More notes and quotes before tonight's game

According to reports given to manager Buck Showalter, Single-A Frederick pitcher Bobby Bundy was topping out at 96 mph last night and routinely sat at 93 mph while going the distance in the Keys' victory over Salem. Bundy, the brother of first-round pick Dylan Bundy, allowed one earned run (two total) and three hits, with one walk and nine strikeouts. He's 9-5 with a 3.11 ERA. Closer Kevin Gregg threw a simulated game today while continuing to serve his three-game suspension. Cesar Izturis could be activated from the disabled list as early as Tuesday. Blake Davis' roster spot would appear to be in jeopardy. As I wrote earlier, Luke Scott is being shut down for a few days while continuing to deal with discomfort in his right shoulder that's slowing down his bat speed. "I talked to Luke today and he had a little discomfort," Showalter said. "He put himself at around 70 percent. We're going to stop that rehab, take a couple of days and see if that gets better. We may start it up again, see if there is a different direction we may go. Andy (MacPhail) and I talked with Luke with Richie (Bancells) there, went over a lot of different things, kind of got a feel for what he's feeling and how he's going. But the immediate thing is he's not going to be activated tonight. "Seventy percent in the big leagues and in the American East is not a good spot to put him in. I wouldn't do that to Luke. There's still a chance that Scott could return by the weekend after playing a few more games with Double-A Bowie. "He got an injection," Showalter said. "He's basically let it quiet down the whole time. He hasn't done anything in the weight room. It's a little frustrating for him to do all that and not get a little better return on it as far as how it feels. I think these next two days he's going to probably give it a lot of thought. If I know Luke, he'll probably try it one more time to see how it feels." Whether Scott undergoes surgery is "Luke's decision," Showalter said. "It's his body, his career. There are options there...see if it gets to something that he can manage and be productive. You can do the rehab, kind of what (Jason) Berken and J.J. (Jim Johnson) did at one time in his career. But that's a three-month rehab. You don't do anything but strengthen the capsule and the things around it. That's an option, or you just go ahead and have the surgery. "Talking to Richie, if he waits a whole lot longer, he puts starting next year healthy in jeopardy. Luke has a lot of things to think about. He's aware of all those options. I'm going to kind of leave him alone, let him think it through and see where he wants to go. The rehab part of it, you basically have to shut everything down and start a strengthening program. There's been a pretty good return of success for that. Berken, talking to somebody the other day, said that it's the best his arm has ever felt. If that's an option in Luke's mind, something that he wants to do, he's going to have to do it pretty quickly so he's healthy and ready to start the season next year." We'll also wait to find out whether Justin Duchscherer undergoes another hip surgery, which has been recommended by Dr. Thomas Byrd, who performed the same procedure on the pitcher's left hip in June 2010 in Nashville. "He's going to talk to Dr. (John) Wilckens about his findings and about what he proposes," Showalter said." At the end of the day, Justin will make that decision, and whether or not Dr. Wilckens would recommend it or not, I don't know if that will play into it. It's not a foregone conclusion that he's going to have that surgery. He's going to talk to Dr. Wilckens about it." I know what you're thinking. You don't have to say it. Also from earlier today, the Orioles optioned Josh Bell to Triple-A Norfolk to make room for pitcher Alfredo Simon on the 25-man roster. "I talked with him," Showalter said. "Get him back playing every day again. I didn't want him sitting around here. It's tough to give up a pitching arm at this point. "I guess things went as well as they could go with Simon. I haven't talked to him in detail yet. I don't think he's going to have to deal with it again until October, from what I understand." And finally, Showalter commented on newly acquired minor league pitcher Zach Phillips. "Rick (Adair) and Mark Connor know him. They were over there with him in the minor leagues," Showalter said. "Andy and Matt (Klentak) presented the potential of it and then asked Rick what he thought, and Mark. They were upbeat about it. Left-handed relief pitcher. He's got a lot of weapons. He has a chance to pitch out of the bullpen in the big leagues. I know Rick, those guys, they've had a lot of very close contacts with him. They think he needed a change of scenery. "Nick Green's a pro. I think he's second or third on the (Norfolk) club in RBIs. He's starting to swing the bat well. They have some quality depth there now. "I like Phillips. He's got a good arm. I like him. I know two or three years ago before they got such a stockpile of arms, he was way up in that Baseball America Prospect book, whatever that means."