SARASOTA, Fla. - Vladimir Guerrero played catch with Felix Pie on one of the back fields this morning and headed to the indoor cage to hit some balls off a tee.
Guerrero apparently will not hit outdoors today.
Also, for everyone who's obsessed with seeing Guerrero in his Orioles' uniform, he wore a black shirt and shorts on the field. No uniform. And keep in mind that players aren't donning the home whites here. They're wearing black and orange practice jerseys.
You've seen a similar...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Clubhouse manager Fred Tyler spent part of his morning sorting through batting helmets, trying to find one that fit Vladimir Guerrero's head.
Cesar Izturis, Felix Pie, Nick Green and Randy Winn reported to camp this morning, and Nick Markakis is expected to arrive later today. They'll also need helmets, but it won't be as interesting to watch.
Everything that Guerrero does draws the attention of teammates and reporters. Imagine what will happen once he picks up a bat...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. today at the Ed Smith Stadium complex to introduce Vladimir Guerrero, who passed his physical and signed a one-year, $8 million deal.
As expected, the Orioles moved Alfredo Simon to the restricted list to make room for the nine-time All-Star, who will serve as the cleanup hitter and regular designated hitter.
Guerrero isn't likely to play the outfield in Grapefruit League games, but manager Buck Showalter will have to figure...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Craig Tatum knows what it's like to arrive in camp with expectations for him that are lower than the contents of Miguel Cabrera's scotch bottle.
Tatum wasn't supposed to beat out Chad Moeller last spring for the backup job behind starting catcher Matt Wieters, but he did it. And that explains why Tatum hasn't grown too comfortable despite being the incumbent.
Tatum's stiffest challenge comes from Jake Fox, who also can play the corner infield positions and left field....
SARASOTA, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter had some flattering observations about catcher Matt Wieters, who seems to be everybody's choice to have a breakout season.
"You can just tell by his face a little bit, Matt takes everything personal with the pitching staff," Showalter said. "Everybody I've talked to, and I've talked to a lot of people who have had him, whether it's minor league managers or coaches or college coaches, say that Matt was not only a good player, obviously, but...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Pitcher Mitch Atkins is dealing with a strained left oblique, and Rule 5 pick Adrian Rosario was sent home again today with a slight fever.
Luis Lebron threw another bullpen session today, and his pitches were much crisper. Manager Buck Showalter also noted that Lebron walked off the mound with a smile on his face.
Vladimir Guerrero isn't likely to play the outfield in exhibition games.
"I don't have any plans to do it right now," Showalter said.
Guerrero has made it...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Vladimir Guerrero is sitting at his locker this morning. The results of his physical could be obtained later today, but he's still scheduled to be introduced to the media tomorrow.
In the meantime, he'll hit the weights and enjoy the rest of his day.
It's an abbreviated workout today. Manager Buck Showalter and a group of players are participating in Jim Johnson's charity golf tournament, so we'll be wrapping up before noon.
I can hit the weights and enjoy the rest of...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Robert Andino is taking his physical this morning and throwing his hat into the utility ring.
With Cesar Izturis assured of making the club as the backup middle infielder, Andino will try to win a job as a reserve at the corners. He's never played first base, and his six career starts at third base came last season.
"Just catch the ball," he said. "That's all it is. Just catch the ball."
Andino didn't do it enough last year to impress former manager Dave Trembley, and...
SARASOTA, Fla. - What makes a good bullpen session?
As a friend and former colleague pointed out, it's whenever the catcher walks up to the pitcher afterward and shakes his hand.
No injury, no problem.
Jeremy Guthrie completed his second session here in Sarasota without a hitch or a glitch. He mixed in a fastball, curveball and changeup, and Jake Fox shook his hand in between the mound and the plate.
It's common for the two participants to meet in the middle.
Guthrie will incorporate his...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Pitchers Justin Duchscherer and Adrian Rosario were sent back to their condo and hotel, respectively, because they're dealing with virus symptoms. They weren't scheduled to throw today, so at least they exhibited good timing.
Manager Buck Showalter included Josh Bell among the players who are competing for a utility spot. Mark Reynolds is the starting third baseman, which seems to indicate that Bell is headed to Triple-A Norfolk. That's still the likely outcome, but Bell...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Mark Reynolds put on quite a display on one of the back fields this afternoon, hitting tape-measure home runs each time he stepped into the cage.
He launched a few balls to center field. He bounced a few more into the parking lot beyond the left field fence. And he lowered the temperature around the cage by five or six degrees each time he took another mighty swing.
We're still learning about Reynolds, but we found out today that he owns Double-A manager Gary Kendall, who...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles drafted Brandon Snyder as a catcher back in 2005, making him the 13th overall pick. They moved him to third base and first base, leading to the assumption that he'd never again wear shin guards and a chest protector, though some of those hops can be pretty nasty.
Snyder is still viewed by team officials as a first baseman, but he'll get some work behind the plate this spring to increase his versatility and value to the organization.
"I'm excited," he said....
SARASOTA, Fla. - Vladimir Guerrero will officially become an Oriole once he passes his physical and signs his contract. He already turned plenty of heads when he arrived this morning, accompanied by agent Fernando Cuza, his cousin and a friend.
The cousin was wearing a bright pink T-shirt and skin-tight jeans. He bears enough of a resemblance to Guerrero, including the facial hair, that I initially thought the future Hall of Famer was making a fashion statement of some sort.
By the way,...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Vladimir Guerrero has arrived at camp and is preparing to take his physical.
Guerrero showed up wearing a black T-shirt and jeans. He's also sporting a thick goatee.
We'll see if the facial hair policy applies to him.
Guerrero's agent, Fernando Cuza, also is here and will serve as an interpreter when Guerrero is introduced to the media. We're expecting a press conference on Friday, though we've learned to be flexible when it comes to these things.
Guerrero and the...
SARASOTA, Fla. - New pitching coach Mark Connor interrupted Rick VandenHurk's bullpen session today and slid the rosin bag underneath the pitcher's right heel.
I'll admit, that was a first for me. I hadn't seen a pitching coach use this technique, though it's probably been done.
"Just putting myself in a better position," VandenHurk said. "I had a little too much weight on my heel instead of my front foot, so he put that there to get my weight a little bit more on my front foot so I...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Justin Duchscherer is probably ahead of most, if not all, of the pitchers in camp after throwing for scouts during the winter.
He's definitely ahead of himself in previous springs.
"Usually, I'd come to spring training having thrown maybe one or two bullpens to save my bullets, but this season was a little different," he said. "I had to get ready to show teams I was healthy."
Duchscherer threw his first Sarasota bullpen session today, breaking out all four of his...
SARASOTA, Fla. - I'll file quotes later today, but I wanted to pass along a few nuggets from today's workout.
First baseman Brandon Snyder reported to camp.
Luis Lebron, who underwent ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in May, threw off a mound for the first time today.
Justin Duchscherer threw all four of his pitches among the 40 that were unleashed in his session. He was pleased with his breaking ball, which he explained had more movement because of the humidity. He's...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Infielder Brendan Harris and minor league outfielder Matt Angle are here today. Add them to the list of early arrivals, which also includes first baseman Joe Mahoney.
Mahoney, the Orioles' minor league player of the year, had a long chat with Harris this morning. I assumed that they knew each other, though I couldn't figure out how, but they just met.
Chris Tillman and Jake Arrieta will throw their first bullpen sessions today.
Players will take the field around 10 a.m....
SARASOTA, Fla. - I wanted to dump out the rest of my spring training bag for today. I'll also let you know that tomorrow's workout is slated to begin around 10 a.m., two hours earlier than today.
The crowd was pretty small. I'd say it was a modest gathering. But word on the street is that parking was limited because of the construction vehicles. Try again tomorrow.
As I mentioned earlier, Koji Uehara threw his fourth bullpen session this afternoon. Unlike the others, he did so under close...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter is pleased with how smoothly today's workout ran. No injuries that he's aware of, no reason to be alarmed in any way.
"We got through it," he said. "I haven't talked to the trainers and coaches yet, but so far, so good. We got most everybody here with the exception of (Alfredo) Simon, obviously. No red flags yet health-wise.
"The physicals were pretty good. Just some of the normal precautions that we already knew about."
Pitchers Brandon Erbe...
