Last season, MASNsports.com expanded its voice and added different viewpoints by welcoming guest bloggers to our site. The rationale was simple: There were so many dedicated fan sites out there that we wanted to give them a platform to share their thoughts, opinions and observations about the Orioles with the rest of Birdland. The initiative got rave reviews, in cyberspace and beyond. We must have hit on something, because our guest blogger program was quickly mimicked - by our competitors in...

TAMPA, Fla. - Gio Gonzalez threw 32 pitches in a lengthy first inning, allowing two hits, a walk and a run. Since then, he's looked much more like the Gio Gonzalez that we've seen early in spring. Gonzalez retired all six Yankees he faced since that rocky first, throwing a total of 25 pitches, 18 for strikes. The Nationals lefty has five strikeouts through his three innings of work, four of which have been of the swinging variety. Bryce Harper, meanwhile, has gone 0-for-2 so far, striking...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Chris Tillman was charged with one run today, and it scored after he left the game, but his command was shaky in his third spring outing. Tillman allowed four hits, walked two and struck out one in 3 1/3 innings. He threw 51 pitches, 28 for strikes. His pitch count was elevated in part because of his throwing error in the first inning after fielding Denard Span's tapper, and a fly ball from Luke Hughes in the second inning that dropped between left fielder Wilson Betemit...

TAMPA, Fla. - The Nationals made a late change to their lineup - there have been a lot of those lately - a bit prior to first pitch, moving Bryce Harper from right field to center, and having Brett Carroll slide over to right. This marks Harper's second start in center field in the last three days; the 19-year-old was the Nats' starting center field against the Braves on Wednesday. Here's the Nats' updated lineup that is facing CC Sabathia: SS Ian Desmons 3B Steve Lombardozzi 1B Mark...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter brought a cheat sheet with him for today's pregame media session in the visiting dugout at Hammond Stadium. There wasn't enough room on his arm. Showalter was nice enough to give reporters the pitching and playing schedules of the guys we'd find most interesting. For instance: Jake Arrieta threw a bullpen session today and will go four innings in Monday's minor league game at Twin Lakes Park. (That's the "off-day" on our spring training...

Think of the things that each year signal the arrival of spring - the first sighting of a robin, the jingling of the Good Humor truck's bells, the long line at the post office to drop off income taxes by the April 15 (or this year, April 16) deadline. Yes, there are certain, undeniable signs that spring has arrived in Charm City. Another comes Wednesday, April 11, from noon-1:30 p.m., when members of Baltimore's baseball media convene at Sports Legends Museum for their annual roundtable and...

TAMPA, Fla. - Tests have confirmed that Chien-Ming Wang suffered a left hamstring strain yesterday, not a tear as some might have originally worried. Nationals manager Davey Johnson said prior to today's game against the Yankees that the hamstring injury will cause Wang to miss at least a couple of weeks. "The only thing I know - he was tested and it's a pull or a strain or whatever you want to call it," Johnson said. "It's going to be probably a couple weeks, minimum. He's done...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles reliever Kevin Gregg hasn't pitched since last Sunday's B game, when he threw one inning and gave up a home run, but he'll take the mound Saturday against the Red Sox in Sarasota. The Orioles have split-squad games that day, but he'll avoid the trip to Fort Myers. Gregg insists that he's fine physically, though he's only appeared in two Grapefruit League games. He threw in the bullpen yesterday while the Orioles traveled to Lakeland. "I'm getting off the...

VIERA, Fla. - I swung by Space Coast Stadium quickly before leaving for Tampa hoping to bump into Chien-Ming Wang in the locker room - not too forcefully, of course - but no such luck. Wang's injured hamstring was getting attention from the Nationals' training staff, so we'll have to wait until talking with manager Davey Johnson before getting any news on Wang's status. Left fielder Michael Morse (lat strain) and catcher Wilson Ramos (foot) are both on the trip to Tampa, indicating that...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Tillman and Dana Eveland take the mound today, though not at the same time, when the Orioles travel to Fort Myers to play the Minnesota Twins. For the Orioles: Robert Andino 2B Wilson Betemit LF J.J. Hardy SS Chris Davis 1B Adam Jones CF Mark Reynolds 3B Ronny Paulino DH Jai Miller RF John Hester C Chris Tillman RHP