Orioles Team Report Apr 22, 2008

As the Orioles traveled Monday to Seattle, where they begin a three-game series Tuesday, two players on the long flight had to be wondering how they would be greeted.

George Sherrill, the Orioles’ closer, and Adam Jones, the rookie center fielder, both were members of the Mariners’ organization until they were traded to the Orioles during the off-season. They are mildly concerned about their return to the Great Northwest.

“I’m just waiting to see how I get received. Usually, they’re pretty good about it unless you choose to leave them,” Sherrill said. “It’s going to be good to see the city, the stadium and everything.”

Sherrill realizes that his former teammates’ familiarity with him could work against him.

“They know everything about you. They’ve (gotten) to see what you’ve got up close and personal for a few years. You’ve just got to still make your pitches and hope they don’t know too much.”

Jones was not as worried about the Mariners players, but he had hopes that the Seattle fans wouldn’t hold the trade against him.

“I hope they cheer, but if they don’t… I’m on the opposite team now. It doesn’t matter,” the young outfielder said.

Notes, Quotes

• RHP Jeremy Guthrie, scheduled to pitch Tuesday at Seattle, was 1-1 against the Mariners in 2007. He allowed 14 hits in 10 innings but was charged with only three earned runs.

• DH Aubrey Huff is one of the Orioles who have been slumping recently. He is 6-for-36 (.167) in his last 10 games and has not hit a home run since getting his second of the season April 7.

• 1B Kevin Millar takes a five-game hitting streak into the series in Seattle. During the streak he is 6-for-19 (.316) with five runs scored.

• UT Brandon Fahey got two hits—his second and third of the season—and his first RBI on Saturday to boost his average to .176. He is the only Oriole with an at-bat who has not scored a run.

• LHP George Sherrill, who turned 31 on Saturday, is returning to Seattle for the first time since being traded to the Orioles after four years in the Mariners’ organization. Used mostly as a set-up man in Seattle, he is among the AL leaders with six saves in his role of closer in Baltimore.

By The Numbers: 3—Pinch-hit singles in three consecutive games put Jay Payton in the spotlight in Baltimore. Payton ran his hitting streak to four games when he broke up Andy Pettitte’s no-hitter with a fifth-inning, broken bat, infield single on Sunday

Quote To Note: “I’m kind of surprised that we’ve surprised some people, to be honest with you. The wins make it easier to sell that, not to the players, but to the people that are watching, the people that love and care about the Orioles.”—Manager Dave Trembley reflecting on the Orioles’ early-season success.