SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles pitcher Steve Johnson didn't throw his bullpen session this morning after jamming his right middle finger yesterday during a fielding drill. Johnson said the finger is feeling better after two days of icing it, though it's noticeably bruised and swollen. He's headed to a local hospital for X-rays later today. Johnson, signed to a minor league deal, was hit on the tip of his finger while trying to grab a high chopper to the mound. Manager Buck Showalter is listing him...

VIERA, Fla. - Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond strolled into the clubhouse at Space Coast Stadium this morning, a day before position players are required to show up. After some high fives and hugs with teammates and coaches, Zimmerman settled into his far corner locker. It was no surprise when the Nationals opted not to bring free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche back. Zimmerman has battled injuries the past few years and the best option was to move him across the diamond to first base -...

Raise you hand if you're done with Old Man Winter. Yeah, me too. After yet another snowstorm, the sights coming out of Sarasota are looking better every day. While we're still five days away from Orioles spring training games, you can enjoy three "Orioles Classics" this week on MASN HD. Here's what's on deck: Monday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m.: You don't want to miss the Orioles' 60th anniversary game from Aug. 8. Chris Tillman pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed just two earned runs. Manny...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Infielders Jayson Nix and Rey Navarro have reported to camp, leaving outfielder Delmon Young and infielder Michael Almanzar as the only Orioles still marked absent. Position players aren't due in camp until Tuesday. If memory serves, Almanzar was the last Oriole to report in 2014. Catcher Caleb Joseph returned to camp this morning after leaving yesterday to be with his wife, Brooke, who's expecting their first child. She's fine and the couple is still waiting for their...

The Washington, D.C., area experienced another five-plus inches of snow this past weekend. Uncle. Between the frigid cold weather and the recent snowstorms, I think we're all counting down the days until opening day. While Nationals pitchers and catchers, and almost all of the position players, have reported to spring training, we still can't watch live baseball. To get your baseball fix, enjoy three "Nationals Classics" this week on MASN HD. Here's what's on deck: Tuesday,...

VIERA, Fla. - When you've got the kind of pitching horses the Nationals possess in their rotation, hardly a day will go by that someone won't be asking manager Matt Williams to weigh in on just how good his starting five really is. The acquisition of free agent Max Scherzer, who signed a seven-year, $210 million deal last month, strengthened an already deep unit, pushing 15-game winner Tanner Roark to an undetermined role out of the bullpen. Opposing hitters aren't going to get many breaks...

VIERA, Fla. - In June 2009, Dan Uggla hit his 100th career home run in his 502nd game, faster than any second baseman in Major League Baseball history. That season was right in the middle of a five-year streak where Uggla went deep 30 or more times in each campaign, making him the game's only second baseman to accomplish that feat. But those days seem like ancient history for Uggla, who will turn 35 next month. He has since been hit twice in the head by pitches, in June 2012 and in spring...

SARASOTA, Fla. - When I rule the world, the Oscar statue is going to look like Jack Klugman. Orioles reliever Ryan Webb looks like a slimmed down version of himself. He reported to camp at 228 pounds, compared to 245 last spring. The right-hander says he ended the 2014 season at 236 pounds. How did he do it? "I ate better," he said, instantly losing me. (I kid.) "I started eating healthy foods and trying to just cut down on breads and fats," he continued while I felt even worse about...

So I had an interesting couple of hours on Saturday afternoon. It had nothing to do with the snow that turned Baltimore into utter chaos for quite a while. My "fun" came via Twitter. My colleague, Roch Kubatko, wrote an entry where he mentioned this about young pitcher Hunter Harvey: "A group of veterans, including (Darren) O'Day, Chris Tillman, Zach Britton, and Tommy Hunter, stayed around to watch the young pitchers' bullpen sessions. Tillman and Britton shook Harvey's hand when he was...

VIERA, Fla. - The 30 Nationals pitchers are placed into six groups during workouts. Gio Gonzalez's group - 1B, if you want to be specific - is not only loaded with some serious talent but also some funny characters. Doug Fister, Jordan Zimmerman, Jerry Blevins and Craig Stammen round it out. Sunday's morning workout began with this quintet's first bullpen session, where all pitch simultaneously for eight minutes. It was quite the scene to watch Gonzalez, Fister and Zimmermann on three...