SARASOTA, Fla. - We've arrived at Day 2 of the Orioles' spring training workouts. And with the physicals done, they return to a normal schedule that gets players on and off the field earlier than yesterday. The highlight remains the bullpen sessions. Nothing against pitchers fielding practice, but ... the highlight remains the bullpen sessions. Ubaldo Jimenez will throw today while continuing to focus on repeating his delivery. It's a daily battle for a guy whose arms and legs tend to fly in...

VIERA, Fla. - There aren't many significant jobs up for grabs this spring, but there is one high-profile position that figures to be decided via an open competition over the next six weeks: shortstop. That's not a position that has featured much, if any, uncertainty in some time, not with Ian Desmond entrenching himself as the Nationals' everyday shortstop over the last five seasons. But with Desmond now gone, new manager Dusty Baker has an array of choices that includes longtime second...

When it comes to starting pitchers, is more now better? Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci wrote about this recently in a season preview column. He sees a trend developing in the sport where there seem to be fewer workhorse pitchers. With fewer pitchers that can give you a lot of innings, teams are using more starting pitchers to cover those innings than ever before. "Teams now want to divide the work among more and more arms," Verducci writes. "Only 78 pitchers last season worked enough to...

SARASOTA, Fla. - I listed 14 pitchers in my last blog entry who threw bullpen sessions today. Non-roster right-hander Todd Redmond also was scheduled, but he left camp to attend to a family matter. He's expected to return within the next few days. There were plenty of other arms to hold manager Buck Showalter's attention. "I checked off the guys before today that I was going to be sure I got to see and didn't miss," Showalter said. "I don't know (Dale) Thayer that well, (Odrisamer)...

VIERA, Fla. - Dusty Baker knows his return to a big league dugout after a two-year hiatus is rare, not only to baseball but to professional sports in general. So when it came time to seek advice from somebody who might be able to offer some insight into the situation, Baker turned to a man who returned to his sport after a far longer break. And that man just happened to be a Washington sports icon: Joe Gibbs. Baker called the Hall of Fame coach earlier this week and wound up having a lengthy...

VIERA, Fla. - Jonathan Papelbon knew his first appearance in the Nationals' spring training clubhouse, plus his first appearance with reporters, since his final-week suspension last September was going to be his first - and best - opportunity to make amends for the event that led to his premature trip home to Mississippi. So over the course of 10 minutes in the locker room with teammates Friday afternoon and then 12 minutes seated behind a table in the makeshift news conference room at Space...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles' first workout today lasted about 2½ hours, including the stretching exercises. Pitchers did the usual fielding drills, coming off the mound to scoop up slow rollers or cover first base. They also ran sprints. Manager Buck Showalter, fungo bat in hand, lectured different groups. It was a typical first day. The bullpen sessions were broken down into five groups: Zach Britton, T.J. McFarland and Dale Thayer Pedro Beato and Odrisamer Despaigne Chad Roe, Mike Wright...

About nine days before Orioles minor league pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training, a group of 37 players will report for an early camp in Sarasota, Fla. The list includes 18 pitchers, four catchers, nine infielders and six outfielders. They'll report to the O's Twin Lakes complex starting next Tuesday, Feb. 23. This will give this group of players an earlier start to their season and some of these players could be used by the Orioles in early exhibition games that...

SARASOTA, Fla. - As the Orioles attempt to sign another starting pitcher, with Yovani Gallardo still atop the wish list while negotiations drag on, Ubaldo Jimenez can tell them a thing or two about arriving late to camp and getting acclimated. The Orioles didn't sign Jimenez until Feb. 19, 2014, five days before they brought in outfielder Nelson Cruz. "It's going to take a little bit of time," Jimenez said today. "It doesn't matter if you tell yourself it's not. It will because it's a...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The good prospect news has extended from minicamp to spring training. Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey confirmed in separate interviews today that they're full-go in camp. Their arms feel great. And the sun is shining. Bundy was shut down at Double-A Bowie with a sore right shoulder and in the Arizona Fall League with right forearm tightness. Harvey was shut down at Single-A Delmarva in 2014 with a strained right flexor mass, sustained a fractured fibula last spring after being...