VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals made three cuts this morning, reassigning outfielder Jason Michaels and infielder Andres Blanco to minor league camp and optioning left-handed pitcher Atahualpa Severino to Triple-A Syracuse. Michaels and Blanco both have opt-outs in their contracts, meaning that they can decline the demotion to Triple-A and can look around for a big league job elsewhere. The cuts leave the Nats with 34 players on their major league roster. "Jason was the hardest," manager Davey...

VIERA, Fla. - Well, today's the day. Adam LaRoche finally returns to the Nationals lineup for the home half of today's split-squad games. LaRoche will join the rest of the Nats' veterans in taking on the Braves after missing the last couple weeks with a bone bruise in his left foot. LaRoche will play first base today and will hit sixth. Xavier Nady is in the lineup again today, this time playing right field. Mark DeRosa will play left today, with Jayson Werth sliding over to center....

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are preparing for their final Grapefruit League game under the lights when they travel to Tampa to play the New York Yankees. The clubhouse opens to the media at 2 p.m., so there's no morning lineup to post. I'd expect plenty of regulars to make the trip after they were allowed to stay back in Sarasota yesterday, but shortstop J.J. Hardy won't be among them. He'll need another day off after receiving a cortisone injection in his aching right shoulder. Jason...

At a time when it angers and disappoints many Orioles fans that the club has misfired on some key first-round draft picks in recent years, we should probably remember that Mike Mussina was a big hit. Just not with hitters. Taken 20th overall in round one out of Stanford in 1990, he went on to become one of the Orioles' all-time best pitchers and is a clear candidate for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. But the news that he was elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame yesterday was not met with...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Henry Rodriguez is making opposing hitters look silly this spring. The hard-throwing righty was absolutely filthy during his 1-2-3 ninth inning against the Mets this afternoon, giving him his second save of spring training and keeping his scoreless Grapefruit League campaign alive. How ridiculous was Rodriguez's stuff today? He caused a couple Nationals players watching his performance on a clubhouse TV to give a quiet chuckle when he hit triple digits on the stadium...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Not only is Xavier Nady not going anywhere for the next couple days, but it shouldn't surprise anyone if the guy who was without an organization 11 days ago is introduced with the Nationals come opening day at Wrigley Field. After Nady went 1-for-3 today in his first major league spring training game with the Nationals, manager Davey Johnson said he will keep the veteran outfielder/first baseman with the big league club for the time being, and will write him into the...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - If they handed out superlatives at the end of Nationals spring training like they do at the end of, say, high school, "Best Start" would without question go to Jordan Zimmermann. The righty threw six scoreless innings against the Mets in today's 3-2 win, allowing just two hits with no walks and striking out two. He faced only one hitter over the minimum, kept the ball on the ground, getting nine groundball outs to just four flyouts, and very rarely allowed anything to...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Before I pass along notes and quotes on Jordan Zimmermann's outing and Ian Desmond's 4-for-4 day, here are some postgame updates on Michael Morse and Adam LaRoche. How many injury entries can I write on those two guys over a month-long span? I'm not sure. I'm trying to set an unbreakable record. I told you earlier today that Morse was scheduled to throw from 60-90 feet today and then have a sonogram on his strained (or torn, depending on which terminology you...

DUNEDIN, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter refused to dismiss Dana Eveland from the rotation competition despite today's results, but he conceded that it would probably be "a push" for Alfredo Simon to make it. Eveland allowed three runs and six hits in four innings. He hadn't gone more than three innings this spring and tossed one each in his last two outings. "He was OK," Showalter said. "Seen him better. We've seen him better." Eveland pretty much dismissed his chances of...

DUNEDIN, Fla. - Zach Britton said his left shoulder is feeling good and he could begin to do some light tossing next week after receiving two Platelet Rich Plasma injections on March 21. Dr. James Andrews told Britton it could be a six-week process before he's cleared to pitch. "I've been feeling really good," Britton said this morning. "The soreness from the shots is gone. This will be the third day that I've been doing stuff in the pool, like shoulder strengthening in the pool. I've...