Tillman

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -The Orioles' top three pitching prospects were among 12 players sent to minor league camp yesterday in the first cuts of spring. Chris Tillman, Brian Matusz and Jake Arrieta, potentially the strongest trio of pitchers the organization has had in decades, impressed during their short story here. "I've been watching pitchers for a long time," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said, "and I would say those three guys are as good as I have seen at any one time coming up through somebody's system."

At the beginning of Mass, the Rev. Richard Tillman usually welcomes the congregation of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church of Columbia, talks about the Scripture reading for the day and makes one of the corny jokes for which he has become well-known. He also asks if anyone is visiting from outside the parish so he can personally welcome them. "I think that is a really nice touch," said Anne Brusca, a former president of the parish council. Tillman's congregants say that welcoming touch along with his approachability and his respect for people of all faiths have been hallmarks of his 30 years in Columbia.

The owners of one of Baltimore's most successful bail bond companies were acquitted yesterday of perjury and obstruction of justice charges. Milton Tillman Jr.; his son, Milton Tillman III; and Bernard Dixon were accused of conspiring to use the same properties to post bonds for multiple defendants. The Tillmans run 4 Aces Bail Bonds in East Baltimore, and Dixon is one of the state-licensed bondsmen they employ. Their two-week Baltimore Circuit Court trial, which included thousands of documents and days of technical testimony about how bail bonds work, spotlighted an industry that some are hoping to reform.

On July 31, 2007 ROSALIE TILLMAN. Friends may call at the family owned and operated Howell Funeral Home on Thursday, August 9 from 1-7 p.m., 4600 Liberty Heights Avenue. Funeral service to be held on Friday, August 10 at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 903 W. Mulberry Street, 10:30 viewing, 11:00 service. Interment Mt. Zion Cemetery.

An infant girl was injured yesterday in a two-alarm fire in her West Baltimore home, and a police officer suffered smoke inhalation while rescuing an elderly woman from an adjacent dwelling.Chanya Tillman, 7 months, of the 800 block of Edmondson Ave. also suffered smoke inhalation and was in critical condition in the pediatric intensive care unit at University of Maryland Medical Center, said a spokeswoman.Officer Lawrence Armwood of the Western District was in serious condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, said Sgt. Scott Rowe, a police spokesman.

Charles Edward McCarthy, 62, electricianCharles Edward McCarthy, a former electrician, died of a heart attack Aug. 4 at Franklin Square Hospital Center. He was 62 and lived in Fullerton.In 1973, he fell from a ladder and severely injured an arm, forcing him to retire. He began working in his 20s, first for Baltimore County government and then for area electrical contractors.Mr. McCarthy was born in Hampden and attended public schools in the North Baltimore neighborhood.He enjoyed spending time with friends and working around the house, said his wife, the former Catherine M. Gill, whom he married in 1957.

Edwin Eugene Tillman Sr., 88, accountant, singerEdwin Eugene "Gene" Tillman Sr., a retired accountant who sang in amateur theatrical productions, died Saturday of kidney failure at St. Agnes HealthCare. He was 88.Mr. Tillman had lived at Charlestown Retirement Community since 1987 and had resided in Anneslie for more than 40 years.He was an accountant with Lever Brothers in Dundalk from 1941 to 1973 and, earlier, had been with Safe Deposit & Trust Co. in Baltimore.Mr. Tillman, who graduated from Loyola High School in 1928, became interested in singing as a youth growing up on East 20th Street.

On the Internet, as Martha and the Vandellas would say, you have "nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide."Just ask Norma Mott Tillman, author of "How to Find Almost Anyone, Anywhere" (Rutledge Hill Press, $14.95). A private investigator for more than a decade, Tillman thinks the Internet is the world's greatest tool for locating anyone in the United States.As a gumshoe, Tillman has an enviable record. Over the years, the resident of Nashville, Tenn., has located more than 1,000 missing persons by conventional methods: poring over courthouse records, knocking on doors, wearing out shoe leather.

It was a bad day for Milton Tillman.Fresh from serving a two-year sentence for trying to bribe a Baltimore zoning officer, the one-time owner of a popular nightspot was back in federal court yesterday, this time to find out how long he would spend behind bars for his convictions in a sweeping tax-fraud case.His attorneys said Tillman learned his lesson. They said he should get credit for the time he already served. They said he didn't lie to his probation officer about a criminal conviction; a lie could increase his time in federal prison.

Fifteen years ago, schoolteacher Marie Tillman walked into Baltimore's brand-spanking-new National Aquarium and offered her services as a volunteer. She's still volunteering."

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman pitched to catcher Matt Wieters during the 2008 season at Double-A Bowie. He threw to him again this season at Triple-A Norfolk. And when Tillman debuted for the Orioles in July, Wieters, the franchise's most hyped phenom in two decades, had already been in the major leagues for two months. Yet, the quiet Wieters who Tillman knew so well in the minors dissipated with each big league game, replaced by a more confident, more vocal force behind the plate.

CLEVELAND -- It was the worst possible way for Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman to close out an otherwise encouraging 2009 season. The rookie right-hander was rocked for six runs and six hits in just two innings in the Orioles' 9-0 loss Sunday to the Cleveland Indians, who completed a three-game sweep at Progressive Field. While Orioles manager Dave Trembley wouldn't say it officially, the team will shut down the 21-year-old and allow somebody else, likely Chris Waters, to make Tillman's final scheduled start.

TORONTO - -One thing that has distinguished rookie phenom Chris Tillman from other heralded young Orioles pitchers in the past is that he generally throws strikes. He hadn't walked more than three batters in any of his first 10 big league starts. On Monday, in a 9-2 beating by the Toronto Blue Jays, the Orioles' fifth straight defeat, Tillman again walked only three. But they were issued consecutively in Toronto's three-run third, the turning point in what later became a blowout courtesy of the Orioles' bullpen.

Brian Matusz's first pro season has officially come to an end, stopping after the best start of his big league career. Orioles manager Dave Trembley, pitching coach Rick Kranitz and Andy MacPhail, club president of baseball operations, met with the 22-year-old left-hander Monday and informed him he had reached his innings maximum for 2009. Matusz, the club's top pick in last year's draft, threw 157 2/3 innings this season, including 44 2/3 in eight big league starts since his recall in August.

Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora has come to the mound on numerous occasions during Chris Tillman's first eight starts. Matt Wieters, or whoever was catching Tillman that day, has also been a frequent visitor. But with the rookie right-hander in a tough spot Saturday against the Texas Rangers, Tillman turned and saw second baseman Brian Roberts approaching the mound. "He said, 'Hey, I think they have your signs. You may want to switch them up,' "Tillman recalled. "He thought the runners at second base were relaying the signs to hitters.

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."

MINNEAPOLIS - -After five shutout innings on Monday, Chris Tillman suddenly got stuck, a term Orioles manager Dave Trembley uses often when one of his young pitchers gets into a situation that he can't escape. The ground balls that Tillman had gotten earlier in the game, leading to three double plays, had turned into a couple of line-drive hits. His command was starting to waver, evidenced by the changeup that bounced well before the plate and then past catcher Matt Wieters, allowing Alexi Casilla to score from third for the game-tying run. The Minnesota Twins' two-run sixth marred what was shaping up to be the best start of Tillman's nascent career.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - -After watching for more than a decade as their starting pitchers fall behind hitters game after game, year after year, the Orioles have stressed to their new crop of talented young arms the importance of throwing strikes. Rookie Chris Tillman, who may have the highest upside of the group, is listening. But his yearning to get ahead in the count has had one considerable drawback: In his five big league starts, five of his first-pitch strikes have quickly left the ballpark, including three Wednesday night at Tropicana Field in a 3-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Chris Tillman's night began with a torrential downpour that delayed his first major league pitch, and it ended with a standing ovation from the Camden Yards crowd. The reason for the reception was more about what Tillman might bring to the Orioles in the future and not what he was able to deliver Wednesday night. Tillman, the 21-year-old right-hander, got a rocky introduction to the major leagues, alllowing three solo homers and lasting just 4 2/3 innings against the Kansas City Royals.

If you're an Orioles fan who has stood fast with Andy MacPhail's rebuilding program for the past 26 months, it's OK to be a little scared right now. It's all right to wonder whether all the dominoes are going to fall in the right direction. I'm wondering that. You're wondering that. Trust me, MacPhail is wondering right along with us. Rebuilding, as you've seen over the past few months, is not a perfect science. It's mostly about good long-range planning and development, but it's also part crapshoot and - yes - even a little bit of blind faith.