Stolen Bases

Except for the hamstring that won't unwind, Eric Davis feels pretty good for a guy only recently back from the career-dead.The time has passed when the Orioles right fielder was ranked as the game's greatest "tool player," but he is still capable enough to be named American League Player of the Week and still intimidating enough to transform a lineup when his body allows.He's a little heavier, maybe, but still possesses one of baseball's most chiseled physiques and one of its quickest sets of hands.

When Orioles catcher Matt Wieters threw out Tampa Bay's speedy center fielder Desmond Jennings trying to steal second base in the ninth inning Thursday night, it wasn't just an important play in a game the Orioles eventually won in 10 innings. It served as further example that Wieters - and, really, the entire defense - has shut down the opposition's running game so far in 2013. How good has Wieters and company been? They have thrown out eight of 10 would-be base stealers this year - an 80 percent mark that is by far the best in the majors.

This will not be remembered as the year of the stolen base -- especially for the New York Yankees, who will finish with the fewest in the majors for the second time in club history. Excluding expansion teams for the moment, the projected major-league total entering this week is 3,082 stolen bases. That would be the lowest since 1984.In the National League, there were 1,397 steals in 1,797 games. That's a projected total of 1,763, or 1,510 without Colorado and Florida. That decline would continue a four-year slide, which can be traced to such factors as the gradual base-running deterioration in St. Louis, to Vince Coleman's gradual disappearance, and, this season, to bigger power numbers that make managers less apt to take a bat out of someone's hands.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- As the visiting clubhouse at Tropicana Field cleared out and the Orioles packed up for their flight back home to Baltimore, second baseman Brian Roberts slowly limped to his locker, visibly downtrodden. Roberts had just been carried off the field after injuring his right hamstring while stealing second base in the ninth inning of the Orioles' 6-3 win Thursday over the Tampa Bay Rays. Roberts, who was looking forward to playing in his first home opener since 2011, now appears to be out indefinitely.

Using a combination of inside and outside baseball, the Chicago White Sox ran to six early runs against Bob Milacki en route to an 8-4 victory over the Orioles last night before 45,451 at Camden Yards.The big blow against Milacki (5-6) was a two-run homer by Dan Pasqua in the third inning, but it was a combination of singles and stolen bases that caused most of his problems. Four of the White Sox's five stolen bases came while the right-hander was pitching and were instrumental in all of the scoring in the first three innings.

The numbers 0 Times Travis Driskill had been to New York before his win Wednesday. 8 Wins for Orioles in 15-game stretch against 2001 playoff teams. 6 Stolen bases by Jerry Hairston in 37 games. 6 Stolen bases for Brian Roberts in 13 games. 2 2/3 Scoreless innings by Jorge Julio against Yankees this past week.

LONDON, Ontario -- Tim Holland's three-run home run in the sixth inning gave Hagerstown a four-run lead, and the Suns went on to defeat the London Tigers, 5-1, last night in a Class AA Eastern League game.Rodney Lofton had two hits and two stolen bases. He has 40 stolen bases this season, breaking the Suns' record of 38, set last year by Luis Mercedes. He also leads the league in stolen bases.

BATTING LINE OF THE DAY Chase Utley, Phillies 2B AB R H RBI BB 1 2 1 2 3 PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY Matt Guerrier, Twins IP H R BB SO 1/3 4 6 2 0 WHO'S HOT Willy Taveras of the Astros had two hits and two stolen bases and leads all major league rookies with 140 hits and 31 stolen bases. WHO'S NOT The Rangers are 1-11 on a 13-game trip, the first time in franchise history they have lost more than 10 times on any trip.

A comparison of Nick Markakis and Adam Jones through 38 games in their first seasons as Orioles. Markakis was a true rookie in 2006, while Jones played 73 games with the Seattle Mariners over the previous two seasons. Markakis Jones Age 22 22 Batting avg. .221 .223 Home runs 2 2 RBIs 8 11 Walks 10 7 Strikeouts 18 31 Stolen bases 0 3 On-base pct. .296 .271 Slugging pct. .327 .362

TORONTO -- Like a repentant student, Pat Borders reported to SkyDome this morning for more throwing practice. The lesson will be more pleasant this time.Borders, Toronto's beleaguered catcher, made his best throw of the postseason last night. He caught Atlanta's Brian Hunter at second base in the ninth inning of the Blue Jays' 3-2 victory in the third game of the World Series at SkyDome."It felt great to throw anybody out at any time," Borders said. "But that was probably the best time to do it."

Jacoby Ellsbury is emerging as a potential speed-power player like Red Sox teammate Carl Crawford. He has 20-homer potential and entered Saturday leading the majors with 18 stolen bases. The best news for the Red Sox is he had played every game, quieting concerns about his durability. … Despite a vow of support from owner Lew Wolff, A's manager Bob Geren is in real trouble. His biggest concern is that his punchless team continues to tread water with a pitching staff built to win, but it doesn't help that he had to put down a player revolt last week.

The Maryland baseball team set an Atlantic Coast Conference record by stealing eight bases in its 10-3 victory over visiting Hofstra on Saturday in College Park. The Terps constantly put runners in motion with steals and hit-and-runs and took advantage of those opportunities, going 8-for-21 (.381) as a team with runners on base. David Poutier had a career-high three stolen bases and Matthew Murakami added two. The previous ACC single-game record was five stolen bases. Matt Marquis ' three-run home run in the third inning gave Maryland a 4-0 lead and the Terps never looked back.

Joe Mahoney's statistics might be the most befuddling in all of professional baseball. Mahoney, the 22-year-old starting first baseman at Single-A Delmarva, is 6 feet 7 and 235 pounds. He has one homer in almost 200 at-bats this season. And he has 18 stolen bases in 18 attempts. The largest position player in the Orioles organization is tied for its stolen-base lead. No other South Atlantic League player has more than 10 stolen bases without having been thrown out at least once. "I thought I signed [Seattle Mariners slugger]

A comparison of Nick Markakis and Adam Jones through 38 games in their first seasons as Orioles. Markakis was a true rookie in 2006, while Jones played 73 games with the Seattle Mariners over the previous two seasons. Markakis Jones Age 22 22 Batting avg. .221 .223 Home runs 2 2 RBIs 8 11 Walks 10 7 Strikeouts 18 31 Stolen bases 0 3 On-base pct. .296 .271 Slugging pct. .327 .362

BATTING LINE OF THE DAY Chase Utley, Phillies 2B AB R H RBI BB 1 2 1 2 3 PITCHING LINE OF THE DAY Matt Guerrier, Twins IP H R BB SO 1/3 4 6 2 0 WHO'S HOT Willy Taveras of the Astros had two hits and two stolen bases and leads all major league rookies with 140 hits and 31 stolen bases. WHO'S NOT The Rangers are 1-11 on a 13-game trip, the first time in franchise history they have lost more than 10 times on any trip.

CHICAGO - The scouts who followed Brian Roberts at the University of South Carolina in 1999 saw one of the nation's best hitters and base stealers, a college coach's son with a well-rounded game and definite big league potential. Of course, they also noted Roberts' small size - he's listed generously in the Baseball Register at 5 feet 9 - and most teams passed on him in the June amateur draft before the Orioles grabbed him with the 50th overall pick. Even as Roberts climbed through the minors, other teams remained skeptical.

0 Games missed by B.J. Surhoff and Rafael Palmeiro0 Rainouts, brownouts, snowouts, blowouts and other postponements..063 Brady Anderson's batting average through May 11..250 Starting pitchers' win percentage (6-18) after Aug. 22..323 Orioles' winning percentage (10-21) after Ray Miller conducted a volatile clubhouse meeting Aug. 26 in Chicago.2 Chris Hoiles' grand slam count on Aug. 14 against the Cleveland Indians.3 Combined wins from Norm Charlton, Terry Mathews, Nerio Rodriguez, Radhames Dykhoff, Richie Lewis, Joel Bennett, Bobby Munoz7 First-batter home runs surrendered by Armando Benitez.

COACH OF THE YEAR* Mike Ennis, Bel Air -- Bel Air lost some games early, but won seven in a row later, and took the county title with an 8-1 record. At the beginning, the players, for the most part were raw and untested, but by the end of the season, three sophomores and three juniors were doing most of the damage. Down the stretch, there was a lot of coaching done, as the team rallied in late innings to get by a succession of teams, including two in extra innings.PLAYER OF THE YEAR* Chris James, Edgewood, Sr., pitcher -- He merited the honor for his work this season as a pitcher and a shortstop, capping an outstanding three-year career that earned him a scholarship to Liberty University.

Jerry Hairston isn't ready to concede anything yet. It has been more than 11 months since he held a steady place in the Orioles' starting lineup, and while Hairston has been out, Brian Roberts has made his own case to be the team's regular second baseman and leadoff hitter. But with his broken right ring finger now healed, Hairston will resume game activity Thursday at the team's extended spring training facility in Sarasota, Fla., and he hopes to return to the active roster within 10 days.

It's not often that a player receives a game ball from an opposing coach. That happened to Chapelgate's Brian Moran yesterday after he no-hit host Pallotti, 10-0. "Brian pitched a great game and had everything working today, and it couldn't happen to a nicer kid," said Pallotti coach Pat Courtemanche. "It's the first time we've been no-hit in the three years I've been coaching the team." Defending Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association B Conference champion Chapelgate is now 3-1 overall, 2-0 in the league.