The Orioles optioned infielders Josh Bell, Rhyne Hughes, Brandon Snyder and Michael Aubrey to Triple-A Norfolk. Infielder Pedro Florimon was optioned to Double-A Bowie. Pitchers Frank Mata, Josh Perrault and Dennis Sarfate, and outfielder Jonathan Tucker were assigned to minor league camp because they're not on the 40-man roster.
The moves leave the Orioles with 37 players in camp:
PITCHERS (18)
Albers, Matt - RHP
Bergesen, Brad - RHP
Berken, Jason - RHP
Castillo, Alberto -...
For the Orioles:
Brian Roberts 2B
Miguel Tejada 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Matt Wieters DH
Adam Jones CF
Luke Scott 1B
Nolan Reimold LF
Craig Tatum C
Cesar Izturis SS
Chris Tillman RHP
For the Twins:
Denard Span CF
Alexi Casilla SS
Michael Cuddyer RF
Jacque Jones DH
Delmon Young LF
Brendan Harris 3B
Wilson Ramos C
Brock Peterson 1B
Matt Tolbert 2B
Scott Baker RHP
The Orioles have delayed posting their lineup until manager Dave Trembley meets with the players who are being assigned to the minor league camp.
Brandon Snyder, Dennis Sarfate, Josh Bell, Rhyne Hughes, Jonathan Tucker and Pedro Florimon are six of the players headed to the other side. And more cuts are coming, but the clubhouse is closed to the media.
"It's better than making that drive from Fort Lauderdale. That was a pain," Snyder said as he packed his uniform pants and other...
The Orioles just announced that David and John Stockstill are changing roles.
As a result of the moves, which will be effective on April 5, David has been named director of international operations and John has been designated the director of player development.
David will be in charge of the scouting in the Far East, Latin America and beyond. He'll also oversee player development in the Dominican Republic.
"Both David and John are valued members of our staff, and we feel this change...
The dogfight continues for the last spot or two in the Orioles' bullpen. Matt Albers and Kam Mickolio each posted a scoreless inning yesterday, proving again that their bite is worse than their bark. Or something like that.
Albers is out of options, so he'd have to pass through waivers before being sent down. He's going to make the decision especially difficult for manager Dave Trembley.
Albers gets a lot of attention for his weight, but his ERA certainly looks lighter. He's allowed three...
In my continuing quest to bring you the latest sports news from around the globe - or at least parts of Florida - I spent about four hours last night with the Sarasota Roller Girls at a local establishment called "Beery's."
I know, I know...like we haven't all done that before.
They have a blog (who doesn't?) and also can be found on Facebook and MySpace. They also hip-check if you crowd them at the bar.
They actually have their home bouts at Stardust Event Center across the street...
Matt Albers struck out Marcus Thames with two outs and a runner on first base to complete the Orioles' 8-0 victory over the Yankees.
Albers allowed a leadoff single before getting the next three outs. Kam Mickolio also allowed a hit in a scoreless inning, and he struck out two batters.
The dogfight continues.
Matt Wieters, Adam Jones and Garrett Atkins each had two RBIs today. Atkins had one coming into the game.
Please allow me to pass along manager Dave Trembley's post-game comments for...
Michael Aubrey singled while I was waiting to interview Brad Bergesen. Good for him. It's been a rough spring for the first baseman.
Brad Bergesen is happy with today's start, but he's not satisfied.
"There are a few things I still need to focus on and accomplish this spring training, but I felt that much more like myself today and I just need to continue to build on that," he said. "There were a couple mental mistakes I made today later in the inning, I think in the fifth, when I made...
Brad Bergesen left today's game to a loud ovation. Manager Dave Trembley shook his hand and patted his back at least four times. I lost track.
I only count pitches, not pats.
Bergesen blanked the Yankees on three hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two.
Trembley brought in Alberto Castillo after Alex Rodriguez drew a two-out walk.
Bergesen threw 76 pitches, 51 for strikes. I don't think we need to worry about his shoulder anymore.
Heck, you can stop worrying about the...
Former Orioles Eddie Murray, Brady Anderson, Mike Boddicker and Ben McDonald will join the MASN broadcast booth for select games this season. They'll assist with the color commentary on a rotating basis.
Anderson will provide television and radio analysis, and appear on the O's Xtra pre- and post-game shows on April 23-25 in Boston. Other dates will be announced.
Each player will work nearly a dozen games.
Perhaps you find it interesting that Boddicker was once traded to the Red Sox for...
Matt Wieters, batting .179 coming into the game, just lined a two-run double in left-center field in the third inning.
Orioles 4, Yankees 0.
Miguel Tejada and Nick Markakis singled before Wieters came to the plate.
Adam Jones will take aim at the Yankees' bus again. Maybe he'll break some glass this time.
Nope. Jones walked. Still no outs and left-hander Boone Logan taking the mound for the Yankees.
Update: Luke Scott reached on Robinson Cano's throwing error, allowing a run to score....
Adam Jones just hit a two-run homer and a bus.
Jones launched a pitch from Alfredo Aceves over the left field fence in the second inning, and the ball slammed off one of the buses that transported the Yankees to Sarasota.
That's four homers and six RBIs for Jones, who jumped on an 0-1 pitch after Matt Wieters walked and gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead.
Update: Brad Bergesen retired the first seven batters of the game before Randy Winn blooped a double near the left field line. Felix Pie seemed...
Brad Bergesen needed only six pitches to get through the top of the first inning. Five of them were strikes.
Derek Jeter grounded to second, with Ty Wigginton ranging far to his right to make the backhanded pickup. Nick Johnson flied to center, and Mark Teixeira grounded to Cesar Izturis, who was playing on the right side as part of the infield shift.
Of course, you already know this if you're watching the game on MASN.
See you in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Update: Bergesen has...
Jake Arrieta told reporters earlier today that he met with manager Dave Trembley, pitching coach Rick Kranitz and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail about joining the minor league camp. The idea apparently came from the young right-hander, which is an unusual occurrence.
Arrieta only pitched five innings, not counting an intrasquad game. He knew where he'd start the season, and it wasn't in the Orioles' rotation or bullpen. No sense delaying the inevitable.
"During BP I...
Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts will make his first spring start tomorrow night against the Minnesota Twins.
Manager Dave Trembley isn't certain how long Roberts will play or how many at-bats he'll receive. Trembley also must decide whether to play Roberts in consecutive games or give him Saturday off.
"The only thing I'm saying today is he's going to play tomorrow," Trembley said. "It's been kind of a little bit of a hectic day for us with the meetings. I'd like to look at it...
The clubhouse remained closed to the media today, with players taking the field for batting practice after their union meeting adjourned.
Michael Weiner, general counsel to the players association, has two more camps to visit this spring. His car was pointed in the general direction of Fort Myers.
"It's mostly about getting ready for bargaining because there's such turnover in the player composition that you have a lot of players who haven't been through it before," he said. "The...
For the Orioles:
Felix Pie LF
Miguel Tejada 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Matt Wieters C
Adam Jones CF
Luke Scott DH
Garrett Atkins 1B
Ty Wigginton 2B
Cesar Izturis SS
Brad Bergesen RHP
For the Yankees:
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Johnson DH
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Nick Swisher RF
Marcus Thames LF
Randy Winn CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Alfredo Aceves RHP
The Orioles have assigned pitcher Jake Arrieta to the minor league camp, reducing their spring training roster to 47 players.
Arrieta needs the innings, and they won't come in Grapefruit League games with the projected starters being stretched out.
Look for Arrieta to reappear in Triple-A Norfolk's rotation in April.
The right-hander allowed three earned runs (five total) and seven hits in five innings this spring, with four walks and nine strikeouts.
This place looks familiar. Is it...could it be...Sarasota?
I might drive around Ed Smith Stadium 172 times before parking my car, just so it feels like a road trip.
The Orioles are home for three straight games, beginning today against the New York Yankees. That means they'll be able to work on some fundamentals on the back fields, a luxury they didn't have because of all the recent travel.
The clubhouse won't be open to the media in the morning because the players have a union meeting....
I was told again this afternoon that the Orioles won't be issuing a statement regarding the Stockstill brothers before Friday.
They're expected to announce that David and John have switched roles. David will become director of international scouting, and John will become director of player development.
Sounds like a Lindsay Lohan movie.
President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail declined to comment when I approached him in the visiting clubhouse after the game, but a member of the...