Sure, the O's were getting back five players for the price of one -- but they were giving up their ace, a guy who had gone 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA in 2007 and broken the franchise record for strikeouts in a season with 221.

And who the heck were these new guys anyway? Who'd ever heard of outfielder Adam Jones or reliever George Sherrill or any of those three Minor League pitchers they were getting? Bah, humbug.

Well, right now the only ones who may be saying "bah humbug" are Mariners fans (and media) who have watched Bedard break down after 15 games and land on the disabled list.

Jones and Sherrill alone would have made the trade look pretty bad for Seattle, even with both currently on the DL themselves. Jones was hitting .279 with seven homers and 50 RBIs for the Orioles in 108 games and quickly became a fan favorite in Baltimore before a fractured left foot shelved him on Aug. 5 (retroactive to Aug. 3), while Sherrill already had 31 saves and made the American League All-Star team before landing on the DL on Aug. 19 (retroactive to Aug. 16) with a sore left shoulder.

Throw in the fact that arguably the top prospect of the Minor League trio, 2006 supplemental first-rounder Chris Tillman, has a 9-4 record and 3.32 ERA at Double-A Bowie and you have a great deal right there.

But perhaps the most unheralded of the quintet has beaten Tillman to the bigs as the Orioles summoned 6-foot-9 flamethrowing right-hander Kam Mickolio to the Majors on Aug. 19 to replace the injured Sherrill in the bullpen.

When Mickolio took the mound in the eighth inning of the club's 11-6 win the next night over the Red Sox, allowing one run on three hits in one inning while striking out two, he became the first product of Utah Valley State College to make the Majors.

The 18th-round Draft pick in 2006 was a work-in-progress at the time, a long-limbed hulk who threw gas, but was raw with a high upside.

That summer, Mickolio posted a 2.78 ERA in 21 games at short-season Everett before moving up to put up a 1.82 ERA in 18 games at Double-A West Tenn and then a 3.75 in 14 games at Triple-A Tacoma last summer prior the deal.

This year with the Orioles, Mickolio fanned 55 in 53 2/3 innings between Double-A Bowie, where he started the summer, and Triple-A Norfolk where he finished it prior to his callup, limiting hitters to a .219 average. He had a 1.50 ERA in 15 games for the Tides.

A native of Wolf Point, Montana, Mickolio throws a lively fastball that gets up into the upper 90s.

Erik who?

Marco Estrada, RHP, Washington Nationals

CALLED UP: Contract purchased from Triple-A Columbus Aug. 19 to replace traded RHP Luis Ayala on the active roster.

DEBUT: Aug. 20, in a 4-0 loss to Philadelphia. The second of two pitchers, Estrada struck out two and allowed two hits in two shutout innings.

NOTES: Estrada's debut was one of the few bright spots as the Nationals' losing streak ran to 12 games. The sixth-round Draft pick in 2005 out of Long Beach State, he started the year at Double-A Harrisburg, where he posted a 2.66 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings before moving up to Columbus. A starter in the Minors, Estrada joins the bullpen for now, but his eventual role could go either way.

Matt Palmer, RHP, San Francisco Giants

CALLED UP: Contract purchased from Triple-A Fresno Aug. 14 when LHP Geno Espineli was sent down.

DEBUT: Aug. 16 in an 11-5 loss to Atlanta. The starting pitcher, he took the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings, walking four without striking out a batter.

NOTES: Palmer, 28, became the 15th player to make his big league debut for the Giants this season when he took the mound Aug. 16 to make a start in place of injured Jonathan Sanchez. A 31st-round Draft pick in 2002 out of Southwest Missouri, he is in his seventh pro season, most of which has been spent as a starting pitcher. He was 6-9 with a 4.13 ERA in 24 starts at Fresno when promoted with 137 strikeouts in 135 innings after posting a 4.32 ERA in 150 innings there in 2007.

Chad Reineke, RHP, San Diego Padres

CALLED UP: Recalled from Triple-A Portland Aug. 16 when RHP Chris Young went on the DL>

DEBUT: Aug. 16 in an 8-3 win against Philadelphia. The starting pitcher, Reineke earned the win, going five innings and allowing three runs on five hits, walking three and striking out five. He helped his own cause at the plate by going 1-for-2 with the go-ahead RBI.

NOTES: Acquired from the Astros at the Trading Deadline for veteran southpaw Randy Wolf, Reineke was originally a 13th-round Draft pick in 2004 out of Miami (Ohio) but had positioned himself as a Top 10 prospect with Houston before the deal. The 25-year-old was summoned from Portland to step into the rotation spot of ace Young, who landed on the DL for the second time this season. Though Reineke doesn't have "ace" stuff, with a fastball in the high 80s and an arsenal of offspeed pitches to complement that, he is an aggressive pitcher who isn't intimidated and he showed that in his outing. With a 4.15 ERA in three starts with the Beavers and a 4.41 mark in 20 games with Round Rock before that, he had spent all of '07 with Round Rock, splitting his time between starting and relieving and posting a 4.68 ERA there.