludwick from Blue Jays and assigned him outright to Triple-A Calgary.Mets: Optioned OF Terrence Long to Triple-A Norfolk. Recalled C Vance Wilson from Norfolk.Pirates: Placed P Francisco Cordova on 15-day DL, retroactive to April 11. Purchased contract of P Jim Dougherty from Triple-A Nasvhille.

FBI officials in Norfolk, Va., have arrested a man suspected by Howard County police in the shooting death of a Laurel man in December.Officials received a tip that Randall Bagely, 22, of Portsmouth, Va., was headed toward a mall Saturday, said Sgt. Morris Carroll, a Howard County police spokesman. Bagely was in a car driven by a woman when police apprehended him, officials said."He was arrested without incident," said Peter Gulotta, an FBI spokesman in Baltimore.Police think Donald Ray Mitchell, 43, was visiting a man who lives in the Seasons Apartment Complex in the 9500 block of Sylvan Still Road on Dec. 10 when three other men arrived.

NORFOLK, Va. -- Anonymous e-mails accusing Operation Smile of mismanagement and lax surgical procedures have led the Norfolk-based humanitarian organization to hire an attorney to investigate the allegations.Norfolk lawyer Bradford Stillman is exploring accusations that Operation Smile -- which provides free reconstructive surgery to children across the globe -- has used substandard monitoring that may have contributed to the death of a 2-year-old girl in China.There have been 14 deaths since 1982, the group said, among 53,000 children treated in 19 countries.

BaseballMarlins: Placed 3B Kevin Orie on 15-day DL, retroactive to May 23. Optioned 1B Derrek Lee, who had lowest batting average of any regular in major leagues (.190) to Triple-A Calgary. Recalled IF-OF Tim Hyers from Calgary. Traded P Rob Stanifer to Red Sox for P Brian Partenheimer; assigned Partenheimer to Single-A Brevard County.Mets: Purchased contract of IF Melvin Mora from Triple-A Norfolk. Optioned OF Jermaine Allensworth to Norfolk. Transferred P Greg McMichael from 15-day to 60-day DL. Announced that they will option P Rigo Beltran to Norfolk.

After one year of mourning the neighborhood grocery store that went out of business and pestering city officials to help find a replacement, Eastport residents are finally getting a new food market in the community's shopping center.The new store is a minor but symbolic victory for residents of a city that has gradually lost supermarkets and drugstores to the suburbs. Although the Eastport Shopping Center is in semi-suburbia, the store remained empty for a year after Thriftway closed in December 1997 because at 18,000 square feet it wasn't big enough for most grocery chains.

BOSTON - -Justin Turner had already been to Fenway Park twice before. He was with Triple-A Norfolk this season when the Tides played Pawtucket at the stadium. He had also played there as a collegian in the Cape Cod League. But as he walked into the stadium Tuesday and entered the visiting clubhouse, he was overcome by a different feeling. "It's something you work for your whole life and dream about as a kid," Turner said. "To finally get here is indescribable." Turner, a second baseman acquired from the Cincinnati Reds last offseason in the Ramon Hernandez deal, was one of five Tides added to the Orioles' roster Tuesday.

It had been about three years since outfielder Jeff Fiorentino last entered the home clubhouse at Camden Yards and prepared for a big league game. Reliever Dennis Sarfate's wait had been four months, but it seemed just as long. The pair, along with Triple-A Norfolk relievers Matt Albers and Alberto Castillo, were summoned to the major leagues Tuesday on the first day rosters were eligible to expand. "I was excited and relieved to get another opportunity up here," said Fiorentino, who batted .312 with 12 homers and 67 RBIs in 102 games for the Tides.

The Orioles' two youngest pitchers, Chris Tillman and Brian Matusz, will make only two or three more starts before being shut down for the remainder of the season in an attempt to limit the rookies' workload. "How exactly it is going to map out I couldn't tell you that because it's dependent on how their starts go between now and then," Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said. "But, in general, I could see them going a couple of weeks in September, and that's about it."

The USNS Comfort cruised into its home port of Baltimore on Tuesday, ending a four-month humanitarian health mission and reuniting doctors, nurses and sailors with family and friends. During a tour that brought the ship to seven Caribbean, Central and South American nations, the Comfort's staff treated more than 100,000 patients, and worked with each country's health ministry so that health care could continue after the ship's departure. Capt. Thomas J. Finger called the mission a "phenomenal success," and said it "certainly exceeded what I expected we'd be able to accomplish."

Chris Tillman wanted more eggs for breakfast but couldn't communicate the thought from his high chair. So he grabbed an orange and flung it across the kitchen, hitting his grandmother flush in the back of the head. Tillman wasn't quite 2, yet he had thrown his first strike. "He's got an arm," joked Tillman's stepfather, David Sterrenburg. "Even then." The orange-tossing incident goes down in family lore as the first time Tillman's right arm drew attention. Nearly two decades later, it still is turning heads.

MIAMI - -The feeling Chris Ray has been waiting for finally came June 15 while the reliever was pitching for Triple-A Norfolk against Louisville. "All of a sudden I was throwing and my arm slot was natural," Ray said. "I didn't have to think about it anymore. It was an unbelievable feeling, especially after that first game. I thought to myself: 'It's about time. It took 20 months to finally get it back.' The next time out there, I felt the exact same and was able to put the ball where I wanted to. I was able to actually feel like I put something on it without risking or not knowing where my arm slot was."

On June 15, 2009 DOROTHY F. (nee Johnson), beloved wife of the late George T. Norfolk, Sr., loving mother of Herbert J. Norfolk, Sr. and wife Barbara, Richard A. Norfolk and wife Barbara and George T. Norfolk, Jr. Also survived by four devoted grandchildren and six devoted great-grandchildren. Friends may call at the Gonce Funeral Service, P.A., 4001 Ritchie Highway on Thursday from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 P.M. Mass of Christian Burial in St. Rose of Lima Church on Friday at 10 A.M. Interment in Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Right-hander David Hernandez was demoted to Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday, but the hard-throwing rookie likely will be back before the season ends. "He did a nice job when he was here," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "We'll look forward to getting him back at some particular point in time." Hernandez, 24, was 1-1 with a 3.95 ERA in three games (two starts). He won his major league debut May 28, allowing just one run in 5 2/3 innings. The Orioles needed to make room for starter Koji Uehara, who came off the disabled list to start Thursday's game against the Seattle Mariners, and Hernandez was the logical choice.

OAKLAND, Calif. - -With Cesar Izturis headed to the disabled list after having an emergency appendectomy Friday night, the Orioles are prepared to go with Robert Andino as their starting shortstop for the next several weeks. Infielder Oscar Salazar's contract will be selected today from Triple-A Norfolk as the roster replacement for Izturis, though he would be used at shortstop only on an emergency basis. That leaves Andino, 25, acquired from the Florida Marlins in the spring training trade for Hayden Penn, as the only shortstop on the Orioles' roster.

Though it was expected that catcher Chad Moeller would lose his roster spot with the addition of prospect Matt Wieters, Orioles manager Dave Trembley still called the move "one of the most difficult things" he has had to do. Moeller, who batted .200 with a homer and two RBIs in 15 games while serving as Gregg Zaun's backup, was designated for assignment Friday when Wieters was summoned from Triple-A Norfolk to make his big league debut. The Orioles have 10 days to trade, release or outright Moeller to Norfolk if the veteran catcher clears waivers.