SARASOTA, Fla. - Nolan Reimold reported to camp this afternoon. We're still waiting on Derrek Lee, Luke Scott, Nick Markakis, Ryan Adams and Pedro Florimon. Position players are required to be here on Sunday. Pitcher Mitch Atkins is still dealing with a sore left oblique muscle. Starter Brad Bergesen went back to his hotel with virus-like symptoms. Brian Matusz threw off a mound for the third time this spring. I wanted to pass along his comments while waiting for the Vladimir Guerrero...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Vladimir Guerrero played catch with Felix Pie on one of the back fields this morning and headed to the indoor cage to hit some balls off a tee. Guerrero apparently will not hit outdoors today. Also, for everyone who's obsessed with seeing Guerrero in his Orioles' uniform, he wore a black shirt and shorts on the field. No uniform. And keep in mind that players aren't donning the home whites here. They're wearing black and orange practice jerseys. You've seen a similar...

Here is the second and final part of the interview with ESPN's Keith Law, picking up where we left off. Steve Melewski: A couple more things, Keith. We kind of diverted from the minor leagues, but this was also interesting, getting your take on these other topics. How do you see the young pitching. (Jake) Arrieta, (Brad) Bergesen, (Brian) Matusz and that group? Keith Law: "Matusz, to me, is the ace. He has the potential for four average or better pitches and probably three...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Clubhouse manager Fred Tyler spent part of his morning sorting through batting helmets, trying to find one that fit Vladimir Guerrero's head. Cesar Izturis, Felix Pie, Nick Green and Randy Winn reported to camp this morning, and Nick Markakis is expected to arrive later today. They'll also need helmets, but it won't be as interesting to watch. Everything that Guerrero does draws the attention of teammates and reporters. Imagine what will happen once he picks up a bat...

The Orioles today announced that they have signed free agent DH Vladimir Guerrero to a one-year contract. A nine-time All-Star and eight-time Silver Slugger Award winner, Guerrero batted .300 with 29 home runs, 115 RBI and an .841 OPS in 152 games for the AL champion Texas Rangers last season, the sixth time in the last seven seasons he played in 140 games or more. With a .320 lifetime average (5th highest among active players), 447 doubles (13th) and 436 home runs (6th), Guerrero is one of...

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. today at the Ed Smith Stadium complex to introduce Vladimir Guerrero, who passed his physical and signed a one-year, $8 million deal. As expected, the Orioles moved Alfredo Simon to the restricted list to make room for the nine-time All-Star, who will serve as the cleanup hitter and regular designated hitter. Guerrero isn't likely to play the outfield in Grapefruit League games, but manager Buck Showalter will have to figure...

The interview with ESPN.com's Keith Law and some of his quotes published here last week certainly got some fans stirred up. I had mentioned that this week I would publish the entire interview here and now is the time. Since it takes a lot of words to read through a 17-minute interview, I will publish it in two posts. The second one will follow this by a few hours. Some of these quotes you read before, some you have not seen. This time I am just publishing the entire interview, questions and...

All you have to do is get to the sixth or seventh inning. That is what successful pitching staffs can do and that separates them from the have nots. Imagine if that was all the starters had to do: just go six or seven. With the Nationals bullpen a position of strength last season, general manager Mike Rizzo hopes the pieces he has added to the staff in the offseason can solidify the relief corps to be even stronger this season. Rizzo wants them to be so good that games feel abbreviated to...

SARASOTA, Fla. - Craig Tatum knows what it's like to arrive in camp with expectations for him that are lower than the contents of Miguel Cabrera's scotch bottle. Tatum wasn't supposed to beat out Chad Moeller last spring for the backup job behind starting catcher Matt Wieters, but he did it. And that explains why Tatum hasn't grown too comfortable despite being the incumbent. Tatum's stiffest challenge comes from Jake Fox, who also can play the corner infield positions and left field....

There is another article out today on the Frederick Keys' unsettled lease situation that I have written about previously. Click here for an update from Baseball America's Josh Leventhal. The city of Frederick is expected to accept bids on the 2012 lease through April 15 and an Atlantic League team is expected to bid to basically try to move in on the Keys' turf in a move that could potentially push the Keys out of Frederick. The article quotes Keys' owner Ken Young saying: "We need to...