More from the notebook (updated)

NEW YORK - I found a few more items from my notebook that I wanted to pass along today in lieu of posting a lineup or pregame notes and quotes.

There's no game. I spent about an hour at the warehouse this morning after picking up my car at the BWI Rail Station around 10 a.m., and the only activity at Camden Yards involved the grounds crew working on the bullpen mounds.

Ubaldo Jimenez will start Sunday's series finale against the Blue Jays, giving him an extra day's rest. Chris Tillman starts on Friday, putting him on a regular schedule. Bud Norris will be working on two extra days rest when he takes the mound on Saturday.

Jimenez is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in two starts. He's walked eight batters in 10 2/3 innings.

By comparison, Tillman has walked two in 13 2/3 innings, Wei-Yin Chen none in 10 2/3 innings, Miguel Gonzalez two in 9 1/3 innings and Norris none in five innings.

The entire staff has issued 21 walks in nine games.

Jimenez has a career 5.10 ERA in March/April, the highest for any month, but manager Buck Showalter said he doesn't perceive the right-hander as struggling in his first two starts with the Orioles.

"Maybe he has in the past," Showalter said. "He had stuff to get through seven or eight innings (Monday). It wasn't like he was throwing the ball all over the place and short-hopping the catcher and throwing it to the backstop. He was barely missing. And his first outing, very similar.

"He's got mechanically, the same thing that allows him to be deceptive and do things sometimes challenge him, but he's done a good job of getting back in sync with it. He got a lot of quick two-strike counts. He's went through some periods where he's pitched real effectively and will this year. I'm glad we got him. He's going to be a good pitcher for us this year. It's just a couple command issues and we'll take that. And through it, he didn't let the game get disengaged either time.

"Some of these outings would have looked differently if we had scored some more runs and we'd be talking about something else. But because runs are at a premium with the pitcher we're facing, it gets multiplied."

Tommy Hunter is 3-for-3 in save opportunities. He's also trying hard to land that Subway endorsement deal, which has become a source of amusement among reporters gathering at his locker.

Following last night's game, Hunter was waiting for an opportunity to plug the sandwich shop. Asked whether he took the subway to Yankee Stadium, he kept a straight face while replying, "No, but Subway actually presented me with a pretty good meal before the game. They have a quality restaurant and I like my Subway sandwiches."

Keep trying, Tommy.

According to reports out of Oakland today, Jim Johnson has been removed as Athletics closer following yesterday's blown save. He's 0-2 with an 18.90 ERA and 4.50 WHIP in 3 1/3 innings.

Here's more on Johnson's demotion.

OK, that item didn't come out of my notebook. Neither did an update on Kevin Gausman's start today at Triple-A Norfolk. He's allowed three runs and three hits in his first two innings.

Update: Gausman allowed three runs and four hits in four innings, with three walks and four strikeouts. He threw 69 pitches, 43 for strikes. He obviously remains on a pitch count.

Jemile Weeks is starting at second base and batting second for the Tides.

On Saturday, the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation will host a Badges for Baseball clinic at the Park Heights Youth Development Park beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Approximately 100 kids will participate in baseball/softball skill stations and team-building exercises, alongside volunteers from the National Guard, Baltimore Police
Department and Playworks.

This will be the first event held at the Park Heights Youth Development Park, which was unveiled in November 2013. The site features a synthetic turf playing surface designed for baseball and football, complete with digital scoreboards, purple-lined yard markers and goal posts at each end of Ravens Field, and a backstop and dugouts on Kelly Field.

Badges for Baseball is a juvenile crime prevention program created by the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2013, the foundation impacted more than 612,000 youth in 45 states around the country.




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