Happy opening day. And shame on Hallmark if it doesn't make a card for this occasion. The Orioles have won 11 of their last 13 openers and are 3-0 under manager Buck Showalter. The last time they played in March, they lost 6-2 to the Rays in 2008. Jeremy Guthrie, Matt Albers and Brian Burres pitched for the Orioles. Luis Hernandez, the team's last rookie to get the nod in an opener, started at shortstop and was replaced by Brandon Fahey after Jay Payton pinch-hit for him. Such...

Manager: Terry Collins, fourth year Record (2013): 74-88 Last 10 games: N/A Who to watch (2013 stats): 3B David Wright (.307/.390/.514, 18 HR, 58 RBIs); RF Curtis Granderson (.229/.317/.407, 7 HR, 15 RBIs); RHP Dillon Gee (12-11, 3.62 ERA); RHP Bartolo Colon (18-6, 2.65 ERA) Season series vs. Nats (2013): 7-12, 76 runs scored, 88 runs allowed Pitching probables March 31: Dillon Gee vs. Stephen Strasburg, 1 p.m., MASN2 HD April 2: Bartolo Colon vs. Gio Gonzalez, 7 p.m., MASN2 HD April 3: Zack...

Manager: John Farrell, second year Record (2013): 97-65 Last 10 games: N/A Who to watch (2013 stats): DH David Ortiz (.309/.395/.564, 30 HR, 103 RBIs); 2B Dustin Pedroia (.301/.372/.415, 42 doubles, 84 RBIs); 1B Mike Napoli (.259/.360/.482, 23 HR, 92 RBIs); LHP Jon Lester (15-8, 3.75 ERA) Season series vs. O's (2013): 8-11, 84 runs scored, 71 runs allowed Pitching probables March 31: Jon Lester vs. Chris Tillman, 3 p.m., MASN HD April 2: John Lackey vs. Ubaldo Jimenez, 7 p.m., MASN HD April...

Well, here it is. Opening day, a day just about every fan can't wait for over the long winter. Today, the Orioles begin their quest to get back to the playoffs and to produce a third straight winning season for the first time since 1992-94. Expectations are high for this club and fans are excited to see what the 2014 Orioles can do. They play in baseball's toughest division and will open the season playing 19 of their first 22 games against American League East opponents. The other series is...

Oh, the burdens of Washington sports fans' high expectations. Where else can a team be considered a failure when it completes its second straight winning season after seven straight years of finishing .500 or below? But that's how we roll in the nation's capital, where 86-76 isn't good enough, especially after the retiring manager proclaims "World Series or bust." After the national media jumped on the bandwagon, those expectations seemed to drag down down the Washington Nationals'...

NEW YORK - The Nationals may have set their 25-man roster for opening day, but the club continues to tinker with its organizational depth chart. The Nats announced Sunday that veteran left-hander Aaron Laffey has been signed to a minor league deal. The 28-year-old native of Cumberland, Md., has a 25-29 record and 4.45 ERA in 153 career games (68 starts) with the Indians, Mariners, Yankees, Blue Jays and Mets. Last season, he worked to a 7.11 ERA in five major league games, and went 6-8 with a...

There's a good reason that Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith has teamed up with Anheuser-Busch this spring in an effort to make baseball's opening day a national holiday: It's got about everything a fan of the greatest game could want. The hope of a new season is upon us, seamheads. Even though three regular season games are already in the books, including two that were played in Australia, today is the real start of the Major League Baseball season. Dreams of high batting averages, low ERAs and a...

Nick Markakis has started in right field for the Orioles on seven consecutive opening days. Whether he makes it eight in a row is up in the air. That's also where Markakis developed neck stiffness, while on a flight yesterday from Sarasota to Norfolk. "Still a little sore," said manager Buck Showalter. "Hopefully, it will get better. I've got two lineups, one with him in it and one without him in it. There's some thought about letting him get the benefit of another day with it, but I...

On the eve of another opening day start for the Nationals, you can see the difference in Stephen Strasburg. He appears more poised, more confident. He talks with an assuredness and calmness of a Tom Glavine or Mike Mussina. Strasburg has battled expectations, a major injury, a great season for the team when he had to be shut down, and then another season when the team and his play did not meet their early hopes. Now in his fifth year with the club, Strasburg's speech and demeanor...

The Orioles finalized their roster this afternoon and created two openings on the 40-man roster for reliever Evan Meek and outfielder Delmon Young. Left-hander Mike Belfiore was designated for assignment and pitcher Edgmer Escalona was placed on the 60-day disabled list. Belfiore allowed one run and five hits in two innings with the Orioles last season and went 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 37 games at Triple-A Norfolk. Escalona made one appearance in an exhibition game this spring before being...