The Baltimore Orioles have traded shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros for outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate, and third baseman Michael Costanzo.
Headed to Houston
Tejada is coming off a .296/.357/.442 campaign, which is low by his standards but still pretty darned good. The downside is that he turns 32 in May and, thanks to that whole consecutive-games streak thing, has a lot of wear-and-tear on his 5′10″, 170-lb frame. Also, the Astros have an otherworldly defender at short in Adam Everett, so if Tejada moves to third base, how will that affect his value? …read more

With just one previous big-league start under his belt, Boston Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz no-hit the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night at Fenway. If I’m not mistaken, Wilson Alvarez was the last pitcher to throw a no-no in his second career start — on August 11, 1991, against — you guessed it, the Orioles.
Whatever the case, congrats to Buchholz…

The Chicago Cubs have acquired right-hander Steve Trachsel from the Baltimore Orioles for minor-league third baseman Scott Moore and minor-league right-hander Rocky Cherry. Trachsel, who began his career with the Cubs in 1993, made 25 starts for the O’s this year, going 6-8, with a 4.43 ERA. Perhaps more interestingly, since 1960, only two pitchers in baseball have posted worse K/BB ratios (in 140+ IP) than what Trachsel is doing right now:
Jerry Walker, 1961, 168 IP, 96 BB, 56 SO
Tim Leary, 1992: 141 IP, 87 BB, 46, SO
Trachsel, 2007: 140.2 IP, 69 BB, 45 SO
Pretty exclusive company…

Bad timing, eh? On the same day that the Baltimore Orioles reward manager Dave Trembley with a contract extension, his team gets beat, 30-3, by the Texas Rangers. That would be an American League record for runs in a game.
Every starter in the Texas lineup had at least two hits and one run. Rookie Travis Metcalf, who entered in the seventh inning, hit a grand slam and walked in his two trips to the plate.
The #8 and #9 hitters (Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ramon Vazquez) combined for eight hits, nine runs, four homers, and 14 RBI. That is just goofy.
The punch …read more

ESPN reports that the Baltimore Orioles are bringing back Dave Trembley as manager in 2008. Trembley had been a minor-league manager in the organization for the past four years before signing on as bullpen coach for the big club this season.
The Orioles have played well under Trembley, and it’s great to see a “lifer” rewarded for his efforts. There are far sexier names available right now, but none have enjoyed the success that Trembley has since taking over for Sam Perlozzo in mid-June. Congrats to Trembley and best of luck to him in what will continue to be a challenging …read more

Baltimore Orioles right-hander Jaret Wright has been placed on the disabled list due to “right shoulder stiffness.” First Octavio Dotel, then Eric Gagne, now Wright? I guess you just never know who injuries will strike. Where’s Keith Foulke again?