Roberts meets the press
Roberts meets the press
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts seemed cautiously optimistic today about the way he's progressing, but it remains a mystery whether he'll be ready for the April 6 opener against the Minnesota Twins at Camden Yards. Roberts can't say for sure when or if he'll play in an exhibition game. He's truly day-to-day as he works toward a return. Here are some quotes from Roberts. "I'm feeling pretty good in general. I took part in some beginning baseball activities -...
Skipper ready for full-squad workouts to begin
Skipper ready for full-squad workouts to begin
Pete Kerzel
Nationals
VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals will hold their first full-squad workout Saturday morning, and manager Davey Johnson will hold a team meeting beforehand to make sure everyone's on the same page. With high expectations for the Nats, the skipper is eager to get the next phase of camp under way. "We become a team, we become whole," Johnson said. "I have not seen half of them swing the bat, take a ground ball, throw." After spending the bulk of his time the past week focusing on the pitching...
Johnson on Zimmerman, Strasburg, Rodriguez, Hoyas
Johnson on Zimmerman, Strasburg, Rodriguez, Hoyas
Pete Kerzel
Nationals
VIERA, Fla. - Nationals manager Davey Johnson has a vested interest in keeping third baseman Ryan Zimmerman around long-term, so he's among those who want to see the Nationals and Zimmerman agree on a long-term contract extension. "I think it's a great idea. I hope that they come together and get it done," Johnson said. "He's the franchise player. He's the best player, your three-hole hitter, leader of the infield - all of the above. ... I think he wants to stay here, I think everybody...
Quick hits from camp
Quick hits from camp
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
SARASOTA, Fla. - Second baseman Brian Roberts met with reporters after today's workout. I'll post quotes later. Roberts said he's "feeling pretty good in general," but he can't offer a timetable for when he'll be ready to play in an exhibition game. He's limited to "beginning" baseball activities. It's a "systematic progression" for Roberts. "Every day that goes by, you're more encouraged," he said. Jason Berken has a mild strain of his left hamstring, which he sustained...
Jackson will get nod in Nationals' Grapefruit League opener
Jackson will get nod in Nationals' Grapefruit League opener
Pete Kerzel
Nationals
VIERA, Fla. - Edwin Jackson, the most recent starting pitcher to join the Nationals, will start the team's March 3 Grapefruit League opener against the Astros in Kissimmee, Fla., manager Davey Johnson said Friday. "I talked to him in throwing drills and he was up for that," Johnson said. Jackson, like the rest of the pitchers in camp, will take the next two days off from throwing activities before pitching live batting practice Monday, Johnson said. The right-hander, who signed a one-year...
Tommy Hunter, Oriole Bird to help open Sarasota Cal Ripken League season tonight
Tommy Hunter, Oriole Bird to help open Sarasota Cal Ripken League season tonight
Josh Land
Orioles
Tonight, Friday, Feb. 24, Orioles pitcher Tommy Hunter and the Oriole Bird will participate in opening day festivities for the Cal Ripken Baseball League in Sarasota. Both Hunter and the Bird will greet Ripken League players and fans at the event, and Hunter will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Ceremonies will begin at 6 p.m. at the fields, which are located at 2801 12th Street in Sarasota .
Roberts on field, Berken absent (updated)
Roberts on field, Berken absent (updated)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles took the field an hour early for their first full-squad workout, beginning their stretching exercises at 11 a.m. The clubhouse never opened to the media. The schedule changed because so few position players needed to take their physicals this morning. Most of them already had reported. Second baseman Brian Roberts is on the field. He chatted briefly with pitcher
Storen, Zimmerman weigh in on Braun's successful appeal
Storen, Zimmerman weigh in on Braun's successful appeal
Pete Kerzel
Nationals
VIERA, Fla. - News that defending National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Braun of the Brewers had successfully appealed his 50-game ban for testing positive in October for elevated levels of testosterone was well-received in the Nationals clubhouse Friday morning, though some players privately questioned whether they could trust Major League Baseball's testing measures in light of Braun's suspension being overturned. "I think it's great," said closer Drew Storen, who is entering his...
Does Zimmerman extension hinge on no-trade protection?
Does Zimmerman extension hinge on no-trade protection?
Pete Kerzel
Nationals
VIERA, Fla. - Ryan Zimmerman's self-imposed Saturday deadline to have a contract extension in place is moving closer, and it appears any chance the Nationals have at locking up their starting third baseman beyond 2013 hinge on a new deal containing a no-trade clause. "The point of me signing this deal is to be here, not to sign a deal that's team-friendly to have it with another team," Zimmerman said Friday morning. Zimmerman, whose current five-year, $45 million deal runs out after the...
Angle says thanks on his way out of town
Angle says thanks on his way out of town
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Matt Angle is not the kind of guy that would likely ever publicly say anything negative about his organization or teammates, but when he had praise for the Orioles on his way out of the organization Thursday afternoon, it sure sounded heartfelt and sincere. "I felt like I had great coaches and great people that actually cared about (me) all along the way," Angle said by phone from Ohio yesterday. "That is from the training staff to the on-field coaches to your strength and conditioning. I...