This and that (and more)

Welcome to another morning of "What the heck am I going to write about?" I really need a sponsor. And some news. I had a brief conversation with a team official last night, and we discussed left-hander Clay Rapada, who agreed to a minor league deal with a spring training invite. Rapada will be given a chance to win a spot in the bullpen as the second southpaw, joining Michael Gonzalez, but here's my guess: He'll be Mike Hinckley, who lost out to Will Ohman last spring and pitched at Triple-A Norfolk. It's a hunch, but I'm sticking to it. Rapada hasn't officially signed yet, but he's reached agreement. The Orioles are waiting for the paperwork to come back. Vladimir Guerrero is still a free agent. More to come. A reader asked about minor league reliever Wilfrido Perez, who impressed the club two springs ago and was poised to eventually become a matchup lefty. He also had closer potential. Former manager Dave Trembley raved about him, and we figured to see him in Baltimore sooner rather than later. Well, Perez suffered a shoulder injury and never regained his velocity. He's a minor league free agent who's still looking for a job. So there's your Wilfrido Perez update. I have nothing to pass along regarding Alfredo Simon, who remains jailed in the Dominican Republic. The ballistics report should have come back by now, which leads to suspicions that there are some complications. Could it have something to do with earlier reports about law enforcement officials suspecting that the original gun barrel had been replaced? I've heard that theory. It shouldn't be taking this long, so something's up. And more: Jim Palmer and Brandon Erbe have been added to the autograph sessions for Saturday's FanFest at the Baltimore Convention Center. Palmer joins Station 3 at 3:20 p.m. Erbe joins Station 1 at 4:40 p.m.