VIERA, Fla. - His teammates have noticed a change. "He's been a different guy," Ryan Zimmerman said. His manager is seeing definite improvements. "That's the hardest ball I've seen him hit since he's been here and I've been here," Davey Johnson said yesterday. Heck, even Jayson Werth himself is willing to acknowledge that he's in a better place this spring training than he was last year at this time. "A lot's changed in a year, I'd say," Werth said. The 2011 season was...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are making their first trip to Bradenton tonight, which is pretty unusual. It's typically one of our first stops. Tommy Hunter will make his second Grapefruit League start after allowing two runs and five hits over five innings against the Blue Jays on March 21. As spring training winds down - only 10 games remain if you count the two against college teams and the finale at Triple-A Norfolk - the 25-man roster still hasn't come into complete focus. Barring a...

We have mentioned some of the placements for Nationals prospects to begin the season: Bryce Harper and Tyler Moore in Triple-A Syracuse, Sandy Leon and Jeff Kobernus at Double-A Harrisburg, and Matt Purke and Anthony Rendon at Single-A Potomac. Another outstanding prospect that will move up from Potomac to Harrisburg this spring is outfielder Destin Hood, who had a tremendous campaign in Woodbridge, Va., last summer. Hood hit .276 in 128 games, with 29 doubles, five triples, 13 homers, 83 RBIs...

When Ray Miller was the Orioles' pitching coach he used to say his pitchers needed to "work fast, change speeds and throw strikes." Now that Rick Peterson has taken over as the Orioles' director of pitching development, that phrase could become "work down and get quick outs." Peterson can cite plenty of stats that will show Orioles pitchers the benefits of keeping their pitches low in the strike zone this year. "Our pitching philosophy is, No. 1, to pitch to the bottom of the strike...

VIERA, Fla. - Throwing into a stiff cross-wind on a warm afternoon at Space Coast Stadium, Stephen Strasburg didn't have his best stuff. He allowed seven base runners in five frames, and needed to work out of jams with runners in scoring position in the first, third and fourth innings. But Strasburg made it through his five innings of work without allowing a run, and left today's game feeling like he passed his final real test before the start of the regular season. "I feel ready to go,"...

VIERA, Fla. - Jayson Werth hadn't yet checked his truck, so he couldn't confirm the rumor. Regardless, he didn't seem to care one way or the other. According to members of the Space Coast Stadium grounds crew, Werth's first inning home run - an absolute laser to left - didn't just do damage to Mets starter Matt Harvey's spring ERA, it also did some damage to Werth's pickup truck. Werth crushed a Harvey pitch so far over the left-field wall that it came down over a patio area and near...

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Jason Berken finally made it back on a mound today, throwing a scoreless sixth inning in his first spring training game. The hamstring injury is in the past. Now he's waiting to find out what the future holds for him. "I was anxious and excited to get out there," he said. "A leadoff double isn't the way I wanted to start, but fortunately I was able to stay out of it some. As a whole, I felt good, felt healthy. All my pitches were working pretty good, so I'd say first...

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Trent Mummey doubled with two outs in the eighth inning to score Steve Tolleson, who singled and stole second base, and Dana Eveland escaped a jam in the ninth in the Orioles' 5-5 tie with the Phillies. Neither team scored in the 10th, and the Orioles head back to Sarasota with a 9-9-5 record. Five ties actually ties a spring training record, though the research only goes back to 1996. The 2006 Dodgers and 2010 White Sox also had five ties, according to STATS LLC. The...

VIERA, Fla. - Not only have the Nationals' bats come alive today, they've finally gotten a strong outing from a starting pitcher. Stephen Strasburg went five scoreless innings, allowing five hits and one walk with one hit-batter and five strikeouts. Strasburg threw 84 pitches, 47 for strikes. Not a dominating effort from the righty, but he made pitches when he needed to. Strasburg stranded two runners in the first, got a 4-6-3 double play to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the third, and...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Brian Matusz retired six of the first seven batters he faced before the third inning. That's when his start took a turn for the worse. "Just started leaving the ball out over the plate," Matusz said after allowing three runs and four hits. "Got a couple guys on base, and (Jim) Thome got up there and he's the type of hitter in that lineup who will hurt you and he did. Got a little erratic, but just battled my way through." Thome drove a fastball over center fielder...