It's down in the story

Larry Stone has a piece in the Seattle Times today. The main part is how the M's could do what the Rockies did last year.

The Colorado Rockies last year become the latest team to escape a dreaded club, which is now down to just four members.

The Rays. The Rangers. The Expos/Nationals. And the Mariners.

Those, of course, are the only teams in baseball that have never been to the World Series.

Last March, the Rockies had little clue that, in seven months, they would join the Diamondbacks, Angels and Astros — three teams that went to their first World Series in the 2000s.

Farther down in the story is the part on an ex-Rattler:

Asked early in Baltimore camp about Chris Tillman, one of the touted pitchers acquired from Seattle in the Bedard trade, Trembley said, "Mr. MacPhail [Orioles president Andy MacPhail] has kiddingly told everybody, 'I'd better hurry up and get him out of here before all the pitching coaches decide to keep him here.'

"He's a guy who makes it look very easy, with his size and his mechanics on the mound. He looks like he's been here before."

Tillman, 19, made it into two spring games (two innings, three hits, one earned run) before being reassigned to minor-league camp last week. He's likely to start the year at Class AA.

The Class AA team for the O's is the Bowie Baysox of the Eastern League.