VIERA, Fla. - Jesus Flores' impressive performance in the Venezuelan Winter League this offseason was almost offset by the kidnapping of his friend and teammate, Wilson Ramos. Now, Flores has his mind set on showing the Nationals he can again be a starting catcher, even if it means doing so at Ramos' expense. Unseating Ramos will be an uphill battle, since Ramos is viewed as Washington's top backstop entering 2012 after batting .267 with 15 homers and 52 RBIs in 113 games as a rookie last...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he's going to be cautious early in camp with pitchers Zach Britton and Jim Johnson. Britton is receiving treatment for inflammation in his left shoulder. He played long toss again today, and pitching coach Rick Adair told Showalter that the session went very well. No soreness, no symptoms. Meanwhile, Showalter revealed that Johnson has "some patella stuff and lower-back things," but neither condition is viewed as serious. Johnson is...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Brian Roberts showed up today, according to manager Buck Showalter, who told reporters that the second baseman had a good look on his face and seemed upbeat. Outfielders Nolan Reimold and Scott Beerer also are in camp, and they have a very similar look. Beerer is the early favorite to beat Reimold in a sprint, which is interesting. You've seen how fast Reimold gets down the line. I'm sure a match-race is in the works. Left-hander Ryan Edell, signed to a minor league deal,...

SARASOTA, Fla. - By the time I left the clubhouse this morning, I had spotted pitchers Zach Britton, Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, Alfredo Simon, Pedro Strop, Tommy Hunter, Jason Berken, Brad Bergesen, Jason Hammel, Oliver Drake, Pat Neshek, Matt Lindstrom, Jon Link, Dana Eveland, Zach Phillips, Dylan Bundy, Darren O'Day and Wei-Yin Chen, and catchers Matt Wieters, Taylor Teagarden and Brian Ward. Pitcher Steve Johnson and first baseman Joe Mahoney have corner lockers next to the big fridges...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Pitchers and catchers will report to camp today, and the media has been granted clubhouse access from 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m. In the past, we've been allowed to stake out the clubhouse all morning and afternoon, so I'm not sure why a change has been implemented. New regime, new rules? I've already experienced my weird moment of the day. I got into my car, turned on the stereo and heard "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors. Now I just need to find a song about the Mandarin...

The Orioles selected pitcher Dylan Bundy with the fourth pick in round one of the First-Year Player Draft last June. Now Bundy is beginning his first pro spring training camp this weekend. After signing a major league contract he is on the 40-man roster and reporting with many others to major league camp at Ed Smith Stadium. Earlier this week,in this story, Bundy talked about his offseason workouts and excitement level about the start of spring camp. During our interview, I asked the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - I'm staying in a different hotel this spring, so I must rely on my horrible sense of direction and my GPS to find my way to Ed Smith Stadium and downtown Sarasota. The good news: I'm very close to the Sarasota airport. The bad news: I flew into Tampa. Though it's overcast and a light rain has been falling, the temperature was 71 degrees when my plane landed. No shovel required. I made a quick trip to the ballpark to check out the clubhouse renovations, and they're...

In discussing Orioles pitching injuries in my blog yesterday the topic of pitch counts was raised by a few readers in the comments section. A pitcher passing 100 pitches may be getting close to reaching what some consider a high pitch count and his time left in that game may be limited. The use of pitch counts drives some people in the sport and some fans crazy. They see some managers as prisoners of the pitch count and think many outings could and should go well past the 100-pitch mark with...

Gary Carter's death at 57 from a brain tumor hits home for Nationals manager Davey Johnson, who skippered the New York Mets from 1984-90 and had Carter as his catcher from 1985-89. Carter backstopped the 1986 Mets who went 108-54 and won the only World Series on Johnson's resume. Carter spent the first 12 year of his Hall of Fame career with the Nationals' predecessors, the Montreal Expos. The affable catcher nicknamed "Kid" hit .269 with 220 home runs and 823 RBIs for the Expos and the...

Did I actually make it out of Maryland this winter without shoveling snow? Will I actually go another year without missing my flight? I don't even know who I am anymore. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training Saturday, which means I need to be in Sarasota today. Players start to trickle in early, and I always love playing "Who's that guy?" There's no way I'd arrive late and miss out on all the fun. A new player walks into the clubhouse carrying his equipment bag. Reporters...