White Sox

Not right in left Jay Gibbons had a first inning he'd rather forget. Starting in left field against Chicago, he almost robbed Jim Thome of a home run after reaching above the fence, but did not get much lift on his jump. He was booed after committing an error on Jermaine Dye's run-scoring single, and couldn't catch Rob Mackowiak's fly ball near the line, pulling up at the last instant as the ball fell in for a two-run double. Guthrie impostor That had to be somebody else starting for the Orioles last night.

Moves Baseball BRAVES -- Recalled IF Martin Prado from Triple-A Richmond. Placed P Anthony Lerew on 15-day DL. PIRATES -- Optioned 1B-OF Brad Eldred to Triple-A Indianapolis. Activated C Humberto Cota from 15-day DL. Optioned P Marty McLeary to Indianapolis. RANGERS -- Recalled P Wes Littleton from Triple-A Oklahoma. Optioned P John Koronka to Oklahoma. REDS -- Activated P Aaron Harang from bereavement list. Optioned IF Jeff Keppinger to Triple-A Louisville. RED SOX -- Recalled P Kason Gabbard from Triple-A Pawtucket to start yesterday and optioned him back to Pawtucket after game.

Orioles (35-45) @ White Sox (35-43) Day .................. Time ............... TV ....................... Starters Tonight ........... 8:11 ............ MASN2 ............. Erik Bedard (6-4, 3.36) ........................................ ........................................... vs. Mark Buehrle (5-4, 3.33) Tomorrow ....... 8:11 ............ Ch. 13, ................. Daniel Cabrera (6-8, 5.02) .................................................... MASN2 ..................vs. Javier Vazquez (4-5, 3.95)

It was my intention to ride into the non-mathematical midpoint of the 2007 baseball season on a tiny wave of good feeling, based on the more upbeat performance of the Orioles and the organizational changes they've made over the past month. Then I saw the contract extension the Chicago White Sox gave to Mark Buehrle and it put me right back into a fatalistic funk. No disrespect to Buehrle, who is a terrific left-handed pitcher in a sport that puts a premium on that particular demographic.

CHICAGO // His performance had been mostly overshadowed by the emergence of Jeremy Guthrie, but as far as pleasant surprises are concerned, Brian Burres takes a back seat to no one on the Orioles' roster. Without a top prospect's pedigree and a power pitching arm, two things Guthrie boasts, Burres succeeded when injuries gave him an opportunity to prove himself in the Orioles' rotation. But in Burres? last start of the first half, his feel-good story came to a crashing halt. Given an opportunity to secure a rare road series victory and continue the momentum heading into the All-Star break, Burres never gave the Orioles a chance.

Moves Baseball ANGELS -- Optioned P Greg Jones to Triple-A Salt Lake. Recalled P Marc Gwynn from Salt Lake. CARDINALS -- Signed IF Miguel Cairo to minor league contract. DEVIL RAYS -- Placed SS Ben Zobrist on 15-day DL. Recalled IF Joel Guzman from Triple-A Durham. DIAMONDBACKS -- Optioned P Jailen Peguero to Triple-A Tucson. Recalled P Yusmeiro Petit from Tucson. METS -- Placed IF Damion Easley on 15-day DL. PHILLIES -- Recalled P Yoel Hernandez from Triple-A Ottawa. Placed P Mike Zagurski on 15-day DL. ROYALS -- Agreed to terms with SS Mike Moustakas and assigned him to Rookie League Idaho Falls.

Moves Baseball BLUE JAYS -- Named Gary Denbo hitting coach. BREWERS -- Fired third base coach Nick Leyva. GIANTS -- Retained bench coach Ron Wotus, pitching coach Dave Righetti, bullpen coach Mark Gardner and bullpen catcher Bill Hayes. Fired hitting coach Joe Lefebvre and first base coach Willie Upshaw. TIGERS -- Exercised 2008 contract option on C Ivan Rodriguez. WHITE SOX -- Hired Buddy Bell as director of minor league instruction. Basketball 76ERS -- Waived C Shagari Alleyne.

Barry Bonds, Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn might dominate headlines this week, but for the rest of the baseball world it's time to cram for the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. And so far it seems as if no one's even in study hall. One major league general manager called trade talks "oddly quiet," while another said discussion is warming, but few teams are dangling difference-makers. The biggest fish on the hook is Chicago White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye. He's a free agent at season's end and a legitimate power threat despite a subpar first half.

Today's baseball lesson: Be careful when you call a team a budding juggernaut. Case in point: the Chicago White Sox. They cruised to the 2005 World Series title, and then got better. Within weeks, they re-signed first baseman Paul Konerko and traded for slugger Jim Thome and starting pitcher Javier Vazquez. It was a potential dynasty, built by take-no-prisoners general manager Ken Williams and managed deftly by Ozzie Guillen. In less than two years, it's all unraveled. Now, the White Sox are fighting to stay out of last place and might be the biggest sellers at the non-waiver trade deadline.

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- He stands alongside the right-field railing, in front of a surging mass of autograph seekers that holds baseballs, bats and one "Big Hurt" poster. Frank Thomas, the Toronto Blue Jays' most significant offseason acquisition, is chatting up his new fans when one tries to guess his weight at 240 pounds. "Puh-leeze," Thomas says in mock dissatisfaction. "What, 260?" the fan asks. "Try closer to 280," Thomas says as the guy lets out a whistle. "I still work out all the time.

MINNEAPOLIS - -His back still sore, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones was unavailable for Monday night's game against the Minnesota Twins, and it's possible he might not play in the series. "My back hurts, so I've just got to deal with it," said Jones, who had mild mid-back spasms and was pulled from Sunday's 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox before the bottom of the first inning. Jones saw a doctor and received treatment Monday, and he was in no mood to discuss his condition. He did say he felt considerably better and estimated he would be out of the lineup "for a couple of days, probably."

CHICAGO - -They lounged in the visiting clubhouse at U.S. Cellular Field, enjoying an early dinner, listening to loud music and watching highlights from other games on the television. It was a rare experience for these Orioles, and they seemed perfectly content soaking it all in rather than rushing to the team charter and heading to their next destination, another series loss in tow. Their 5-4 victory yesterday over the contending Chicago White Sox, on an afternoon when rookie Jason Berken outpitched Mr. Perfect Game Mark Buehrle, clinched the Orioles' first series victory since the All-Star break and breathed a little life into a season that had been going progressively downhill for quite some time.

CHICAGO - - It is impossible to know how Orioles rookie starter David Hernandez would have reacted had he had a lead to protect after the top of the third inning. Perhaps it just wasn't going to be his night regardless and a couple of runs from his teammates weren't going to settle him down. But there was no disputing the impact the third inning had on Chicago White Sox starter John Danks. The left-hander survived major command issues to get out of a bases-loaded-and-one-out jam, and was a completely different pitcher the rest of the way in the White Sox's 4-1 victory over the Orioles on Saturday night in front of an announced 34,730 at U.S. Cellular Field.

CHICAGO - -On a night when the much-maligned Jeremy Guthrie pitched like the top-of-the-rotation starter that the Orioles hoped that he would be, diminutive second baseman Brian Roberts continued his transformation into the slugger nobody expects him to be. Roberts slammed two home runs off Chicago White Sox starter Gavin Floyd, including a tiebreaking, two-run shot in the eighth inning, as the Orioles prevailed, 5-1, in front of an announced 34,125 on...

Chicago (62-59) has treaded water in the American League Central pennant race, going 17-16 in the second half after a 45-43 first half. But that has been good enough for second place in the division. The White Sox have among the best pitching in the AL, and the Orioles will face three starters this week with double-digit wins and ERAs under 4.00. The offense has been middle of the pack, but it has added two hitters since the clubs last played in July. Carlos Quentin is back in the lineup after dealing with a foot injury, and outfielder Alex Rios was claimed from the Toronto Blue Jays this month.

CHICAGO -- Mark Buehrle raised his arms, grabbed his head and braced himself Thursday for a human pileup along the first base line. Buehrle flawlessly pitched the Chicago White Sox into a share of first place in the American League Central in impeccable style with the 18th perfect game in major league history. As soon as shortstop Alexei Ramirez threw to first baseman Josh Fields to retire Jason Bartlett for the final out, Buehrle completed the latest achievement in his storied career with a 5-0 victory over the defending AL champion Tampa Bay Rays before an announced 28,036 at U.S. Cellular Field.

Chicago - - The Orioles have cleared their position-player logjam by trading infielder Oscar Salazar to the San Diego Padres for right-handed submarine reliever Cla Meredith. Meredith, 26, was 4-2 with a 4.17 ERA in 36 2/3 innings and 35 games for the Padres. He will join the Orioles in New York either Tuesday or Wednesday, said Orioles president Andy MacPhail. "He gets a lot of ground balls, he will be new to our league and that could be beneficial," MacPhail said. "He'll give us a different look in the bullpen."

CHICAGO - -For the past three months, Orioles players and coaches have lauded rookie right-hander Brad Bergesen for his brisk pace on the mound. In the fateful fifth inning of Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox, Bergesen's rapidity got the better of him, and he quickly allowed a shaky situation to mushroom. By the time he walked off the mound, he had surrendered six straight hits and, essentially, had been tagged with his fourth loss of the season. "He works very fast and there are times in the game where you want to slow the tempo of the game down," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said.

CHICAGO - -The Orioles started a fresh half of baseball at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday night, but the same old problems from the past three-plus months followed them. Rookie starter Jason Berken again had to be pulled early, the staff as a whole yielded three homers and the Orioles' offense was potent but failed to take advantage of a few early opportunities in a 12-8 loss to the Chicago White Sox. "Somebody asked me today [before the game] what I thought we really needed to improve on," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said.

Orioles@White Sox 8 p.m. [MASN2] Maybe the White Sox will bring in that rag-armed left-hander we saw on the Busch Stadium mound Tuesday night.