LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The tarp is on the field here at Champion Stadium at ESPN's Wide World of Sports, and the skies have opened up. They're calling for some pretty heavy showers here this afternoon and I've even heard rumblings of a tornado watch, but the Nationals are really hoping to get today's contest in, largely because they want to get Ross Detwiler into a game. Detwiler is scheduled to leave the Nats on March 4 to join Team USA for the World Baseball Classic. He'll get a...

Oh, say, do you think you can sing the national anthem before a game at Nationals Park? If so, warm up your vocal chords. The Nationals would like to hear - and hear from - you. Beginning today, the first 50 people who submit their resume (performance or otherwise) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. will be invited to auditions at the ballpark on Saturday, March 9. Anthem performers must meet the following prerequisites: * The anthem should take no longer than 90 seconds to sing. * The anthem must be...

As part of their Sarasota 365 commitment to the community, the Orioles and OriolesREACH will conduct three clinics for area youth on the main field at Ed Smith Stadium over the coming weeks. Two are for pre-selected children from local Boys and Girls Clubs and the third, on April 13, is open to Sarasota County youth ages 8-14. All participants will receive instruction in baseball fundamentals from Orioles players, coaches and staff members. The first clinic will be held this Saturday, March 2...

Talented Washington Nationals fans who are interested in performing the national anthem throughout the 2013 season are invited to submit their applications beginning today. The first 50 anthem hopefuls to submit their resume (performance or otherwise) and a recent photo to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. will be invited to audition live at Nationals Park on Saturday, March 9. Anthem performers must meet the following prerequisites: * The anthem should take no longer than 90 seconds to sing * The...

Smoking will no longer be allowed at Camden Yards, as the Maryland Stadium Authority will enact a ban on all lighted tobacco products at its baseball and football stadiums, effective March 4. The measure, announced in a Feb. 25 press release, prohibits the "the burning of a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, or any other matter or substance that contains tobacco" within the Camden Yards Sports Complex, including M&T Bank Stadium. The ban includes spaces covered or uncovered, walled or exposed,...

BRADENTON, Fla. - We have a tornado watch in Bradenton, rain is falling and the tarp is on the field at McKechnie Stadium. I can never remember which is worse, a watch or a warning. I posed the question on Twitter, and the best explanation came from @highaoa: "Watch" = CC Sabathia is pitching versus your team later today. "Warning" = he's in the 8th inning of a perfect game. Thanks for putting it in terms I can understand. No word on whether the game will be played, though people I've...

VIERA, Fla. - Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche are both scheduled to make their spring debuts tomorrow. Manager Davey Johnson has slotted Werth in right field (hitting third) and LaRoche at first base (hitting fourth) for tomorrow's home game against the Marlins, giving two of his most-tenured veterans their first action this spring. Dan Haren will start tomorrow for the Nationals. Chad Tracy, who didn't make the trip to Port St. Lucie yesterday because of a bruised arm, had a bat in his...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Danny Valencia moves back across the diamond to third base for today's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Bradenton. Valencia started at first base Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin. Steve Pearce, who homered on Sunday, gets the start at first base today. Wilson Betemit is in the lineup as the designated hitter against another left-handed starter, Pittsburgh's Wandy Rodriguez. For the Orioles: Alexi Casilla SS Lew Ford LF Wilson Betemit DH Steve Pearce...

VIERA, Fla. - If not for a dazzling defensive play from Mets outfield prospect Matt den Dekker, who scaled the center field wall at Tradition Field last night to bring in Anthony Rendon's deep fly, Rendon would have had himself two straight games with a two-run homer. The catch by den Dekker ended up as No. 3 on the top 10 plays on "SportsCenter" last night, and it limited Rendon to a 1-for-2 game. "Who does that?" Rendon joked after the game. "It's spring training!" A couple of...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - There wasn't much not to like about Gio Gonzalez's spring debut tonight at Tradition Field. He pitched two clean innings, worked on fastball command, showed off a sharp, bending curve and left his manager, Davey Johnson, impressed. "Gio was great," Johnson said. "He had a little rough first inning with an error behind him. He threw 25-something pitches in the first inning. But he was real efficient, more like himself in the second. And that was all he needed,...