Morning notes before Orioles-Red Sox game

BOSTON - Not much news to report today, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The Orioles are having a quiet morning, with no other players headed to the disabled list. Fingers remain crossed.

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop is in Sarasota to begin rehabbing his right knee. Shortstop J.J. Hardy hit off a tee today, but didn't take live batting practice. He'll get back in the cage Monday, and we'll continue to wait for his rehab assignment to start.

"We knew it wasn't going to be really quick," said manager Buck Showalter. "We just want to get it right the first time. I just hope it's not something that lingers, but if it does, we'll wait."

Showalter said reliever Wesley Wright's left shoulder is feeling much better and he could return sooner than anticipated. He's got a week remaining before he can be activated from the disabled list.

Umpire Jordan Baker, who ejected pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez in the fourth inning Friday night, isn't working today's game due to personal reasons, according to a spokesman for Major League Baseball. He's not listed among the four umpires, a group that includes crew chief Jerry Meals, Paul Emmel, Andy Fletcher and John Tumpane.

That's quite a coincidence.

Jimmy Paredes is batting second as the designated hitter after collecting two hits last night. Paredes expected to be at Triple-A Norfolk yesterday before the Orioles summoned him to Boston as Schoop's replacement on the 25-man roster.

"I feel good, I feel great, because I had a lot of travel and I put all my effort into doing my job and I did it and we won the game," Paredes said.

The Orioles assigned Paredes to Double-A Bowie, where he played in only one game on a rehab assignment that could have lasted 20 days.

"When I got hurt with my lower back, I played a couple games in extended and I felt good," he said. "I was called up to Bowie in Double-A and got four at-bats in one game and I felt good, I didn't feel anything in my back. I felt like I was ready.

"Yesterday, I was supposed to fly to Norfolk and they said, 'You don't have to play any more games,' and they called me up. I was surprised. And now I'm here and it's awesome.

"They said, 'You never know, it might be one day or five days. Something could happen. But go do your rehab for 20 days and we'll see.' And then (Schoop's injury) happened and we didn't want that with a teammate. He's a good player, a good teammate and we don't want that, but in this game a lot of things can happen. I'll be ready for the moment.

"He'll come back soon. We need the guy soon. He's a good guy. But we've got to play hard."

Shameless plug alert: I'm appearing on "O's Xtra" at 1 p.m. on MASN.