If you're a baseball fan on Twitter these days, it's likely that you've encountered an account for a ball player's facial hair. Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth's beard has a Twitter handle, as does San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson's jet-black growth. Nationals farmhands Bryce Harper (and his attempt at upper-lip fuzz) and Collin Balestar's mustache have also gotten into the Twitter game. All this talk over facial hair got me wondering - does Major League Baseball care about...

After two starts since returning from the disabled list, Brian Matusz is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. Matusz gave up one run in 5 2/3 at Seattle and two runs over 5 1/3 Monday against Oakland. Matusz said he is certainly not yet in midseason form, but is generally pleased with his progress to this point. Reporters have noted his fastball velocity seems a bit down from where it was last year, but Matusz said he is not concerned about that. "A lot of people are talking about the fastball velocity,...

The Orioles' homestand continues tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, who's 7-3 with a 2.64 ERA. Hellickson hasn't allowed a run against the Orioles in two starts this season covering 14 innings. He turned in five scoreless innings May 7 at Camden Yards, though he walked five batters, and tossed a four-hit shutout six nights later at Tropicana Field. Overall, Hellickson is 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA in 21 2/3 career innings against the Orioles. They're batting...

When I first met Kevin Gregg in spring training in Sarasota, Fla., I was immediately impressed with his demeanor. He was polite, engaging, confident and eager to help the Orioles move up in the standings. As the season has progressed, Gregg has proven to be effective as the Orioles closer despite "living on the edge" in several save opportunities. Gregg has his style and he refuses to change his way and give in to hitters. He has tremendous confidence in his ability to get out of a jam,...

The Orioles announced today that they have placed first baseman Derrek Lee on the bereavement list. Lee will be eligible to be activated on June 12. Lee was batting .229 (40-175) with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 45 games for the Orioles. A corresponding roster move will be announced at a later time.

Right-hander Dan Klein, one of the Orioles' top pitching prospects, feels his current right shoulder soreness will not turn into a more serious problem. Klein is on the disabled list at Double-A Bowie and will have a precautionary MRI Monday in Baltimore so doctors can get a better look at his shoulder. Klein took a red-shirt season in 2009 while at UCLA and had an arthroscopic procedure on that shoulder, but he said the current soreness is not related to that at all. "No, it's not a...

In the final part of my interview with Jim Callis of Baseball America, I asked him about the upcoming negotiations between the Orioles and their top draft pick, pitcher Dylan Bundy. Bundy and his representatives have floated crazy numbers like $30 million for his signing bonus. He will get a fraction of that but nothing close to that figure in the end. Callis fully expects the negotiations to go smoothly and lead to the O's getting Bundy signed. "They may be looking at it from a standpoint...

Jason Berken made his fourth start for Triple-A Norfolk today, going five innings and leaving with the Tides trailing Pawtucket, 2-1. The Orioles want to stretch out Berken, and he cooperated by throwing 93 pitches today. However, I'm sure they want him going deeper into the games. Berken allowed two runs and six hits, with two walks and five strikeouts. He threw 56 strikes among his 93 pitches before left-hander Mark Hendrickson replaced him. Berken threw 84 pitches over 5 2/3 innings in...

The Orioles swept Oakland by scores of 4-2, 4-0 and 3-2. According to Elias, it's the first time in nine years that they won three straight despite scoring four runs or fewer in each game. The three starting pitchers back in 2002 were Travis Driskill, Jason Johnson and Sidney Ponson. You can look it up. Update: The A's fired manager Bob Geren this morning and replaced him with former Orioles catcher Bob Melvin. A nine-game losing streak will do that to you. It might not have gained much...

I no longer live in a major league town. Having moved to North Carolina a few years ago, I don't have the luxury I enjoyed for many years in Baltimore of catching a big league game on a moment's notice. It's one of many taken-for-granted things I miss now that I'm away from the place I'll always consider home. These days I find that I'm not breaking old habits so much as I'm finding replacements for them. So I still make regular ballpark visits during the summer; they just happen to be...