Not much to say about this one. Mark Hendrickson allowed a hit and walked a batter, but he kept the Red Sox scoreless in the fifth inning. Mike Gonzalez turned in a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth, but the Red Sox scored a run off Dennis Sarfate in the seventh. Boston 10, Orioles 1 Update: I hit the "save" button and Kevin Frandsen hits a grand slam off Dennis Sarfate in the eighth. That's two for the Red Sox today. Boston 14, Orioles 1 The Orioles have three hits today. Special thanks to...

The Red Sox are mistreating two pitchers who are projected members of the Orioles' bullpen this season. Jim Johnson followed Jason Berken to the mound. He should have turned right and kept walking. Single, hit-by-pitch, single, grand slam. Boston 9, Orioles 1. Victor Martinez followed his two-run shot off Berken in the third with a bases-clearing blast off Johnson in the fourth, the ball sailing over the center field fence with none out. Johnson hadn't allowed a run in his last four...

The Red Sox didn't go easy on Jason Berken today. Victor Martinez followed Dustin Pedroia's leadoff single in the third inning with a two-run homer. Kevin Youkilis doubled off the fence in left-center field and scored on J.D. Drew's sharp single to right. Boston 5, Orioles 0. Pitching coach Rick Kranitz went to the mound and removed Berken, who allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out the first two batters of the game. Berken, who's ticketed for long relief in the Orioles'...

I usually focus on the starting pitcher, but Brian Roberts is stealing Jason Berken's thunder. We have plenty of witnesses. Ed Smith Stadium is packed again. Roberts ranged far to his left to glove Victor Martinez's grounder and throw to first for the second out of the inning, but that wasn't his finest play. He made a diving stop and throw to rob Kevin Youkilis of a hit and send Berken back to the dugout.. Most important, Roberts quickly rose to his feet without a trace of discomfort in...

The Orioles optioned Lou Montanez to Triple-A Norfolk before today's game. If you're counting, that's 32 players left in camp. Montanez never had a chance to make the club without an injury opening up a spot in the outfield. He hit .319 with three doubles, one triple and eight RBIs. His 20 at-bats ranked second to Robert Andino's 21. Meanwhile, Adam Jones has been scratched from the lineup. Felix Pie will bat second and play center field. Nolan Reimold moves down to fifth. No word on...

With spring training a little over a month away, a lot of offseason talk on the defensive side has centered around the shortstop and second base positions. A lot of rumors had the Nats interested in Orlando Hudson last year and that talk continues now as the team prepares for the 2010 campaign. Shortstop Ian Desmond did a great job on an interim basis and he has told me how he will go all out, leave everything on the table to secure the position this season. So where will Cristian Guzman...

Five-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson announced his retirement today. The 46-year old pitcher won his 300th game with the Giants last season and finished with 303 for his career. He is second all-time to Nolan Ryan in career strikeouts. Johnson pitched for the Expos, Mariners, Astros, Diamondbacks, Yankees and Giants in 22 seasons. Looking back on his time with the Expos, it was abbreviated compared to the 22 overall seasons, but he went 3-4 in 11 starts with a 4.69 ERA and 51...

The Nationals made it official today with the announcement that closer Matt Capps has signed with the team. The 26-year-old brings impressive experience to Nats Park. With the Pirates, Capps had 67 saves, 29 holds, 3.61 ERA and a 19-19 record in five seasons. Pitching Coach Steve McCatty says Capps "wants the ball. He is a tremendous competitor. We all like him. He seems to love to have the opportunity every game." Manager Jim Riggleman told me Capps will be a "huge help for our...

I had a nice talk with Nationals minor league first baseman Chris Marrero today as he gets ready for this season. Marrero was a busy man this past season with stops in Potomac, Harrisburg and Phoenix, spanning over 150 games. Chris feels better this week after getting over a bout of food poisioning (possibly from some undercooked chicken) that landed him in the hospital for a night. I talked to him about his season with Potomac and Harrisburg and Arizona winter ball: "My number one goal...

The Nationals announced the winter caravan schedule which comes up this year January 27th through the 31st, 2010. Several big name Nats will make appearances including Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn, Pudge Rodriguez and John Lannan. Several of the events are open to the public in Virginia, Maryland and D.C. including stops at Ben's Chili Bowl, P-Nats complex in Woodbridge, a Capitals hockey game and Hard Times Cafe. There is also the ticketed events with the popular second annual Hot Stove...