One of the qualities shared by the Orioles' pitchers is their enthusiasm for competing in spring training. They keep insisting that they're looking forward to it, that it adds to the excitement in camp. I'd rather have a spot waiting for me, but that's how I roll. Don't judge me. "We were in the same position last year," said Steve Johnson, who will be fighting for a spot in the rotation. "There were a ton of pitchers in camp last year and I was in a little bit of a different...

Here we go again. Major League Baseball players are making headlines and being linked to using performance-enhancing drugs, or PEDs. Tuesday's story in the Miami New Times comes out and the national baseball press is again fixated on the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez. This all follows by weeks the latest Hall of Fame vote announcement where no one was elected and where Roger Clemens got just 37.6 percent of the vote, Barry Bonds got 36.2 percent and Sammy Sosa got 12.5 percent. Seventy-five...

On Wednesday, February 20, the Orioles will hold the 3rd Annual OriolesREACH Birdland Golf Classic at Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club to benefit the Miracle League of Manasota, an organization dedicated to providing an opportunity for every person to play baseball, regardless of their ability. The event begins with registration and lunch at 11 a.m. with a shotgun start set for 12:30 p.m. The classic will feature a silent auction and the chance to play a round with current and former...

The Miami New Times has released images they obtained from the notebooks of Anthony Bosch, an alleged distributor of performance-enhancing drugs, images that appear to connect Gio Gonzalez and his father Max to Bosch and his anti-aging clinic, Biogenesis. The images show the five times that Gonzalez, a 21-game winner with the Nationals last season, appeared in Bosch's records, and the according to the New Times, all five references come from the notebook marked "2012". Gonzalez's name...

As spring training nears, the question has to be asked: Would it be spring training without a performance-enhancing drugs controversy? Major League Baseball and the federal government are investigating a clinic in South Florida that links several players, including the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez and the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, to possible use of PEDs, but depending on the evidence, baseball could be in a difficult position. It would be difficult to suspend players without a positive drug test....

In their never-ending quest to improve the depth in their farm system, the Orioles have signed three players with major league experience to minor league contracts: relievers Rob Delaney and Manny Delcarmen, and outfielder Chris Pettit. The contracts don't include spring training invites, according to a team official. Delaney, 28, appeared in one game with the Twins in 2010 and four with the Rays in 2011, allowing seven runs and six hits in six innings, with eight walks and three strikeouts....

When I woke up yesterday morning, my initial intention was to lead off my morning blog entry writing a couple lines about Nationals infield prospect Cutter Dykstra and former "The Sopranos" actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler getting engaged. Then something slightly (just slightly) more important went down. Yesterday's news that six major leaguers had been linked to an anti-aging clinic called Biogenesis that was heavily involved in the dealing of performance-enhancing drugs shocked the baseball...

Dylan Bundy has been ranked as baseball's No. 2 prospect and Kevin Gausman was rated No. 37 by MLB.com. The top 100 was unveiled last night during a live telecast on MLB Network and Texas infielder Jurickson Profar was rated as baseball's top prospect. Bundy went 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA in 23 starts this past season at three minor league levels and then pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in two major league relief appearances in September with the Orioles. Jon Hart, an MLB Network analyst and a...

The Nationals' depth is evidenced by a bench that you would feel comfortable starting if the need arises. Guys like Chad Tracy, Steve Lombardozzi, Tyler Moore, Roger Bernadina and Kurt Suzuki (or Wilson Ramos) all can start, whether to give another starter a day off or as an injury replacement. One player trying to crack into that rotation is a still young and yet very experienced Carlos Rivero. The 24-year old right-handed-hitting third baseman had his best season as a pro in 2012 with...

It's one of baseball's most popular cliches, though I changed the punctuation for the title of this blog entry. No matter how crowded the rotation, no matter how deep the depth, teams never feel as though they have enough pitching. Injuries happen. So do slumps. The Orioles used 52 players last season, and half were pitchers. Yes, that's 26. Can you name them without looking it up? I'll make it a little easier and remind you that Chris Davis counts as a pitcher with his one relief...