He got off to a great start this year for the Frederick Keys. At the age of just 20, second baseman L.J. Hoes was living up to his prospect status and playing maybe even better than the Orioles had a right to expect in his first season in the Carolina League. But Hoes has been out of the lineup since May 15 as he deals with a mysterious illness that doctors seem to have struggled to get a handle on. There has been talk that it's not anything serious and Hoes should be back soon. But right...

I predicted over the winter that Miguel Tejada would bat second for the Orioles. I meant June 1. The Orioles couldn't take batting practice on the field today because of the rain. That's four straight days, if you count yesterday. Adam Jones collected the Orioles' first hit tonight with a leadoff single in the third inning. Now we'll wait for that first extra-base hit. They've totaled once since Garrett Atkins' third-inning homer on Wednesday. MASN play-by-play man Gary Thorne noted...

Potomac Nationals catcher Derek Norris back behind the plate tonight for the P-Nats. Norris was hit in the head by a 95 mile per hour fastball 11 days ago and was cleared to play tonight. Norris told me last week that the helmet saved him from serious injury. Similar to Norris, teammate and catcher Brian Peacock is recovering from also getting hit in the batting helmet two days ago by a pitch. According to pitching coach Paul Menhart, Peacock is doing much better today. The P-Nats...

Outfielder Felix Pie will begin some baseball-related activities this weekend after being restricted to exercises as he recovers from a torn muscle in his back. The word out of Sarasota is he might be ready to take batting practice by Monday. Reliever Michael Gonzalez did some long-tossing again today, but he still isn't pitching in extended spring training games. Here's a little something from Gary Kendall regarding reliever Bob McCrory, the subject of an earlier blog entry: "He's...

It's not exactly drama like the 1971 or 1979 World Series, but the Orioles are linked again with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have the second pick in the first round of next Monday's First-Year Player Draft. Most figure they will select between high school shortstop Manny Machado and prep pitcher Jameson Taillon, with the remaining player left for the O's to take. (That's after Bryce Harper goes first to the Nats). So what will Pittsburgh do with that second pick? I spoke via...

MASN will televise Stephen Strasburg's final start at Triple-A Syracuse, the network announced today. The Nationals prospect will face the Buffalo Bisons on Thursday, June 3rd at 1:05 p.m. MASN will air the game at 7:00 p.m. on a tape delay. MASN has televised each of Strasburg's five previous starts for Syracuse. The highly touted prospect is 3-1 at Syracuse with a 1.27 ERA and 33 strikeouts in just over 28 innings of work. He is expected to make his major league debut at Nationals Park...

Injured second baseman Brian Roberts is scheduled to play in his first extended spring training game on Friday at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota. Roberts will take infield and batting practice tomorrow and Thursday - a normal workout day - before playing five innings at second base on Friday. The plan is for Roberts to get four at-bats, so he could lead off each inning. The rules are a lot more relaxed down there. Assuming there are no setbacks, Roberts will get five at-bats as...

As I sat outside the clubhouse entrance at Ed Smith Stadium a few weeks ago, a player walked past me who looked exactly like former Orioles reliever Bob McCrory. I mean, they could have been separated at birth. It was uncanny. It also was Bob McCrory. The Orioles re-signed him about a week before Opening Day. I had completely lost track of him after he underwent shoulder and biceps surgery on Oct. 2. Can you believe that McCrory is already pitching in extended spring training games? And...

On June 5th, thousands of people will gather on the National Mall to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. For 20 years, events like Race for the Cure have raised millions and millions of dollars to help women fight the disease and to invest in research to find a cure. During those same years, treatments and early detection programs have improved dramatically. This season, the Nationals partnered with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to recruit race participants and to raise...

As long as we're celebrating Jake Arrieta's latest gem, we should also note that Double-A Bowie left-hander Zach Britton held Richmond to two runs over 6 1/3 innings last night. He allowed six hits and walked four, so it wasn't one of his cleanest outings, but he came out of it with a 3.32 ERA. If I'm a young Orioles starter, I'm tracking every one of Arrieta's starts. And I'm hoping there's room in the rotation for both of us. I would assume that Brian Matusz's leash is longer than...