VIERA, Fla. - More and more position players are trickling into camp - including the Nats' first-round picks in the last two drafts, outfielder Bryce Harper and infielder Anthony Rendon - and Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo held an extended session with reporters this morning and talked about a variety of subjects. * Rizzo said outfielder Mike Cameron, whose retirement was announced yesterday, called the Nationals "out of the blue" Wednesday to tell them he wasn't going to report....

SARASOTA, Fla. - Don't try to pin a job description on Robert Andino. Second baseman? Super-utility player? Leadoff hitter? It doesn't matter to him. You can ask all you want, but his answer isn't going to change. "My focus is just to be ready," Andino said. "Whatever the boss says to do, I'm going to do. I'm just here trying to help the team win, so whatever I've got to do, that's what I'm going to do. I'm just here to get ready." Manager Buck Showalter says that in a perfect...

It seems ages ago the Nationals were battling through rough seasons and long losing streaks with a rag tag bunch that won 59 and 69 games in back-to-back seasons. But with steady improvement, keen trades and the possible windfall of arguably the top draft picks in first-year player history (Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon), the Nationals are garnering attention outside the mid-Atlantic region. And with good reason. General manager Mike Rizzo has put together a solid...

It won't be too long now before spring training heads for its final days and the main focus surrounding the team will likely be on which players make the Orioles' final 25-man roster that will take the field on opening day. Over the next few weeks, there will be some debate and arguing, as there is every year, that the best 25 players should head north. Of course, this seems to make perfect sense, and why would a team not include one of its top 25 players on the roster to start a new...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Dylan Bundy is in camp with the Orioles with one goal in mind, and it's not to be introduced on opening day. Give the kid credit for being a realist. "It's to learn from all these older guys and pick their brains and see what they're thinking and what their thought process is on the field and learn as much baseball as I can while I'm here," he said. The clubhouse isn't filled with veteran pitchers who fit the mentor profile, but Bundy is 19 years old. They're all...

Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs reliever

SARASOTA, Fla. - Dylan Bundy, the Orioles' first-round pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, won't throw until Monday, but he's already made a favorable impression on manager Buck Showalter. "He's a pretty serious kid, and rightfully so. And it's not because he's nervous, either," Showalter said. "I'm sure he's trying to figure out a way to make the club. He's a very attentive listener. He'll get out of this what he needs to get out of it and get on with his season. He's a...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Japanese left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada threw in the indoor batting cage today as the Orioles' first workout for pitchers and catchers concluded at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. The area is off-limits to media, so I can't tell you how the ball came out of his hand. Wada is drawing a lot of attention from the Japanese media. They filmed him tying his shoes this morning at his locker. I guess that's breaking news back home. Wada, speaking through interpreter Danny MacLeith, said...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Today's first workout consisted mostly of pitchers fielding practice, which rivals watching paint dry in terms of excitement. A group of pitchers threw inside the covered batting cage, which is off-limits to reporters. They also underwent the biomechanical pitching analysis designed by new director of pitching development Rick Peterson. "We're breaking them up. It'll go on for at least two more days. We just don't want to disrupt too much. We should get most of the...

VIERA, Fla. - Count Rick Ankiel among the few people happy that Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo is still searching for a center fielder who can hit leadoff. If Rizzo had found elusive quarry this offseason, Ankiel might still be searching for a job. Two weeks ago, Ankiel inked a minor league deal with the Nationals, getting a spring training invitation that's more formality than anything. Barring a collapse of epic proportions, Ankiel will be on the opening day roster at Chicago's...