By Marc Carig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 30, 2008

NEW YORK, July 29 -- Barring a massive shift in the market, or an 11th-hour trade proposal that wows President Andy MacPhail, the Baltimore Orioles will likely allow the non-waiver trade deadline to pass without making a deal.

"We don't have anything that I think would be close," MacPhail said. "You never know, but at the present time, it doesn't appear that anything is on the horizon."

In the weeks leading up to the July 31 deadline, internal discussions focused on whether the organization intended to buy or sell. Recent inactivity suggests the Orioles will do neither.

MacPhail traded stars Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard in the offseason, signaling the start of a rebuilding project, and it was expected that the Orioles could use the trade deadline to continue stockpiling prospects. Closer George Sherrill, designated hitter Aubrey Huff and second baseman Brian Roberts were all regarded as possible trade chips.

But a trade proposal has yet to pique MacPhail's interest.

"I'm not terribly surprised by it," he said. "You never know. Other moves in other places sometimes impact what might happen somewhere else, but I'm not terribly surprised by it."

Brian Burres said Tuesday that he will try to take a positive approach with his recent demotion from starter to long reliever.

"He's going to pitch out of the bullpen basically to get some success and get some confidence back," Manager Dave Trembley said.

Said Burres: "If you're a little off, next time you can go and fix it. I'm trying to look at it as positive as I can and I'll be able to work on some stuff a little more often."

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