In a successful week of spring training, the Orioles have continued to trim down their roster, with opening day just 11 days away. On Saturday, before the O's went on to beat Toronto, the Birds optioned top prospect Dylan Bundy, and as expected, he was sent to Double-A Bowie. A day later, LJ Hoes was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. On that day, the Orioles played split-squad games, and our Roch Kubatko and Steve Melewski kept you updated on both games from Florida. The most recent cuts came...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The pitch fluttered toward the plate, and Adam LaRoche had trouble suppressing a laugh. The ball thrown by Tim Hudson, one of LaRoche's former teammates with the Braves and a good friend, dipped and dropped, a cross between a blooper pitch and a knuckleball. What most fans didn't see were the silent hand signals between LaRoche and Hudson before the at-bat with one out in the second inning. Hudson has had some fun at LaRoche's expense in the past, and LaRoche said...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - After getting knocked around in his last two starts, all right-hander Dan Haren wanted was some progress, some incremental achievement to show he could still be effective. Tonight at Champion Stadium against the Braves, he weathered a one-inning blip, set down 10 straight hitters and wasn't happy with his his outing ended. After getting an assortment of bad swings and weak grounders one time through the order, Haren allowed a tape-measure homer to Jason Heyward that...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles right-hander Jake Arrieta made another strong argument for being named the No. 5 starter. Arrieta blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates on six hits over six innings tonight, walking two batters and striking out nine. He threw 88 pitches, 64 for strikes. Arrieta hasn't allowed a run in his last three starts covering 14 2/3 innings. He's permitted 11 hits and fanned 16 batters. Removing the Team Spain game, Arrieta has permitted three earned runs and 13 hits in 17 1/3...

SARASOTA, Fla. - During his pregame interview with reporters today, Buck Showalter was asked how much input he will have on where some of the minor league players will play this year. Is he involved on some of those decisions? He indicated he'll leave most of that to vice president Dan Duquette and director of player development Brian Graham. Showalter did emphasize that whether a player starts out in Triple-A Norfolk or Double-A Bowie, they can be called up from either club and the Orioles...

SARASOTA, Fla. - So much for the Orioles not making any cuts tonight. The club announced that infielder Danny Valencia has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, leaving 44 players in camp, including 12 non-roster invitees. Valencia went 10-for-31 in 17 games this spring. His only home run came in the ninth inning of Tuesday's game against the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers, breaking a 7-7 tie. The Orioles purchased Valencia from the Red Sox on Nov. 28. Valencia is expected to be the primary...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Dan Haren doesn't look very comfortable on the mound and the Nationals are down 3-0 after two innings at Champion Stadium. Haren ended the first inning by striking out Justin Upton and having catcher Wilson Ramos throw Andrelton Simmons out attempting to steal third. But it was all downhill in the second inning for Haren. Juan Francisco's single and a Chris Johnson double set up a two-run single by Tyler Pastornicky down the left-field line. After Matt Pagnozzi...

Opening day may not be until April 1, but the Nationals have begun filling in the blanks about who will participate in what ceremonies to mark the 2013 season's first game at Nationals Park against the Miami Marlins. First, there's free stuff in your future - assuming you're one of the first 20,000 fans through the gates for the 1:05 p.m. contest. That's how many opening day caps will be distributed, courtesy of GEICO. Additionally, Nats fans are encouraged to wear red to show their...

VIERA, Fla. - This has been the most vanilla of spring camps for the Nationals. No positional battles. No roster intrigue. Nothing but minor injuries (knock on wood). And barely any kind of controversy at all. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Just making an observation. That makes the daily media session with manager Davey Johnson a little different. The chats are generally brief - last year's could last upwards of 20 minutes, but this spring it's been more like 10 minutes or so, with...

SARASOTA, Fla. - It's been a light news day at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. Nobody is complaining. Nolan Reimold is making another start in left field, and manager Buck Showalter remains optimistic that he will be on the 25-man roster on opening day. Reimold had been shut down with soreness in his right shoulder and later was restricted to serving as the designated hitter. "I feel good about it," Showalter said. "There's no givens. We'll see. I'm glad that he felt good taking...