I'm still not a huge fan of Twitter, though I know it's necessary in this day and age and it's slowly winning me over, but it's become a convenient tool for tracking Jeremy Guthrie's health. Guthrie just, yes, tweeted the following: "Just got cleared to play short distance catch today by team Dr...yeeaa! Will take things slowly this week and see how body reacts." My question is, how slowly? He's tentatively scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Rangers at Camden Yards, but he'll...

Orioles minor league pitcher Jesse Beal, who was slated to begin the year in the Frederick Keys rotation, will miss the start of the minor league season. Beal, who went 7-6, 3.86 last summer at Single-A Delmarva, has a right shoulder impingement. There is no definite timetable yet for when he will be back on the mound, but he is expected to miss at least the first few weeks of the season. Meanwhile, Parker Bridwell, the O's ninth-round pick in 2010, remains in extended spring training, but...

Tonight's lineup doesn't include Luke Scott, but his groin injury has improved enough that he's available to pinch-hit if needed. Scott hasn't played since leaving Saturday night's game for a pinch-runner. "Luke feels a lot better today," Showalter said. "I feel like he's getting close. I could probably use him to pinch-hit tonight. It's something I didn't feel real comfortable with the day before yesterday. He's gone out and run some with Richie (Bancells). Came in yesterday for...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter listed Jeremy Guthrie as "very tentative" for Sunday's start against the Rangers at Camden Yards. Guthrie was released from the hospital earlier today after being treated for a form of pneumonia. Brad Bergesen is taking Guthrie's turn on the mound tonight. "I'm not sure if he's going to show up at the park or not," Showalter said of Guthrie, who tossed eight scoreless innings in Friday night's season-opener against the Rays. "Dr. (William) Goldiner,...

It would not be an upset as big as say Super Bowl III when the Jets beat the Colts, but I would guess it would be maybe a mild upset to see an Orioles win tonight. After all, Brad Bergesen had an uneven spring and hasn't pitched in a while and Orioles' hitters will be facing one of the AL's best in Justin Verlander. The 28-year-old righty, who has 37 wins the past two seasons, won his only start against Baltimore last year. He allowed just two runs on five hits over eight innings last...

Here is tonight's Orioles lineup for the 7:05 p.m. game against the Detroit Tigers: For the Orioles: Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Derrek Lee 1B Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Adam Jones CF Mark Reynolds 3B Felix Pie LF J.J. Hardy SS Brad Bergesen RHP For the Tigers: Jackson CF Rymes 2B Ordonez RF Cabrera 1B Martinez DH Boesch LF Peralta SS Avila C Inge 3B Verlander RHP

If you don't know Warning Track Power already, I suspect you soon will. Or at least you'll be humming their new, upbeat orange-and-black anthem. The Baltimore-based band, which released an Orioles-inspired song, "How Bout Dem O's," in 2009 is back with an equally catchy tune to kick off the 2011 baseball season. Here's "Oh Oh Orioles." There's a lot to like about this song, from the backyard-and-basement locales (complete with Bawlmer-style rowhomes) and the historically accurate...

Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie has been released from the hospital after being treated for a form of pneumonia that forced him to miss the team's Monday home opener and spend two days under the watchful eyes of doctors and nurses. "I'm free!" Guthrie wrote on his Twitter account early Wednesday afternoon. "On my way out of hospital&on the road to recovery. Special thanks to the nurses, doctors&my sweet wife. Thanks for your prayers." Guthrie was scheduled to start tonight's 7:05...

It's an age-old question in minor league baseball: Does player development become more important than winning the game? The answer is usually yes. The minors are there to develop players, to get them to improve and to send them to the majors. Winning the game is often secondary to that goal. Bowie Baysox manager Gary Kendall cited an example of that involving his club this year. When the Double-A Baysox open the Eastern League season Thursday night at Harrisburg, center fielder Xavier...

The Washington Nationals spent much of the offseason trying to land a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, chasing after Cliff Lee, Zack Greinke and others to stabilize a starting staff that was in the lower third in the National League in almost every meaningful category in 2010. But general manager Mike Rizzo had a secondary goal: to strengthen the bench and to add players that would know and understand their roles as part-time players, something the Nats have had trouble with in the...