SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are completing their latest workout today, with exhibition games starting on Tuesday. Manager Buck Showalter ran a popup drill on the main field that included crowd noise piped through the sound system. Same as last spring. Hopefully, the neighbors won't complain again. Chaz Roe threw a bullpen session. His left knee must be fine. Other pitchers throwing today included Zach Britton, Darren O'Day, Brian Matusz, Ubaldo Jimenez, Odrisamer Despaigne, Mychal Givens,...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Davis passed through the press workroom this morning and was subjected to the traditional media selfie. Our latest victim. The annual nutrition meeting is being held this morning inside the Orioles clubhouse. Players are reminded not to chug bacon fat. I'll always appreciate the year that one player brought in a box of donuts for the occasion. Mike Wright wants to slice through the Braves' lineup on Tuesday like a hot knife through butter. Also not recommended by...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Tillman described his injury this morning as a "hip flexor," but added that it feels much better today and he doesn't anticipate it building into anything serious. Tillman didn't pitch yesterday because of the discomfort that first surfaced on Thursday. "Felt much better today," he said. "Just want to be careful with it. We want to stay ahead of it and they'll check it out today. "It's more of a hip, like a hip flexor. The reason it's confusing is because I...

VIERA, Fla. - If yesterday's intrasquad game wasn't enough to whet your appetite for exhibition baseball, you're in luck: The Nationals are holding another intrasquad showdown today! It'll be the same format as yesterday's game. First pitch at 11 a.m., with free admission to the public. Pitchers are scheduled to go one inning apiece, and the game will be a maximum of eight innings. Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez get the starts, their first game-like appearances of the spring. Several...

We should certainly not be surprised anymore. But when some analysts released their lists of Major League Baseball power rankings for the 2016 season, they don't see the Orioles as very powerful. The latest publication to predict a poor season for the Orioles is Sports Illustrated. In his first MLB power ranking of the 2016 season for SI.com, Jonah Keri has the Orioles rated No. 23 out of 30 teams. As for the rest of the American League East, the prediction is No. 8 for Boston, No. 9 for...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Tillman will begin his morning by explaining the nature of an injury that prevented him from starting yesterday's intrasquad game. Judging by manager Buck Showalter's description, it appears that Tillman is bothered by a sore groin muscle. The Orioles naturally are being careful with him and will set up an MRI later this week if there's no improvement. It's way too early to lament how the Orioles signed a starter and lost a starter, but there was disappointment...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter tried to provide some clarity to the Chris Tillman injury that kept the right-hander out of today's intrasquad game at Ed Smith Stadium. We know it's a core muscle injury and it's serious enough that he didn't pitch today and won't work out on Monday. However, Showalter also noted that the team is being cautious and no MRI is scheduled at this point. "He said it doesn't bother him running or throwing," Showalter said. "Right now, it's...

Adam Jones delivered some tough news to Orioles fans over the weekend: He and the team will no longer celebrate wins by giving pies to the face. The reason being to the discontinuation of the recent tradition is safety related, not wanting to risk injuring a teammate with the aggressive nature of the celebration. Understandable, but the news still comes as a bummer for Birdland. Jones still wishes to continue his relationship with Dangerously Delicious Pies, who became the supplier of the pies...

Ian Desmond has reportedly agreed to a one-year deal worth $8 million with the Texas Rangers. Since Texas already has a shortstop, Desmond is likely to start the season as a left fielder. The Rangers travel to Baltimore to face the Orioles from Aug. 2-4. The Nationals will receive a compensation pick for Desmond in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft. The Nationals currently have selections No. 29 (Jordan Zimmermann compensation) and No. 58 in the first two rounds. The Tigers must forfeit their...

VIERA, Fla. - Dusty Baker was out of baseball only two years, but a lot happened in those two years, most notably the expansion of instant replay in the sport. So Baker's biggest challenge now that he's managing the Nationals after a couple of years away from the game might have nothing to do with lineups or pitching changes, but replay challenge strategy. Baker got something of a crash course in that subject, plus Major League Baseball's recent rule changes, during a two-hour meeting this...