masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgSARASOTA, Fla. – After going from Sarasota to Port Charlotte and back to the Ed Smith Stadium complex yesterday and filing 10 blog entries, I’d expect the pace to slow down a bit today.
Famous last words.
I’d also anticipate going the entire day and night without writing about Suk-min Yoon except for this one reference. We’ll always have spring training 2014. Time to let him go.
It didn’t work out. He’s going to be much happier with the Kia Tigers. The Orioles aren’t going to lose a…

SARASOTA, Fla. – After going from Sarasota to Port Charlotte and back to the Ed Smith Stadium complex yesterday and filing 10 blog entries, I’d expect the pace to slow down a bit today.

Famous last words.

I’d also anticipate going the entire day and night without writing about Suk-min Yoon except for this one reference. We’ll always have spring training 2014. Time to let him go.

It didn’t work out. He’s going to be much happier with the Kia Tigers. The Orioles aren’t going to lose a minute’s sleep over his return to South Korea. They should be glad that they saved $4.3 million.

Yoon garnered most of the attention yesterday, which is a shame considering that the Orioles won their first two exhibition games. They rallied to beat the Rays in Port Charlotte and used dominant pitching and one huge swing from Chris Davis to shut out the Blue Jays at home.

miguel-gonzalez-orange.jpgIt was a nice anniversary gift for Buck and Angela Showalter.

Miguel Gonzalez retired six of seven Blue Jays while relying mostly on his fastball.

“He was sharp,” Showalter said. “All of the pitchers were sharp over there and here. It was good to see. I thought everybody threw the ball well. It was a good day for our pitching.”

It was a good night for Davis, whose home run traveled an estimated 430 feet.

“It sounded good,” Showalter said. “He’s been working real hard with Cooley (Scott Coolbaugh) and get a little return on it. Nothing wind-aided tonight. Thick air and he had to square it up.

“J.J. (Hardy) had the ideal at-bats. Three line drives at people. You want that to happen down here. Everybody in the dugout was talking that you want to hit as many line drives at people down here that you can.”

Tommy Hunter is experimenting with a new pitch. Showalter referenced it last night and Hunter brought it up to me earlier in camp, though he wouldn’t identify it.

“Tommy’s been messing around with a pitch that he used some tonight,” Showalter said. “It was pretty effective. He threw it four or five times and that was good to see.”

Mychal Givens retired all three batters he faced.

“I wanted Dave (Wallace) and Dom (Chiti) to see Givens,” Showalter said. “We had some choices there and I wanted them to take a look at him. He’s got a big arm and a good angle.”

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop robbed Dayan Viciedo of a hit by backhanding a smash up the middle and making the throw to first.

“Schoop seems to make a play every night, doesn’t he?” Showalter said.

Showalter won’t take many regulars to Dunedin today for a 1:07 p.m. game against the Blue Jays. J.P. Arencibia will be behind the plate, in case you’re tracking the backup catcher competition.

The Blue Jays are starting R.A. Dickey, which is never a lot of fun for opposing hitters.

“You really won’t see a whole lot going over to see the knuckleball,” Showalter said.

Mike Wright makes his first start for the Orioles and probably will work two innings, as Gonzalez and Wei-Yin Chen did yesterday in separate games.

Showalter thought about having the players who are staying back report later this morning, but he decided to keep them on the regular schedule and instruct them to take the field for the workout around 10 a.m.

“I was talking to J.J. today,” Showalter said, “and I asked, ‘What time did you get up today? Did you get to sleep in?’ And he said, ‘No, everybody’s looking at the ceiling at 6:30,’ so I think they’d rather get up and get it over with.”