masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgSARASOTA, Fla. – It appears that Twitter has taken the morning off. I haven’t been able to access it or post an update in more than an hour.

So much for following me at @MASNroch. It’s probably just as well. I’ve been known to stop short.

The Orioles put a ping pong table in the middle of the clubhouse, which proves that manager Buck Showalter isn’t all business. He’ll let the guys have a little fun, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their work.

J.J. Hardy is ridiculously good. So…SARASOTA, Fla. – It appears that Twitter has taken the morning off. I haven’t been able to access it or post an update in more than an hour.

So much for following me at @MASNroch. It’s probably just as well. I’ve been known to stop short.

The Orioles put a ping pong table in the middle of the clubhouse, which proves that manager Buck Showalter isn’t all business. He’ll let the guys have a little fun, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their work.

J.J. Hardy is ridiculously good. So are Nick Markakis and Jake Arrieta, but Hardy looks like the undisputed champion. Nice reflexes.

(Wait for the seamless transition)

Cesar Izturis is showing off his reflexes at second base. (There it is.)

He’s making the move from shortstop look much easier than it actually is, and it’s worth noting that he’s only played two games there since 2001.

“I think it’s the hardest move for an infielder to make,” Showalter said. “Michael (Young) and I talked about that in Texas. It’s the one time you have your back to the danger, so to speak. It’s a lot easier to go from second to short if you have the arm strength, because everything’s in front of you.

“On the pivot, when you go from third or short to second, it really requires you to be good mechanically with how you turn the double play, and we’ve got one of the bests of all time in Willie (Randolph) when it came to turning the double play. Nobody turned it as good as Willie. You couldn’t hit him. Reggie Smith was talking about He said, ‘I hunted him the whole World Series and couldn’t get him.’

“The whole thing is keeping your spikes out of the ground at the right time. There was a way Willie did it with his left foot. He’ll help Izzy, but Izzy will work at it, too.”