Orioles Manager

Steve Pearce has a wish for his old Orioles teammates. "Hopefully, they can win the [American League] wild card," said Pearce, whom the Orioles waived in July and is now with the New York Yankees. "I really tried not to look back and think about that. [Baltimore] was a great experience, great team, great coaches. But baseball had different plans for me. I'm with the Yankees now, and that's where my focus is. I wish those guys the best of luck, but not against us. " The 29-year-old Pearce has had an incredibly busy and bizarre 2012 season.

The Orioles sent a powerful message - literally and figuratively - to the Yankeesin their thrilling 10-6 win at Camden Yardslast night. Mixed in with the usual smells of sweat, sunflower seeds and bubble-gum in the Orioles' dugout was the overpowering scent of testosterone. A six-home-run barrage - the most homers by the O's in a game in over five years  - left Yankees pitchers muttering to themselves. And three blasts in the eighth inning by Adam Jones, sizzling Mark Reynolds and Chris Davis - the last on a swing  so relaxed I thought he was falling asleep - sent the sellout crowd into a delirious celebration.

Jake Arrieta said it really hit him after a terrible outing against Triple-A Gwinnett on Aug. 7, in which he allowed five earned runs and lasted just 3 2/3 innings. Arrieta stewed on Norfolk's bus ride that night - "I had a long internal conversation with myself" - and then he picked up the phone the next morning and called sports psychologist Don Carman , who spent 10 years in the majors as a pitcher. They had worked together a few years ago, and Arrieta, the Orioles' 2012 Opening Day starter who had compiled a 6.13 ERA in 18 starts this year before his demotion, felt he needed Carman's perspective.

Buck Showalter means business. As manager of the Orioles, Showalter has brought a shot of mojo to a moribund baseball team, thanks in no small part to his grim determination to win. In photos, his facial expressions usually range from "quasi-stern" to "full-on scowl. " But Showalter, 56, does have a soft side for Sader, Webster, Jasper and Opie - four floppy-eared basset hounds he and his wife, Angela, shuttle between their countryside home in northern Baltimore County and their off-season house in Texas.

The Orioles added another left-handed reliever to their bullpen Monday, selecting the contract of Zach Phillips from Triple-A Norfolk before Monday's series opener in Toronto. Phillips was told before Sunday's Tides game that he was being recalled and arrived in Toronto on Sunday night. "I really didn't think about it," Phillips said. "If it was going to happen, it was going to happen. I can't control the outcome, but I'm just happy to be here. " To make room for Phillips, the Orioles designated Norfolk right-hander Jason Berken for assignment.

Somehow, Buck Showalter had steered the conversation to roller coasters. "I got enough things to be scared of in my life," the Orioles manager said dismissively of the death-defying rides. "We got one-run games. I get on the roller coaster every night, and they don't put the bar down. " Showalter was having a little fun with the writers who cover his team, but his metaphor for the 2012 season wasn't far off. The Orioles, underestimated by everyone from national commentators to their own die-hard fans, have performed magnificently in the tight games that churn managers' stomachs.

The Orioles haven't made it known whether top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy will join the big league team once rosters expand on Saturday -- and the organization's moves with the 19-year-old right-hander this season have set the stage for a late-season call-up -- but manager Buck Showalter's words Wednesday indicated otherwise. Before Wednesday's game against the Chicago White Sox, Showalter indicated that Bundy will remain with Double-A Bowie through their likely postseason run and then participate in the instructional league in Sarasota.

The Orioles spent 7 1/2 innings nearly giving away a game they couldn't afford to lose against the sizzling Chicago White Sox on Monday night at Camden Yards. But in leading this team past the misery of 14 straight losing seasons, Orioles manager Buck Showalter has refused to look back, whether it's back to years of mediocrity or the last inning. And on Monday, the Orioles overcame their early-inning failures with another comeback win, this one coming on Nate McLouth's two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth that propelled the Orioles to a 4-3 win over the American League Central-leading White Sox, snapping Chicago's six-game winning streak.

Et cetera Hutsell tied for lead at MAPGA Pro tourney David Hutsell , PGA director of instruction at The Elkridge Club, and Chip Sullivan of Troutville, Va., are tied for the lead at 6-under-par 137 in the Middle Atlantic PGA Professional Championship at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va. Wayne DeFrancesco of Columbia is at 4-under. The field of 162 slims down to 70 for today's final round on the River course. The top 11 players and three exempt players - including Hutsell and DeFrancesco - will advance to play in the PGA Professional National Championship in June at Sunriver (Ore.)

The Orioles are considering moving left-handed starter Brian Matsuz - who was sent down to Triple-A Norfolk earlier this month - to the Tides' bullpen after lefty reliever Troy Patton landed on the disabled list Tuesday with a sprained right ankle. The front office had been considering the switch for several days, but Patton's injury made the need for a left-hander who is capable of throwing multiple innings out of the bullpen more pressing. "It's something Brian has talked about before as something he would welcome if it would help us and also help him get back up to the big leagues," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.