SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette may have delivered the final blow to the ongoing rumors that the club might sign free agent Johnny Damon. The following exchange took place this morning as Duquette walked past a small group of reporters outside the clubhouse. Reporter: "Are you going to sign Johnny Damon?" Duquette (laughing): "I don't think so. I already signed Johnny Damon when he was 28." Meanwhile, catcher Michael Ohlman will be examined Friday by team...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Now that Nick Markakis is running sprints, the Orioles are able to map out his schedule in an attempt to get him ready for opening day on April 6. Markakis is scheduled to serve as the designated hitter on March 14, his first game action since undergoing surgery in January to repair a torn abdominal muscle. Markakis has been taking batting practice, gradually increasing the intensity of his swings, and shagging fly balls in the outfield. The sprints yesterday gave manager...

VIERA, Fla. - Manager Davey Johnson says that left fielder Michael Morse is feeling better after dealing with a lat strain the last few days, and he while he isn't ready to return to Grapefruit League action yet, he will get some extra hitting in during the next three to four days. Same for Adam LaRoche, who will hit and run the bases today during an intrasquad minor league game after just taking some cuts during an intrasquad contest yesterday. I'm going to pop over to the side fields in a...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Jason Hammel makes his first spring start today. For the Orioles: Nolan Reimold LF J.J Hardy SS Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 3B Wilson Betemit 1B Jai Miller RF Ryan Adams DH Robert Andino 2B Jason Hammel RHP Manager Buck Showalter told reporters that he wanted to see more of Miller, who had a three-run double yesterday, and the former Oakland Athletics outfielder is starting in right today. Also, Showalter indicated that Nick Johnson would play first...

VIERA, Fla. - The first stage of spring training is now behind us. You know, the stage where each starting pitcher goes out and fires two or three innings, and then says he felt good regardless of the results. "Oh, I gave up six runs in two innings? I was just trying to throw strikes, so mission accomplished." "My curveball looked flat? Well I just wanted to get a feel for the ball again." So far, Nationals starters have needed to make very few excuses. The quintet of hurlers who have...

Outfielder Brett Carroll has bounced around a lot the last couple of seasons, so he is thrilled with the chance to impress on one team this spring training and work to secure a spot on the Nationals' 25-man roster. "The last four years I have been up and down in that fourth outfield role," the 29-year old Carroll said. "It has been a great experience, a blessing and it's been a grind. It was a lot of learning. There is a lot of adversity through that kind of role when you are used to...

There is a theory out there that the Orioles have rushed some of their prospects too fast to the big leagues in recent years and that is one key reason why some of that young talent may have struggled at times in the majors. One thing to note here is that all players are different in some way, so an organization can have a general philosophy about promoting players in the minor leagues, but they also surely realize that some players can be moved faster than others. Two of those players for...

VIERA, Fla. - Davey Johnson hopped out of the dugout with a few innings left in this afternoon's game with the Cardinals and told home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom that he only had enough pitching to last nine innings. Cederstrom informed Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, who agreed to end the game after nine innings if the two teams happened to be locked in a tie. That's exactly how things played out. Catcher Carlos Maldonado blasted a two-run home run off Cardinals righty Lance Lynn in...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Manager Buck Showalter told reporters that Nick Markakis ran sprints today for the first time and continues to feel good. He's making a nice recovery from the abdominal surgery and continues to believe that he'll be ready by opening day. As Showalter loves to say, "So far, so good." "That's a good sign," he said. Nick Johnson will play first base tomorrow. Showalter noted that Wei-Yin Chen had "a little bit better command" today. "It's part of the progression...

VIERA, Fla. - All three of Jordan Zimmermann's strikeouts during his three scoreless innings this afternoon came on sliders. But while the slider was working today, the Nationals' starter was less than thrilled with his fastball command in his spring training debut. "I felt OK," Zimmermann said. "I had a rough time locating the fastball today, but I threw some good ones when I needed to. The breaking pitches were pretty good. It's tough to throw them in this wind, but the ones I did...