Orioles 2009 first-round draft pick Matt Hobgood is going to have season-ending surgery on his right rotator cuff after getting a second opinion from a doctor on his ailing shoulder. Hobgood, who said he had not felt right or truly free of discomfort since beginning his pro career, will be operated on April 2 by Dr. Craig Morgan of Wilmington, Del., a shoulder specialist. After an offseason where he seemed to make some progress in rehabbing his shoulder injury, Hobgood was recently shut down...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Left-hander Dontrelle Willis, signed to a minor league deal earlier this week, is still waiting to get into his first game with the Orioles. "Hopefully soon. I don't know," he said. Willis threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and has been playing catch. "I'm just trying to catch up," he said. "I feel good. I feel like my strength is getting back, so that's good." The Phillies released Willis on Friday. "It's just about getting the strength back and the timing...

VIERA, Fla. - The test results on Drew Storen's right elbow have come in, and the Nationals can breathe a sigh of relief. Storen underwent an MRI on his right elbow yesterday, and the test confirmed that the Nats closer does not have any structural damage to his arm. There's a little inflammation in the elbow joint, Storen said, but nothing's wrong with the reliever's UCL. That's the ligament which, if torn, can result in Tommy John surgery. "There's nothing extremely unnormal,"...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is out of the lineup again today because of a sore right arm. Robert Andino will make his second consecutive start at shortstop. Hardy didn't throw yesterday and also will rest today. "We just want to get it under control," Hardy said, adding that he could play through the discomfort it if were the regular season. "My arm, shoulder, it's just not feeling good. It's something I deal with every year. It's a nagging thing, but it's sticking...

VIERA, Fla. - In their last three games, the Nationals have been shut out twice. They've scored more than three runs in a game only once in their last six contests, are hitting .249 as a team and have put up just 69 runs for the Grapefruit League season, fourth-worst in the majors. "I don't want them peaking too early," manager Davey Johnson said yesterday of his hitters, before pausing and cracking a smile. "And we're not." Is it time to panic? Do the spring struggles indicate that...

All it takes is one. One tweet from Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com saying that the Orioles are shopping both Kevin Gregg and Mark Reynolds, and soon everyone is picking up the report and it is almost taken as fact. The report could very well prove to be true, but I think you always have to be somewhat skeptical of trade rumor talk. Gregg's name has been out there before, but I don't recall any reports about Reynolds. No doubt many fans would be happy if Gregg were removed from the roster....

JUPITER, Fla. - With Michael Morse looking increasingly unlikely to be ready for opening day, manager Davey Johnson has started thinking about Plan B. Or, should I say, Plan C. Or D. That plan, whichever letter is attached to it, is using infielder Steve Lombardozzi in left field on occasion. The experiment was put into action yesterday in the Nats' 3-2 loss to the Braves, when Lombardozzi trotted out to left in the middle innings. He'd taken part in his first outfield training session...

JUPITER, Fla. - Other than a couple minor bumps in the road, everything had gone pretty smoothly for Gio Gonzalez in his first three spring starts. Including stats from a rained out game March 11, he'd thrown 10 1/3 innings, allowing just one earned run, five hits and four walks in that time, with 10 strikeouts. That's good for a 0.87 ERA. In today's 9-0 loss to the Cardinals, things didn't go quite so smoothly for Gonzalez. And that's a massive understatement. Gonzalez's spring ERA...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Trent Mummey hit a two-run homer today to complete the scoring in the Orioles' 11-1 victory over the Twins at Hammond Stadium. Dana Eveland gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless seventh inning. He tossed three perfect innings in his previous outing. Chris Tillman struck out the side in the eighth in his shortest outing this spring - manager Buck Showalter wanted him to turn it loose for one inning - and Pat Neshek retired the side in order in the ninth. Wei-Yin...

JUPITER, Fla. - Gio Gonzalez retired two of the nine batters he faced in the fourth inning today against the Cardinals. He gave up a two-run homer, two doubles, two singles and two walks, all in that frame. Not exactly his finest outing. The Nationals lefty was pulled after 3 2/3 innings of work, having allowed eight earned runs overall, 10 hits and four walks. He struck out three and threw 83 pitches, 50 for strikes. Hey, at least he built that pitch count up. Ryan Mattheus came on to...