Here is a followup to an article with O's scouting director Joe Jordan addressing some of the pitching injuries to hurlers the O's selected in the 2009 draft. In this post, he talks more specifically about some of those pitchers. Despite the injuries that impacted so many of the 2009 draftees last summer, Jordan remains quite hopeful for the pitchers taken in the top 10 rounds that June. Right-hander Randy Henry was the fourth-round pick that year from South Mountain Community College in...

After making another round of calls today, I can pass along the following nuggets on a few of your favorite free agents: The Orioles have, indeed, made an offer to Vladimir Guerrero this week, and it falls in the $3 million to $5 million range. They most certainly did not exceed $5 million. I'd say it's a lot closer to $3 million. Also, team officials don't expect a FanFest announcement similar to what transpired with Miguel Tejada last winter. In fact, while they understand that the...

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, citing a major league source, says the Orioles have made an offer to free-agent designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero. Rosenthal estimates that the offer falls in the $3 million to $5 million range. If this is true, the offer must have come this week, because the two sides hadn't been in negotiations. The Orioles always left open the possibility of signing Guerrero, but only at a discount price. Guerrero has sought a multi-year deal, but he can forget it. And...

I was watching the MLB Network's "Top 50 Most Incredible Collisions" last night, and No. 8 was Bo Jackson plowing into Rick Dempsey and almost sending the former Orioles catcher flying into the dugout. I counted three backward somersaults. When I texted Dempsey, he replied, "Well, I've got that going for me." Which is nice. Dempsey, in his only season with the Cleveland Indians in 1987, missed the last six weeks with a broken left thumb. And get this: A proctologist in Kansas City set...

Nationals right-hander Garrett Mock is excited to get started with the 2011 season after an injury-filled 2010 campaign that included neck surgery. Mock has been working out and throwing in his hometown of Houston and plans to report to Viera, Fla., the Nationals' spring training home, next Friday so he can find an apartment and get an early start. "I just got done with a throwing session," Mock said. "I did some long toss, nothing strenuous. I will have a longer bullpen session...

If some baseball prospects fly under the radar, Orioles pitching prospect Zach Britton isn't one of them. Maybe fans didn't know much about Britton when he was drafted in the third round out of a Texas high school in 2006, pitching at Rookie League Bluefield that summer. But it seems everyone now knows his name. Britton was named Carolina League pitcher of the year in 2009 and he pitched for Team USA in the Futures Game last July. He ended the 2010 season thriving at Triple-A and was named...

Clay Rapada will compete for a left-handed relief role with the Orioles, but the Triple-A Norfolk Tides will gladly welcome him to Harbor Park if he's reassigned. Rapada, 29, is a Portsmouth, Va., native who pitched at Virginia State University. He won't hurt attendance. Rapada posted a 4.00 ERA in 13 games with the Texas Rangers in 2010, his third team since the Chicago Cubs signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2002. The Tides put out a release with more information on Rapada, in...

The Orioles have announced that Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer and right-handed mound prospect Brandon Erbe have been added to the roster of players signing autographs at Saturday's FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center. Palmer has been added to Station 3 at 3:20 p.m., while Erbe will be signing at Station 1 at 4:40 p.m. Fans should visit www.orioles.com/fanfest for an updated list of autograph session availability and a recap of the newly implemented autograph procedures. FanFest...

The Orioles have two of baseball's top 24 prospects, according to MLB.com. In announcing its top 50 prospects last night, MLB.com named left-handed pitcher Zach Britton as the game's 19th best prospect and rated shortstop Manny Machado as the 24th. Britton, who turned 23 on Dec. 22, went 10-7 with a 2.70 ERA in 26 starts last year between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. The lefty, who was added to the O's 40-man roster in November, gave up two earned runs or fewer in 21 of 26...

According to a Harris Poll, pro football is the most popular sport in the United States. Among people that follow at least one sport, 31 percent say football is their favorite sport while baseball is second at 17 percent. In 1985, 23 percent in the same poll listed baseball as No. 1, so the sport is losing ground since then. There are some that think baseball is completely dwarfed by interest in the NFL and some that say the sport just doesn't generate the interest it once did. Oh,...