The Nationals might have left Florida, but they apparently can't shake the early-spring drizzle that we got a handful of times down south during spring training. Today's 2 p.m. exhibition game against the Tigers, scheduled to be the Nats' final tune-up before opening day, is in jeopardy due to the weather conditions. At last check of the forecast for today, they're calling for anywhere from a 60-90 percent chance of rain throughout the afternoon, which sure doesn't bode well for...

Look at me. Writing a blog entry without a dateline. It feels ... weird. The Orioles are scheduled to play an exhibition game against Triple-A Norfolk this afternoon, but the weather needs to cooperate. A rainout would be a major irritant to the Orioles, who lost four Grapefruit League games for weather-related reasons and don't want to go consecutive days without working out. They had an off day on Friday. They're not looking for another one today. They're going to gather at Camden...

Now it's that time. The time for your predictions for the 2014 season. Here are mine for the American League East this year: Tampa Bay 94-68 Orioles 91-71 Boston 88-74 New York 82-80 Toronto 78-84 Last season the AL East had four teams winning 85 games or more as the Orioles and Yankees tied for third at 85-77. No other division could claim that and the other two AL divisions have five combined teams that won 85 or more. The Orioles' offense looks solid and the defense will be very good...

Here are the break-camp rosters for the Orioles' four full-season minor league clubs: Triple-A Norfolk, Double-A Bowie, Single-A Frederick and Single-A Delmarva. These rosters are not final. There will be some changes between now and opening day next Thursday in the minors. The final rosters for the openers will not be set until next Thursday. There are, of course, still several players that will be cut from the Orioles heading to the minors and that will cause some changes. There are still...

TAMPA - Nelson Cruz is fine. Quick enough? Cruz will attend Sunday's workout at Camden Yards and remains available for opening day. He's expected to start in left field against Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester. He probably will serve as the designated hitter in the second game against right-hander John Lackey, with David Lough playing left field. Cruz was hit on the batting helmet last night by an Alex Cobb curveball and exited the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. He underwent a...

The Orioles released two more players today from their minor league camp. The club cut right-hander Clay Schrader and left-hander Trent Howard. Both pitchers were drafted among the top 10 rounds and both have had some good numbers during their time with the Orioles. The 23-year-old Schrader was selected in the 10th round in 2010 out of San Jacinto (Texas) Junior College. Last season with Double-A Bowie, he went 5-4 with a 4.34 ERA in 35 bullpen appearances. Over 56 innings, Schrader allowed...

Well would you look at that. No Florida dateline. I guess that's how you really know the regular season is almost here. I'm back in the DMV after a flight out of Orlando late last night. I might not have missed the weather up here, but I sure did miss my own bed and my friends and family, so it's good to be back, even for a brief period. Today is a day off for the Nationals ahead of tomorrow's exhibition game at Nats Park against the Tigers. Weather permitting, we'll get that one in, and...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are off today. The complex is closed and players are told to stay away from it. Half of the remaining beat writers are flying home, with the other half vacating on Saturday. Spring training is drawing to a close. If you blinked, you missed ... nothing. It didn't go by that quickly. I should probably start packing my bags while wondering why I bought all those bags of frozen vegetables. It's a spring tradition. I stock up the freezer and never empty it before my...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles went 13-9-4 in the Grapefruit League following tonight's 4-3 loss to the Rays before the seventh sellout crowd this spring at Ed Smith Stadium. Outfielder Nelson Cruz's CT scan came back negative and he's not expected to miss opening day. The Orioles will naturally check him again Friday morning and in subsequent days. "Hopefully, everything's all right," said manager Buck Showalter. "He feels pretty good." Alex Cobb's curveball hit the corner of the...

ORIOLES QUICK WRAP Score: Rays 4, Orioles 3 Recap: Former Oriole Wilson Betemit lifted a sacrifice fly off Troy Patton in the ninth to break a 3-3 tie. Ubaldo Jimenez allowed three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings. Evan Longoria tied the game 1-1 with a home run in the fourth and the Rays took the lead in the fifth on Yunel Escobar's sacrifice fly. The Orioles scored in the first on Nick Markakis' single, David Lough's double and Adam Jones' RBI grounder. Markakis scored the tying run...