SARASOTA, Fla. - The choice was obvious. How Mike Mussina will be received at Camden Yards remains the mystery. Mussina has been elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame, setting up a reunion that was destined to happen in spite of his final eight pinstriped seasons. Former second baseman Rich Dauer was chosen by the Veterans Committee. And longtime scout Walter Youse was chosen as the Herb Armstrong Award winner for non-uniformed personnel who have made significant contributions to the ballclub...

JUPITER, Fla. - In his last start, both Gio Gonzalez and manager Davey Johnson felt that the lefty might have been working through a dead-arm period, which can happen toward the end of spring. Today, Gonzalez might have actually had too much life in his arm early on. Johnson said he thought Gonzalez was a bit too "frisky" in the first inning today, causing the 26-year-old to miss his spots and allow four baserunners and three runs. The big blow in the first inning was Austin Kearns'...

JUPITER, Fla. - Rick Ankiel has been getting a ton of treatment on his injured quad lately. Perhaps as a result of all the deep massages and medical work, Ankiel's quad tightened up on him a little bit during today's 3-1 loss to the Marlins. Not wanting to take any chances with the guy who is set to be his opening day center fielder, manager Davey Johnson pulled Ankiel after the fourth inning, sending Brett Carroll up as a pinch-hitter in the fifth. "He said from all the massages he's...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter went a lot easier on Tsuyoshi Wada than the Japanese left-hander following today's 5-0 loss to the Twins. "I thought he pitched good last inning," Showalter said. "He had trouble getting the ball where he wanted to. Away from his arm slot. But he made some adjustments. I like what I saw with the command, as far as the ball down. You can see why he had success and will again. You can tell his command is going to be good. He was barely missing. "He...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles won't be no-hit today. Robert Andino doubled off Twins reliever Glen Perkins in the eighth inning and was thrown out at third base. Tsuyoshi Wada ripped himself after today's start. Here's a sampling. I'll add more later. "It didn't go that well. I'm not satisfied." "I wasn't able to throw correctly with my normal form today. The first-pitch strike with the fastball I pitched was hit easily. I have to work on it more." "I was missing a lot of...

JUPITER, Fla. - Gio Gonzalez's first inning of work wasn't too pretty. He allowed three hits, a walk and three earned runs, needing 28 pitches to get three outs. From there, the Nationals lefty appeared to get stronger each time he trotted out to the mound. Gonzalez didn't allow a run over his final four innings of work, and retired seven of the last eight hitters he faced. He struck out six over his five innings, and did a nice job settling down after getting hit around in that opening...

JUPITER, Fla. - The Nationals' projected opening day center fielder might not be over his lingering quad issues just yet. Rick Ankiel left today's game against the Marlins after four innings, walking into the Nats' clubhouse with a trainer. We have no way of knowing what - if anything - was bothering Ankiel, but we do know he's battled a quad injury of late. Ankiel missed a week and a half because of quad issues earlier this spring, and after returning to Grapefruit League action last...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Tsuyoshi Wada threw 48 pitches and gave up four runs in the first two innings of his first Grapefruit League start. Troy Patton began warming in the third. Wada looked like he was headed for an early exit. Instead, Wada retired the side in order with two strikeouts in the third. Patton replaced him to begin the fourth, causing Wada to fall one inning short of his intended limit. Early, yes, but it could have been worse. Wada threw 62 pitches, 38 for strikes. He allowed four...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Jake Arrieta's next start was moved back a day, which puts him on the mound Saturday against the Pirates in Bradenton. What's he been told? "Pretty much that they want to maximize my off-days and my ability to recover, give me an extra day here and there if it's available," he said. "I'm all for that. I like where I'm at physically, but the off days definitely will help." Couldn't this change signal that he's going to start the April 6 opener at Camden Yards? "I...

JUPITER, Fla. - If you're around a TV tonight at 10 p.m., you might want to flip on MLB Network, as they'll be featuring the Nationals as part of their 30 clubs/30 days series. Mitch Williams and the MLB Network crew were in Viera the last two days filming interviews with manager Davey Johnson and a number of key players, and if my blog just hasn't done enough to help you get your Nats fix lately, tonight's show might help. While Steve Lombardozzi is getting playing time in left field...