Pre-game Showalter

Manager Buck Showalter talked about the Orioles' ability to overcome adversity, and whether he's looking for a certain mindset from his players.

"Even an umpire's call. There are so many opportunities in baseball to make something not matter," he said. "It's kind of a team thing. If one guy struggles, can you pick him up? It's a pass-the-baton mentality. OK, let's turn the page on that. We'll identify why it happened and correct it, but you can't cry over spilled milk. You just move on. And I was doubly frustrated when I got back to the dugout and realized how safe Felix (Pie) was. We had an out at third and we had an out at first, too, on another play, but we made it not matter.

"A certain situation comes up and you're frustrated, don't let it snowball. You've got to keep the snowball from happening in the major leagues. You play so many games and you've got to always stop that snowball and get it moving in the other direction and make sure it doesn't run over you.

"Your attitude should never go in a slump. Your effort should never go in a slump. There are certain absolutes that you control. You can't let another team control it. I said last night, you want to be proactive instead of reactive. Make them react to something you're doing."

Showalter and former Jets and Chiefs coach Herm Edwards used to debate baseball vs. football while working together at ESPN.

"It was fun. He gets loud and he's got some passion about it," Showalter said. "There's so much difference in the two games. I told him, 'I couldn't imagine, you guys have a terrible game and you sit around for a week or maybe two. How do you do that?' He said, 'I don't know. It ain't easy. It ain't fun.'

"I asked him which sport he wants his son to play. I said, 'Man, you've got mics in your helmets. I'd love to have a mic in a pitcher's helmet. 'Don't throw the slider here.' Or, 'He's getting ready to throw a changeup. Sit back.' I don't think Bud (Selig's) going to go along with that one."

Showalter also said the bullpen is the most difficult area for him to project for next season.

"Contractually, you know there's a lot of flexibility there, in what directions we go," he said.

Another Showalter line: "Newsflash: It plays pretty short in left-center here. I got that now."

More ratings: In the coveted 10 p.m. to 11 p.m slot last night, the Orioles-Mariners game on MASN was the highest-rated program in the Baltimore media market. The 6.4 HH rating beat out Dateline, CSI: Miami and every other broadcast.

For the evening, the Orioles-Mariners game generated a 4.7 HH rating - and 51,000 households - which is the team's average rating under Showalter. This rating is 42 percent higher than the club's season average before Showalter took over.

Minor league note: Left-hander Mike Hinckley has been activated from Triple-A Norfolk's disabled list and will start tonight against Gwinnett. He must be taking Rick VandenHurk's spot in the rotation.

Here's the Mariners lineup:
Ichiro RF
Figgins 2B
Branyan DH
Lopez 3B
Gutierrez CF
Kotchman 1B
Moore C
Langerhans LF
Wilson SS

French LHP

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