Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy didn't report any discomfort after swinging a bat yesterday for the first time since going on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. Hardy increased the intensity of his activities today, which included running and throwing. Hardy eventually will go on an injury rehab assignment. The initial plan called for him to play at least two games in the minors. Brian Matusz (strained left intercostal) threw from a slight incline on the lower portion of the...

The Orioles are sending out their regular lineup again tonight against the Red Sox. Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Derrek Lee 1B Vladimir Guerrero DH Luke Scott LF Adam Jones CF Mark Reynolds 3B Matt Wieters C Robert Andino SS Zach Britton LHP For the Red Sox: Ellsbury CF Pedroia 2B Gonzalez 1B Youkilis 3B Ortiz DH Lowrie SS Drew RF Crawford LF Varitek C Buchholz RHP Also, Brian Matusz played catch in the outfield and did some throwing in the bullpen, though it's impossible to...

The Washington Nationals today placed shortstop Ian Desmond on Major League Baseball's Paternity Leave List and recalled outfielder Roger Bernadina from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Bernadina batted .267 (12-for-45) with three doubles, one home run and two RBI in 13 games with the Chiefs. The 26-year-old is tied for ninth in the International League with five...

The Nationals return home to take on the Mets this week and there are plenty of fun reasons to get out to the ballpark. Fans can celebrate Earth Month on Tuesday at the interactive Coca-Cola recycling trailer outside the center field gates. You can play games, win prizes and learn more about going green. If you bring a recyclable container to trailer, you'll get a voucher good for 50% off select tickets to a future game.    Beginning Wednesday, make sure...

It's been a tough stretch for Baltimore Orioles fans over the past decade. No matter where you reside - whether it's in Maryland, Florida, California or any part of the world - it's been startling to see what has happened to the Orioles. Sadly, they have not had a winning season since Bill Clinton was president of the United States of America. Yet, despite it all, I and most of my friends who rooted for the Orioles growing up still do so today. It's obvious that the Birds have lost more...

If you need some good news to perk you up, the Yankee fans left Baltimore after Sunday's game. They had to make room for all the Red Sox fans. Didn't perk you up? Sorry. The Orioles have lost 11 of 13. The Red Sox have won five in a row and eight of nine. I'm really doing a lousy job of improving your moods. Again, sorry. As I mentioned yesterday, the Orioles have been outscored 10-2 in the first inning this season. Boston has pitched back-to-back shutouts. Probably not a good idea...

It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen on a Monday night. I was reading over the standard Nationals news from the usual rogue's gallery of sources when I decided to take a break and take in something non-baseball related. I find a quick dose of tabloid entertainment, a music video off YouTube or a random news story usually cleans out the colon of your baseball mind. Man cannot survive on baseball alone - unless you are Pete Rose at a sporting memorabilia convention. Somehow, someway I...

Single-A Hagerstown Suns right-hander Shane McCatty is coming off his best outing of the season Saturday. He tossed 4 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on three hits with no walks and a pair of strikeouts against the Hickory Crawdads. The 6-foot-3, 205-lb., McCatty now has a 3.27 ERA in four relief appearances with seven strikeouts, two walks and four earned runs allowed. Imagine being the 23-year-old. You have to answer to two pitching coaches every night - one in Hagerstown and another...

I can't let you go to bed without a Manny Machado update. I'd never forgive myself if you tossed and turned all night. Machado hit his first home run in the South Atlantic League, and his second as a professional, in Single-A Delmarva's 7-3 victory over Savannah. Machado, who hit one home run in the Gulf Coast League last year, in his first at-bat on Aug. 28 after being the third-overall pick in the draft, went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to leave his average at .290. All three RBIs came on...

It won't make any fans that are down on Derrek Lee feel any better, but Lee has had slow starts in April before. His start this April is worse than his start last April but better, in some stat categories, than his start in April 2009. In 2009, by the way, he finished with an average of .306 and hit 35 homers with 111 RBIs and an OPS of .972. He finished ninth in the National League Most Valuable Player vote that year. None of this means he will have a season like that this year, but it...