SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter won't rule out third baseman Manny Machado for opening day. However, the news today that Machado's final knee examination won't take place on Tuesday as tentatively scheduled presents a serious obstacle in getting him in the March 31 lineup.
Machado hasn't run in five days due to scar tissue breaking up in the knee, a common occurrence following surgery.
"That's resolving itself pretty good right now and I think he will probably get back...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Catcher Caleb Joseph is in major league spring training for the third time. He is coming off his best offensive season in the Orioles minor leagues and trying to show Buck Showalter what he can do whenever he gets a chance.
He got the start Thursday going 0-for-3 against the Yankees and is 1-for-7 with an RBI in six spring games. He is starting today's game here at Ed Smith Stadium, catching and batting eighth. Matt Wieters' sprained right ankle is probably getting Joseph a...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles third baseman Manny Machado won't have his knee examined on Tuesday in Los Angeles, further reducing his chances of being ready on opening day.
Machado hasn't run in five days because of scar tissue breaking up in the knee. It's nothing serious, but Machado can't undergo an exam by Dr. Neal ElAttrache until he's able to run.
Manager Buck Showalter wouldn't rule out Machado for opening day, citing how Nolan Reimold is getting plenty of at-bats at minor league...
SARASOTA, Fla. - On opening day last year, Steve Pearce was in the Orioles' starting lineup. But he knows he's not a starter on this team and this spring training, he finds himself yet again fighting for a big league roster spot.
It's life on the bubble. We're not talking about the NCAA tourney and Pearce knows the baseball version quite well.
He seems to be a player always in the hunt for a bench spot, but never at the point where his roster spot is secure.
"It has been something I've...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Catcher Matt Wieters still expects to be back in the Orioles lineup Monday night at Ed Smith Stadium.
Wieters is being held out of today's game against the Yankees while continuing to receive treatment on his sprained right ankle. He wouldn't have made the trip to Dunedin on Sunday regardless of his health situation.
"In spring training, you don't want to hurt anything else or make it worse, so a couple more days, try to completely knock it out, then be good to go," he...
VIERA, Fla. - Stephen Strasburg takes the hill against the Marlins today at 1:05 p.m. in Jupiter, and he'll have a lot of regulars behind him at Roger Dean Stadium.
Both Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman return to action, but only Harper will play in the field. Zimmerman, who has been battling general soreness, is listed as the designated hitter.
Here is the Nationals lineup for today's game:
2B Anthony Rendon
SS Danny Espinosa
DH Ryan Zimmerman
LF Bryce Harper
C Wilson Ramos
1B Adam...
SARASOTA, Fla. - David Lough is out of the Orioles lineup today after being scratched yesterday with neck stiffness.
Lough had a 3 p.m. doctors appointment yesterday after leaving Fort Myers. I'll pass along an update later.
Alexi Casilla is unavailable today due to a hyperextended left knee. Matt Wieters continues to receive treatment on his right ankle and should play on Monday.
Nick Markakis, who has been bothered by shoulder tendinitis, is the designated hitter today. Nelson Cruz is...
SARASOTA, Fla. - As soon as the Orioles signed Alexi Casilla to a minor league contract in January, I penciled him onto the 25-man roster as a utility infielder. No doubt in my mind.
Casilla would back up at second base, short and third. He was a necessity with Ryan Flaherty projected as Brian Roberts' replacement at second. He offered more versatility than Jemile Weeks.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, let's start with the injury to Casilla's right hamstring and continue with his...
VIERA, Fla. - It's hard to believe any pitching coach or manager would look at the sheer force behind the unorthodox delivery employed by Nationals lefty reliever Michael Gonzalez and whisper to a young hurler, "Just do what he does."
That's because what Gonzalez does is so unusual, such a tangle of arms and legs in perpetual and powerful motion, that it hardly seems possible that it's successful.
But there was Gonzalez on Friday in his first Grapefruit League game of the spring, taking...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles right-hander Steve Johnson is seemingly among a long list of pitchers pitching well at spring camp and fighting for one of the club's last roster spots with opening day approaching.
The 26-year-old Baltimore native is trying to put 2013 in his rear-view mirror. He had four stints with the Orioles, but also two DL trips and injuries were a factor as he pitched to a 7.47 ERA over 15 2/3 innings. For the playoff-bound 2012 O's, Johnson pitched some big games late in the...