So here we go again with another Orioles game. Time to find out if the team can get a lead, get a clutch hit, hold a lead, get a win. It's the start of a three-city, ten-game road trip in Oakland. I'll be watching the game from the Melewski estate in beautiful Harford County. I hope you'll add some comments to this blog all night long and into tomorrow morning. Write in with a question or comment - your take on the game as it's going on, a story about going to O's games, tell us where...

Injury updates: MASN's Amber Theoharis tells me that closer Mike Gonzalez will head to the minor league camp in Sarasota to begin a three-week rehab assignment. It'll be a while before he's attempting to close games again. Manager Dave Trembley told reporters in Oakland that Jim Johnson most likely would receive the bulk of the save opportunities. Kam Mickolio will work at the back end of the bullpen, giving Trembley a power arm late in the games. Also, Koji Uehara is scheduled to face...

For the Orioles: Felix Pie LF Adam Jones CF Nick Markakis RF Miguel Tejada 3B Matt Wieters C Luke Scott DH Ty Wigginton 2B Garrett Atkins 1B Cesar Izturis SS David Hernandez RHP For the Athletics Rajai Davis CF Daric Barton 1B Ryan Sweeney RF Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B Kurt Suzuki C Eric Chavez DH Adam Rosales 2B Travis Buck LF Cliff Pennington SS Ben Sheets RHP

O's right-hander David Hernandez has been looking forward to tonight's start at Oakland. And, not just to build on his first start last week, a solid outing vs. Toronto. But, because Hernandez will be pitching in his home state in front of quite a few family and friends. He's from Sacramento, which is about 90 minutes from Oakland. Hernandez should also get some time to see his infant son. His wife Rachel gave birth to their first child, Jayden Joseph in January. "I'll probably need...

There have been a few moves today on the farm. Triple-A Norfolk: Kam Mickolio officially sent to the Orioles. Also today, RHP Dennis Sarfate has been placed on the DL. As Roch first reported yesterday, he suffered a strained oblique Wednesday while warming up. Sarfate had pitched three scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the Tides. Norfolk has added pitchers Jim Miller and Armando Gabino from Bowie. Double A Bowie: Added pitcher Zach Clark from Aberdeen's roster. Single A...

Today is the first day that I've been away from the Orioles since I arrived in Sarasota on Feb. 16, and I'm beginning to experience separation anxiety. I just asked my neighbor how his groin is feeling. I chastised the paper boy for his poor arm slot. I stopped by the Eldersburg bowling alley so I could check how the ball was coming out of someone's hand. I popped in a tape of the last New Year's Eve celebration so I could watch another ball drop. I chose a different chair this morning...

On a blustery cold Saturday morning, the Nationals warmed the hearts of dozens of children seeking medical treatment at Children's National Medical Center. Families and patients at the facility met with Jim Riggleman, Rob Dibble and several Nationals players to play UNO, color pictures and talk baseball. It was - and always is - the highlight of the winter caravan. "When you can see the smiles on the parents' faces and on the kids' faces, there's probably a lot of rough times that...

Of all the stats, most of them negative, compiled already by the 2010 Orioles, here is maybe the most telling one of all. O's record when leading after 7 innings: 2009: 52-5 2010: 1-4 So, last year, when they held the lead after seven, they won the game 91 percent of the time. This year that number is just 20 percent. Last year, they blew five such leads all year. This year, they have blown four in just nine games. If that number were 4-1 instead of 1-4, their record would be 4-5...

I just wanted to quickly introduce you to a few new features here at Nats Buzz. First, our new RSS feed is now available at http:www.//masnsports.com/nationals_buzz/atom.xml The other new addition that I wanted to mention was automatic approval of comments when you sign in. I figure many of you will be excited about this. Once you log-in for the first time, using Gmail, Yahoo, AIM, Facebook, Vox or LiveJournal, the site will recognize that you are a trusted source and allow you to publish...

The Orioles just announced that they've recalled right-handed reliever Kam Mickolio from Triple-A Norfolk to replace closer Mike Gonzalez on the 25-man roster. He joined the team in Oakland. Mickolio went 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 9 1/3 innings in spring training, but he also walked seven batters. He allowed one earned run in three innings at Norfolk, but also issued four walks. Once that plate stops moving, he'll be fine. The Orioles view Mickolio as a potential closer down the road once his...