.......why not send in a comment or question to me while you are tuned in. I'll be watching today's game from home here in beautiful Harford County. While you are tuned in and also keeping up with all of Roch's great reporting from the game itself, feel free to send me a comment as well. We've gotten a lot of interesting comments today on my blog about Guthrie & Tillman. Feel free to keep the comments coming there or you can write them here now as well. (No need to repeat what you...

When Robinson Cano launched that 3-1 pitch over the fence Monday night, you could almost feel Orioles fans confidence in Jeremy Guthrie drop another notch. He has not done much this spring to provide fans with hope that he will have a bounce back season. But I do think the concern, some would say panic, over Guthrie's struggles, is a little over the top. *Why is he being handed a starting rotation spot? That is the question from some fans. He does have a track record of success, two years...

So after being named Carolina League MVP last year while also winning the Brooks Robinson award as the O's Minor League Player of the Year, what will Brandon Waring do this season for an encore? In his second year in the O's organization he'll move up to Double-A Bowie and tangle with Eastern League pitching. "This year will be the most challenging year yet," the 24-year-old Waring said. "The pitchers are more refined, they have a plan and can throw all their pitches for strikes. I'm...

Jeremy Guthrie seems to be one pitcher that many fans feel is in for another poor year. Some reporters are questioning his confidence. Some don't even feel he should begin the year in the rotation. I am not in that camp. He showed me enough in 2007 and 2008 and I am not yet overly concerned about his spring performance. Only 15 pitchers in the AL worked more innings than Guthrie last season and that should count for something. His 5.04 ERA came down some in the second half when he...

While the Orioles are closing in on another opening day, so are their four full-season farm teams: the Norfolk Tides, the Bowie Baysox, the Frederick Keys and the Delmarva Shorebirds. With the parent club rebuilding around youth and pitching, there will be plenty of reasons to follow the O's minor leaguers this year. Bowie - Early on, this may be the most interesting team to track. The rotation could feature top pitching prospect Zach Britton along with Steve Johnson, Chorye Spoone and...

Tremendous outing by Jason Berken, who shut out the Twins on two hits over four innings in the Orioles' 4-3 loss. He didn't walk a batter and struck out three. Berken lowered his ERA to 2.84 on a night that Chris Tillman labored. David Hernadez starts tomorrow against the Red Sox. Is the competition for the fifth starter's job really over or is there still time for Berken or Hernandez to force the issue? Manager Dave Trembley praised Berken and the way Nolan Reimold ran the bases and...

Robert Andino dropped a fly ball in left field in the eighth inning. He looked like a shortstop trying to play the outfield. Hard to pile too much blame on him. Chris Tillman found some positive aspects about tonight's start, but he didn't have many kind things to say about his 27-pitch third inning. He kept going back to how long that inning lasted, though he threw five more pitches in the second. "I thought it went well overall, but that third inning, those kinds of innings are...

Nolan Reimold homered with the count full in the seventh inning, his first of the spring. He singled earlier and scored from first base on a double. A good night for the left fielder. Twins 4, Orioles 3. Brian Roberts struck out in all three at-bats tonight before leaving the game. "It felt good just to put a uniform on and go play. Certainly it's different than BP," he said. "My body felt pretty good. Just a matter of getting in the box and seeing live pitching. But my body, it felt...

Craig Tatum drove in his first two runs of the spring with a double into left-center field, scoring Adam Jones and Nolan Reimold with two outs in the fifth inning. Twins 4, Orioles 2. Jones singled with one out to break up Scott Baker's no-hitter. Reimold singled with two outs and scored all the way from first base on the double. Nothing wrong with the way he circled the bases. Brian Roberts stood on deck when Cesar Izturis flied out to end the inning. He's taking the field for the top of...

Chris Tillman threw 88 pitches tonight, 51 for strikes. He's leaving the game with one out in the top of the fifth and a runner on second base. The Twins continue to lead, 1-0, but the runner is his responsibility after Denard Span drew a leadoff walk. Tillman walked four and struck out four. It was quite a struggle tonight. The best thing you can say about Tillman is he's been the master of damage control. He could teach a class at the local community college. Cla Meredith has entered the...