The Baltimore Orioles announced the "home team" lineup for a celebrity softball game versus a "visitors" team of military veterans scheduled for Sunday, April 6 at Ed Smith Stadium. The game will be part of a full day of free activities at the All-American Family Day & Concert, featuring a performance by Grammy Award-winning band America. The event is part of the Orioles' "Arts in the Ballpark" series and the Legacy of Valor campaign. "The Orioles are proud to field an enthusiastic...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Steve Clevenger says he was called into manager Buck Showalter's office yesterday and told that he made the club. Clevenger's agent, Joshua Kusnick, tweeted the news last night, but it's always nice to get confirmation. "They called me in and told me, but I'm going to continue to play out the spring. You just never know what could happen between now and then," said Clevenger, who graduated from Mount Saint Joseph and lived in Pigtown. "I just tried not to concentrate...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Steve Lombardozzi will make his Orioles debut today, batting second and playing second base against the Twins in Fort Myers. David Lough is leading off and playing center field. Bud Norris is opposed today by Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson. In his last start, Norris held the Pirates to one run and two hits over five innings in Bradenton. He's been strong in three of his four outings, permitting one run over 10 combined innings. Relievers making the trip include Zach...

VIERA, Fla. - Last night's release of catcher Chris Snyder leaves the Nationals with 34 players remaining in big league camp, 33 of which are active and participating in games. Right-hander Erik Davis is progressing from a right elbow injury, but he will start the season still on the 60-day disabled list, and so he is not currently on the 40-man roster or a factor in the decisions the Nats must make before opening day. The 33 remaining active players are listed below, split up into position...

The Orioles were the featured team last night on MLB Network's "30 clubs in 30 days." Analysts Harold Reynolds and Mitch Williams talked about the O's in the studio, while Ron Darling reported from O's camp in Sarasota, Fla. We'll save some of their season predictions later, but here is what they said on several O's topics. Darling on the rotation: "This is the crux of the Baltimore Orioles, and why they went out and got Ubaldo (Jimenez). They feel like a team of two and three-type...

MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Nationals announced tonight that they've released catcher Chris Snyder, one more step to getting their roster down to the 25 players it will contain come opening day. Snyder, 33, signed a minor league contract with the Nats in December. He hit .294 (5-for-17) with a homer, a double and five RBIs in 12 games this spring. The veteran had a solid enough camp, but he had no realistic chance of making the Nats' opening day roster after the team acquired catcher Jose Lobaton...

SARASOTA, Fla. - It appears that the Orioles have made their final decision on a backup catcher. Steve Clevenger was told that he's going to head north with the club, according to a tweet from agent Joshua Kusnick. Here it is: "Congratulations to steve clevenger. He officially made the orioles" Sounds legit to me. And it's the obvious choice, given recent transactions and Clevenger's performance this spring. The Orioles have been checking outside the organization for available...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles will try to outrun the rain today, racing down to Fort Myers for a 1:05 p.m. game against the Twins. Bud Norris will take the mound. Hopefully, he won't find out how much water the mound can take. Ryan Flaherty will make the trip, perhaps getting another start at third base. Not a bad idea to give him as many innings as possible with Manny Machado headed to the disabled list. Manager Buck Showalter indicated yesterday that newly acquired Steve Lombardozzi is a...

JUPITER, Fla. - Matt Williams has a tough decision ahead of him. Well, he has a few of them, but probably the toughest call the Nationals skipper will have to make in the final days of spring training is which right-hander he will award his team's final rotation spot to - Tanner Roark or Taylor Jordan. Jordan got his last start of spring today, and he impressed, allowing just one run on five hits over 5 2/3 innings, with a walk and two strikeouts. He threw 86 pitches, 58 for strikes, and...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Brian Matusz had his start last Monday in Clearwater washed away by heavy rains. He lasted two innings today against the Red Sox before the weather caused another cancellation. If the baseball gods are going to keep messing with him, could they at least bring an umbrella? Matusz headed to the indoor batting cage with catcher Caleb Joseph and elevated his pitch count from 29 to 70. "Went back and forth from the windup to the stretch, and just building that pitch count....