The Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles are “unlikely” to trade Brian Roberts. Roberts was reportedly on the verge of being dealt to the Cubs during spring training, but now looks likely to stick in Baltimore despite the Orioles being 8.5 games out of a playoff spot. At 30 years old Roberts is having the second-best season of his career, hitting .291/.373/.484 with 27 steals in 96 games.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that the Cardinals are interested in George Sherrill. The newspaper adds that Eddie Guardado is another possibility as the Cardinals look to acquire a left-handed setup man. Sherrill has 29 saves for the Orioles after coming over in the Erik Bedard deal.

Frederick Keys starting pitcher Jake Arrieta has been chosen by USA Baseball to play for Team USA in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China in early August.

Luke Scott was named the American League’s Player of the Week for last week’s .538 batting average that included two doubles, three homeruns, six RBI, and four runs scored in four games. He also posted a 1.385 slugging percentage and a .571 on-base percentage.

Due to recurring elbow problems that have kept him sidelined through the bulk of the last two seasons, Adam Loewen has decided to call it quits on his pitching career. He does, however, plan to stay with the organization and pursue earning himself a spot with the club as an outfielder.

The Orioles select Loewen with the 4th overall pick in the 2002 draft after he batted .353 at Chipola Junior College but he hasn’t swung a bat regularly since then. O’s President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail indicated that the 6’-6” lefty will likely begin his journey in the Instructional Leagues somewhere. He also alluded to the potential need for the club and Loewen to come to new contractual agreements based on the re-start of his career.

The situation is similar to that of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel who made the same transition after suffering insurmountable control problems. The Cards hurler last pitched in 2004 and worked his way back through the St. Louis farm system to become one of the club’s best power hitters.

There’s currently no word on exactly where Loewen will begin his journey nor whether any kind of timetable has been established.

With George Sherrill (photo) not up for free agency until 2011 he could be the most coveted closer in the trade market, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports. Sherrill has the least amount of service time of any available closer and lefties are hitting just .163 against him. With the July 31 deadline rapidly approaching, the Baltimore Orioles director of baseball operations Andy MacPhail is said to be quietly gauging Sherrill’s value.

Olney adds that the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Angels and the Boston Red Sox could be in the hunt for Sherrill’s services.

The Orioles settled for a series split with the Tigers– and dropped their 15th straight Sunday game– with a 5-1 loss in the finale. Fresh off an 11-run offensive explosion the previous night, the O’s scratched out one lonely run against dominant Tigers starter Justin Verlander, who came within one out of a complete game. The 2006 American League Rookie of the Year allowed an RBI double to Luke Scott in the second inning and then retired 16 straight before Kevin Millar’s seventh-inning double. His Orioles counterpart Brian Burres (photo, watching Marcus Thames round the bases after a home run) couldn’t keep up, giving up three runs in 5 1/3 innings en route to a Detroit win.

Adam Jones was scratched from Sunday’s lineup after tweaking an ankle during Saturday’s game.

And what’s with the batting practice jerseys? Trying to change the Sunday luck?

On an crazy night at Camden Yards, the Orioles capped an incredible comeback against the Tigers with a walkoff win, 11-10, in 10 innings. Luke Scott’s Eutaw Street blast in extras put the euphoric finishing touch on a night of improbable Birds come-from-behind rallies. Scott delivered a walkoff homer off Freddy Dolsi. The Tigers scored six in the first, but the Orioles responded with a six spot of their own in the third inning. Things calmed down for a while with the Tigers up 10-9 after six, but Ramon Hernandez hit a game-tying homer in the ninth and Scott won it in the 10th. With the way Scott pretended to use his helmet as a bowling ball down the third-base line and then slid into home plate after his game-ending blast, we naturally assumed it was the first homer of his career. However, it turns out that he had two just last night.

O’s Notes: Orioles acquired infielder Juan Castro from the Rockies for infielder Mike McCoy. Castro still has a nice defensive reputation at age 36, though whether he’s actually more than an average major league shortstop at this point is in doubt. The Orioles are bringing him back to the majors and will probably give him a lot of playing time. ZZzzzz…

The Orioles kicked off the second half of 2008 with another one-run loss, falling to the Detroit Tigers by a 6-5 score. In a game full of missed opportunities, the O’s squandered many of their 14 hits with a series of costly baserunning blunders and stranded nine men on base. Garrett Olson saw an otherwise decent six-inning performance spoiled by a pair of two-run homers, including a Brandon Inge go-ahead shot in the 6th. With the loss, the O’s fall to a season-worst four games under .500. Melvin Mora homered for the Orioles.

Olson took a loss Thursday after surrendering five runs in six innings against the Tigers. Olson has struggled in three straight outings, leaving him 6-5 with a 5.79 ERA. The Orioles have no superior alternatives, so it makes sense for them to stick with the 24-year-old. Still, they might make a change anyway if he can’t bounce back against the Jays next week. He’s 0-2 with a 17.05 ERA in two career starts against Toronto.