BRADENTON, Fla. - Former Pirates manager John Russell was announced as the third base coach, bringing a huge outbreak of indifference.
You could have heard a pin drop - much like the crowd's reaction at every joke from last night's Oscar telecast.
No applause for Russell, no jeers, nothing but absolute silence.
So much for a warm homecoming.
J.J. Hardy struck out looking to begin today's game. Felix Pie followed with a sharp grounder that deflected off third base and skipped into left...
BRADENTON, Fla. - For the Pirates:
Jose Tabata LF
Josh Rodriguez SS
Andrew McCutchen CF
Pedro Alvarez 3B
Lyle Overbay 1B
Garrett Jones RF
Ryan Doumit DH
Chase d'Arnaud 2B
Jason Jaramillo C
Paul Maholm LHP
Jeff Karstens, Tyler Yates, Jeff Locke and Mike Crotta also are scheduled to pitch for the Pirates.
The Pirates have two split-squad games, and former Oriole Garrett Atkins is in Port Charlotte. Sorry.
Jeremy Guthrie, Rick VandenHurk, Mark Hendrickson, Jason Berken, David Riske and...
SARASOTA, Fla. - For the Orioles:
J.J. Hardy SS
Felix Pie RF
Mark Reynolds 3B
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Adam Jones CF
Nolan Reimold LF
Brandon Snyder 1B
Craig Tatum C
Cesar Izturis 2B
Brad Bergesen RHP
Other pitchers on the trip include Ryan Drese, Koji Uehara, Kevin Gregg and Jeremy Accardo.
SARASOTA, Fla. - First baseman Joe Mahoney received treatment after taking a foul ball off his right knee, and he'll be re-evaluated tomorrow morning before the club decides whether to send him to Bradenton for the exhibition opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Mahoney had a slight limp as he returned to his locker following his team's 7-4 intrasquad victory.
"Missed the knee cap, though" Mahoney said, showing off the red mark on the inner part of his knee. "I'm just happy I didn't...
SARASOTA, Fla. - First baseman Joe Mahoney fouled a ball off his right knee in the top of the sixth inning and limped to the clubhouse.
Mahoney, named the organization's minor league Player of the Year in 2010, took a few steps up the first base line and bent at the waist. Head athletic trainer Richie Bancells and manager Buck Showalter came out of the dugout, and Showalter stopped the inning with two outs.
Mahoney, who was facing left-hander Pedro Viola, grabbed his bag of bats and walked...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Adam Jones is the latest Oriole to clear the 366-foot sign in left-center field, connecting off Rule 5 pick Adrian Rosario in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Jones, Mark Reynolds and Randy Winn have homered today. Reynolds flied to the fence in his second at-bat before Jones stepped to the plate.
Rosario knocked Cesar Izturis to the ground with an inside pitch in the third inning. He's allowed two runs, two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings.
Josh Bell singled off Troy...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Third baseman Mark Reynolds hit a grand slam off minor league pitcher Chorye Spoone in the bottom of the first inning of today's intrasquad game.
Spoone walked the first two batters he faced and threw a wild pitch, and Vladimir Guerrero reached on an infield hit to load the bases after Luke Scott flied out. Shortstop Pedro Florimon ranged far to his right to rob Guerrero of an RBI.
Reynolds launched a 1-2 pitch over the 366-foot sign in left-center field.
Spoone threw 23...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Derrek Lee looked impressive in the cage today during the club's first batting practice session inside Ed Smith Stadium. He won't play in the intrasquad game, but he took some of the most significant swings of the day.
"He's getting a little more comfortable turning it loose," manager Buck Showalter said.
Lee's surgically-repaired thumb doesn't restrict his throwing. He's been active in infield drills every morning.
Vladimir Guerrero put on another show, launching...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Justin Duchscherer says he threw from 90 feet today without any discomfort in his hip. He's taking medication to reduce the inflammation.
Duchscherer won't make Wednesday's start in Clearwater, but at least he sounded encouraged.
"We'll treat it symptomatically," he said. "Hopefully, it's just inflammation."
Duchscherer will be re-evaluated tomorrow. He was told yesterday to rest for 48 hours.
I'll pass along the adjusted rotation for the first week of exhibition...
SARASOTA, Fla. - We're only talking intrasquad here, but it's still a game and it still comes with lineups. Enjoy.
Team 1:
Matt Angle RF
Randy Winn DH
Felix Pie CF
Nolan Reimold LF
Josh Bell 3B
Joe Mahoney 1B
Ryan Adams 2B
Craig Tatum C
Pedro Florimon SS
Chorye Spoone RHP
Team 2:
Cesar Izturis 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Luke Scott LF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Mark Reynolds 3B
Adam Jones CF
J.J. Hardy SS
Matt Wieters C
Brandon Snyder 1B
Chris Jakubauskas RHP
Other pitchers scheduled to throw include...
Justin Duchscherer will attempt to play catch today while dealing with soreness in his left hip that could prevent him from making Wednesday's exhibition start against the Phillies in Clearwater.
Duchscherer has undergone three hip surgeries, the most recent on his left side on June 7. He skipped yesterday's workout and received treatment.
"I feel OK," he said. "I threw my BP session the other day and it felt great. Came in, and the next couple days I've had just a little bit of...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles are making contingency plans in case Justin Duchscherer is unable to start Wednesday's exhibition game against the Phillies in Clearwater.
Duchscherer is being shut down for 48 hours while dealing with a sore hip. The Orioles will re-evaluate him before determining his status for Wednesday.
"We'll see what the next step is where he's concerned," manager Buck Showalter said. "There are no tests scheduled at this point. We'll just kind of see what we're...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Justin Duchscherer is in the clubhouse, but he's not throwing or talking.
Derrek Lee is in uniform, but he's not hitting.
Brian Roberts took ground balls at second base and moved to a batting cage for situational hitting. He swung from both sides of the plate without any restrictions against Double-A Bowie pitching coach Kennie Steenstra.
There's a piece of good news.
Hitting coach Jim Presley kept barking out situations for each hitter. Infield back, man on third. Man...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Justin Duchscherer isn't on the field today, and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail confirmed that the pitcher is dealing with some hip soreness.
Add Brian Roberts, lose Duchscherer. Not the kind of break-even day the Orioles wanted.
Duchscherer will take off the next 48 hours and be re-evaluated. He's been told to rest and receive treatment.
"We'll just have to see how it plays out in the next 48 hours," MacPhail said. "Then, we'll have an idea what...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Second baseman Brian Roberts has taken the field for the pre-workout stretch. He's also expected to participate in infield drills.
Roberts had to get the approval of the athletic training staff. He stated yesterday that it's been a "group effort" when determining whether he could work out.
Roberts spent the last three days getting treatment for a stiff neck. He hasn't been able to participate in baseball activities, but he noted that his neck kept improving each...
SARASOTA, Fla. - It appears that Twitter has taken the morning off. I haven't been able to access it or post an update in more than an hour.
So much for following me at @MASNroch. It's probably just as well. I've been known to stop short.
The Orioles put a ping pong table in the middle of the clubhouse, which proves that manager Buck Showalter isn't all business. He'll let the guys have a little fun, as long as it doesn't interfere with their work.
J.J. Hardy is ridiculously good. So...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Orioles first baseman Derrek Lee won't take batting practice today after hitting outdoors for the first time yesterday afternoon.
Lee said his surgically repaired right thumb is "a little bit tender."
"Probably as expected, since it was the first time I hit on the field," he said.
Lee plans to take BP tomorrow.
"Overly cautious," he said. "I was hoping I would wake up feeling 100 percent, but I kind of knew I'd wake up sore."
Meanwhile, Brian Roberts is outside...
SARASOTA, Fla. - I can't close out the day without letting manager Buck Showalter say a few words.
Showalter noted that second baseman Brian Roberts' neck showed some improvement again today.
"Better than yesterday, and the other day was better than that," Showalter said. "We'll see what tomorrow brings."
Showalter confirmed that no further tests are scheduled for Roberts. X-rays came back negative. He's apparently been bothered by spasms.
"They pretty much feel like they've got...
SARASOTA, Fla. - No sense ignoring Brian Roberts in this entry. He's been a constant presence, though Derrek Lee provided a slight distraction earlier today.
Roberts said his neck is "getting better every day." He received more treatment today to alleviate the soreness and also rode a stationary bike.
"It's definitely better than it was a couple days ago," he said. "It's the time of the year where you just want to get it completely gone before you go back out there again."
Asked...
SARASOTA, Fla. - I'll plug in more quotes later, but here are some short items from today's workout:
Brian Roberts said his neck feels better every day. He also said he could play if it were the regular season.
"It's definitely better than it was a couple days ago," he said.
Asked if he might work out tomorrow, Roberts said, "I don't try to guess about tomorrow. To tell you the truth, it probably hasn't really been my call. It's a group effort."
Derrek Lee will see how his thumb...
