Dave Trembley used to hate lineup questions, but I had to ask Buck Showalter about his decision to bat Julio Lugo sixth tonight. We're accustomed to seeing Lugo's name at the top or bottom, but Showalter is taking two factors into account: The veteran infielder is hitting .320 in 75 at-bats against left-handers, and the White Sox bullpen includes left-hander Matt Thornton. "Obviously, his track record is hitting left-handed pitching quite well," Showalter said. "It fits us to try to...

After sitting out last night, Josh Bell returns to the Orioles lineup tonight at third base. Bell is doing better after leaving Wednesday's game due to hamstring cramps in his left leg. It's an important time for Bell to show the organization and new manager Buck Showalter that he can be a part of the team's future at third base. Even though first impressions can mean a lot, Showalter is experienced enough to know how he evaluates Bell might be a little different from evaluating a veteran...

Outfielder Lou Montanez played his first injury rehab game today with the Gulf Coast League Orioles. He started in left field against the GCL Rays and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Montanez, who's recovering from a strained oblique, told me in a text message that he felt fine and "did everything without pain." He's expected to play in at least three more games down there before reporting to another affiliate. It's ex-Oriole day at Camden Yards. Besides the familiar faces at today's...

Did you catch Jeremy Guthrie and Adam Jones live on MASNsports.com Friday afternoon? The O's teammates joined us for a couple of live chats today, and even though their lunch hour chats are over, there's plenty to pass along. Guthrie arrived early after biking to the Warehouse - would you have expected anything else? - and fell right in chatting with the MASNsports.com staff as we finalized our preparations for the first of today's two live chats. During Guthrie's half hour, he...

Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton 1B Luke Scott DH Adam Jones CF Julio Lugo SS Matt Wieters C Felix Pie LF Josh Bell 3B Brad Bergesen RHP Lugo sixth? According to Elias, Buck Showalter is the fourth manager to win his first three games with the Orioles, joining Hank Bauer (1964), Earl Weaver (1968) and Davey Johnson (1996).

With the abundance of young starters on the Orioles' staff, Jim Hunter talked with Rick Kranitz about developing young pitching at the big league level. Jim asked Rick about the balancing act between ego and stubbornness, and Kranitz talked about the importance of a pitcher's approach. Watch the video below to hear one way Kranitz says young pitchers can let the game get away from them and how they can recover from adversity.

Several interesting topics were addressed today earlier in our MASNSports.com web studio when I hosted live chats with pitcher Jeremy Guthrie and outfielder Adam Jones. During my time with Adam, we talked about where he positions himself in the outfield. "I play the hitter. I'm not going to play Torii Hunter like I play Reggie Willets. I necessarily don't want to play too shallow or too deep to let everything sit and drop in front of me." Adam said there were discussions earlier where...

Preliminary overnight Nielsen ratings show that new Orioles skipper Buck Showalter has re-energized both his players and viewers on MASN. More than 61,000 households in the Baltimore market tuned in last night to watch the Orioles sweep the Angels, a marked increase over the 2010 average tune-in for Orioles fans in Baltimore. With a 5.6 HH rating, the Orioles telecast was the top-rated prime show in Baltimore on Thursday evening, beating out the prime-time lineups of even the broadcast...

I'm happy to report that former Orioles pitching coach and manager Ray Miller looks exactly the same except for a goatee that he can wear without violating the club's facial hair policy. Miller looks terrific, which is a relief after he dealt with a serious health issue during his final season in the organization. He's a pretty stoic guy, as old-school as they come, but the honor of being inducted into the Orioles' Hall of Fame has clearly moved him. "First time in my life I was...

I'm heading over to Camden Yards to catch up with Ray Miller, who will be inducted into the Orioles' Hall of Fame before tomorrow night's game against the Chicago White Sox. It's been years since I've seen him. I'm relieved that he's in good health and enjoying his retirement. Going back to how we're all learning about manager Buck Showalter, I'm enjoying his thorough evaluation process this week. He's not focused only on the obvious stuff - how a player is swinging the bat, how a...