Roster riddles and Davis weighs in on Hardy injury

SARASOTA, Fla. - Chris Tillman won't throw his first pitch tonight against the Pirates until around 7:05 p.m. because the Orioles finally are playing under the lights at Ed Smith Stadium.

This is only the second night game for the Orioles this spring. They have a 6:05 p.m. start Thursday against the Braves in Orlando and a 6:05 p.m. start Friday against the Braves in Sarasota.

Everyone here has to adjust their body clocks.

It's spring ahead, right?

Bud Norris is pitching in a Triple-A game today at Twin Lakes Park. Once again, manager Buck Showalter and pitching coach Dave Wallace found a way to provide innings to two starters.

The 25-man roster for opening day doesn't have to be set until 3 p.m. Sunday and it may go down to the wire as executive vice president Dan Duquette continues to work the phones in an attempt to make a deal or three. Having desirable Rule 5 pitchers in camp has created a major complication.

Just the Orioles' luck that they'd both be good.

It would be a surprise if catcher Ryan Lavarnway didn't make the club, which leaves me to wonder what happens to Steve Clevenger. The Orioles undoubtedly have checked the trade market and they'd be doing Clevenger a huge favor if they moved him to another team rather than option him to Triple-A Norfolk, which has enough catchers to hook up the entire International League.

Also, dealing Clevenger would open a spot for Lavarnway on the 40-man roster.

The Orioles will carry a player on opening day who must be removed after one game to create room for first baseman Chris Davis. If you're trying to guess, it's probably wise to consider a player on the 40-man roster who has an option. That would be the easiest transaction for the Orioles.

The Orioles are demonstrating why it's foolish to project the roster before the final days of camp. Who predicted that Jimmy Paredes would make it - the odds certainly favor him now - or that J.J. Hardy wouldn't be the shortstop on opening day?

Hardy's absence has put the Orioles in damage control mode. They lament his absence, but find comfort in their depth. They also are thankful that he wasn't lost later in the season, though the games also count in April.

"It's not good, obviously," Davis said. "You don't want to see a guy start the year on the DL, but I think you'd rather see him be on the DL right now for a little bit of time than the middle of the season or toward the end when we really need him.

"I think that the most important thing right now is making sure that what happens now doesn't affect the middle or end of the season. I think if you can kind of get ahead of it right now and take a little bit of time off, it's better than having it constantly bother you. We'd rather have him at 100 percent than at 70 or 80 percent. It's just unfortunate."

It also was freakish because Hardy suffered the injury to his left shoulder while diving for a ball, which you'll rarely see him do. He collided with second baseman Jonathan Schoop, but decided later after watching video that the injury was caused more by his shoulder slamming into the ground.

"It was sort of an awkward play, but I didn't really think anything of it when I saw it," Davis said before turning comic, which can happen in the blink of an eye.

"J.J.'s just so fragile and so old," Davis continued. "I mean, he's by far the oldest guy in this clubhouse and his bones aren't what they used to be. They're brittle."

Leave it to Davis to inject some much-needed humor.

"No, I didn't really think anything of it when he dove," Davis said, "but obviously it's a lot worse than what it looked."

How much worse is open to debate. I've heard optimistic projections for his return and one that could be described as dire. Unless you prefer ominous, gloomy, grim, dismal, unfavorable or pessimistic. Choose your favorite synonym.

Color me confused at the moment. Sort of like when I try to figure out how the Orioles are going to construct their roster.