When Orioles starting pitcher Tommy Hunter got shelled for five runs in four and one-third innings Sunday versus the Red Sox in a 17-inning marathon, manager Buck Showalter had little choice but to send the struggling righty to the minor leagues.

Cutting or demoting players isn’t something Showalter, a major league manager for 14 seasons, enjoys. But he goes in with a plan that could be helpful to all supervisors and human resources professionals, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

The key is to appear confident and comfortable — even if you’re not.

“I make sure I get a good night’s sleep. I make sure I’m clean-shaven,” Showalter told Businessweek. “When they’re sitting across from me, I want them to know that I’ve got a clear head and that it was important to me to give them the time to explain what’s going on.”

The O’s skipper said he asks questions and gives players the opportunity to tell him what they think they did well and in what areas they need improvement.

He also said there’s always someone else in the room with him — a third party that can vouch for what was said in the meeting.

And If things turn ugly, Showalter is ready, too.

“I’ve had a bat within short reach,” he said.

The main takeaways: don’t waffle, encourage engagement and be honest. This is someone’s livelihood you’re talking about, after all.

Hunter, the pitcher who was sent to Triple A Monday, was back in Baltimore by Thursday after starting pitcher Jason Hammel couldn’t make his scheduled start against the Texas Rangers. But he won’t be the last player to be demoted or cut by Showalter, who is managing his second full year in Baltimore.

“I don’t ever want to be good at it,” Showalter said.

What he does want to be good at is managing the Birds to their first winning record since 1997.

With the Orioles sitting at 20-12 and tied for first place in the American League East, it’s so far, so good for the O’s de facto HR expert.

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Call it the “old hat” syndrome.

That’s the likeliest explanation for why prices for AFC Championship game tickets on StubHub, an online ticket market place, are lower than those for the NFC Championship game.

As of 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, for $180 on StubHub, fans could see the Baltimore Ravens take on the New England Patriots for the AFC title at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The most expensive seats were going for $2,895.

Tickets for the NFC title game, which has the New York Giants taking on the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park in San Francisco started at $309 on StubHub, with two tickets topping out at $20,000.

“Fans haven’t been waiting as long for an AFC Champ[ionship] in Foxborough as they have in San Francisco,” said Joellen Ferrer, spokeswoman for StubHub.

The last NFC Championship game at Candlestick Park was in 1998, when the 49ers took on the Green Bay Packers. The Patriots played for the AFC title at home in 2008 and 2004.

But Ravens fans will be holding their ground in Foxborough this Sunday. More than 2,000 AFC Championship tickets have been purchased through StubHub, with Marylanders counting for 29 percent of the purchases, Ferrer said. Bay Staters came in at 26 percent. Buyers from Connecticut, New York and Ontario are also scooping up tickets, at 7, 5 and 3 percent, respectively.

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Howard County Executive Ken Ulman talked about a wide range of topics in his Newsmakers interview. The University of Maryland alum also gave his thoughts on the football team’s new Under Armour uniforms.

Judging by the video clip below, I’d say he’s a fan.

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If you’re seeing @MDBlackBear suddenly becoming active on Twitter these days, it’s for good reason.

Apparently ’tis the season for the state’s black bear hunting lottery, and the Twitter account (created by the Dept. of Natural Resources) has about 800 followers. The DNR is spreading the word that the 2011 hunting permit lottery opened online July 1, and is accepting applicants through Sept. 2.

DNR will issue 260 bear hunting permits this season, with only one black bear to be harvested by a permittee/subpermittee hunting team. More details on the process and the sport itself can be found here.

Kind of a peculiar way to use Twitter, but hey, it’s beary innovative.  (Yes, I did.)

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According to Bucky Lasek’s Twitter account, the famous skateboarder was touring around Maryland Tuesday to promote the Dew Tour coming to Ocean City this summer.

The Dundalk native was in and around Baltimore, even paying a visit to radio station Z104.3, to get the word out about the tour coming back to the state.

The event features an array of extreme sports, most notably skateboarding, and is scheduled for July 21-24.

The event will be broadcast live for two hours on July 23 and 24 on NBC Universal, domestically and internationally, and is expected to get coverage on USA Network and MTV as well, according to Alli’s application to the City Council.

The Camden Yards sports complex hosted the Dew Tour in 2007 and 2008, but a scheduling conflict with the Baltimore Orioles prevented the tour from returning in 2009.

When the tour came to Baltimore in 2008, it drew more than 52,000 fans to the Camden Yards parking lots and created about $10 million in economic impact, according to city tourism leaders. The tour drew more than 55,000 action sports fans in its inaugural Baltimore stop in 2007.

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In light of all the news about plans to change up the Inner Harbor that came out Wednesday, there are definitely some great things going on this holiday weekend worth checking out.

My colleague Melody wrote Tuesday about concerts that are kicking off this weekend at Harborplace. The free, 44-event summer concert series will be rocking through the summer. Saturday shows start at 8 p.m., Sunday shows at 6 p.m.

The NCAA 2011 Men’s Lacrosse Championships will be Friday through Monday. Fans can purchase tickets to the games at M&T Bank Stadium ranging from $75 to $350. Friday kicks off with a USILA North/South Game at Goucher College.

Saturday will be a great day for Brew at the Zoo (complete with wine too) at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. The event, also held on Sunday, goes from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets range from $40 for members under 21/designated drivers to $75 for non-members over 21. Wild Famous Dave’s BBQ will also be on hand for 200 guests to enjoy in a private tent for relaxing in the shade.

On Monday, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Fort McHenry will observe Memorial Day with wreath-layings, a flag demonstration involving veterans at noon, services at Mount Auburn, Baltimore’s oldest African-American cemetery and observance of the National Moment of Silence (3 p.m. in the Star Fort.)

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If you’re headed to Home Depot and see a bunch of people driving screws into a surface rather furiously, you might wonder what the big deal is.

DeWalt is having a campaign to promote the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez v. Ryan Rhodes Championship Boxing Match coming up June 18. The Towson-based subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker is having competitions of its own — to see who can drive screws the fastest.

The company will hold these competitions at various Home Depot stores around the U.S. until June 17.  Winners of each event will get a prize package that includes DeWalt-branded boxing gloves signed by Oscar De La Hoya, a DeWalt 12 Volt Max driver kit and a t-shirt.

“This will be a great way to generate attention around the fight and allow professional contractors to get their hands on our newest power tools and win some exciting prizes,” said Hector Vallejo, multicultural marketing manager for DeWalt, in a statement.

Anyone can join the competitions for free, so long as participants are over 18 years of age.

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I read this article on Bryce Harper in The Washington Post the other day, and thought it was hilarious. Harper made a trip to the eye doctor and could suddenly see the ball again, after getting a pair of contacts.

When I’d done this story on Harper’s beginnings in Hagerstown for the Hagerstown Suns, the assignment required a couple of trips to the ballpark to watch him play. And honestly, the performance I’d witnessed from him had seemed a little lackluster. The best hit he had was a line drive during a double-header.

But when I had to give updated stats on his performance for when the story later ran, I was shocked at how he’d jumped from .231 to .480.

Now we know.

I wish I could blame my subpar performance on effectively cleaning bathtubs or mowing the lawn on poor eyesight.

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Yes, The Daily Record is devoted to covering legal and business news — but many of our readers are University of Maryland graduates, and they were no doubt shocked by the sudden retirement this week of longtime basketball coach Gary Williams. So, having a sports story atop our list of the week’s five most-read stories isn’t all that surprising.

1. Maryland basektball coach Gary Williams retiring – by Rachel Bernstein
“It’s the right time,” Williams said in a news release. “I am fiercely proud of the program we have built here. I couldn’t have asked any more from my players, my assistant coaches, the great Maryland fans and this great university.”

2. Towson U. could lease part of nearly vacant complex – by Melody Simmons
Administrators at Towson University are eyeing the nearly vacant Towson Commons to lease for possible classroom and academic office space, a conversion some say could rejuvenate the center of the communit

3. Md. casinos total $13.5 million in April slots revenue – by Rachel Bernstein
Hollywood Casino Perryville generated more than $10 million, or an average of $223.38 for each of the 1,500 machines at the Cecil County facility. That’s more than the $210 per machine the state said it would average before the casinos opened.

4. After relocation, ex-Middle East resident living in misery – by Melody Simmons
Just after she settled on the single-family house in the 3400 block of Kentucky Avenue in Belair-Edison for a purchase price of $184,900, a multitude of things went wrong.

5. Audit finds discrepancies in Maryland Transit Administration ridership numbers – by Nicholas Sohr
The Maryland Transit Administration reported to federal officials carrying 18 million more bus riders than it did when submitting ridership data to the state in fiscal 2009.

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The Maryland Jockey Club announced Monday it has an app of its own.

The app, which will provide instant, real-time access to the latest Preakness Stakes updates, is available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry phones.

So while you’re out in the infield or the stands during Preakness later this month, you can get all sorts of historical data, blog posts and wagering info. And the app will still be handy during daily races too, giving pre-race program notes, as well as scratches, results and video replays.

“We thought it was logical to launch this new platform around our biggest event, but plan on utilizing it year-round,” said Maryland Jockey Club President Tom Chuckas.

The app is already available to be downloaded from Apple’s App Store, while the app tailored for Androids and BlackBerry phones will be ready for consumption later this week.

The 136th running of the $1 million Preakness — the middle jewel of the Triple Crown — is Saturday, May 21.

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