Dave Trembley is not ready to announce the rotation, but all you had to do was read between the lines to determine that this is it -- barring the minuscule possibility of a trade between now and Opening Day.

Jeremy Guthrie
Koji Uehara
Alfredo Simon
Adam Eaton
Mark Hendrickson

The last three won't necessarily pitch in that order, but those are the guys, since Trembley confirmed after Hayden Penn's difficult outing that he had removed himself from consideration for the rotation. Trembley also confirmed that Brian Bass is being groomed for a relief role and that there are no plans to bring back Brad Bergesen right away, which leaves just five candidates from the original list that numbered in the double digits.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (71)
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Hayden Penn was clearly dejected after giving up six runs in 3 2/3 innings today against the St. Louis Cardinals. He obviously knows that a big opportunity may have gotten away.

"What can I say?" he said. "I didn't get it done. I made some good pitches. They were just better than me today."

Penn said he felt good physically and claimed that he didn't wilt under any pressure to make the roster.

"I've been saying all spring, I either get it done or I don't,'' said Penn, whose ERA rose to 10.06. "I didn't today and I didn't do it all spring."

Though he seldom shows much emotion, Penn did not try to hide his disappointment.

"For me to say I'm not disappointed, I'd be lying in your face,'' he said. "I'm very disappointed. I thought I'd have a better showing and I didn't. But the next time I get the ball, I just have to correct it."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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Lou Montanez wasn't surprised that he was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He acknowledged that he was the victim of a numbers game, but didn't shy away from expressing his belief that he's good enough to stay.

"I think I'm beyond close,'' he said. "It's just that the opportunity isn't there right now. I know I'm ready to play. I feel like I could compete just as good as a lot of guys up there. Like yesterday, we were at the Mets game. There was a lot of chatter in our dugout about [Daniel] Murphy, how he's a good player and he can hit. He's going to be their starting left fielder, and I'm sitting in the dugout thinking, 'He was in our league and I won the Triple Crown."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)
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Hayden Penn gave up six runs on eight hits before being removed from the game against the St. Louis Cardinals with two outs in the fourth inning. If you're keeping score at home, that undoubtedly ended any hope of him making the starting rotation and cast his future with the team in serious doubt.

The Orioles aren't saying yet what they will do with him, but considering the difficult pitching decisions facing the club, I've got to suspect they try to push him through waivers. He'll probably be claimed, but it's a chance the team probably will have to take.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Hayden Penn is pitching for his place on the major league staff and it isn't going well. He hit a batter and gave up a run-scoring double in the first inning, then surrendered a long three-run home run to Chris Duncan in the third. That's not what manager Dave Trembley had in mind when he said yesterday that today's outing would have a bearing on the eventual makeup of the starting rotation and the overall pitching staff.

Maybe Penn can salvage this outing with two or three good innings, but he really needed to grab this opportunity by the throat and that ship now has sailed.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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The Orioles just announced another round of cuts. Pitcher Radhames Liz and outfielder Lou Montanez have been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk and David Pauley has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the Tides roster.

Infielders Scott Moore and Oscar Salazar, pitcher Alberto Castillo and catcher Guillermo Rodriguez were reassigned to minor league camp, but will remain with the major league team for the rest of the exhibition season.

The latest round of cuts brings the Orioles down to 29 players with six days to go before Opening Day.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (29)
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St. Louis Cardinals

Skip Schumaker 2B
Yadier Molina DH
Rick Ankiel CF
Ryan Ludwick RF
Chris Duncan 1B
David Freese 3B
Colby Rasmus LF
Jason LaRue C
Brendan Ryan SS

Adam Wainwright RHP

Orioles

Felix Pie CF
Chris Gomez SS
Scott Moore 3B
Oscar Salazar RF
Luke Scott LF
Robby Hammock 1B
Jolbert Cabrera 2B
Chad Moeller DH
Guillermo Rodriguez C

Hayden Penn RHP

Lineup update: Ryan Freel was batting leadoff and playing shortstop in the original starting lineup, but was scratched, forcing manager Dave Trembley to move Felix Pie to the top and rearrange the defense. Chris Gomez moved from second base to short and from seventh in the batting order to second. Oscar Salazar moved from first base to right field. Jolbert Cabrera moved from right field to second base. And Robby Hammock moved from DH to first base. The only players unaffected were Scott Moore, Luke Scott and Guillermo Rodriguez. Don't know why Freel was scratched, but I'm sure we'll find out soon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Manager Dave Trembley confirmed what everybody already has known for about six weeks. Koji Uehara will start the second regular-season game against the New York Yankees next Wednesday.

"He's the guy on line and the best available guy we have,'' Trembley said by way of explanation. "He's a guy with experience and proven success. That's why we signed him, to put him at the front of the rotation with (Jeremy) Guthrie.

Trembley said that he is not concerned about Brian Roberts' availability for Opening Day, but disputed Roberts contention that he will start the opener even if he doesn't appear in a game the rest of the spring.

"No, I wouldn't feel comfortable with that,'' Trembley said. "I don't think it would be fair to him or the team if he doesn't play by April 6."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Brian Roberts still is feeling soreness in his left side and probably will not return to the lineup in the next two days. He was tentatively scheduled to play today and tomorrow, but is not in today's lineup and has ruled himself out of tomorrow's lineup, too.

He said he is not at the point where he thinks that Opening Day is in danger, but you certainly have to wonder at this point. The soreness is near the oblique area and he says it hurts to the touch. He said he's unsure how he got hurt, but speculated he may have done it picking up a box at home. He's not totally inactive. He did some hitting today and will take live batting practice tomorrow.

"I'll play Monday whether I have played or not if I feel okay,'' he said.

Roster update: It wouldn't surprise anybody if the Orioles announce a few more roster cuts today.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Jim Johnson came back from a bout with tendinitis to throw an inning late in Monday night's game at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie. He said he felt fine and he looked like everything was okay, but he wasn't happy about the triple he surrendered to Fernando Tatis that turned into the winning run in a 2-1 loss to the Mets.

"You never want to lose a game,'' he said. "Even in spring training."

And this particular spring training game was about as close to a regular season game as you're going to get at this point in the spring. Both teams fielded solid batting orders and both starting pitchers were stretched out enough to engage in a real pitching duel. The game also was under the lights in front of a good crowd.

"There were a couple of good squads on the field,'' Johnson said. "It made it feel like a real game. It was a really good tuneup."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Not long after Alfredo Simon completed the longest start by an Orioles pitcher, Dave Trembley was asked -- more than once -- if the big right-hander had won a place in the starting rotation.

"I'm not going to tell you that,'' Trembley said. "Let's just say he got our attention."

Let's just say that if Simon isn't in the starting rotation after pitching that well against a playoff-caliber New York Mets lineup, then this competition isn't really a competition at all. Simon now has pitched to a total of 60 batters and allowed just eight hitsand 13 total baserunners.

Simon said he is just trying to do his best, but doesn't seem surprised that he has done so well after reporting to camp late because of visa problems back in his native Dominican Republic.

"I just threw winter ball and then I came here late,'' he said, "but I was working in my hometown and I was ready to go. Everything right now is perfect."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)
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How many times this spring has manager Dave Trembley talked about the opportunities available on the Orioles pitching staff and the failure of so many candidates to step up and grab for them?

That wasn't the case tonight, after Trembley told the media that Alfredo Simon would be pitching for a major league job and Hayden Penn will be doing the same tomorrow.

Simon pitched a strong six innings and gave up just a run on four hits to outlast Mets starter Oliver Perez. Simon, who wasn't even in camp for the first couple of weeks of spring training, needed just 63 pitches to get through six and stake a legitimate claim to a place in the regular season rotation.

He walked just one and struck out three to add to some impressive spring statistics, and he did it against a very representative New York Mets lineup.

Here are the impressive totals: In five Grapefruit League appearances, he has pitched 16 innings and allowed two runs on eight hits. He has faced a total of 60 batters this spring and allowed 13 baserunners.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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It took until the fourth inning for Alfredo Simon to blink. He held a good New York Mets lineup hitless through three innings -- allowing only a single walk -- before outfielder Daniel Murphy launched a long home run over the center field fence. David Wright followed with a sharp single, but Simon got out of the inning with two pitches, getting Carlos Delgado to ground into a double play and Carlos Beltran on a short fly ball to center.

The Orioles took the lead in the top of the third on a towering homer by Adam Jones, who continues to swing one of the hottest bats in camp. The homer was his third of the spring and it raised his Grapefruit League average to 389.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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The Tradition Field promotions department had a little fun at everyone’s expense on Monday night, using an impersonator to portray Adam Sandler throwing out the ceremonial first pitch and a PR intern to portray Tiger Woods in a between-inning golf demonstration. It was explained as an April Fools prank, even though April Fools day isn’t until Wednesday.

I'll admit it. I was briefly fooled and placed an item up as if the whole thing was real.

Don't know what prompted the well-orchestrated practical joke, but maybe it was payback for the hidden tarp trick the Orioles played on the Mets during Sunday's game at Fort Lauderdale Stadium.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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One of the reasons that Baez was passed over for the rotation was because he seemed reluctant to use his split-fingered fastball, which he felt was a factor in the elbow injury that shelved him for a year and a half. That perception increased when he broke the split out in his first extended throwing session this spring and woke up very sore the next day. Sunday, he made a couple of Mets hitters look very bad with it and said afterward that he’s now confident he can throw it without damaging his arm.

“I was a little worried that it would hurt my arm,’’ Baez said, “but I’ve been feeling stronger and stronger and it feels fine now.”

It’s hard to say whether Baez would still be in the hunt for a slot in the rotation if he had gotten comfortable with the splitter a little sooner, but if he can continue to throw it like he did on Sunday, he could move up the pecking order in the bullpen and -- who knows -- he might even become tradable at some point in the season.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Here's an interesting anecdote from Orioles beat reporter Jeff Zrebiec, who visited the minor league facility at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota, Fla.:

Remember how manager Dave Trembley and pitching coach Rick Kranitz sent Brian Matusz to minor league camp under instructions to throw only his fastball and changeup in his early camp games. Well, he really wanted to do that, until he got hit around in his first minor league start of the spring.

So, Matusz went to minor league pitching coordinator Dave Schmidt and asked to be allowed to at least show hitters his curveball and slider once in awhile. He got the go ahead and some interesting results.

In his next two starts, he combined to pitch nine innings and give up one hit and one walk.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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Dave Trembley didn't mince words about the importance of tonight's start to Alfredo Simon or tomorrow's to Hayden Penn. The two of them are vying for either the fifth slot in the rotation or one of the last spots in the bullpen.

"The start for Simon today and Penn tomorrow will lend itself to us making a decision on which way we want to go,'' said Trembley, who added that he was talking both about the makeup of the rotation and whether the team goes with 12 or 13 pitchers.

He remained coy, however, on just how the two starts might impact the makeup of the club, and refused to rule Brian Bass out of the rotation, though he seems like a long shot at this point. Bass only figures to pitch an inning or so tonight.

"We got him stretched out once,'' Trembley said. "We could do it again if we have to."

Orioles

Cesar Izturis SS
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Melvin Mora 3B
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton 2B
Luke Scott DH
Ryan Freel LF
Chad Moeller C

Alfredo Simon RHP

New York Mets

Jose Reyes SS
Daniel Murphy LF
David Wright 3B
Carlos Delgado 1B
Carlos Beltran CF
Ryan Church RF
Ramon Castro C
Luis Castillo 2B
Oliver Perez LHP

Lineup note: The Mets agreed to let the Orioles use a designated hitter, but manager Jerry Manuel has decided to leave starter Oliver Perez in the batting order.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Manager Dave Trembley said today that Gregg Zaun will not play again until the exhibition game against the Washington Nationals at Norfolk on Friday night. Zaun required a cortisone shot in his sore elbow on Sunday, but Trembley says he's confident he'll be ready to start the regular season on time.

If not, the Orioles have the choice of keeping two of the backup candidates -- Robby Hammock and Chad Moeller -- until Zaun is ready or bring back Matt Wieters. Apparently, that would not be a tough decision.

"I think you take both reserve catchers and do what's right for Wieters,'' Trembley said. "No disrespect to Moeller and Hammock, but let's hope we don't have to go in that direction. Zaun has done a great job for us and we have every indication Zaun will our starting catcher."

Rich Hill update: Jeff Zrebiec reports from Sarasota that Hill, who will start the season on the disabled list, pitched 2 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins in a Triple-A game today at Twin Lakes Park. He gave up two hits and no runs, but walked two and threw a wild pitch. He threw 49 pitches, 29 for strikes and his fastball was consistently in the 90-92 mph range.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Pitching coach Rick Kranitz said today that Alfredo Simon is pitching with a lot on the line tonight, though Kranitz wouldn't go so far as to say that Simon could lock up a spot in the rotation with a great performance.

It doesn't take much to reach that conclusion. He's going to be on a 90-pitch limit and he's going to be out there for awhile no matter what happens, because the Orioles are only taking four relievers along with him and a couple of them will not pitch more than one inning.

The Mets are expected to play almost all of their regular-season starting lineup, so the Orioles coaching staff is going to get to see Simon in a real-game situation under the lights.

Kranitz and manager Dave Trembley sat down to discuss the roster today, but no one's saying yet whether they've decided to go with 12 pitchers or 13. The difficult option situation seems to point to 13 pitchers, but there are six exhibition games to go. Everyone knows how I feel about that. The club would have to release a useful utility player to keep a guy who couldn't crack a 12-man pitching staff.

We'll see what Trembley has to say before the game tonight.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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The Orioles are taking just five pitchers to Port St. Lucie tonight. If things work out according to plan, Alfredo Simon will probably go five, followed by one inning from Jim Johnson, a couple from Brian Bass and then some late work for Dennis Sarfate and Chris Ray. Those are the only five pitchers listed on the travel roster. Radhames Liz had to be scratched because he was pressed into action Sunday, so it's possible somebody else will be on the bus in case of emergency.

Most of the starting position players will be on the trip, but Brian Roberts will get at least one more day off with some soreness on the left side of his lower back and Gregg Zaun is resting a sore elbow.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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The camp isn't open this morning because the Orioles play a night game against the New York Mets tonight at Port St. Lucie, where Alfredo Simon (which, incidentally, is pronounced See-Mone) will try to nail down a place in the starting rotation.

If he pitches well, it will be hard to deny him, since he's been one of the most consistently effective pitchers in camp since he showed up late because of visa issues. He has made four appearances (three starts), faced a total of 38 batters and given up just four hits. He also has walked four in 10 innings of work, but his numbers are clearly the best in the rotation this spring.

Manager Dave Trembley said yesterday that he was planning to sit down today with pitching coach Rick Kranitz and talk about the Opening Day roster. The big question is whether the team will go with 12 pitchers or 13. You know my opinion on that. Maybe we'll know more when the camp opens today at noon.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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The Orioles have scored single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-0 lead over the New York Mets. The second run of the game came on a thunderous home run by Luke Scott that cleared the palm trees behind the center field fence. Melvin Mora drove in the third run with an RBI single to left.

Update within an update: Robbie Hammock just hit a long two-run homer onto the back field behind the left field fence. The Mets had scored a run off Radhames Liz in the top of the inning, so the O's now are leading, 5-1.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Koji Uehara finished the equivalent of five innings before the Orioles finished the first inning of today's rain-delayed game against the Mets. He talked briefly with reporters a few minutes ago and said he got his work in, but not in an optimum situation.

"To be honest,'' he said, "I wish I could have pitched more in a game situation."

He didn't spend much time on the mound against the Mets, pitching to just three batters in the top of the first inning, but he's obviously a glass-half-full guy and chose to look on the bright side.

"I threw a perfect game today,'' he said.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Guess I spoke too soon. The rain has subsided and the grounds crew is working furiously to get the infield back in shape to restart the game at approximately 2:45. The Orioles obviously can't afford another rainout with their pitching situation, so they probably were pushing to get it in.

Koji Uehara will not return to the mound. He pitched intermittently in the covered bullpens next to the backfields to simulate four more innings, throwing a total of 76 pitches (including the one inning in the game) to stay on pace for his April 8 Orioles regular season debut. He'll make his final spring training start in Norfolk on Friday.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Koji Uehara looked very sharp in his first inning of work against the New York Mets, but he'll finish up in the covered bullpen area on the backfields. No official word on the game, but they finally put the tarp on over a muddy infield, so it would be tough to turn the field around in time to make it practical to continue.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Just as the game was getting underway, a heavy rain swept over Fort Lauderdale Stadium, causing a delay in the first inning and focusing more attention on the Orioles and their untenable spring training situation.

No one called for the tarp to be put on during the cloudburst, apparently because everyone assumed the rain would pass quickly. It didn't and now it looks like the field is going to be unplayable. They haven't called the game yet, but it looks like it will get banged any minute.

The grounds crew is trying to get the tarp on, but can't seem to pull it across the infield. Meanwhile, the dirt part of infield has become a quagmire. It would be comical if it wasn't such a sad situation for all concerned.

By the way, Koji Uehara struck out the first two batters he faced and pitched a perfect first inning. Ryan Freel singled to open the bottom of the first and got picked off first. Adam Jones followed with a single and then the clouds opened up in earnest.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Here are some highly unsurprising roster moves for your enjoyment:

The Orioles have placed Rich Hill on the 15-day disabled list with a sore elbow. Jim Miller has been optioned to the Triple-A Norfok rosters. And, drum roll please, Matt Wieters has been reassigned to the minor league facility in Sarasota.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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New York Mets

Marlon Anderson LF
Luis Castillo 2B
Jeremy Reed CF
Fernando Tatis 3B
Ryan Church DH
Nick Evans 1B
Bobby Kielty RF
Brian Schneider C
Alex Cora SS

Mike Pelfrey RHP

Orioles

Ryan Freel 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff DH
Melvin Mora 3B
Ty Wigginton 1B
Luke Scott LF
Cesar Izturis SS
Robby Hammock C

Koji Uehara RHP

Lineup note: Obviously, Brian Roberts is out of the lineup again because of a lingering upper respiratory infection and a sore back. He will not make the trip tomorrow to Port St. Lucie, but is expected to play Tuesday and Wednesday.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Still don't know why the Orioles are even considering a 13-man staff. Why would you go with one fewer position player every day so that you have an extra pitcher in the bullpen to be available if your starting rotation blows up for a couple of days?

Think about it. That means the O's would be diminishing their chances of winning every day while an eighth reliever sits in the bullpen waiting for the chance to pitch in a game that the club probably has already lost.

It's not like the Triple-A team is in Ottawa anymore.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Manager Dave Trembley spent part of his pregame news briefing explaining why he will no longer give daily updates on the starting rotation.

"In all likelihood, I'm not going to name the starting five until the camp is over,'' Trembley said. "Good or bad, I'm not going to answer whether somebody is in or out after somebody makes a start."

That's probably a good policy, since the situation seems to change by the day. Trembley confirmed that Hayden Penn will start Tuesday's exhibition game and Mark Hendrickson will go to Fort Myers to start a minor league game on Wednesday. Read into that what you will.

Gregg Zaun remains questionable the day after he was scratched from the lineup in Jupiter, Fla., with a sore elbow. Trembley said he doesn't know when Zaun will be able to play again, but said Gregg has assured him he'll be ready to go on Opening Day. So, for the moment, you can stop fantasizing about Matt Wieters being forced onto the major league roster early.

Though backup catcher candidates Robby Hammock and Chad Moeller will start the next couple of games, their performance during the final days of camp probably won't have a big impact on their chances of making the club.

"They are what they are,'' said Trembley, who will choose between them based on the needs of the club.

It's possible that both end up making the team on Opening Day if Zaun needs to start the season on the disabled list, though no one is really pondering that possibility yet.

The whole 12-man vs. 13-man pitching staff issue might be decided tomorrow. Trembley said he's going to have "a very strong cup of coffee" and meet with pitching coach Rick Kranitz to discuss the best way to handle the situation. I'm going to guess they end up with 12 pitchers on Opening Day, with somebody poised to come up from the minor leagues in case of an emergency.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Now that we've settled the whole US/Cuba relations thing, we can get back to discussing the pitching situation, which is only slightly more settled than it was when we arrived in Fort Lauderdale 43 days ago.

The rotation still is not final, though pitching coach Rick Kranitz told Jeff Zrebiec that it's pretty much set in his mind.

My latest guess:

Jeremy Guthrie
Koji Uehara
Adam Eaton
Mark Hendrickson
Alfredo Simon

Of course, there's still a week left until Opening Day and each of the pitchers vying for the final three slots will pitch again. Manager Dave Trembley insists those outings will have an impact on the final decision, so it's possible that Hayden Penn jacks up a great outing and fights his way back into the picture.

I thought it was interesting when Trembley made the point Saturday that Eaton's experience and track record would not be a major factor when the rotation shakes out. If he was telling the truth, you can't assume Eaton makes the club, but I'm assuming he's in the third slot nonetheless. You can't even assume Alfredo Simon makes the last cut, though he's been one of the more consistent pitchers in camp since sorting out his visa issues, because he still has minor league options.

Penn's situation is intriging. It's also possible he's no longer competing for the rotation, but is going to make a showcase start on Tuesday. The Orioles are not going to put him on outright waivers, because they are convinced they would lose him, but if somebody wants to offer something for him, I'm sure they'll listen.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
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Gregg Zaun was scratched from the Orioles lineup with some elbow "tightness," which you can translate into a tired or sore elbow. Matt Wieters took his place behind the plate and Robby Hammock will start Sunday's game against the Mets.

"I started (Zaun) on back-to-back days last week and it was fine,'' manager Dave Trembley said, "but I started him on back-to-back days and he went out to warm up and his elbow was tight. Wieters was going to pick him up anyway and Hammock is going tomorrow. It's precautionary."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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Adam Eaton did not make any excuses after giving up five runs in the first three innings of his five-inning performance today, but wants everyone to know it'll be different when the lights come on during the regular season.

"I struggled,'' he said. "I didn't have everything working at the same time ever. My curveball was lacking in the first inning or two, then it came around. My fastball was good early. When I made some pitches, they still hit them. It was frustrating for the most part.

"I still got five innings in and 90 pitches. In that regard, mission accomplished, but I wanted to go one more. ... It's my fifth time on the mound. I feel like I've progressed."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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During the two visits I made to Cuba in 1999, I did have the pleasure of attending a regular season Cuban baseball game at Latin American Stadium. The passion and the energy in the stands was unbelievable, and it showed that Cubans are pure baseball fans.

Maybe when everybody has a cell phone, they'll have something else to do at the ballpark, but it was refreshing to see the game treated like the celebration of life that it is. That's not a shot at baseball fans in the United States, but we do take a very wide array of entertainment options for granted.

The other thing that struck me was how friendly the Cuban people were to the visitors from the United States, which was a little surprising considering that they have been told for many years that we are their enemy. In spite of the trade embargo that has contributed to the lower standard of living, the regular folk still retain a certain affection for many things American.

I did not get the same feeling when I visited Russia this past November. There is plenty of American commercialism there -- unlike Cuba -- but the people still seem to view Americans very suspiciously.

Okay, enough sociopolitical comment, but I promised to give a few more recollections of my two visits to Cuba, which culminated with the historic game between the Orioles and a Cuban all-star team ten years ago today.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
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For the second game in a row, the Orioles have bailed their starting pitcher out of a rough outing. They answered the four-run Cardinals third inning with two runs in the top of the fourth on the aforementioned Adam Jones bomb and four more in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead.

The fifth-inning rally started with a solid one-out single by Adam Eaton. Felix Pie followed with a walk and Cesar Izturis loaded the bases with a single before Nick Markakis hit a long fly ball over center fielder Colby Rasmus to score two. Aubrey Huff brought home the third run with a bouncer to first base and Cardinals starter Todd Wellemeyer gift-wrapped the fourth run with a wild pitch.

Eaton pitched a scoreless fifth and Matt Albers appears to be getting ready to come out of the bullpen for the sixth.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Just got this from Orioles beat writer Jeff Zrebiec:

Orioles reliever Jim Johnson emerged from a 21-pitch batting practice session on Saturday feeling good, and more confident than ever that he’ll be ready for Opening Day. Facing teammates Ty Wigginton, Ryan Freel and Luke Scott, Johnson threw all his pitches for strikes and experienced no discomfort in his right shoulder.

“I was happy with how things went,” said Johnson, who had been shut down for about two weeks with shoulder tendonitis. “I still need to tighten up on command a little bit. It wasn’t where I need to be, but I’ll get it back in my next outing, and it will get better every time out.”

Orioles pitching coach Rick Kranitz said that Johnson will pitch in a game on either Monday or Tuesday, depending on how he bounces back from Saturday’s session. Johnson hasn’t pitched in a game since March 11. Manager Dave Trembley indicated it would probably be Tuesday and, if all goes well, Thursday and Saturday.

“In his bullpen, he was a little out of sync, but as soon as he got on the hill, it looked like everything came back to him and he started focusing,” Kranitz said. “It was pretty good, pretty encouraging.”

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Adam Eaton looked okay through two innings, but the first five batters in the third reached base and the Cardinals batted around to score four runs and take a 5-1 lead. He'll come back for the fourth. Seems like everybody in the Orioles projected rotation is getting lit up early except Koji Uehara.

Scoring update: Adam Jones just jacked a huge two-run home run that landed on the second-story roof of the Marlins clubhouse behind left field. The wind is blowing in that direction, but it was a tremendous shot, reminiscent of the batting practice home runs that Mark McGwire used to hit at Roger Dean Stadium.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Orioles starter Adam Eaton gave up a two-out triple to Cardinals center fielder Colby Rasmus and a hard-hit RBI double to first baseman David Freese, but he has retired his last four batters in order.

The Orioles have gone down weakly against Cardinals starter Godd Wellemeyer, who has retired all six batters he has faced so far.

Scoring update: Chris Gomez and Felix Pie each hit long doubles off Wellemeyer in the third inning to tie the game at 1-1.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Catcher Gregg Zaun has been scratched from the starting lineup today in Jupiter, Fla. He will be replaced by Matt Wieters. Don't have a report on why Zaun was taken down, but he was involved in a collision during Friday's game.

Here are today's lineups:

Orioles

Felix Pie LF
Cesar Izturis SS
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Chris Gomez 2B
Adam Eaton RHP

St. Louis Cardinals

Joe Thurston 2B
Brendan Ryan RF
Colby Rasmus CF
David Freese 1B
Jon Jay LF
Joe Mather 3B
Jason LaRue C
Todd Wellemeyer RHP
Brian Barden SS

Cardinals moves: Troy Glaus and Jaime Garcia were placed on the 15-day disabled list today.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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It seemed apparent that Chad Moeller was ticketed to be the reserve catcher, but Dave Trembley said today that Robby Hammock will start tomorrow's game at Fort Lauderdale Stadium and that the decision has not been made.

"Hammock provides some offense,'' Trembley said. "Moeller provides experience catching games and working with the staff. That decision will come down to which we feel is more important."

You would think, if it came down to those two choices, the club would still have to go with Moeller because of the sketchy pitching situation, but Hammock's chances are enhanced by his ability to fill in at a couple of other positions in an emergency. That could swing the pendulum in his favor if the team goes with a short bench.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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It appears that Hayden Penn will get one more chance to prove he belongs in the starting rotation. Manager Dave Trembley said today that he's thinking of sending Mark Hendrickson to pitch in a minor league game on Tuesday or Wednesay, which would leave open the Tuesday slot for Penn, who last started on Thursday.

If you look beyond that, Penn could actually be fighting for the fourth slot in the rotation, since his next time on four days would be Sunday and the following turn would be Friday, April 10. There is no game next Sunday, however, so if that is the plan he might have to stay back and pitch in a minor league situation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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It's become more and more obvious that the Orioles will start the season with a 13-man pitching staff, which would mean that both Chris Gomez and Jolbert Cabrera will be on the outside looking in when the final cuts are made. I think this is a mistake, but Dave Trembley and Andy MacPhail once again failed to invite me to any of the meetings.

Taking 13 pitchers will assure that there is an extra long man available if the No. 4 starter can't get out of the third inning on April 10. It will also assure that Trembley has no good option at shortstop if he needs to pinch hit for Cesar Izturis in the late innings. I believe the Orioles have enough depth at Triple-A to simply replace the tired long guy who pitched too much in the first three games with another arm at that point. Seems like a better option than dumping a decent player like Gomez who could help in a number of ways.

Of course, the Orioles will have a couple of difficult decisions either way. There are 15 viable pitchers for those 13 spots, They've still got tough calls to make on Radhames Liz, Brian Bass and, of course, Hayden Penn, though it's starting to look like Penn is in...and maybe in the rotation in spite of his rocky outing on Thursday.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (47)
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Ten years ago at this time, I was rolling out of bed at the Havana Libre Hotel to get ready for the historic goodwill game between the Orioles and a Cuban All-Star team at Latin American Stadium.

The Orioles won an exciting extra-inning game, but the outcome was secondary to the geopolitical football game going on at the same time. Fidel Castro made quite a show of marching onto the field to the rowdy cheers of an invitation-only crowd of politically correct fans. He sat in the front row with Orioles owner Peter Angelos and baseball commissioner Bud Selig, which didn't sit well with the Cuban ex-patriot community in Miami which had come out strongly against the friendly baseball overture by the Orioles.

It was a bold stroke by Angelos, which many thought was an attempt to position the Orioles better to sign Cuban players if Castro ever decided to allow them to legally play in the United States. That wasn't the point at all -- and Angelos actually stayed out of the Cuban market when a small wave of defectors came over afterward -- but everyone assumed he must have had some ulterior motive.

The Cuban team traveled to Baltimore weeks later and soundly defeated the Orioles at Camden Yards, bringing an interesting chapter in Orioles history to a slightly embarassing end. To this day, I'm not sure whether the trip had any effect on U.S./Cuba relations. It was compared at the time to the famous "Ping Pong Diplomacy" trip to Communist China in the early 1970s, but it ended up as more of a historical footnote than a watershed event.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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The internet betting service Bodog has released its updated proposition odds for the 2009 baseball season and you probably won't be surprised to hear that the Orioles are the longest of long shots to win the World Series. Bodog has the Orioles at 150-1 to go all the way and 50-1 to win the American League pennant.

Strangely, the Orioles the longest shot to win the world championship but not the longest shot to win the pennant. The Kansas City Royals are listed at 60-1 for the pennant, but are posted as twice as likely as the Orioles to win the World Series at 75-1. Must be all their recent postseason experience.

Of course, this is not meant as an endorsement of gambling. I wouldn't touch any of that action with a 10-foot poll. But I am a student of the odds because of how much money and research goes into setting the lines.

Here are some interesting Orioles over/under lines you might want to peruse before you draft your fantasy team.

Total Home Runs – Aubrey Huff

Over / Under 23.5

Total Home Runs – Nick Markakis

Over / Under 23.5

Total Stolen Bases – Brian Roberts

Over / Under 39.5

I believe Brian will steal more than 39.5 bases and Huff will hit 24 homers or more, but the Nick Markakis over-under seems to be right on the money. Flip a coin, though this obviously is not meant as an endorsement of flipping coins.

Not surprisingly, the Yankees are posted as the favorite to win the World Series this year (9/5), followed closely by the Red Sox (11/2), with the Chicago Cubs (8/1) and New York Mets (8/1) also in single digits.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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Have to give Jeremy Guthrie credit for holding himself together after that horrible first inning today. He settled down and held the Marlins scoreless up to his pitch count and got all his work in. Talk about turning a frightening day into a surprisingly productive one. Nice afternoon for Luke Scott, who had two dingers, and Lou Montanez, who had three more hits. And Ty Wigginton knocked in four runs. Maybe I shouldn't have taken the day off after all.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Guess I picked the right day to take off, because it's pretty obvious from the linescore (look down this page on the right) that it's going to be a very long afternoon. It already has been for Jeremy Guthrie, who got hammered by the Florida Marlins for six runs in the bottom of the first inning. It looks like it's going to be a very long season, too, but maybe that saying is true about it always being darkest before the dawn.

On second thought, maybe this wouldn't be such a good day for manager Dave Trembley to name Guthrie the Opening Day starter.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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You know I'm going to catch it for this. Roch Kubatko is sick as a dog and he's in Jupiter blogging today's game against the Florida Marlins. Brian Roberts is under the weather and is not in the starting lineup again. I feel great and I'm taking the day off.

I haven't felt this guilty since...well...last night when I ravaged my eighth giant cookie sundae of the spring at the Fort Lauderdale Champps to get over the Memphis loss. I'm a big Tigers and John Calipari fan, and have been since I picked Memphis this year to win it all in my NCAA bracket. Probably wouldn't have been that big a deal if I hadn't already had a slice of chocolate cake with dinner.

Quick disclaimer: The Sun ethics policy does not allow us to participate in sports pools that include a financial payout -- or vote for the Hall of Fame, for that matter -- so I basically lost my will to live a long time ago. But I still fill out brackets and try to show how smart I am. And the great thing about gambling mentally is that the only thing you can lose is your mind.

Another quick disclaimer: Since the Champps internet menu did not include a photo of the aforementioned "Cookie Espress," the accompanying photo is of the skillet cookie sundae from Tony Romas, which is similar and also quite delicious.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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The Orioles have told top prospect Matt Wieters that he will be reassigned to the Triple-A Norfolk roster and report to their minor league facility on Monday. Wieters said he was told early so he could handle some logistics, but will stay a day or two longer and accompany the team on tomorrow's road trip to Jupiter, Fla. to play the Florida Marlins.

Check out my Web story here.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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Closer George Sherrill knows his numbers are ugly right now. He's given up 17 base runners in 5 1/3 innings of work, but he says he always has trouble bringing his mechanics together in spring training and expects his performance to improve during the final days of training camp.

If they don't, he said he would have no problem if manager Dave Trembley decided to start the season with Chris Ray as the primary closer.

“He (Ray) has looked good this spring,’’ Sherrill said. “If that’s something they want to do, that’s fine. All I want to do is win. I don’t care what my title is.”

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
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We're only in thie fifth inning and Adam Jones is a triple away from hitting for the cycle. He singled in the first inning and doubled in the fourth before slamming a two-run homer (his first of the exhibition season) to left in the sixth to draw the Orioles within four runs in a game they trailed, 10-0, little more than an inning ago.

Jones is now batting .386.

Stat update: Reliever George Sherrill allowed three hits and a walk in a third of an inning in his sixth exhibition appearance of the Grapefruit League season. He has now pitched a total of 5 1/3 innings and allowed 17 baserunners.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Hayden Penn lasted 2 2/3 innings and threw 62 pitches, 36 of them for strikes. He gave up seven runs on five hits and it wasn't very pretty, though it wasn't entirely his fault. Felix Pie looked totally lost in left field on a couple of plays that were costly, though they wouldn't have been as big a problem if Penn had not walked three batters in the second inning.

I'll be interested to see what Dave Trembley has to say afterward. He seemed to hint that Penn would have to pitch well today to get one more start and get stretched out. He's been jacked around because of last week's weather issues, so it might not be fair to judge him on this one start, but time is running short and sometimes you only get one chance to step up. Tough business.

While we're on the subject, George Sherrill doesn't look to sharp either. He came in with a runner on first and two outs and has allowed four straight baserunners to bring home Penn's seventh run. This is not looking good.

Marlins 9, Orioles 0.

Roster update: Pitcher Ross Wolf has been reassigned to the minor league facility in Sarasota. Wolf would have been part of yesterday's cuts, but he had left camp before he could be told and manager Dave Trembley wanted to meet with him in person before making the move official.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
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Hayden Penn walked the leadoff man in the second inning and gave up a run on a single by Cody Ross. To be fair, however, Ross's single seemed to hold up in left field long enough for Felix Pie to catch it if he has as much range as advertised. He took a bad route to the ball and it landed not far in front of him. Penn has now walked two more batters and is struggling with his command.

Now the wheels have come off. Emilio Bonifacio just hit a broken-bat liner into the right field corner to clear the bases and Penn just brought him home with a wild pitch. The Marlins have scored five times in the second.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Right-hander Hayden Penn looks sharp after the first inning of today's start against the Florida Marlins. He appears to have great command of his breaking stuff and seems very confident on the mound.

He gave up a hard-hit double in the first, but came right back to jump ahead of Hanley Ramirez with back-to-back curveballs before getting him on a high fly to medium center. He struck out the other two batters he faced. So far, so good.

Penn is not expected to stretch past three innings today, so he would have to make another extended appearance between now and Opening Day if he is to open the season in the fourth or fifth slot in the rotation.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Top prospect Matt Wieters, who is the only one of the Orioles' elite prospects that is still in camp, probably will be sent to minor league camp very soon. Manager Dave Trembley said today that he wants to start playing the regular starting lineup over the next few days. That, and the fact that the club will play three of the next four games on the road, point to the possibility of Wieters getting optioned to the Norfolk roster by this weekend.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Here's what Jim Johnson had to say about today's bullpen session and how he sees things shaking out over the next couple of week:

"It was pretty much what I expected after not being on a mound for almost two weeks. I was a little rusty, but we’re right on schedule. There was no problem shoulder wise. I was just trying to find a release point again.

"It was a little frustrating, but you can’t be perfect right out of the chute.I’ll be ready for Opening Day for sure. Obviously, I wish I had a little bit more time, but we’ll be fine. We’re going to have plenty of guys to carry the load, but I should be good to go.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Manager Dave Trembley is holding off on naming his Opening Day starting pitcher, though all you have to do is project out the rotation and you'll see that it lines up for Jeremy Guthrie to pitch the opener and Koji Uehara to go in the second game. Uehara is going to start next Friday's game in Norfolk, which is five days ahead of the middle game of the season-opening series against the Yankees.

Trembley wouldn't say much about Hayden Penn's start today, other than to confirm that he's scheduled to pitch three innings. Then it will be a parade of one-inning relievers. He wasn't interested in expounding on how important the outing is for a pitcher who is out of options and needs to make a big impression pretty quick.

"He's getting an opportunity to start today,'' Trembley said. "I'm certain he understands the importance of it."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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Pitching coach Rick Kranitz reports that Jim Johnson's workout today went well. If his sore shoulder rebounds well after the throwing session, he'll pitch to hitters on Saturday and could pitch in the game against the New York Mets at Port St. Lucie.

"He threw good,''Kranitz said. "He was a little bit rusty, but good. He's going to take a day off, then we'll throw him on the side and run him into batting practice, then we'll see. We're close to getting him in action."

If he doesn't feel good ... well ...

"The worst-case scenario is, we won't have him at the beginning of the season,'' Kranitz said, "but he said he feels good."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Florida Marlins

Emilio Bonifacio 3B
John Baker C
Hanley Ramirez SS
Jorge Cantu 1B
Dan Uggla 2B
Jeremy Hermida LF
Cody Ross RF
Dallas McPherson DH
Cameron Maybin CF

Anibel Sanchez RHP

Orioles

Cesar Izturis SS
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Melvin Mora 3B
Luke Scott DH
Ryan Freel 2B
Felix Pie LF
Chad Moeller C

Hayden Penn RHP

Lineup notes: This is pretty close to the everyday regular season Orioles lineup, except for the top spot and Moeller behind the plate. Brian Roberts is still getting over his bout with flu. Izturis probably will bat ninth in the regular lineup.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Today is going to be all about Hayden Penn, who has been moved into the start against the Marlins at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. If he performs well, he's got a chance to jump right into the regular season rotation. If he doesn't, I think you can be pretty sure Alfredo Simon gets the last slot.

It's not out of the question that Penn and Simon both make the rotation, but manager Dave Trembley would have to make the tough decision to go with five right-handers. He said he might do that recently, but I don't believe him. I think Mark Hendrickson is in.

The other important outing today will not take place in the game. Jim Johnson will throw a bullpen session and see how his sore shoulder is coming along. If it goes well, he'll stay on schedule for Opening Day. If it doesn't, he'll likely start the season on the disabled list.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Brian Roberts was back in the clubhouse after returning from the World Baseball Classic and staying out a couple more days recovering from an upper respiratory infection. He said he battled it throughout the weekend in Los Angeles, though it certainly didn't show in his performance.

Nevertheless, he said the WBC experience surpassed his expectations.

"I was excited about it to begin with,'' he said, "but I didn't know how cool it was until I got there. Everybody got along so well. It meant more to the guys than I expected."

How did it compare with his All-Star experiences?

"The All-Star Game, you are competing as a team and obviously you want to win, but it's not the be-all and end-all. There are a whole lot of other variables in the All-Star Game"

Was the WBC experience a plus or minus in his preparation for the regular season?

"Early on in spring training, you kind of go through the motions,'' he said. "It's hard to take it too seriously, because if you don't get a hit, it's not the end of the world. For me, to kick it into gear was great. I haven't played in September and October in games that matter. I wanted to see how I would perform in a win-or-go-home situation. To have that in spring training, I think that was as helpful to me as anything."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Danys Baez clearly was disappointed by the news that his attempt to come back from elbow reconstruction to win a place in the Orioles rotation has come to an end. He was told early today that he would compete from now on for a place in the bullpen.

"That's a management decision,'' he said. "There's nothing I can do. I came into spring training and I think I did good. I worked super hard during the offseason to get to this point and there's nothing else I can do."

Still, he insisted that he's happy with his recovery and the fact that he was able to get up to 77 pitches in his last exhibition appearance.

"I'm not frustrated,'' he said. "I'm super happy that I am back on the team and super happy because the first day, to be honest, the first day I thought I might have to start somewhere else because my arm was super sore the next day. But after that, it was great. I never missed one start. That was great for me. I gotta change my mind now. The only thing I've got to work on is pitching back to back. I don't know if I can do that now, but we have to work on it."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
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The Orioles have sent out eight players today. Pitchers Bob McCrory, Kam Mickolio and Chris Waters were optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Non-roster players Justin Turner, Justin Christian, John Parrish, Brad Hennessey and Donnie Murphy were reassigned to the minor league facility in Sarasota, Fla.

No surprises. Mickolio said he was just happy to stay as long as he did.

"I have three options,'' he said. "I was pretty sure that at some point I was going down. It would have been nice to stay, though. I felt like I threw really well. I felt like I came in here better prepared than last year. I got here early and thought it went well."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Manager Dave Trembley called Danys Baez into his office this morning and told him he is no longer in the competition for the starting rotation. Baez expressed surprise at the news, but said he will continue to work hard to make the club as a reliever. Hayden Penn has been moved into Baez's scheduled start on Thursday.

Check out Jeff Zrebiec breaking story here.

Roster update: For a day the Orioles were originally planning to take off, the club sure has been busy. More cuts appear to be coming. Justin Turner, Kam Mickolio, Chris Waters and Bob McCrory all have been told they are headed for minor league camp.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Left-hander Rich Hill took the mound in today's intrasquad game and showed again why he's had everyone scratching their heads all spring. He threw 28 pitches in the first inning, hit Donnie Murphy with a pitch and gave up a monster three-run home run to Luke Scott. He settled down a little in the second inning, but drilled Ryan Freel with another errant pitch.

Still, he seemed satisfied with his performance: "It went well. I threw the ball well and felt good. It was a first outing, so you just want to come out and feel healthy."

Brian Bass started for the black jerseyed team and pitched a little better, but he also gave up a huge three-run blast to Ty Wigginton and hit Justin Turner with a pitch. I was waiting for the benches to clear at that point, but the umpires didn't even issue a warning.

Closer George Sherrill pitched an inning and gave up a couple of runs before the inning was called short of three outs. He doesn't look very good right now, but it's only spring and he is a closer, so it's hard to gauge what's going on with him.

Quiet day otherwise...at least so far.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (23)
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The Orioles will start today's intrasquad game in about an hour, so we'll get to see how much progress Rich Hill has made during his long recovery from a sore elbow. The club already has given up on him being ready for Opening Day, but he could be in play for mid-April if he shows he's ready and willing to pitch.

Here are the intrasquad linesup:

Orioles

Felix Pie CF
Justin Turner 2B
Scott Moore 3B
Ty Wigginton LF
Matt Wieters C
Robbie Hammock RF
Jolbert Cabrera SS
Chad Moeller 1B

Rich Hill LHP

The other Orioles

Ryan Freel LF
Donnie Murphy 2B
Lou Martinez RF
Luke Scott 1B
Oscar Salazar 3B
Chris Gomez SS
Justin Christian CF
Guillermo Rodriguez C

Brian Bass RHP

Before you ask, yes, each team has an eight-man lineup without a DH. It's an intrasquad game and the coaching staff could have the guys play workups if they wanted.

Brian Roberts update: Brian has been battling a cold and did not work out with the team yesterday. He did show up this morning, but was sent home to get some more rest after a whirlwind week with Team USA.

Koji Uehara update: Checked with Uehara's interpreter to make sure Koji was okay this morning after throwing 57 pitches yesterday. He has not spoken to the media yet, but he apparent is fine.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
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Designated hitter Harold Baines has been elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame in voting by the media and the Oriole Advocates. Baines, who grew up on the Eastern Shore, batted .301 with 107 homers in parts of seven seasons in three separate tenures with the club. He is a six-time All-Star who ranks among the top 25 Orioles in slugging percentage (.502, 4th), batting average (.301, 5th), home runs (107, 17th) and RBI (378, 24th).

Former Orioles community relations director Julie Wagner received the Herb Armstrong Award honoring a 26-year career with the club.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
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Pitching coach Rick Kranitz was very pleased with the performance of Koji Uehara, especially in the context of a spring that hasn't produced a lot of good news about the starting rotation.

"That's huge,'' he said. "We're counting on him to go out there every fifth day. It was a big boost for everybody."

Kranitz, who has been working with Uehara on a new changeup, saw just about everything he wanted to see during a solid 3 2/3-inning performance that kept Koji on track for the first week of the regular season.

"He threw the ball really well,'' Kranitz said. "I thought early he was just kind of testing his leg. As he went along, he felt better and got comfortable. He threw a couple of changeups and the split, which had something to do with the strikeouts."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Koji Uehara just talked to the American media and seemed satisfied with his performance, but mostly because he got through it without tweaking his sore hamstring. He said he wasn't terribly concerned with anything else. He isn't proclaiming the injury completely healed, but said he will be ready for the regular season.

"I'm glad nothing happened,'' he said through interpreter Jiwon Bang. "In terms of fear going away completely, I don't know."

Though he pitched well and struck out seven, that was secondary to throwing 4 2/3 innings without incident.

"I was not really concerned with the content of what I threw,'' he said.

Uehara worked on a new changeup with pitching coach Rick Kranitz the other day and he threw it for the first time in a game in the third inning.

"I'm the type of guy who wants to throw a new pitch on the mound instead of in a bullpen situation,'' he said.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Washington Nationals starter Shairon Martis just completed his sixth shutout inning at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Martis made a little baseball history by pitching a seven-inning no-hitter for the Netherlands against Panama in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, but skipped the event to vie for a spot in the Nationals rotation this spring.

Looks like that's working out for him. He looks like he's finished for the day after giving up just three hits.

Meanwhile, Orioles rotation candidate Alfredo Simon has pitched two innings so far and given up a run on two hits.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Koji Uehara has just left the game with two outs in the top of the fourth after an encouraging 3 2/3 innings in which he have up a run on three hits and struck out seven. Reliever Matt Albers has taken over with the bases empty, so Koji was obviously closing in on his pitch limit. He threw 57 pitches, 40 of them for strikes, and left to a nice ovation from the crowd at Fort Lauderdale Stadium..

He showed no sign of any discomfort after rehabbing a slight hamstring strain the past couple of weeks.

He'll jog and get some cool-down treatment after he leaves the mound and then we'll find out how he felt about it.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Koji Uehara has completed two innings in his first Grapefruit League start since March 9 and looks pretty sharp. He allowed a triple to Roger Bernadina to open the game and the Nationals took the lead on a soft single by Kory Casto, but Uehara has now retired five consecutive batters and has four strikeouts.

I'll have to check, but this might be the first positive rotation news in the past two weeks, too.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Based on the comments today by Dave Trembley -- and some poking around -- the Orioles are down to six candidates for the three spots in the starting rotation after Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara, and you could probably make the case that it's really down to three candidates for the fifth spot. I think at this point, it's fair to assume that Adam Eaton and Mark Hendrickson are in, leaving Danys Baez, Alfredo Simon, Brian Bass and Hayden Penn to battle for the last job.

If I was a betting man, I'd probably go with Baez, even though Trembley has been saying a lot of nice things about Simon and Bass. Penn may get one more start to stretch out, but he probably starts the season as the long guy.

I'm told there is little chance of the Orioles plucking a pitcher off waivers before Opening Day, so my whole "mystery starter" theory has gone out the window.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (25)
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Dave Trembley just spent 10 minutes with the media and confirmed something we probably should have already known. David Pauley, who allowed 26 baserunners in 11 innings of work, is now out of the competition for the starting rotation, which means that he'll almost certainly end up on waivers some time in the next week or so.

"There's other guys ahead of him right now," Trembley said. "Those two rainouts have hurt us and we're coming down to the end of it, so I would highly doubt if he gets another start. If anybody gets another start, I'll try to get it for [Hayden] Penn, because he got bumped."

So that means he's out of the rotation hunt?

"Fair to say,'' Trembley said.

Trembley also reiterated that left-hander Chris Waters is not in consideration to break camp in the rotation. That should have been obvious from the way he has been used. He's got a chance to be a middle guy in the bullpen at some point this season.

Today could be a fairly significant day in the formation of the pitching staff. If Koji Uehara looks healthy and Alfredo Simon pitches three or four strong innings, you might be able to narrow the rotation derby to six or seven pitchers.

Somebody actually mixed in a question or two about the lineup, which has been largely ignored this spring because of the pitching situation. Trembley said he intends for Adam Jones to be the No. 2 hitter in the lineup at the start of the season, which would probably drop Melvin Mora back into the fifth or sixth slot.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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Washington Nationals

Roger Bernardina LF
Alex Cintron 2B
Kory Casto 3B
Wily Mo Pena DH
Corey Patterson CF
Brad Eldred 1B
Justin Maxwell RF
Ian Desmond SS
Wil Nieves C

Sharon Martis RHP

Orioles

Ryan Freel 3B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton LF
Matt Wieters DH
Justin Turner 2B
Gregg Zaun C
Chris Gomez SS

Koji Uehara RHP

Lineup notes: Alex Cintron and Corey Patterson return to Fort Lauderdale Stadium today. If Freddy Bynum gets off the bus, it'll be an ex-Orioles hat trick.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Most of the participants in the World Baseball Classic have filtered back into camp, though Jeremy Guthrie obviously gets the award for flying overnight on Sunday and making the two-hour bus trip to Fort Myers for yesterday's start against the Minnesota Twins. I think they filmed it for an episode of The Amazing Race. His first game back didn't go that well, but what exactly did you expect?

Adam Eaton got a full night's sleep and rode over to the game with pitching coach Rick Kranitz later in the morning, and he gave up three home runs. Guess it's just not a perfect science.

Melvin Mora and Cesar Izturis were back in the clubhouse this morning, but will not be in the lineup for today's game against the Washington Nationals at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Mora said that reports of his hamstring strain were greatly exaggerated, and that his health is not an issue.

Koji Uehara will start as scheduled today, no doubt buoyed by Japan's exciting victory last night in the World Baseball Classic. Uehara was not selected for Japan's team this year after being a big contributor to the 2006 team that won the inaugural WBC.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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Take a look at the latest concession craze at Fifth Third Ballpark, home of the West Michigan Whitecaps. It's a cheeseburger that weighs 1.666 pounds on a bun that is eight inches across and it's covered with all sorts of strange stuff.

Here's a link to a CNBC blog about it, and here's a picture for those of you who want to see what it looks like before you fly to Michigan to watch some minor league ball.

That looks like an inch of refried beans under the burger, but the team says it's "chili." I'm okay with it either way. Sure knocks the stuffing out of the giant turkey leg they sell at the Mets spring training field in Port St. Lucie, though I wouldn't turn my nose up at either one.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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Aubrey Huff is coming off a strong offensive season and heading into the final year of his contract, but he said yesterday he is not going to go about things any differently than he did last season.

He said he doesn't even understand the concept of a contract push.

“I don’t know how guys do that,’’ he said. “Some guys, they go into their contract years and put up huge numbers. It amazes me. Adrian Beltre, I think he hit 49 home runs in his contract year. I don’t know how they do that. I just go at it the same way, go one day at a time, and see what the numbers are at the end. You see these guys put up ridiculous numbers and then they don’t do as much the next couple of years. Does that mean they’re just playing for the money?”

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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The O's are probably just getting off the bus in Fort Myers for today's game against the Minnesota Twins. Jeremy Guthrie will start the 1:05 game, which will feel like 10:05 a.m. after hopping a few time zones on his overnight flight back from the World Baseball Classic.

Guthrie has pitched just nine innings this spring, so he's got a little catching up to do. So does catcher Gregg Zaun, who didn't make the trip today and still has not caught Guthrie in anything but a bullpen session.

"I'm probably going to get his next two starts,'' Zaun said. "That should be enough. I've caught pretty much everybody else in camp. Whatever decision they make on the three, four and five guys, I'm pretty comfortable. Once they narrow the focus, I'll narrow mine."

Rich Hill is scheduled to pitch two innings in Wednesday's intrasquad game, but the plan now is for him to start the season on the disabled list. Koji Uehara, who threw a batting practice session on Sunday, remains scheduled to start tomorrow's home game against the Nationals.

Here's the O's lineup for today's game:

Felix Pie CF
Ryan Freel LF
Scott Moore 3B
Oscar Salazar 1B
Luke Scott DH
Lou Montanez RF
Robbie Hammock C
Jolbert Cabrera SS
Donnie Murphy 2B

Jeremy Guthrie RHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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No. 1 starter Jeremy Guthrie confirmed for Jeff Zrebiec tonight that he is taking an overnight flight back to Florida and is expected to arrive in Fort Lauderdale early this morning in time to be on the team bus to Fort Myers. He likely will be the starter against the Twins and Adam Eaton will follow him to the mound, based on comments by pitching coach Rick Kranitz on Sunday morning.

Guthrie headed right to the airport after Team USA was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic tonight at Dodger Stadium.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
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Ty Wigginton carried the Orioles offense today. He just drove in his third run of the game with his third hit of the game to give the Orioles a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning, but the Cardinals scored a run in the eighth and won the game in the ninth when O's reliever Kam Mickolio surrendered a two-out, RBI single to outfielder John Jay.

"He (Wigginton) kind of turns it up,'' manager Dave Trembley said afterward, "especially with men on base. He uses the whole field. He gets his base hits, his doubles and his home runs. He doesn't chase bad pitches."

Hayden Penn pitched two innings and gave up a run. He surrendered a leadoff double to Chris Duncan in the seventh, but worked out of trouble. He left a runner on in the eighth when he gave way to Bob McCrory, but that run eventually scored.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Left-hander Mark Hendrickson was generally satisfied with his four-inning performance, stressing that the important thing at this point is to stretch out to the point where he will be ready to start the season in the rotation.

"The first inning, I maybe wasn't as sharp with some of my offspeed pitches,'' he said, "but I felt I made a 20-pitch jump from where I was. I felt good. I felt strong."

He said he's "definitely" in position to be ready for the opening week of the regular season after throwing about 60 pitches.

"I think the gauge for myself would be five innings and 75 pitches,'' he said. "Early in the season, it's not so much about pitch count as it is about how much you work in between. I'm preparing to start. That's the way I approach it. I felt stronger today."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 3:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Mark Hendrickson completed four innings and gave up three runs on six hits. He did not walk or strike out a batter. The game is now in the sixth inning, with the Orioles and Cardinals tied, 3-3.

It wasn't a particularly impressive performance by Hendrickson, who was hit pretty hard in his first inning, but it may have to do now that the Orioles are conceding that fellow Rich Hill will not be ready to start the season in the rotation.

Check out Jeff Zrebiec's story on that right here.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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Peter Angelos said he is very pleased with the job that Andy MacPhail has done as president of baseball operations and anticipates that the Orioles will be a major player in the free agent market when the team gets close enough that one or two big acquisitions could take the franchise to the next competitive level.

"I think Andy has done a great job,'' Angelos said. "If we can maintain that impetus, things can be pretty good. I don't know about this year, but next year and the year after we have high hopes for."

The next phase -- either next winter or following the 2010 season, depending on the progress over the next two seasons -- would be to plug in a couple of marquee free agents.

"Absolutely,'' he said. "We've had that in mind, and I believe the resources will be available to do that."

Angelos said he speaks to MacPhail an average of once every two weeks. He's particularly impressed with the way the club's overall depth has been broadened in a relatively short time.

"You can see the depth of his professional experience,'' Angelos said. "He's done a great job. We're not one player deep anymore. We're two or three deep."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Orioles owner Peter Angelos is attending today's game at Roger Dean Stadium after stopping in Sarasota to look at the possible site of a new spring training facility. The Orioles have been tight-lipped about the training camp situation since negotiations with Sarasota hit a speed-bump a couple of months ago, but those talks obviously have resumed and are moving forward.

Angelos said he will also visit City of Palms Park in Fort Myers tomorrow, while the Orioles are on that side of the state to play the Minnesota Twins. The Twins play in a different facility, but the Red Sox stadium is little more than 15 minutes away.

I'll have more from Angelos in my next post and in the Sports section.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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The Orioles hit the ball very hard in the first inning against St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Todd Wellemeyer. Adam Jones singled to center and moved up on an error by center fielder Rick Ankiel. Ty Wigginton hammered a double into the gap for the first run and Luke Scott tripled over the head of Ankiel to score Wigginton.

Mark Hendrickson, with a place in the starting rotation possibly hanging in the balance, is also getting hit around in the first. He just gave up a one-out double to Joe Mather, a two-out, RBI double to Ryan Ludwick and a game-tying single to Khalil Greene. The Mather and Greene hits were bouncers through the infield, but Ludwick smoked a line drive into the gap in left.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Left-hander Mark Hendrickson could be pitching for a spot in the starting rotation today, depending on what happens over the next few days with the other starting pitcher candidates. If Rich Hill can't get up to speed, manager Dave Trembley said that he'll be partial to another left-hander, particularly one who has a history of being a fast starter.

"What concerns me is how we start,'' Trembley said. "We have a very tough schedule in April. That's what he (Hendrickson) does. He's a quick starter. What was he last year, 4-0 in April as a starter. Then he has tailed off later in the season and that's the point where they put him in the bullpen."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Rich Hill threw 25 pitches and Koji Uehara threw 35 pitches during their batting practice sessions today, facing Jolbert Cabrera, Felix Pie, Justin Turner and Lou Montanez. Orioles beat writer Jeff Zrebiec reports that Hill's command of the fastball was spotty, but he did snap off some nice breaking balls, one of which prompted Pie to say it was "the best curveball in the league."

Schedule update: Manager Dave Trembley has scheduled an intrasquad game for the offday Wednesday to make up for the innings lost to the rainout yesterday. Rich Hill is tentatively scheduled to pitch that day. Uehara probably will pitch Tuesday against the Washington Nationals.

"I was thinking that would be a day when I just brought in a few guys,'' Trembley said, "I just can't do that."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Manager Dave Trembley said today that one of the reasons Brad Bergesen was sent to the minors yesterday was to cover the team in case somebody gets hurt between now and the start of the season.

"We had to send him out so he can be out for 10 days so if somebody gets hurt we can get him back,'' Trembley said. "He's going to pitch for us, but it's probably not going to happen on April 6.

Still, the move raised some eyebrows because the coaching staff seemed to be projecting Bergesen as one of the five starters after a spring in which he was the most consistent starting pitcher in a spring rotation that still has spots open.

"He had a good spring,'' Trembley said. "He's a guy we all feel would be at the top of the list of guys who are called up here. We needed to get him out so he could get his innings. We think a lot of him. He just didn't make the club out of spring training.

"I told him it's inconceivable to think the 12 or 13 guys we break camp with are going to be here all season."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
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The Orioles are headed for Jupiter this morning for an exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. Mark Hendrickson will be the starting pitcher and Hayden Penn may follow, but those aren't the biggest issues of the day.

Rich Hill and Koji Uehara are scheduled to throw in simulated action today back at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, and the implications of those two seemingly routine rehab workouts are fairly significant.

If all goes well, Hill and Uehara could return to the exhibition rotation later this week. Hill would still be very iffy for Opening Day. Uehara probably could get back on schedule in time to start the season on time.

If either has another setback, the club will be looking at a very different starting rotation than manager Dave Trembley and pitching coach Rick Kranitz were pondering a month ago, but right now it looks like it will be:

Jeremy Guthrie
Koji Uehara
Adam Eaton
Mark Hendrickson
Alfredo Simon

I'm going to guess Hill starts the season in extended spring training and enters the rotation in mid-April, but that's just my guess.

If you recall me projecting a different rotation just 24 hours ago, that was before the Orioles shocked me and everybody else by optioning Brad Bergesen to the Triple-A Norfolk roster. I'm sure we'll get an explanation of that some time this morning.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
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The Orioles coaching staff has been giving every indication for quite some time that pitching prospect Brad Bergesen was a strong contender to be in the major league starting rotation when the club breaks camp in a couple of weeks. In fact, there were allusions to that this morning, just a few hours before the announcement that Bergesen has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

Bergesen has been one of the steadiest pitchers in camp, and it is possible that he could still join the major league rotation early in the season, but it's still a curious about-face by the club.

The only way to make sense of it is figure that the innings crunch has gotten so bad that the club had to send somebody out to stretch out. The squeeze got worse with today's rainout, which forced manager Dave Trembley to move Mark Hendrickson into tomorrow's start in Jupiter and, most likely, pitch Hayden Penn later in the game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Guess it'll all shake out soon enough, but the Orioles certainly caught a lot of us by surprise with this move.

Pitcher Andy Mitchell also was reassigned to the minor league camp in Sarasota.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)
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The exhibition game between the Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays has been cancelled after a heavy rainstorm swept over Fort Lauderdale Stadium. The tarp was on the infield this time and the sun came out by 1 p.m., but the field was too water-logged to play the game safely.

It is the second rainout this week. The first one cost the Orioles half of a split-squad doubleheader on Wednesday.

Don't know if the game could have been played under these conditions at a newer spring training facility, but every time something like this happens it is a reminder of how the Orioles were left behind during a couple of spring training construction bursts in Florida and Arizona.

There are whispers that the O's are making nice with Sarasota and may still get a deal done to play in a renovated Ed Smith Stadium complex. There are other possibilties, but that one seems the most logical from a baseball operations standpoint.

Pitching update: The starting rotation has been adjusted for the rainout. Mark Hendrickson will start tomorrow's game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla., and a determination is yet to be made on the status of Hayden Penn, who was originally scheduled to start the game. Penn could drop in behind Hendrickson or throw in some kind of simulated situation in Fort Lauderdale, where Rich Hill and Koji Uehara already are scheduled to throw to hitters in a simulated game.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon (left) knows a little something about developing players, since he spent most of his career on the front lines of player development in the Angels organization. He also knows something about developing a huge can't-miss prospect, with Evan Longoria coming up with the Rays last year.

Maddon endorses the Orioles plan to wait several weeks on Wieters rather than bringing him up to start the season.

"I spent so much time in development,'' he said. "A lot of times major league people will just look at what a guy, see what the guy does in spring training and try to evaluate him on that. Spring training can be very deceptive. Of course, this guy is good just like Longo (Longoria), but if he starts out in the minor leagues and gets on a roll you can bring him up and he'll take off.

"I've seen so many players who people said they "can't miss" and they're sure to have success at the major league level, and then they don't and they start to scramble. You don't want him to have to scramble. They're doing exactly the right thing."

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
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Dany Baez says his arm feels "perfect" the day after throwing 77 pitches against the New York Mets.

John Parrish is headed to Baltimore to have his shoulder examined and probably scoped.

Brad Hennessey will start the season on the DL and go to extended spring training in Sarasota, but Dave Trembley said he is getting close to throwing off a mound.

Rich Hill and Koji Uehara are scheduled to throw to hitters in batting practice tomorrow. Hill threw on the side again today.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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When manager Dave Trembley was asked today about the eventual makeup of his starting rotation, he volunteered two names first and one of them got everyone's attention.

"I think (Adam) Eaton and (Alfredo) Simon have gotten our interest,'' Trembley said. "They need to pitch well again, especially Simon. I think Simon is more of an unknown, but I like Simon because of his presence on the mound. He's a horse. He throws hard. He gives us a different look."

I guess that means the projected rotation right now would have to be:

Jeremy Guthrie
Koji Uehara
Adam Eaton
Brad Bergesen
Alfredo Simon/Rich Hill

Trembley said that Danys Baez is still in play, but needs to prove he can throw his breaking pitches effectively, and needs to prove that in a hurry. Hayden Penn also remains a candidate, but he needs to open some eyes tomorrow.

"Big start for Hayden tomorrow,'' Trembley said, "a big start. He needs to pitch and pitch well and go deep in the game and do a nice job. There still is a lot of moving around and a lot of pieces."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Tampa Bay Rays

Justin Ruggiano LF
Ray Sadler CF
Willy Aybar 3B
Ben Zobrist 2B
Gabe Gross RF
Morgan Ensberg 1B
Matt Joyce DH
Shawn Riggins C
Ray Olmedo SS

Andy Sonnanstine RHP

Orioles

Felix Pie CF
Ryan Freel SS
Lou Montanez RF
Scott Moore 3B
Oscar Salazar 1B
Matt Wieters C
Jolbert Cabrera LF
Chad Moeller DH
Donnie Murphy 2B

Mark Hendrickson LHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Rotation candidate Brad Bergesen did nothing to hurt his chances of starting the season among the top five starting pitchers. He pitched six innings today in a minor league camp game and gave up no runs on three hits while striking out six. Brian Bass also pitched in a Red Sox minor league game and pitched four innings. He gave up a run on three hits and struck out five.

The Orioles were forced to sent Bergesen and Bass across the state because of the split-squad game that was lost to rain on Wednesday.

That update comes compliments of Orioles media relations manager Jeff Lantz.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
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The Orioles, as expected, announced some cuts at the end of the game. Left fielder Nolan Reimold and reliever Wilfrido Perez were optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Brandon Snyder and Blake Davis were reassigned to minor league camp. And pitcher Scott Chiasson and catcher Guillermo Quiroz were released.

"Perez was probably for me the surprise of the camp,'' manager Dave Trembley said. "We told him what we told Reimold. You start the season with certain guys and you've got to have other guys ready. So I told him to go down to the minor leagues and get ready."

Chiasson was released at his own request so he can join a Mexican League team, but the club failed in a couple of attempts to find something for Quiroz.

"We appreciate what he did for us,'' said Trembley. "We just didn't have a spot
for him."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
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Danys Baez pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. He threw 76 pitches, walking one and striking out one.

What does this tell you? He's not exactly setting the world on fire with his performance against some so-so lineups, but he is stretching oiut nicely, which could put him in position to break camp in the starting rotation by default. Staying there, however, might be a different story.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)
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Danys Baez got in some trouble in the third inning and gave up two runs on four hits, the runs scoring on an RBI groundout by Alex Cora and a run-scoring single by Daniel Murphy. Baez survived a fairly uneventful fourth inning and no one is warming up in the bullpen, so he's coming back for more.

The Orioles just created an opportunity with back-to-back one-out singles by Aubrey Huff and Ty Wigginton, but the inning evaporated when Luke Scott lined softly into a double play.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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If you think the education of a young player stops when he signs his first giant contract, think again. Nick Markakis is getting paid like one of the best right fielders in the league, but he's still trying to become a more well-rounded player.

Today, for instance, he spent time one on one with coach Juan Samuel on the back field, working on baserunning fundamentals. Markakis has decent speed and is equipped to be more aggressive on the basepaths. But he has said in the past he is not particularly comfortable stealing bases, so the team is trying to give him the tools he needs to do that.

He stole 18 bases in 24 attempts two seasons ago, but some of those were on the back end of double steal attempts with teammate Brian Roberts. He stole just 10 of 17 last season with fewer of those opportunities hitting in the third slot.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Rotation candidate Danys Baez is looking solid through his first two innings, giving up just one hit and no walks against a Mets lineup that includes only a couple of starting players. That can't be helped, because of the number of Mets players taking part in the World Baseball Classic, but it makes it tougher for the Orioles coaching staff to judge how far Baez has progressed in his comeback from elbow reconstruction.

Manager Dave Trembley pointed out the same thing after an earlier Baez appearance against the Red Sox. Teams are supposed to bring at least three starting position players on every road trip, but the WBC has made that difficult for a number of teams.

Baez, by the way, threw 26 pitches through the first two innings, 20 of them for strikes.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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The Orioles are getting ready to announce another set of roster cuts, which will include Nolan Reimold and Brandon Snyder. This cut apparently will not, however, include top prospect Matt Wieters.

Reimold had a solid spring and punctuated it with his team-leading fourth home run during yesterday's game against the Washington Nationals at Viera, but he couldn't hide his disappointment about not making the major league roster.

"Absolutely,'' he said, "but I did everything I could. I played pretty well and hopefully left a good impression and will be back sometime in the future."

In 19 Grapefruit League games, he batted .321 and ranked second on the club behind Wieters with eight RBI.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)
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New York Mets

Luis Castillo 2B
Alex Cora SS
Daniel Murphy LF
Nick Evans RF
Ike Davis 1B
Marlon Anderson DH
Jose Valentin 3B
Jeremy Reed CF
Ramon Castro C

Oliver Perez RHP

Orioles

Ryan Freel 2B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Aubrey Huff 1B
Ty Wigginton 3B
Luke Scott DH
Felix Pie LF
Gregg Zaun C
Chris Gomez SS

Danys Baez RHP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Manager Dave Trembley just completed his news briefing with the media in the dugout. He said Jim Johnson is fine and he's not concerned about him being backed up significantly because of the tendinitis in his shoulder.

Koji Uehara is scheduled to throw in simulated game action on Sunday if his sore hamstring feels okay tomorrow.

Trembley also updated everyone on Blake Davis, who had surgery to place a screw in his foot. He will be hobbled for five to six weeks before he resumes baseball activities.

"It's too bad, because he was doing a good job for us,'' Trembley said. "He was going to go to Triple-A and play shortstop."

Though Melvin Mora apparently strained a hamstring during the World Baseball Classic, the Orioles have gotten no official report that he is injured from WBC officials..

"I just thought he and Ramon (Hernandez) were getting the day off (Wednesday),'' Trembley said. "I emailed Melvin, but I haven't heard back from him."

Trembley is meeting with O's president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail about the next round of roster cuts. Don't know yet if any will be announced today or whether top prospect Matt Wieters will go out with the next group.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Koji Uehara said a few minutes ago that he felt fine today, but was not throwing at 100 percent velocity and doesn't know when he will get to that level. When asked when he thought he might be able to pitch in a game again, he said only that he's not yet "mentally ready." Don't exactly know what that means, but it shouldn't be cause for alarm. He continues to claim he will be ready to pitch the second game of the regular season.

"Yes,'' he said through interpreter Jiwon Bang, "I'm planning to be on the mound."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Koji Uehara just threw 54 pitches in his first bullpen session since suffering a strained hamstring in a start two weeks ago against the New York Mets, who -- coincidentally -- arrived at Fort Lauderdale Stadium while he was on the mound.

Uehara then went to the back field and did his running. He looked fine, but we'll get a report from him and his interpreter a little later.

Orioles majority partner Peter Angelos is expected in camp at some point this morning or in the early afternoon. He's expected to watch the game today at Fort Lauderdale Stadium and maybe tomorrow in Jupiter.

Reliever Jim Johnson played catch today to test his tight shoulder. He apparently is suffering from some tendinitis, and not an impingement as previously believed. He will throw a bullpen session in about a week if his rehab continues to go well.

Jeremy Guthrie is probably going to head back from the World Baseball Classic early. If he gets here in time, he'll start on Monday and be followed to the mound by Adam Eaton.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
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No wonder the Orioles were so intent on getting pitcher Alfredo Simon's work visa issues straightened out. Simon pitched four scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals today and retired the first 11 batters he faced before giving up the only hit he surrendered in a very impressive outing. He also struck out three.

Normally, it would be ill-advised to read to much into one spring appearance, but it has gotten to the point where the Orioles can't afford to be choosy when somebody makes a move in the right direction.

The regular season rotation remains so uncertain that there are any number of combinations that you could put together and have a chance to be right. Simon wasn't on anybody's list a month ago, but that was before Brad Hennessey and John Parrish quickly fell out of consideration and Rich Hill needed several weeks to get healthy enough to compete for one of the three open slots.

Adam Eaton, Brad Bergesen, Rich Hill, Danys Baez, Brian Bass and Hayden Penn all are still viable, with Simon suddenly looking like he wants to crash this party.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
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Gary Williams was on WBAL's Sportsline with me and Loyola basketball coach Jimmy Patsos last night and pointed out the paradox a team faces when it plays Cal. The Bears shoot as well as anyone from the three-point line (43.4 percent), with Jerome Randall making nearly half of his shots from the arc (46.8 percent.) and Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson also very accurate, but defending them on that basis is problematic because they don't shoot the three as often as you would expect with that success rate.

"Their strength is their guards,'' Williams said. "They have really good guards and they can all shoot. They are the best three-point shooting team in the country -- they shoot 42 percent from the three-point line, but what's strange about it, they don't take that many. They only take 15 or 16 a game where some of the teams we play shoot 21 or 22 per game."

If you want to hear the rest of Gary's comments on today's game, go to WBAL.com and go to my show page. The interview is right at the top of the audio highlights.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

The Orioles play the Washington Nationals today in Viera, Fla. Alfredo Simon will take the mound first for the O's, then be followed by Hayden Penn and Radhames Liz. The other pitchers on the trip include Dennis Sarfate, Kam Mickolio and Wilfrido Perez.

Does anybody remember that I had Wilfrido on my projected 25-man roster before the start of training camp? Of course not, but I do. He has been terrific this spring, but he's still something of longshot to make the club, and my colleagues are still making fun of me for that pick. Something about a blind squirrel finding an acorn once in awhile.

Here's the lineup for today's game:

Justin Christian CF
Chris Gomez SS
Lou Montanez RF
Oscar Salazar 1B
Scott Moore 3B
Nolan Reimold LF
Gregg Zaun C
Robbie Hammock DH
Justin Turner 2B

Alfredo Simon SP

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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For those who wrote in asking whether the Orioles had a chance to get relief pitcher and Rule V draftee Rocky Cherry back, the answer is yes. He had to be offered back to the O's before he was placed on waivers by the New York Mets, but the Orioles were not interested in adding him back to their crowded pitching roster.

The Mets paid the Orioles a $50,000 draft price when they took Cherry in the Rule V draft. The O's could have taken him back for $25,000, but declined.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
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Rich Hill threw again this morning in one of the covered bullpens and stretched out to about 60 pitches in his first extended workout of the spring. He reported no soreness in his elbow, but was not happy with his command. Pitching coach Rick Kranitz stood in the left batters box to evaluate him and almost got beaned by one errant pitch.

Despite some control issues, it had to be considered a step forward if Hill wakes up pain-free tomorrow. If he can get into an exhibition game early next week and continue to stretch his arm out without a setback, it's still possible for him to start the season in the rotation.

Manager Dave Trembley said yesterday that "it will be close," and that presumes that Hill does not take any steps -- physically or otherwise -- in the wrong direction. Hill is scheduled to throw to hitters on Sunday.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Orioles pitching coach Rick Kranitz went to Dolphin Stadium last night to watch Jeremy Guthrie start against Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. He said this morning that he'd rather be watching him pitch in an Orioles uniform.

"We need him to get back here,'' he said. "We need him to go through some lineups and get stretched out."

Kranitz wasn't terribly critical of Guthrie's performance, but it's fair to say he hasn't had a great tournament. Guthrie lasted 1 2/3 innings and gave up seven hits and six runs, but only two of the runs were earned. He threw 52 pitches, so he did get his work in.

"His command wasn't that good,'' Kranitz said. "I think he pitched behind in the count a little too much, but that's going to happen when your facing some pretty good hitters in that situation."

Guthrie accompanied Team USA to Los Angeles, but the Orioles are hopeful that he'll return before the end of the tournament and pitch in an exhibition game on Sunday. Kranitz talked to him last night and said he expects to talk to him again by phone today. The big question is whether Guthrie still has a chance to pitch in either the semifinal game on Sunday night or Monday's final if Team USA is still alive.

"If he isn't going to pitch, we need him here,'' Kranitz said.

Getty Images

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Rotation candidate Adam Eaton pitched four innings against the Cardinals today in a performance that mirrored his first exhibition start as an Oriole, except for being one inning longer.

Eaton gave up two runs (one earned) in the first inning and then settled down. He needed some help from his defense, but he retired the final eight batters he faced.

His line: 4 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 W 2 K.

He has given up three earned runs on seven hits over seven innings in his two appearances, both of which against the Cardinals. He hasn't been overwhelming, but with the Orioles pitching situation in such disarray, he has probably been good enough to project as the No. 3 starter.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 2:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
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Here's a follow-up on the morning comments of manager Dave Trembley and pitching coach Rick Kranitz with a little more specific rundown of the pitching situation for the next few days:

Tomorrow: Alfredo Simon, Hayden Penn, Radhames Liz and Dennis Sarfate are scheduled to face the Nationals in Viera.

Friday: Danys Baez, Matt Albers and Chris Ray will face the Mets at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Brad Bergesen and Brian Bass will pitch against the Boston Red Sox minor leaguers at Fort Myers.

Pitching coach Rick Kranitz said Koji Uehara would throw a bullpen session on Friday, face hitters in simulated action on Sunday and perhaps pitch in a game on Mar. 24. Interestingly enough, the 24th was the date the Japanese media was throwing around within a day or two after Uehara first tweaked his left hamstring. Kranitz laid out the whole plan, but conceded that everything would depend on how Koji feels after Friday's workout. "You can't decide on anything past the side session,'' Kranitz said, "but you have to plan it out."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 1:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Manager Dave Trembley gave his morning press briefing at the Fort Lauderdale complex this morning before heading to Jupiter. He said he is as surprised as everyone else that the rotation situation has not become more focused over the past few weeks.

"We've done our best and will continue to do our best to provide opportunities,'' he said. "I think what has happened is, people have let us know where they are at. The guys that have pitched have shown what they can do and the guys that haven't pitched, it's an unfortunate situation. Some people have really just been put on the back burner. They are no longer a priority. I've come to grips with the fact that it's not going to happen, so there are other guys that are stepping up."

Of course, the guys who have stepped up have not done so dynamically enough that they are ready to be penciled into the regular season rotation, and you'd think somebody would have by now with the large number of candidates.

"Yes, I agree with that,'' Trembley added. "At first blush, it would appear that there still are no real frontrunners for anything past Uehara. We haven't seen anybody step up and say I'm the third, fourth or fifth starter."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Rick Kranitz said this morning that -- in hindsight -- Team USA's ninth-inning comeback last night was particularly important from an Orioles perspective.

"It really would have been rough if the USA had lost,'' he said, "(Jeremy) Guthrie was going to pitch here today."

That would have become problematic because the game at Fort Lauderdale Stadium has been cancelled. The Orioles probably would have tried to get him into the split-squad game in Jupiter, Fla., but they also need to keep Adam Eaton on schedule, so it would have been complicated. It's still going to be complicated if the other game ends up being washed out, but it looks like the rain will subside.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
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Pitching coach Rick Kranitz and manager Dave Trembley have been working furiously to update their pitching plans now that they've lost at least one of today's split-squad games against the St. Louis Cardinals.

The game in Jupiter is still on, as of now, though it's raining up there, too. Several pitchers are going to have to go out to pitch in minor league games over the next few days to stay on schedule, including Brad Bergesen, who is going to pitch against the Red Sox minor leaguers on Friday in Fort Myers.

Koji Uehara said a little while ago that his brief running session on Monday went fine, despite reports earlier that he cut it short. He was scheduled to run again today, but that idea was shelved because the field is very wet. He will throw off a mound on Friday and is tentatively set to face a few hitters in a simulated situation on Sunday. Kranitz said if all goes well, he'll pitch in a game on Tuesday.

Rich Hill is progressing and could get into a game next week. "To me,'' Kranitz said, "he's ready to go."

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
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The split-squad game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Fort Lauderdale Stadium has been called on account of a very wet field. The other half of the split-squad twinbill still is scheduled for Jupiter, where the weather forecast is better. Presumably, the O's will ship some regulars up there for that game. The Cardinals' facility is less than an hour away.

Posted by Peter Schmuck at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Just baseball