We're three weeks away from the Orioles' home opener, and preparations are coming along to get Camden Yards ready for the April 4 game against the Detroit Tigers. From my fifth-floor warehouse window, I've been watching the grounds crew turn the infield dirt and work on the home plate area. A surveyor's tripod rests on the pitcher's mound. Work crews are putting the finishing touches on newly installed seats throughout the ballpark, and masonry workers are performing maintenance on the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - I'll let manager Buck Showalter pass along the injury updates. Why should I have all the fun? "(Justin) Duchscherer's got a chiropractor today and he's got an MRA at 4 o'clock today," Showalter said. "(Brian) Roberts has an MRI at 3:30. The doctor he's been seeing, he'll see him tomorrow at 9 o'clock when they've got all the pictures and all the stuff to make sure what we're dealing with. We'll have a better idea tomorrow. Derrek Lee hit off the tee today. Went...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles pitcher Justin Duchscherer is visiting a chiropractor today because of soreness in his left hip. He's scheduled to receive an MRA at 4 p.m., which shouldn't be confused with an MRI. An MRA is an MRI that also includes an arthrogram. Dye will be injected into the hip to reveal any potential structural damage. Brian Roberts will undergo an MRI on his back this afternoon and visit a specialist tomorrow. Derrek Lee hit off a tee today. He'll hit soft toss and perhaps...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Here's the Orioles lineup for today's game against the Pirates: Randy Winn LF Felix Pie CF Nick Markakis RF Vladimir Guerrero DH Luke Scott 1B Mark Reynolds 3B Matt Wieters C Robert Andino 2B Cesar Izturis SS Jake Arrieta RHP For the Pirates: Pedro Ciriaco 2B John Bowker 1B Andrew McCutchen CF Pedro Alvarez 3B Matt Diaz LF Steve Pearce RF Josh Rodriguez SS Jason Jaramillo C Kevin Correia RHP A change in Houston's pitching for tomorrow: Aneury Rodriguez will start for the...

Nationals pitching prospect Robbie Ray had a solid first outing last week, tossing two innings, allowing no hits and no runs. The left-hander threw a light bullpen Saturday and expects to pitch again Tuesday, possibly extending to three innings. Ray was pleased with his first chance in a game. He worked in his three main pitches: fastball, changeup and slider. "I was feeling pretty good," the 19-year old Ray said. "My fastball was locating well, from 90 to 93 miles per hour. The fastball...

SARASOTA, Fla. - No NIT invite for the Terps? There goes my bracket. I already had them winning the whole thing. Obviously, I should have waited. Loved the Fab Five documentary last night, though I watched it in two parts. Missed the first half of it on ESPN, but caught the replay in ESPN2 immediately afterward and pieced it together in my head. No wonder I'm tired. The clubhouse is closed to the media again this morning and won't open until batting practice ends. I'll pass along the...

Heading into spring training, I had assumed that Jeremy Guthrie, Brian Matusz, Brad Bergesen and Jake Arrieta were pretty much locks to make the starting rotation and that, if healthy, Justin Duchscherer would join them. That would allow for Rick VandenHurk to compete for a bullpen role and Chris Tillman and Zach Britton to begin the year at Triple-A. Well, those plans could be changing. The Orioles knew Duchscherer making the opening day rotation was a gamble, thus the...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Not much to report on today's 9-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers beyond what I've already written in previous entries. Mark Reynolds went 2-for-3 to leave his average at .207. The Orioles were charged with one error. Manager Buck Showalter thought it easily could have been more. Did anyone pick Josh Rupe as their spring training dark horse? Rupe tossed 2 2/3 scoreless and hitless innings today. He hasn't allowed an earned run in 8 2/3 this spring. He gave up two unearned...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles pitcher Justin Duchscherer will undergo an MRI on his left hip this week after being scratched from today's simulated game. Duchscherer likely will have to wait until Tuesday for the MRI. He'd be a day behind second baseman Brian Roberts, who will have an MRI on his back tomorrow. Duchscherer threw off flat ground this morning and complained of soreness in the hip. He was examined by the training staff. The Orioles are paying Duchscherer $700,000 this year, but...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz made some adjustments in his delivery today after working with pitching coach Mark Connor. "The results, not happy about the results, but I'm really happy about the process," he said after being charged with three runs (two earned) in 3 1/3 innings. "I feel like I'm making some adjustments that I need to, and I'm excited to sit down with Goose (Connor), look at the video for this game, kind of see where I need to be mechanically. I...